#like Luka has Marinette on his mind

[chocostrwberry]

Secrets

[frostedpuffs]

some thoughts about furry au:

while Adrien is still a model, he also participates in "cat shows", which are like the real world counterpart we have, except its more to show off agility and a well-groomed coat...but this often results in Adrien batting a cat toy around on stage and the audience going "his FORM! it's immaculate!" i don't think he'd like participating in these shows very much. he finds them fake (and boring. Because he always wins)

marinette, like a hamster, uses her cheek pouches as a place to store things. she will bring her friends snacks this way. they are polite and accept the treats...even if they're like "umm...this was in your mouth?" sometimes she forgets she put something in there until someone points it out

Adrien's fur is softer than soft. supremely soft and conditioned. he takes very good care of his coat and brushes it daily. this may or may not be because his mom scared him as a kid telling him if he doesn't take good care of his fur, it'll fall off and he'll look like his father (a sphinx cat)

nino's tail is almost always wagging. especially when he is with alya. that is one happy dog

you know how baby hamsters start as "pinkies" with no fur? yeah that was Marinette. have fun with that visual

lila tried to say she was a rare breed of fox for the longest time. people bought it

gorilla is a silverback gorilla. you can't change my mind. it's practically canon

chloe is extremely conceited about the fact that she is a mink

Felix still tries to impersonate Adrien. when people question where all Adrien's perfectly groomed fluff went, felix tells them he had a bad trip to the groomers. that becomes a headline in all the magazines

when Adrien first develops a crush on Marinette he physically cannot stop himself from purring at the sight of her and Nino has to discreetly be like "bro, your motor started up again"

whenever luka is getting into a really good jam it's hard to stop himself from howling to the music

[ijustliketoreadstuff]

Let’s talk about everyone who knows.

Identities have always been a strict topic for Marinette, because as guardian, she felt she alone had to ensure the safety of all the heroes who were entrusted with a miraculous, this included herself and Cat Noir

However, as much as Marinette had initially attempted to keep a strict hold on her rule on keeping identities a secret, there were eventually bound to be some who would learn who she and Cat Noir were. Marinette alone has always done what she could to keep others from learning she was Ladybug, however,  this was never foolproof as the unexpected was bound to happen. Out of all the people who came to learn about her identity, Marinette technically only ever told ONE person her secret, and that was Alya. 

Back in “Gang of Secrets”, when Alya confronted her about what was weighing on her, Marinette had to decide if she would continue keeping her secret or take a risk. Overwhelmed with her responsibilities as Ladybug and guardian, Marinette took a risk to tell Alya her secret identity, because out of everyone in Paris, it was Alya who broke Marinette’s fears over what could happen if Hawkmoth discovered someone knew her identity. Alya’s actions in “Gang of Secrets” and “Senti-bubbler”, left Marinette willing to entrust her secret, as well as a miraculous, to Alya, but most of all, it convinced Marinette to ease up on her rule to not entrust a miraculous to the people whose identities were exposed, and instead have faith her friends could protect themselves and trust they would not betray her in the same sense Chloe did, as they did not prioritize the power of the miraculous, but rather the help they could give to her and all of Paris, even without superpowers.

Now, as of season 5, including Alya, there are now 8 people who know Marinette is Ladybug, but unlike Alya, Marinette never told any of the others her secret identity, they all just found out on their own, one way or another. 

Luka was one of the rare few who learned both Ladybug and Cat Noir’s identities, but the only reason he found out both was because he was placed in the unique situation of fighting an akumatized villain with the power to potentially expose Ladybug and cat Noir’s identities. Wishmakers power transformed Ladybug and Cat Noir into physically becoming what they dreamed they wanted to be when they were kids. Normally the quantum masking magical effect of the miraculous would help confuse human minds to prevent people from connecting the obvious, so they wouldn't easily identify the heroes through appearance alone, but Wishmaker counteracted that magic by changing their entire appearance. Ladybug had hoped that by Viperion using his power of second chance, he could help them defeat Wishmaker before he got the chance to use his power on them. Unbeknownst to Ladybug, Luka felt no other choice but to lie about learning her and Cat Noir’s identities, until “Migration”, because just like Ladybug said in “Ephemeral”, if anyone knew either her or Cat Noir's identity, things could still be manageable, because at least there would still be one of them left to fight shadow moth if he took action to defeat just one of them, but if anyone knew both her and Cat Noir's identities, then it's over for everyone. Luka knew that if Shadow Moth caught him, everyone would be endangered, but he did not want to become a priority for the heroes to protect over everyone else in Paris, so he kept it a secret until he had no other choice but to tell Ladybug and all of his friends he knew.

(In "Migration", Luka reveals to his friends he knows both Ladybug and Cat Noir's identities, and must leave Paris for everyone's safety, including his own.)

Luka left Paris for his and everyone else's protection, but in the season 5 finale, it was revealed that he had come into contact with SuHan and had been under the tutelage of the guardians. Luka was taught to fight by Su Han, so if he also learned how to defend himself against the akumas the same way Su-han did in “Furious Fu”, Luka may be able to return to Paris regardless of Lila being the new butterfly holder, and unlike Su-Han and the other guardians, Luka has experience fighting against akumatized villains, allowing him to defend himself better so as to not leave Ladybug and Cat Noir to worry over his safety.

(London special, Alix reviews everything she knows about Marinette and Adrien's history as Ladybug and Cat Noir)

Aside from Luka, Alix is the only other person who currently knows both Ladybug and Cat Noir’s identities, but unlike Luka, Alix is the only person who can know any hero and villains identity at any given time, this was something that was inevitable because unlike the other heroes, Alix’s power over time left her the responsibility of ensuring the timeline stayed safe, her job meant she had to look over the history of everyone's lives to ensure everything was on track. Such knowledge would of course place her in a great deal of danger, but fortunately, she remains at a safe distance in the burrow, traveling through time. Ladybug never told Alix her identity, but she had no complaints over Alix knowing her personal secrets, along with anyone else's, because she knew it was just part of Alix’s duty as the bunny miraculous holder to one day know such secrets, secrets even she can't know, no matter how much she asks Alix. 

(Kagami learns Marinette is Ladybug)

Kagami was an interesting case. Marinette never told Kagami her secret identity, but in “Representation”, it was revealed that Kagami wound up being at the right place and time back in “Perfection”, when she overheard Marinette talk about her identity to Alya, at Anarka’s boat, during a moment of internal struggle over her love for Adrien. Even though Kagami was akumatized that same day she discovered Marinette’s identity and then later akumatized again in “Protection”, Kagami never told Monarch Marinette’s secret, Monarch never even sensed she was hiding such a secret like he did with Luke in “Migration”. Of course Kagami’s crisis over her friendship with Marinette was likely what kept her mind clouded enough to prevent Monarch from sensing she was hiding something from him, but at the same time, no matter the situation, Kagami could not help but feel a sense of loyalty to the friend who was always there for her, as both Marinette and Ladybug. 

Even after resolving those matters and being de-akumatized, Kagami did not reveal to Marinette she knew her secret, until “Representation”. Kagami is normally very upfront about things, but to know the biggest secret of Marinette’s life, was likely something Kagami felt she needed time to figure out how to tell Marinette. Kagami might have been in the dark about a lot of things about Marinette, but its interesting to see her shift from the one who knew the least, to the one who now knows everything, things Marinette couldn't even bring herself to tell Alya, like the truth about Gabriel's demise.

Felix didn't know Marinette was Ladybug until Kagami told him. Kagami telling Felix Ladybug's identity made sense seeing as he was willing to confide in her one of the biggest secrets in all of Paris, Monarch’s secret identity. Felix trusts Kagami with his secrets, but doing so meant more than it being just about trust, it was about him accepting that he needed help.

Felix put quite a target on his back when he blackmailed/bargained with Gabriel to give up the peacock miraculous back in “Strike back”, and although Felix refrained from using his powers to wipe Gabriel out of existence again (First time was in "Emotion"), Felix knew Gabriel still needed to be dealt with before he could bring further harm to him and everyone else in his life he wanted to protect, and who better to help than the one person Kagami knew wanted to stop Monarch more than anyone, Ladybug. So long as Felix prefers to rely on his own abilities, he has no interest in the powers an akuma can provide, allowing him to resist Monarch’s control, but we’ll see about Lila.

Su Han discovered Marinette’s identity with the help of a magical compass that located the miracle box. Marinette could not hide her identity from him, let alone lie to him, because the box was in her own house. Although Su-Han knows Ladybug’s identity, she had refrained from letting him know Cat Noir’s too. Su-Han may be capable of defending himself from the akumas and miraculous holders, but he has no real experience fighting against akumatized villains, leaving him vulnerable if it was ever revealed he knew both Ladybug and Cat Noir's identities, fortunately, he only ever visits Paris if it's necessary.

Marianne, Fu's wife, was someone who had a long history with Fu. Fu trusted Marianne with the knowledge about the existence of the miraculous and how he had the responsibility as the last guardian to protect the jewels that wielded such incredible power. Marinette didn’t need to tell Marianne her secret identity, it would have been easy enough for her to figure things out on her own.

Marianne knew that whoever wielded the miraculous, was in turn associated with Fu, so even after seeing Marinette in civilian form to reunite her with Fu at the end of “Miracle queen”, it would have been plainly obvious to her that Ladybug and the girl who escorted Fu after he lost his memories, were the same person. Marianne and Fu don't live in Paris anymore, so Marinette can feel assured they are at a safe distance from  the akumas.

Nathalie discovered Marinette was Ladybug, after Gabriel finished making his wish. In the London special, after Gabriel made his wish, Nathalie was originally planning to continue her efforts in stopping Gabriel the moment she returned to the secret basement under the Agreste mansion, but she instead discovered Marinette talking to Plagg and Tikki. Nathalie heard Marinette’s conversation with the kwamis and that just about confirmed Marinette as Ladybug, even before she transformed into Bug Noir. Nathalie didn’t end up learning Cat Noir was Adrien again, but now she faces an entirely new dilemma, hiding the truth from Adrien about Marinette’s secret life as Ladybug as well as the truth about Gabriel's death. Marinette might have had her doubts about Nathalie, but knowing just how much Nathalie has been there for Adrien was enough to make her feel willing to trust her. Nathalie was normally the one who was willing to be akumatized for the sake of a mission, but now that the butterfly miraculous is in the hands of Lila, Nathalie is now just another citizen trying to avoid being akumatized.

Those are the people who currently know Ladybug and Cat Noir’s identities, but let's not forget the people who knew temporarily. 

It's not the first time Nathalie knew one of the heroes' identities, in “Cat Blanc”, she saw Adrien transform into Cat Noir. However, this left her greatly conflicted about what she was doing, because she never set out to hurt Adrien. The shock of learning Adrien was Cat Noir alone made her make the mistake of telling Gabriel, who jumped at the opportunity to akumatize his own son for the chance at a quick victory. However, the events of Cat Blanc were never meant to happen and were quickly fixed by Ladybug and Bunnyx.

Lila was always hinted to be the future butterfly miraculous holder, and as soon as she got the butterfly miraculous, she wasted no time in using it to tract down Ladybug’s identity on her own. Fortunately for Lila, Marinette had no idea where the butterfly miraculous went, giving Lila the element of surprise. However, Lila knowing Marinette’s identity was something that was not meant to happen, her tampering with the timeline of events to uncover Ladybug’s identity only wound up alerting Bunnyx so she could do what was needed to help Ladybug prevent her from ever finding out Ladybug’s identity.

Gabriel had always aimed to uncover Ladybug and Cat Noir’s identities, and on several occasions, he did, even if it was only temporary. He discovered Cat Noir was Adrien in “Cat Blanc”, and both Ladybug and Cat Noir’s in “Ephemeral”. Although these moments were not meant to happen and were quickly reversed with Sass and Bunnyx’s help, as it turns out, Gabriel was at most meant to discover Ladybug’s identity without it completely destroying the entire timeline…it just had to be on the day he died. 

Fu of course knew both Ladybug and Cat Noir’s identity because he was the one who entrusted them with the miraculous. Unfortunately, in “Miracle Queen”, in a last desperate effort to protect the miracle box, the miraculous, the Kwami, Ladybug and Cat Noir, along with himself and Marianne, he wiped his memory clean. Without his memories, Hawkmoth had little to no use for Fu.

Adrien got the chance to figure out Ladybug’s identity in "Cat Blanc", but it was in “Ephemeral” that Ladybug chose to learn Adrien’s identity first and then later decide to reveal her own identity to him. In both episodes, the two learned each others identities, and each time they did, it led to disaster because of one crucial thing, Gabriel was still Monarch. The opportunity to obtain a quick victory had always outweighed any sense of logic Gabriel had, making him quick to use the control he had over Adrien to akumatize him and defeat Ladybug, but now that Gabriel is gone and the rings containing Adrien’s amok have been returned to him, who knows what's going to happen.

Moving onto Adrien, as of season 5, only two people officially know he is Cat Noir, Luka and Alix. Adrien has not had many occurrences that led to others knowing his secret identity, because unlike Marinette, Adrien was limited by what he could do, where he could go and who he could talk to while under his fathers care, he was heavily protected and controlled in his civilian life and this alone prevented a lot of close encounters that could have led to others discovering his identity. But now that Gabriel is gone, Adrien is no longer under the same restrictions he once had, meaning anything could happen. Adrien has not told anyone his secret identity, but there are a lot of characters to think about whom Adrien could tell his secret to and even more people who could end up discovering his identity, one way or another. But again let’s just wait and see what the show has to say.

[official-vampire-business]

absolute worst crack fic concept. ladynoir starts dating and a few months into their relationship confide in each other that they think they both have feelings for someone else, too, and wonder if theyre up for seeing other people as well. they both readily agree, happy that theyre on the same page. adrinette starts dating a few days later. they confess that theyre each seeing someone else as well, but that they request privacy on that front and would like to keep their two relationships seperate for now. they are both okay with this, obviously, because its the same for both of them. this makes it incredibly easy for them to get away with it because theyre both too caught up in how convenient it is that they dont question the oddity of it. mari assumes adriens other partner is kagami, adrien assumes maris other partner is luka. they never talk about it, and are happy to each be dating the two most important people in their lives. plagg is having the time of his life. adrien cant get more than a word in about his girlfriends before plagg starts cackling like a maniac. tikki is suffering. she only seems to look at marinette with a strange kind of sympathy these days when she talks about her boyfriends, despite how happy she is. then, an identity reveal that they will NEVER live down occurs. post gang of secrets, so alya knows about maribug, and is losing her entire mind when she finds out about chadrien. she found it suspicious when adrien said the same thing about his supposed secret partner as mari did, so in an effort to make sure her bff wasnt being used or mistreated, she did what alya does best: investigated. years down the line, alya gives a speech at their hero-exclusive wedding as the maid of honour, and recounts the entire story to the mirateam. alix is in shambles shes laughing so hard. nino has heard the story so many times he could repeat it word for word, but it never fails to double him over in laughter.

[mc-lukanette]

"I sent you a twenty-page document on Jagged's requests. You can't tell me you didn't get it," Penny told the person on the phone. Putting her free hand over the lower half of it to keep them from hearing her, she glanced over her shoulder at Marinette on the couch and said, "I'm sorry. We'll talk about designs as soon as I'm done."

Marinette waved away the concern, understanding the struggle of changed plans. She'd already gathered enough information based on the call they'd had inviting her to their hotel room that she could stay occupied by doing some experimental sketches anyway.

However, realizing how much she may have underestimated the time she was going to spend there, she set her sketchpad aside and pulled out her phone. Navigating to her text conversation with Luka, she typed out a couple messages to update him on what was going on.

Got stuck here a little longer. Penny seems swamped. We could do this any other time, so I'm surprised she didn't send me home yet.

She got a reply less than a minute later.

I'm not. Everyone loves you and wants your talent, Marinette. They're probably making sure no one else can steal you away.

She shook her head in disbelief at such a bold statement, but smiled. Luka was never afraid to say exactly what was on his mind and, while she didn't agree with him, it did make her happy.

She was about to message him back when she caught movement out of the corner of her vision. She looked past her phone to check, nearly screaming when she saw Jagged's face mere inches away from her.

"W-what?!" she asked, stiff. "What's wrong? Did I zone out?!"

"You were smiling," he stated.

"I'm sorry! I'll stop smiling!"

He snorted, then plopped down next to her on the couch, resting both arms along the backrest. "I didn't say there was anything wrong with smiling! A rock star's smile is one of their best assets!" He smirked for emphasis. "But you looked like you were texting your boyfriend."

"H-huh?"

He tilted his head. "Girlfriend?"

"No! I was texting Luka!"

"So his name's Luka!" Jagged brightened, leaning in with interest. "What's he into besides you?"

"Besides—" Marinette choked. "No, h-he's a musician? He plays guitar!"

"Guitar!" he exclaimed, and which was clearly the only word he'd heard. He jumped to his feet, strolling over to Penny and wrapping an arm around her. "Hear that? Our frockstar's got herself a rock star boyfriend!"

Penny ignored him briefly to talk into the phone, "If you can't take the requests, you can always find a different number one music star to book your venue," then covered the lower half again to address Marinette. "Congratulations."

"But—!"

"I told you," Jagged boasted, though to no one in particular, "our designer deserves the best and has the best taste!"

—————

Luka was on his way home when he heard a familiar sound of pounding footsteps behind him. Stopping in place, he turned to look at the source, bracing himself as Marinette practically plowed into him.

It would've been delightful had she not looked so distressed.

"Luka, I'm so sorry!" she burst, gripping his sleeves. "I swear I'll make it up to you!"

"Easy, Marinette," he soothed, taking her wrists and gently pulling her hands away. "What happened?"

"Nggh." She pouted, then hung her head in shame and replied, "Jagged Stone thinks we're dating."

That—

...huh.

He kept on a poker face, not wanting to freak her out further with his potential reaction. Something must've happened to make Jagged think that they were dating, and while he recalled sending Marinette an affectionate text earlier, that alone shouldn't have been enough to make any assumptions.

Did that mean that it was something Marinette did? And it had been convincing evidence for someone to think they were dating? Granted, Jagged Stone wasn't known for being a perceptive guy and Luka was content with the friendship he had with her. He hadn't confessed for that very reason, but—

Oh, she was still talking.

"Sorry," he interrupted, having caught none of it, "what were you saying?"

She rubbed an arm, embarrassed, her hand slipping under her sleeve to rub at her shoulder. "I...I was asking if we could pretend to date? He seemed so happy for me and I didn't want to disappoint him and neither of us are dating anyone—but if you're uncomfortable or you already like someone then I'll think of something else!"

Huh.

On one hand, it was charming in a way how much she wanted to please everyone, if a bit concerning, but he didn't miss the amusement of her talking about him "already liking someone" when she was the one he liked. Perhaps ironically, he might've even agreed to the proposa—suggestion if it hadn't been for that fact. He simply didn't have it in him to date her if it wasn't real.

"...I can't," he admitted reluctantly, as tempting as it might've been to say otherwise. Sliding his hands into his pockets, he frowned and explained, "It's not your fault, Marinette, and I'm not uncomfortable. I just couldn't fake date you."

She pursed her lips, disappointed but not upset with him. He looked away, feeling bad anyway but not so much to where it'd change his stance; it wouldn't be right. He would, however, be willing to help break the news to Jagged to make it a little easier for her, especially if his text was at all responsible for what happened.

The silence started to drag on. Luka debated on breaking it by asking her if she wanted to go somewhere or do something, but hesitated when he considered that it might seem insensitive after having just rejected her.

"Ah, then—!" Marinette, surprisingly, spoke up first, stepping forward and clutching Luka's forearms to get his attention back. "Then we'll real date! That's okay, right?"

His mouth fell open without a sound.

"I'm okay with it, and I'll take really good care of you! I've already been all over Paris, so I know all the best date spots, and I could always ask my parents where they like to go if we run out of ideas! So..."

She trailed off, the situation slowly dawning on the both of them. Luka's mind was still stuck somewhere at "I'm okay with it" and was making unsteady progress to get past it. The thought that the whole fake dating may have been a substitute for what she felt was the most she could get out of their relationship was something that'd have to come later.

Marinette's fingers twitched against his skin, then pulled away as her face flushed red. She couldn't look at him anymore, but her eyes were unable to decide on anything interesting enough to focus on. One foot shifted against the ground, and he realized what it meant before anything actually happened.

"Wait."

He reached out to grab her wrist, but it was too late. Marinette turned and bolted, leading into a full-on chase as he ran after her. If he'd had his bike then he could've caught up to her easily, but as things were, he was just barely keeping pace with her.

The problem was that he wasn't really a runner, and he knew without having seen it himself that Marinette had all sorts of experiences getting away from awkward situations or going somewhere in a hurry. Out of all the people he'd ever met that he could've fallen in love with...

She sped down the sidewalk, nearly bumping into someone on the way, then turned a corner. Luka followed, smoothly slipping past the same someone, but his eyes never left his destination. As he took the same bend that Marinette did, he caught sight of her just as she ducked between two buildings.

He hurried to go after her, only to find when he reached the alley that she'd seemingly disappeared. He looked left, right, then around the sidewalk he'd stood on in case his eyes had played a trick on him, but he couldn't see her anywhere.

A noise from somewhere up on the rooftops caught his attention. He stepped back as far as he could without tripping onto the road, eyes scanning the sky just in time to catch Ladybug throwing her yoyo out and swinging off into the distance.

Face slightly flushed, not entirely from the exertion, Luka snorted and put a hand to his mouth, his other hand feeling the phone in his pocket. He resolved to talk to her later when they both had cooled off, but it didn't stop the song that desperately wanted to be sung playing up a storm in his chest.

That's cheating, Marinette, he thought affectionately.

[artzychic27]

I was bored a while back and made the MLB characters using the Black OC maker on Picrew

Marinette: Proud to be Blasian, still tense when she gets weird looks/Dyed her hair because she wanted to be Coraline for Halloween, now she just likes the color

Adrien: Black mom, white dad, identity crisis/Gabriel’s still a dick and wants Adrien to be a “Good Black.”/Usually always on the receiving end of light skin jokes

Alya: The same, just with bigger hair/The Queen of Hoop Earrings/One TikTok account for general stuff, the other just to post videos of her and her friends dancing and stepping

Nino: Undoing Gabriel’s influence on his bro and helping him embrace his blackness/You did NOT hear him listening to Robin Thicke/Starts every Shabooya Roll Call

Chloé: Bad and bougie/Identity crisis on a count of she was adopted as a baby to make her white parents look good/Will only let Marc and Juleka style her hair

Sabrina: Only knows English because she listens to Megan Thee Stallion religiously/Scarily good at break dancing

Juleka: So goth, she was born black/Favorite movies in order: Get Out, Candyman, The Blackening, Us, Karen, and Ma/A pro at doing hair

Rose: Will punt you if you make a “Not Black enough” comment/Not fond of how hospitals treat black patients. She’s had first-hand experience, and it wasn’t great/Excited for the Tiana series

Luka: Doesn’t say much, but when he does, it’s insightful as hell/He can’t see, but it adds to the mystery, so he keeps his hair like that/Imagine Johan from Black-ish

Nathaniel: Black Panther, Storm, Spider Man, Cyborg, Vixen, Bumble Bee, and Static Shock comics lining his shelves/The definition of Blerd/Surprisingly good at stepping

Alix: “Scar twins!” “But your scar is-“ “Shut up! Scar twins!”/Classroom solidarity by shielding her from others when her hijab slips off/She and Nath tag the city by putting stickers with images of historical women of color everywhere

Marc: He’s the one braiding his classmates’ hair/Hates how black people are written in most shows and movies/Scarily good at rapping. Do NOT try to challenge him to a rap battle, you will be humiliated

Kim: Always swimming, so he constantly has his hair braided or in twists/“Yes, I’m black and I can swim.”/Worships Beyoncé in his spare time

Max: The same, but with vitiligo and a fancy tie/Not selling the patents for any of his inventions. He’s not risking any companies purposely leaving out that he’s the brilliant mind behind any of them

Lila: She will never lie about Oprah. That’s where she crosses the line/Competing for Alya's title as Queen of Hoop Earrings

Ivan: You know those videos where the white baby leans over to see what the black guy is watching on his phone and then holds his hand? He’s the black guy/Worried about looking too "threatening"

Myléne: Constantly promoting black-owned businesses on her socials/Most likely to lead a protest/HATES Rachel Dolezal… Actually, they all hate her

[wisteriasymphony]

A little something based on @dreamer-in-a-far-away-land 's post about a self-aware miraculous au! :) I think it'd only be natural that, if they figured this out, our lovely duo would try and find a way around it....

The knowledge that Marinette was Ladybug was something that, by design... Adrien had no reaction to. He hadn't been given a reaction yet, so he thought. The event hadn't yet been written. ...The Epicurean paradox states that, given the presence of evil, either God is not all-powerful or all-good: Though he now believes whatever pulls the strings must be neither, the fact that him and Marinette have kept such a profane secret for this long is testament enough that God's watch is finite.

He looks around, the streetlamps glowing with an orange light that reveals no shadows. This far out into the city, there are no doors and there are no windows. Streets end (or begin?) in perfectly straight lines, and he's stood in places where his feet can reach the sky below them. To step off the ledge is to fall for longer than he has ever lived. It's a boring suicide, and so he quit the habit.

"You have the ring?" Marinette asks him. To ease her anxious mind, she never wears her pigtails at night ("What do you think would look more like... 'me'?" she's asked him, as Ladybug, many nights before. He never knew the answer.). She hopes it's harder to recognize her that way.

Adrien nods, taking the hexagonal box out of his back pocket. The engraved lid of the wooden box is merely a trick of the light, as when Adrien passes his hands over its surface it is the same uncanny smooth as everything he's ever felt.

He licks his bottom lip, feeling a cold against his face that isn't there. "You have the earrings?"

Marinette takes out the same exact box from her jacket pocket, thumbs brushing up against the box's sides. She's so clever, infinitely clever, and yet it's always on the brink of trying something that she gets a chilling anxiety that transforms her into another person entirely. Adrien couldn't say whether this is or is not the 'real her', because that would mean deciding a 'real him'. He wants to believe that the girl he fell in love with, through act of God or otherwise, will keep that bravery and cleverness.

They swap boxes silently, exchanging wishes of good luck through their gazes. Adrien turns away to get home before sunrise, confident in the plan, before Marinette's hand pulls him back.

"Wait!" she whispers. "...I still have the earrings."

Adrien flips upon the box he knows for a fact Marinette just traded him, and sees his own miraculous inside.

They stop for a moment, and the silence around the outskirts of the city that once gave them comfort has now become haunting.

Marinette's brows are furrowed, but she insists they try again. The boxes are traded once more, then opened: Marinette has the earrings. Adrien has the ring.

"We can't... We can't give them up... I thought that wasn't written, it's... No, we've traded them before, there's no way..."

Marinette drops her box, fingers raking through her hair as she hyperventilates. Not bringing the Ladybug to a fight—Impossible. Permanently handing over the miracle box to Alya—Impossible. Luka is gone because of things she told him, Chloe is gone because of things she told her, and the more times she tries and tries and tries leads to people "moving" or "catching flights" or just not telling her why they leave entirely. Marinette can't even reach Socqueline anymore, and the number she spent her first year in middle school memorizing now only leads to static on the other end of the phone. There's nothing to do about it, nothing at all!

"Marinette, it's okay," Adrien spoke calmly, bending down to pick up the earrings-box. "We just need to keep trying. I believe in you."

For a moment, two rings of the Black Cat Miraculous are in Adrien's hands.

...Adrien neglects to tell her this, fearing it would only worry her further. Juggling both boxes in one palm, Adrien takes Marinette's hand in his, interlocking their fingers.

"I know y... I know we're going to find a way out of this, Ladybug. We have to."

"We don't even know what we're fighting, Adrien!"

"Tomorrow, don't use your lucky charm. Don't do anything that your gut tells you to," he says. "If anyone has a chance at surviving that, it's you."

"...And what are you going to do?"

Adrien smiles, handing her one of the boxes. "Tomorrow, I'm just going to follow you, like I always have," he assures her. "We'll figure it out from there."

[flightfoot]

Miraculous Halloween Fic Recs

It's Halloween, so I figured that people might be in the mood for some spooky, supernatural, or just plain Halloween-related fics! All of these are complete.

--

Herbs And Steam by @liiinerle

Juleka le Flor Blef, nature witch from near the forest of Couffaine, arrives at Eiffel Castle so she can partake in the Queen's Trials - a contest to determine the strongest witch in all of France. She wants to prove the strength of her magic, but when she arrives, her attention is quickly distracted by two very interesting women: Kagami, the princess, who seems to act nothing like a princess should; and Marinette, the blacksmith, who has created a magic all her own through metal, steam, and ingenuity. Juleka is immediately besotted with both of them, and needs to work extra hard to focus on her magic. Juleka also soon becomes aware that there is stronger magic at Eiffel castle than she had expected. For one thing, there's a tree in the courtyard put there years ago by a witch whose powers seem to surpass hers; for another, there's Alya la Pluvie Versaunt, who must be the most powerful mage Juleka has ever met...

Unusual poly here, there aren't a lot of Juleka/Kagami/Marinette fics! I love the world here, getting to see all these different witches honing their craft, and Juleka making friends with many of them - though especially the nonwitches Kagami and Marinette, of course XD. If you like some femslash or a good fantasy AU, this fic should scratch that itch!

---

Soul Seeker by hislittlelady

After a shooting on her 6th birthday, Marinette Dupain-Cheng died. She was brought to the afterlife by her grandmother. She was content. Until the paramedics did their jobs and suddenly she wasn’t dead anymore. Waking up to find that half of her soul had remained tethered to the afterlife, allowing her the ability to see things others can’t, Marinette grows up an outcast. It isn’t until she moves in with her only friend, a detective she’s known since preschool, that she finds her purpose, solving his harder cases with the help of her spiritual connections. Three years later, she’s thriving. Her own business, two best friends, a K-9 drop out as a companion- life couldn’t get better. Until she meets Chat. A ghost with amnesia and a mask to match, Chat isn’t sure what he needs to move on to the afterlife (and, considering he’s stuck around for another three years, he doesn’t seem in all that much of a hurry to figure it out either!) When Amelie Agreste, a socialite from out of town, comes to Marinette for help locating her missing nephew, Marinette knows her career and her life will be on the line. But even a murderer intent on silencing her forever can’t keep Marinette from seeking the truth.

This is a really fun detective story. You can probably guess one or two of the major twists (not counting the twist of "Adrien is Chat Noir" which I certainly HOPE isn't a spoiler to anyone reading this), but that doesn't make it any less satisfying, especially with how Marinette's and Chat's relationship is developed. Or well, what interactions we see from them, since they've known each other for years by the time the story starts. I adore the "my friend is a ghost" trope, and the identity shenanigans and mystery around what actually happened to Adrien kept me wondering.

It's an M-rated fic, which I'm guessing is mostly due to an attempted sexual assault at one point in the story, though it doesn't get very far before it's stopped. I also want to warn Luka fans that he's not shown in the best light in this fic, though it's not too extreme.

---

Through Yellow Eyes by @echo-has-queries

"Nooroo bleeds and Paris drowns in his blood." The day of the Blight, Paris bore witness to a horror too grand to comprehend. Only Chloé Bourgeois bore witness to a miracle. Marinette, Alya and the rest of Paris will need more than faith in Gimmi to survive. As the city's sanity hangs by a thread, bodies, minds, and souls are traded with the unknown in order to hold on to the things they each treasure most. Written for the AU Roulette Challenge 2024 with the prompt: Cosmic Horror AU

If you like Cosmic Horror (Lovecraftian I think? Though this isn't really my wheelhouse), then this is the story for you! I love seeing how Paris copes with the madness seeping through its streets, somehow going about daily life despite it all.

Kwamis here are more inhuman, more separated from humanity. There's no cute little miniature form to help bridge the gap. While humans can still meld with kwami, it's not all quite as firmly in the human's control as it normally is, and the side effects are worse. It doesn't help that the kwamis can't fully understand squishy little humans' wants, needs, or morality.

Like, as Ladybug, Marinette can't remember her human name, and her human concerns are somewhat muted. While as Marinette, she can't remember certain aspects of her time as Ladybug, and only regains those memories when she transforms again. She also has to be careful about restoring everything, as she can't just give Tikki a cookie and call it a day. Instead, she herself needs to eat enough to compensate for the lost energy, which can be a substantial portion of the goods in her parents' bakery.

As for Adrien... well, this is still going off of Sentimonster Adrien, though the ritual to create him went differently... and went wrong. But he is still Adrien.

Chloe's interesting as well, she's this sort of priest, this missionary for the kwamis, but her methods are... well, not the best. She still has a bunch of her canonical hangups, even though she IS somewhat helpful.

I love Alya in here, she's just desperately trying to figure out what's going on so that she can try to fix it, especially since Nino's one of the people who's been driven mad by the Blight. She does find some answers, and even ends up being partially responsible for Ladybug's creation and Chat's and Ladybug's subsequent fight against the worst effects of the Blight, but the risks, danger, and side effects she suffers are still significant. Though some of those side effects can be used to her advantage.

Anyway, I really enjoyed this AU and thought it was an interesting take on the subject, I highly recommend checking it out!

---

Centuries Overdue by @rosie-b

Long ago, an evil Darkness spread across Europe, claiming the lives of many in the magic community. Trained by Plagg himself, Adrien made it his mission to stop the Darkness before it snuffed out the lives of more Mages and Talents, as it did to his own parents. Though he seemed to succeed in his mission, the pages of his old journals tell a different tale. In the modern world, Marinette is a fashion student, working at a small library for the summer to earn extra credit. She’s never believed in magic before, but when she finds the old Agreste journals in her library, her beliefs about reality begin to crumble. Determined to find the truth, both about magic and the unsolved death of one Adrien Agreste, Marinette begins on a journey that will eventually lead her deep into the city’s catacombs, where an ancient force sleeps, but is ready to awaken once more…

If you want a nice Magic AU, this is your jam! I slowly became more invested with Adrien's fate as Marinette did, and I loved seeing bits of this magic society. And of course, Adrien and Marinette always find their way to each other, even if Marinette happens to be a few centuries overdue.

---

the monster who loves you by @purplecatghostposts

Mum nods, clapping her hands together. “Your brother is finally feeling better and is coming home today! Isn’t that so exciting?” Félix pauses mid-bite, processing her words. Mum waits expectantly, as if expecting him to jump for joy, or his equivalent of it. But… Félix doesn’t have a brother. (Or Félix’s brother is a monster, but only in the most literal sense. Félix’s father is a monster despite being very, very human. He learns to navigate the world through these two truths.)

I loved how this story emphasized the differences between different kinds of monsters - the type who inhabit horror stories, who look terrifying, and the mundane, human sorts of monsters who are often the most dangerous. And how monsters can choose to act humanely, while humans can choose to act monstrously.

---

See This Chance by @19thsentry-blog

Luka died in 2016. Yep. Crushed by the Arc de Triumph when Mayura’s Robustus slammed into it. It was kind of a big deal, but once you’re dead, you’re dead—especially when there’s no Lucky Charm to bring you back. Luka’s been dealing with it in the typical ways. Written for FeLuka week 2023.

Yes, this is FeLuka. Not one of the typical ships I read, but I ain’t opposed to it, and this is a nice foray into the pairing. I love ghost AUs! Luka’s just fumbling around, unsure what to do with his incorporeal existence, until he starts haunting Felix. It’s an intriguing plot and I gotta admit, I wish it was longer so it could be fleshed out more, but what’s here is good.

---

Attack of the Crystal Zombies by @trainsinanime

Kagami had spent more and more time hanging out with Zoé, talking about things like families, expectations and crushes on Marinette. It was only natural, probably, that she would help Zoé practice flirting. That was definitely a great idea. Granted, the deadly Akuma battle around them was a bit of an issue…

Quality Zoegami fic here! I loved how Kagami kept thinking she was bad at flirting, but it was sure working on Zoe XD. The akuma attack going on around them, interweaving with their conversation, added a bit of spice to the whole affair!

---

Anchor by @liiinerle

“Marinette. Please take that sabre out of your neck.” “Right. Thanks. I forgot it was there.” She grabbed hold of the guard and pulled; the blade slid out like it had only been run through butter. After dropping it on the floor, she picked up one of the teacups and picked up a biscuit from a tin she’d brought in; she placed the biscuit on the saucer plate and handed the whole thing to Kagami, who could only really resign herself to accepting it. —– Marinette has raised Kagami from the dead, and also happens to be dead herself. It turns out some bad choices were made in the past. But that doesn’t mean they’ll lead to bad outcomes for them now.

I love this, Marinette’s incredibly blase about being a zombie - which makes sense, given how long she’s had to get used to the idea. And she’s waited so long, tried so hard to bring Kagami back as well, though if she didn’t WANT to be back, she’d accede to that request. Luckily, Kagami doesn’t seem to mind as long as she’s with Marinette XD.

---

delicate in every way but one by katrinette

When Marinette finds a wanted ad that provokes just enough questions in her mind that she can’t help answering it, the reward is sweeter than she could have imagined.

I love the little bit of worldbuilding we get here about vampire society, and Adrien’s usual awkward adorableness in asking Marinette for a certain necessary favor. It’s always neat to see such familiar characterization in a supernatural setting like this.

---

How Marinette Learned to Stop Worrying And Love The Ball by @rosie-b

Hidden from the crowds thronging around the busy fairy portal in Paris’s town square, a fae gate sits at the edge of the forest, locked, rusty, and full of ancient magic. Marinette thinks that this abandoned gate must not work anymore… but one day, a fairy disguised as a black cat steps through it.

Ah, Fantasy Soulmate AUs, my beloved XD. This ain’t the only one of this fic type I’m gonna be recommending. This is just a cute fluff fic without much strife. I love Marinette and Chat Noir being able to be childhood friends via his visits, even if he has to pretend to be her cat whenever he comes over, and I ESPECIALLY adore Alya being his chaperone and quickly becoming friends with Marinette in her own right. It ain’t a complicated plot, but it is a nice and warm fic.

---

a winter so warm by @rosekasa

winters were hard for even the best of vampires, but at least adrien had marinette to keep him warm with her cuddles. december was going to suck without her. so it was only to be expected to get extra cuddles in before she left, right? (well, not really, considering those heating supplements he was taking, but she didn’t need to know about that).

This one’s mostly just cute cuddly adorableness! It’s basically like all those “Marinette gets the Ladybug trait of needing to cuddle up to someone for warmth”, but with Adrien instead. And of course featuring Marinette being a very talented witch who just wants to help Adrien stay warm when she isn’t there XD.

---

Stitched Together by @nedjsmlfavs

Stitch Witch Marinette was just supposed to be having a nice, terrifying outing with her best friends. She never expected to find a magically trapped kitten, but here we are! Whatever happened to this poor little guy?

Poor Adrien, being transformed and chained up for ages, having no idea that he was gonna be rescued. But at least he got to have fun at Marinette’s place as a cat! 

Most of this fic is adorable, though with some dark undertones lying in wait. After all, SOMEONE chained up that poor little kitty…

---

I Put A Spell On You by dazaimaru

Friday, October 25. 6 days until Halloween.

It’s their first high school Halloween dance, and Marinette and Adrien are ready to throw on some non-superhero costumes for once--that is, until an akumatized witch spoils the party and threatens to reveal what lies underneath everyone’s disguise.

With Hawkmoth taking full advantage of the spooky season, the days leading up to Halloween are certainly going to be thrilling! Especially considering Marinette’s growing feelings for a certain black cat…

This one’s mostly just some really cute Lovesquare shenanigans around Halloween, with some really fun sequences like Marinette and Adrien getting body-swapped and Marinette temporarily becoming a vampire (and also Marinette repeatedly stunning Adrien with her outfits. I was just waiting for him to pass out from blood loss from a nosebleed).

---

don't you worry child by @mexicancat-girl

Marc and Nathaniel have a good life, married and living together in a cottage in the woods. But they consider having children at some point. Marc in particular really wants to start a family with his husband. He knows the fey are real, so he goes searching in the woods to find one to strike a deal. He may get a bit more than he bargained for in the process.

This is based on a tumblr post that’s been going around, which I think a lot of people will recognize as they continue going through the story. That post is credited at the end of the fic, so as not to spoil the plot.

---

The Convention by Peppermint_Shamrock

“Oh, sure, when Ladybug comes up with unusual solutions, it’s “clever” and “inspiring”. But when I do it, it’s “oh no” and “you’re going to get us all killed, Marinette”,” she grumbled. “At least Adrien believes in me.” When an Akuma rages through a comic convention, everyone is forcibly transformed into their own cosplays. Unable to transform into Ladybug, Marinette has no choice but to fight as a civilian alongside her friends. At least she was dressed as her partner. Written for Miraculous Spooktober Day 5 Prompt - Costume Party

---

Ghost of You by its_just_lori

It finally happened. The akuma attacked at the wrong time. They weren't prepared. For the first time, there was a casualty. Someone was killed. Marinette didn't care that her identity was exposed to the world; she couldn't stop blaming herself for what happened. If only she'd been ready... if only she'd done more... There's nothing for Adrien to say. There's nothing he can do other than stay by her side and help her through this pain.

---

The Pink Lady: Marichat May 2018 by @seasonofthegeek

In this story, Chat Noir, Carapace, Rena Rouge, Queen B, and Paon are the heroes of Paris. The Ladybug Miraculous has been lost for almost a century and it takes all of their combined power to cleanse akumas sometimes but they’ve found something that works since they don’t have another option. Hawkmoth is one of their villains, but not the only one plaguing Paris. Chat Noir happens upon an old hotel one night on patrol and discovers something and someone he didn't expect.

[ilikekidsshows]

Hello. :)

Can I asked for your opinion? I've talked with some of my friends and they said ladybug miraculous is exclusively a leader miraculous while I think it's more strategy related miraculous, not necessarily a sign of a leader, just like the snake.

This discussion is started when I want to write a story about Adrien take over as a leader of the miraculous team after Marinette got vetoed as a not good leader by the team (the story take place three years after s5 finale and they're all adults, Adrien also take times to heal and not Marinette boyfriend). so while she remain as a guardian and strategist, Adrien will be the one leading the team and my friends said it won't work because of the reason that I stated above.

I've seen some example where the leader and the strategist are two different people that's why I think it will work, that ladybug miraculous isn't an exclusive leader miraculous. What do you think? I'm confused because while I was pretty confident before about my opinion that any holder can be the leader, my friends keep saying the same thing that only ladybug holder can lead because the lucky charm ability and it make me doubt myself now.

Thank you and take care.

---

You are absolutely correct, the fact that you can find examples of the team strategist and team leader being two different people with the team still functioning proves it. Your friend has simply fallen into the trap of thinking that, since one thing is what we mostly see, it's therefore the only way to do things. The team leader and the strategist being interchangeable is what we more commonly see, which is why I, too, used to think Marinette's strategic thinking made her a good leader back during the pretool era.

Furthermore, the Lucky Charm ability is not what makes the Ladybug hero indispensable, since Luka has also shown that he can strategize with the Snake Miraculous, it's the Miraculous Ladybug and purification abilities. The reason Marinette is the most important member of the team is because only she can purify Akumas and fix the damage caused by any fights. Basically, Marinette has three times the amount of abilities any other Miraculous, outside of the Dragon.

Regardless, post-retool Marinette has repeatedly failed at everything else a leader should do outside of strategy. What Miraculous she's holding can't change that. Who cares that you can purify Akumas when you lead your team like a dictatorship and are inconsistent with what the rules that you yourself alone enforce are? That's extremely stressful for the team members. Who cares that you can fix the buildings after the fight when you play favorites on your team and never listen to any dissenting opinions even when they're absolutely correct? This tendency has caused problems that could have been avoided if Marinette just stopped viewing her teammates as drones.

Her go-to tactic in a fight is “keep my distance and think of a plan while others actually fight the Akuma”, which makes it obvious she should be more of a strategist instead of a front-lines leader. But, I’ve even grown disillusioned with Marinette's strategic ability. It's one thing to, in a desperate situation, after deep deliberation, make the sacrifice play, to sacrifice something or someone else so that more can be saved. Even with the Miraculous Ladybug ability, Marinette treats sacrifice plays extremely casually and she's very willing to make them when they're her idea. Way too often, Marinette comes up with a convoluted plan that can still be summed up as “sacrifice Cat Noir and fix him with my Miraculous Ladybug later”. Backwarder is the most obvious example, but whatever she was doing to him in Reverser is pretty up there too, never mind how casually she leaves him as the sole cambatant every single time she's getting backup and whenever she's busy implementing a plan. Way too many of Marinette's plans rely on having Cat Noir do most of the heavy lifting for her to sacrifice his well-being so casually even from a logical perspective.

Frankly, the only reason to argue that Marinette should still remain the leader after all this is if you want her to keep doing a bad job or shield her from criticism. Like, her tendency to treat Cat Noir as expendable cannon fodder would be brought to question by everyone on the team if Cat Noir was the leader instead of one of her drones. Marinette's standard for leadership can only be maintained in a team where only she's allowed to do any of the thinking, with everyone else going “Well, she's Ladybug, and she can do no wrong”. If she loses this cover, she's far more likely to get called out on her willingness to sacrifice anything or anyone but herself.

Meanwhile, Cat Noir brings a lot more to the table as a potential leader. He’s friendly to new team members even when he doesn't pick them (contrast how these two greet Volpina, who they had no reason to be suspicious of the time), he considers how their team members might be feeling (even when they aren't on the team anymore like Chloé) and he's concerned over things like having consistent rules for everyone on the team instead of playing favorites for his favorite team members (he was appalled when the found out Nino and Alya were being held to a lower standard than anyone else even though Nino is his best friend). He’s also far more open to perspectives other than his own and he'd never hold others to standards he doesn't also hold himself to.

[luckych4rm]

• DISCLAIMER •

•None of these characters belong to me•

i hope you guys like it i am still waiting for some requests xoxo

(MarinettexLuka fluff)

♥️Movie Night♥️

Marinette is feeling nervous. Its the first time she and Luka have been alone at her house since they started dating, because her parents are out of town. Luka arrives at the door, smiling as he sees her. "Hi gorgeous i brought some snacks" he says

Marinette blushes at the compliment. "You're too sweet," she says. "Come on in."

She leads him inside, Luka looks around at the house. "So, what movie are we watching?" he asks.

"I don't know, I figured we'd pick something out together," Marinette says. She sits down on the couch, patting the spot next to her. Luka smiles and sits down next to her. They scroll through the movie selection on the TV, debating what to watch.

"Have you seen the proposal?" Marinette says with a smile

"No, I haven't. That the one with Sandra Bullock?" Luka says.

"Yeah and the guy who plays deadpool" she adds

"Ohh, Ryan Reynolds," Luka says, leaning back on the couch. "I love that guy. Let's watch it then."

They start watching, and Marinette curls up next to Luka. After a few scenes, Luka puts his arm around her. As they watch, Marinette can't help but notice how comfortable and natural it feels to be near Luka. She glances up at him, taking in his handsome features and the way his arm feels around her shoulders.

"Oh god he is naked dont look" he says playfully covering her eyes

Marinette laughs and bats his hand away. "I've seen this movie before, you know," she says with a grin.

"Oh yeah? You naughty thing," he teases, poking her in the side.

She giggles and swats at his hand. "Stop it!" she says, but she's not really trying to get away.

They continue watching the movie, laughing and making jokes together. Eventually the movie comes to an end

"That was a good one," Luka says as the credits roll. He looks down at Marinette, who is still cuddled up against him.

"Right? I miss when they used to make movies like that Marinette says getting up from the couch and going to the kitchen

Luka gets up and follows her, leaning against the counter. "Yeah, they really don't make them like that anymore" he says as he grabs a grape and eats it.

Marinette opens the fridge and grabs a bottle of water. She hands it to Luka before grabbing one for herself. "do you have a favorite romantic movie?" she asks

He thinks for a moment, tapping the bottle against his chin. "does forest gump count as a romantic movie? i mean there is a love story"

"I guess it does count," she sayy and then sips some water

"what about you? what's your favorite romantic movie?" Luka asks her.

"Oh definitely Mamma Mia is also a musical and i love it so much" she says with a big smile on her face

"Oh wait is that the one with abba songs?" Luka says

"Yes!! Do you like abba?" Marinette answers

Luka grins, "of course i do! who doesn't like abba!" He feds her a grape

She laughs and takes the grape, popping it into her mouth. "yes they are a classic" she says as she nibbles on the grape

"I think my mom has some CDs of their hits, somewhere, " he says. "but I remember the first time I heard them was the moulin rouge soundtrack" "Uh i havent seen that one, we should watch it" she says

"oh yes, thats a good one! a very good one actually" he says. "but you have to promise to watch it with an open mind, because its a little weird" "oh alright," she says, raising an eyebrow playfully. "I'm still gonna make fun of you if its too weird though."

"yeah, yeah I know you will" he grins. "but trust me, its worth it."

There is a moment of silence

"Come on lets go to my balcony" she says changing the subject

"Lead the way," he says as he follows her out to the balcony.

The warm breeze feels nice on their skin as they step onto the balcony. The stars are shining brightly, and they can hear the sound of crickets in the distance.

"it's beautiful out here," Luka says, looking up at the night sky. "i love the stars"

"me too, they sparkle so pretty" Marinette says, looking up at the stars with him.

They stand there in silence for a moment, enjoying the scenery. Then Luka looks over at Marinette, and their eyes meet.

They continue standing there, looking at each other. Finally, Luka breaks the silence, speaking softly. "you're so beautiful, you know that?"

Marinettes cheeks flush with color. "oh really? " she says, her voice barely above a whisper.

"mmhmm," he says, taking a step closer to her. "absolutely gorgeous."

Her heart skips a beat as he moves closer. She can feel his breath on her face, and the heat from his body so close to hers.

He reaches out and gently brushes a strand of hair away from her face. His fingers linger on her cheek, his touch sending a shiver down her spine.

Her eyes lock with his, and time seems to stand still. The world around them dissolves away, leaving only the two of them. "So?" she says with a grin

"so what?" he says with a smile, leaning in even closer to her.

"so, are you gonna actually kiss me?" she says

Luka laughs softly, his lips barely an inch from hers. "oh, you're impatient, aren't you?" She smiles at him as an answer before Luka finally closes the gap between them. He kisses her gently, almost tentatively at first, but as the kiss deepens he wraps his arms around her waist, pulling her against him. Marinette's body responds instinctively, her arms wrapping around his neck as she kisses him back.

They stay like that for a moment, lost in their embrace. Finally they break apart, but they stay close to each other, their foreheads resting against each other.

"that was nice," Luka says, his voice low and husky.

"Oh my god you just did not said that" she said laughing

"what, you don't like 'nice'?" he says, laughing.

she rolls her eyes playfully. "oh, no, 'nice' is just the kind of thing every girl wants to hear when a guy kisses her."

he grins, "well what would you prefer? 'hot'? 'amazing'? 'mindblowing'?"

"any of those would be better than 'nice'" she says, wrinkling her nose in mock disgust

he laughs, "well in that case, let me try again." he leans in and kisses her again, this time with more passion. shes unable to hold back a small smile as he kisses her. she melts into his embrace, her body molding against his.

they break apart again, both of them a little breathless. Lukas arms are still wrapped around her waist, holding her close.

"that was mindblowing" he says, a sly smile on his face.

she laughs a little. "see? was that so hard to say?"

he laughs. "not at all." he pulls her closer to him, resting his chin on top of her head as he hugs her.

"you know," Luka says softly, "I have a confession to make."

she looks up at him, her eyes curious. "yeah? whats that?" she says as she pulls apart and enters her room to lay on her bed .

he pauses for a moment, following her inside and laying next to her "when I first met you, i didn't think i'd ever have a chance with you."

"what do you mean?" she says, rolling over to face him. "why wouldn't Mr. Hot rockstar have a chance with me?"

he laughs. "hey, watch it, i'm trying to be serious here." he says as he points at her , with a slight blush on his cheeks. "I just... for a moment thought Adrien had a thing for you and i could never compite with him."

"Oh yeah a lot of people get that impression i dont know why" she says

"well, you guys seemed close" he says, shifting so he's on his side facing her. "and he has that whole prince charming vibe going on."

"he does, doesn't he?" she laughs a little. "He is such a nice guy and he suffers a lot, thats why i always want to keep him around you know to know that he is okay and all but he has always been just a friend " she says

Luka nods, watching her face closely. "I see." he says. "i guess I just had it in my head that if any guy was going to have a shot with you, it would be him."

"well, you were wrong," she says, grinning at him. "turns out it was gonna be some rock star with daddy issues, go figure."

"hey!" he says, pretending to be offended. "who said i had daddy issues?"

"yeah, yeah, yeah." he playfully pinches her side, making her yelp.

"hey!" she says, swatting his hand away. "don't make me start listing out all your issues. Jagged junior"

he laughs, but he doesn't deny it. "okay okay, you got me"

"that's what i thought" she says, poking him in the chest.

he grabs her hand, holding it against his chest. "so you fell in love with a rockstar, how lame" he says sarcasticly

"i know, really cliche, right?" she says, playing along with him.

"incredibly cliche" he says, still holding her hand. he slowly moves his thumb in small, gentle circles on her hand.

she watches his thumb moving, a small smile on her face. "what can i say, i have a thing for guys with guitars."

Then tikki and sass appear

"MARINETTE!"

they jump, startled by the interruption. "what? what is it?"

"oh i'm sorry" Tikki says, floating over to them. "we didnt want to sscare you guyss" Sass said

"no it's okay, it's okay," marinette says as she sits up, looking at the kwami. "what did you guys needed" she said giving tikki a pat on the head

"can we eat some croissants from downstairs? " tikki says "sass had never tried one"

Marinette looks at luka "You've never given him a croissant!?"

"I didnt even knew kwamis liked croissants" Luka says in surprise

"Oh we LOVE them" tikki says, her eyes wide with excitement. "They are sooooooo good"

"I mean, if i had known this i would have feed the little guy a croissant sooner"he says

"Of course Tikki, you both can have as many croissants as you want" marinette laughs

"Thank you Marinette"Sass and tikki cheer and then fly out the door, eager to get their hands on some pastries.

Marinette watches them go, then turns back to Luka. "Poor Sass what do you feed him?" she laughs a little

"well this," he says and he takes a small container out of his bag "but i'll have to start keeping some croissants on hand i guess"

"oh, what's that?" she says, looking at the container in his hand

he shakes it a little so she can hear the rattling sound inside. "Crickets thats his favorite snack"

Oh my god" she laughs "you have to go around carrying crickets on your bag thats so cute and disgusting "

he laughs and puts the container back in his bag. "yeah its not exactly the most convenient snack, but what can i say the little guy likes what he likes." he says.

"Well, i guess it could be worse." she says, still with a smile on her face.

"Yeah i'm scared one day he asks for a mouse" he laughs

Marinette shudders, imagining the sight of Sass munching on a wiggling mouse. "Oh god, let's hope it never comes to that."

"let's hope" he says as he chuckles a little. "i'll make sure to keep a bunch of croissants on hand, just in case."

"smart move," she says with a smile. then she suddenly yawns. "oh boy, i think i'm getting tired"

Luka looks at her, a sympathetic expression on his face. "yeah, its getting late." He says as he looks at the clock

she nods and another yawn escapes her. "yeah, " she says, rubbing her eyes

"well, i guess i should probably go then" he says, getting off the bed 

"oh, yeah i guess you have to go now" she says, a tinge of disappointment in her voice

"yeah" he says, feeling the same. He stands there, looking at her for a moment, not wanting to say goodbye.

there's a moment of silence between them, neither of them wanting to break the moment. and then, he speaks up. "i had a really nice time tonight"

she smiles at him, feeling a mix of happiness and sadness. "yeah, me too." she says, her voice soft.

he smiles back at her, hesitating for a moment before leaning down and gently kissing her forehead. "i'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

she nods, her heart fluttering in her chest. "yeah, okay. see you tomorrow"

he nods and gives her one last smile before turning and heading out. As soon as he leaves the room, a few secondspass and marinette fall back onto the bed, letting the mix of emotions wash over her. "What am doing" she rushes out of her room and down the steps, her heart beating faster and faster with each step. When she reaches the bottom of the stairs she sees Luka about to open the front door.

"Luka, wait" she calls out, her voice slightly breathless. he turns, looking at her in surprise. " is everything okay? "

She nods, walking towards him. "yeah, i just..." "yes?" he says, his eyes searching her face, trying to read what she's thinking

Marinette takes a deep breath, trying to find the words but instead of finishing her sentence with words, she reaches up and wraps her arms around his neck, pulling him into a tight hug.he smiles surprised by her sudden move, but the quickly wraps his arms around her, holding her close. "are you sure everything's okay?" He asks, his voice soft. she just nods, burying her face against his chest. they stand there in silence, holding each other tightly. finally she speaks, her voice muffled by his shirt. "please stay the night"

he pulls back and looks down at her, with a smile on his face. "really?" he says, his arms still around her. she nods, looking up at him with pleading eyes. "please," she says, her voice barely above a whisper. he looks at her, seeing the mix of emotions in her eyes. he can't resist her, and he slowly nods. "Oh you dont have to beg me love," he says softly. her heart skips a beat at his words, and she stands up on her toes to kiss his cheek, he laughs softly and pulls her closer to him, wrapping his arms around her waist. she melts into his embrace, feeling safe and warm. "c'mon, I'll lend you my Hello Kitty pajamas" she says, taking his hand and leading him up the stairs.

He laughs, letting her lead him up the stairs. "i cant wait to see what i look like" he says with a grin she grins back at him.

[kittypawcollective]

Choke on your words, but you swallow them faster

My entry for the @mlsecretsanta fic exchange for @thinkingaboutmiraculouslore

Hope you enjoy

Rated: G

Ladynoir & Marichat

Summary:

The next time he saw Ladybug was later that evening on patrol. They often found themselves on the Eiffel Tower when the city was quiet, and that was where they sat when Chat Noir found his mind trailing back to what Plagg had said like it had been all day.  “Hey, Milady? How do you… How do you know if you’re jealous?” Chat Noir starts, making Ladybug giggle. “I think you of all people should know about jealousy, Monsieur ‘I got someone akumatized because he showed romantic interest in the girl I liked’.” She teases, a smirk growing on her lips. Or, Adrien panics due to his jealousy, and Marinette has a mental breakdown.

link

Adrien shuts his car door, waving Gorilla goodbye. He walks up the stairs gripping the strap of his messenger bag, greeting Nino.

“Hey dude, the trailer for the new UMS game was released last night, I am so hyped . I heard there’s gonna be a new mech based on Carapace, and I am so maining him when it comes out.”

“Hopefully they keep ‘NAD03’, I’ve been practicing with him a bunch recently and it would be a shame for it to go to waste.” Adrien chuckles sheepishly. Nino cocks his head.

“Dude, you could beat anyone you wanted playing as the worst mechs, what do you mean ‘go to waste’?”

Adrien’s head perks up at the sound of Marinette’s voice, and Nino can’t hold back his grin.

“Aah, I guess not anyone .”

“Alya, help me. It’s like, he knows me, but he doesn’t know me. Or at least he doesn’t know he knows me. And he loves me, but he doesn’t know he loves me. Alya, please.”He hears Marinette whispering– er, trying to whisper.

“Who’s she talking about?” Adrien asks, looking back at Nino, whose grin is widening. 

“You know Alya doesn’t trust me with secrets anymore, dude. You could always ask Als’ yourself, I’m sure she’d love to know,” Nino replies, patting Adrien on the shoulder, “But, not right now. Right now, we gotta head to class.”

“I’ll catch up!” 

“Don’t take too long!” And Adrien was gone.

He turns and heads to the bathroom, mind racing. Once in a stall, he opens his shirt to let Plagg out.

“Plagg, is Marinette back together with Luka or something? And what did she mean by ‘he knows her but doesn't know her’? No one can keep anything from Luka, he can, like, look at you and know what you're feeling and when you're lying. I mean it makes sense why she would get back with him–” Plagg shuts him up with a loud yawn. Adrien looks up at the kwami with pleading eyes.

“How do you know she was talking about Luka? Are you jealous?” Plagg teases. Adrien just looks confused.

“Why would I? I mean Luka’s a cool guy and all, but I would never get with–”

“Oh my kwami. I think Master Fu made a mistake choosing you.” Adrien responds with an angry ‘Hey!’ , but it doesn't stop Plagg. “Jealous of Luka.”

Adrien was stunned, “Oh. I– Why would I– I can't be jealous of Luka! He’s my friend, I couldn’t…”

“Look, kid, just think about it. Just because you’re one-hundred percent, totally in love with Marinette, and super-duper, crazy jealous of Luka, doesn’t mean you have to do anything about it.” Plagg says, flying back into Adrien’s shirt.

Adrien clutches his bag strap and opens the stall door, moving on autopilot. He makes his way into class, sitting next to Nino who gives him a confused look, one Adrien doesn’t even process. He hears Alya making a joke to Marinette about her being earlier than someone for once and he lightly chuckles.

Mme Bustier continues on with her lecture, while Adrien continues thinking about what Plagg said. He knows Ladybug will know how to help. Much more than Plagg ever could.

The next time he saw Ladybug was later that evening on patrol. They often found themselves on the Eiffel Tower when the city was quiet, and that was where they sat when Chat Noir found his mind trailing back to what Plagg had said like it had been all day. 

“Hey, Milady? How do you… How do you know if you’re jealous?” Chat Noir starts, making Ladybug giggle.

“I think you of all people should know about jealousy, Monsieur ‘I got someone akumatized because he showed romantic interest in the girl I liked’.” She teases, a smirk growing on her lips.

“I– Okay fine, but this time’s different. She… is very cryptic, you have to decode her. With you, you were very obvious with your wording; you wouldn’t beat around the bush. Usually at least.” 

“Well, why do you think you’re jealous?” She was always patient with him when he didn’t understand his own emotions. She may not know the extent of the reason, but she didn’t need to, she just knew he needed to be listened to and understood.

“Um, heh, well, I overheard her talking to her friend about a guy. It was weird, though, she was, er, talking about how this guy ‘knew her, but didn’t know her’ . I thought it was… her ex, but I know him, and you can’t keep things from him, even if you wanted to.” A small glint appears in her eyes, and a smile toys on her face, urging him to continue, “So, I spoke to Plagg, and I wouldn’t usually take advice from him, but a broken claw -ck is right twice a day, right?”

Ladybug giggles at the pun, her pigtails lightly jumping with the movement. He was doing well enough to remember he was transformed and should make puns.

“That’s not to say he was helpful, he told me I was jealous and left to go eat cheese . I guess the clock’s still broken, even if it’s right.” He chuckles, lifting his cheek off his knee to look at her properly.

“Tikki’s never any better with love advice. If anything she’s worse . She tells me ‘I can’t help you, kwami’s don’t fall in love’ or ‘human love rituals are so weird, anyway here’s a necklace made from hair and spit’. Don’t tell her I said that.” She giggles, cupping her earrings as if to cover Tikki’s ears. 

“Don’t worry, I’m sure if Plagg knew I compared him to a broken clock, he would demand the ‘best goat cheese in all of France’.” He jokes, mimicking Plagg’s voice at the end, putting his fists on his hips in mock annoyance. 

As their laughter dies down, Ladybug goes back to their original topic, “Well, Plagg could be onto something. Not about the cheese, that’s just… eugh. But about your jealousy, when ‘mystery girl’ was dating ‘mystery boy’, do you remember how you felt about it? Whether it be him, her, or their relationship.”

“Well, I had a girlfriend at the time, so I don’t think I would’ve let myself think too heavily about her. I did ask her to come with me to my first date with my girlfriend.” He drops his head into his leg, before looking back up at her. “I didn’t lie to her to get her to go on a date with me. Not that you– Nevermind. But I won’t say I wasn’t a little bit upset when she brought ‘mystery boy’ to our… was it a double date?” He catches Ladybug turning pink, but chalks it up to the light breeze, “I guess I chalked it up to him being cooler than me. He was better at talking to girls than me, which I’m sure sounds strange coming from Chat Noir . But as a civilian I am a loser. ” He laughs, not hiding his self-deprecating tone.

“Okay, even if you were a loser, – which I highly doubt by the way, you’re more of a dork – what makes you think ‘mystery boy’ isn’t? Or even ‘mystery girl’ herself! What if she was a big fan of ‘losers’?” 

 “Well, I know ‘mystery boy’ isn’t a loser, he’s the best musician I know, he knows how to make people comfortable, he can read what others are thinking and feeling at a single glance. I can’t even understand what I’m feeling half the time. That’s not– That wasn’t too much information, was it?” While he’s saying it, he curls in on himself further. He sees Ladybug’s smile falter slightly at the last sentence, but she quickly composes herself.

“Um, no! No, you’re fine,” She stutters, rubbing her gloved palms against her thighs, clearly out of habit. “You– You struggling with your emotions is, um– it’s pretty normal. Most of the time I don’t know what I’m feeling.” 

He looks stunned at her words, “You never seem to struggle with figuring out what I’m feeling, though?”

“I guess figuring out other’s emotions has always been easier. As a civilian, I always trip over myself, jumble my words together, and I have a friend similar to ‘mystery boy’, and they’ve always struggled with figuring me out.” She says, eyes not quite meeting his, hers slightly glossy, “And that’s not for a lack of trying, they tried so hard. But, while a lot of people seem to think I dish my emotions out on a silver platter, that I put my heart on my sleeve, nobody’s been able to read me properly. I’ve never felt that anyone understood what I meant when I say that I can’t understand my emotions, they all think it’s obvious, but then I met you.

“I guess it’s easier to understand what I mean when you’re in the same situation. It hasn’t gotten easier since getting my miraculous, y’know, hiding even more from the people I love than they think. I– Sorry, I’ve made this all about myself. Um, maybe you should talk to her about it, I think you’ll be surprised.” She stammers, twisting her hair in her fingers.

“Thanks, Milady, I think I will. We should probably get home now, your family might want you for dinner soon.” Sadness fills her gaze at his words. He stands up, Ladybug looking now up at him.

“Thank you for opening up to me, and well, letting me .” He smiles, and before he can leave, she pulls him in for a hug, “Goodnight, Chaton.”

“Goodnight, Milady.” He whispers into her hair. They pull apart and he watches her shoot off in the direction of the bakery. Waiting until she was out of sight, he lept off in the same direction.

Chat Noir soon lands on Marinette’s balcony, not sure whether to knock or not. He doesn’t have to think too hard, as she opens her skylight to greet him.

“Hey, Chat! I heard you land on my balcony,” She chuckles, climbing up onto the roof, she gives him a gentle smile with a slight head tilt that makes his cheeks grow warm. “Is there anything I can help you with?”

“Oh! Um, hello, Marinette! I just, um, want to talk to you. It’s not anything bad! I hope, at least.” 

“Well, it must be important, you forgot to call me by my full name,” She jokes, sensing his discomfort and trying to lighten the mood.

Chat Noir starts spluttering, face quickly reddening, “Right, I usually do that, don’t I?” He shoves his head in his hands. He sees Marinette rubbing her palms against her thighs, and he feels a sense of familiarity in the action. He looks up into her eyes and–

“Chat?” She takes his hands into hers, his mind malfunctioning. She repeats his name once more, his mind rebooting.

“Hm? Oh, right, heh. Oh kwamis, I don’t know how to ask you this without jeopardising my identity… I–” He notices a similar glint in Marinette’s eyes as Ladybug’s, although this one is much more glazed over; much sadder. Almost like a switch was flipped. “Marinette?”

“I need to tell you something. Er, two things.” She’s looked away by now, “I wish this could wait, I thought it could. I, um, I’m pretty sure I know what you’re going to tell me.”

Panic rises in his chest, “How do you–”

“Because you’ve already told me, Adrien.” Tears are already streaming down her face, and he can’t fully process her words until his brain has left ‘Protect Marinette Mode’. He scoops her up and brings her down the skylight and onto her bed, “Alya knew it wouldn’t end well if I didn’t tell you I knew, I thought that if I helped you talk to the girl you liked, it would make it easier to tell you that I knew who you were. You’d be happy enough with someone else, so you wouldn’t be worried about me anymore. Then I found out you’d fallen for me again, I didn’t know what to do.” She rubs the back of her hand against her nose, “The selfish part of me wanted you to ask me out and then I wouldn’t have to think about this anymore, but I knew I couldn’t lie to you, and even if I could, it wouldn’t be that easy. I would be reminded every time I saw you, every time you smiled, every time you laughed, every time you would make a dumb joke. Once I knew, I couldn’t forget.”

“Marinette, you don’t know what you’re saying.” 

“Adrien, the whole problem is that I do know what I’m saying!” She starts tugging at her hair, and Chat Noir stops her, and starts lightly clawing at her scalp, slightly slowing her breathing.

“What happened between patrol and now?” Marinette shrugs, and Tikki flies out of the hood of her purple Jagged Stone hoodie.

“She’s a lot more confident when she’s transformed, and she could cope a little bit easier with you talking about your identity. You’re a lot more confident and outgoing when you’re Chat Noir than as Adrien. I mean, I’ve never properly met you as Adrien, but Marinette can’t stop talking about you.” The kwami looks at Marinette’s walls and chuckles, Chat Noir needing to shake off his blush, “She only found out a couple of days ago when she saw you detransform, Alya had tried to convince her to tell you, but, as you can see, it didn’t work out so well.” Tikki chirped, nestling herself in one of his leather cat ears.

“Marinette, if you knew what I was going to tell you, you know that I love you, both of you, all of you. If that was such a problem, Bunnyx would’ve come to stop us. You don’t need to forget me, you can see Chat Noir when Adrien’s planning stupid dates in the cafeteria, just the two of you, making sure Lila doesn’t bug us–” Marinette looks up at him – eyes still bloodshot, but much dryer – and smacks him in the head, chuckling at his reaction, “Sorry, sorry! But, you can also see Adrien in Chat when he opens up to you, not at all understanding his own emotions, when he lets you open up to him.”

Marinette melts at his words, “For a guy who can never understand his emotions, you sure do know the right things to say,” She then chuckles to herself, tapping him on the nose, “For the record, I do love ‘losers’. ” 

He blushes, covering his face with his hands, peeking his eye out through his fingers when Marinette grabs his other hand, kissing it. He holds her by her face, rubbing his thumb against her cheek. He leans in and stops himself, looking from her eyes to her lips, then back to her eyes. She pushes her lips onto his for a brief moment, pulling away and tapping his nose once more.

He flushes a bright red, visible in the orange glow of the sunset, making Marinette giggle.

“Um... You up for Mecha Strike?”

"Oh my kwami. You are a dork."

[theerurishipper]

You know, for a character whose arc is supposed to be about finding new relationships which give him unconditional love, the writers really went out of their way to isolate Adrien and make sure he has no one huh.

Marinette, Felix, Kagami, Nathalie, Plagg, Amelie, Tikki and Alya are siding with his abuser and lying to him.

Luka was all on board with Marinette's awful plan to trick Chat Noir into an identity reveal without his knowledge or consent. He also hid the fact that he knew his identity from him.

Nino and Adrien's relationship became frayed during Rocketear and canon has slowly made Nino's defining relationship be with Alya and not Adrien, so Nino isn't really that close with Adrien anymore.

Adrien's classmates don't really know him as seen in Felix, and only seem to care about him in terms of trying to get him and Marinette together.

Emilie (if she's alive) is an abusive parent who cheerfully mind controlled her son along with her husband and never told him he was a Sentimonster.

They seriously went out of their way to strip Adrien of his entire support network huh. It's even worse because it retroactively makes it seem like Gabriel was right.

Everyone treats Adrien just like he does so he wasn't actually wrong in how he treated his son. Adrien can't really hope for better because there is no better for him. Gabriel wasn't wrong in how he treats Adrien because Adrien doesn't deserve better than that, seeing as how everyone treats him the same way.

Everyone treats Adrien like he is only worth something if he can conform to the needs and expectations of people, and he doesn't really get unconditional love from anyone. So Gabriel was right to shut him away from these people.

Like... why? Is writing about Adrien's relationships that hard?

[imthepunchlord]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Technically, she matches with Cat the most.

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

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

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

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

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

We'll have to see if it happens though.

[kari-go]

Do you have mlb headcanons? If yes, can you give all to us? And do you mind using in fanfic?

I have a few! You can use them however you want (they also apply to MD btw)

Luka is a shit cook

Marinette cannot have wireless earbuds because she will lose them

Luka paints his nails black so he can stop biting them but it never works

Chloe has done a lot of sports but the most prominent are track running, gymnastics, and ballet

she doesn't do them that much anymore because of her grades, which is also why Sabrina is her tutor

Kagami knows Japanese, Mandarin, French, English, and Spanish (so does Adrien when she exists)

Chloe is learning Japanese

Alya wants to dye her hair sooo bad

Marinette is not that good at English

she also knows a bit of Mandarin (a few swears) and Italian (a lot of swears)(thanks, Gina)

Chloe spends Christmas in New York (whether or not with Audrey is another thing. yikes)

Alya loves to come up with unhinged theories

she knows they're bizarre but they're so much fun

Aurore does ballet (her parents also own a ballet studio)

Sabrina and Lila were horse girls

Nathaniel is scared of horses

Marc mostly writes fanfiction but wants to be a professional writer (like they have a 10 book series planned but don't have the confidence)

Alya only writes and reads fanfiction

Chloe is scared of thunder

Kim wants to mainly focus on swimming but has won more competitions in track running

Rose likes bird-watching

Ondine's last name is Rosseau

[vera-deville]

Hi! Could you please write Luka Couffaine x fem. reader who has trouble talking about their feelings? Writes him letters, love poems or plays the drums for him because it's easier for her to show her feelings like that? Sorry for my English it is not my first language.

02/28/2023 - 03/29/2023

Pairing: Luka Couffaine x Reader

Word Count: 867

Warnings: Nothing that I can think of!

Gender: AFAB

In which Luka has a significant other who has a hard time expressing her feelings.

Luka Couffaine absolutely adored Y/N. The girl had captured his heart, mind, and soul, and he had no trouble expressing it. However, the same could not be said the other way around.

Other people labeled Y/N as someone cold and uncaring, but only a select few knew of her true nature - she simply could not express herself in the ways others would. And Luka understood completely.

Y/N had a small group of friends (most of whom had never even met each other, but knew the existence of). She wasn't one to stick to one particular friend group after all. A good friend was a good friend. Nothing more, nothing less.

And two of her very good friends were Juleka and Rose. Originally, Y/N had only Juleka (since she went to the same school as Luka), but quickly became acquainted with Rose as well. And for that, Y/N thanked whatever lucky stars she had.

The whole process of confessing to Luka was already gut-wrenchingly terrifying, seeing as she had no idea how to go about it, whether Luka would return her affections (even though Juleka said he would), and if she was actually dateable material.

But after the confession, a lot of her worries were put to rest. Luka was the sweetest boyfriend she could have asked for, and she was extremely grateful for having met him.

Luka was someone who was fairly affectionate (not like some of the couples she's seen walking in Paris being overly lovey-dovey), but he also never shied away from letting her know what was on his mind.

If there was a particular moment where Y/N was caught up doing something and was quite focused on it (such as homework), Luka would find himself simply staring at the girl, absolutely in awe of the work of art he had the honor of calling his girlfriend. (Yes, he's tried sneaking some photos of her when she wasn't looking).

And when he was caught, Y/N would ask, "what're you staring at?"

Only to be met with, "just caught up in the ethereal masterpiece in front me."

To which Y/N would feel her face heat up and a warm sort of buzz envelope her whole being. She'd become a little flustered and brush off his oh so charming and teasing self, but looking at him once more, she realizes every time that Luka wasn't teasing at that moment. He meant every word.

So when others meet her and find out she's in a relationship with Luka, they wonder how on Earth the relationship works. Luka was pretty well known and well-liked. But Y/N wasn't like that. She stayed to herself for the most part, and she'd never initiate any sort of PDA with her boyfriend.

And some of these people would take to whispering about this behind (or so they thought) Y/N's back.

She'd feel bad about it, but not to the point where she'd find herself spiraling down a rabbit hole of self-hate and whatnot. But that didn't stop her from wanting to improve. And what better way to improve than by asking two of her best friends?

"Aww, it's so cute that you want to be more lovey-dovey with Luka!" Rose gushed. Juleka had a slight smile on her face, finding the situation slightly humorous. The involved parties were her brother and one of her closest friends. How could she not be entertained? Especially when said close friend was going on a tirade vaguely reminiscent of Marinette's tirades about Adrien.

Rose suggested making a perfume for Luka, and Y/N thought that it was such a good idea that she'd probably do that for his birthday. "What if you write him a letter?" Juleka asked. Pondering over the idea, Y/N decided that it indeed was a good idea.

But what to write?

And so some amount of days passed, and Y/N finally ended up finishing her letter to Luka. It wasn't anything elegant or pretty or anything of the sort. It was goofy, filled with her typical sarcasm, and most importantly, it was heartfelt. Now, the only thing left was to actually give the letter to Luka.

Which was still quite hard surprisingly.

Y/N assumed that once the letter was finished, she'd just hand it over to the turquoise-haired boy and bada-bing bada-boom, romance!

Apparently it doesn't work like that.

Apparently you pour your heart out into the letter, but then you feel nervous to actually give the letter to your oh so accepting boyfriend.

But somehow Y/N pushed down her anxiety and gave the letter to Luka when they sat down after getting their ice cream. Opening it, Luka's face gradually morphed into one of extreme joy (and if Y/N didn't know any better, smugness), before he pressed a chaste kiss onto Y/N's cheek.

And from that day onwards, Y/N would (every once in a while) gift Luka letters, love poems, and even play the drums for him as means of physically showing her affection for him. It was their own little dynamic and some may have found it odd, but to them, it was perfect.

Author's Note: Once again, I'm really sorry for taking so long to complete this fic. I hope you enjoy it (if not, feel free to request again, since I honestly don't feel like I did my very best with this one).

I'm still in the middle of trying to find a specific fic format to stick to. I've tried looking at a bunch of other fanfic writers' profiles and the format they use to write their fics, but I'm still not 100% sure if what I'm doing right now is what I want to continue doing.

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

Hi! I think Season 5 was a really weird time to invert the love square - it just kind of happens, and the reasons don’t feel very organic, to say the least - I think fandom already has enough to say about it (and hey, you’ve probably talked about it too!)

So if you had to do it (keeping in mind 5 seasons, and canon’s overall structure), where would you invert it? I’ve had this question for a while, and recently arrived to, I’d do it in Miracle Queen, possibly show Marinette or Adrien reconsidering in a post credit scene (or in general, after the scene where they’re all sitting and Marinette goes for Luka). Main reason for me is, Miracle Queen is pretty inconclusive on the shipping aspect - it opens with Adrien being uncertain of his relationship with Kagami, and ends with Adrien still unsure, and Marinette finally accepting Luka.

On the Marinette side, that last part might seem pretty conclusive, but after she suffered a major loss (going with canon’s “Marinette lost Fu” here despite the many problems I have with the way Fu was written), I think the emotional void really couldn’t be properly filled with Luka, and had Chat Noir’s character not gone down the drain after the season finale, he’d be the only real option Marinette can consider even talking to - temp heroes outed, kwamis being glorified toys, barely anyone even knowing Fu and all that. In my ideal world, she would’ve at least moved on from Adrien (wherein canon of course has to insist on the OTP), and I feel Chat Noir fills the void very naturally.

On the Adrien side, I think him interrupting the kiss was a sign of him not knowing what he wants out of a relationship in general - he seemed to be moving on from Ladybug in Hearthunter, and the Ladynoir in Miracle Queen to me felt much closer to them being together against the world (which is… exactly what the episode says out loud), not falling in love. I don’t think Kagami would want a relationship with Adrien after that whole mess (and that did end up being the case), so the closest non Ladybug option would be Marinette. So not a random “I love Marinette because she’s so nice and she kissed me after I pranked her” (canon please 🙄), but more of a “Marinette has always been so nice to me, instead of bothering Ladybug even more I’ll at least try getting a little closer to Marinette” and things develop from there on out.

But Season 4 threw my hope and dreams onto a burning landfill so that was cool. Anyways, how would you structure it? This got a bit long haha

Don't apologize, that was an interesting and quite good argument for flipping the crushes at Miracle Queen. I hadn't really thought about it before, but that would have been a much more satisfying way to shake things up in season four instead of waiting until season five and then speed running the flip only to immediately undo Marinette's side of the flip all within six episodes. I think that your alternate season four could have worked, though it would require season four to really lean into the ending of season three instead of largely ignoring it.

Since you asked where I'd do it if I had to flip the crushes, I'll give you my thoughts, but first I want it put on the record that I hate the idea of both crushes flipping mid-show. One crush flipping feels reasonable, but both? At the same time? That's really hard for me to buy, especially since you'd have to do it pretty quickly given the way canon is structured. You can't drag things out for episodes at a time. Most things take, at most, two episodes.

I'm also not sure what the point of flipping the crushes is. It feels less like narrative progression and more like a stalling tactic since the love square will only get together if one crush flips. Both crushes? Same square, different angle (I jokingly call it the love diamond.)

And yet, canon actually managed to pull off a very solid reverse crush setup. If season five had started off with the crushes flipped, then I would have totally believed it. Marinette just had her crush on Adrien cost her all of the miraculous. That's a very good way to kill a crush just like finding out Chat Noir's identity is a very good way to banish her fears from that event, allowing her to have the confidence to stay with Adrien post-reveal.

Similarly, Adrien just spent a whole season being sad about Ladybug not giving him enough attention, leading up to an episode where Marinette saw that he was suffering and reached out (if only because of magic). I absolutely believe that he'd start falling for Marinette and be less upset with Ladybug post-reveal now that he knows that she has been supporting him all along. He was just looking for support on the wrong side of the mask.

Instead of taking advantage of that setup, canon delayed the flip a few episodes and made it wholly unbelievable. They really give us an episode where Ladynoir got married and had children, followed it up with the episode where the crushes flipped, and then tried to convince us that Marinette was the one who hadn't really fallen in love with Chat Noir. Marinette. The girl whose deepest desire is apparently marriage and children with Chat Noir. But her love isn't real? Really? Yet Adrien is really over Ladybug?

Bull. Shit.

Jubilation is not that setup you go with if Adrienette is your goal. It's the setup for Ladynoir.

Anyway, back to your question! As I detailed above, season five's intro episodes feel like the most obvious place to flip the square. I'd also be interested to see someone do it at Miracle Queen like you discussed, though it would be much less straight forward than season five, making it a better fit for a fanfic than canon in my opinion as I think you'd be hard pressed to do it well within the confines of canon's structure.

My other top choice is Origins because I am a love diamond purist. I think that it's the easiest way to fix a lot of canon's issues. For example: Marinette hanging magazine clippings of her friend/crush all over her walls for all to see with the full knowledge that she actually knows this guy? Kinda weird. Why are you writing it like she has a celebrity crush and not a "real person" crush?

Marinette hanging magazine clippings of her secret hero partner all over her walls? Totally understandable. It's not like she can act like it's a "real person" crush without giving herself away or looking unhinged. Plus how else is she supposed to get pictures of him? It's not like she can take some of her own. That would lead to a lot of awkward questions! She'd also have no reason to think that he'd ever see her shrine. 😈