#slight luka salt

[imthepunchlord]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Technically, she matches with Cat the most.

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

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

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

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

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

We'll have to see if it happens though.

[miraculousystuff]

New Story?

I recently started writing this, so let me know if you want it to continue!

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Silence. A moment of silence, pure and serene. Everything was in slow motion for one blissful moment, Chloe Bourgeois world stopped for a single moment as she witnessed the scene before her. Her father, the Mayor of Paris, was cheating on her mother with Nadia Chamak. She was just walking to her room, no doubt ready to rant to Sabrina or throw a silly tantrum. What she didn’t expect was to see Andre Bourgeois sleeping with the broadcaster of Paris, in her own bed no less. Time resumed once more as her father hastily got up, putting on his clothes hurriedly. Chloe couldn’t speak, couldn’t breathe. She glanced at a rather smug Nadia, still in bed, her bed smirking, almost mocking. Andre rambled excuses after excuses, each crazier than the last. But that's all they were. Excuses. Excuses because nothing could deny what she just witnessed. No amount of daddy’s money could erase the horrible betrayal that Chloe felt in that moment. The walls grew closer around her, the high pitched ringing in her ears becoming louder with each passing second, drowning her fathers words out. Drowning everything out. Drowning her. Before she even realised it, she was running. She didn’t know where, she didn’t know how but she did know why. The thought of her father doing the nasty with someone other than her mom, in his daughter’s room, left Chloe in a whirlwind of emotions, her thoughts racing almost as fast as her. Before she knew it, she was on the streets of Paris, a maze of crowded streets that she easily blended into. Soon, she found herself in a park, her mind and body coming to a halt as if to finally process the information. She didn’t realise she was crying until salty tears touched her tongue, and suddenly she couldn’t stop, her heart aching, head throbbing. Everything had been going so well. Chloe had genuinely thought that her parents' relationship was healing, that they could have been a normal family again. She hiccuped as the tears didn’t stop flowing, reaching for her phone. It was getting dark, with barely anyone there anymore. She scrolled through her contacts, scavenging for anyone, anyone, to call. Her finger landed on Marinette’s number, and before she could stop it, it was ringing.

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Also, feel free to give more requests! I am open to any ships or tropes, even if you think they’re hard, I’ll still do them!

[mc-lukanette]

MC-Lukanette’s “No Context November” 2024 Masterpost

` = ficlet

* = one-shot

^ = part of a larger AU/hypothetical story

{AO3 link for No Context November}

(Halloween bonus) * (5141 words) - Flip the Transcripts {Lukanette} [“Animaestro” Fix-It] [Writing Salt] [Psychological Horror] [Introspection] [Identity Reveal] [Hurt/Comfort]

Marinette could never understand why things never seemed to go her way, or why the tiniest mistakes could blow up in her face so drastically. It was as if she was on a stage for an audience, written to trip on every floorboard and smash her face into every wall for a cheap laugh.

Then, a crack in the universe gives her evidence to that reality, and she questions everything she’s ever known.

Day 1 ^ (2675 words) - {Lukanette} [Gift Giving] [Idiots in Love] [Silly] [Fluff]

Giving friends gifts is so standard that Luka barely gives it a thought. It's only when he notices a pattern that he suspects Marinette might have another motive for it.

Day 2 ` (1397 words) - {Lukanette} [“Ladybug” Fix-It] [Adrien Salt] [Girl Squad Salt] [Injuries] [Hurt/Comfort] [Luka Knows]

Luka comes home from school and finds himself horrified rather than delighted to see Marinette waiting for him.

Day 3 * (1866 words) - {LukaNoire} [Post-Dating] [Fluff] [Guardian Marinette] [Marinette Using the Cat Miraculous]

Luka admires his girlfriend while she wears a new miraculous to show off to him, but she has another reason for it compared to the usual.

Day 4 ^ (1274 words) - {Lukanette} [Adulthood] [Silly] [Idiots in Love] [Quantic Kids as Luka’s Friends] [Unreliable Narrator]

Marinette partakes in a discussion with Luka's friends, curious about the status of his relationships (or lack thereof).

Day 5 ^ (3322 words) - {Lukanette} [Childhood] [Silly] [Light Fantasy Elements] [Transformation] [Fairy Marinette Dupain-Cheng] [Tiny Marinette Dupain-Cheng]

Luka listens to Marinette as she laments the reality of the world… until she doesn't.

Day 6 * (1811 words) - {Lukanette} [Injuries]

Marinette takes care of Luka after an incident, regardless of how ridiculous she thinks the cause is.

Day 7 ^ (2847 words) - {Lukabug} [“Glaciator” Fix-It] [Chat Noir Salt] [Fake Dating]

Following Chat getting upset at Ladybug over an imagined slight against him in "Glaciator", Ladybug decides to find an alternate solution to deal with the akuma.

Day 8 ^ (2378 words) - {Lukanette} [Adulthood] [Mute Luka Couffaine]

Marinette is eager to meet up again with the handsome, silent man she'd met just last week. She only expects to learn about what they'd agreed upon, but ends up getting a little more.

Day 9 * (1399 words) - {Lukanette} [Post-Dating] [Sickfic] [Fluff] [Spooning] [Flirting] [Silly]

Luka goes to visit and care for his sick (and slightly delirious) girlfriend. She has other priorities.

Day 10 ^ (1600 words) - {Lukanette} [Witch Marinette Dupain-Cheng] [Fantasy] [First Meeting] [Silly]

Marinette, a witch struggling to present like one, seeks out inspiration and ends up finding it in an unlikely place.

Day 11 ` (1282 words) - {Lukanette} [Luka Knows] [Gaming] [Flirting] [Silly]

Luka sees Marinette playing a new mobile game and gets far more than expected when he asks about it.

Day 12 * (1646 words) - {Lukanette} [Gift Giving] [Fluff]

Marinette goes to meet with Luka for guitar lessons and gets a surprise. Luka gets one in return.

Day 13 ^ (2310 words) - {Lukanette} [Multiverse] [Guardian Marinette Dupain-Cheng] [Guardian Luka Couffaine] [Ladybug User Luka Couffaine] [Alternate Miraculous Lore]

Marinette makes a casual visit to the one person she knows who understands what she's going through, even if he's an entire universe away.

Day 14 ^ (2062 words) - {Lukanette} [Adulthood] [Online Interactions]

Marinette, a popular online video creator, messages her musical friend, another popular online video creator. They may have made different types of content, but the connection between them was undeniable even if they'd never met in person.

Day 15 * (4571 words) - {Lukanette} [Introspection] [Overall Salt] [Marinette Won Pre-Season 3 Finale] [Identity Reveal] [Alternate Miraculous Lore]

After successfully defeating Hawk Moth and retrieving the butterfly and peacock miraculouses, Marinette makes a discovery that makes her question what she's thought so far about the people closest to her.

Fortunately, she now has all the time in the world to finally think about it.

Day 16 ` (1059 words) - {Lukanette} [Post-Dating] [Trauma] [Hurt/Comfort]

Marinette and Luka are happily dating, though there's one thing one might expect of them that they're still yet to do.

Day 17 ^ (1463 words) - {Lukanette} [Silly] [Luka Knows]

A simple misunderstanding that Luka and Marinette inadvertently cause ends with a favorable suggestion.

Day 18 * (1357 words) - {Lukanette} [Adulthood] [Post-Marriage] [Dreams] [Fluff]

Luka loves Marinette in every way he knows how, for every reason he can think of, even unconventionally.

Day 19 ^ (3692 words) - {Lukabug} [Canon Divergence] [Alternate Miraculous Lore] [Viperion-Adjacent Luka Couffaine] [Overall Salt]

Ladybug, thoroughly exhausted from her role as a superhero, meets a new face that threatens her position in every best way.

Day 20 ^ (3765 words) - {Lukanette} [Demon Luka Couffaine] [Adulthood] [Fluff] [Silly] [Fantasy] [Cuddles]

Marinette goes to extreme lengths to get the simple things she wants in her life. It somehow works out in the end.

Day 21 * (1104 words) - {Lukanette} [“Silencer” divergence]

In which Luka doesn't get away with dropping the sweetest confession that Marinette had ever heard, nor trying to walk away afterward without consequences.

Day 22 ^ (2925 words) - {Viperbug} {Vipernette} [Fluff] [Food]

Ladybug tries to make sure her long-time partner Viperion is taken care of, to delightful results.

Day 23 ^ (4443 words) - {Lukanette} [Adulthood] [Ten Years Later] [Meeting Again] [Mutual Pining] [Second Chance] [Single Parents] [Light Adrien Salt] [Silly]

What Marinette expects to be an innocent trip to the amusement park with her daughter turns into something more when she comes across a familiar face with a little boy at his side.

Day 24 * (5003 words) - {Lukanette} [Late Teens] [Sleepovers] [Physical Attraction] [Intimately Suggestive] [Idiots in Love]

As a way to celebrate the coming end of school and the future start of their careers, Marinette's friends pile onto the Liberty for one last sleepover, only separated by gender. All's fun and games until nighttime falls and she finds herself alone with Luka, her long-time, handsome, and definitely, totally one-sided crush.

(or, two half-dressed teens nearing adulthood try to deal with their growing attraction to each other)

Day 25 ^ (7465 words) - {Lukanette} [Childhood] [Mermaid Marinette Dupain-Cheng] [Naga Luka Couffaine] [Fantasy] [Silly] [Festivals]

Marinette and Luka, two kids on a quest for fun and excitement, go somewhere they've never been before to participate in a festival.

Day 26 ` (1049 words) - {Lukanette} [Adulthood] [Post-Marriage] [Fluff] [Headcanon]

Luka wakes up in the morning and notices something different about himself.

Day 27 * (2410 words) - {Lukanette} [Soulmate AU] [Subversion] [Lore] [Childhood Friends] [Writing Salt]

For however long they'd been together, Luka had never really talked to Marinette about her soulmate mark, nor did she with his. They saw them, knew that theirs didn't match up, but that didn't mean they meant any less to each other.

Especially when, one day, Marinette poses a question to him.

Day 28 ^ (1898 words) - {Lukanette} [Rock Star Luka Couffaine]

Luka had always gone to Marinette when he needed to hide away from his rock star life. He just hadn't realized that he was the only one who wanted more out of it.

Day 29 ` (844 words) - {Lukanette} [Fluff] [Post-Dating] [No Dialog]

Two losers try to navigate the "struggles of dating."

Day 30 * (6589 words) - {Lukanette} [Infancy] [Childhood] [Adolescence] [Adulthood] [First Meeting] [Moments in Time] [Fluff] [Silly] [Cuddles] [Idiots in Love]

Some might call it fate. In the minds of others, it seemed more magical to think that it may have been a coincidence altogether: two people who connected in the blink of an eye and could remain close from before they said their first words, to the moment they left their childhood home, and even further beyond.

To think that it all started with a cuddle…

[whataboutsimple]

Morning routine with them.

Gentle remind, that all the characters are grown adults!

Aiden tries to cook breakfast. Jaime tries to help. Petra's sleepyhead.

Enjoy your cuties, @a-problematic-writer <3

Not sure if that's what you imagined , but I tried my best!

Aiden yawned sleepily, rubbing his tired eyes. Sometimes he wished he hadn't been an early bird, because that almost always meant he had to cook breakfast.

On the other hand, he didn't mind doing it while he was cooking for them.

«Honey, can I help you?» — melodious voice rang out from behind, before the man felt someone's warm embrace around his waist.

«Mmmm.. not necessarily. Why did you get up so early?» — he muttered, turning to face the girl in order to return the hug.

«I wanted to help you..» — Jaime nuzzled into the crook of Aiden's neck, inhaling the pleasant scent of his cologne.

«And Pumpkin?» — he suppressed a light sigh, feeling goosebumps down his spine.

«Still sleepin', you know, even TNT won't wake her up after sparring.» — she laughed softly.

Sighing, Aiden moved a little to the side, straightening the t-shirt that had fallen off his shoulder — «I guess it's just two of us for now.»

Jaime nodded, lazily settling into one of the chairs near the table —«What are you planning to cook?»

Aiden thought about it, scratching his head — «I'd say waffles are a great option, but I have to go back to Sky-Ground City today, so I wouldn't mind eggs and bacon. What do you think?»

Jayden chuckled — «I think you visit BeaconTown so often that now you're visiting Sky-Ground City than going back there. However, why not waffles with eggs and bacon?»

Aiden smiled, grunting approvingly. Indeed, since he, Petra and Jaime moved in together, he has been in BeaconTown much more often than in Sky-Ground City. However, he couldn't just leave his fath- Reginald- and friends who were just settling — «It sounds great. But Petra will probably grumble. Didn't she get on this "healthy diet" after sparring with Gabriel?»

Jaime nodded her head absently — «Yes, but I keep telling her that it's not necessary. Gabrielis just physically stronger and has more experience, she shouldn't be so upset about losing to him.»

«You know she can be stubborn sometimes.» — Aiden muttered, putting on a pink apron.

«Just like you?»

«Just like me.» — he nodded in agreement, a slight smile playing on his lips — «By the way, how is your dad- I mean Ivor. Shouldn't he be getting married soon to Soren and.. Harper was her name?»

Jessie idly twirled the napkin in her hands — «Mmmm, yes. The preparation is in full swing. By the way, you're invited too. We won't go without you.» — she cast a cheerful glance at him, knowing that he was getting frustrated when they all were together in public.

Aiden just shrugged vaguely — «I think it's fair. Will Lukas be there? With Jason.»

«Yes. Sweethearts couple will be there.»

Taking a couple of eggs out of the refrigerator, Aiden broke them into a bowl, starting to mix them with salt, pepper and tomatoes —«I'm surprised they still won't admit they're dating.»

Jessica just grinned — «I'm not sure if they know they're dating»

Aiden laughed loudly, realizing that maybe these fools really had no idea. Pouring the mixture into the pan, he opened a pack of bacon, throwing it in the same place — «What about you?»

Jaime mumbled questioningly.

«You talk about everyone, but not about yourself. How are you doing?»

The girl looked away — «Everything is as usual, nothing beyond the normal.»

«Jaime.»

She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose — «Ya.. it's truly fine. Psychiatrist sessions helps a lot. And you? Are you still going to your own?»

Aiden nodded, taking a delicious breakfast from the pan — «Reginald won't give me a day pass. Of course, if I want it myself.»

Suddenly a red—haired woman came into the kitchen, yawning loudly and stretching until her back crunched — «Good morning to all the blockheads who don't want to sleep. How are you? I can smell bacon.» — she pretended to lick her lips, sitting down at the table and rubbing her hands while waiting for food.

«Good morning to you too, sleepyhead.» —Aiden muttered, but there was clearly a smile on his face. He quickly arranged the plates, giving everyone the same portion.

Petra grinned, "unfairly" giving him a slap on the ass — «I sleep normally, not for three hours like someone.»

An outraged Aiden turned to the girl with a red face, while Jaime tried her best to hide her laughter — «Ten hours of sleep is not normal!»

«Whatever.» — she rolled her eyes, taking a bite from the meat — «By the way, JJ, isn't it your turn to keep an eye on Rueben today?»

The girl's eyes unexpectedly widened — «Oh gosh!» — she suddenly jumped up, not finishing her meal, and quickly kissed her lovers on the forehead, than ran upstairs to the bedroom, to get dressed.

«Couldn't you remind her after she's done?» — Aiden murmured, sitting down next to the redhead.

«Don't worry, she'll be here with Rueben before you have time to finish your not healthy waffles.»

Aiden chuckled — «You're unbearable.»

«And you love me for it.» — the girl proudly said.

Aiden just rolled his eyes, gently taking Petra's hand and watching as the youngest of them rushed to the door to take her piglet from her brother. He was so lucky to have them.

[angrelysimpping]

Out of the Boat and into the Boats

Written June 9, 2024

Shout out to the talented, sweet, n hampsom 💜@inkyquince 💜 for the amazing vtm game and who made Luka

Lori belongs to a friend

Caz belongs to Merman

Matt belongs to Necro

Contents: slight suicidal ideation; slight mention of disassociation; google translation Polish

Words: 698

“The suicide mission is off, so I guess you’re stuck with me for a bit longer?”

The sun is just starting to rise, pale golds and pinks staining the air. Wine dark sea turning gradually lighter. Heady scent of sea salt, even if it is marred by the sinking boat behind them. Andrzej can’t help his heart stuttering as Luka is framed by it all. Beauty and chaos suit him. Everything does. Luka could make anything better, beautiful, Andrzej can feel it in his bones, his soul. 

Luka, who was well within his right to leave Andrzej after all the shit that’s gone down on this fucked up boat.

That’s why he nearly chokes when Luka lurches forward, laughing, wrapping his arms around Andrzej. “Andi, that's wonderful!” His stomach flips, and he’s not sure if it’s from Luka embracing him or from the water that threatens to slosh into the boat due to the Italian’s erratic movement. 

“I-I still want to find Tekli though, so, if you want, you can still come with me?”

But why would he? All Andrzej has done so far was put Luka in danger. If Luka wanted, he could set him up somewhere. Anywhere, really. It might be tricky to figure out how to get blood to him but-

“Of course!” Luka presses a quick kiss to Andrzej’s cheek before leaning back and calling to the boat with Matt and Caz. “Hey, Cazamir, which way to Russia?”

Andrzej doesn’t hear the response, too stunned. Luka…wanted to stay with him. Andrzej had taken him on what was a suicide mission, on a boat that might as well have been cursed. He’d left Luka. He’d left Luka twice. Once hiding under a bed, another time while he was just coming down from Salubri blood. 

Yet, Luka still wanted to be with him.

He didn’t deserve Luka. He really didn’t. He was too old, too tainted, too damaged. A foggy memory and curse from a ghost. More trouble than he was worth. 

Andrzej hadn’t even managed to keep the one promise he’d made to Luka, that he’d stay by the thinblood’s side after the he’d been abducted the first time.

He’d have to ask about that later, beg for Luka’s forgiveness. Not only running off again, but for Loretta as well.

She was the reason he’d even managed to slip Luka from the brothel, and she probably died on that ship. Could he have saved her? Maybe, but when he’d found Luka missing again, that numbness had come back. That same numbness from a century ago, when he’d found himself abandoned, his family long gone. 

When they reunited? When Luka nearly collided with him in the halls of the damned ship as Andrzej searched for him? Panic prickling under his skin and throat burning in pure fear of losing the one person he still had? He’d only hesitated for a second.

And he heard her, Loretta, what she’d said to him when he first ran off with Luka in Italy.

Go. Run. Don’t look back. Be happy. Run.

So, Andrzej had done just that. He’d scooped the small Italian up, dashing to the upper decks.

He didn’t look back. 

And now…now.

The rising sun illuminates Luka’s silhouette, halo of light shining through dark hair that Andrzej knew to be heavenly soft. He laughs again, eyes bright and warm, their depths illuminated as the sun steadily creeped further into the sky. A small crinkle in the bridge of his nose, lines forming around the corners of his eyes. 

“Mój anioł Lukasha.” The words slip from him without thought, on a ghost of a sigh, as he gazes at the man. 

Luka hears him all the same, eyes snapping to him and frowning. Pouting, really, with his head tilting to the side like a confused puppy. “What was that, Andrzej?”

He smiles for the first time in what feels like ages as he leans forward, cupping the back of Luka’s head as he pulls him in for a quick kiss. “Nothing to worry about, Lukalini. I’m just happy we’re safe now.”

Andrzej swears his whole body feels lighter as Luka giggles again, smiling right at him in response. 

[sugarcubetikki]

I hope master Su Han stays for the whole season .Marinette is a teenager and being a guardian is so much of a burden for her age so she needs guidance and advices from him. In the episode monster fu he said that he’s going to stay in paris for awhile so maybe he’s going to help marinette grow , guide her and make her control her anger cause that was cool and useful.

We might see him again. I doubt it’ll be too regular though. 

The thing to remember here is that Su-Han is not Master Fu. He’s very traditional, rigid with the order’s rules and even though he accepted her as guardian...for now...he warned her that if she made a mistake, he’d take away the box from her. He’s going to be quite hard on her. 

And I really doubt he’d actually teach her, it looks like he’s the type to observe from afar and reprimand her if she does anything wrong. At least in this season. There could be a change in heart later on.  

Poor Marinette has to work her own way for now. Chat is there to support her of course, but since they don’t know their identities, it’s going to be hard for him to do that all the time.

(There’s Luka as well, but we know how well hiding things from him goes in Truth. Then again, we’re still not sure of the exact context of him getting akumatized, I’ll leave it be for now).

[goggles-mcgee]

Replaced: It’s The Latest News

Second Chapter of the story for @miner249er

Last Chapter                     Next Chapter

Summary: Alya prided herself on being the Number 1 Ladybug journalist in all of Paris. She was the one who got exclusive interviews, she was the one who got recognized in a sea of reporters and news channels on the scenes of akuma battles and she was the one who had been trusted to be Rena Rouge. So imagine her surprise when a rival Ladybug blog has the latest Ladybug scoop, not just a scoop, no, they had Ladybug as a guest and she gave them the honor of hosting her announcement. 

Alya tried her best not to feel betrayed.

Alya prided herself on her journalism skills. Her blog was the culmination of those skills. It was definitely a step up from going around her old neighborhood with an old tape recorder (her father’s) and a little handheld journal to write whatever she found that caught her eye or ear. She upgraded to using an app on her phone to record herself or whatever juicy lead she was following and a note app that let her type out quick notes that she would later transfer to her computer so she could flesh out her story. It was a beautiful if not meticulous process, one she found almost methodical. Oh it was hard work don’t get her wrong but it was work that paid off and it was work that deserved to be recognized. Alya had a talent and she knew that, ever since she was a little girl she knew she had wanted to be a reporter. It was different than most kids her age, especially when her and her family had been living in Louisiana in the States.

Moving to Paris had been a big move but when her mother had gotten the job offer by the mayor of freaking Paris to work in his hotel restaurant it had been an easy decision to let her mom follow her dream, the whole family had agreed. Besides, from what her mother had told her and her sisters, their ancestors had lived in France for a substantial amount of time before they fled to the States and settled down in New Orleans. When Alya had asked why their ancestors had fled her mother had been particularly avoidant of the whole thing, she always said it wasn’t the kind of story she wanted her little girls to know. Of course her father had agreed with his wife, that was what led Alya down her path of journalism. Down her path of justice. Her ancestors were her past just as much as her mother’s, she should be able to know why they had fled to the states in the first place. 

War had been ruled out pretty fast, as it was something her mother denied when asked and she knew her mother wasn’t lying. When her mother lied she tended to bite her lip and scrunch her nose. It was an obvious tell. When her father lied his left eyebrow would twitch just the slightest bit. Nora rarely lied, her older sister was someone who wore their emotions on their sleeves, but on the rare occasions she did lie she would give this awkward smile. Now the twins were still at that stage where if they lied they looked off to the side or giggled, it was horribly obvious. Alya knew all her family’s tells so she knew when her mother lied or told the truth, her mother quickly caught on to that fact and just refused to talk about their ancestors all together. She wanted to know the story, no, she craved the story! She needed to know and so she set out to find the truth. 

It made her feel like a secret agent! Hunting down the clues, following leads if she got any. It was thrilling. In the end it wasn’t that big of a shock, Alya had honestly been expecting the fleeing of her ancestor (who she found out was a woman called Fayette) to be something big and shocking like running away from an assassin or an arranged marriage to a wealthy family and her ancestor had a torrid love affair! Something dramatic! In the end it was because Fayette wanted to travel while her father firmly denied his daughter’s wish because, though she was the youngest daughter, she had responsibilities. The family had a farm and Fayette knew she would either live a life on the farm or have to marry to get away from the farm and that wasn’t something she wanted so she ran and caught a boat to the States. 

Though it wasn’t the story she had been wanting nor expecting it was still something that she had hunted down and found herself and it had made Alya feel so good and accomplished. Her mother and father hadn’t been so happy with her, nor had her grandparents but nothing could have dulled her flames that day. She told everyone about it, even those not in the family, it was a story she found, so she figured she had every right to share it. Nora had been interested to hear about it but when she found out Alya was telling her friends at school and the neighbors, she got mad just like their mom and dad. That was the night that Alya got lectured about what she shared, because that was a story about the family, one that was supposed to stay in the family. 

Alya really didn’t see why it mattered. It’s not like Fayette did anything bad, so she saw no problem with sharing the story about her ancestor, but her parents told her it would have been fine if she had asked permission. That was also the night that Alya decided it was better to ask for forgiveness than to beg for permission because she knew her parents never would have given her their say to share the story. Okay maybe she didn’t know for sure but she liked to think she knew her family members well enough to know they wouldn’t have so she stuck to her thought to ask for forgiveness. Plus, reporters never asked for permission to follow stories they just did! And she was going to be the best reporter ever. 

Maybe that was a childish thing to still believe in but Alya knew she had the skills and the drive to reach for it. Sure she had some hiccups but those were merely bumps in the road towards her shining future! Alya had grown since those small mistakes and so had her blog, her blog was truly her greatest accomplishment. Her blog would also be the key to getting her future, it was her portfolio, her experience, it was her everything. A large part of her success she credited towards Ladybug, if it wasn’t for the hero, her blog wouldn’t have found its focus nor its audience, but it was her who built it to what it was today. It was her hard work, her editing, her research, her talent that made it what it was. Perhaps she sounded smug but Alya firmly believed she earned the right to.

Lately though her posts weren’t getting as much traction as they usually got. The numbers were still high but not nearly as high as they had been months ago and Alya had no idea why. She hadn’t done anything differently. She still posted the latest akuma fights, she still posted random facts that correlated with the animal or whatever thing the Kwami of a Miraculous represented, she still posted interviews with Lila. Her content was the same perfect formula she had created and observed as being her most popular, so there should have been no significant drops, and yet there was. Sure Alya could go to her comments and try and see what the people were displeased with but it was getting harder to find the actual constructively critical comments and the haters. 

Ever since her first interview with Lila she had been getting massive hate, that’s not to say she never got any before but that interview seemed to set off a chain reaction of hate comments. They called Lila every name under the sun that was synonymous with ‘liar’ and they called Alya many names too but more often than not she was labeled with ‘sell-out.’ Lila, of course, apologized for the hate her interview brought. Apparently she had quite the following of people who hated her and tried their best to denounce everything she did. Alya had brushed it off but to be honest it was a pain because those comments took up so much of the comment sections of her posts that she basically gave up blocking people and deleting comments. It was just too much work. What made it worse was that Alya’s best friend seemed to believe those people. 

Marinette was never someone who didn’t give someone a second chance or believed rumors right off the bat, and yet she was whole-heartedly against Lila. It hurt. It hurt because Lila was amazing and kind and generous and just everything that Marinette was and if that girl could just open her eyes, Alya was sure they would be friends. Apparently that wasn’t going to happen, or at least not any time soon, so until Marinette could grow up Alya had decided she needed space from her BFF. The girl squad knew and agreed so they too held Marinette at arms-length when they interacted with her. They hoped it would make the girl realize she was in the wrong and apologize but she hadn’t. 

It hurt to admit but Alya missed Marinette, she missed how they would pass notes during class (well back when they sat together), she missed how Marinette was always ready to help her if Alya needed her, and she missed their sleepovers. There was so much she missed but those were the things that first came to mind because in class her and Lila didn’t pass notes, Alya had to take class notes for Lila and herself because of Lila’s wrist issues. Alya loved Lila, she really did, but Lila promised help but she had so much already going on that she often forgot. And sleepovers, Alya missed not stressing out about them, every time Lila came over for a sleepover she felt like her house, her very room, wasn’t good enough. It wasn’t a very nice feeling so somewhere along the way she stopped offering sleepovers. 

Another thing she missed was how excited Marinette got for Alya when she got a new scoop on Ladybug and the Miraculous Squad. Her joy amplified Alya’s. Nino was always excited for her but it wasn’t really the same, and so was Adrien, another local Ladybug Fan, but again, it wasn’t the same. 

Speaking of Ladybug it seemed like the hero was avoiding her. Lately after an akuma battle the hero left the space no matter if her Miraculous was beeping or not. She would  give a couple of answers to the press and then yo-yo away. Usually she would give Alya a little interview or at least wave to her camera but lately that stopped. It stopped and Alya wasn’t sure when it actually started to stop and that scared her because that meant her attention slipped. Her focus slipped and as a reporter focus was crucial.

“You good babe?” 

Alya blinked out of her thoughts and gave Nino a small smile and a shrug. “Yeah I guess. Just a little anxious I think.” 

“Of the upcoming announcement?” Adrien asked from his spot next to Nino. 

They had all headed to the park next to Alya’s house when Mireille and Aurore notified everyone at school and on their blog (MiraculousTales another blog about Ladybug and the other heroes that defended Paris-Alya was loathe to admit it was a good blog) that they had an interview with Ladybug who wanted to make an announcement. 

“Partly.” She admitted as her focus went back to Nino’s laptop that had said blog on display. “But I don’t really want to talk about the other thing right now.”

Nino gave her a knowing look but nodded anyway while Adrien just looked confused. The poor boy always looked confused these days. No not confused, well okay, yes he looked confused but he also looked frustrated a lot. Alya and Nino just chalked it up to problems with his dad, it seemed like the model had a new event or photo shoot going on each week. Alya had half a mind to report it to her parents and see if anything could be done because surely that had to be illegal. She had even considered writing a piece on it but Alya wasn’t stupid, she knew if she wrote about Adrien and his awful work hours that she could very well be sued by Gabriel Agreste and really her blog didn’t need that. Plus she didn’t exactly have proof, nor was her source confirmed, two things that were very important in the field of journalism. 

“Oh look! It’s starting!” Adrien announced as he bounced in place. Alya couldn’t help the fond smile that slipped through, if she didn’t know better she would say Adrien was a bigger Ladybug fan than her. 

“I wonder what this whole announcement is for.” Nino mused as they heard the voices of Mireille and Aurore greet the viewers from the screen.

“I don’t know…Usually they let everyone know what their next videos are going to be about, same with announcements. I mean they at least give a brief synopsis of the announcement or if it’s a surprise they say it is. This feels like something else.” Alya mumbled as she stared hard at the screen. Whatever Ladybug had to announce she knew it was going to be important so of course she had her notepad and pen out just in case. 

“Hey Lovelies! Aurore here, I know, not who you wanted to see, but before we bring in our special guest Mireille and I had a couple words we wanted to say.” Aurore said with a bright smile, Alya felt a little bad when she wished the girl would hurry up and announce Ladybug already, but well, they promised Paris’ number one hero and if there was one thing Alya understood about running her own blog was that the people were impatient for their content. 

“We know you guys are eager to see our guest and hear her announcement,” Mireille said softly, “but we just wanted to take a moment before that to let you guys know how grateful we are to each and every one of you for following our blog.”

“Yes, we are so grateful. We never imagined the blog gaining popularity so fast. So we just wanted to thank you, our wonderful followers, as well as those who helped us set up this blog. A special thanks goes out to Claude Beauréal, my cousin, for doing the coding and technical stuff for the blog as Mireille and myself are awful with technology not related to our phones.” Aurore admitted with a laugh as she held up her phone to show a picture of said cousin to the viewers. 

“See, if this wasn’t an important announcement Claude would have edited a picture of himself on the screen so you guys could see him better, though I’m sure you will see a picture of him somewhere on the blog following this video.” Mireille said with her own laugh.

“Very true Mireille! We would also like to give a special thanks to the designer of the blog who helped with the layout and the icons, Paris’ own Marinette Dupain-Cheng.” Aurore made a heart with her hands towards the camera before her smile broadened and she straightened in her seat. “Now that the thanks have been given, please welcome our guest, the beautiful, the talented, the miraculous…Ladybug!”

Alya felt like she had been on a rollercoaster back in the States, one that traveled with a fair. It looked fun but you still looked at it with skepticism because while it looks fun you don’t know how much you trust it despite the fact you know the machinery is constantly being checked over. Alya had willfully boarded that rollercoaster and already her stomach had dropped, Marinette had designed their blog’s layout? She didn’t know how she felt about that. The first emotion that came up was betrayal followed by rage followed by this chest clenching sadness. All to end with numbness, but then the introduction of Ladybug had her heart swooping, her pulse rushing and she pushed all thoughts of Marinette away in favor of her favorite hero. 

“Thank you for the warm welcome you two.” Ladybug smiled at the two girls as she strode into frame and took a seat across from both Mireille and Aurore. Alya bitterly thought of all the times Ladybug gave her that smile and how it always made her feel so warm, so special, so important. 

“Huh. That’s weird.” Nino mumbled.

“What? What’s weird?” Alya questioned right away.

“Uh, well, there’s a lot of seats there for just three people.”  He replied.

“Maybe they didn’t have time to take out the other seats?” Adrien said, though he posed it as more of a question. Nino just shrugged while Alya frowned. 

There were a lot of seats.

“You are always welcome on our blog Ladybug.” Mireille gave the spotted  heroine a shy smile.

Ladybug returned the smile with one of her own. “You’re too kind. Now, I don’t want to take up too much of your or Paris’ time but I felt like this needed to be addressed. There may be some of you who have noticed and those of course who haven’t, but…there have been some changes as of late to do with what you have dubbed us as, ‘Team Miraculous.’”

“Changes?” Aurore asked.

“Yes. First off, it has fallen to me to let you, the people of Paris know that Chat Noir has decided to be a solo hero. We are no longer partners. I can’t nor will I, disclose his reasons why. Those are his own. So just know his actions are also his own and are not affiliated with myself and the new ‘Team Miraculous’.” Ladybug was as she always was in her interviews, business as always but her words were like a rock being thrown at a window.

“New team?” Alya whispered in horror.

“Dude…I wonder why Chat left.” Nino said as he shook his head like he still couldn’t believe Ladybug’s words. Adrien…Adrien was oddly silent and very focused on the screen with a scowl on his face. Alya felt for him, she figured it was because he was such a big Ladynoir supporter like herself and this was like a cannonball to the ship. It seemed like it was well and truly sunk. 

“Maybe she’s just announcing that the temporary heroes are going to be permanent? I mean they haven’t been called in a while but with Chat ditching her she is going to need help.” Nino mused in excitement, one Alya shared, maybe Ladybug was just too stressed with Chat leaving to notify them of their new status’ as the permanent heroes! That had to be it!

“Now I noticed the not so subtle air-quotes over ‘Team Miraculous.’ Why is that?” Mireille asked.

Ladybug hummed as she leaned back in the chair she had been provided. “You’re observant. It’s because the old team was disorganized, we never had an official name. Frankly it was a hot mess. The new team does actually have an official name now and this is a good time to introduce you all to them, I would like to introduce you all to 'The Court of Miracles’.”

Alya’s hopes dropped as fast and hard as her heart and stomach. 

The first to appear on screen was a new Bee hero. She strode in with her two high pigtails swaying behind her. Her pigtails had black streaks curl around them to end at a point and she had ribbons near the base that came up to slightly curl above her head like antennae. The ribbons were black and ended in little yellow pom poms. The black of her gloves came up to about mid-bicep, her black boots came to about mid-thigh. Her body suit was striped black and yellow like a bee but it did have a white fur collar and it looked like she had poofy shorts reminiscent of Victorian bloomers, the stripes on the shorts were vertical instead of horizontal. Above the shorts seemed to be a silver belt that looked to be like a honeycomb design. 

“This is Honey Bee.” Ladybug introduced and said hero waved to the camera before taking one of the empty seats.

Next came out another girl, the new Mouse hero. Her short hair was in a half-up half -down style with the part that was half-up was styled into little buns, the color of her hair was black that faded into a soft pink. Around the buns were false mouse ears, the outside of the ears were gray while the inside were pale pink. Her gloves were black and slightly puffed out at the wrists with gray ribbon on the wrist, you could faintly see pink mouse paw-prints on the hand of the gloves when the hero waved. Her boots resembled her gloves and her suit was mostly gray with pink details. The shoulders of the suit were puffy like a fancy dress shirt and it seemed like there were edges of sleeves that, like her gloves and boots, fanned out. Only instead of gray ribbon for detail there was black ribbon. 

The collar also resembled that of a dress shirt only rounded and black. There was a pink bow there on the collar and there was a bigger bow wrapped around her waist, much bigger, tied in the back and the end of the ribbons wound around each other to mimic a tail. If you looked closely you could see what looked like a jump rope tied under the ribbon on the waist. Alya distantly thought she kind of looked like a magical girl from an anime. “This is Merry Mouse.”

The hero that followed Merry Mouse was like a punch to the gut for Alya, she barely even felt her eyes tearing up as she saw the new Fox hero. He was tall and his hair was an ombre of burnt orange to white, it was a little long so it was pulled back in a little ponytail, fake fox ears were attached to what looked like a Newsboy cap sat atop his hair. His suit looked like a three piece suit that Alya had seen men wear in the orchestra, though it looked a little old fashioned she noted, she wasn’t quite sure what made it so, but they were meshed together it seemed. It wasn’t a bad look she bitterly admitted to herself. Hell, she herself had given her Rena Rouge look a tailcoat somewhat. To top off the look, the Fox hero had ankle length boots. Of course everything stuck to an orange, white and dark brown color palate.

“The new Fox hero, Foxtrot.” Ladybug said with a warm smile at the replacement. 

“Hello.” Foxtrot said softly with a wave as he took a seat.

Another hero came out briefly after Foxtrot and Alya had to bite her lip so she didn’t make a sound or worse yell something out in outrage. The next hero was the Turtle hero. She was elegant as she walked out, her head high, her short hair was a dark green that looked almost black. The suit itself was a bit intimidating to Alya for being the Turtle but it did look cool. The suit under was dark green like her hair but she had what looked like a black kimono over it. Over the kimono in sparcing pieces were what looked like armor in the fashion of samurai armor. They looked like turtle shells, spiky turtle shells and they too were black like the kimono. Her hands were covered by the dark green material but if you looked closely it looked like she had claws. 

“This is Genbu.”

“It is an honor to be here.” Genbu said as she took her seat.

“It’s an honor to have you.” Mireille said.

“Wow. The new Turtle looks…” Adrien muttered. Alya flinched when he spoke, she completely forgot he had been there. Alya turned to look at her boyfriend who was staring at the screen intensely, she knew the feeling. She grabbed his hand and gave it a soft squeeze, one he returned. 

“Next we have Striker.”

Striker seemed to be the new Snake hero. He walked on screen with a quiet confidence, his hair was a little hard to see because of the hood that covered it, it was no surprise that the teal hood looked like that of a snake. The hood itself was attached to a tunic vest, the front of the vest looked like the belly of a snake and was a pattern of aquamarine and seafoam. The suit underneath the vest was dark, clearly it was a mix of green and blue too but Alya honestly only knew a handful of colors because of Marinette’s fashion rants. The boots that went to mid-calf were the same color as the back of the tunic vest and hood and also that of the gloves. It was a simple but effective look. When Striker sat and waved at the camera it was the hair that shocked Alya, the hair was pure white. 

“And finally we have Vouivre.”

Alya didn’t know if she could handle any more new heroes. How could Ladybug replace them all? Not just temporarily, she made that perfectly clear, these clowns were there to stay and it burned Alya. And yet, she couldn’t look away. The last hero walked on screen, the first thought Alya had was, wow this chick is tall. The second thought she had was, I would not try to take that girl on in a fight, Miraculous or not. Vouivre had short fiery red hair that looked like it was slicked back due to the wind and nothing else. Two black horns sat in her hair and in the middle of her forehead was an eye shaped ruby. Her suit was this gorgeous emerald green and the pattern looked like scales, the green and scales wrapped around her left leg and vanished into her boots. It was very reminiscent of a tail. Around the ankle of the left boot was a golden ring. The boots themselves and the right leg of the suit were black. Around her waist and neck were what looked like strings of pearls and to top off the look were the symbols of the chest.

“This is the Court of Miracles. We are Ladybug, Honey Bee, Merry Mouse, Foxtrot, Genbu, Striker and Vouivre, along with our two Chamberlains who work in the shadows we swear to protect the people of Paris.” Ladybug said with such conviction that Alya flinched. 

“Marinette?” Now that caught Alya’s attention and she silently thanked Adrien for the distraction no matter how distraught the boy sounded. She felt like she was about to have a mental breakdown. When she got home she was certain she was going to be sobbing into her pillows but for now she was going to indulge in whatever caught Sunshine’s attention. 

The sight that greeted her however threw her for another loop, one just as big as the damn announcement. Now Alya would be the first to admit it had been a while since she had seen Marinette and to be honest she hadn’t really paid that much attention to the girl but she didn’t think much would have changed. Evidently she was wrong. There Marinette was walking with Luka Couffaine like there was no where she would rather be, with long fucking hair. Since when had her hair gotten so long? And when did she dye the underside of her hair pink? The same pink that matched her high-waisted plaid skinny jeans. She wore thick heeled silver boots that gave her some height, though she was still smaller than Luka. She wore a black cropped Jagged Stone shirt that Alya knew she had cut herself and she was wearing Luka’s jacket. 

The trio of Alya, Nino and Adrien watched the two teens walk by as they remained oblivious of their audience and talked animatedly about the same announcement they had been watching. Alya felt her heartbreak when Marinette didn’t even glance at them but she also felt this overwhelming fury, she turned to complain at being unnoticed but caught sight of Adrien frowning at the retreating forms of Marinette and Luka while he rubbed at his chest. 

“You okay there Sunshine?” She asked in lieu of complaining. 

“What?” Her question seemed to snap the boy out of whatever thoughts he had been drowning in. “Oh…yeah. Yeah I’m fine.” 

Alya didn’t know if she fully believed that but she was more than happy to let the issue go in favor of talking about the new heroes and how there was no way they would be better than the old ones. 

___________________

Honey Bee- is Aurore if you guys did not guess. I considered also giving her the name of Honey Queen but I decided she wanted to distance herself from Chloe's version of the Bee. Though her aesthetic does have some parts to it that are reminiscent of royalty.

Merry Mouse- is Mireille. Her appearance is based on a headcanon I have for the girl and that is she loves Magical Girl animes/shows, and since the Miraculous Transformation takes your ideas and wants into mind she has a more Magical Girl look than most of the heroes. 

Foxtrot- is Luka. I gave him this Miraculous because after Miracle Queen he can't keep the snake and he holds a creative patient soul that I believe would mesh well with the Fox Miraculous, add to that his mischievous side and I thought it was a good fit. His look is inspired by men's fashion from 1914, because that is when the Foxtrot started up and was popular. (he is also the one that cast illusions of Mireille and Aurore as their hero selves partaking in the announcement.)

Genbu- is Kagami. I gave her this Miraculous because she is fiercely protective of those she loves and is loyal too and because Genbu (who was worshipped as a God and known as Black Warrior/ Black Turtle) is seen as a warrior deity. This is because the shell of a turtle is like a suit of armor. So it is no surprise that Kagami wanted to look like a mighty warrior. 

Striker- is Marc. I gave Marc this Miraculous because he is patient and more than willing to hang back and observe so he can help out. He chose the name Striker because it sounded like a cool superhero name from the comics he loves so much and because he liked to compare being the Snake Hero to that of the snake "sudden striker" in Sunzi's Art of War. His look is based more on a traditional hero look mixed with a rogue look since he thinks himself a background hero.

Vouivre- is Ondine. I gave her this Miraculous because she is a fighter and determined and loyal. Her look and name are taken from the description of the vouivre in The Drac: French Tales of Dragons and Demons. I headcanon Ondine being obsessed with fairytales so when she was given the Dragon Miraculous she immediately remembered the stories of the vouivre and thus her decision for her hero look and name was made. 

The two Chamberlains that Ladybug mentioned in her Court are Chloe and Sabrina, they offer the heroes support from the shadows. Chloe still wanted to help the hero but knew she couldn't do that as a hero anymore so she offered her aid in support and finances if the hero needed it and where Chloe goes, Sabrina follows. 

Next Chapter

[artzychic27]

How would Scarlet Beetle Luka react Canon Luka especially about his doormat personality to Canon Marinette?

SB&IB!Luka: Oh em goodness, your nails are gorgeous! Love the hair and that jacket, now let's talk about your personality, sweetie.

Canon!Luka: I guess. Alright.

SB&IB!Luka: Oh, I couldn't have gotten here sooner. *Sits on Canon!Luka's lap*

Canon!Luka: D-do you do this with everyone?!

SB&IB!Luka: Only with cute guys, you're cute because you're me, it makes sense. Now, let's talk about your Marinette. Does she respect you?

Canon!Luka: I... I guess.

SB&IB!Luka: Not good enough, honey. When you were dating, did she seem distant?

Canon!Luka: Well... She ran out of the movie theater right when we were about to kiss and didn't show up to watch the band rehearse- But, she's got her reasons I. don't want to pressure her when she's already got so much on her plate.

SB&IB!Luka: And that's sweet and all, but you've gotta set boundaries and have wants, too. So, you don't care at all that she was still in love with Adrien even while dating you?

Canon!Luka: ... Kind of. *Cries a bit*

SB&IB!Luka: *Hugs him* Oh, honey. What has this horrible show done to you, sweet baby?

Canon!Luka: Sh-show? What are you talking about?

SB&IB!Luka: Ignore that. My point is if she doesn't respect you; respect yourself, sweetie.

[goldenlaurelleaveswrites]

All it Takes to Grow

AO3

She couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “I don’t think watering it is going to do much.”

“Oh?” He quirked a brow and gave her a boyish grin as he put the cap back on the bottle. “Why’s that?”

She shrugged, shaking her head as she laughed. “Somehow, I don’t think it’s going to grow into much.”

“Well,” he shrugged as well, his smile softening, “give it time. Who knows what will grow given the right care.”

_______________________________________________________

The fresh smell of the early morning rain mingled with the scent of damp soil, tickling her nose with the promise of new growth. She sat back on her heels to check her progress so far. She had finished repotting her hydrangea into a bigger pot to accommodate for any new growth. And she had transplanted some of her irises and pruned the climbing roses. All that she had left to do was retrain some of the branches of her climbing roses to wrap around the railings of her balcony, sweep up, put fresh batteries in her fairy lights, and her balcony would be all prepped for the spring. 

It wasn’t as big as the balcony of her childhood bedroom had been, but she loved every inch of it. There was room enough for her wrought iron bistro table with its two matching chairs. As well as room for several plots that held irises and miniature hydrangeas. She had even managed to fit a potted ornamental cherry tree in one of the corners. And with the climbing roses she had trained to wrap around the railings of her balcony, once everything was grown and in bloom, it would be her own little oasis. 

She had really lucked out when she found this apartment; she was on the top floor of her building and at the end of the hall, which meant that there were only two balconies on this side of the building. Hers, and the one that belonged to the person across the all from her. And the balcony got the perfect amount of sun. She even had a nice view, and the area was quiet. 

It really was perfect. 

And it was the perfect day too. It would only take her another hour, two tops, to finish getting everything tidied up. Then maybe she would sit out here with a slice of the quiche her parents had sent home with her last night, along with a cup of coffee and her sketchbook-

“Sorry to bother you, Marinette.” She jolted at the sound of the voice, falling back off her heels and onto her rear. At the last second, she remembered not to clutch her gardening glove-clad hands to her heart. Not that It would have mattered that much, given she was in the old, worn-out clothes she reserved specifically for gardening and getting dirty. “Sorry! I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine!” she cried as she stood, turning to smile at her neighbour. 

“Are you ok?” Luka’s face was crinkled in concern, and she couldn’t help but flush. “You didn’t-“

“I’m fine! I’m totally fine! No bumps, no bruises. Just fine…” her rambling voice trailed off at the soft smile on his face that sent the warmth in her cheeks deepening. It took her a second—or perhaps a moment—to realize she was staring stupidly at him. “Right! You… you needed something?” 

“Right,” he rubbed the back of his neck before gesturing to her hydrangea. “I was just wondering where you got all your flower pots from.” 

“Oh.” She glanced around at her flowerpots; they all matched, despite their varying sizes. And while she didn’t know much about Luka, she wouldn’t have thought they were his style. They were plain, but the curved shapes, pearly white colour, and scalloped details gave them a distinctly girly vibe that she hadn’t thought Luka would go for. But then again, who was she to judge. Besides, they weren’t the only style the shop carried. “Fu’s Florals. It’s by Café Cassette.” 

“Great. Thank you, Marinette.” She ignored the butterflies fluttering in her stomach at the smile he gave her. 

“Yeah, no problem. Are you starting your own garden?” She nodded towards his mostly bare balcony. He had only moved in a couple of weeks ago, and save a couple of chairs and a large wooden crate that was obviously being used as a makeshift table, there was nothing on his balcony. 

“Yeah. I’ve been pretty inspired by yours.” He waved to her as he headed back towards the door that led into his apartment. “Thanks again!”

“Yeah, no problem.” 

                                                         ***

Her work was done, she was freshly showered and in clean clothes, and she had finished her lunch. And now she was sitting on her balcony, sketchbook in hand, trying to puzzle out her new neighbour.  

He had moved into the apartment across the hall from her three weeks ago, and since then, they had exchanged casual pleasantries. She had given him some recommendations for good places to eat and shop in the area. Including her parent’s bakery. And she had warned him about the old lady who lived on the second floor, who had a habit and hobby of telling young people about all the ways they did things wrong. And he had helped her carry her groceries when a seam in one of her shopping bags had split, sending her shopping spilling out all over the place. 

But those favours and pleasantries and casual small talk had been the extent of their interaction. All she had learned about him from those interactions were his name and the fact that he was a sweet and helpful guy. Everything else she knew about him was from what she had noticed about him. 

And he was very easy to notice. 

It wasn’t just about his looks—though his whole tall, dark and handsome thing and piercing blue eyes certainly made his looks noticeable—she had managed to pick up on a few details, a few clues as to who he was. 

And the first thing she knew was that he loved music. The day he had moved in, he and a parade of people had carried instrument after instrument into his unit. They had all been in cases, but she had recognized a few based on their size and shape; there had been at least three guitars and a couple of violins. 

There had been more, but she hadn’t recognized their shapes and their contents were a mystery. But there was always music coming from his apartment. It was never loud—he had asked her if it had bothered her, which it most certainly hadn’t—and the genres were always varied. The instruments that played the music varied too. 

But music was constant.  

The music wrapping around his arms—which she had not checked out—in black ink was also a big clue pointing towards him being a music lover. 

She knew he was kind and helpful; he had proven it when he helped her with her groceries. But she had seen him extend that kindness to other tenants in their building. He had helped the old man who lived on the first floor with his bundle buggy. And she had seen him hold countless doors open for other people.

She knew he liked dogs and horses. She had overheard him telling the woman with the golden retriever who lived on their floor as much. She knew he was a terrible cook. She had smelled the smoke and heard the cursing from her balcony as he fanned smoke out of his apartment. She knew he spoke at least two other languages. She had heard him talking on the phone when he was coming and going. 

But there was still so much she didn’t know about him. 

She had no idea what he did for a living, and it was impossible to guess based off of the schedule he seemed to keep. She had no idea what he liked to do when he wasn’t playing or listening to music. She had no idea what his sense of humour was like, or if he-

She was jolted from her thoughts for the second time by the sound of his voice. “…no Jules, I’m not going to do anything stupid. Uh-huh. Yeah, yeah I promise. See you.” She stuck her nose back into her sketchbook before he could catch her eavesdropping. “Hey,” she looked up again at the greeting, “thanks for telling me about that place.”

“Yeah, no problem! Did you get everything you need?”

“Yeah, or at least,” he shrugged, smiling down at the bag he had dumped on his table, “I think so. I hope so.” 

“If you need any gardening stuff, I can always lend you some of mine.”

“Thank you, I appreciate that.” 

She watched him putter about, unpacking his shopping for a minute, before going back to her sketchbook. But she wasn’t making any progress on her design. She was too aware of what he was doing to focus on the page in front of her. After spending several minutes doodling flowers in the corner of her page, she couldn’t stand the quiet, save for his humming, anymore. 

“So what are you planting?” 

He looked up at her and smiled before he held up his hand. “This.” 

“That’s a guitar pick.” 

She stared at the pic. She had never seen one like it. It was white and iridescent. Under the sunlight, it shifted from a shimmering white to pink to pale blue. It was the prettiest guitar pick she had ever seen. 

But it was still just a pick. It was still just a piece of plastic. 

She stared at him in disbelief as he smiled at her. Then he turned back to his pot—he had bought the same style as hers— that he had filled with soil. She watched in disbelief as he gently placed the pick in it. She was still staring in disbelief as he carefully covered it with more soil. 

By the time he was watering it though, she had snapped out of it enough to form words again. 

“What are you expecting to grow out of that?”

“Something beautiful, I hope,” he said with a smile.

                                                         ***

The next morning, she woke up to the sound of muffled guitar music. Blearily, she dragged herself out of bed and pulled on a robe. It was only nine, and it was Sunday. But she was usually up by now, but she had had a late night full of sudden bursts of inspiration. And after a blissful sleep, guitar music was a much more welcome wake-up call than her alarm. 

Quietly, she slipped out onto her balcony and peeked over at Luka’s. 

He was sprawled in one of his mismatched patio chairs, with his feet propped up on the other one. In his pajama pants and a faded band t-shirt. The empty—well, not empty given there was soil and a guitar pick in it—pot was still standing proudly on his makeshift table. And he was plucking away at the strings of the guitar in his lap. 

“Morning,” he said, in a voice that was still carrying the remnants of sleep. 

She jumped. “How did you know I was here?” 

He shrugged, never breaking off his playing. “I didn’t wake you, did I?”

“You did, but that’s ok. I needed to get up anyway.” She offered him a small smile, cutting him off before he could, she assumed, apologize. “It’s a nice way to wake up. A lot nicer than an alarm clock.” 

“I’m glad. But I’m still sorry I woke you.” 

“Don’t be. But….” she hesitated. He was playing. Would he really want to endure small talk? 

“But?” 

“I don’t usually hear you play this early.”

“Oh, yeah. I have kind of a weird schedule. But I woke up early, and well…” his cheeks pinked as he ducked his head, “I’ve heard it’s good for plants. Playing music for them. But if it’s bugging you I can-“

“No!” She coughed. Her voice had come out a little too high. “No,” she said again, in a steadier voice, “like I said. I like it.” If it weren’t for his music, there would have been silence between them. As it was, she still felt the familiarity of awkwardness settling over her shoulders. “So…” she looked around, searching for something to say. Her eyes landed on his flower pot. “Any signs of growth yet?” 

She cringed as the words came out of her mouth. He was going to think she was teasing him. Or worse, making fun of him. 

“No, not yet.” He said it with a genuine smile. Like it was perfectly reasonable to ask if a guitar pick had started sprouting. 

“Oh. Well…” she wasn’t sure how to respond. What was she supposed to say now? As if hearing her silent question, Luka spoke. 

“Have you eaten yet?”

“No, not yet.”

“Me either. Do you want to join me for breakfast?” He ducked his head again, rubbing the back of his neck. “I stopped by your parent’s bakery yesterday, and I mentioned you had told me about it. And when I said we were neighbours…” he glanced back up at her. Oh no. What had her parents done? She loved them. She really did. But they had a track record for embracing her in front of potential romantic partners. “…they gave me a bunch of extra stuff. And it all looks amazing. But I don’t think I can eat it all myself before it goes bad.”

“Oh.” Thank goodness. “Yeah, that- that sounds nice. Just let me make a quick cup of coffee, and I’ll be right back. Do you… do you want one too?” 

“If you don’t mind making an extra cup, I’d love one.” Something fluttery stirred in her belly at the smile he gave her. 

“Yeah!” she managed to squeak out. “That’s no problem, I- I’ll be right back.” She turned on her heel and bolted into her apartment. As she made the coffee, she stomped down on the nonsense brewing in her belly. 

She was just hungry. That was all. 

By the time the coffee was made and it, the mugs, and the cream and sugar were loaded onto a tray, the fluttery feeling was gone. 

Good riddance. 

She made her way back onto the balcony. It took a lot of reaching on her part, and some on his, but she managed to pass him the cup of coffee she had prepared for him. And after much back and forth on who should choose their pastry first, she gave in and selected an almond croissant. 

They fell into easy conversation as they ate. He teased her when she got icing sugar on her nose. And laughed good naturally when she made a quip about the smell of burnt food that came from his apartment the previous night. He asked about the sketchbook she always kept within reach and listened patiently when she went on a long tangent about elements of design and fabric choices. And when prompted, he told her about his music and instruments. 

By the time they had finished the dregs of the pot of coffee, it was closer to noon than morning. She had no idea where the time had gone. 

                                                        ***

She didn’t see him again until Wednesday evening. Between last-minute commissions and working on her fall lineup, she had been swamped. So much so, that even when she had heard him playing, the music spilling through her open balcony doors in an invitation, she had ignored the temptation to go out. 

But all the hardworking had been worth it. Jagged had been happy with the new Jacket she had made for him to wear to host some award show in England. And she had been able to get his approval for the latest iteration of her design for his outfit for the Cannes film festival too. And her fall collection was coming along nicely too. 

And now she had a little room to breathe. She sank down into her patio chair, grateful for the fresh spring air and the warm, golden hour sun. All her work was done for the day. Her plants were all watered. She had eaten. Now, she could focus on designing. 

Though, the absence of the music she had grown accustomed to was annoying. 

She slipped into the realm of shapes and colours easily. And she was quickly lost in her imagination. Sketch after sketch took shape on her pages. The lines and marks spilled from her pencil; as if they couldn’t wait to be brought into the tangible world. 

She had been inspired lately. With spring on brink of breaking into bloom, and the ever-present flow of music coming from Luka’s, it was impossible not to be inspired. 

And her favourite season, and the music, had made their way into her designs. She recognized the twisting vines of her climbing roses and wrought iron railing in the detailing of a blouse. And the swirling lines of a treble clef in the silhouette of a dress. 

She couldn’t help but sigh. 

Of course, the one time she had been able to spend any real time on her balcony in days would be the one time he wasn’t playing on his. She snuck a glance over at his balcony. It was still bare compared to hers, but he had added some cushions to his chairs. His plant pot was still empty—as expected—but now it wasn’t the only piece of decor. He had hung up pieces of sea glass, tied with ropes that twisted into complicated knots. 

The knots were interesting; they were intricate, and there was a certain elegance in the way the ropes twisted into their shapes. The glass was beautiful too. The soft blues and greens were gentle and inviting. 

A new idea tugged at her mind, itching at her fingers. Hurriedly, she put her pencil to the page and let the design spring forth. The inspiration quickly swallowed her, pulling her in. She was so absorbed in the new ideas taking shape that she was deaf to the world. 

Until she heard a clatter and groan from the balcony beside hers. 

She snapped her attention up, glancing towards the source of the sound. Luka was sprawled in one of his chairs. A battered briefcase sat by his feet, and he was poking at the soil in the pot. 

“Long day?” 

“Yeah,” he groaned, offering her a smile before screwing his face up in distaste. He pulled a water bottle out of the briefcase and slowly poured some into the pot. 

She couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “I don’t think watering it is going to do much.” 

“Oh?” He quirked a brow and gave her a boyish grin as he put the cap back on the bottle. “Why’s that?”

She shrugged, shaking her head as she laughed. “Somehow, I don’t think it’s going to grow into much.”

“Well,” he shrugged as well, his smile softening, “give it time. Who knows what will grow given the right care.” She snorted as politely as she could, and he laughed. “I haven’t seen you around much the past couple of days.”

“Yeah,” she sighed. “It’s been pretty busy. I had a few last-minute commissions from important clients, and I’ve been trying to get my fall collection done ahead of the deadline so I’m not scrambling at the last minute. I’m a fashion designer,” she added in explanation.

“Makes sense. You’re always so well dressed. Are those designs you’re working on?” he nodded towards the sketchbook in her hands. 

“Yeah. They’re not for work. Or at least, not right now. They might become ones I actually make. But I was just feeling inspired tonight.”

“It’s always a gift when the inspiration hits.”

She hummed in agreement. “So… what made your day so long? If you don’t mind me asking, that is!” 

“Work. You ever have those days where everything seems to go wrong?”

“All the time.”

“Yeah, it was one of those days. I forgot my violin at home, students were complaining about midterms, I locked myself out of my office… the list goes on.” He gave her a wry smile. “And now I have a mountain of papers to grade. And I really don’t want to.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” he shrugged. “It’s not your fault.”

“I’m still sorry your day sucked so much. So…” she put down her sketchbook and pencil and leaned on her table, propping her chin up in her hand. “You’re a teacher?”

“Sort of. I’m a professor at the Conservatory.”

“Oh! What do you teach?”

“Performance—violin specifically— and composition. And I love it, but my T.A. Just quit her program, and I have all these papers to mark, and with rehearsals, not enough time to mark them,” he groaned. 

“That’s awful. I wish there was something I could do to help…”

“You are helping.” He laughed when she looked at him, her brows furrowed in confusion. “Good company does wonders for the soul. And it’s a good excuse to procrastinate.”

“I don’t know if helping you procrastinate can be considered helping!”

“Trust me, it can! So please, if you can, stay and talk some more?” His eyes were wide and pleading.

Her stomach did another flippity, fluttery thing. Nope. She shoved it down, trying to ignore it as best she could as she made herself more comfortable. “Ok, fine." she laughed. "So what’s your rehearsal for?” 

“The orchestra.”

“The orchestra?”

He flushed. “I’m also a member of the national orchestra…” 

“Wow,” she breathed. “That’s pretty impressive.”

His flush deepened as he shrugged. “I guess. I just- I love to play. I love to share my passion for music. I love to create music…”

“You said you teach performance and composition. Do you write music too?”

“Yeah…” he said, drawing out the word. “I've composed a couple things…”

“Would I have heard anything you’ve done?”

“You said you can always hear me playing, so you’ve heard some of it.” The teasing little in his voice made her glad she was sitting down, given the way her heart wobbled.

“Not what I meant. Do you have any CDs or anything?”

He was almost bright red now. Interesting. “I’ve done a few soundtracks for movies…”

“What?” She had to hold herself back from jumping to her feet. “That’s amazing! What movies?”

“I’ve done a few short films, mostly indie ones. But you know the fantasy one that came out a few months ago? The one with Mireille Caquet? I worked on that one-“

She was on her feet now. “You did the music for that?” He nodded. “That’s incredible! I love that soundtrack- it’s so beautiful and romantic and…” wordlessly, she gestured with her hands before flopping breathlessly back into her chair. 

He was amazing. He was kind. She had already known that. But he so much more than that! He was smart; you had to be smart to be a professor. And talented; he taught at the conservatory and was in the national orchestra and he composed!

And based on how his cheeks were the colour of tomatoes and the way he was ducking his head, he was humble too. 

                                                        ***

They fell into a rhythm after that. Every day, whenever she caught him on his balcony—she still hadn’t made sense of his crazy schedule—she would ask him about the ‘seed.’ And every day, he would tell her there were no signs of growth. 

Yet. 

That was what he would always say.

And then they would fall into easy conversation. They talked about everything and nothing. Sometimes they didn’t even talk; she would sketch or sew on her little portable machine. And he would play or work on a composition. Or graded papers, with much griping on his part.

Sometimes they ate meals together on their balconies when their schedules meshed. 

She didn’t know when they had become friends, but there was no doubt that they were friends. Even if she did have to keep stomping down on that fluttery feeling in her stomach with more force every day and remind it that she and Luka were friends.  

                                                        ***

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” she sighed. 

“It’s not nothing. You’re pouting.” 

“Am not!” she said, petulantly crossing her arms before catching a glance at her reflection in the glass of her balcony door. Ok. Maybe she was pouting. “It’s just, I want to start a herb garden. But I don’t have any room left out here, and I don’t want to get rid of any of my plants.” 

“I see,” he said, putting down the watering can he had been using to water his ‘seed.’ He leaned against the snake statue that he had added to his balcony a few days ago and cast an appraising glare across her balcony. “It does look like you’re running out of room…” 

“Tell me about it,” she grumbled, almost tripping over her gardening spade as she made her way back to her table. “Any sign of growth?” she nodded to her thoroughly watered guitar pick pot. 

She already knew the answer. 

He just shrugged, an enigmatic smile on his face. 

                                                        ***

“I wanted to call my classes ‘Advanced String Theory,’ but they wouldn’t let me.” She snorted into her tea. “Apparently, it was something about not wanting to start an online war with physicists.”

“You’re terrible, Luka!” 

“I disagree. I think I’m hilarious. My colleagues and students though…” he chuckled, shooting her another one of his boyish grins that softened the sharp lines of his face into something altogether angelic. 

She swallowed back a stray butterfly trying to escape. “I bet your students love you. And I bet your Rate my Prof ratings are off that chart!” Something in her fluttered at the way his ears were suddenly glowing pink, but she tried to ignore it. 

“I don’t know about that. There’s still a lot I have to learn about teaching…” 

“Oh please, you’re an amazing teacher.”

“But-“

“You’ve taught me how many chords?”

“A few, but-“

“And you made it so easy to learn. You’re a great teacher, Luka.”

“I- thank you, Marinette.” The stupid fluttering was back at the way he smiled, even as his cheeks tinged red. “That means a lot. But for the record, you’re the amazing one.”

“Luka! I-“

“I won’t argue it, Marinette,” he said, grinning at her. “You’re incredible. A force of nature. I’ve never met anyone like you.”

The fluttering was quickly turning into a swarm of butterflies. 

                                                       ***

A few days later, she was surprised by a knock on her apartment door. She was even more surprised when she opened it to find Luka standing on her doorstep. With a-

“Luka?” she gasped. “What is that?”

His brows furrowed in confusion. “It’s a vertical planter. I thought that was obvious-“

“I mean, what are you doing standing on my doorstep with it?” 

“You said you wanted to start an herb garden. But you didn’t have any floor space. And well," he looked up at the ceiling, his free hand rubbing at the back of his neck before he looked back at her. "Well, I noticed you have plenty of wall space so I…” he trailed off as his cheeks flushed. “I’m sorry, was this too presumptuous?”

“No. No!” she gasped, staring wide-eyed at the planter in his hands. “It’s sweet. So sweet of you! It’s just… they can be so expensive. Let me pay you back-“ she was already turning to reach for her purse when he cut her off. 

“I didn’t buy it. I made it."

Oh. Oh. 

That explained why it was so… so perfect. Because the wooden trellis was shaped to look like climbing vines. Even the rings that were meant to hold the pots looked like vines. And it was painted the exact same shade a pink-tinged white as the rest of her patio furniture. And it was just so perfect. 

“Luka! You shouldn’t have… it’s… it’s amazing. But I can’t let you just make something like this for me without-“

“Marinette,” he said, his voice tinged with laughter. “How many of my clothes have you patched up for me, free of charge?” She bit her lip. Too many to count. “How many cooking tips and recipes have you given me?” Enough that he wasn’t airing smoke out of his kitchen on a near-daily basis. "How much would you have charged a client for the alterations you did on my suit?" An arm and a leg because she had practically had to remake the suit. “Let me do something nice for you.”

“But-“

“You deserve it, Marinette.” He sighed dramatically, “But if you really can’t accept this on the basis that you deserve it and I wanted to do this for you—which is completely true—then let’s make a bargain. You know how I’m going to Achu next week?” She nodded. “You can water my plant for me while I’m gone. Then we can call it even.” 

He really wanted her to water the guitar pick for him while he was gone? She bit her lip. It was hardly fair. He was giving her something so beautiful that he had made for her. And all he wanted in return was for her to water a plant that wasn’t even a plant? 

But she really loved that trellis planter. 

“Fine, it’s a deal.” 

“Great!” Her knees wobbled at the way laughter danced at the corners of his soft smile. “Now are you going to let me set this up? Or are you going to make me stand on your doorstep all day?”

                                                       ***

She still didn’t understand why she was doing this. It was a piece of plastic! Not a seed. And yet… 

And yet here she was. Watering it. 

She had considered switching it out for a real seed while he was gone. So that something would grow from all the effort he was putting into it. The look on his face… the way he would smile… She had been halfway to the store with those thoughts in her mind when she had stopped dead in her tracks in the middle of the sidewalk. 

She couldn’t do that. Because that would be lying. And Luka disliked lies as much as she did. 

So she had turned around and gone home. 

And watered the guitar pick. 

And here she was, two days later, watering it again. As per the schedule he had left her. And trying to not fixate on how much she missed him—a lot— or on how many days it would be until he got back—three. 

She grimaced as she tried to ignore the twisting pit in her stomach that she was all too familiar with. She didn’t have time to be lonely. She was busy. And she had no reason to be lonely. She was having dinner with her parents later and lunch with Alya the day after tomorrow. She was surrounded by people. 

Besides, Luka would be home in three days. 

Just the mere thought of him coming home made her stomach flutter. And no. She just missed her friend. That was all. 

She put the watering can down with a little more force than was necessary before turning to inspect her seedlings. Unlike Luka’s guitar pick, the seeds for her herb garden were sprouting. Already, little bits of green were poking tentatively out of the rich soil. Soon enough, they would be big enough for her to start harvesting. 

Once she had puttered about her balcony and checked all her plants, there was nothing else to do but sit down. But as she was reaching for her sketchbook, which she had left on her table, beside Luka’s ‘plant,’ she paused. 

She wished why knew why it was so important to him. Why he was so dead set on believing it would actually grow.

                                                      ***

“Maybe it missed you,” she said as she led him through her apartment towards the balcony. She left the words, ‘I did’ unsaid. 

“Maybe,” he hummed. “I missed home. I’m glad to be back. It was lonely without having someone to talk to.” 

She was glad he was behind her, so he couldn’t see the way her cheeks burned. As it was, she was glad her knees managed to maintain their integrity. Though, of course, she would have been able to blame it on her clumsiness. Heavens knew he had borne witness to too many of her klutz attacks. 

She shook her head. These were not the kinds of thoughts friends were supposed to have around each other. 

“Well, I’m sure it missed your playing.” She had. 

                                                      ***

He was playing his guitar tonight. Eliciting a soft and lazy tune from the strings with his feet propped up on his spare chair and an easy smile on his face. But despite what he had said about music being good for plants, his guitar pick still hadn’t grown. 

Well, actually, that was no surprise. Because it wasn’t a seed. It wouldn’t grow. 

But her plants seemed to love Luka’s music, almost as much as she did. Her herbs had grown like weeds and in record time. And her roses had never produced so many buds. All of her plants were healthier, happier. More alive. 

And she wasn’t complaining about the music either. She sighed blissfully as she sank back in her chair, cradling her glass of lemonade as she idly drew in her sketchbook. It was another perfect spring evening. Not even Alya’s annoyance at her wanting to spend the night in could dampen her mood. 

An evening on her balcony with Luka’s music, her sketchbook, and good conversation when they felt like it, was all she needed. 

But it seemed Alya didn’t understand that. 

She frowned at the sound of her phone buzzing. And her frown grew to a grimace as she read the messages.

Alya: girl! just give it a chance!

Alya: it’ll be perfect! He can meet u at Andre's cart in 20

Alya: Andre is by the basilica 

Alya: you two could go for a moonlight stroll after 😏

An off-key note jolted her out of glaring at her phone’s screen. When she looked up, he was looking at her, his face crinkled in concern and his eyes glimmering softly in the fairy lights he had put up earlier that day. 

“You ok?”

“Me? I should be asking you that. I’ve never heard you play off-key before.”

He shrugged. “There was a sour note in your song. A blip that stood out.” He hesitated, his fingers ghosting across the strings of his guitar, but no sound came. “Are you ok?”

“Yeah,” she groaned. “It’s just… my friend…” 

“If you’re saying it like that, is friend the right word?” 

She groaned. “She means well. Most of the time anyways. It’s just… I’m a project to her. She keeps trying to set me up with this guy, even though I’ve been over him for years, and she just can’t get it through her head that I’m not interested anymore. But she’s convinced he’s my soulmate, and she won’t stop meddling!” She threw her hands up in frustration. “And I’m just so… just so tired. I’ve known for years that he would never love me the way I used to want him to. And I haven’t felt that way for him since I was fifteen. But she won’t give up, and it always ends up blowing up in my face. 

And she keeps trying to get us to have ice cream at Andre’s- you know, the sweetheart ice cream guy?” He made a face as he nodded. “Well, Alya must have convinced him that I was made for Adrien,” she didn’t bother to hide her disgust at the phrase, “and every time I’ve tried to go on a date with someone else, and we get ice cream at Andre’s… he always gives me the flavours that represented Adrien. And it always kills the mood when your date gets sweetheart ice cream for someone else... So I can’t even enjoy ice cream now.” 

At some point during her tirade, Luka had started playing again. And every note was exactly how she felt. 

“I just want her to give up and move on. Like I have. I want her to let me move on without guilt-tripping me. I… there’s only so much I can take,” she said quietly, sinking into the safety of his music. 

“I‘m sorry, Marinette. If you need to talk, I’m here.” 

He didn’t need to tell her. She had heard him the first time. 

                                                      ***

She wiped furiously at her face, trying to remove all traces of her tears. But it was no use. They just keep spilling from her eyes. There wasn’t a point anyways. Even if she could stop crying, she knew her face was already tearstained and her eyes puffy from the countless tears she had shed. She bit down on her lip, trying to hold back another silent sob as his apartment door clicked shut. 

“Marinette?” His voice was so quiet, so gentle. So warm and hesitant and comforting. 

“Yeah?” she hated how the word escaped her as nothing more than a whimper. 

“What happened?” That was something she loved about him. He never wasted time on questions that had obvious answers. It wasn’t ‘are you crying?’ He always knew which questions to ask. 

“I…” the words died in her throat. He knew what question to ask. But she didn’t know how to answer. 

“It’s ok. Do you want to be alone?” She shook her head furiously. Alone was the last thing she wanted to be right now. 

"Ok," he said in that soft voice of his that always made her melt. He didn't try to talk to her, to fill the silence with chatter or drown out her sobs with conversation. He did pick up his violin

The music was heartbreak. And humiliation. And the anger and frustration at a friend who meddled too much and listened too little. It was the exhaustion of embarrassment and years of fighting an uphill battle. 

It was the desire to just move on. To be happy. 

And the feeling of being stuck. 

“How do you do that? How do you play exactly how I feel?”

His smile was as gentle as the summer sun that melted the snow. “Music is universal. There are no language barriers, we all understand it. And we all have music in us. It’s just waiting to be heard.” Slowly, tentatively, he reached across the gap between their balconies and brushed away a tear with his thumb. “It’s alright Marinette. You can tell me everything, or nothing if you prefer. You can be yourself with me.”

Her knees buckled at the weight of his whisper. At the gentleness of his thumb on her cheek. 

“Just yourself.” 

It wasn’t enough.

She needed more. She needed him to hold her. She needed… 

A wave of fresh tears flowed from her eyes as a sob wracked her body. 

“She tricked me! I should have known better, but she tricked me and it was awful…” 

                                                     ***

She stared at the ceiling. She hadn’t been able to sleep. The silence was suffocating. 

She loved Luka. 

The room was too cold, but her blankets were too warm. And there was a gap in her curtains that was letting in light from the street. 

She loved Luka. 

She couldn’t get comfortable. No matter how she lay, it wasn’t right. And her eyes were still itchy and puffy, even though her tears had long since dried up. 

She loved Luka. 

She didn’t know what to do.

                                                     ***

Luka wasn’t on his balcony when she woke up, even though they always had breakfast together on their balconies on Sundays. And his flower pot wasn’t sitting on his table anymore. It was gone. 

She was two steps across the hallway, hand already raised and ready to knock on his apartment door when she froze. 

Maybe something had come up last minute? 

But wouldn’t he have told her? Surely he would have. 

She took another step and froze again. 

What would she say? How would he react to her showing up on his doorstep, demanding to know why he hadn’t shown up for breakfast? 

How would she keep herself from getting tongue-tied? From blurting out how she felt? 

She turned on her heel and darted back into the sanctuary of her apartment. Once the door was firmly shut, and bolted just for good measure, she began pacing frantically. 

He was her best friend. And she was in love with him! And there was a difference between love and being in love. And one of those things was firmly outside the realm of friendship. 

She couldn’t do this! Not again! 

It had been hard enough, humiliating enough, the first time. Back when she was thirteen and head over heels. She couldn’t do this again. And Luka wasn’t Adrien. Luka was perceptive. He would notice if she wasn’t careful. And if she wasn’t careful, she would ruin everything. 

And her friendship with Luka meant too much to her. She couldn’t- wouldn’t risk it. 

Which meant she couldn’t show up on his doorstep and ask about breakfast. Not now. Not when she was nowhere near collected. 

But if she didn’t show up on his doorstep… he could show up on hers. 

She froze at the thought. She wasn’t ready to have breakfast with him. Not today. Not when everything was so fresh in her mind and heart. 

She lunged towards the notepad she kept on her kitchen counter. And once her note was hastily scrawled out on the page, she hurried out the door, across the hall, and shoved the note under his door. And then darted back into her apartment, closing herself in once again. 

                                                    ***

She spent the rest of the day in silence. And away from her balcony and windows. 

She had told Luka she would be out for the day and that she wouldn’t make it for breakfast. Or lunch. Or dinner to make up for it. 

As much as she hated lying, it had been necessary. And she didn’t want to be caught in it. 

But just because she spent the day in silence didn’t mean Luka did. 

He spent most of the day playing. Sometimes it was his guitar. Sometimes it was his violin. He even played his lyre—which he had because he was a huge Greek mythology nerd, and dork—and his clàrsach—because he was a proud Scotsman—a few times. 

But it was always the same song. Always the same beautiful song. 

She listened from where she hid, out of sight of any and all windows. Wishing she was brave enough to just go out there and listen. Knowing she wasn’t. 

He didn’t stop playing until early evening. She assumed he was making dinner, but it was hard to tell now that he wasn’t burning everything he touched. She couldn’t hear him clattering about in his kitchen from her own apartment, and she didn’t dare go out onto her balcony to listen. 

And so she settled into his silence, the way she had settled into hers. Poorly. 

She couldn’t focus. She couldn’t sit still. Everything was stifling. 

She threw open her balcony doors. If he noticed, well, maybe he would assume she had only just come home. And that was only if he noticed. Though… Luka noticed everything it seemed… 

A knock on her door sent her almost levitating. Was it Luka? It if was Luka, she had to answer it. Because if she didn’t, and then he saw her balcony doors open, he would know she was home and had ignored him. She had to answer because she wanted to see him. Because she wanted to-

Her body moved as if it had a mind of its own. She strode through her apartment to her front door and opened it. And blinked in surprise to find no one there. She craned her neck to look down the hall, but there was no sign of anyone. And Luka’s door was closed. 

She was about to turn around and close the door when a flash of colour near her feet caught her eye. 

There, sitting on the floor, right outside her door, was Luka’s flowerpot. 

But it wasn’t empty. 

She had never seen a plant like the one in the pot before. Gingerly, she knelt down to look at it. The leaves were a glossy, dark green with a softly curved shape. And the flowers were strange too. They were like something caught between a rose and a daisy. With layer upon layer of vaguely triangle-shaped white petals. 

She picked up the pot and was about to cross the hall to knock on Luka’s door when she noticed a folded piece of paper tucked into the foliage. She turned around, kicking the door closed behind as she went. Carefully, she put the pot on her kitchen counter and pulled out the paper. As she was unfolding it, another flash of colour caught her eye. 

The petals, which had looked white in the hall, looked pink now. Kind of like how… No. She took a step back, tilting her head to the side to look at the flowers. Their petals shifted from pink to blue. 

No. 

She took another step back. They were white now.

No. This had to be a trick. A joke. Because… because that was impossible. 

They almost seemed to shimmer in the light. 

She shook her head. It was just a trick of the light. Her imagination. Anything but that. Because that was impossible. 

She turned her attention to the paper in her hands. It was thick and heavy, and her name was written in Luka’s messy handwriting. The way he curved the M in her name was so familiar and comforting. She stared at the paper, addressed to her, unsure how to proceed. 

Why had he left this flower for her? Why had he left her a note, if he knew, or at least suspected, that she was home? Her hands shook as she unfolded the paper. 

Marinette, 

I once told you I’m not very good with words. And it’s the truth. I wish I had the courage to say these words to your face, but I don’t. I guess this makes me a coward. Or an idiot. Maybe both. But the simple fact of the matter is, I can’t go on without telling you this:

I love you. You’re the most extraordinary girl, Marinette. As clear as a musical note and as sincere as a melody. You’re the music that’s been playing inside my head since the day we met. 

Her hand flew to her mouth. Her gaze trailed down to the flowers, whose petals were still shimmering, the colours shifting under her apartment’s lights. He loved her. 

He loved her. 

But there was still more in his note. He had written more. Hungrily, she looked back at the page, ready to devour the rest of his words. 

I hope I haven’t ruined things with you, by doing this. But I just needed you to know. And whatever your answer is, I’ll accept it. If you just want to be friends, that’s enough for me. And if you never want to see me again-

That silly man. That stupid, silly man! How could he even think that?

And if you never want to see me again, after this, I’ll accept that as well. But if you feel the same way I do, then maybe I could take you to dinner. And maybe, we could get dessert too. Anything but ice cream-

She choked back something between a sob and a laugh. 

Anything but ice cream, anything you want. 

Luka 

How could he think she didn’t love him? How could he think that when she had loved him from the start, even if she hadn’t been willing to accept it herself. She had to see him. She had to tell him. She had to-

The soft evening breeze flitted through her open balcony doors, carrying the sweet scent of her flowers and the notes of a violin. 

She was on her balcony in a heartbeat. Her heart fluttered against her ribcage, trying to break out to fly up to the sky. Luka stopped playing the second she was outside. As if he had sensed her in that strange way he always seemed to, that she could never make sense of. 

He stumbled to his feet, dropping his violin on his table as he stared at her with wide eyes that were brimming with hope and fear. All she could do was stare back, clutching his note to her chest. 

“Marinette-“

“Did you mean it?” 

He blinked, and then his eyes trailed down to her hands, clutching the piece of paper like a lifeline. Shivers fluttered down her spine as his eyes met hers again. His eyes glowed in the shifting lights of their matching fairy lights. That warm and gentle smile of his. The one that reminded her of moonlight, somehow. 

“Every word.”

His voice was heavy with the weight of his sincerity. The sound of it sent her heart soaring. 

“Get over here.”

“What-“

“Get over here. I need to kiss you.” His eyes widened to the size of saucers, and he stumbled, just barely hanging to catch himself against the back of his chair. 

“What-“ his voice came out much higher this time. And far more strangled. 

“Luka, I love you. I always have. I just didn’t realize it. Or maybe I did, and I was just scared. But I love you, and I need you to get over here so I can kiss you!” 

Her words seemed to startle him into action. But he didn’t go into his apartment, that way she thought he would. Instead, he walked over to the railing of his balcony. 

“Luka!” She watched as he hoisted himself over his railing, balancing precariously on the edge of his balcony. “What are you doing?” 

He shot her a grin, before stepping over the gap between the two balconies. “Taking the direct route,” he said as he hauled himself over her railing.

“You idiot!” She smacked his chest and didn’t bother complaining when he caught her hand in one of his. “You could have hurt yourself!” 

“I know, I know,” his chuckles died off as she glared up at him. “I promise I won’t do it again.” His hand—the one that wasn’t holding hers—reached up to cup her cheek, and her knees melted. “I just, I didn’t want to waste any more time and-

She let go of his hand to wrap her arms around his neck, burying her fingers in the soft hair at the nape of his neck. His arm snaked around her waist, pulling her close as she rose up onto the tips of her toes. “Luka?”

“Yeah?” He looked down at her with half-lidded eyes. 

“Stop talking.” 

He obliged by pressing his lips to hers. 

[thesaltyoceanwaves]

Looked back over my Adrien memorabilia post and saw that tidbit about Adrien becoming a Delivery Boy for the bakery, and working alongside Luka and like

If these boys had an actual rivalry going on, this would have been a great spot to actually confront and resolve that.

1. Luka’s work performance would be better because he’s more experienced in handling customers - he’s fair but firm and doesn’t let anyone step on his boundaries. He also remembers people and their orders a lot better. Adrien, on the other hand, is often pushed around by customers wants that go against the bakery policies. Due to his upbringing, he’s not as personable and has more difficulty making conversation, since he’s dealing with different personalities.

2. Naturally, Adrien doesn’t like not being liked by all the customers and complains about a fair amount, thinking about quitting. Luka, who needs this job to help make ends meet, resents this.

3. This would culminate into a big argument where Adrien is forced to understand that Luka’s life is not all peachy keen. Sure Luka has wonderful friends, a chill mom, and a twin he’s close with (and alternatively, if he’s dating Marinette, a wonderful girlfriend), but his dad is either missing/absent from his life, or Luka has only recently learned of his identity, his mom gets herself into a fair share of problems, and he himself has a history of emotional difficulties. (Alternatively, if he’s not dating Marinette/they’ve broken/he was rejected, knowing that she’s crushing on Adrien feels like he’s getting spat in his face).

Basically, a subplot where Adrien has to learn that other people have problems in their life that they have to deal with, and it may not be as easy or okay as they let on.

[7thcirclebaker]

More Crack Fic Ideas; (saw a fic w/ a HC that Gina is a retired model who now travels the world, it sprung thoughts) apologies it's long and I don't know how to do a read more on mobile

Alright so this has the secretly rich, possibly poly crack ship. Moderate to low sodium potential though not a Lila fan so won't be like hugely pro her also in the ship tbh.

IDEA

Its Families day at Francois DuPont! Gabriel got concerning looks from French authorities so is there in person, Amelie came to visit with Felix to drag him out of the house (and try and steal the second ring) He's unhappy. Audrey now has two children to judge so figured if Gabriel was actually going to be there, she'd go too, plus she can catch up with Amelie, because of course they know each other. Films, fashion, clearly long standing history w/ Gabe on either side. Kagami is invited to bring Tomoe because of the fencing academy. Lila's mother unfortunately can't make it (never found out) so she's just gonna hang with this crowd of rich kids and try and schmooze. (Amelie and Felix are like, whomst are you to try this with us??!)

Maris parents are busy with the bakery but that's okay because her Nonna was in town to teach her how to ride a Vespa she may be getting for her birthday. She'll gladly swing by but first she's gotta pick up her Nainai who came to visit from the airport so it'll be a little bit (came not only to see her family but also to see what's going on in Paris btw) She Brought Fei along to visit Paris too. Mari is busying herself making sure everything runs smoothly. Nonna Gina and Nainai Lin (fully can be renamed) and Fei appear. Mari greets enthusiastically

Cut back to corner crowd of disdainful rich people and poor tortured children. Mari is loud, they notice her (they were already keeping half an eye on her, prodigy their kids/ nephew never shuts up about okay) Notice that the family that came are noted former model and now travel photographer who can have a conversation with your team and immediately figure out the vision for set locations Gina Dupain and Lin Cheng who was from the notable Wen fighting family who can destroy a person 20 different ways or twenty men in under 5 minutes still, who took on a bodyguard role for the visionary head son of the Cheng family who helped expand their restaurant business into a global company that does everything involved in food supply chains for farm to table wherever you can cook it, and married him. Jaws don't quite drop but eyebrows raise. Children are informed in hushed and surprised whispers of who exactly they are and who that makes Marinette. Adrien exclaims he's so happy for his very good friend. Audrey, Amelie, Nathalie and Tomoe somehow all share a look. Tomoes doesn't quite have the undertones of "He's such a blend of his parents like my god". Gabriel notices the look and reads it as battle lines are drawn, this is a chess match I must now win. Lila is moderately unhappy because she alienated one of the richest most connected ppl at this school, damn goody two shoes. They have all not been keeping an eye on the family gathered.

The brief 2 minutes for lines to be drawn in stand and positions explained are enough for Maris Grammas to be like, So the cute boy, he's there yes, we'll go talk to him, I vaguely know those people we can have a cordial conversation while digging. They are a force of nature. The four approach the group of rich embattled people with surprising silence and a certain degree of steeling themselves to not make a fool (mainly Mari) The conversation goes well, Little stumbles but they're written off as cute, lots of mental gymnastics and hidden conversations that basically sum up to "Mari is a precious gem and if your child hurts her you die and so does your company, they must prove they are able to court her. Fei is also precious but will more likely kill you herself so slightly less worries" Fei is refreshing and sees through tricks (possible also polyship here to help with max courtship drama without worrying about like accidental incest in a poly ship) The conversation nears it's end, people are fairly confident they know the stances of the others in this group, they can play this game for sure.

BUT WAIT! A wild Jagged Stone appears because it's family day and he's here with Luka and Juleka! He and Penny come over to talk to his honorary nice and this group of well connected people. Penny reads the conversation in the air and in the eyes of everyone in the group. She smirks in a way that concerns Gabriel, Nathalie and Amelie. Audrey is not worried, she is fabulous. Tomoe is not worried because Kagami is unmatched and clearly Marinette has a family history of loving women who can hand you your ass. Luka with his quiet insightful nature and overly exuberant pushy parent has thrown out their plans.

And thus sparks a grand courtship! Marinette has no idea what's going on. Adrien has some idea what's going on but not until the alliance of Chloe and Felix explain. Alliances are made! And broken! Information is gathered! Bunnyx makes a large bucket of popcorn! Love akumas just keep happening! Fei makes a large bucket of popcorn! Lin and Gina have a scoreboard! Rowland is surprisingly okay with it because young people don't do courtship properly these days and these children have clearly been raised right, look at the carefully worded flower messages! (They really haven't but he doesn't know and he's trying to be involved) Simu Cheng swings by to visit for a bit! He agrees with Rowland about Courtship rituals! They argue a lot about cooking! They also share ancient family methods of their specific cooking! ( Think less gay Statler and Waldorf that are semi bonding through cooking and judging) Bunnyx makes the Kwamis a large bucket of popcorn! Marinette is confused! Nathalie needs alcohol! Tom is just confusedly supportive and glad his father's arguing with someone else! Sabine is worried about the scheming! The Gorilla is supportive! Members of the class form teams to help support various members! Kagami and Adrien's alliance gains her some additional Friends! Rose is overly excited about all the live shenanigans! Nino is using this as inspiration for a movie script! Who knows how this ends! I sure as hell don't because I ran out of concept

[cornholio4]

Lukanette: Tales of Ladybug & Black Feline: Origins

Luka Couffaine went to Francois Dupont along with her smaller twin sister Juleka though they were in different classes. On the way to school he walked with Juleka he had found an elderly man struggling for directions and so he separated from his sister for the time being so that he could help the man. School had gone on as normal but to the shock of everyone there was a giant stone monster calling himself Stoneheart attacking the school and everyone was sent home for their saftey.

Luka and Juleka were now at their boat home the Liberty and Juleka was freaking out and was outside in the fresh air; watching their mother Anarka keeping the cannon in working order just in case they were needed if Stoneheart was to come their way. Anarka had to fight hard at City Hall to get the permit to be allowed working cannons on her home and truth be told Luka had no idea how she had managed to do so.

Though on the outside he was acting more calmly than his sister was; inside he was as freaked out and scared as everyone else. He was wondering if any of the Superheroes from the US were going to have to come here to Paris in order to take care of it. He decided to try and play a song that he had been working on and had went into his bag to take out the song sheet but at the bottom he noticed a black ring to his confusion.

Curiously he inspected it and put it on but was surprise to find a black colored mouse creature floating about with cat ears. "Hi there, I'm Plagg and I am going to be your Kwami. Do you have any camembert here because I am famished?" the creature asked as Luka was taking it quite well.

"We don't have camembert but we have sliced cheese in the fridge." Luka told him and Plagg groaned in response as he shook his head, "Kwami, is this like a spirit in the Ring? Plus what can you do?" Luka asked as Plagg looked hungry.

"Okay look, you have been chosen to gain powers which I can give you. Say 'Plagg, Claws Out' and I have to be sucked into your ring and you transform into a superhero. You get your own staff and if you say 'Catacalysm' you can do a punch that can pretty much destroy anything it touches. I have to warn you that doing so will pretty much give you a limited time before you transform back. Say 'Claws in' when you want to go back to normal yourself." Plagg explained as Luka thought it over.

"There is a monster attacking the city calling himself Stoneheart, do I use these powers to stop it?" Luka asked and Plagg nodded.

"The Butterfly Miraculous has been misused and its power has turned an unlucky person into a villain. He will be wanting your Miraculous and the one of your new partner's. Have to say you can't tell anyone about your powers." Plagg explained some more and Luka nodded thinking it will be good to know that he won't have to do this alone. He asked if he was ready to transform and Plagg replied "If we have to but later we must really talk about getting some decent cheese around here."

Luka sneaked out the window of the liberty and jumped over to the pavement, making sure that his sister and mother was not looking he went to hide an alleyway and transformed. He looked at himself in his new black suit and tried out his staff, using it as a tightrope to walk between buildings but then saw a screaming girl in a black and red suit crash into them and were entangled in the girl's yoyo.

The girl apologised saying that it wasn't on purpose, "So are you my new partner that Plagg told me about... I'm... The Black Feline..." Luka introduced himself as the girl got her yoyo free while stammering and it hit Luka on his head. The girl then saw a building being destroyed as the girl gave her name as Ladybug and asked if they could come up with a plan together.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng was surprised at how everything worked out; everything went wrong when she wasn't able to purify the Akuma butterfly and it created so many Stonehearts. She was all ready to give up and give the Miraculous to her new friend Alya but had to take it back and they were able to fix her mistake and send a message to the villain Hawk Moth.

Black Feline it seemed looked like he will be a good partner; he looked determined to help and allowed her to take the lead when she thought of a plan to fix all this. Plus he was very encouraging saying that it was natural to make mistakes on her first day. Perhaps she will be getting the hang of this after all...

She was out in the rain sighing noticing Chloe Bourgeois hugging Adrien Agreste as he was going into his limo to go home. Seems that his father her idol Gabriel Agreste would be willing to let him come to school in her class and she was not really excited about that; the gum incident earlier and him being childhood friends with her school bully.

She fell down in a puddle groaning but was helped up by a taller boy who smiled at her which made her melt as he offered his jacket to her. "You... Don't really have to... How about you getting wet?" Marinette asked.

"Don't worry about it, you look like you need it more than I do. I'm Luka and do you come here?" Luka asked as Marinette's cheeks turned red as she nodded and stammered out her name. "Well nice to meet you Ma-Ma-Marinette." Luka told her and she smiled.

"Marinette, Luka?" asked Juleka coming over with her umbrella with Rose not far behind with Marinette blinking in shock. Marinette asked if Juleka knew him. "Of course I know him, he's my twin brother. Luka, Marinette here is in my class." Juleka explained and Marinette stared in shock as she glanced between the two of them a hundred times in a second trying to see any similarities or anything to suggest that they were twins.

"I will catch up with you later Juleka, Marinette do you think that I can help you walk home so I can get my jacket back afterwards?" Luka asked as Marinette stammered out yes and Juleka said she was alright with that. Rose and Juleka watched as they began walking on the sidewalk and Luka asked "I can feel the music in your soul Marinette and if you want i can play what it feels like later." Luka offered.

"So you play guitar, what music do you like? Because I love Jagged Stone..." Marinette stammered out as Luka said that he does as well.

"Oh my Juleka, Marinette and your brother... It looks like love at first sight!" Rose squealed as Juleka was grinning as well.

[timetravelersdoctor]

villains little bug

what do you mean you’re leaving?

‘okay this is the first stop’ ladybug thinks as she swings onto a boat. The boat is mostly empty and quiet excluding the sound of a guitar being played.Lady bug walks into the boat and goes the room were the music is originating from. she knocks on the door and waits for an answer.

“doors open you can come in!” she hears. she opens the door and Luka looks to see her immediately jumping up asking questions. “ladybug? is everything okay is there an akuma? do you need my help?” ladybug smiles and shakes her head no. “No Luka however i am here for a reason.” she shows the box to him in an offering pose “luka couffaine this is the miraculous of the snake which will grant you the powers of second chance. will you use this and become a permanent hero?”

luka slightly shocked by this nods his head “i won’t let you down” he takes the miraculous and puts it on. the kwami sass comes out and nods his head.”we will work together once again.” ladybug takes a step back and says “now that that’t over with meet me at the abandon warehouse in about two hours. if you see chat noir do not interact with him and make sure he doesn’t see you” ladybug then rushes out of the room after seeing luka nod and goes the next person on the list.

As ladybug swings around she is careful not to be seen and keeps an eye out for chat noir. she makes it to the fencing club and slips into the girls changing room. kagami is the only one besides ladybug in the room. kagami turns and is slightly startled by the hero.”is everything okay ladybug?” ladybug nods her head and says “yes everything is fine. but there’s another reason i am here” she reveals the box and states “kagami tsurugi this is the miraculous of the dragon with its power over wind, water and lightning. Will you accept this miraculous and fight for Paris as a permanent hero?”

“yes i will do my best to protect Paris.” kagami accepts the box and puts on the necklace as the kwami longg says “together we can protect many” ladybug then adds “meet me in about two hours in the abandon warehouse. if you see chat noir do not let him see or follow you. it will be a meeting between you another miraculous user and i only” kagami nods and exits the room. ladybug waits a bit before swinging out of the room herself.

after the two hours are up the three make there way to the meeting place. narrowly avoiding chat and people that would most definitely call attention to them. they all make it at the same time. ryuko and viperion look at each other then to ladybug.”i called you here today to tell you very important things. first things first however we need to detransform.” “i thought we needed to keep our identity a secret?” the other two say in unison

Ladybug explains “i already know your identities it would be unfair if you didn’t know mine. the only reason chat is not here is because i don’t know his identity and he doesn’t know mine. i will be explaining this to him later on after this meeting.” ryuko and viperion both gain a look of understanding and detransform. they look to each other and nod then they look to ladybug and she detransforms as well. the hero is replaced by marinette and the other two are surprised to see her. 

“Marinette? you’re ladybug!” luka states. “i see, there is no better person to be ladybug. i should have seen this sooner” kagami adds. marinette laughs and says “sorry i know this is a surprise but there is another reason i needed to do that.” marinette gains a somber look “i’m leaving Paris and i couldn’t leave it to chat to protect Paris alone properly” the two before her suddenly get closer and start to raise their voice “leaving, what do you mean you’re leaving!?” marinette takes a step back and explains “ i was expelled from school because of lila who by the way is a liar and my parents thought it would be a great idea for me to leave Paris and go somewhere else”

“how will you heal Paris then?” luka asks “i have another miraculous that can bring me back to Paris after the akuma has been defeated. the guardian and i decided it was for the best that i took the ladybug miraculous with me to keep it safe” says marinette. after the initial explanations are over marinette answers any questions the other two have. when the meeting was finished luka and kagami leave and marinette transforms into ladybug once more to find chat.

ladybug swings around Paris searching for chat noir and finds him on the edge of a building sitting down watching others. “chat noir!” ladybug calls out chat jumps up “what is is mi’ lady an akuma? she gives him a no and adds “there’s something i need to tell you” she is interrupted “are you finally confessing your feeling towards me? oh maybe we can set up a date-” “no chat that’s not why i’m here I've told you again and again i do not like you that way. But moving on this is super important so please listen to me and do not interrupt me”

chat nods his head looking disappointed. “i talked with the guardian and we both decided i needed to leave Paris in order to keep the ladybug miraculous safe. i can not tell you where i am going. i can tell you that two hero’s have been chosen to help you out as i can only appear to heal the damage done to Paris.” chat’s look of disappointment is replaced by one of upset. “so that’s it huh? you leave Paris and me. ladybug don’t leave me can’t you see we’re meant to be? why do you have to leave Paris anyway it’s not like you’re in any danger you have me to protect you. we don’t need other hero’s either we can fight together just like we’ve always had”

ladybug shakes her head “no chat this is whats best for Paris, for the world if Hawkmoth gets his hands on your miraculous at least the ladybug is far from him. who knows what will happen if Hawkmoth gets both miraculous.” Before chat can get another word in ladybug adds “ i’m sorry but this is the choice I've made please respect it.” and swings away leaving a frustrated chat noir behind her

so that’s it for this chapter sorry it took a few days i was waiting on my new computer to get started.(using it right now yay!) hope you enjoyed reading this one as much as i enjoyed writing it. feel free to correct any mistakes I've made. i want to get better at writing so that would be appreciated. Now on to the tags

Tags: @sayuricorner @clumsy-owl-4178 @kuroko26 @gwennex

[verfound]

FIC: Stolen Moments When You’re Mine (MLB/Lukanette, LBSC VDay 2020)

Title: “Stolen Moments When You’re Mine”

Author: Veritas Found

Rating: M / PG-16 / Older Teen

Characters/Pairings: Luka Couffaine, Marinette Dupain-Cheng; Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng

Summary: Marinette likes Luka.  She can admit that now.  And she really likes kissing Luka – she can also admit that.  And she knows he likes her, too.  And all the kissing.  She’s just not quite ready for everyone to accuse her of using him as a rebound or a ploy to make Adrien jealous yet.  Really, she’s not ready to share him at all.

Author’s Notes/Warnings: …so, uh.  Hey, @semi-slaughtomatic.  Remember about a month ago when I posted that thing about flustered Mari wanting to bite Luka’s neck and you asked if I was in your brain?  ;P  GUESS WHO’S YOUR SECRET ADMIRER!  :D There are so many gratuitous makeouts ahead of you, girl.  Hope this is rubbable enough!  ;D <3  (This is for the Lovebugs & Snakecharmers Valentine’s exchange, and it’s really nothing but thinly-veiled plot to facilitate makeouts. PWP without the porn?  I was a little worried about the ages, but I work at a middle school and y’all after some of the things I’ve heard our seventh & eighth graders say the past few weeks I’m not worried At All.) 

The Prompts:

Luka and Marinette getting together/trying to keep their relationship secret because Marinette doesn’t really want any "what about Adrien!?!" judgement from people because she quite frankly is over him. Luka and Marinette both fail miserable at trying to hide their affections for each other around other people (Luka is getting a hilarious kick out of Marinette's elaborate planning but it's okay cause secret make-outs are kind of hot).

Luka dressing in a different outfit (although punk still is very fashionable about it) and Marinette's brain self-implodes (pre-relationship shenanigans maybe?)

 “Stolen Moments When You’re Mine”

When Marinette had gone to the Liberty that sunny Wednesday afternoon near the end of the school year, it had not been with the intention of finding out how good a kisser Luka Couffaine was.  That part had been a complete accident.

(A happy accident, but an accident all the same.)

She had actually gone for Juleka, who had been out with Rose at the time. She had been returning some items she had mended for her (a few tunics and a dress), and she had had every intention – once she’d realized her friend wasn’t home – to leave the bag with the Captain and be on her merry way.  It was almost summer, the weather was gorgeous, and she was Ladybug – she had better things to do than wait around (potentially for hours) for Juleka to come home from a date.  Of course, then the Captain had told her to just leave the bag in Juleka’s cabin, and then Luka had been on his bed working on a song, and then they’d started talking, and the next thing either of them knew she had crawled into his lap and was kissing the ever-loving daylights out of him.

[miraculouscontent]

Anonymous asked:

Does Luka deserve the slander LS stans and Luka antis give him? I don't mean to be condescending or anything ; I just wanted your point of view:)

I’d give a firm “no” on that, especially since I consider salt related to how fans treat a character shouldn’t count as a point against a character, because what I’ve heard and seen from the Luka salters tends to be them talking about how “the stans” ruined Luka/Lukanette for them.

I’m not going to say they can’t feel that way, I just think it’s unfair because Luka himself hasn’t done anything.

It’s just my personal thing to separate - for example - my feelings on Adrien versus my feelings on the stans’ opinions of him.

(Also, I get on some level salting over Luka because no character is immune from criticism, but Luka is in such a tiny percentage of episodes that it seems so incredibly pointless and unnecessary.)

Anonymous asked:

Speaking about the Mary Sue and Gary Stu , I see lot of salter call Luka as "Bland Gary Stu" just because he "overly nice" and never jealous on Adrien or Adrinette. They clearly forgot that Luka is capable to get angry or has a limit of patience in "Silencer" toward Bob Roth and XY. Even after deakumatize, Luka clearly happy to see Roth get humiliated in public due to plagiarism and mock Marinette along with the Kitty Section instead of just "forget about it" or "give him a chance to be better person" like you know who ? "A person who still befriended and give a chance with a Liar despite almost make the girl who called by universe "his soulmate" get expelled and being akumatized".

lol them like “Luka is overly nice” when I just recently answered that ask about them saying that we salt on Adrien because we can’t imagine someone as “sweet and wonderful” as Adrien.

Sure, Jans.

Anonymous asked:

Just saw someone say Luka is also as bad as Adrien because he got angry because of Marinette.

Well first of yes but not because he got jealous. He got angry because other people stole Marinette's design, I haven't seen him show a hint of jealousy other than rightful sadness and slight anger (When he was akumatized too) in Lies because of Adrien.

Meanwhile Adrien literally gets jealous when someone admires Ladybug a little too much. How are these the same????

People be reachin’.

I’ve noticed that people complain that he’s overly nice, and then at the same time talk about him “forcing Marinette’s consent” and “lying to her” and such.

All I ask for is consistency.

[angrelysimpping]

Forgotten Dreams

Written April 8, 2024

Shout out to the talented, sweet, n hampsom 💜@inkyquince 💜 for the amazing vtm game and who made Tekli and Luka

Contents: unreliable narriator; memory loss; memory problems; anal sex; some body horror

Words: 871

“Andrzej!” 

Luka’s moans ring loud in his ears, and he takes it as encouragement to speed up. Squeezing the other’s slight hips and thrusting into the man’s inviting body. Nails scraping down his shoulders, back, hips, pulls a low groan from his throat. 

He’s beautiful. Of course, Luka is always beautiful. Endless eyes and spray of freckles and wide smiles. And sweet. So damn sweet. Kind. The first thing that had truly caught Andrzej’s attention. 

Now he’s hilted inside this man. His cock stretching open Luka’s hole obscenely, cute puffy rim sucking him in. Andrzej would do anything to say like this, he thinks. The only thing he would change would be his own flexibility, give himself the ability to take the pretty leaking cock bobbing below him into his mouth. 

Leaning down, he licks a stripe from Luka’s collar bone to his jaw, and he can’t help but swear under his breath at the taste. Salt and copper and warmth. Luka. His taste. Divine. Nothing short of heaven, he’s sure. He catches Luka’s open mouth with his own, a messy kiss that leaves him dizzy.

Legs lock around his waist, arms around his neck. He almost wants to stop moving, just stay like that, as close as two living beings can get. 

He doesn’t. If not for his own pleasure, than for Luka’s, the man breaking the kiss and whining as Andrzej presses deeper. 

Luka’s eyes are glazed over, mouth hanging open as he lets shameless sounds spill forth. 

He loved Luka’s eyes. Dark and soft and endless. It’s with a pang that he remembers how Luka, his sweet Lukallini, had looked in the cargo hold of the ship. A trickle of the blood he’d been forced to consume at the corner of his mouth, alive but body oh so still. 

And it was his fault. He’d left him alone. He’d left him hiding under a bed. 

“I won’t leave you again.” He’s gazing into Luka’s eyes as he speaks, even though he’s fairly certain the man is too pleasure drunk to fully understand him. “I’ll stay,” he mutters, hips stuttering. “Forever, if you want.”

The world shifts.

A chill down his back, the colors draining from everything. All he can see is Luka. Just his eyes, warmth sapped from them as Andrzej’s universe reorient itself in a new, wrong direction.

Shadow Lands. Back in the Shadow Lands. 

He hadn’t felt the pull of them, hadn’t had the time to resist. But, that must be it, right? Yanked back into the Shadow Lands? 

Yet, Luka is still here. His body isn’t as warm, though. His dark eyes focusing out of their pleasured filled haze as the rest of his face blurs. Andrzej tries to pull back, to ground himself, but he can’t with the arms and legs wrapped around him. Once an embrace, now trap him in place as he can only watch, growing pit in his stomach as Luka’s features fade. He tries to grasp onto something, anything, to bring back into reality the strange smear of skin in front of him. Like seeing through dirty glass, but Luka’s eyes, deep and endless, are as clear as ever. 

His eyes.

Her eyes.

Tekli’s eyes. 

Different from Luka’s but the same depths he wouldn’t hesitate to drown himself in. Her face comes into shape from the unidentifiable remains of Luka’s. The bridge of her nose, the arch of cheek bone. Delicate bird-like features and short, shorn hair. A goddess that he shouldn’t look at directly but he can’t move, frozen in place as she lays out under him. 

“Mine,” she sighs, thin fingers carding through his hair. “Rzej, mousey, mine.” 

The very air shimmers as she laughs, strong arms pulling him down, lithe body leaning up, her lips brushing over his ear.

“Forever.”

-

Andrzej jerks awake, chest heaving as if he’d just run a marathon.

“Dee?”

Luka’s soft voice, bleary from the sudden wake up. 

He’s holding Andrzej, a mirror of how they’d fallen asleep. It was something that happened offen. They’d settle into bed with Luka curled in Andrjze’s arms, only to wake up to find they’d swapped, Andrzej’s arms around Luka’s middle and his face nuzzled into the smaller man’s neck. 

“Are you okay?”

The dream, the nightmare, fades from his mind at the tone of Luka’s voice. Soft, full of worry. Concerned. It made his chest ache a little, how freely Luka gave his care, his kindness, his love. Luka peers down at him with sleep laden eyes, and a flicker of the nightmare returns. 

Eyes. Eyes and Telki and Luka and the Shadows. The cold-

Luka’s lips press against his and Andrzej’s mind stills. 

“Bad dreams, Lupo?”

Andrzej tucks his face into Luka’s shoulder, his mouth to the beauty mark he always sought out to kiss, and inhales deep. Eucalyptus and vanilla and charcoal. Luka. Luka. 

The flicker is snuffed out, the nightmare receding from his mind entirely. Lost and gone like so many of his other memories. But, this one he doesn’t mind losing.

“Not anymore,” he mumbles into Luka’s shoulder, smiling as the other man giggles. Relaxing back into their shared bed, it’s not long before he slips back into a deep, dreamless sleep.