#wip wednesday: festering folder edition

[verfound]

Oh You're Vocal? 👀

I think you mean "Oh, You're...Vocal". 🤣 Perfectly innocent comments never stay innocent for long 'round here.

I made this observation about how, in smutfic, we always see Luka trying to make Marinette screa/moan/etc. Like it's always "I want to hear you", "sing for me", etc. (It's not at all a critique - I've done it myself - just an observation.) Which lead to me wondering...what if Luka was the moaner? #MakeLukaScream

(Nothing explicit under the cut - T at best. It's barely M territory yet.)

The first time it happened was purely an accident. It was unintentional. Luka had just been having a tough week, and was really stressed out, and he’d been carrying all of that stress in his shoulders – so Marinette had done what any kind, considerate girlfriend with a passing knowledge of massages would do.

She’d offered him a backrub.

And it had been perfectly innocent. Luka was tense, and she’d wanted him to release some of that tension. So she’d laid him down on his bed, crawled up next to him, and began kneading the palms of her hands into his painfully tight shoulders. She hadn’t even had him take his shirt off – there had been no ulterior motive, honestly!

Except…

Maybe two minutes in…

His head had flopped to the side, his cheek resting on the arms bent over his pillow, and…moaned.

She didn’t even think he’d realized he’d done it.

Her hands had stilled against his back all the same, freezing in place as he melted against his mattress. She watched, wide-eyed, as his brow furrowed. He popped open an eye and glanced back at her, frowning.

“Why’d you stop?” he asked. She swallowed thickly and forced a smile, shaking her head as she bit her lip and pressed her hands back into his shoulders.

“N-nothing,” she said, her cheeks warming as he laid his head back down. “Just relax, ok?”

“O…oooooh,” he moaned, pressing his face into his bicep as she continued to work. She nearly slipped, her hands pushing a bit harder then she meant to in her shock – not that he seemed to mind. “God, you’re good at this…”

“Th-thank you,” she squeaked, and once again he was popping open an eye to glance at her, but she just smiled and continued the massage. And he just dropped his head back against his arms, moaning again as she worked out a particularly tense spot, and she was definitely not getting turned on by that, no way, no how, no…

“Oh my God, Marinette, what the hell are you doing to my brother?” Juleka’s disgusted voice came from the door, and Marinette squeaked as she leapt away from Luka and flattened herself against the wall. Luka’s eyes were open again and glaring at his sister, who just glared back from the door. Beside her, Rose was silently squealing into her fists. “Fucking gross. In my own room.”

“My room,” Luka said, as if they didn’t share and that fact needed clarifying. He nodded towards her side. “That half’s yours.”

“I-I-I was just giving him a m-massage!” Marinette rushed out. “B-because he’s so tense!”

“He didn’t sound tense,” Juleka sniffed. She grabbed Rose’s hand and pulled her from the room. “C’mon, Rose. We don’t need to be here for this. Disgusting.”

“Have fun, you two!” Rose called, and Marinette groaned as she dropped back against the wall. She cracked open an eye when she heard Luka snickering, and she glanced down to find he was watching her, his eyes dancing in delight. She could tell he was smiling, even though his mouth was pressed against his bicep to muffle his laughter. She lightly kicked at his side, though that just made him laugh more.

“Hey, darning?” he asked after a long moment, after they were certain the others weren’t coming back. He reached out and curled his fingers around her ankle, rubbing soothing circles along the top of her foot. “Can…can you keep going? I was really enjoying that.”

She swallowed again, the ghosts of his moans echoing in her ears, and mutely nodded. She’d been enjoying it, too…

[verfound]

Here in this diary! (I think I know but I wanna seeee)

...I was honestly gonna save these for the next two WIPWednesdays, but then someone said @lukanettejune had Villain!Luka as today's prompt (6/4), and it just seemed like it'd be fun to share this today?

Because I've been sitting on Villain!Butterfly!Luka for a while now without having a lot of time to work on it, and I'm pretty sure the only ones I've discussed it with are the OG LBSC crew. And y'all will never believe when I say our Fluffy Meet Cute Queen is the one who gave me the prompt. 😁

The prompt started with Marinette recording Guardian/Ladybug-specific things in her diary, in case anything ever happened to her (because superheroes typically don't have a long life expectancy lbr), to explain - or to lead the next Guardian. I can't remember if Luka specifically getting the diary/Marinette giving it to him was the original idea (it's LBSC it probably was), but it...ran away with me. And Shadowman was born.

The summary: Under normal circumstances, Luka would never read someone’s diary. But Marinette’s been missing since Ladybug’s death, and he’s desperate. Every page gives him new insight into the girl he was realizing he never really knew. Every page reveals just how much Paris had failed its beloved heroine – how much he had failed her. Now Luka Couffaine is out for revenge, and the only person who could stop him is gone.

So here's what I've got.

We open on the death of Ladybug. It's the final showdown with Hawkmoth, and Viperion is the only 'temporary' hero there because LB thought they'd need Second Chance (and he's the only one she really trusts anymore). Viperion and Chat Noir are standing over LB's body, and Hawkmoth is cackling behind them, Mayura crumpled at his feet. He tells them he might not have won, but they haven't either - "Your hero is dead! Your precious Ladybug is DEAD!"

And Viperion walks over and just clocks him. He takes Hawkmoth and Mayura's Miraculous, but when he turns around Chat and Ladybug are gone. This leads him to believe Chat has LB's body/her Miraculous - but he's...confused. Did this mean they won? He hears the sirens approaching and waits for the police. Before they take hi away, Gabriel asks him: "Have you actually won anything? Is Paris truly safe?"

Two weeks pass. It's a mixed bag: Hawkmoth is defeated, but Chair Noir hasn't been seen or heard of since the defeat, and Ladybug is dead. Paris is safe but in mourning. Luka is guilt-ridden over Ladybug's death, convinced he could have prevented it and his failure to fix it makes him an unworthy Snake. He renounces Sass, and he's been keeping the Snake, Butterfly, and Peacock in a safe place.

In this 'verse, Luka doesn't know or suspect that Marinette is Ladybug. Immediately after the battle, Luka called Marinette. He needed to talk to her, to see her - but she never answered. He tried to go over the next morning, but Sabine calls him and lets him know Marinette wasn't in her bed that morning. They didn't hear her leave, but she's not answering her phone and they can't find her - has he seen her? So for two weeks he has been at the bakery almost constantly, tirelessly helping Tom and Sabine search for Marinette. No one can find her. No one's heard from her. And he's starting to go a little nuts.

(Note that this takes place during summer - HM was defeated right before break. Dingo's back in Australia for the summer, which is important for Reasons. Luka's not in school, stopped going to work, and is using pretty much all his time to help look for Marinette.)

So it's been two weeks. No akumas because no Hawkmoth, a dead Bug, and a missing Marinette. Luka's at the bakery, shambling around Marinette's room. Tom and Sabine are downstairs, waiting on a call from Roger who may have found a lead. And Luka's just poking around, spiraling, when he notices...the box with Marinette's diary is open. It wasn't open before. And there, on top of her diary, are two letters: one addressed to him and one addressed to Chat Noir.

So he reads his. It's a goodbye/Just In Case letter. She explains how she was hoping he wouldn't find it/she wouldn't need it. She'd set a magical lock on the box, so that if something happened and she didn't come back...and she's sorry. She's so sorry, because she never wanted to drag Luka back into this, but she needed him. She tells him her diary will explain everything: she wrote everything down, and she always thought it was because she just loved to journal, but she realized it was because she never had any proper training. The next Ladybug/Guardian deserves better. If she doesn't make it, the next LB/Guardian has to be prepared. Better than she was.

And Luka can't move. Can't breathe, can't think. Because the letter had been addressed to him, and he wasn't going to read it, but he had hoped maybe there was a clue, except the clue was...Marinette is Ladybug.

Ladybug is dead.

...Marinette is dead.

And it's all his fault.

And he reads her diary, convinced he had to have misunderstood...but it's all there. Everything. Becoming Ladybug, her spiraling feelings for Adrien, Chat being so pushy with his affections, her troubles with Lila and the class, the expulsion, Alya constantly pushing/pressuring her with Adrien, becoming Guardian, feeling like she had to bear everything because Chat was so lackadaisical/reckless/self-sacrificing, her growing feelings for Luka...and Luka realizes it's true. She was Ladybug, and she was going through so much more than she ever let on. And he realizes that all of them - even him - only made it worse. And they're not going to find Marinette, because Ladybug is dead, and they never found Ladybug's body, and...he just goes numb.

He walks out of her room. Out of the bakery. He doesn't answer Tom or Sabine when they ask if he's ok. He just...walks. And he doesn't fully realize any of this/where he was going/doing until he wakes up the next morning in his bed with tears still drying on his face. And Juleka's there, and she's like "bro wtf?" because he's freaking her the hell out, and he just says: "...she's gone."

And for the first time ever, Luka looks at Juleka and is...angry. Furious. And he can't talk to her. He realizes he blames her. He blames himself. He blames everyone: her 'friends', her classmates, her family, Paris...if they had all tried harder, been better, then she wouldn't be...if they hadn't left her all alone...

And Luka just Shuts Down. Everyone's worried about him, but he won't talk about it. He's closing himself off to everyone - even Juleka and Anarka. Sabine calls Anarka, because Luka went from being at the bakery every day helping the search to nothing, but Anarka has no idea?

Luka keeps rereading the diary. He's stuck in this loop of "I should have known," "we should have helped her," "this is our fault..."

And another week or so passes. There's still no sign of Marinette, except now Luka knows why - knows that she's never coming back. And he finally goes back to the bakery to tell Tom and Sabine what he knows, because it's cruel to put them through this any longer. He has the diary, her letter, and the three Miraculous stones with him. And they're all sitting in the kitchen, and he's trying to talk and failing to find the words.

The news is playing in the background: Nadja is doing a special on the rise and fall of Paris's beloved heroine. She comments how Chat Noir hasn't been seen since the "battle that freed Paris from Hawkmoth's reign of terror" and speculates that it's because he's mourning his lover. And Luka just...snaps. Shouts "That lying bitch!" at the television. Sabine asks if he's ok, but he's not - Ladybug is gone. Marinette is gone. And nobody cares. Nobody realized they caused it. And they need to be held accountable - they need to pay.

Tom and Sabine knew about Silencer, of course, but they've never seen calm, sweet Luka so angry before - and it terrifies them. And Tom tries to tell Luka that it's ok - Marinette's not gone, not like Ladybug is. They're going to find her. They can't give up hope. And Luka realizes her own parents didn't even know. They didn't notice. They did nothing to see or stop how she was hurting. And as much as he loves them, he realizes they must pay, too - and he's the only one who can make them. He has her diary. He has the Butterfly. He can make them all realize how alone they left her. He can make them all feel as hopeless as they made her feel - as he feels now.

And he tells Tom he's wrong: Marinette is dead. Marinette was Ladybug, and she's dead, and she's never coming home, and it's all their fault - even his. But they don't believe him, and he leaves without showing them the diary. He just feels...defeated.

Back at the Liberty, he comes home to find Juleka and Rose watching the same report. And he retreats to somewhere deep in the Liberty, somewhere private, where he can don the Butterfly. He starts flipping through the diary, and he finds a passage where Marinette was venting about Nadja: her journalistic integrity ("No wonder Alya thinks its' ok when THAT'S Paris's example!"), the Prime Queen interview when she was more interested in pushing LadyNoir than discussing Hawkmoth, about how she's ALWAYS been like that, how many times she's called her last-minute to watch Manon to chase a story...and it's important to note that none of these things are inherently bad, or that Marinette is saying Nadja's awful for them. She's venting in her diary, like you do. But Luka's in such a dark place by this point that it only makes things worse.

He tears the page out and keeps reading and rereading it. Keeps thinking how Nadja must pay. HE summons Nooroo, and before Nooroo can speak Luka tells him everything that happened. Hawkmoth's gone, but so is LB. That Paris let their Guardian fall. Nooroo is devastated because that means Tikki's gone, too, and what about the Miracle Box? Luka assures him he'll take care of the Box, but Paris has to answer for what they did. Nooroo agrees to help, gives Luka a basic rundown of the Butterfly's powers, and Luka transforms - except Nooroo didn't explain everything, and Luka didn't have Marinette's training, so he doesn't realize Nooroo doesn't need negative emotions. He thinks you have to upset someone to create an akuma.

So he takes the diary page to the TVi studios and confronts Nadja on air. He introduces himself as Shadowman. (For a hot second he considers introducing himself as 'Shadowmoth' - which I would like to point out this story was started before that name was dropped so fuck you Gabriel - but it's too close to 'Hawkmoth', and Hawkmoth was the one who killed Marinette. He refuses to be associated with him/take his name.) He tells Nadja and the world that Ladybug was Marinette Dupain-Cheng. That Marinette is dead because Ladybug is dead. And that Paris caused it.

He accuses Nadja of sensationalizing Ladybug and the akumas/battles. He reads the diary page on air. Nadja doesn't believe him at first, but then he gives her the page and she recognizes Marinette's handwriting. Realizes he's right. She's overcome by guilt/grief, and Shadowman creates an akuma. It goes into the diary page, and Prime Queen is reborn as Telecaster.

And this was all live. All of Paris is watching the broadcast, and they know they aren't safe.

Cut to where Adrien's been hiding. He sees the whole thing, and he can't believe it - until he hears the people in the studio screaming. He realizes he has to do something, because Paris isn't safe anymore, and this time there's no Ladybug to fix his mistakes.

Back at TVi, Telecaster is attacking everyone. As Nadja she was determined to tell the news, even to the point of amping up stories for ratings - but that was kinda forced by her producer? So she's going after the bigwigs at the studio for forcing her to be so ratings-focused/sensationalistic. And she's just destroying the studio, which is...fine. Paris has other media outlets...right? It's just chaos.

Chat Noir finally shows his face and demands to know what Shadowman thinks he's doing/who he is. Part of Shadowman's disguise is literal darkness, so he lets the shadows recede and lets Chat actually see him. And Chat realizes it's Viperion/Luka - and he pleads with him to stop. That LB/Marinette wouldn't want this - that she loved this city and knowing he was attacking it would kill her.

And it's just...the wrong thing to say. Shadowman says the city was what killed her, and they have to answer for it. That Chat has to answer for it. But Chat doesn't understand - he was LB's partner? Her friend? He was at the final battle with her - how is her death his fault?

But Shadowman tells him it's not his time yet. He is coming for him - he will get his Miraculous back for the Box - but not yet. He will get LB's Miraculous back (note that he's operating under the belief that Chat has LB's body/Miraculous, so he honestly believes CHat will just use them to purify the akuma and fix the damage - except Chat doesn't and can't). But Paris must suffer first, just like Marinette suffered. He disappears before Chat can go after him - and then Telecaster is attacking and he has to focus on her.

And Chat does defeat Telecaster, but there's no LB. No one to purify the akuma or fix the damage. He doesn't actually have her Miraculous, so what now? (This leads to Chat having a growing collection of butterfly jars with akumas and no idea how to fix it. Paris needs LB - he needs LB.)

After leaving Chat to deal with Telecaster, Shadowman goes back to the bakery to retrieve the Miracle Box. Marinette's skylight was always open (he always assumed it was because it's the roof no one can enter through there - except now he realizes it was easy access for Ladybug). Tom and Sabine hear noise from her room and burst in with umbrellas/paddles/whatever but freeze when they see Shadowman standing there with the Box. They try and stop him: they saw the report, they know who he is, they realize who Marinette was, and believe it's now their duty to protect the Box, since Marinette can't. And Shadowman is livid, because "You couldn't even protect her. You never even noticed...your home is supposed to be safe. Your parents are supposed to keep you safe. When did you ever do that?"

He akumatizees Tom and Sabine before he leaves: the dual-akuma Safe Harbor. There's no diary page left with them because Marinette never actually spoke out against her parents in the diary: it's just Luka's frustration with them. He leaves them there and goes back to the Liberty to retieve Sass, Duusu, and the diary.

Back at TVi, Chat realizes that if LB was Marinette and LB was the Guardian then Marinette would have the Miracle Box. He takes his coffee mug with the akuma and books it back to the bakery, except her skylight door is now locked? The balcony was always open to him, but is now locked? So he has to go in through the side/home door as Adrien.

Tom greets him. Is being very jittery/Concerned Parent and acting Weird - and so is Sabine. They're both worrying over him, apologizing about Gabriel, asking if he's ok - and he can't get a word in edgewise. Finally yells at them to stop - he needs to see Marinette's room. He needs to get the Miracle Box. And they just...freeze. They don't react at first. He tells them he knows they saw the news - everyone did - so they have to know that Marinette was LB. And LB had the Miracle Box/all the Miraculous gems, and he has to get them back. But they try and laugh it off (again, it's all very stilted), and he finally just transforms. Says he was LB's partner, and with her gone it's on him to protect the Box now. Except when he looks back at them the butterfly mask is over their eyes and he realizes they're akumatized, too - and he just gave his identity away to Shadowman.

Safe Harbor is like a Stepford version of Tom and Sabine. They're turning the bakery into a fortress because they couldn't keep Marinette safe, so now they're making it the ultimate safe haven. And even though Shadowman realizes Adrien's identity, Safe Harbor doesn't fully? They just see it as Adrien fighting back/resisting their protection - so they deem him a threat and start attacking him. (Again, no diary page here: the akumatized object is a family photo of Tom, Sabine, and Marinette.)

After the fight, Chat goes to trap the akuma in the coffee cup with the other one - only to realize the cup is empty. He remembers akumas can phase through objects, and he has no feasible way of trapping the akumas. But...Cataclysm destroyed Uncanny Valley. Could it maybe destroy akumas, too? Before he can try it, the akuma is released and a white butterfly flutters away.

Across the street, Shadowan is lurking and watching him. He doesn't understand why Chat didn't use Ladybug's powers to purify the akuma. Why isn't Chat fixing any of this? Does he want to watch the city burn? He thinks Chat's just being stubborn. Well, he can be stubborn, too. He has to up his game next time. He releases the akuma because, deep down, Shadowman is still Luka. He still cares about the city and the people he's going after. Maybe a little sliver of conscience not letting him go all-out yet?

So Luka returns to the Liberty long enough to retrieve Sass, Duusu, and the diary before he realizes he has to leave. Adrien is Chat, and Adrien was the one who chose him as Viperion, so Chat knows who he is/where to find him, too. Juleka catches him before he leaves, and says, "...I was afraid it was you. On the TV. Luka, you have to stop this." "None of you stopped. I don't see why I should, either."

Luka goes into hiding. He remembers reading about Master Fu's old shop in the diary. Master Fu had left it to Marinette as a safe house, but as far as he knows Chat doesn't go there anymore (no reason to) and doesn't realize he knows about it. (Eventually, later on, Chat does go there and catches Luka - so Luka ends up hiding out at Dingo's home, bc the Kings are in Australia for the summer/it's empty.)

Aaaand that's all I have of the outline so far. 😂 The idea is Luka creates a hit list using the diary: Nadja, Tom and Sabine, Mayor Bourgeois, Alya, The Girl Squad (yes even Juleka and Rose), Lila, Chloé, Marinette's class in general, Mlle. Bustier, M. Damocles, Master Fu, Chat Noir/Adrien, and finally Luka himself. He confronts each person with a page torn from the diary, and he uses Marinette's own words to convince them of their guilt. With the exception of Tom and Sabine, the akuma is always in the diary page. Chatdrien is Luka's 'last' target, because as Ladybug's partner he blames him most - except the real 'last target' is actually Luka.

He plans his final akuma almost like a suicide mission, hoping that Chat will Cataclysm him/take him out when Shadowman kills him, so they're both defeated simultaneously. Except...

Things don't go as planned. Because Ladybug wasn't dead. The Guardians were able to heal her. And she was never supposed to see Luka this way.

[verfound]

What is More Than a Checkbox about? 👀

Sex. 😂 No, seriously.

So @fenheart87, ages ago, gave this prompt: angsty ish. Marinette goes to luka to lose her v card before college. When asked why she responds, "I trust you to show me how to make love and not just fuck me. I want to feel loved at least once."

And it was supposed to be a short, simple, PWP piece, but then it caught feelings ("Feelings? In MY smut? ...it's more likely than you think!" 😘). This was back when I was first starting to set up my lemonade stand, so it was also supposed to be an exercise in writing smut. And then the next thing I knew, I was 10k in and the eejits were still just fighting about why Marinette was going to Luka and what the fuck, Marinette.

The full title is "More Than a Checkbox on a Stupid List", and it's three parts long. The first part is "The Proposition of Luka Couffaine" (where Marinette hatches this plan to ask Luka to help her lose her virginity and he does not react the way she thought he would), part two is "The Wooing of Marinette Dupain-Cheng" (where they have two or three weeks before Luka has to go on tour again and he's determined to do things the Right Way and actually date her before he has sex with her), and part three is the "The Fucking of Marinette Dupain-Cheng" (where he comes back from tour and they don't leave his room for an entire weekend).

And you may have just bumped this way up on my list, because I really loved this idea, went rabid writing P1, and haven't actually touched it since...

(Nothing explicit under the cut, but they are discussing things - so M?)

“Actually, you know what?” she said, her voice a little higher and faster than normal. She cleared her throat and slapped a too-bright smile on her face. “I think I would like some coffee.”

When he lifted his head and looked at her through half-lidded eyes, her heart almost stopped entirely. It was almost enough to make her rethink her plan – almost. She swallowed and looked down, her cheeks warming under his gaze. She was eighteen now, damn it. A legal adult. She could handle something as simple as having sex with someone without letting feelings get in the way.

…she hoped.

“One coffee, coming up,” he said, grabbing his own mug before heading to the counter along the wall.

“Th-thanks,” she said, wincing at her stutter. She cleared her throat, and he hummed in response before taking a sip of his own coffee.

“So what brings you over, Ma-Ma-Marinette?” he asked, reaching into the cabinet for another mug. She rolled her eyes at his gentle teasing and took a deep, steadying breath. It was now or never. “Not that I’m not happy to see you – I’m always happy to see –”

“I want to lose my virginity,” she said in a rush. The mug slipped from his fingers and fell to the counter, bouncing off the ledge before it smashed on the floor.

“O-ok?” he asked. He almost sounded like he was choking. His back was to her, but she could see his fingers flexing as they gripped the counter. His shoulders had become suddenly tense, his arms stiff as he leaned forward.

“And I want you to help me do it,” she continued. Her voice was steadier this time, firmer. More certain.

“…o-ok?” he repeated, and he was definitely choking that time. She bit her lip and looked down at her hands. She picked at her thumb while she waited for him to respond. When it seemed like he wouldn’t, she looked back up to find he was cleaning up the broken mug. His back was still to her.

“Luka?” she called. She cleared her throat when her voice came out too quiet. He stopped picking up shards of mug. “It would…be kinda great if you said something.”

“Sorry,” he sighed, dropping the pieces of mug he’d been picking up and bringing his hands up to rub at his face. “Processing.”

“There’s not much to process,” she said with a (slightly nervous) laugh.

“There’s a hell of a lot to process, Marinette,” he bit back, and she winced at his tone. She hadn’t expected him to sound…angry. “Jesus Christ. I have not had enough coffee for this.”

“Ok, trying not to be hurt,” she laughed weakly. He slapped his hands on his knees and pushed himself up, forgetting the broken mug and turning to lean on the counter across from her. He folded his hands together and hung his head, taking a few deep breaths. His hands were so tense his knuckles were blanching.

“You want to have sex,” he said, his head still down and eyes closed. She nodded, and when she realized he wouldn’t be able to see that she cleared her throat.

“Yes,” she said firmly.

“With me,” he continued.

“Yes,” she said again. He looked up, an utterly blank and unreadable expression on his face. She would almost say guarded, except there was nothing for Luka to be guarded about.

“…why?” he asked. He sounded absolutely baffled. She blinked, her brow furrowing in confusion.

“Um…” she started, trying not to laugh again. How had this become so awkward? It wasn’t supposed to be awkward. It was just Luka. It was supposed to be straightforward, simple, and easy. It was supposed to be…Luka. “Why sex or why you?”

“Yes,” he said. She raised her eyebrows, and he groaned as he dropped his face against the counter. His voice was muffled when he continued. “Both. What the fucking hell, Marinette?”

…ok. She had pissed him off somehow.

“It’s not a big deal –” she huffed. She was suddenly feeling very defensive and a little angry herself. She looked down at her lap, smoothing out the skirt of the dress she had worn.

“It’s a very big deal!” he snapped. He winced at the look she shot him and shook his head. “I’m sorry. I just…help me understand this. I’m not…I’m not saying no. I’m just trying to understand.”

“There’s not a lot to understand,” she snapped. “I’m sick of being a virgin and want to have sex. I trust you, Luka. I trust that you’d show me how it’s supposed to be done. Not just…fuck me.”

The strangled sound he tried to choke down made her raise her eyebrows a bit higher. She looked away and pushed out a breath, crossing her arms over her chest. The move felt defensive, like she was trying to protect herself – from what, though? This was Luka. Her friend. Her good friend. Her good friend that she had maybe been a bit in love with for a long time now, but her good friend all the same. She knew he wouldn’t hurt her – that was part of the reason she had come to him for this! He…he…

“I trust you, Luka,” she finally said, her voice soft. “I want you to show me what it’s like to make love. I just…I want to feel loved. At least once.”

The nerves had disappeared from her gut, replaced by something worse. Something unpleasant and twisted and awful. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Luka was supposed to laugh at her for being dumb, or agree without any argument. Because they were friends, and they trusted each other. Because he was older and wiser and more mature, and he had already done this. He had already had those experiences. So he would get it, and he would have no problem teaching her.

She squeaked when he was suddenly crushing her to his chest. She hadn’t heard him move until he was right beside her, and then he had gathered her up in his arms and tugged her close. His hand cupped the back of her head and gently guided it to his shoulder, and she shivered as he pressed his lips to her crown and stayed there. Her arms found the familiar path around him, winding up his back and fisting his shirt in her hands. She listened to him breathing, following his lead like she’d done so many times before until their deep, steady breaths were in sync. He pursed his lips against her head, kissing her firmly, before he pulled back and dropped his face against her shoulder. He squeezed his arms around her.

“You are loved, Marinette,” he said, his voice thick with an emotion she was too afraid to place. “You are so loved. How do you not know that?"

“That’s not…that’s not what I meant, Luka,” she mumbled. He pulled away, his hand sliding from the back of her head to cup her jaw. He brushed his thumb along her cheek, his eyes moving along her face as he studied her. She swallowed, her eyes dropping from his own, and he sighed.

“Then tell me what you mean,” he said. His hand flexed against her face, and then he was sitting on the stool next to her. He leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees, and watched her. “Explain to me exactly what you mean, because I don’t understand at all. And I…I need to understand before I say anything.”

“You’re going to say no,” she said. She wondered if she sounded as bitter as she thought she did. By the way he rolled his eyes, she figured she did.

“I’m not saying no, but I’m not saying yes, either,” he sighed, raising an arm to rub at his eyes. “I’m just trying to understand.”

“What’s there to understand, though?” she whined. He cocked an eyebrow at that, and she crossed her arms over her chest again. “I want to have sex. I figured it would be smart to do it with someone I trusted instead of some random guy. And…I trust you.”

“I’m glad you do,” he said. There was still an edge to his voice that made her glare at him, and he sighed before hanging his head again. “I want you to trust me, Mari. I just…you want to have sex. I just want to know why. What the hell started this?”

“We were talking about it on my birthday – the girls and me,” she said. She was glaring at the microwave, her entire body stiff. “I’m the only one who hasn’t done it yet. Alya, Mylène, Juleka and Rose, even Alix – everyone but me has done it, and –”

“Ok, wait, hold on,” he groaned, holding up both hands. She looked back to him to find a grimace on his face, his eyes firmly shut. “One. Please don’t talk about Jules, Ro, and sex. I know they’re doing it, but I don’t need to know they’re doing it, ok? Two. If the only reason you want to have sex is because you’re the only virgin left in your friend group –”

“Oh my God, Luka, it’s not just that!” she huffed. She hopped off her stool, and he watched as she began pacing. His eyebrows rose. She was wringing her hands, bending her fingers back like she’d overworked them and was working out the kinks. “I’m not that stupid!”

“Good, because it really sounds like you are,” he said with a roll of his eyes. She turned back towards him and crossed her arms. Her eyes were starting to burn, just a little. She fell back on the anger and annoyance to keep herself from crying. That was a whole other level of mortification she was not prepared to deal with right now.

“Do you want to have sex or not?” she huffed. He groaned and pressed the heels of his palms against his eyes.

“That’s not the point –” he started, but she snorted.

“It pretty much is,” she scoffed. He glared at her beneath his hands.

“Could you get off the defensive for one fucking minute and talk this out with me like the mature adult you’re pretending to be?” he snapped. Her lips pressed together, and her hands balled into fists at her side. She sucked in a sharp breath. He sighed and slumped forward. “I’m sorry.”

“I should go,” she said, glancing towards the door. “This…this was a mistake. I’m sorry, too. Can we just forget I ever did this?”

“No,” he said. She jerked her head back to him, eyebrows high. He groaned, rubbing at his face again. “I am not akumatized enough for this.”

She snorted, biting down on a smile. She knew he saw it anyway when he grinned at her.

“Marinette, I just need you to talk to me,” he said. “I…I want to have sex. With you. But I need to understand why you want to do this first.”

“It’s not good enough that I want to lose with my virginity with someone I trust?” she mumbled quietly, staring at her feet.

“No, it’s not,” he sighed. “Not…not if it’s me.”

She frowned, her face scrunching in confusion.

“What…what should that matter?” she asked. “I mean…what, would you feel differently if I was asking Dingo?”

He choked, burying his face in his hands as another groan escaped him.

“You don’t even want to know what I’d feel if you asked fucking Dingo,” he huffed. She tried not to laugh at that, knowing it really wasn’t the time, but a small giggle escaped her when he lowered his hands and she saw he was grinning at her. “Promise me you won’t ask Dingo.”

“He was never even in the running,” she snorted. He sighed and nodded, still smiling. That was an improvement, at least. She picked at a loose thread on her dress (she’d have to fix that later) and bit her lip. “It…it was always you. It was only you.”

[verfound]

I'm a sucker for romcoms so I have to ask about If This Is A Romcom 👀

...Chi I fucking love you. 🤣

You on Girl with Flowers in her Bones: "Ooooh that sounds angsty!" Me: "HALLMARK WEDDING AU!" You on If This Is a Romcom: "...ROMCOM?" 👀 Me: "...you mean If This is a Romcom Why Aren't You Laughing?" 👀

Luka has the opportunity to go on tour and kickstart his career, but he doesn't want to leave Marinette. Marinette refuses to be the reason he doesn't chase his dream, so she breaks up with him - with the stipulation: "If we're both still single in a year/when you come back, we'll meet up at the Eiffel Tower and start again." It's a comedy of errors, missed opportunities, and second chances.

And somehow became a love letter to Matty Nay because his songs are all over the damn thing. 😂

“I don’t understand,��� Luka said, pushing out a breath as he dragged his hands along his face. He looked up at her. Saw the tears in her eyes. Blinked, shook his head, and scrubbed at his face again. “I really don’t understand.”

“It’s for the best,” Marinette said, shuffling from foot to foot. She couldn’t look at him. Guilt was clawing at her insides. She knew this was the right thing to do, but if that was the case why did it all feel so wrong?

“Bullshit!” he snapped, bolting up from his bed. He immediately regretted the outburst when he saw her wince. “That’s…that’s bullshit, Mari. How is dumping me for the best?”

“I’m not dumping you!” she said quickly, holding up her hands in protest. He scoffed and fought the urge to kick his nightstand. His guitar was too close, and it wasn’t the guitar’s fault this was happening, after all (even if a dark part of his mind whispered that it was).

“Please explain to me how saying I think we should break up isn’t dumping me,” he said, clenching and unclenching his fist. His thumb anxiously spun the ring on his finger, and he glared out the porthole. Anything to not look at her.

“I don’t…Luka, Jagged Stone offered to take you on tour,” she said. He raised an eyebrow at her. Yeah, he knew that. That’s what had started this whole mess. “And…you need to go.”

“I already told him –” he started, but she was shaking her head.

“It’s an amazing opportunity, and I could never live with myself if you passed it up because of me,” she said.

“Then we’ll go long-distance – tons of people make that work,” he argued. He didn’t know when he had crossed the room. When he had put his hands on her shoulders, when he had reached up to wipe away the tears spilling from her eyes. “Mari, please. Don’t do this.”

“We’re so young, Luka,” she sighed. It sounded rehearsed, like she had said it in front of her mirror countless times. Preparing for this very moment. Knowing her, she probably had. “It’s…you need to focus on you right now. On your career. I need to focus on finishing lycée, and…”

The unspoken hung between them. The secret she suspected he knew but could never be spoken, for everyone’s safety.

“I don’t have to be older to know I love you,” he said fiercely, pulling her towards him. She accepted the hug too easily for someone who was trying to break up with him. “We can make this work.”

“Maybe one day,” she said, her voice wobbling, “but not now. You need to go. I need to let you go.”

“I don’t want you to,” he said. She pulled away and placed her hands on either side of his face.

“Then let’s make a deal,” she said. He pursed his lips, confused, but she was smiling at him despite her tears. “If, when you get back in a year, you still feel this way…if you’re still single, and you still love me, meet me on this day, at this time, at the observation deck of the Eiffel Tower. And we’ll start again.”

“This is our life, Marinette,” he sighed. He wondered if he sounded as tired as he suddenly felt. “This isn’t some romantic comedy.”

“This is your life, Luka,” she agreed, “and I won’t be the one holding you back.”

Funny. It had never felt like she was holding him back before.

“So you’re going to go with Jagged,” she continued, her thumb brushing beneath his eye, “and I’m going to finish lycée, and in a year…we’ll see.”

“I’ll wait,” he vowed, but she shook her head.

“That’s not fair, either,” she said, but the way she laughed made it sound like she didn’t believe that. Like she’d be waiting for him, too, despite everything she was telling him. “Live your life, Luka. I hope I can still be a part of it someday.”

– V –

A year to the day, Ladybug and Chat Noir finally defeated Hawkmoth.

It was a long battle. The fallout was worse.

And maybe, just maybe, Ladybug was too busy consoling a distraught kitty to remember a certain blue-haired boy that was waiting for a pigtailed girl on the observation deck of the Eiffel Tower with a dozen roses and a song he’d spent a year perfecting.

[verfound]

WIPWed: Festering Edition: 6/2/21: Adrien is (Still) a Fkin Idiot

@bloody-no-kissu @livrever @ladycat1 it's not a WIP it's just truth c'mon 😂

Dingo File time! So I don't actually have anything written for these yet beyond notes, but the gist:

"Adrien is a Fkin Idiot" (another DQ - are you keeping count ma'am 😂) finds Luka at a party after Dingo convinces him to go out, because Luka's been mopey about Marinette lately (this is pre-relationship, when she's still crushing on Adrien) and Dingo's convinced he just needs a fun night out. Proceeds to get Luka drunk, and then Marinette shows up - oops. She comes up to say hi, and Luka just grabs her, kisses her stupid, and declares "Adrien Agreste is a fucking idiot." before passing out. Juleka, of course, has recorded the whole thing.

"Adrien is Still a Fkin Idiot" is set a few weeks later. Luka's been avoiding Marinette bc he's horrified by what happened. Somehow, Adrien has not found out about the video/Party Incident and has invited Luka over for another Guy's Day. Luka is finding it more and more difficult to be around Adrien without going Full Pirate, so he invites Dingo along to act as a buffer (which lbr is not the best idea come on son). Dingo has never met Adrien before, but he's also frustrated as hell with this guy bc he's blocking his ship, dammit. So he starts pranking the room (messing up the Wall of DVDs, loosening a rock on the rock wall, leaving hidden messages, etc.). Nino, also frustrated with how dumb his best bro is being, gladly helps.

[verfound]

Luka streaks on? 👀

...Airi. Airi.

This one has been sitting since 05 September 2019 in a notebook I had to dig out because apparently I saved the summary/idea in a Word doc then put "use the bit from the Writer's Notebook bc Juleka is a TROLL" - except I never actually typed that bit up. 😂

I typed it up just for you, Airi. Just for you.

But this was the first go at a Hair Dye fic (before Punky), because when I say "I've been wanting Hair Dye Shenanigans for a while" I mean a while. 😂 It was meant to be a 5x Fic where Marinette kept walking in on Luka mid-dye, possibly leading up to getting her own hair dyed. It's going with my HC that Luka isn't actually Calm, Cool, and Collected and is in fact a Giant Dork. So it was just an excuse to embarrass Luka around Marinette a bunch of times.

This was all that ever came of it, though. 😂 So far.

“Juleka!”

Juleka looked up from her book and smiled at Marinette, who was waving from the gangway. She carried a medium-sized garment bag with her, and Juleka’s smile turned into a grin. She waved Marinette over.

“Looking for Luka?” she asked. Marinette smiled and nodded. “He’s in his cabin. He didn’t know you were coming over, did he?”

Marinette shook her head and said, “I don’t think so. I tried texting him, but there was no answer. I figured worst case I’d just drop this off. Someone had to be home.”

Juleka tried to fight the smirk. She really did. Oh, but this was gonna be good.

“Yeah, he’s inside,” she said, nodding towards the door. Marinette thanked her and headed below deck, and Juleka waited. After a moment, she heard a loud shriek followed by louder laughter, and she fell back against the deck chair, cackling.

– V –

It wasn’t the first time Marinette had been in Luka’s cabin. It also wasn’t the first time she had caught him unawares. It was the first time she had caught him like this, though.

“Luka?” she called as she pushed open the door. She was immediately hit by a blast of loud music, which shouldn’t have surprised her, so of course Luka hadn’t heard her, which really didn’t surprise her, either.

[verfound]

Coyling.... (nagas 👀👀👀?)

...I'm actually kinda surprised Quick didn't ask about this one 😂 buuut I'm also pretty sure Quick knows it's still just Festering...

Sorry, Bloods, but this one has nothing to do with nagas. "Coyling" is the 5x Fic where Luka is being "coy" and "coiling" around Marinette with the knowledge that he knows she's Ladybug. But I got Stupid with it and started making it crazy complicated, because I was trying to do each scene from both POVs, and it wasn't really working? I wanted to finish this up for Quick's birthday, but that hasn't happened yet. This one is higher on the list, though, bc Quick's been super patient & waiting for it forever. 😂

Apart from notes/chicken scratch, all I really have for it is the Lucky Charm/Motorcycle bit I've shared before...

Ladybug stared at her Lucky Charm, dumbfounded. A motorcycle helmet? What the heck was she supposed to do with…? She paused as her frantic eyes landed on a nearby civilian – specifically: Luka Couffaine. He was in the process of putting on his own helmet, his mother’s bike already idling beneath him, and he was lit up in her Ladybug Vision with red and black spots.

“Luka!” she called, tucking the spotted helmet under her arm and racing over to him. His head raised, turning about to search for the shout.

“Marinette?” he called, lifting the helmet from his head, and she skidded to a jerky stop inches from crashing into him and Anarka’s bike. Once the helmet was removed, he blinked slowly at her before a smile curled his lips. “Oh, Ladybug. Sorry. What can I do for you?”

But she was frozen, her jaw slack and eyes wide and terrified. The spotted helmet remained useless against her side. In the distance, the akuma continued to attack the city. She could still hear Chat’s taunts ringing above the rooftops. Before her, Luka sat and waited, an easygoing smile – a knowingsmile – on his face. The longer she stood there gawking at him, though, the more it slipped into concern.

He had called her Marinette.

“Ladybug?” he asked, and she forced herself to swallow. It was an honest mistake. It had to be. Luka knew her voice, and he’d had his helmet on – of course he hadn’t actually seen her. But he’d heard her voice, and he’d just assumed…

That glint was back in his eye. He leaned forward, resting his arms on his helmet. He dipped his head at her, silently encouraging a response, and she swallowed again. It was impossible. There was no way Luka knew…

“Bike!” she shouted as an explosion sounded behind her. She held up the Lucky Charm, and his eyebrows soared. “Can I borrow?”

“…my bike?” he asked, surprised, and she nodded. He frowned as he looked her over, and she tensed under his stare. She thought maybe she should be more uncomfortable with how he was looking at her, especially when that slow, lazy smile curled his lips. He raised an eyebrow and leaned closer, their noses practically touching. “Ladybug, are you even old enough to drive?”

Her jaw dropped as an indignant squeak escaped her. Well, technically, no, not as much – but she knew how! She’d been on her grandmother’s bike tons of times, and Luka himself had given her a few lessons when she’d expressed an interest in getting a license on her next birthday – which was only a few months away! And besides, wasn’t it his civic duty – his superhero responsibility, as a teammate! – to help her out? The Lucky Charm had led her to him and his bike, and when she asked for…

Her internal rant cut to a screeching halt as she saw the humor dancing in his eyes. The smile still stretching his lips. He was teasing her.

“I know how, which is the important part!” she huffed. She held the helmet up as another explosion sounded behind them. “Now please! We’ve wasted enough time!”

“Right,” he said, climbing off the bike. He helped her on, and she tensed again when his hand lingered on her hip. “Just…be careful with it? It’s my ma’s, and the last time you borrowed something from me it came back covered with bread crumbs and scratched paint.”

“…it did not! The Miraculous Cure fixed it, and you know it!” she squawked, turning to glare at him, but she could see that glint she was becoming increasingly familiar with in his eyes again. She wondered if he had always been this sassy or if it was just his kwami’s influence. (…she was learning he’d always been a bit of a dork, and he’d loved teasing her from the beginning, so it was probably just him.) She sighed and kicked the engine back to life. “Thank you, Luka. I’ll bring it back safe.”

“Bring yourself back safe, too,” he said. Her heart twisted at the look he was giving her, but she smiled (not that he could see, with the helmet) and nodded.

“I can do that,” she said, and the next moment she was gone. “Bug out!”

[verfound]

A kick in the head part 2👀

I don't think Tumblr wants you to know what's happening in this fic. Chrome crashed my laptop three times trying to queue this one. 😂

Ok, so A Kick in the Head found Mini Lu getting zapped to the future and coming to terms with oh shit we have how many kids and a farm, right? Pt2 finds Big Lu back in Mini Lu's body, trying to help LB stop the akuma while also reassuring her they're ok because holy crap I forgot how bad things were back then. And for some reason I decided to write it backwards (I did the end first, which I rarely do), so the end has Big Lu and Big Mari talking things over.

Aaaaand maybe Big Lu looking for some reassurance of his own.

Aaaaaaaaaand maybe a member of the Band cockblocking as they do unable to sleep because noooo Papa's broked...

He didn’t argue this time, instead meeting her kiss for kiss as she continued to brush her fingers through his hair. After a few moments of lazily making out, she smiled down at him. “Feeling better?”

“A bit,” he said. His smile turned into a grin as he rolled his hips up, making her giggle as she felt his arousal press into her. “Could feel a bit better, though. You know how taxing these trips can be.”

She rolled her eyes and bent back to him, smiling as his hands ran along her sides. Taxing was one way to put it, she supposed, though this time the term did seem more appropriate. The truth was her husband was just a horny bastard, and they had the six kids to prove it. She hummed into his kiss when his hands slipped under her top, his thumbs reaching around to brush along her breasts.

“I love you, Marinette,” he whispered by her ear, his face pressing against her neck as his arms wrapped around her back and held her close.

“I love you,” she answered, nudging his jaw with her nose to turn his face back to hers. They shared a smile before she kissed him again, an appreciative hum leaving him as her hand drifted down between them. Before her fingers could slip inside the waistband of his pants, however, a whimpering cry started up down the hall. They both froze, waiting to see if it was just a fussy moment that would pass. When the cries settled, Luka went to recapture her lips – until they heard the footsteps padding towards their door.

“Go back to bed, go back to bed…” Luka mumbled against her mouth, and she giggled at his groan when a tiny hand slapped against their door.

“M-Maman,” Clara’s little voice whimpered. “P-Papa!”

Luka sighed, kissing her cheek before she could roll off of him, and clambered to his feet. She snickered when he adjusted his pants, and then smothered her laugh with a pillow when the glare he tried to send her ended up being more of a pout. He heaved another sigh as he knelt down by the door and reached for the handle. He’d barely opened it before Clara tottered in and crashed into his chest.

“Hey, hey,” he cooed, rubbing her back. “Why aren’t you in bed, baby?”

“Papa broked his head,” she whimpered. He shot a look over his shoulder when Marinette snorted, ducking her face back into her pillow.

“I’m ok, sweetheart,” he said, pushing her back a little. She looked up at him with big, teary eyes, and he smiled as he tapped his knuckles against his head. “See? No broken heads here.”

“M-Mellie said you were cussin’,” she said. There was another muffled bark of laughter from the bed, one that sounded suspiciously like a choked “Swear jar!” Luka did his level best to ignore it. He took Clara’s hand and placed it near his wound.

“Concussion,” he said, bending his head closer to Clara as she felt around. “And barely one at that. See? Maman already patched me up. I’m fine, baby.”

Except Clara pressed a bit harder than he had against his stitches, and he winced, and her eyes filled with tears again as she threw herself back at his chest, her tiny arms wrapping tight around his neck.

“No you’re not you’re broked!” she wailed. He sighed and wrapped his arms around her, rubbing her back and making soothing, shushing sounds. She wiggled closer to him, her cries only getting louder.

“It’s ok, Clara. It’s ok,” he said. He glanced back at Marinette, who was biting her lip as she watched them. She nodded and waved him back towards the bed. He kissed the top of Clara’s head and scooped her up. She snuggled closer. He toed the door shut before carrying her over to the bed. “It’s ok, sweetheart. How about you stay with us tonight? Just so you know I’m ok?”

“B-big girls sleep in their own beds,” she sniffled. Marinette smoothed her hair back and kissed her head.

“Big girls do, but sometimes big girls just need to know their papas are ok, too,” she said. She scooted over and held her arms out, but Clara just held onto him tighter. He shot Marinette a helpless little smile, shrugging before he laid down beside her. Clara, still on his chest, snuggled closer as Marinette pulled the blanket over them. She didn’t protest when Marinette pressed against his side, her arm moving to rest half on his own and half on Clara’s back. “I was scared about Papa, too, baby.”

“M-Maman’s not scared of nothing,” Clara whimpered. Her cries had mostly died off, though her face was still streaked with tears. Marinette smiled at her as she reached up to brush them away with her thumb.

“Oh, I was plentyscared when your sister said he’d been hurt,” she said. She glanced up at him, and he mouthed I love you. Her smile warmed before she looked back at their daughter. “I love Papa very much, just like I love you very much. I’m scared about you all the time. Remember that time you fell off the truck bed?”

“M’sorry, Maman,” she mumbled, her eyes drooping now that her crying was done. Marinette leaned up and kissed her forehead. “Love you.”

“I love you, too, sweetheart,” she said. “Now try and sleep for us? We’ll be right here when you wake up. Promise”

“Ok, Maman,” she mumbled. Her eyes closed, and a few moments later her breathing evened out. Luka grinned down at Marinette.

“…think I can actually get her back in her own bed without waking her up?” he whispered. She pinched his side, and he smirked.

“Don’t you dare, Luka,” she scolded. “We both promised she could stay. You’ll have to wait.”

“Worth a try,” he chuckled, smiling when she scooted up to give him a final kiss. “At least that’s one thing Mini Lu doesn’t have to worry about.”

She snorted, snuggling into his side and adjusting her grip on Clara.

“Mini Lu won’t have to worry about that for a long while yet,” she tutted. He chuckled, but as Clara yawned and wiggled, her tiny hand fisting in his shirt, he couldn’t help but think that he was still getting the better end of the deal. Marinette shimmied, nudging the arm not holding Clara until he’d wrapped it around her, and he smiled as he dropped a kiss against her head.

Yeah.

He definitely had the better end of the deal.

[verfound]

WIPWED: Festering Edition: 6/2/21: Smutember Fantasy

@bloody-no-kissu @amstupid0-0 hehehehe y'all found the Oops Baby 😂

So back when I started the Smutember Prompts, I was not doing this one, too. But then a Plunny Bit, and y'all should know by now I have zero self-control.

So remember when Sandman showed up and brought all the nightmares to life? This one has an akuma named Sweet Dreams, who just wants everyone to have good dreams. The problem is, if you get hit and succumb to your dream/fantasy, you then slip into a coma and won't wake up until the akuma is defeated. Knowing she can't afford to get hit, Ladybug calls on Viperion's help.

The problem? Luka was in the middle of his own sweet dream when Ladybug showed up, and really hopes he doesn't get hit himself...

(More M than E below the cut - limey fresh at best~)

“I don’t like this plan,” Viperion said, narrowed eyes landing on the utility shed they had thrown Chat Noir into not five minutes prior. Ladybug sighed, shifting beside him.

“Do you have a better one?” she asked, fidgeting with her yoyo. A really indecent sound that had his partner blushing but set his teeth on edge echoed from the shed.

At least someone was enjoying themselves.

“Not really,” he sighed, tapping his fingers anxiously against his knees. “Still doesn’t mean I have to like this one.”

“You’re grumpy tonight,” Ladybug said, shooting him a small smirk. He at least smiled back at her.

“I was in the middle of a really good dream when you came calling, Mlle. Bug,” he said. She snorted and looked back at the street below them.

“You said it was intense, not good,” she chided, scanning the street for the akuma. He couldn’t help the wry little grin that twisted his lips as he tried not to think too hard about his dream. Running here with her had done wonders cooling him off, but he knew he was one errant thought from…

“Maybe it was both,” he hummed, shaking his head slightly to clear it. He could revisit his dream later – he had to focus.

“Maybe, if you’re lucky, you’ll get hit,” she said, and from her tone he could tell she was teasing him. That didn’t stop his back from feeling like a bucket of ice had been dumped down his suit. “Then you can go back to it.”

As another indecent moan – that sounded too much like M’lady! for either of their comfort – sounded from the shed, Viperion had to admit that was exactly what he was afraid of.

Hawkmoth’s latest akuma was called Sweet Dreams and, as far as they could tell, simply wanted people to enjoy their sleep. From what Ladybug and Chat Noir had gathered before bringing Viperion in, the victim was a young woman who’d been kept up the past few nights by thin walls and noisy neighbors. Hawkmoth had given her the ability to give everyone pleasant dreams, in return for the Miraculous of Ladybug and Chat Noir, of course.

What that had ended up looking like, at least in Chat Noir’s case, was a Ladybug with a modified (skimpy) supersuit, who was more interested in ripping his own suit off of him than she was in defeating the akuma. Sweet Dreams was bringing fantasies to life all over Paris, and while Chat was clearly not complaining…Ladybug had always been the more sensible of the two. After all, they had already seen a few instances where the fantasies had been allowed to play out. Once you were fully in the thrall of your sweet dream, you fell into a sleep they were pretty sure only the Miraculous Cure could wake you from.

That was, ultimately, why Viperion had been called in. They couldn’t risk Ladybug getting hit and slipping into a sleep she couldn’t wake from. They hadn’t wanted to risk Chat, either, but Viperion hadn’t had a chance to set his bracelet before the Chat was showboating and throwing himself into the line of fire. And when it became clear he was all too willing to let his Fantasy Ladybug slip his Miraculous off his finger, they had locked the ‘couple’ in the shed before Hawkmoth could claim a partial victory.

“She’s harmless enough,” Ladybug said. She crouched lower as Sweet Dreams floated past them, a shimmering cloud of silvery dust that swirled around her feet carrying her around the city. The akuma passed by without incident, and Ladybug let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. “Ok. You ready?”

He fidgeted with his bangle before nodding. He wasn’t, not really. He hadn’t been lying to Ladybug: he’d already been in the middle of a really good fantasy when she’d entered his room and slapped him awake. After seeing what Sweet Dreams had done to Chat…there were about a hundred reasons why he wasn’t looking forward to this akuma, and he could count them all on the spots of the hero beside him.

And of course, because Chat had already been hit, he was the one they had to use as bait. No. Not bait. A distraction.

…he still felt like bait.

“Viperion?” she called, and he jumped when he felt her hand on his shoulder. He glanced down at the black gloves that were now part of her suit before looking up at her face, framed by the short pixie cut she had adopted a few months back. The same blue eyes stared back at him through the mask, narrowed in concern. The same eyes that…he shook his head to clear it. Now really wasn’t the time.

“Yeah,” he said, nodding after a moment. “Sor-”

“Watch out!” she cried, pushing him back, but it was too late.

A cloud of silvery dust slammed into his chest. He gasped, inhaling some of it, and immediately started coughing. His heart was pounding, and he thumped a fist against it as his vision swam. What…that had…there was a giggle behind him – a painfully familiar giggle – and a lead weight settled in his stomach. Ladybug’s eyes had blown wide, staring at something behind him, and they only grew wider when he felt small hands sliding over his shoulders. He glanced down at the arms wrapping around him, his heartrate picking up again when teeth nipped at his earlobe.

Shit.

[verfound]

Pants Aren't RocknRoll

It's a RollingStone fic! 😁 "Jagged Stone only wears pants in public. Penny Rolling is understandably very distressed over this."

Another one that's just notes so far. It started as a joke that Jagged only wears pants in public - like he hates clothes, actually, and would rather be naked/no pants. And then it kinda turned into a "but what if he knows it drives Penny nuts and it's his horrible way of flirting with/seducing her?" It's Jagged. It's shenanigans and antics and no pants. 😂

[verfound]

GUARDIAN STONE PLEASE 😆

Ok. So. It's exactly what you think it is.

Bloods found this prompt (from PunchLord, I think?) about Fu training Jagged as a Guardian. Or maybe it was just that Guardians age and die like normal humans so Fu had to find a replacement to train before Marinette. Somehow Jagged got involved, and Quick was like "who in anything even approaching their right mind would make JAGGED a Guardian?" And at the time I was dying of that tooth infection and hopped up on painkillers, so of course I was like, "uh...ME?" (...does that make this a DQ or is this Bloody's fault? 😂)

So I only have part of an outline and summary so far: "Fu Wang can feel his time getting short. He knows he must locate an apprentice to train and pass on his Miracle Box to, but New York is a big city full of so many people. He may have found his answer in [sixteen/seventeen]-year-old Jacob Stone, though – if he can pull him away from his guitar and quest for a Sewer Gator long enough to actually teach him anything, that is…"

The idea is Fu ends up in '90s NYC, on the run and exhausted and old/dying and needing to pass on his Miracle Box. He stumbles into this deli run by an older Jewish man named Jeremiah Stone. Jeremiah offers him a sandwich and they start talking, and Jeremiah tells him how his parents came to NYC bc they were running from Nazis, and he recognizes in Fu the look of a refugee. He offers him a room and says he can work in the deli to pay for it. Calls for his son Jacob to show Fu to his room.

Jacob is tall and lanky with ripped clothes and crazy hair. He hates that his dad calls him Jacob ("Jake, please - but I dunno, I might be changing it, not very rock-n-roll, y'know? Jacob."). Has no life ambition beyond playing guitar. But he's a sweet kid, and Fu sees something in him, and so it begins.

I'm hoping to make the fic about 19 chapters. There's a prologue for where Fu ends up in NYC, a chapter where you meet Jacob, a chapter for each kwami (where Fu is "training" Jacob how to use them), and an epilogue where Guardian Stone is leaving New York. At some point I'm hoping to bring Anarka in, to show how they meet, but it's all still rough and scrambled outline notes.

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WIPWed: Festering Edition: 6/9/21: 5 Things Luka Regrets Telling Dingo

@chrwrites @nerdypanda3126 & Nonny...I wish I had more to give y'all than this. 😂

I literally only have a scattering of notes. (A lot of the Dingo Files are ideas that got spitballed in the Disco, turned into plunnies, and I jotted down conversations/notes/etc to get back to later. I haven't actually gotten to all of them yet, though. I should start picking away at some of these...)

This one is the story of when Luka got his wisdom teeth out. 😁 Bloods suggested something, and it got me thinking of those videos of people post-surgery? Where they're so doped out they just go nutty? He stupidly asks Dingo to go with him (bc if you've had your wisdom teeth out you know you're not driving yourself home), and Dingo films the whole thing. Or maybe Bri - I'm thinking Luka's so doped out Dingo's having trouble with him & calls in reinforcements. 😂

It starts with silly and stupid stuff, like "I slept with a stuffed loch ness monster named Norbert until I was ten, Ding. TEN." Nothing too incriminating, but still stuff a good bestie knows is blackmail/wedding speech material. But it spirals. I'm still kicking this part around, but it ends up being a massive Love Confession. "Marinette is amazing. I am going to marry the shit out of her someday." But I'm kicking around the idea still that maybe this is pre-relationship, when she's with someone else (maybe Adrien, maybe just Someone Else), and Ding's like "...mate I thought you were over this oh shit?" "...oh right ok then I guess I'm gonna marry the shit outta fifty hamsters someday."

Because y'all know by now I can't just keep things light and fluffy I guess. Gotta whump it up a little. 😂

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Dingo Files, only a kiss!

...I am 100% certain you did not forget about this fic, but ngl I totally did until I clicked it open. 😂

The title I have in the doc is actually "Luka and Dingo, Sittin' in a Tree..." and is for the @mlweeklyprompts prompt "A: I kissed [B]! / C: Did [B] kiss you back? / A: That’s not the point!" (...from May 29 of last year I'm pretty sure 😂)

So the direction this one was going: School dance is coming up, and Dingo's been trying to get Bri to agree to go with him. He's whining to Luka about it, which turns into a "Why don't you think she likes me" shpiel. Meanwhile, Marinette had asked Luka to meet her (bc she was going to ask him to the dance), and Luka's in the "ok Ding Mari's on her way can we talk about this later?" And one thing leads to another, and Luka (for reasons I still need to work out) decided kissing Dingo to shut him up was the best option?

(It all works out in the end, but this is the "Marinette sees Luka and Dingo kissing, thinks she missed her chance, and runs off/freaks out before Luka can stop her." fic.)

“I just don’t get it!” Dingo wailed, leaning back on his elbows and glaring up at the sky through his shades. Shades was maybe a little generous, Luka couldn’t help but think. He’d worn the white frames today, the ones with the bright orange mirror coat that Luka knew was more for style than protection from the sun. Luka looked back at his guitar as Dingo kicked his booted feet out, groaning again. He’d been groaning – whining, really – for almost twenty minutes now.

Not that Luka was counting.

…ok, Luka was kind of counting, but only because Luka was waiting for Marinette, and each minute Dingo spent whining was another minute Luka wasn’t with Marinette. Granted, it also meant it was another minute closer to when she would arrive, but Luka would have been content to spend that time noodling on Claire, not listening to Dingo whine about the stupid dance.

He just couldn’t seem to escape it.

“You don’t get the dance?” Luka asked, frowning. He was pretty sure he had missed something. The dance seemed pretty self-explanatory. Most were.

“…mate, come on,” Dingo sighed. “You are so out of it today.”

“Sorry,” Luka said with a nervous chuckle. He shrugged and leaned forward, resting his arms on Claire’s body. “Guess I have been a bit distracted.”

The way Dingo grinned let him know it was more than a bit, but he supposed no one could really blame him.

It was the dance’s fault, anyway.

Not that he’d ever really been a fan of the school’s dances before. It was his final year at Sant-Saëns, and Luka had never actually been to one of their dances. Well. He supposed that wasn’t technically true – he’d been to one. During the spring of his freshman year, when a friend’s band had been set to play the dance and their guitarist had come down with food poisoning day-of. But he hadn’t actually gone – he’d been part of the entertainment. It’s not like he’d had a date or anything. He hadn’t seen what the big deal was, anyway. It had all seemed boring to him.

…he’d been more interested last year, maybe, but the person he’d maybe been interested in asking hadn’t really been in an ask-me-to-a-school-dance place. They’d been friends, and she’d been in love with someone else, and even if he’d been slowly – quickly – falling harder and harder for her with every passing day, that hadn’t changed the fact that her heart had been drawn elsewhere. Timing and all that. So he hadn’t gone then, either.

This year was proving…well. He was thinking her heart was maybe starting to redirect, but they were still just friends. There had been that moment, back at Valentine’s Day, where he had hoped…but then he’d gotten sick, and Adrien had surprised everyone with a visit the weekend of, and he’d watched their moment flap away on purple butterfly wings.

Timing always seemed to be a big issue for them.

“…wish it was as easy as it is for you and Mari,” Dingo sighed, and Luka jumped. He couldn’t have heard that right. Things with Marinette were…well. He supposed they were easier than they could have been, from what Juleka had told him, but there was that timing thing. It never felt all that easy to him.

Speaking of…he glanced at the clock hanging over the doors of the school. She had asked him to wait for her after school. There was something she needed to talk to him about – something important – but she had a student council meeting about the dance. As she was her class rep, and on several of the dance subcommittees as well, her attendance had been mandatory. But she wanted to talk to him, and he always wanted to talk to her, so he had told her he’d wait. She should be getting out soon.

…she’d be here already, if not for the stupid dance.

“It’s not easy for me and Mari,” he finally said, brushing a hand through his hair. Dingo kicked at his side, and Luka rolled his eyes. “Anyway. What do you need to be easy? Sorry. I’m paying attention now, I promise.”

“Good,” Dingo huffed. “God, mate, get a pair of pretty blues blinking at you and you’re hopeless.”

Dingo paused, looking thoughtful for a minute.

“…was that my problem? Brown eyes not really your thing?” he asked. Luka couldn’t tell if he was teasing or not. He shifted uncomfortably, his fingers finding Claire’s strings and drawing out an awkward tune.

“What?” he asked, and Dingo laughed.

“Nah, I’m messing with ya,” he said. He looked back at the sky, another thoughtful look settling on his face. “Maybe that’s Bri’s problem, though. Lu, do you think that’s it? Do you think she thinks Mari’s prettier than me?”

“…ok, what?” Luka asked again, shaking his head. “And Marinette is definitely prettier than you.”

“Well, of course you’d say that,” Dingo grumbled. He kicked a pebble off the step. “Bri won’t go to the dance with me. She says it’s lame.”

“It is lame,” Luka said absently.

[...]

Before Dingo could say anything else, Luka grabbed his face in his hands and pulled him towards him, smashing their mouths together in a hard press of lips and teeth. His nose scrunched as Dingo yelped and flailed a little – he was pretty sure Dingo’s tongue ended up in his mouth, even if it was barely a second and only a bit it was still more than he’d ever wanted to experience – and it was over as soon as it had started. Luka shoved him back, his eyes narrowed in a glare, and opened his mouth to say something scathing when they heard it.

A clattering. A quiet gasp.

They turned towards the entrance of the school to find Marinette watching them with wide, glistening eyes (eyes that looked too similar to Juleka’s when she was about to run off crying), a collection of folders and papers and art supplies and what Luka was pretty sure was a prototype Kitty Section mask littered around her feet. Her eyes darted between Dingo and him, and Luka realized all too late how bad it had to look: Luka with his hands on Dingo’s face, both of them sitting too close together from where Luka had practically hauled him into his lap, faces red and lips a little bruised (he was pretty sure his was bleeding, and he definitely needed to punch Dingo for biting him), and God if she had seen the kiss…and then she was running, turning on her heel and disappearing into the school with everything she had dropped forgotten at the top of the steps. Luka cursed and shoved Dingo away from him, ignoring the injured yelp and demands to know what the hell had just happened, and shoved himself up to chase after her.

“Marinette! Wait!” he cried, not even realizing he’d run over the prototype mask in his rush to catch her. Inside, the hall wasn’t as busy as it would have been had it been normal school hours, but the after school crowd (the clubs, the loiterers, the remaining faculty) were still milling about. And Marinette…Marinette was gone.

He didn’t care if he had been the one to initiate the kiss. He was going to fucking kill Dingo.

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oh oh ! I have so many I'd like to know about! Is it allowed to ask about multiple ones? If not just pick which ever is most appealing to you! "Every Third Year", "Who's Your Daddy", "I Think I'll Call Her Fang", or anything from 'Winters'!

I answered Winters here, so we'll skip that one here. 😘 And somehow you picked three in a row that only have notes. 😂

"Every Third Year" is from the House Band and is how we got six kids instead of five. 😂 19 Kids and Counting: Miraculous Edition (or: "Why stop at a House Band when you can have an entire orchestra?"). 😂 I was looking at my HB notes & made the observation that the kids are all split up by three years (so like in Dewey's first fic: Dewey was 4, Huey and Louie were 7, Melody was 10, and Harmony was 13), which started this idea of three years after Dewey's born, as a joke on their anniversary/his birthday, Marinette gives Luka a positive pregnancy test because it's been three years. And they already have five kids, and that's more than enough, but Luka is actually ecstatic and loves the idea of another? Because he's stupid nuts about his family and yeah let's do this thing? Which makes Marinette reevaluate how 'done' she was with her family, and also why Clara is four years younger than Dewey, not three. Because they had to start trying again. C:

"Who's Your Daddy" is a...I can't even say "cracky Dingo File" with a straight face bc it's Dingo and most everything he's in is cracky. 😂 It started as spitballing about how Anarka is the Hot Mom, and jokes about how Dingo would flirt with her just to piss Luka off, and ended up with @quickspinner saying Luka needs to haul Dingo overboard with a threat like, "One more word from you about my ma and I will actually kill you and give your corpse to Bri for ritual dismemberment." And @fenheart87 wanting Dingo to tease him: "Maybe I could be your new daddy!" It's Dingo. It's bound to be silly. 😂

"I Think I'll Call Her Fang" started when someone (it was spitballing with the group & I don't remember who found the original post) shared a FB post about this group of tourists at a crocodile farm. They're on this floating structure, and the owner says: "Whoever jumps into the crocodile-infested waters and swims to shore will get 10 million dollars!" And nobody moves at first, until this guy just jumps in and starts booking it. After he makes it, gets his prize, etc., he's back at the hotel with his wife & tells her he didn't actually jump. Someone pushed him. And she goes: "I know it was me." Which...if that's not Jagged and Anarka I don't know what show you've been watching. There was a joke about how they weren't famous yet and Anarka needed the money for a new guitar. Jagged was just being Extra Jagged that day. Jagged comes out of the water and a baby crocodile has chomped onto his ass - he ends up keeping it. He thinks he'll call her 'Fang'. 😁

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Hohoho go so many wips!! Mmmm, hard to choose owo

Can you show us the haunted doll one? Or the voodoo viperion

"Voodoo Viperion" is just notes so far, but also it was totally your fault bc it was sparked by that pic you found of the shirtless Luka plush. 😝 Anyway. Marinette makes a Viperion doll, bc she's made dolls of all the heroes, right, except this doll is more for her? It's set pre-relationship, and Marinette is using the doll to practice confessing to Luka/build up her confidence. Except Tikki is a fucking troll and, as the kwami of creation, put 'life' into the doll and turned it into a fucking voodoo doll.

And it's only little things at first: Luka hears Marinette's voice when she's not around, feels phantom touches, she falls asleep with the doll and he feels like he's holding her all night, etc. It's all fine and good until Manon finds the doll and flips bc "OMG MARINETTE VIPERION IS SO COOL!" and like rips it off the shelf while Luka's in the middle of a gig. Shenanigans ensue. 😂

"I Think Your Doll's Haunted" is a DQ fic. Quick found this post about Responsible Haunted Doll Ownership, said "Haunted Doll Marinette", and I started chasing a "Ghost Girlfriend" plunny. The idea is Juleka brings home a haunted doll (they don't know it's haunted at first), which attaches itself to Luka, which eventually leads to Ghost Girlfriend Marinette. I don't have much for it yet, but I still love the idea and want to finish it. 🖤

Luka was used to his beloved baby sister doing Weird Shit. She was, after all, a Couffaine, and they were by nature a little…eccentric. She was also of a Spooky Nature, which meant she liked Creepy Shit, so it really shouldn’t have surprised him when he came home that day and entered their shared cabin to find a doll propped up against the pillows on her bed.

Staring at him with its cold, dead, glassy eyes. Admittedly pretty eyes, but cold, dead, and glassy all the same.

“…I am not sleeping with that thing in the room,” he said. Juleka looked up from the floor by the foot of her bed, where she was doing homework with her girlfriend Rose. Rose was everything Juleka was not: bright, bubbly, and pink, and Luka loved her for it. She was a good influence on his sometimes-creepier-than-he-liked-to-admit sister.

“Rose found it for me,” Juleka said softly. “I like her. She stays. You can sleep in the brig.”

…ok, Rose was usually a good influence on his sister.

He walked over to her bed and picked up the doll, frowning as it flopped back to smile up at him with lips painted a pale pink. Really, the doll was…kind of pretty? Its hair was a shiny black and tied off in pigtails. Its eyes were a beautiful shade of blue. It wore a frilly pink dress that screamed Rose Found Me. But, at the end of the day, it was still a doll, and Luka was pretty sure there was some universal rule that All Dolls Are Creepy. He couldn’t even look at Barbies after Juleka had made him watch that Annabelle movie.

“…yeah, ok,” he said, tossing the doll back on her bed. Was he going crazy, or was the doll frowning at him? “But the partition stays closed at night.”

Juleka just rolled her eyes as he grabbed his favorite guitar off her stand and went back above deck. She went to fix the doll, but it was sitting right where she had left it earlier: against her pillows, smiling at the door.

As if Luka had never touched her.

As if she were waiting.

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WIPWed: Festering Edition: 6/9/21: The Girl with Flowers in Her Bones

@chrwrites @mamanabeille It's definitely not what you're thinking... (...it might be what MA's thinking? I can't remember if you were in school!hell when this one started.)

Ok, so...say it with me: Tattoo Artist Flower Shop Hallmark Fantasy AU. 😂 I have nothing beyond notes and the start of an outline for this. I wanted to get it written for June, but then Life and Hey Stupid happened. It started when I saw this post about carving bones, and the picture with the flowers is what sparked things. And at the time I think there was a lot of talk about Tattoo Artist/Flower Shop AUs, and Quick was in the middle of her Hallmark AU, and one thing led to another and now...Quick did the Hallmark Christmas AU. This is supposed to be a Hallmark Wedding AU. 😂 Only Spoopy, bc me.

So the summary: Luka Couffaine just wants to be able to breathe again. A trip back to his sleepy hometown sounds like just the ticket, until his sister-in-law ropes him into working the wedding season at her flower shop. Being surrounded by love and romance is the last thing Luka needs, until he spies the new skelegirl next door with flowers etched into her bones. Together, they might just discover the True Meaning of Love.

No snippets yet as it's just notes/outline, but the gist is below the cut.

Luka is a naga (bc it's a fantasy AU) rock star who, for Reasons (a publicity ex that jaded his view on the world/love), is burnt out and needs to come home. Rose is a nymph who runs a flower shop with her wife Juleka. Wedding Season is their Christmas, and right before it hits their best worker leaves (to get married herself, of course), so she asks Luka if he could help out at the shop. It seems like a great place to lay low and help his favorite girls out, except it keeps throwing romance and twu wuv in his face.

Marinette is a skeleton that owns the tattoo parlor next to Rose and Jueka's flower shop. In life, Marinette was an aspiring fashion designer, but fashion is too painful for her post-death. She became a tattoo artist/bone engraver in death, and that's become her art/outlet now. (Those with skin she inks, but skeletons have these intricate engravings/etchings/carvings on their bones. There's a bunch of backstory here on why it's important to feeling alive, but I'll leave that for the fic. 😘)

Rose immediately goes into Shipper Queen Mode, Juleka wants her to reign herself in, and Luka...despite his best efforts, is entranced. He's never met a skele with so much life before. And Marinette has carved every inch of her bones with flowers: delicate etchings on her skull, cherry blossoms on her ribs, splays of flowers on her arms/legs. The closer they get, he starts to hear the music again, until he's writing a song about her called "The Girl With Flowers In Her Bones".

...so Quick did Christmas. I'm gonna do weddings. Now we need the Hallmark Fall AU, the Hallmark Spring AU, the Hallmark Mysteries AU, and I think either Mal or Knit said they'd do the LIfetime AU? 😂 It was joked that it would become a "Five Times LBSC Did Hallmark (and One Time They Did Lifetime)" thing. 😂