#like she is SUPPOSED to be ladybug she is SUPPOSED to keep herself together to keep the city safe

[potassiumprincess]

i think marinette is worse at resting when she's sick but adrien is worse at sitting things out if he's injured. i have no explanation, these are just the vibes

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

Is there a reason Marinette’s lying to Adrien about Gabriel doesn’t make sense to you from a character-standpoint? She’s lied a fair bit in the show for reasons other than keeping her identity or crush on Adrien a secret, and her love for Adrien has consistently created a blind spot for her in terms of her “general” morals/behavior.

Is there something more specific to Marinette’s pattern of behavior that indicates how her lying about Gabe would be OOC, or is the lie something you believe Canon!Marinette should recognize as too egregious to take part in?

(The closest alternative explanation I’ve seen thus far is that she shouldn’t have any reason to lie for Gabe because they share zero good will, but if we interpret it as lying for Adrien, then I’m not sure if that explanation fits.)

I have, admittedly, not gone through the show and tracked every lie that Marinette has ever told to see if I can weave together a pattern that backs Marinette's behavior at the end of season five. It's possible that there's a lie that I'm forgetting that would totally change my stance and, if you think that's the case, then feel free to respond to this with a comment or an ask on that topic! My "this is BS" stance is based on the overall story of the show and the ways that I've seen people try to justify the season five lies as those are the arguments that I've thought through and found lacking.

We'll start by discussing the two lies people use to try to back Marinette's behavior at the end of season five: the scarf and Chat Blanc. Then I'll talk about the story's lead up to the season five lies and why it makes for a horribly unsatisfying story in my eyes. If someone gave this to me, I'd be suggesting some major edits to make it work on a technical level.

The Scarf

For those who don't remember, the season one episode The Bubbler sees Marinette make Adrien a scarf for his birthday. She drops the scarf off at the Agreste mansion with a note for Adrien and the hope that this will get him to finally notice her. Nathalie then takes the scarf and uses it as a gift from Gabriel instead. Marinette learns about this during this exchange at the very end of the episode:

Alya: Yo, nice scarf, Adrien. Off the chain. Adrien: Yeah, can you believe my dad got this for me? (Marinette looks surprised) it's so awesome. He's been giving me the same lame pen for three years in a row.... Alya:(to Marinette) You gotta tell him you were the one who knitted the scarf. Marinette: But he seems so happy about his dad. I don't want to spoil it for him. Alya: Aw, Marinette. (they hug.) You're amazing, girl. You know that, right? And someday Adrien will figure it out too. Promise.

I can see why someone would look at this and call it a setup for the end of season five. There are some parallels here. The problem is that there are a lot of massive differences, too. Differences that make this a really crappy setup:

Marinette does not lie in this scene. She simply overhears a lie and doesn't correct it. Remove her and Alya from the scene and nothing changes. The lie still exists. Meanwhile, without Marinette, the season five lies would never have come to be.

Marinette knows about the scarf lie for about a minute on screen. She hears about it and tells Alya to let it go within the same scene. That's a gut reaction, not a carefully planned and considered deceit. Once again, wildly different from what season five gives us.

Adrien and Marinette aren't shown to be close friends in season one. They rarely talk to the point that I didn't even know that they were supposed to be friends until we got to Origins. That complicates correcting the scarf lie. How does Marinette approach a random classmate and explain a situation that she doesn't even fully understand herself? That's very different from Ladybug telling a lie to a civilian or Marinette lying to her boyfriend.

Season one Marinette has no idea how messed up Adrien's home life is. All she knows is that Adrien liked her gift, but that he thinks it came from a different person. She doesn't even know that a lie was involved in this confusion! As far as she's aware, this could just be a minor misunderstanding that she'd rather let go because does it really matter who the gift is from? This is extra true because the scarf never comes up again, meaning that this is not an ongoing or damaging lie as far as canon is concerned.

That last point and the issue of Marinette never actually telling the lie herself are probably the biggest points in Marinette's favor. If Adrien wore the scarf all the time and used it as a comfort when he was fighting with his dad, then you'd have a solid case for Marinette needing to say something because the lie is arguably doing actual harm. This is especially true if you let Adrien say things like, "I wear this to remember that my father loves me," to Marinette. But that's not what canon did.

As far as canon is concerned, the scarf lie exists for all of a minute. A minute in which Adrien expresses delight in the gift, but gives it very tepid weight in terms of what it means for his relationship with his father. (Adrien's room is full of nice gifts, I don't think a scarf was going to make-or-break their relationship.) After that, the scarf never comes up again, meaning that Marinette's gut reaction to not immediately destroy Adrien's happiness is all we get. That's hardly a great setup for her being the source of massive ongoing lies about Adrien's personhood and the truth of his father's abuse.

I'll also remind you that this all happened at the very start of the show. The Bubbler is one of the first episodes people see. If this is your best argument for Marinette's behavior five seasons later, then we have a major writing problem on our hands. You should not have to dig back to the very start of the show to justify a major character beat like this. There should be more relevant material. We'll circle back to that problem in a minute. First let's quickly touch on lie two and why it also falls flat.

Chat Blanc

Another thing people point to as foreshadowing for the season five lies is the fact that Ladybug kept Chat Blanc from Chat Noir and, if Chat Blanc was actually affecting her, then I would agree with this take. However, that doesn't seem to be the case. The official story is that Ladybug's actions in season four had nothing to do with Chat Blanc. It was just guardian stress! If that's true, then I don't think she should tell Chat Noir about Chat Blanc.

Why?

Since when do we tell people about all the awful things they did while they were akumatized? There's no point to that. It's cruel. Do you think that Ladybug also needs to walk him through everything he did while under the control of various akumas like Dark Cupid? If no, then how is Chat Blanc any different? What's the value in telling Chat Noir the gory details of what will happen if he ever has a moment of weakness and becomes akumatized? He already knows that it will be bad! Why tell him exactly how bad it will be? I can't come up with a single good canonical reason.

Ladybug has no idea what caused Chat Blanc, so she can't warn Chat Noir what he needs to avoid. You can't even use the "he should know about Bunnyx" argument because that wasn't Bunnyx's debut. Canonically speaking, the only reason that Ladybug should talk to Chat Noir about Chat Blanc or any other bad thing that he's done while under the power of an akuma is if it's effecting her or their partnership and it's apparently not! That's why Marinette never reacts to Chat Noir getting a white makeover (see: the Paris special & Jubilation) and why Chat Blanc is never discussed in the show outside of that one brief nightmare callback in Sentibubbler.

To be clear, I think that's an asinine choice as Chat Blanc's memory hurting Ladynoir would have been semi-decent foreshadowing for the season five lies, but the writers decided to go another route. They also let Chat Blanc haunt Adrien even though he doesn't know about it, which I don't even know how to dissect because it's such terrible writing! If you don't know what I'm talking about, this is the official explanation for why Adrien couldn't make it to the final fight. The reason for the white-and-blue Chat Noir that haunted his nightmares:

Mélanie says that he "could become Chat Blanc" and the others add that even though he does not remember and has never lived it, Chat Blanc still has an influence on his actions.

Quality writing here folks. Quality writing. At the very least have season five Adrien be freaked out about the fact that he cataclysmed a human! That would make this make at least a little sense, but we don't get that. Instead we get Adrien almost cataclysming several akumas like it's no big deal while having nightmares about a thing he's never even been told about (see: Derision and Jubilation and probably other's I'm forgetting.)

The Events of Season Four and Five

As you can hopefully see, we don't have a great, ongoing pre-end-of-season-five lie to point to as proof that Marinette would decide to tell the massive lies that she does. That's a pretty big writing flaw, but it's not a show stopper. A lie like this could still fit her character if the story sets it up right.

The problem is that the story doesn't do that. It actually sets Marinette up to be primed to want to tell the truth.

For all Miraculous' nonsensical and wacky writing, the season five lie still comes at the end of two seasons with relatively clear messages. Those messages were to trust others and avoid lies. Let me show you what I mean.

While season four's writing is an absolute disaster, we cannot ignore the fact that the stated lesson in Strikeback is that Marinette learned to trust others, give up control, and stop lying:

Ladybug: Why don't you just give up on me? I've lost ALL the Miraculous! I'm the worst Guardian EVER! I wanted to control everything, I didn't listen to you, I lied to you, I kept you at a distance! Every time you offered me a helping hand, I never took it! I really made a mess of EVERYTHING! (continues sobbing)

This is what Marinette says to Chat Noir directly after losing the Kwamis. This is the lesson that she supposedly learned. The end note of the season. The word of god meant to be internalized by children everywhere. The show even goes so far as to have Ladybug give Chat Noir more responsibility in the first episode of season five (Evolution):

Cat Noir: Catch, m'lady! (throws the Rabbit Miraculous at Ladybug and she catches it) Only the holder of the Rabbit Miraculous can open a time portal. Ladybug: (contemplates shortly then places the Rabbit Miraculous on his chest, smiling) You do it, kitty. Cat Noir: You want me to control time? Ladybug: It's you and me, remember?

Really driving home this idea that Ladybug is going to be more trusting and open with others moving forward.

The meat of season five sees Marinette and Adrien start dating. During this arc, Marinette learns to be more open with her feelings around Adrien while also being confronted with the reality of just how messed up Adrien's home life is. Marinette and Gabriel clash with each other over Adrien with Marinette fighting for Adrien's freedom and Gabriel trying to control everything:

Gabriel: I don't think you understand, child, so let me put things differently. Life is like fashion. You think you have a choice, but all you have is the illusion of choice. And I decide what choices are given to you. Marinette: You're wrong! (Shows Gabriel her sketchbook.) Fashion is about listening to people, it's about understanding who they are, what excites them and creating the clothes that will help them express their inner world. Help them connect with others and make their dreams come true.

This conflict means that Marinette and Gabriel do not have a single positive interaction in the entire season outside of maybe the final. We also see Adrien defy his father more than ever before. This is not the kind of setup you write if you want Marinette to tell Adrien that his father was a hero. Why in the world would she think that he'd want to be told that kind of lie? Why would he even buy it after all of the things that Gabriel has done? The final literally sees Adrien locked in a padded prison cell!!! Writers, what are you doing??? Why did you write this???

There's also the fact that season five has a major theme of lies = bad. It's the season where Lila's lies are finally outed, but only after they almost cost Marinette's friends their futures. For those who need a reminder: Lila tried to mess with the forms that stated where everyone wanted to go for lycée and would have succeeded in pulling off that harm and blaming it on Marinette were it not for the lies being outed.

On top of that, we also see Adrien keeping the plan to ship him off to London from Marinette, ending in this exchange:

Marinette: (on the video call) Adrien! Adrien: (voice breaking; in tears) Marinette, I should've told you sooner, but... up until the last minute, I thought I'd find a solution. I tried everything, I swear. Marinette: (on the video call) Adrien, what's... what's going on? Adrien: I have to leave Paris. (his voice breaks) I'm not worthy of your love. I feel terrible for hurting you.

Adrien kept the truth from Marinette to try to keep her from being hurt and ended up hurting her more than he otherwise would have because they don't even get a proper goodbye.

None of this is a solid setup for Marinette turning around and lying to Adrien about his father. Why would she do that after all of the harm lies and Gabriel caused in season five? Between this and season four, she has not been setup to want to lie to Adrien. Season five needs massive rewrites to make that choice work! (Note: I have yet to see the London special, but based on everything I've heard, I think it's just going to cement my annoyance at Marinette's wishy-washy writing by continuing to ignore the plot of the seasons leading up to the final and the special.)

Final Thoughts

I don't think that Marinette lying to Adrien about his dad is a terrible idea. It's a believable struggle! It just doesn't fit her character's journey. They've failed to have her tell that type of lie before and they had her tell this lie after two seasons where the main lessons were how much lies have hurt her and the people that she loves. If she hasn't gotten the message that you shouldn't lie by now, then when exactly is she going to learn it? It's incredibly hard for me to get invested in characters that aren't allowed to grow and learn from their mistakes and Miraculous has made it abundantly clear that it will not let these characters grow if growth messes with the plot that the writers want to tell.

I will openly admit that I think that Marinette's lie was a last minute retcon to make there be a cliffhanger to season six, but let's ignore that and give a quick three-point plan of how you could make this ending work:

Really lean into the negative consequences of people knowing the truth about things. Nino knowing Alya's identity outing Alya. Luka getting shipped off to Brazil. Make the truth hurt Marinette at every turn. Basically remove all lies = bad consequences and have Ladybug see losing the miraculous be the result of trusting others because she trusted "Adrien" and lost, leading her to keep pushing people away

Don't let Lila be outed. Have Lila be a good president and make that part of her big plan for the next season.

Have Gabriel and Marinette get along. Gabriel has said that Adrien is like Emilie, let Gabriel see himself in Marinette, leading Gabriel to trust Marinette to be Adrien's support should the worst happen. Let the final fight be a heartbreaking moment between two people who have an actual relationship built around loving Adrien. Have Adrien going to London be a "convenient" trip to get him out of the way on the day of the evil plot and not a prison sentence so that Gabriel doesn't look cartoonishly evil. Make it feel like he cares! Sell the redemption!

Do that and, yeah, I'd buy Marinette's choice even without setup lies because you don't need setup lies! Setup lies don't matter anywhere near as much as selling this lie and the writers simply didn't do that. I don't believe for a second that Marinette would lie for Gabriel or think that this was what Adrien wanted based on the relationship season five gave us for those three characters. It is so glaringly obvious that this is nothing more than a stalling tactic that has nothing to do with Marinette's character and everything to do with the show's rule that "there must always be a secret between Adrien and Marinette." I genuinely struggle to understand how anyone sees it as anything else.

[echobutgirlypop]

ML LONDON SPOILERS!!!

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Obviously, Marinette’s belief that it’s better not to tell Adrien about Monarch is wrong. But I also think that she doesn’t really believe that. She wants more than anything to tell him, it shows in her constantly questioning her decision and asking others for advice. However, lately, it seems like any change she makes as ladybug leads to some horrible future she’ll have to fix. So, she decides it’s better to endlessly fight the big bad, keep everything a secret, and distance herself from people who care about her.

If Marinette tells adrien in the future or he finds out as chat noir or something, he’ll freak the fuck out. This could very well be his last straw. Everything was supposed to be okay between him and ladybug again. Then, she reveals she’s been lying more about something so important. It was supposed to be them TOGETHER against monarch, against the world. But she broke that trust, again. Chat Blanc 2, anyone?

[marinettesaltprompts]

I have another prompt for anyone who's interested:

Despite being a relationship, Marinette can't seem to let go of her crush on Adrien and her fantasies of their life together. From their three children to the numerous hamsters they'd get together. From their wedding while they wore her designs to Adrien leaving Gabriel to work for her.

It's something that puts a toll on Luka, her boyfriend. He puts all his faith and trust in her whenever she bails on him. He says she has to have her reasons. That she'll tell him when she's ready. That he can't just push her into telling him because that might make her upset. He can wait. She'll tell him. She said she would. He can wait.

But at home, Juleka can't help but see how upset he is despite him denying it. Despite the things he says more to reassure himself than to her. When Marinette bails on him for umpteenth time, she decides enough is enough and finally confronts her when they have a moment alone. She's tired of Marinette hurting her brother all over a guy who has not only shown no interest in her but is in his own relationship. And if this is the way Marinette is going to treat her brother, she can consider their friendship over.

I just want some protective sister Juleka (:

Potential sequel to this would be Purple Tigress being protective of her cat brother, Chat Noir and not liking how Ladybug keeps him out. Something she herself didn't realize until she asks Chat about why he's missed so many Akuma attacks and patrols only to learn that, 1. His civilian life often got in the way and he's been watched more closely lately so he can't get away. And 2. no one told him when the patrols were. The days he "showed up" were just the days he was lucky enough to see them and catch up. Sometimes he sees them but it's as if no one sees him. So, after numerous times of it happening, he figured, why bother?? And he stopped trying to find them, choosing to patrol alone.

It's something that further shatters her rose tinted glasses of the people she thought better of. First was Marinette and the way she treated Luka. And now there's Ladybug with the way she treats Chat Noir.

Both girls had someone who cared so deeply for them and yet the way they treated them left a sour taste in her mouth.

... I love it.

I have no other words to say, this is both equal levels of "an excellent prompt that should exist and why the hell didn't I realise that possibility sooner" and "Awwww Juleka is an adorable younger twin YOUNGER sister" (you can't keep getting away with retcons Astruc, IF THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO BE TWINS WHY AREN'T THEY IN THE SAME SCHOOL?)

Anyways, peak prompt! Love it! Bonus points for peak Juleka content as well! Keep it up!

[yubellia]

Miraculous London. My opinion and … a problem(?).

Soooo…. The new special. It’s here. Before I start, I would like to say that I watched it ‚somewhat‘ completely. I watched reactions, snippets and videos with heavy filters on top for copyright reasons.

However! I think I got enough to have an opinion.

So! Spoilers ahead! You have been warned!

First, I loved seeing Lila and get a feeling for her as the villain. The writers couldn’t resist the urge to make her look like a psycho but… I think this tells us a lot about her character. What we saw was a mental breakdown but she recovered relatively quickly. Remember when Sabrina and Marinette exposed her? After what we know now, I think she was really keeping it together while boiling on the inside.

Also, this special gave us new questions. Lila didn’t seem like the person to be into sports. We now know, that it was mostly because she is wearing a disguise most of the time. She can‘t have her makeup or wig fall off. However, it now seems like she has some fighting skills. Unless that was part of her transformation. (A shame that we didn’t see that process. And an even bigger shame because we didn’t see her wish. What does she want?!)

Lilas Plan was pretty smart too. I mean, once you know how it works, it’s not THAT special but since she works alone, it was pretty crafty. First giving herself the power to find out who ladybug is and once she knows, taking the power to be untouchable but able to take what she wants. I still remember how people asked how one girl is supposed to be better than a grown man with lots of money at his disposal and all his options. Well…. We just saw it! I thought that she would use her knowledge to manipulate Adrien. That the writers would use that to show how Adrien CAN‘T find out the truth. I think they will do that but later. Although getting Adrien akumatized again is getting old by now.

I didn’t like how the ‚fight‘ became a joke once Marinette changed the notebook. It was the normal ‚I‘m the hero and I will get you.‘ speech. However, Lila is mad now. And we know, once she gets mad, she gets extreme. So we should be excited for that. Also… was it because Lila wore a full body disguise or why didn’t Marinette see through her? I mean we had villains that turned into monsters, stone and more. She still knew who it was. What was different this time? Was it because Lila didn’t speak? So many questions!

So overall the special was… ok. Why only ok? Because I think, they could have turned this into a longer special episode. It didn’t really FEEL all that special. It didn’t feel like Shadybug you know. I mean we did get confirmation that yes, Lila is using the Miraculous better than Gabriel did. But that’s pretty much it…

Why is she better at it than Gabriel? When she was Hoaxxer, Nathalie gave her all the information she needed. Including most likely the decoded book. Meaning that she is pretty much on the same level as Marinette when it comes to knowledge.

Now…. The problem I have with this special…..

I watched the last scene of season 5 just to be sure. I had this weird feeling during the special… and it got confirmed. This special takes place after Marinette lies to Adrien and before we get this last scene with Lila. With the blue light and all that. So… why is Lila still in her Cerise disguise? I mean she could have changed that. Ok. But where is Nooroo? We saw him in the special. Is he trapped in the miraculous? Maybe. But more importantly, this scene takes place AFTER we are all the heroes with the miraculous. So it’s AFTER this special.

What is this light?! What happened to her?

We still don‘t know. At first I thought it could have been something with time traveling but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Could this be a retcon? If so, it’s only a little one but I am confused because Lila still seemed so fixated on Marinette. Although that’s probably only her own drive for vengeance.

Anyway. I liked this special. It introduced the new villain pretty well and Marinette admitted that she is better than Gabriel. But aside that, it wasn’t all that much. Sorry.

[flightfoot]

Can you rec fics in which Gabriel isn't the main antagonist?

I mean there are plenty of fics where he isn't the main antagonist, where there's no antagonist at all (ML has a lot of fluff), but I'm assuming you mean fics where there IS a main antagonist but that antagonist isn't him, and probably a more epic sort of story with an antagonist on Gabriel's scale and not like, a high school bully kind of thing (not that there's a lot of those I'd rec anyway).

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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…

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In Direct Opposition by @generalluxun

Alya Cesaire is a brand new student to Francis Dupont, to Paris even. The first student she meets is one Chloé Bourgeois, and Alya is determined to make a friend. Things advance Chaotically. Her new 'friend' is definitely a handful, and suddenly Paris has a supervillain and two brand new superheroes! Alya finds herself balancing a lot of things, trying to live up to her ideals and those of her icons.

And then reality seems to contradict itself.

As time progresses it seems to happen more often. Becoming a hero, battling villains, staying alive, working through friendships. Something is lurking, tweaking events at times, changing them, and no one seems aware. Alya will need all her wits to get to the bottom of this. Her investigative mind can only get her so far though, and then she needs to rely on her friends. This is not a foe you can beat head on.

I betaed this entire fic, it’s really good! I adore the focus on Alya’s philosophy here, her determination to be a hero, to help people and defeat evil - and that defeating evil means trying to reform the people doing bad things when possible, to try to save EVERYONE, even the “villain”. I thought it was really clever the ways Alya would redirect Chloe and subtly encourage her to be a better person, while also trying to get the people around her to give her a second chance and keep an open mind. 

Also Alya and Chloe are an adorable sapphic couple XD.

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The Rules of Engagement by @overworkedunderwhelmed

When tragedy sends Adrien Agreste racing back to Paris to run his father’s fashion house, Marinette doesn’t expect much from her very new, very rich boss. At least not until she is set up on a blind date with a very familiar face.

Much to her surprise, Adrien Agreste was hiding far more secrets behind his stoic business-like mask of temporary CEO. Maybe as many secrets as she had been trying to hide for years.

As they grow closer, Marinette fears her mask isn’t nearly as foolproof. Day after day, it gets harder for her to keep all her secrets well hidden from the surprisingly sweet man who insisted on staying by her side as often as possible.

Only she couldn’t afford to fail. Not when her biggest secret could spell the end of the job she’d dreamed about for years.

They might not be superheroes in this universe, but secret identities are still active here. Both Marinette and Adrien used to be involved with the Ladybug and Chat Noir movies, and both kept that a secret - Adrien especially, since if his father found out about it, there could be some bad repercussions, as he voiced Chat Noir without Gabriel’s permission. Marinette, meanwhile, is well known for making cosplay (calling herself “Ladybug” after the movie), and has been in contact with “Chat Noir” for quite some time before the story starts - not that she knows he’s the actual VA.

It’s mostly an Adrienette fic with the two of them getting to know each other after their unusual “first” meeting, where Marinette pretended to be Kagami in order to scupper the date with Adrien and get Tomoe off her back, with some intrigue and drama thrown in. Lila’s skulking around causing problems for the people around her, but she’s honestly not the main focus here. 

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Kwami Magi Homura Magica by Crossoverpairinglover

After eighty-four loops in time, Homura Akemi takes a new path to Paris to save her friends.

The sixty-third loop after that, Homura arrived at the Agreste Mansion.

After clash after clash with the heroes of Paris and its greatest menace, events have reached a tipping point.

Ladybug faces someone verging on a second wish, a wish that endangers space and time to save a friend.

This was an absolutely AMAZING story that crossoverpairinglover dropped out of NOWHERE. Seriously, if you like Puella Magi Madoka Magica and Miraculous Ladybug, this is a real treat - but be prepared to sit down and binge, because it’s over 100,000 words and only has three chapters. 

Anyway, I adore the care that’s taken with going through Homura’s mindset here, she gets a lot of character focus. And the lore! There’s some good explanations here for the history behind kwamis and Incubators’ interactions, and the Order of the Guardians normally treats Magical Girls, and why the Incubators are wrong in their assessment of the universe needing more energy to stave off entropy (hint: it involves Plagg), and just... there was a lot of love put into this.

And the action! Most Miraculous fics don’t have much in the way of fight scenes, and what they do have is mostly just functional. This is one of the rare exceptions. There’s some really long, detailed fight scenes in this (roughly the entire second half of the second chapter has one between Ladybug and Homura), which are a treat to read! 

We also get some glimpses into a variety of other universes here, other timelines, alternate ways things could have gone down - I’m especially partial to the rather detailed view we get of one where Homura sent a message asking for help to the Ladyblog on her third time loop, and how things progressed from there. 

The ending I also thought was really good, a happy ending that generally made sense and dealt with the issue of the Incubators. 

If you can’t tell I’m really happy with this fic, it was incredible and unexpected. The length of the individual chapters can be daunting, but if you’re up for the task, I highly recommend giving it a shot!

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Dreams of You by @chocoluckchipz

Dreams had long been his only escape. Dreams of Ladybug, the girl who had always been there for him.

If only in his dreams. And only while she was also sleeping.

Because with the first rays of sunshine gliding over her skin, with the first fluttering of her eyelashes, from the moment she opened her eyes in the morning, memories of Adrien would vanish from her mind.

She would go on living her life.

He would always be the only one who remembered.

At least until they meet in the real world and fall in love all over again, something that would’ve been easier to do if Adrien wasn't a prisoner in his own home.

Chocoluckchipz has some of the most beautifully executed lovesquare fics I’ve read, and this is no exception. Most of the fic is dedicated to Adrien wooing Marinette, spending time with her, with her own dream self acting as his wingman, giving her tips on how to get her to fall for him, all the while frustrated that she can’t share memories with her waking self, and that she and Adrien can’t share as much information as they’d like while asleep, due to limitations of the “curse” that allows Adrien to share dreams with his soulmate. 

It’s not all cute Adrienette fluff though. There’s a threat in the background waiting to erupt, as the weirdness of Gabriel’s ultimatum to Adrien about finding Ladybug or else being forced to marry Lila keeps on gnawing at him - and with good reason. This is a world with magic and kwamis still, and that fact makes itself very relevant in the last third of the story. 

It’s a well-written tale and very much worth a read!

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[aalissy]

Villains

Anddd we are officially halfway through Adrienette April! Absolutely crazy to me haha. I hope ya'll like this lil reveal tho <3!

AO3

Marinette glanced nervously around the small pink foam prison she had gotten encased in. One of the akumatized villains had managed to trap her in here before she could transform. Once again, she attempted to elbow her way out with all of her strength. If she was alone this would be no problem. She’d transform. Get whatever lucky charm was needed and magically pop her way out of this cage. 

But... issue was that she wasn’t alone. Her gaze slid over to Adrien as she continued to ram her elbow into the foam at a faster pace.

“Marinette!” Adrien called out, grabbing her arm gently in his as he gazed down at her sadly. He shook his head. “It’s not working and I don’t want to see you get hurt. We’re going to need to wait for Ladybug.”

She sighed, shooting one last desperate glance at their walls before slumping down against them. “Or Chat Noir,” she muttered, hugging her knees to her chest. Right now it was only going to be Chat Noir who was saving them. Ladybug was a little... occupied at the moment. Marinette couldn’t stop herself from fiddling with her earring. She placed her chin down on her knees, staring down at the floor miserably. “His cataclysm sounds really good right about now.” 

She heard Adrien sit across from her and peeked back up at him. He gave an almost awkward-sounding laugh that had her raising a brow. “Yeah, or Ladybug’s lucky charm.”

Marinette gnawed at her lower lip, not wanting to think about that right now. Surely Chat would save them sooner or later. She just needed to wait.

But, after an hour of waiting, Marinette was slowly losing any semblance of hope. Maybe Chat had gotten caught in a foam prison like her and he was also trapped with someone next to him. At least she was with Adrien. Who she would trust with her life.

Sucking in a deep breath for courage, Marinette spoke up at the same time as him. 

“I need to tell you something!” They both burst out together.

They both chuckled, their previously wide eyes softening into a look of endearment as they gazed at each other. 

“What, um...,” Marinette said, fiddling with her earrings once again. She’d take any distraction to keep her identity secret for just a few moments longer. “What did you need to tell me?”

 “Actually, it might be easier if I show you.” Adrien scratched the back of his neck.

“Show me wha-”

“Plagg, claws out!”

The burst of green light had Marinette clenching her eyes shut. What?! But... but that can’t be! Slowly, she cracked an eye open, and to her surprise and utter bafflement, instead of Adrien, there stood Chat Noir, transformed into his alter ego with the signature black suit and cat-like mask.

"A-Adrien?!" Marinette exclaimed, her eyes wide with shock and disbelief.

Adrien, now Chat Noir, grinned sheepishly. "I’m sorry, Marinette, but I couldn’t risk us staying in this cage for any longer. And, besides, I trust you."

Marinette's mind raced with a mixture of astonishment and pure joy. Adrien trusted her! Revealed his identity to her just moments before she was going to do the same thing. At the same time, though, she couldn’t help but wonder if she was lucky that both Ladybug and Chat Noir ended up stuck together, or if it was rather unlucky instead.

"You're Chat Noir?" Marinette's voice was filled with wonder as she took in the sight of her partner in a new light.

“Pawsitively!” He grinned and wow, he looked so good like that.

Shaking her head to keep herself on track, Marinette stood up too. “Then, I suppose it’s for the best that I show you what I wanted to say as well.”

His head tilted with confusion. “What do you me-”

Before he could finish that sentence, Marinette called on her transformation. “Tikki, spots on!”

Now it was Chat’s turn to look incredulous. “M-M’lady?” he asked almost hesitantly.

“Yep!” She nodded firmly. “But we’ll have to discuss this later. Right now there’s an akuma to defeat and we need your cataclysm to get out of here.”

“Right!” Chat’s eyes blazed with determination before he called on his power, finally letting the two be free for the first time in over an hour.

Though right now all she wanted to do was freak out, that would need to come later. Once the akuma was defeated then... then she and Adrien could finally talk about everything that they needed.

[aidanchaser]

Full Exposure [REMIX]

remixed from Full Exposure by @ladyofthenoodle for the @mlsquaredance event! A huge thank you for organizing it. It has been such a blast and such a boost to my creativity this past month.

beta'd by @ccboomer and @sunshinemarauder

Marinette snaps her laptop closed and groans into Alya’s pillow. She is so tired of looking at empty bank accounts and red spreadsheets. “How am I supposed to afford anything at this rate?” she whines.

“Out of noodle-dollars already?” Alya asks without looking up from her tablet.

Marinette rolls over to stare at the ceiling. “It’s impossible to be a student full-time, have a full-time unpaid internship, and work enough hours to buy food and pay rent and every other little thing that comes along, while also being a full-time superhero!” Marinette ticks each list item off on her hand as she talks. “I can’t keep taking out loans or putting it on a credit card.”

“The system’s broken,” Alya agrees nonchalantly. “You could always sell nudes.”

Marinette squeals in a combination of horror and disgust and throws a pillow at Alya.

Alya takes the soft blow with the smallest of grunts. “There’s nothing wrong with it! A lot of people make a lot of money that way.”

“I’m not interested in gross comments, people photoshopping my body, or having my image fed into A.I. generators.”

Alya shrugs. “Fair.”

Marinette scrunches up her nose. “How much money?”

“A few thousand, easily.” Alya adds a note into her journalism reading, then sets her tablet and stylus aside. “You could probably make a good deal.”

Marinette rolls her eyes. “No one is going to pay a thousand dollars for my nudes.”

“They might for Ladybug’s though.”

Marinette reaches for Alya’s second pillow and throws it. This time, Alya catches it.

“Ladybug is a national icon! She can’t just post nudes!”

“Ladybug is a full-grown adult woman who doesn’t get paid by the city. She can do whatever she likes with her image.”

Marinette shakes her head as she sits up. She leans back against Alya’s wall and stares out the window. Ladybug is a hero of Paris. She has a reputation. Besides, what would Chat Noir think? He’d see them, surely. How many pussy jokes could she bear?

Marinette taps her fingers against her closed laptop. “What if they were… tasteful nudes?”

“Boudoir photography is very in,” Alya says. “You’d just have to make sure people know they’re paying for almost-nudes.”

“I wouldn’t even know where to start. I’d need you to be my photographer.”

“Girl, I’m happy to help you, but you already know someone who actually does model photography.”

Marinette squeals again and reaches for a pillow, only to find herself out of ammunition. “I can’t ask Adrien to take Ladybug’s nudes!”

“He’s your boyfriend.”

“He’s Marinette’s boyfriend!”

Alya shrugs, as if this is irrelevant, when in fact it is the most relevant that any fact could possibly be to this conversation. Yes, Adrien has turned to directing photoshoots rather than modeling in photoshoots now that they’re in university, but Marinette is not going to ask her boyfriend to take nudes of another girl! And Ladybug is, as far as Adrien knows, another girl.

“You know he’s going to look at them either way,” Alya says. “You might as well make him part of it so he doesn’t have to feel guilty about it.”

“Adrien would not look at Ladybug’s nudes. Not when he’s my boyfriend!”

Alya raises her eyebrows. “He’s loyal, not dead. You remember how he talked about Ladybug when were in school together. He won’t be able to resist.”

Marinette does not remember the way Adrien talked about Ladybug when they were younger. She was too busy daydreaming about him or trying to talk without tripping over her words.

“Adrien used to like Ladybug?” she asks weakly.

“The way a fish likes water.” Alya tips her chair back and, with a mischievous grin that’s rather fitting for the holder of the miraculous of illusion and trickery, says, “Just ask. See what he says.”

✦✧✦✧

Adrien is still not entirely sure that this is a good idea.

He’s flattered, honestly, that Alya, as the admin for the Ladyblog, recommended him to Ladybug as a photographer. He’s surprised and grateful that Marinette assured him that it would be fine for him to do such a risqué photoshoot with such a well-known celebrity. And he’s nervous, more nervous than he has ever been about anything in his life.

Chloé has agreed to give him access to one of Le Grand Paris’s suites for the day, though he hasn’t told her why he needs it—not that he thinks he can fully keep it secret from her. She’ll figure it out once the photos are released.

Zoé helped him haul up his lighting equipment. He didn’t tell her why he needed the room, either, but he imagines she’ll be one of the first people to download the photos once they’re online.

Adrien finishes tightening the C-stand beside the bed. He’ll adjust the lighting once Ladybug arrives, but he wants the grunt work done before she gets there. The last thing he needs is Ladybug standing around in her underwear while he tries to work with heavy equipment.

Adrien rubs his eyes and tries not to picture Ladybug in lacy underwear, though it’s as absurd as it is futile. She’ll be here any minute and he’ll have to photograph her while she’s actually, physically in front of him and is actually, physically wearing lacy underwear.

A knock on the balcony doors breaks through Adrien’s internal battlefield. His heart, which is already nesting in his throat, decides it’s time to run a marathon just at the sound of her arrival. He’s worried it might fully burst before he even lays eyes on Ladybug.

He swallows and reminds himself that he has a girlfriend. That he is going to see Marinette tonight, once this is over. He’ll have to laugh and tell her how absolutely innocent it was when it’s all said and done. Because it has to be innocent. It has to be.

Adrien slides open the balcony door and is relieved to see that Ladybug is still fully clothed in her usual suit. The only thing that makes her appearance on the balcony any different from an evening on patrol is the duffel bag in her hand, like she’s come for a sleepover.

“Hi,” she says.

“Hi,” he replies, and hopes she doesn’t notice how breathless he is.

Adrien isn’t sure if the pause between them feels long because adrenaline has his brain running double-time, or if the silence between them really does stretch out interminably.

“I’m just about ready,” he finally says, “whenever you are.”

“Right! I just need to um… change.”

“Right.”

This time, he’s certain that the pause is too long, but Ladybug finally slips past him and into the bathroom.

When she’s gone, Adrien scrubs his face with his hands. His palms come away sticky with sweat. He is supposed to be the professional. If any of his photographers behaved like this while he was a model, he would never have worked with them again. He can’t let Ladybug think he’s some sort of creep.

The bathroom door opens and Adrien’s heart, again, races, but she doesn’t come out in her underwear, not yet.

Instead, Ladybug is wearing a thin, silky black robe. They discussed a color palette—one of the hardest conversations Adrien has ever had to keep a straight face for—and settled on blacks and reds, which not only keep with Ladybug’s theme, but are sensual enough on their own.

Her hair is pulled up in a bun and her mask covers her eyes—or rather, a replica of her mask. Even the earrings in her ears have to be a copy, at least for the moment. Adrien, knowing how his ring camouflages itself, asked her if her earrings bore her iconic spots when she was not transformed. If she was surprised he knew to ask, she didn’t show it. She simply confirmed that he was right, and she would have to wear a copy if they wanted to maintain the traditional icons of Ladybug.

He can tell that she’s taken his advice about makeup, too. The low dip in her bathrobe reveals perfectly smooth, pale skin. She’s covered up any blemishes and freckles, something he suggested not only because of his own experience in modeling, but because anyone who knows her, like a partner, might recognize such marks.

She blushed and said that her boyfriend didn’t know that she was Ladybug, so that was probably smart.

“I can also clean it up in post,” Adrien told her. Then, he dared to ask, “Does he know you’re doing this? Not that he has to—it’s your choice—I just… if you’re nervous about him finding out, that sounds… bad?”

Ladybug wrinkled her nose and stared down at their notes. “He sort of knows?”

But Ladybug’s relationship isn’t really Adrien’s business.

“Where to first?” She fidgets with the tie around her waist.

“I’ve set up over here.”

Adrien leads Ladybug to the bed, where he’d already pulled back the hotel bedspread and laid out a black silk sheet to cover the stark white hotel bedding.

Ladybug’s fingers slips into the knot around her waist. Adrien picks up his camera and busies himself with the settings, intentionally missing the moment she slides out of her bathrobe and onto the bed.

“I’m just going to check the lighting,” he says, and lifts his camera.

It’s easier to stare at her through the lens.

She’s not only taken her bathrobe off, but she’s pulled her hair down. Her dark hair falls along the curve of her neck and brushes over her shoulders. Adrien follows those curves down to the black cups edged in red lace that cover her pale breasts, though he catches the tiniest sliver of pink peeking out from behind the lace. Black straps fasten her bra to the high-waisted underwear that, while it covers her stomach, curves high over her hips, leaving her legs long and exposed. Her bare feet are decorated in bright red nail polish. Something about that nail polish nags at his brain—didn’t Marinette paint her toes last night?

But the shutter on his camera clicks and he forgets to finish his thought. It takes all his mental fortitude to look at the photo professionally and academically. The shadows on her skin are too harsh; her hair blends in with the black silk; one of the straps of her bra is twisted.

Adrien adjusts the bounce of the light around the room, softens it with a flag, switches the bedding from black to red, and asks Ladybug to fix her bra strap.

“And then the robe back on,” he says, “but open.” It takes all his effort to keep his voice steady and even.

He checks his settings again, adjusts his camera, and finally, they can begin to shoot in earnest.

Once he gets going, it’s fairly easy to maintain his professionalism. There isn’t a whole lot of sensuality when it comes to adjusting angles, clicking the shutter, checking the shot, adjusting the pose—it really does feel like work. But Adrien would appreciate it if his heart would stop jerking in sudden bursts whenever Ladybug turns her brilliant blue eyes to the camera, or when he has to set the camera down to direct Ladybug into a new pose.

She, at least, behaves like a professional.

“New pose?” Adrien asks, and Ladybug readily shifts so that one arm drapes lazily above her head. Her face tilts up so that her neck slopes in a soft arch into her shoulder, and one knee cocks, suggesting a subtle invitation.

Adrien very gently touches her elbow, and she moves her arm at his direction. “Have you done this before?”

“No!” she says quickly, then swallows. Her bright red lips open and close as she looks for the right words. “I mean—I just did a lot of research beforehand.”

Adrien did, too. He’d never done any shoots like this during his time as a model. He quit before he was old enough to even have conversations about these sorts of shoots. So he’s spent a lot of time looking at boudoir photos in the last few weeks. Marinette helped him, and it had certainly been nice to discuss ideas with her.

He still doesn’t know why Marinette was so calm about it all—at least, for Marinette’s standards. She fell into her high-pitched, nervous voice when they discussed the shoot; she laughed awkwardly and blushed terribly. But Adrien knew that Marinette had absurdly jealous tendencies. He still didn’t understand why she didn’t exhibit any of that during their conversations about Ladybug.

Adrien had certainly felt a pang of jealousy when Ladybug told Chat Noir.

“I just… wanted to warn you,” Ladybug said. “And—you don’t have to, er—feel bad if you look at them. I mean, not that I want you to look at them! And I think—just don’t tell me. I don’t want to know.”

Chat Noir leaned against his staff and tried for a smile, but it was hard with the anxiety curling in his stomach. He no longer loves Ladybug, but she’s still his partner. He doesn’t want to share her with the rest of Paris this way. He also wanted to promise her that he wouldn’t look, especially if it made her uncomfortable, but he couldn’t very well promise abstinence if he was going to be the one taking and editing each and every photograph.

“My lady,” he finally said, “I would never let this change anything between us. Maybe I’ll even do my own.”

But Adrien doesn’t think that he’ll ever be able to do something like this as Chat Noir. Not only does he have absolutely no desire to get back in front of a camera and let someone else take control of his image again, there are too many photos of Adrien Agreste out there. Someone will inevitably hold up Chat Noir and Adrien’s bodies against each other and put it all together, and then it will be over. He’s grown since his modeling days, certainly, but it isn’t a risk he wants to take.

As Adrien pauses to check over the photographs, Ladybug relaxes into the bed. He risks a glance away from his camera to look at her properly, to shut out the stands and equipment and take a moment to see Ladybug as she is.

Her fingers twist in the ends of her hair, like an anxious fidget. Her eyes are locked with the ceiling and there’s a pinch to her cheek, like she’s gnawing her way through a difficult thought. Her black hair fans out on the red silk just as the black robe does, and as she shifts, it falls from her neck and shoulders, revealing the sharp angles of her collarbone. Her lipstick is the same shade of red as the lace that curls around her breast and her waist. Adrien can’t help but stare.

“Is everything all right?” she asks.

“Yes—” Adrien wishes he could sound less defensive. He glances back down at his camera. “Did you want to see them?”

He sits down on the bed next to her and she leans over his shoulder. A shiver runs down his spine as her bare skin presses against his arm. He has never touched Ladybug’s bare skin before; not in all their years of pulling each other out of danger has he ever been this close with her.

“Is that really me?” she asks.

He laughs, but it sounds as forced as it feels. “Yeah. You—You look great.”

She feels warm against him, too warm. He wishes she would pull away.

“You’re really good at this,” she says.

“Thank you. I think knowing what it’s like on the other side of the camera helps.”

Her brow furrows beneath her mask. It doesn’t shift fluidly with her expression the way the magical one grafted onto her might have, but it tilts and twists with her confusion.

“Have you done shoots like this before?”

“No, no, nothing like this. This is… new for me.” Adrien swallows and stands. His arm feels cold where she had been touching him. “But if they turn out well, maybe I can convince my girlfriend to do one.”

Ladybug crosses her legs and leans over onto her knee. “Oh—do you think she’d like that?”

“She did help me plan this shoot, so maybe?”

Ladybug posed so neatly before, but now she looks small and drawn into herself, hunched over her own legs. Adrien wonders if she’s thinking about her own boyfriend, and how he’ll feel to see her like this. Does her partner know her well enough—love her well enough—to recognize her like this?

“Lean back?” Adrien says.

Ladybug places her hands behind her, fingers pressing deep into the mattress and slipping along the silk.

“Chin up, chest out?”

She does, but the worry in her blue eyes doesn’t fade. The pose should be haughty, a look Ladybug has been giving him easily for the last hour. He wonders why she’s so lost now.

He snaps the pictures anyway, then suggests she lean back on her elbows and look away. If she can’t be haughty, he can redirect and lean into pensive.

But after a few more clicks of the shutter, he has to ask, “Are you all right?”

She turns back to him and stares like she’s wandered in from another planet. “What is it?”

“You just look worried.”

“Oh. No. I—I was just thinking. Your girlfriend—I mean, my boyfriend—I mean—I don’t know if he’d want pictures of me like this.”

“Why wouldn’t he?”

“I just mean I’m not like this, you know, without the mask.”

“You are very pretty. I’m sure your boyfriend agrees.”

It’s hard to tell in the dim lighting, but he thinks she blushes. “I’m a lot more awkward without the magic,” she says.

“You’re not wearing any magic now.”

He doesn’t realize how much attention he’s giving to her breathing until he notices her chest go still, her breath caught in her lungs.

He snaps a photo.

“Oh, I wasn’t ready!”

Adrien glances down at the preview. Her blue eyes are wide and her red lips drawn into a small pout. It’s different from the looks they’ve been leaning towards—powerful, dominant, desirable. Instead, she looks surprised and vulnerable. It’s his favorite picture of the day so far, but it’s clearly not what she wants, not the way she wants others to see her. He deletes it.

“Maybe we should try some of the tease shots?” he suggests.

She shifts onto her knees and reaches behind her to the hooks of her bra. Adrien captures the moment of her unclasping her bra several times before she lays back down on the bed, cups still in place, but backstraps splayed out on the bed.

Then they take a few with the bra cast aside, first with her hands covering her nipples and then with a red ribbon reminiscent of Ladybug’s hair ribbons.

Adrien looks away each time she changes her minimal modesty coverings out, but he can’t help but think about how many nights he spent as a teenager dreaming about Ladybug beneath her mask and beneath her suit. It wasn’t always fantasies like this, but he’d be a liar if he said he had never dreamed of Ladybug like this.

She bites down on her lip and he snaps another series of photos.

Then she puts the robe back on and Adrien’s heart stutters as he remembers what they agreed to shoot next.

Ladybug said she wasn’t interested in full nudes, that she didn’t want all of Paris to see all of her. But they agreed that they would shoot the robe without lingerie.

She shimmies out of her underwear and climbs back onto the bed.

Adrien swallows down a host of anxiety and desire that wells up in his chest as she adjusts herself on the bed. Ladybug leans back against the headboard, one leg bent up and the other out, but her black silk falls neatly between her legs. Adrien’s heart races as she tugs the silk up at her waist so that the V covering her chest pools into something loose and inviting. Adrien can see the lines where her breasts press against her stomach.

“Can you move the knot?” Adrien gestures to her waist, where the knot of her silk tie is hiding behind her thigh. It doesn’t need to be exposed, but it would give the shot more intrigue, though he supposes Ladybug has enough of that all on her own.

She shifts the tie as he directs and shifts all the silk with it.

“May I?” Adrien asks and, with heart racing, fixes the tie for her.

He does everything he can not to brush her skin as he adjusts the way the silk falls against her chest and around her thighs. He checks each wrinkle at her waist to make sure it looks intentionally casual and comfortable. He double-checks the fall of the silk against her chest to make sure the best parts of her are hidden. Finally, he smooths the silk over her thigh and tugs on the ends so that there is only just enough fabric to cover between her legs, but leaves most of her legs visible to the camera.

He catches sight of the tiny, heart-shaped freckle on the inside of her thigh and goes very still. She goes still, too.

“What is it?”

Adrien swallows. “You and my girlfriend have the same freckle.”

“Oh—I’m sorry—I can get my concealer—”

She’s already trying to get out from under him, ruining every bit of staging he has just finished setting. He means to get out of her way and to tell her that he can hide any freckles in post but his brain is too busy trying to figure out why Ladybug just apologized to him for having the same freckle as Marinette.

She crashes into him and he tries to catch himself on the bed, but the silk is smooth and they both go tumbling to the floor.

“I’m so sorry!” she says. “I told you, I’m clumsy without the magic.”

She’s on top of him, and the red silk sheet falls onto her waist, draping over them both. Adrien stares up at her from the plush carpet. She tries to get up, but he grabs her hip and holds her steady. She freezes.

His other hand, as slow and automatic as if it belonged to a machine separate from him, drifts up to her mask. Her breath hitches as he thumbs the end of it, just where it covers her cheekbone.

“Ladybug,” he breathes. They’re so close to each other that he can see the bob of her throat as she swallows.

He knows the next logical thought, but he can’t bring it to his lips. It makes sense, though. Ladybug choosing him, Marinette’s lack of jealousy, the toe nails, the one, single mark on her skin that he’s seen a dozen nights before in Marinette’s bed…

“I’m sor—”

But he cuts off her apology with a kiss. He knew, before he kissed her, but he truly knows it now. He knows Marinette’s shy, hesitant kisses, and the taste of her tongue and the curve of her lips. He feels dizzy as years of flimsy excuses and missed flirting in all directions flood his memories, but it also feels good. It feels right to know that this is how it has always been, that Marinette has always been the girl that he loves.

He drops his head back to the floor and stares up at her with a satisfied grin.

She looks back with panic in her eyes. “Adrien, I’m so sorry,” she says.

But he only smiles. “I don’t know why you’re apologizing. I feel like the cat that just caught the canary.”

✦✧✦✧

Alya yawns and leans against Nino. He pulls the blanket tighter around them and turns the movie up.

Then Alya’s phone buzzes.

“It’s Marinette,” she says, and Nino groans, but he pauses the movie.

“If something happened between Adrien and Ladybug today, I probably should call Adrien.”

“It might be nothing,” Alya says, though neither of them believe it. She leans away from Nino as she answers.

Nino can’t hear Marinette’s words on the other end of the call, but he can pick out the frantic tone. He starts thumbing through his own phone to text Adrien.

Alya frowns and gets to her feet. “Girl, slow down, I have no idea what you’re saying.” Then a grin spreads across her face. “Ah, well, that was always a possibility… No, I’m not saying I planned this on purpose. I’m just saying it’s been years and maybe you should have told him by now… What did you just say about Chat Noir?”

[wackus-bonkus-maximus]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love ❤️

pick between 5 of my babies? 🥺 GLADLY

(these aren't necessarily my favorites btw. just the ones that i wanna boost!)

lies of attrition

my priority atm, and also a super fun collab with me and @ladyofthenoodle! if you want some post-s5 angst, action, pining, and ladynoir enemies, this is the place to be!

summary: The trust between Ladybug and Chat Noir is stretched to breaking point when a new butterfly holder emerges in the wake of Monarque's defeat. Chat Noir doesn't know who to trust until Chrysalis confronts him with a truth Ladybug had tried to bury: Monarque made the Wish—and she wants Chat Noir’s help to undo it. excerpt: “Chat,” Ladybug said, her voice coated with worry. “Did something happen?” He could tell her, now. He had come here to tell her, to show her his face after three years of partnership, to let her see why so much was suddenly wrong. If only he knew what she would say when he pulled off his mask. If only he knew whether she would stay or go. “I could tell you,” he ventured, turning to look directly at her. “But… it’s easier if I show you.” He saw the moment she realized; the way her blue eyes widened, her pink lips parting in a tiny “o.” They stared at each other, unmoving, the sounds of the parade fading into the night. A single firework burst overhead, shattering the standstill. Red blazed over her face, the fall of sparks raining down behind her. Then her features pinched, and in that moment, every hidden place within him was painted red too. “Oh, Chat Noir,” Ladybug whispered, her expression growing more pained by the second. “I… I don’t know.”

Like Smoke from a Furnace

one of my personal favorites! this was an experiment for me in present tense and internal conflict, and i really like how it turned out!

summary: Marinette and Adrien give up their Miraculous. Ladybug and Chat Noir never meet again. excerpt: Giving up the Ladybug Miraculous was supposed to unshackle them both. If she had done so earlier, it could have been different. If Adrien had spoken up later, it would have been different. But Ladybug knew nothing about Chat Noir except the heart he had always laid bare, and that was of her own doing. If Marinette passes him in the street, they will both keep going, none the wiser, the culmination of all their self-imposed secrets. She has nothing to go on. No name, no circumstance, no poorly-disguised hint, as she suspects he has tried to leave before. Chat Noir had become better at following her rules than she, and Marinette had so recently been simultaneously proud of him for it—and resented him too. It doesn’t sink in until several quiet nights later, when she and Adrien are tucked together on his couch, the soft blues and grays of his chosen film flashing across his screen. She is never going to see Chat Noir again.

rest your head (upon my shoulder)

i love this one so much. sometimes i go back and read it to myself because it gives me the exact toe-curling pining i always crave. i like to think of it as one of those "so close but so far away" stories - one of my favorite brands of angst.

summary: Ladybug can save Chat Noir from anything, except what he doesn't tell her. excerpt: “I don’t think there will be any Akuma attacks for a while.” She frowned, but he leaned back, staring up at the starless sky through the leaves of the tree hanging overhead.  Something was wrong. She could feel it lingering over him, heavy like suspended rain. “Chaton?” “I had this dream the other night,” he said, gazing over the roof of the Musée. “We grew wings without needing anything—no macarons, no magic words, no Miraculous. And then we just…took off. I don’t really remember where we went, but it was beautiful.”  His eyes slid to hers once more, unnaturally bright. Her blood rushed with unbidden heat and she reminded herself why she had stopped sitting in dark, quiet places alone with Chat Noir. 

borealis green

a feligami oneshot! this covers the time between "pretension" and "representation" and is probably one of my only canon-compliant au's. i really like writing kagami's pov so this was super fun!

summary: Getting to know Felix is easier than Kagami anticipated, especially as he keeps following her. excerpt: “Goodnight, Félix,” she whispers, though she does not need to. Nobody is around to hear them. No one is watching them. It is only a taste of the freedom he promised her, and yet it sinks into her with the softness of the street lights and the prickle of the night air.  “Can I see you again?” he asks, just as softly.  She has exactly nine minutes to walk back to the ikebana studio where Tatsu will be waiting to transport her home. She can make it if she walks fast. She can linger a few moments longer if she runs. The vertigo crescendos as she remains in place, watching the gleam of headlights flash in his eyes as cars speed past.  “You should go home,” Kagami tells him, holding his gaze. “It’s not safe for you in Paris.” Félix tilts his head in acknowledgement, but the corners of his mouth turn up. “No,” he agrees. “It isn’t.”

mirror image

another post-s5 fic centered on adrien & felix, but with a twin telepathy twist. it's kind of like my r&r time for fic, easy and cathartic and a fun break for me between other projects!

summary: The voice in Adrien’s head is strangely familiar. It also tells him the truth (when no one else will). excerpt: You are hearing things, the voice said as though in answer. Doesn’t mean I’m not real. Adrien reached for the silver chain around his neck, his fist closing around the two rings resting warm against his sternum. “As real as me?” Yes, idiot, the voice replied with a bite. As real as you. “That’s not what some people would say,” Adrien replied, not caring if the voice was annoyed. It was his head, after all. Well, what would you rather be? The voice plowed on, unbothered by Adrien’s ire. Born of magic, or born of Gabriel Agreste?

ty for the ask kayla 💛 love me some self-promotion. hope y'all enjoy!

[bridgyrose]

Ladybug Week Day 3: First Kiss

Blake winced as she felt the cool morning air against her skin and the gentleness of Ruby’s fingers against her back. Her body ached from shifting after the full moon had finally set, her head pounding as she continued to feel a rush from the adrenaline that still coursed through her body. She slowly opened her eyes and pulled Ruby’s cloak over herself to keep warm. 

“Finally awake?” Ruby asked. 

“Y-yeah, I’m awake,” Blake said groggily as she slowly got up, her arms shaking as they supported her. “You… you stayed with me. Why?” 

“You’re supposed to be my girlfriend, so of course I stayed with you. Though, you could’ve told me about this.” 

“About me being a monster?” Blake pulled the cloak around herself and looked around the small camp that Ruby had made. They were still in the darkest parts of the forest, light shining around the edges of the camp from the leaves above. Her stomach growled, and then she doubled over and heaved for a moment as her body started to realize it had eaten raw meat the night before. “Why… why didnt you run?” 

Ruby started to dig through her pack and pulled out some fresh clothes for Blake, along with some eggs, pancake mix, and a little milk. “You didnt try to hurt me and seemed more scared of me than I was of you. I hope pancakes will be okay with you for breakfast, I wasnt able to grab much before getting you out of Vale.” 

Blake nodded and grabbed the clothes, getting herself dressed as she tried to piece together the memories from her shift. She remembered shifting in Vale, being brought out with Ruby, a strange smell that seemed to linger around her partner, racing through the forest to hunt… but she couldnt remember if anyone had come to hunt her like they had before. “Yeah, pancakes will be fine.” She finished getting dressed and sat Ruby’s cloak next to her as she watched her partner start a fire and start to mix the pancake batter. “What happened to the people who came out to hunt me?” 

“No one did. I made sure no one saw you.” 

Blake quietly watched Ruby as she placed a pan over the fire and slid a small bit of butter into it to grease it up. It didnt make any sense that someone didnt come to hunt her down, especially after shifting in the middle of the city. People were terrified of wolves, let alone a werewolf that was twice the size of a regular wolf. “What do you mean no one came to find me?” 

“I mean exactly that, no one came to find you.” 

“But someone always does!” Blake yelled, pausing when she caught her reflection on the metal pan catching her canines were still enlarged from her transformation. She took a deep breath to relax, trying to keep her own anger from taking over. “Over the last eight months, someone has always come after me. Farmers, villagers, huntsmen… I’ve only killed when I had to in order to keep myself safe, but someone always comes. As far as anyone is concerned, I’m just a beast to be killed.” 

“And this time, no one came for you.” Ruby poured a little batter into the pan to start a pancake, smiling a bit as she watched it start to bubble. “I used my semblance to get us out of Vale and then I took you deep into the forest. No one saw you and you only went after deer and rabbits this time instead of anything the farmers were herding.” 

“That hasnt stopped anyone-” Blake froze when she felt Ruby kiss her, her thoughts trailing away for a brief moment as her hand went to Ruby’s back. She finally relaxed as Ruby broke the kiss, a blush crossing her cheeks as they seemed to heat up. “You… you kissed me.” 

“I needed you to calm down and try to relax for a moment,” Ruby said, hiding her own small blush as she focused on the pancakes. “Though, I guess that would be our first kiss, wouldn’t it? We’ve been dating since we’ve graduated and we havent kissed once, have we?” 

“Its not like we’ve had a lot of time.” Blake relaxed as she watched Ruby flip the pancake, her stomach growling from the smell. “Ozpin has been keeping you busy, I’ve had to spend some time in Menagerie, and even when we are together, we rarely have time to ourselves without being called on another mission. And then I…” she paused for a moment and put a hand to the scarred bite mark on her shoulder. “I became… this. Ironic though, a cat faunus becoming a wolf once a month.” 

Ruby chuckled a bit. “It is, but please dont hide anything like this anymore.” 

“I wont.” 

“Now eat. I’m sure you’ll feel better on a full stomach.” 

Blake nodded and took the first pancake, biting savagely into it. She savored the taste, already enjoying it more than the thought of eating raw meat. “And then… maybe we can have a bit of time to ourselves, right? Just you and me?” 

Ruby nodded and took another pancake out of the pan. “Of course.” 

Blake blushed at the thought of being alone with Ruby again, cuddling with her and holding her close. Just like she used to at Beacon. She slowly tore a piece of pancake and popped it into her mouth. “That would be nice.”

[heidi891]

ML Season 5 Finale

It’s the show’s pattern that at the end of the season Marinette makes a mistake and must face the repercussions in the next season. She forgot to change back when meeting with Master Fu and she lost her mentor, and she had to deal with new responsibilities as a guardian with hardly any experience. She mistook Félix for Adrien and she lost the Miraculouses. What mistake has she made now?

She fought alone when she said that they should fight together when she was hiding in the kitchen. But what was she supposed to do? Although I totally understand that it would be great for Adrien to fight his own father, it’s already been established that when Adrien finds out his father is the villain in dramatic circumstances, it doesn’t end well. Adrien recognising his unstable state and giving up his powers was a sign of maturity. He also had the occasion to fight his father as Chat Noir and tell him off (S5 Representation). Of course it’s not nearly as satisfying as Gabriel knowing the truth about Chat Noir, but it’s also more in line with what the show has been telling us.

She trusted Gabriel. However, eventually it turned out OK. Gabriel was forced to listen to Emilie and chose to save Nathalie who died because of his actions. This wasn’t a selfless sacrifice, but it wasn’t a totally selfish action either. In that moment it was the best possible outcome, because he was dying anyway due to his own wrong choices.

Marinette lost the Butterfly Miraculous. I’d call it an accident, not a mistake, and you can’t really learn anything from an accident as opposed to mistake; but in the pessimistic variant this is her mistake and the consequence is Lila becoming a supervillain; Gabriel is “redeemed” and Adrien will never know the truth about his father.

Marinette lied about Gabriel dying a hero. I think that is the mistake that will have the greatest impact on season 6. What’s more, this mistake is related to Adrien (she doesn’t want to hurt him), just like her previous mistakes.

We can see signs that her mistake may have bad consequences in the future:

The scene with the shining, smirking statue (resembling Chloé’s statue) and Tomoe talking about continuing Gabriel’s legacy is rather disturbing. If it were Ms Bustier giving speech and the statue were less shiny and more serious, the scene would give less villanous impression. The statue is a clear, visible symbol of the lie.

During the kissing scene we can hear a little worrisome and sad theme. If it’s a happy ending, why is the soundtrack not happier? Marinette and Adrien seem very happy, but there’s the lie between them.

Also during the kissing scene we can see white butterflies flying around. It may look hopeful, because Monarch was defeated—but we also know that Nooroo is not free. That changes the idylic picture into something more sinister. Lila’s got a lot of information from Nathalie and the computer about Gabriel, Monarch and Miraculouses. She may reveal it in a villanous way to harm Ladybug and everybody else. She may pretend to be a new hero and accuse Ladybug of cooperating with Monarch. I hope we’ll be shown what Lila really wants and what she’s up to.

Adrien

Ladybug probably won’t tell Chat Noir about Monarch’s true identity to keep the secret safe. She may also convince Plagg not to say anything. Nathalie most likely will also stay silent not to reveal herself as the villanous Mayura. I think it will be Lila who will reveal that Gabriel was the villain. That will make Adrien realise that Nathalie and Ladybug haven’t told him the truth. He may feel betrayed, angry and resentful.

I hope we’ll see more angry Adrien. For a long time he tried to be a perfect son and in the last season he started to be more aggressive as Chat Noir. Learning to express more anger and frustration as Adrien, not as Chat Noir, would be much healthier than destroying the world with his superpowers. I hope that there won’t be too much Chat Blanc / Anti-Chat, because such plots aren’t really going anywhere, they only undermine Adrien’s ability to control himself and the future of Adrienette. In the last episodes Adrien grew up and managed to recognise that he shouldn’t transform in such an unstable state, so I hope he will continue to mature and be able to deal with terrible news without destroying everything. And if they’ll keep pushing the Chat Blanc narrative, then maybe Adrien shouldn’t be Chat Noir anymore, if he’s apparently that unstable, and maybe Gabriel was right all along, controlling his son so tightly.

Nonetheless I truly hope he will destroy that terrible statue.

Reveal?

I didn’t expect the reveal and I don’t think it’ll happen in season 6. Those few times we’ve already seen it, it turned bad, but maybe it can strengthen them with Gabriel gone, if they reveal themselves out of trust instead of it being forced by external circumstances or by Ladybug trying to control the situation.

The superheroes

Frankly speaking, I was sort of happy that at the beginning of season 5 Marinette had no additional Miraculouses and Ladybug and Chat Noir were again the only superheroes in Paris. I’m afraid that with so many superheroes season 6 will be rather chaotic.

[sariahsue]

Marinette’s Three Rules for Preventing the Apocalypse

Set shortly after the events of Chat Blanc, Marinette uses her knowledge of what happened that day to create three rules to prevent disaster. What happens when she can't keep them all?

Chapter One - Six Months Later

(Oops. This is the real ch one. The last “ch 1″ I posted was intended to be the prologue!)

"Marinette," Adrien's voice sang. Or wait, was he in costume right now? She yawned and stretched, giving herself time to remember what was happening before responding. Her arm pushed against something warm and she looked up. A masked face smiled down at her.

Marinette bolted up from where she'd had her head in his lap. The sunlight coming through her windows was at a completely different angle than it had been when she'd closed her eyes. Overdue homework mixed with the fabric and thread from two half-unfinished commissions she was supposed to be done with by the end of the week. Why hadn't he woken her up?

"What time is it?" She swept an arm to collect as much of her things off the floor as possible.

"Are you still mad at me?" he asked.

"No." She stuffed three pencils in her mouth, threw the fabric over her shoulder and tried to stack her papers with one hand and the pins she'd knocked over with the other. It wasn't working well.

"It looks like you are." He leaned over and brushed the pins into a pile so she could walk safely to her desk.

"I'm not mad," she said after dropping the pencils back onto her desk. "At you. I just don't know if you're lying to me again."

"Hm." He walked over, and she handed him a pincushion shaped like a tomato. "So you are mad at me."

It had been a difficult game she'd been playing, but one she knew the rules to by now. Chat Noir couldn't confide in her about his personal problems, and she wasn't allowed to ask. But Adrien wouldn't confide in her at school, and she had no way to help him if she wasn't supposed to know that he'd been coming to her house for comfort. He looked perfectly calm in class, never getting lower than an A, keeping a smile and an answer whenever the teacher called on him. It would seem odd if she said he looked upset and asked if he wanted to talk. She felt stuck.

"I'm really fine," he said once all the pins were put away. "I'm not lying."

Another rule of the game was that she had to pretend she wasn't Ladybug, and so she couldn't tell him he wasn't allowed to use the miraculous for friendly visits. But that one didn't grate on her as much. It was better that he felt he could come over whenever he wanted and not like he was imposing on her, for his own sake.

And he had taken advantage of the hospitality. What had started as an occasional hello when he was feeling down had turned into regular hangouts. Sometimes they sat on her balcony for five minutes to catch up on their uneventful days. Other times they stayed up for hours, swapping secrets, watching movies, or doing homework together.

Having him so close and still not being able to be with him wasn't the best for Marinette's heart, and trying to keep track of what he'd told her as which persona was confusing, but he was always happier when he left. That was worth any sacrifice she had to make.

Marinette took her time putting the pin cushion away, carefully rearranging the contents of her sewing basket while she collected her thoughts. She could feel Chat Noir standing right behind her. If she took a step back, she would lean into his chest. For a second she let herself pretend that if she did, he would wrap his arms around her and hold her.

But Chat Noir and Marinette were not like that. He wasn't like that with Ladybug either, not since she'd asked him to move on.

Marinette leaned forward, away from the temptation, and turned around.

"I'm glad you're okay," she finally said. "I didn't want to beat anyone up on your behalf today."

His cat ears perked up, and his lips twisted into her favorite grin. "How about tomorrow?"

She made a pretense of glancing at the calendar on her wall to distract herself from his mouth. "Sorry. I have to study for a math quiz tomorrow night. Can you save your personal problems for Saturday? I should have more time then."

"I'll pencil a crisis in for you."

Marinette swallowed an "it's a date" comment. It wasn't a date. They weren't dating. They would never date. They were never going to be together.

"Hey. Are you okay?"

She snapped her attention back to him. Chat Noir crouched down ever so slightly to get a better look at her face, and Marinette realized that she'd reached behind her to grab the edge of her desk in a death grip. Her nails pressed into the underside painfully.

"Fine," she said, forcing her fingers open and shaking her hands. Her weak heart beat painfully for him.

And he just had to smile at her anyway. "Now who's lying? What was that about?" Carefully, he reached to push a strand of hair out of her face, using his knuckle so he wouldn't risk getting a claw near her eye.

His fingers lingered. And Marinette willed herself to breathe. It wasn't fair that he could do something so normal and send her leaning onto her desk for support. He didn't see her like that, and they weren't ever going to be together.

"Nothing," she said. "Just swallowed wrong." She cleared her throat to try to help sell it. He didn't look convinced, just mildly amused.

"Well, if you're sure you're okay," Chat Noir breathed. His hand still hovered next to her face. It would be easy for her to lean toward it, cup it against her cheek, kiss his palm. "I should let you finish your commissions."

Marinette groaned. Work was the last thing she wanted to be thinking about. "You said you don't have patrol tonight. Couldn't you stay?" Her eyes flicked to the red box of fabric on top of her dresser. Tikki was in there, probably preparing a speech for later.

"Sorry, Marinette. I have to be up early tomorrow."

Her shoulders drooped. Right, Adrien had a photoshoot. "Who's going to save me from my work now?"

"Stop it. You love sewing." He reached past her to pick up her sketchbook, flipping back a page to the vest she'd been working on and waved it at her. "And you'll love the sense of accomplishment when you see how amazing they look when they're done."

Marinette finally pushed herself off the desk and picked up the pincushion. It was the perfect size to fit into her hand, and the heads of the pins were cool against her palm.

"Ugh. Maybe you're right."

"Good. I'm glad that you sound so convinced." He pushed the notebook into her hands and reached around for his baton.

"You could always bribe me," she said as he climbed up her ladder and headed toward the skylight above her bed.

"Huh?" He turned, knees on her mattress, always careful not to get her covers dirty even though she'd never thought to ask him.

"How about you promise to check on my progress tomorrow?"

He smiled and gave her a thumbs up at the unexpected invitation. She'd never done that before. It was always "come over if you need to." It was never a request on her part.

As Chat Noir's tail disappeared through the skylight, Tikki came out of hiding.

"You're doing enough to help him by letting him come," she said, tiny arms crossed and hovering inches from Marinette's face. "You don't need to invite him to come more often. He shouldn't be–"

"Using his miraculous for personal reasons. I know." She'd honestly forgotten about that in the moment, but she couldn't bring herself to regret the invitation. "It's fine. Plagg is lazy. He'll probably tell him no anyway."

"What are you going to do when he falls in love with you again? Have you thought about that?"

"When," not "if." Marinette had to hold back a smile, right until the logic set it. Chat Noir might visit her in his spare time, but Adrien didn't treat her any differently at school, which he would if he wanted to pursue a relationship with her.

"Don't worry, Tikki. He only sees me as a friend." Marinette pulled open her trapdoor to go downstairs, letting it fall with a slam behind her.

---

It had taken much longer than Ladybug had anticipated, but patrols had finally gotten back to normal. After the reveal, and her rejection, the duo had been understandably distant from each other, and their first few meetings were sterile and devoid of fun while he was nursing a broken heart. But their partnership had been strong enough that they quickly found a new rhythm. It was friendly and fun. It worked. But some of the warmth was missing.

And as much as she wanted to pretend that his time with Marinette was the only reason for his recovery, she could tell he was slowly getting over her. Knowing it was for the best, that everyone was safer that way and it was the right choice, didn't stop her wound from aching.

There were two solaces in the whole thing. One was that he was able to share details with Ladybug that he couldn't share with Marinette. He would talk about tests at school that he was worried about or the disappointments his father dished out almost daily.

Second, he talked about his friend Marinette frequently, how great he thought she was, and how much he loved spending time with her. Ladybug would try not to blush and often had to turn away to hide the tinge in her cheeks when she failed.

Today they were patrolling across the river in the first arrondissement, and Chat seemed particularly distracted. Three times he didn't hear her when she asked him questions, and twice she lost track of him because he was following behind and hadn't noticed she'd taken a turn.

"Are you okay?" she asked when they had finished their loop and were heading back home. "You aren't getting sick or something are you?"

"I'm going to ask her out."

A car below them kicked up pebbles onto the sidewalk. They hit something metallic.

Ladybug blinked, opened her mouth, and said, "Oh."

Chat Noir wasn't happier because he was getting over her. He'd completely gotten over and moved onto someone else already. She felt completely blindsided. A masochistic piece of her wanted to know who it was, but she pushed the question away.

"Sorry if I've been distracted today. I was just–"

"Thinking about her?"

"Worrying about it," he said.

For the past few months, she'd gotten very practiced in the art of pretending she didn't feel anything for him. It was far easier than it should have been to plaster on a concerned smile and say, "What for? That's great!"

Chat Noir hesitated. He nudged a loose corner of shingle with his boot. "Nothing, I guess."

"You have nothing to be worried about." Ladybug clasped her hands in front of herself, not sure if she wasn't selling it enough or putting in too much energy. He looked up from the shingle and smiled at her, so maybe it was the right amount.

It was good that he wasn't hurting anymore. She did want him to be happy.

But tonight she learned something about herself. She hadn't realized she'd been hoping that Adrien loved her too much to be able to move on. That was selfish, and she hated the jealousy that was spreading through her veins like poison, so she grabbed his hands and squeezed, pushing down the ugliness with a reminder that he was happy, and he wasn't hurting, and this was best for everyone.

They'd been only best friends for ages. She could do that again. "So when are you going to ask her?" she said, trying to channel her inner Alya.

He shrugged, looking away. "Soon, I think."

"You'll have to tell me how it goes. Our next joint patrol is Friday night, so you can give me all the deets." (Maybe too much inner Alya. That sounded forced.)

"Sure," he said, oblivious to how her smile was too wide and how her eyes prickled. "Before Friday."

"Okay, well, I'll see you then!"

She left without saying goodbye.

---

A/N: So... how are you? (I have nothing to say this time.)

@tbehartoo

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

What are your opinions on more „popular“ salt takes about Adrien and Mari, like the typical „Adrichat is an ass for for flirting with LB after she rejects him“ and „Maribug us a horrible stalker“?

Well, I'd be lying if I said that I have no idea where they're coming from. There are definitely times when I'll watch an episode and wonder what in the world the writers are trying to do, especially when it comes to Adrien's behavior as it's played a lot more straight than Marinette's. While I don't like her behavior at times, it's almost always treated as a joke, not a dramatic character beat whereas I cannot say the same for Adrien.

But these are characters in a TV show, not real people and we need to keep that in mind when judging them. It's why my go-to thought is "what is wrong with the writing staff" and not "Adrien is an incel." Because Adrien is very clearly not supposed to be an incel. Unless the writers are plotting something truly asinine, the Love Square is our end game couple. We are supposed to view Adrien as a charming and funny romantic lead. When he falls short of that role, it's not Adrien "showing his true colors." He's a fictional character. He has no true colors. If his actions and words are ever unbecoming for a romantic lead, it's because the writers are failing to write Adrien the way they want us to see him.

They consistently do this to all of the characters. Alya's supposed to be an awesome friend and a smart journalist (I think), but she can't see through Lila's BS. Marinette's parents are supposed to be loving and supportive, but they randomly believed that their daughter stole from their bakery to make a dress and didn't even try to let her explain herself. Nino is supposed to be the Chosen of Protection, but he didn't care to protect his best friend and just happily sent Gabriel on a rampage without a second thought.

Give me a character and I can point to a bunch of episodes that justify every salty take this fandom has because they're not pulling this stuff from thin air. They're picking and choosing the worst writing in the show and venting about it, which is frankly understandable. Like I get why there are so many Alya salt fics. Her writing in the Lila episodes is infuriating and I do find those fics a little cathartic at times. But it's really, really obvious that she's not supposed to be a terrible friend. She's a victim of the writers drawing the Lila plot line out for far too long and making Lila's lies far too obvious.

Similarly, a lot of the issues with Adrien and Marinette stem from the fact that you simply can't draw a romance plot out for five seasons without causing issues unless you make the romance a background plot. But they didn't do that. The love square is front and center for most episodes, but since it can't actually resolve, the writers keep adding drama that makes our leads feel horribly unhealthy.

On the Marinette side, her not being able to talk to Adrien was fine as an initial issue, but we are five seasons into this show. Over 100 episodes! You reach a point where it stops being cute and starts being concerning. It's also not helped by the fact that Marinette's crush is written like a celebrity crush and not a crush on someone she actually knows. Daily exposure to Adrien should mellow her out. Especially since he's supposed to be her friend! But if the writers let Marinette talk to Adrien, then they'd grow closer and might feel like they had to get together, so they couldn't let that. Thus Marinette being a disaster for four seasons and the terrible shoehorned plot to try and justify it in season five.

On the Adrien side, they let Chat Noir confess too soon. Prior to that, the Ladynoir relationship was a playful one where it was feasible that Ladybug just viewed her kitty as a massive flirt. This was especially true since he flirts with everyone. But once she knew that he was serious? The playfulness vanished and Chat Noir started coming across as entitled and pushy. It didn't help that they had him ignoring her preferences ("Don't call me Bugaboo") and getting them in trouble by not taking his job seriously (his flirting getting them hit in Oblivio).

In summary, the love square should have been resolved much sooner or been relegated to a b plot that got far less attention. I also would have reversed the square since it makes for a far more interesting story that you can organically draw out longer, but that's just me. I don't have any issue with people ignoring the canon problems and just writing Adrien and Marinette as the cute couple that they were obviously intended to be. I also enjoy fics that treat Adrien's pushiness as a character flaw that can be resolved because that's what canon should have done. His issues aren't the mark of a terrible person. They're the understandable flaws of a teenager who is in love for the first time and doesn't know how to express himself. If a show would actually address this kind of common tween/teen issue, then a lot of kids would get an incredibly valuable lesson that would help them when they grow up and fall in love. If you're ever watching Miraculous with a kid, I strongly encourage you to approach Adrien's character from that perspective. Talk about why his actions are understandable, but ultimately wrong and more likely to push someone away than win their heart just like we see with Ladybug.

[xhanisai]

Waltz

AO3

Pairing - Adrinette

Prompt - ‘Waltz’

Summary - 

Alya was struggling immensely with restraining herself from whipping out her trusty phone and taking a million pictures of her one true pairing (aside from Ladybug and Chat Noir), vibrating almost manically in Nino's arms who couldn't help but smirk at the sight of his good friends and his girlfriend being as vibrant and energetic as usual.

So, she did the next best thing.

"How should we hold our partner's hand, Monsieur. Agreste~?" Alya asked smugly, earning a playful eye roll from the blond because of the formal address and a quietly hissing Marinette who kept on mouthing for her best friend to hush with a complexion redder than a tomato.

"That all depends really. Even though the dance itself is traditional, there's no need to keep it so formal and uptight," As if to emphasise his point, Adrien brought Marinette even closer (probably the closest they've ever been with intention), a pleased grin resting on his peachy-pink lips, their chests pressed up together perfectly and then he entwined their fingers as his other hand firm on the small of her back. "This position feels the most natural with my Mari- ehem, my partner. Experiment and find out which one feels the best for you guys!"

Poor Marinette.

~(x)~ . . . If the sad little miserable island that just about neighboured France across the ocean had one redeeming factor about it, it's that Adrien has some of their blood within him, running through his perfect veins, courtesy of his beloved late mother. In fact, in Marinette's opinion, he should be treated as nothing less than royalty over there and in Paris too but of course, not everyone is as enlightened and smart as herself. But anyways, right now, right this second? He was teaching the class how to perform a traditional English ball dance for their school play (which was based on an old Arthurian legend), having been taught by his own family as a supposed necessity. A Graham de Vanily custom that has been passed down from generation to generation, unchanged and untouched for centuries and centuries. A heavy and intimidating mantle that had been placed upon the love of her life's strong, athletic shoulders which should only be passed on to the most worthy and brilliant of people. . But who did he decide to choose as his dance partner despite all of that? . "Remember, as you're leading your partner, ensure that your grip on their waist is firm and solid. Can you see the pressure that I'm putting on Marinette's waist? Like this," Adrien announced with a pleasant smile, oblivious to her internal banshee-like screeching and the mischievous, shit-eating expressions their friends sported as they simultaneously paid attention to his lesson. "Also, be careful not to hold them too tight. The waist is an easy place to bruise. Always make sure that you're communicating with your partner properly and don't be afraid to let one another know if you're feeling any discomfort. The point of the Graham de Vanily dance waltz is to feel like you're weightless when you're performing it." As if his undiluted touches and close proximity weren't enough, Adrien directed a loving beam towards Marinette, his eyes softening like butter and his hand on her hip bringing her closer towards him so that her senses were filled with nothing but him. Alya was struggling immensely with restraining herself from whipping out her trusty phone and taking a million pictures of her one true pairing (aside from Ladybug and Chat Noir), vibrating almost manically in Nino's arms who couldn't help but smirk at the sight of his good friends and his girlfriend being as vibrant and energetic as usual. So, she did the next best thing. "How should we hold our partner's hand, Monsieur. Agreste~?" Alya asked smugly, earning a playful eye roll from the blond because of the formal address and a quietly hissing Marinette who kept on mouthing for her best friend to hush with a complexion redder than a tomato. "That all depends really. Even though the dance itself is traditional, there's no need to keep it so formal and uptight," As if to emphasise his point, Adrien brought Marinette even closer (probably the closest they've ever been with intention), a pleased grin resting on his peachy-pink lips, their chests pressed up together perfectly and then he entwined their fingers as his other hand firm on the small of her back. "This position feels the most natural with my Mari- ehem, my partner. Experiment and find out which one feels the best for you guys!" Poor Marinette. ~(x)~ "Sorry- sorry...ugh! I'm so clumsy- you..." Marinette immediately stepped out of his arms and turned away, hugging herself and her shoulders stiff with anger towards herself. She was blind to the soft and slightly sad expression that her dance partner wore, his brows furrowing and his hands itching to bring her back to him, wanting nothing more than to kiss her sorrows and pain away. "You should choose someone else, Adrien. No matter how much I try, I just can't stop messing everything up...I'll end up embarrassing everyone during the play, especially you. All your hard work will end up going to waste..." She didn't expect him to finally give in to his heart's desperate wails and turn her back around gently, bringing her into his arms in a soothing, comforting embrace (getting to hold her tight and compassionately without having to use the excuse of dance practice.) "Marinette, you need to learn to stop being so hard on yourself," He murmured kindly into her soft hair sweetly, a little smile playing on his lips when he finally felt her relax under his touch and melt from his warmth. "This is why we're practising alone. So that you can finally learn to relax and stop being a perfectionist. You'll do just fine, I promise." The designer pulled back slightly to face him, her cheeks adorably pink and her brows rigid with worry. "I know...but it's so much harder than it seems. I just freeze up. I don't want to ruin the school play with my clumsiness." She couldn't help but rest her forehead on his chest, unable to handle his beautiful greens peering down at her so attentively and wonderfully. She didn't feel deserving of such an adoring gaze from him, especially with all the mistakes she's been making during their rehearsals. "Marinette, do you know why I chose you to be my partner?" His question had her observing him again, her lips tightening when he curled a stray strand of her hair behind her ear (like a lover). When she shook her head, his glittering smile practically melted her on the spot. "Pourquoi, Adrien...?" "Because when you're in your element, you become so, so graceful. You're quick on your feet, you're quick to come up with all these incredible plans and solutions, you're quick to improvise and most of all," He paused, his own cheeks reddening adorably as his nerves began to play up and his heart began skipping too many beats. "You're just so amazing and breathtaking, Marinette. I...choosing you as my partner is a selfish choice of mine. I didn't want to dance with anyone else, other than you. I feel most at peace when I'm with you...I'm sorry for stressing you out with this selfishness of mine." Something indescribable clicked within Marinette's brain, a sense of Déjà vu from the vulnerability and sheer rawness of his words, emotions and tone but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. Yet, it relaxed her a whole lot. It was a very familiar and welcoming feeling, putting her throbbing heart at relative ease- something that was becoming more and more common the longer she spent quality time with this amazing boy. "Thank you for telling me all of this, Adrien," She smiled, her lips rosy and sparkling under the sunset that peaked through the school windows, the blue of her eyes turning to a shade of golden honey from the orange rays and her skin glowing ethereally. "It is still early on with practice...so of course it'll take a little while to get used to dancing. I really should be more patient with myself, hahah!" "Are you sure you're okay with it? The last thing I want is to pressure you into this and make you upset-" "I want to!" Her exclamation almost had him jumping out of his skin (just like the namesake of her beloved partner). "Sorry, I mean...I really do want to do this. I really want to dance with you...I love dancing with you," The beautiful, everlasting smile the love of her life wore was more than enough for her heart and was so worth the embarrassing confession that slipped from her tongue. Oh, so much. "I love dancing with you too, Marinette!" He hugged her again, a childish teeter leaving his lips as his whole body buzzed with boyish excitement. "I promise you, Marinette. I'll make you the most confident and wonderful dancer you can ever be! You will become the envy of everyone!" "Heh, I'm counting on you, partner." "Partners~!" ~(x)~ Every step. Every movement. Every touch. Everything they did together was all in such incredible sync and natural instincts that the duo couldn't help but finally, finally realise just who exactly they were dancing with and whose hand was tangled up with their own in a perfect fit. Marinette's beautiful handmade ball dress swished against the floor like a swan's wing glazing the still waters serenely whilst Adrien's polished shoes were like stepping stones. Like a fairy tale that's come to life before everyone's very eyes. Sky blues continued to bore into emerald greens, both the heroine and hero in disguise wordlessly performing the last dance of the play despite the rest of the world being muted to a silent buzz at the back of the head. That was until Adrien decided to bring out the Chat Noir within him at full throttle, his eyes now blazing with a passionate intensity as his grip on her waist became even tighter just so she could feel the fire of his touch shooting through her skin and blood and veins without mercy. He was testing her. That sly petit Chaton. Marinette wasn't one to back down from a challenge however, her baby blues turning stormy with determination and resilience, daringly pressing her chest against his and tightening the grip she had on their entwined hands, doing everything to hide the devilish smirk when she felt the way he physically shuddered under her touch and the way her sweet breath was hitting his sensitive, dewy lips. "Getting a little bold, aren't you, Marinette?" Adrien murmured huskily in her ear during the next step of the dance, having to dip her down low and rest his cheek against hers indulgently. "You may or may not see my picture if you ever were to search up the word 'bold' online," Marinette giggled humorously as he lifted her back up with ease, his spring-green eyes glimmering with both delight and mischief of his long-time suspicions turning out to be one-hundred-and-ten percent true all along. He loves it when he's right. "BRAVO!!! BRAVO!!!" "WOOOOOOOOO!!!" "ENCORE!!! ENCORE!!!" "YOU GUYS DID AMAZINGLY!!!" The sounds of their audience bursting into a huge round of applause, complete with a standing ovation brought the duo back to the real world, whistles blown all over the place and screams of joy by their peers in the seats. Even Tom Dupain and Gorilla's claps combined were dwarfed by Sabine's and Nathalie's cheers and the children were going wild with their shouts of "Again!!! Again!!!". Looking at each others' faces one more time with a victorious grin, Marinette and Adrien stepped forward in line with the rest of their classmates, hands still tightly woven and then they bowed. . . . ~(x)~

[kasienda]

Rena Rouge: Secret Keeper - Ch 4: Adrien

Chapters: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Read on Ao3

Chapter 4: Adrien

Chat Noir was earlier than Ladybug. That was hardly unusual. What was unusual was that he was dreading her arrival. Alya said that she wasn’t mad, but he honestly couldn’t bring himself to believe it. He had left her alone crying on a rooftop with no way to find him. 

He didn’t think he would ever have to face her after hurting her like that. That had sort’ve been the point.

But he didn’t want their goodbye to be forever either. He never wanted her out of his life.

So he had to face this. 

She touched down behind him, almost silent on her toes. Every muscle locked in tension. His cat ears followed her like they had eyes of their own.

“Hey,” he greeted softly. “Oof,” he grunted as she tackled him in a hug. 

He returned the embrace immediately. He breathed in the scent of her shampoo, sank into the warmth of her body pressed into his own, and relished  in the fact that she was there. 

“I’m sorry,” she murmured.

“No, I’m sorry,” he said. “I shouldn't have left like that. I— I didn’t understand.”

Her shoulders hunched and her gaze remained glued to their feet, every centimeter of her contrite. 

Which was bizarre! He was used to seeing her bold and in charge, confident and quick to sass him playfully or yell at him to be better. Not like, whatever this was. 

“I didn’t even realize you were hurting,” she said as if that was the worst of their transgressions. 

“I didn’t leave because I was hurt.” 

“I know! But I want to know if I’ve hurt you. I want a chance to make it right.”

He pressed his lips together. He hadn’t given her that, but he also didn’t know if he could have regardless. He wasn’t good at telling people when he was upset. 

“I don’t know if that’s easy for me,” he admitted. 

She looked stung. “I suppose I deserve that. I have to regain your trust.” 

“No! I never stopped trusting you. I—“ he trailed off, looking away. 

Her hand found a home on his arm, and he held himself stock still to prevent himself from leaning into her touch.

“I never stopped trusting you either. I— I had to keep you at a distance.”

He looked up. “Why?” 

“Rena told you about the other timeline?”

She still didn’t meet his eyes. 

He nodded. “No details. Just that our knowing each other led to the end of the world?”

“We were in love,” she said.

He sucked in a breath. 

“You said it was our love that destroyed the world.” 

Something in his chest shattered. 

No.

No.

No.

He wanted to deny it all. That couldn’t be true. 

“I just… it wouldn’t be hard to fall for you, Chaton.”

The knife in his chest twisted.

“I’ve known it for a while. I had to keep you at a distance.”

“To save the world?” he repeated hollowly. 

She shook her head. “No, to save you.” 

“I don’t understand.” 

“You… survived. No one else did. You were all alone.”

She stopped there. Part of him wanted to press for details, but the other part of him was glad she stopped there.

His nightmares were already going to be bad enough.

…

Alya’s phone buzzed multiple times. Given that she was curled up on Nino’s shoulder, it could only mean that Ladybug and Chat Noir had finished their talk. She unlocked the phone and read through both threads. 

Adrien: 

Do you have time to come over? Or talk?  No pressure either. I know you said you were doing something with Nino. You know what? Nevermind. 

Marinette:

Alya! He hates me!  he’s gonna hate me forever!!

Alya hummed, wishing not for the first time that she could split herself in two. Marinette’s was seemingly more urgent than his, except Marinette always spiraled and Adrien never asked for help.

“Everything okay?” Nino asked. 

She turned the screen with Adrien’s texts towards him. All expression fell off his face. 

“Babe, he’s not okay,” he said. 

She nodded, unsurprised. “Just checking. I’ve got it covered, okay?”

She dragged herself from the warmth of Nino’s shoulder. He didn’t comment on Adrien asking her to come over. He didn’t ask how she was going to get in. He just gave her a small nod. She kissed him once before jumping the rest of the way to her feet and calling on her transformation. 

“I can call Marinette if you want,” he offered. 

Her brain stuttered. On one hand, that wasn’t the worst idea. Marinette would do better with something else to focus on. On the other, it was potentially incredibly dangerous because Marinette couldn’t link her conversation with Chat Noir to Adrien, and Nino clearly assumed that whatever this was was between Adrien and Marinette. 

Which is was. 

Ugh! 

But no, he was right. Marinette could use the distraction. 

“That would be awesome! But you have to pretend you know nothing about something being up with her. And absolutely under no circumstances can Adrien’s name come from your lips unless she brings him up first, got it?” 

“Got it! I’ll say I’m calling about Noel.” 

“Perfect!” Maybe she’d get a date night with Nino out of this!

…

Rena Rouge leapt through the open window to Adrien’s bedroom. The room was dark except for the light streaming from his bathroom door. He was curled up in bed with Plagg on his shoulder, absolutely silent. It was unnerving. Alya didn’t think Chat Noir could be that quiet.

Though Adrien definitely could be. 

“Hey,” she greeted softly, approaching the bed slowly. She wasn’t sure if she should hug him or what. Nino would have dived right in, but she and Adrien had never really been physical. “You called?”

He rolled towards her and gave a pale imitation of a smile. “Thanks for coming. I— I appreciate—“ he broke off and oh my god he was crying. 

His knees came up to his chest and his arms wrapped around them, his whole body shaking with sobs. 

Alya absolutely had no clue what to do. What would Nino do? 

Her transformation dropped in a flash of crackling orange light and she plopped onto the bed next to him.

He sobbed harder, and she curled herself around his back, pressing her cheek to shoulder.  “Shh,” she soothed. She wasn’t sure he could even hear her over Plagg’s purring, but it didn’t matter. She rocked him back and forth anyway.

“What happened?” she whispered when his cries slowed down. 

He shook his head, turning halfway in her hold. “I-I’m sorry,” he choked out.

“For?” she demanded. 

He scrubbed at his tears with the back of his hand. “I… I don’t know why this is hitting me so hard. I’ve dealt with worse.”

Which was a sobering statement. She didn’t know how much Marinette had shared, but there were several potential bombs in the Chat Blanc story worthy of a complete breakdown. 

“You’re only human,” she told him, leaning her forehead to his. “Ladybug’s story would have hit anyone hard.” 

He nodded, but his eyes wouldn’t meet hers. 

“What are you thinking?” she asked. 

“It’s just not fair,” he said. “I don’t know what was different in that timeline. How did he make her fall in love with him?”

Alya bit the inside of her cheek.

“He had everything.” 

Alya blinked at him for a second. Of all the things in that story, this was what he was upset about?!

“Adrien, he lost everything.” 

“But he had it to lose! I know it’s not rational. I just—“

She put her arm on him. “I get it.” 

She did not get it. 

“Ladybug’s not going anywhere,” she continued. “As long as you want her there, she’s going to be a part of your life. And I don’t know about you, but I think that’s pretty amazing even if it’s never romantic.” 

He nodded against her. “You’re right. I wouldn’t trade what we already have. I just— I always hoped she would eventually—“ he waved his hands in the air to represent something. 

There was something here. Something that explained why the loss of a love that he never had—

Except that he totally did!

—hit him harder than the end of the whole fucking world. 

But Alya couldn’t bring the puzzle together. But she understood that he was hurting. And she wanted to be there. 

He sniffed. “At least now, I understand why she didn’t trust me before.”

Alya shook her head. “She did trust you. She trusts you.” 

“I just meant why she pushed me away.” 

He wiped his face, took a deep breath, and offered her a sunny smile as if all was suddenly right with the world. 

It was insane how easily he seemed to pull himself together so quickly.

How did he do that?! 

This was why Nino worried about him all the time. He was too good an actor. 

“Adrien, it’s okay to be hurt even if she had a good reason. The hurt doesn’t just vanish. You’re allowed to be angry with her.” 

He nodded graciously. “Sure, but maybe I don’t want to be.” 

She opened her mouth to object. 

“Thank you for coming,” he said first. “I’m sorry for pulling you away from plans with Nino.” 

Was he intentionally trying to cut her off to change the topic? 

“It’s no big deal,” she said. “Nino and I will have other dates. He’s your friend and I’m your friend too, you know. We want you to be okay.”

He nodded again, smiling. “I just… I’m really lucky you brought me back so she’s still in my life.” 

If only she could tell him that it was almost impossible for her not to be in his life. 

“She’s lucky to have you, too.” 

He gave her a gracious smile, but she suddenly knew it was fake. She didn’t know how she knew, but she did. He was accepting the compliment out of politeness, but he didn’t believe her. 

She’d have to do something about that.

…

Alya didn’t get home until after eleven, and she probably should have gone straight to bed, but her mind was whirling with how to help Adrien and what she suddenly realized was a total lack of confidence.

She didn’t understand how Adrien Agreste — straight A student, world class fencer, literal teenage model, and a legit superhero — could lack confidence, but apparently he did. 

She’d have to talk to Nino about it at some point, as he clearly had a better read on Adrien than she did, but right now she had a more immediate plan. 

A glance at her phone though, showed Marinette still online.

She video called her immediately. 

“Hi!” Marinette greeted brightly, a huge smile beaming across her face.

And Alya let out a breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding. Marinette couldn’t fake a smile the way Adrien apparently could. 

Her boyfriend was a godsend and a lifesaver combined. 

“Hi! I’m sorry I’m responding to your text so late.” 

Marinette shook her head. “No, no. You were talking to Chat, right? He needed it more I’m sure.” 

Marinette glanced away. And Alya tensed. Marinette was usually one of her highest priorities, and sure, she was understanding now, but would it stay that way? 

“For the record, he definitely absolutely doesn’t hate you.” 

Marinette shrugged. “Probably not, but I still hurt him.”

“He needed to know the truth.”

She nodded. “I do feel lighter having told him. But I feel so bad for putting all that on him.”

“He doesn’t want you to bear any of it alone. And I don’t either.”

“I just wish I could make it up to him somehow.” 

Alya grinned. “I have an idea on that front, but I need your help.” 

Marinette nodded rapidly. “Whatever you need!” 

…

Adrien was awake before Nathalie knocked on his door with his morning wake up call. It was still several moments after that before he bothered to move. 

The revelations of the day before had thrown his world out of orbit, and now he was supposed to just get up and go to school like nothing had changed?

But what else was there to do except carry on? 

He dragged himself out of bed with a sigh, grabbed his phone from the charger and made his way to the bathroom. 

He had two notifications. The Ladyblog had updated and a text from Alya with a link to the same article. 

Alya: 

For you.  Long long overdue.  🫶

He read the title of the article and blinked. 

Behind every successful Ladybug, is an amazing Chat Noir. 

That she would even write that article blew him away before he had read a word. 

Even to the casual observer Chat Noir is an awesome guy and an even better hero. What’s not to love about him? He is clever, funny, and incredibly reliable while he’s fighting for all of Paris. And if you’ve ever watched him interact with a victim or a child after an attack you know he’s a total sweetheart who lives and breathes kindness and compassion.  Not to mention, he totally rocks the cat suit. Ladybug won’t admit it, but she knows I’m right!  But he’s also more than all that.  You’ve all heard the saying, behind every successful man is an amazing woman. And I’m here to tell you all, behind every successful Ladybug is an amazing Chat Noir. If you’ve ever watched these two work together you’d think they were telepathically linked. She hits her chin in a direction or utters two words and he instantly understands what she’s planning and how he can help. He’s just that in sync with her.  More impressively than that is that he is a man who follows a woman’s lead. And I know some of you are rolling your eyes at this, but hear me out.  He follows her plans, he trusts her implicitly when she doesn’t have time to explain. He doesn’t question her authority or her competence or try to dismiss or diminish her accomplishments. Do you know how rare that is in today’s world?  He throws himself in front of death for her time and time again, as if he truly believes her life is worth more than his own. She would argue that he’s wrong.  He challenges her when necessary, reminding her to live up to her own values, but does so without shaming her or tearing her down or punishing her with anger.  He cracks the stupidest of puns, and she tells him to stop. But he smiles, and never does because he knows that she needs the stupid humor to keep from spiraling into panic when fireballs are hurled at her head or the Eiffel Tower has been turned into a banana. For all that he flirts with her, he never objectifies her, and though she’d deny it, his flirtatious teasing is yet another stupid thing that keeps her out of her head so she can focus on the akuma at hand.  Most of the time anyway. If he takes it too far she’ll remind him and he listens. And every time she thinks all is lost, that she has completely failed or colossally screwed up, he is there offering a hand and lifting her back up. If Ladybug is the brains of this operation, Chat Noir is the heart. He makes sure that the two of them always remember what they’re fighting and who they are fighting for.  This is a team that does not function without its black cat. Ladybug understands that better than anyone. 

Adrien wipes away an errant tear trailing down his cheek. Did Alya really think he did all these things? 

He called her. 

“Morning Sunshine! What can I do for you on this fine day?” 

He laughed, knowing she was emulating his demeanor as Chat. She’s have to work on squeezing in some puns though.

“I just wanted to say thank you. This—“ his throat lodged closed. He swallowed it down. “—this means a lot.” 

The words felt paltry compared to what the article truly meant to him. 

“For the record, I wrote that article with the help of an uncredited ghost writer.” 

“You did?” He frowned. Who would care about him as much as Alya? “Who?” 

“Ladybug.” 

He sucked in a breath. He hadn’t expected that. 

She smirked. “You should read it again. With that in mind.” 

Then, she hung up on him and he did what she said.

This time, he didn’t even try to wipe away his tears. 

… 

[kleenex-tissues]

Yours Truly (10)

AO3 here

Ch. 10: Rotating Album of Love

Ever since she was young, Marinette has had a habit of collecting photos. Ones she’s taken of her friends, Paris, and all the moments she wanted to remember. She kept them stacked on desks, taped to the wall, and shoved into every nook and cranny she could fit one into. They surrounded her in the cubby wrapping around her bed, watching over her just as she had once watched them through the lens of her camera.

When she fell in love with Adrien Agreste at the age of 14, the photos began hiding behind images of him. Magazine shoots covered the wall behind her bed, and many of the ones by her bed were meticulously replaced with photos featuring both her and Adrien. His green eyes filled her view whenever she stepped into the room. It was her own personal heaven. Every day, she could walk home to perfect sunny smiles greeting her. She imagined them accompanied by a smooth, silky voice and a gentle kiss on her awaiting lips.

But when Marinette realized she couldn’t keep loving Adrien, the walls sat bare. She tried to replace the photos that had once donned the edges of her room, but she couldn’t escape the eyes she felt now judged her for having taken them down in the first place.

So she took new ones. She’d take photos of her friends dressed in her hand-sewn designs, photos of the Parisian skyline as the sun set, photos depicting the very world she sought to fall in love with once more. The easiest way to stop loving Adrien would surely be to love all of Paris. After all, she was Ladybug. That’s what she was supposed to do, anyway.

A picture with Alya sat on her desk. Another featuring Nino on her shelves. Juleka, Rose, Ivan and Luka in their old costumes for their band “Kitty Section.” Jagged and Penny taking Marinette to her first international concert. Her parents kneading dough together in the back of the bakery. Birthdays, holidays, and special events began to flood her room. Everything she loved was there. And despite herself, she kept a selfie of her and Adrien tucked beneath her bed.

After meeting Damian, Marinette started putting up the pictures he sent her, too. She enjoyed seeing Titus and Alfred napping together and dressed in the sweaters she had knit herself. They had a dedicated corner of her wall for those photos, right next to the window she had spent many nights staring out of.

Every image was lovely, but she received the loveliest from an unexpected source.

Instagram - Just Now

Dukethomas20 sent you a photo.

They had started talking last week, after the account had unexpectedly followed her. When Duke initially claimed to be the older brother of Damian, she hadn’t believed him. But then again, how did he know she was talking to Damian to begin with? And why did he have pictures of Titus and Alfred not even Damian had sent her?

After a long back and forth game of ‘21 questions,’ where it was solely Marinette asking personal questions only someone who personally knew Damian could tell her, she decided he could probably be trusted. Apparently Duke was adopted into the family, while Damian was the only biological child, meaning the multiple older siblings Damian had mentioned were likely also adopted. She wondered what it was like to have grown up with so many siblings, and how that might have possibly contributed to his being socially stunted.

They spoke often, though not as much as she talked to Damian. In their occasional conversations, they began bonding, leading to many embarrassing secrets about her pen pal.

So, when she opened up the chat, she should have expected for the photo to be something she knew Damian would be embarrassed for her to see. The picture showed a large beautiful lawn where a tall and muscular man bent down on one knee in front of a dog she recognized as Titus. Titus was clad in the sweater she had knit, licking straight up the man’s annoyed face.

Marinette was stunned at the message beneath it.

‘Here’s Damian trying to pose Titus for your picture.’

This was Damian? Oh, boy, was he handsome. Marinette felt her face flush, and she couldn’t help but trace his features.

She had imagined Damian to be thin and lithe, not built like he spent his free time in the gym. He was no bodybuilder, but his muscles certainly were not small. He had a deep tanned skin tone, a dark messy undercut, and bright green eyes.

Kwamis, Marinette was a sucker for green eyes.

She closed her phone. Then, opened it again to stare a little harder at the photo.

Dropping her phone to the ground, Marinette shut her eyes and slapped her already red cheeks. She yelled with a whine, “What are you doing, Marinette? You’ve never even seen him before! This could totally be some random guy you’re thirsting over thinking it’s Damian!!” She paused, realization dawning on her that no one else could possibly wrangle Titus into a sweater. “Oh, Kwamis! It is Damian, and you think he’s hot!”

Marinette fell to her knees on the carpeted floor of her bedroom, moving her hands to cover her entire face. Though, her tiny hands would never be able to cover the blush that was now crawling down her neck.

When she later printed it out to hang above her bed, the Kwamis couldn’t stop teasing her, but they were truly glad. Marinette was finally moving on, it seemed, and she deserved to find a new love. Someone to return her feelings, and love her in the way someone was always meant to.

That night when she laid her head down to rest, there he was. Her pen pal. Her friend. Her Damian. Well, maybe not ‘her’ Damian, but they spoke a lot. And he didn’t talk to anyone else like he did to her. And he even promised to show her Batcow when he sent his next email. He didn’t let anyone see Batcow!

“Marinette, I hope you’re not overthinking before bed again?”

Tikki really knew how to read her, didn’t she? “Sorry, I’ll go to bed,” she replied dejectedly and turned onto her side away from the picture. Tikki had a point. She needed to just go to bed, already. A chemistry exam was awaiting her in the morning, and she needed all the energy she could get to tackle it. Well, plus an energy drink or two.

Marinette dreamt of Damian that night, kissing her sweetly. This would surely come back to haunt her when she woke, but for now, she would enjoy the moment.

To: d.w.redbird@xxxxx.net From: maridesigns@xxxxx.net Subject:

Hey Dami!

I’ve always loved giving my friends nicknames, as I myself tend to go by mine. Alya is ‘Al,’ Adrien is ‘minou’ (kitten in French), Luka is ‘Lu,’ and even Jagged Stone likes it when I call him ‘Uncle Jag.’ I love Dami, so I hope you’ll let me continue to call you that. If not, that’s okay!

I passed my chemistry exam this morning!! I was so nervous, and I spent all day yesterday studying. Who puts an exam on a Monday morning anyway? This has gotta be some new form of torture for the student body.

My commissions have also been piling up like crazy! I’ve had at least a few new orders every day. I think I’ll have to close my commission application for the time being to catch up on all the requests. Though, if there’s anything you want me to make (like a sweater for Alfred this time?), I’m sure I could fit you in. :)

I haven’t even told you the most exciting part yet!!!! Tim Drake-Wayne, the youngest CEO to ever make it into the ‘30 Successful People Under the Age of 30’ and the king of American charities, commissioned me! He has a personal designer - I know, I’ve looked into it - and chose me to make a suit for his next gala.

This is so huge. I can’t even begin to comprehend what made him decide that I was a better choice than his designer, but who am I to complain? The only thing that could make this better is to finally hear back about the Paris Young Designers Contest. I submitted my application the moment it opened, but it always takes a month or two to announce the finalists. They have hundreds of submissions, so it really only makes sense. It should be released any day now, though.

I’ll update you as soon as it goes live!

Your Friend, Mari