#Ladybug is third wheeling

[drtwit]

Miraculous Ladybug - Miraculous Menaces AU: Connecting the Dots

Miraculous Menaces AU

Chapter Summary:

Ladybug clashes with Heartbreaker, Chloe gets some advice, Volpina and Alya connect, and Hawkmoth becomes a mood.

This makes sense in context * 2:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/58557754/chapters/167689525

An AU where Chat becomes Hawkmoth's partner in crime. At first, Adrien thought that the day he found out that his father was the supervillain terrorizing the people of Paris was the worst day of his life, but in retrospect, it might have been the one change needed to save his family. Because it was also the day that both of them realized that, when they don't need to be Adrien and Gabriel Agreste, they're both fucking goobers. Follow the adventures of Hawkmoth, Chat Noir, and their reluctant assistant who doesn't get paid enough, Nathalie, as they try to navigate life as a supervillain family. And pray for Ladybug's sanity as she suffers their antics.

Preview:

“It was an accident the first time.”

Another strum, this time two strings. Ladybug felt concentrated air tease at her hair.

“I was just using my power to make him look stupid, thought that was enough for my fill.” Heartless tipped to head down, pushing the butt of the guitar up to her chin, perfectly framing her hanging tongue. “Then that damn song came over the radio, filled me with the nostalgic vibes and- And…”

A full chord was enough to dig an invisible fist in Ladybug’s gut, sending her stumbling back. “Oh, the inspiration just hit me! Wrote a whole new chorus in under a minute, and he took that beat to heart.”

The chord transition to a simple sequence, gently sending waves of coaxing vibes in Ladybug’s direction. This time, Ladybug moved around the roof, making ample use of chimneys and doorways to act as cover.

“You know how it is. Once you get that catchy little ear worm in your head, you just can’t stop hearing it.”

Ladybug rolled over the edge, sliding down a section of sloped roof whilst the seductive serenade carved cracks into the brickwork behind her.

“Is that all?” She called back. “You went on a ritualistic killing spree because it’s like pringles and you can’t stop?”

A loud plop pulled Ladybug back up to the edge, throwing her head back to watch an upside-down perspective of Heartbreaker hopping on the edge and aiming her guitar right down the slope. “What can I say? When you find your calling, you need to answer it.”

“And your calling is, what? The magical equivalent of drugging your dates?” Ladybug fell forward into a summersault, flipping over the next wave of musical assault. “Are you just that much of a bore in real life?”

“My, my, you have quite the mouth on you.” Gritted teeth added roughness to Heartbreaker’s voice. “I don’t know if I’ll enjoy making it sing for me or ripping it out.”

As Ladybug landed, she found Heartless dropping down to persue, heels digging into the slope as she rode it down the way, positioned to face Ladybug side ways as she moved so she could continue blasting her soundtrack at her foe. Ladybug jumped up high, easily circumventing the attack and finally taking the chance to go for her yoyo.

“I don’t know about singing, my family say I have the scream of a duck with lung cancer.”

She casted the line, or more like punched in her line, sending the yoyo careening towards it’s target at immense speed. Heartless only barely managed to bring her guitar up to bat away the attack, left stumbling back over herself in the aftermath.

[weirdmarioenemies]

Name: Motobug

Debut: Sonic the Hedgehog

Hi! Isn't it weird that ladybugs are voracious predators? And yet in most media they're aeen as cute little harmless things that would never hurt a fly!

Ladybugs love hurting a fly.

Motobugs are also voracious predators, and their primary prey is That Troublesome Hedgehog! Although they usually settle for Rings.

Their design has generally stayed consistent over the years, with a single wheel, a red shell, a blue face, exhaust vents, and two spike hands. Presumably, they use their spikes to hunt aphids and other garden insects! It certainly is not any use against their primary prey, That Heroic Hedgehog!

Recently, there have been two exceptions. The Sonic Frontiers motobug is purple, and the Sonic Forces motobug is silver and futuristic, looking, if anything, like a snail shell!

Motobug appears in a LOT of games, although my two favorite motobugs are from the IDW Comics!

First, there's this lovely fellow

That I call Motobig! Big enough to Eat That Delicious Hedgehog as his father intended!

And then there is the lovely Brotobug! Or as they officially call it, Motobud!

That's a bug I can get behind! He's a friendly motobug, the exception to the exception to the rule of ladybug depictions! The entire thesis of IDW sonic comics is that everyone deserves a second, third, and fourth chance, which is embodied in how even Motobud, formerly a faceless footsoldier for the Eggman Empire, can turn good. I won't get into its actual story, you should read it for yourself. Please.

Anyway, I'm not sure how to end this post. Bye! :3

[nobodyfamousposts]

Do you think people cling on too much to Adrien's high road advice as a reason to salt on him?

Yes, especially when there are plenty of other reasons to salt him that have previously been ignored. But to that end, it DOES serve as the final straw for people after a SERIES of problems that had previously gone unaddressed.

Much like many aspects of the show, Adrien has displayed problematic behaviors that have been overlooked and waved off in the earlier seasons. This is likely or especially due to the way how in each and every incident, Adrien was narratively shown to be correct. In his stance. In his choices. In his behaviors. He was always right. It doesn't matter if he shouldn't be, because he is.

Now unless you're a hater or anti or salter or whatever negative name people tend to get for not liking a story as it's presented, readers and watchers tend to follow along with the narrative as it presents things and how it presents things. It's a common setup in any story. Protagonist Centered Morality, I feel framed best by Susan in the Discord series:

Susan: ...and then Jack chopped down the beanstalk, adding murder and ecological vandalism to the theft, enticement and trespass charges already mentioned, but he got away with it and lived happily ever after without so much as a guilty twinge about what he had done. Which proves that you can be excused anything if you're a hero, because no one asks inconvenient questions.

Pretty much this. Most people will follow what the narrative says because it's the narrative. If the narrative wants you to focus on Marinette being embarrassed, you're going to focus on how much she's cringe. And if the narrative wants you to view Adrien as a perfect sunshine boy who never does anything wrong, anything he does is going to be framed through that lens and it's difficult to break from that view and call out the times when he is wrong. Not unless he does something particularly severe.

It should be noted that outside of Chameleon, Adrien had, among other things: lied to his partner, caused someone to get akumatized and had his partner take the blame, was messing around during life-threatening and city-threatening situations, did nothing as Chloe tormented people right in front of him, DEFENDED Chloe after she tormented people right in front of him, bailed on an event with friends to set up a date with someone who said she had other plans and then got mad at HER for it, tried to flirt or confess in the middle of an active crisis which took necessary attention away from said crisis, caused himself AND his partner to get hit by akuma powers and needlessly be taken out of commission.

And yet people could mostly overlook these instances. They weren't his fault. Chloe is his friend. Marinette is worse. He's just a kid. He has a tragic backstory. So on and so forth. Easy to overlook. Easy to ignore in favor of the Sunshine Boy setup people were given and want to believe in.

But there were three major instances that really grabbed people's attention and stayed:

His attitude in Frozer. It probably wouldn't have been so bad except this rejection already happened in Glaciator, where he was supposed to have learned a lesson and accepted just being Ladybug's friend and now apparently didn't, despite it happening earlier that very season. Then in response, he decides to date Kagami as a rebound, drags Marinette with him on his date (without realizing how he's asking his friend to be a third wheel on a DATE) and focuses on her when he's supposed to be with Kagami, throws another tantrum in the middle of an akuma fight and refuses to work with his partner when the city is literally frozen, and requires Ladybug to apologize to him for hurting his feelings before he finally working with her. Again. But okay, he's a teenage boy in love. Not used to rejection and got his feelings hurt. Lovesquare is endgame so of course it'll work out anyway, so it's not like this bump in the road is really going to matter long term so we shouldn't hold it against him. Fine. Dumb, but fine. We've forgiven it in other shows and other poorly done teen romances, we can forgive it here.

His behavior in Syren in which he demanded to know secrets from people when the secrets were not theirs to tell him, and went so far as to attempt to blackmail his kwami (which was funny) and threaten to quit and abandon the Ring that the big bad is after while the city is flooded and people were trying to not drown (which was decidedly less humorous). But it was played for wholesome when Plagg reassured him and he got what he wanted by Fu revealed himself even if Adrien did nothing to actually show he earned it, so all's well that ends well, I guess? And people could justify it because "they're partners" and "part of a team" and "she should trust him" and "it's not fair he's the only one left out of the loop" and "he has a right to know" and just general "Fu is an idiot" (which is admittedly hard to argue). So people were disgruntled, but most were willing to overlook it.

His holier than thou lecture to Marinette in Maledictator over everyone being happy Chloe was leaving. When all Marinette was doing at the time was watching everyone else have fun. When Adrien specifically guilted Marinette and not any of the other actual partiers involved who were literally throwing a party over his friend leaving and probably should have warranted a lecture more than the girl just standing there. When the girl in question was also Chloe's main target and out of everyone had valid reasons to be happy that her bully won't be around to bully her anymore. When Adrien himself has historically been present to witness Marinette being targeted including twice he witnessed Chloe attempt to steal from Marinette, once he witnessed her try to blackmail Marinette, and numerous other times when she actively caused harm to Marinette and others. When Adrien then proceeded to sit in a corner and pout rather than do anything else or just leave if the party really bothered him. When Adrien, if he really cared so damn much, could have gone after Chloe himself! Or y'know...have stood up for Chloe earlier when she got upset in the first place. But fine, okay, Chloe is his childhood friend. So maybe he's just being biased and oblivious to the fact that his "friend" is a horrible person. But people can excuse and justify it in that they are friends and friends support each other, and the longer someone is friends with someone else, the harder it is to break from them. And that Marinette was probably just the target of his lecture because she was the one there in the moment (and the only one who would listen without arguing). And her calling Chloe useless was "mean" despite it being quite frankly the least of what she could have said about her in the moment (coughcough theft cough blackmail cough punished the entire school cough TRIED TO CRASH A TRAIN AND NEARLY KILLED HER AND HER PARENTS COUGH-FREAKINGCOUGH). Fine. Childhood friend means Adrien supports her in all her horrible and even deadly actions. Frustrating, but again, able to be explained and you can see where he's coming from.

These are all things that definitely got Adrien some side eye at best and some detractors at worst.

BUT if you really think about it, all of these examples are objectively worse than his lecture to Marinette in Chameleon. Not accepting being told "no" and continuing to chase a girl who isn't that in to him (while leading on another). Putting lives at risk over personal wants that could quite honestly wait until AFTER the crisis is over. Defending someone who is harmful and guilt tripping the victims. Compared to those, telling someone to leave a liar to their lying seems relatively minor.

So why this? Why here? Why is it Chameleon that has people saying enough is enough? Why is it this episode that is causing the sunshine boy to be so tarnished and the subject of salt in fan fiction?

Because this is the time when it couldn't be rationalized. There wasn't even a valid sensible canon-based reason for his stance. The arguments that Adrien "knew confronting her wouldn't work" or that he "handled her like paparazzi" or that he "knew Marinette previously failed when she tried" (even though he wasn't there and didn't know) or that he "didn't think anyone would believe him" don't come from canon. Those were fan arguments made after the fact to justify him after the base was broken and the outcry became too much to ignore.

This case didn't have any of the ties or rationales of the previous incidents. Adrien wasn't defending himself or his place in a partnership. He wasn't fighting for his love or his dream or an outcome he wanted and that we all knew was coming—if anything, he was fighting against her. He wasn't defending a friend like he did with Chloe—I mean, it's pretty evident he doesn't even really know or like Lila at this point, and for all intents and purposes, this is apparently only the second day he actually had any interaction with her. There was no notable reason Adrien really had for why he essentially chose to protect Lila over literally anyone else as she wasn't a friend and it wasn't in his interests to protect her from a consequence that wouldn't hurt her short term as much as it would likely harm everyone else long term.

And yet, he still defended her and her freedom to lie. Over Marinette. Over Ladybug. Over his friends. Over any sense of right and wrong he seems to have no problem throwing around when it comes to Marinette/Ladybug. Which seems like he targets her 9 times out of 10 compared to pretty much anyone else by this point. So it's little wonder then that people who didn't already hate the lovesquare because of the cringe factor from Marinette started to hate it for being incredibly unhealthy given that their relatively limited interactions tend to involve him lecturing her for failing to live up to his double standards that only seem to apply to her in any given situation.

This incident by itself doesn't seem like much, but when looked at as part of the series as a whole, it's when people couldn't keep overlooking this trend. Where he seems to admonish the wrong person. Where he acts like a mouthpiece rather than a person. Talks like he’s wise in a situation he seems to have a childish and one-sided view of. Acts like a brat but is treated as though he has no accountability in the situation he causes. Where he is wrong but no one and certainly not the narrative acknowledges it (not until season five and two seasons too late when it doesn't matter and he's still not the one facing consequences for it).

And it's not like he actually follows the stances he himself promotes. In Chameleon, canon presents him with this idealistic stance that Lila could change if given a chance, except he doesn't give her a chance. He doesn't push her to be a better person. He doesn't support or in any way help her to be the better person he insisted to Marinette she could be. He also doesn't do anything or warn anyone when she keeps lying and actively harms the people he says he cares about. He doesn't do anything one way or the other other than some lackluster encouragement to stop lying and a warning that goes nowhere. It just further gives credit to the argument that Adrien either simply doesn't care about other people, or that he doesn't care for Marinette specifically. Neither is conducive to the lovesquare or the increasingly tarnished view of the "sunshine boy".

And it could have worked. Canonically and intrinsically to his character. His idealism and trust in the wrong person comes back to bite him. He learns and grows from it. Except that, much like with nearly everything he does in canon, Chameleon set it up that Adrien was the writers' mouthpiece and thus was not "wrong". I'll grant that they did have him admit it and apologize to Marinette for it two seasons later, but it is pretty evident that during Chameleon, they intended his lecture to be right, with no foreshadowing and no implication otherwise. And I'm fairly certain they only backtracked and had him do that much because of the amount of fan outrage over the episode.

So yes, I think his lecture in Chameleon was really a final straw since unlike Chloe, Adrien has NO relationship with Lila to justify his defense of her. Especially when the argument is in favor of letting her lie to the people he's supposed to care about. That combined with how jarring it was how most of the class just sided with Lila over the seat issue in the first place, and I think people were less inclined to just ignore the problems in the episode specifically and with the series as a whole as they were compared to the first and second seasons. Not just with Adrien, as we see that Alya also started getting more callout and salt since then as well as more retrospective scrutiny over her behavior in earlier seasons.

But yeah...Chameleon was where things seemed to take a 180, so it's bound to be the deciding episode and deciding incident that sticks out in people's minds with these characters. That's probably why it ends up the go-to for salt and complaints on the characters involved instead of any of the other incidents that would arguably warrant it more.

[princess-of-the-corner]

Trans Adrien + Adribrina:

Ladybug:"While having more heroes to help is nice, it is a little bit awkward being the third/fourth wheel to you and your girlfriends."

Chatte Noire:*About to invite her into the polycule*"I have a solution."

Beautiful

[purplecatghostposts]

Enemies AU with Chat Noir and Argos except while Ladybug and Chat Noir are having a complicated Enemies-To-Tentative-Allies-To-Friends(?)-To-Genuine-Trust-To-Lovers Arc with Argos suffering just watching the whole charade of dancing around each other, the moment Ryuko comes into play, they speedrun that arc in record time and suddenly the tables have turned with Chat Noir third wheeling Feligami’s (Ryargos’?) flirt-fighting while he and Ladybug are still stuck in between the Friends(?) and Genuine Trust stage.

Ladybug would lecture Ryuko to stop making out with the enemy… If it weren’t surprisingly useful at keeping Argos at bay. (Should she start making out with Chat Noir? For tactical reasons, of course. She definitely doesn’t think about making out with Chat Noir for any other reasons, uh-uh.)

Also the tables have turned further because usually Chat Noir is giving Argos heart attacks with how reckless and self-sacrificial he is but now Chat Noir has to try and shake some sense into him because, “Félix, Félix, she can TAKE your brooch if she’s that close to you— she almost did!” And Argos, having recently made out with Ryuko, is still very dazed and in Loverboy Mode so he’s there like, “It’s… Fine. I can keep it safe.” Very unconvincingly and Chat Noir is like, “Do you think she’ll stop trying to take it??” And Argos smiles softly and says, “No.” and Chat Noir just. Stops trying to convince him not to kiss her and just tells him to be careful.

[mintaka14]

Here's the third and final chapter of my Lukanette hanahaki fic. Please check the AO3 tags if you're uncertain - there are a few potential triggers in this fic.

Chrysanthemum White and Blood Red

A Miraculous Ladybug fanfiction

By Mintaka14

Chapter 3

One bright morning changes all things

Soft and easy as your breathing, you wake

[First Light: Hozier]

Marinette heard Luka’s voice in the hospital hallway, thanking one of the staff. She sat up a little straighter, and put aside the sketchbook that had been lying untouched in her lap for the last hour. She’d only had it out because her mother had suggested it rather than from any fit of inspiration anyway.

The pillows propping her up were making it a little awkward, and she shuffled them into place, then tugged down the hospital gown that had got caught up in the process. At least she’d finally managed to navigate a shower earlier, even if it had left her more exhausted than she’d expected, and her hair was clean if not tidy.

She sighed, and gave up the attempt to make herself look more presentable when her hands started shaking with the effort. Luka had seen her looking worse, anyway.

Her mother leaned down to collect a handbag from under the chair next to the bed, and stood up purposefully. She dropped a quick kiss on Marinette’s forehead.

“I think we need to go get a coffee,” she said, and directed a pointed look at Marinette’s father when he started to protest.

“But we just had some,” he rumbled, with a confused glance at the empty mugs on Marinette’s bedside table. “You go, and I’ll stay here to keep Marinette company. I don’t… ah…” he trailed off, his eyes growing wide with dawning enlightenment as Luka came into view and knocked gently on the doorframe. “Yes, yes. Coffee sounds like a very good idea.”

Tom reached out and patted Marinette’s knee, giving her a very unsubtle wink.

“And look, Luka’s here to look after you.”

“Papa,” she sighed, but he just chuckled and got to his feet. Marinette ignored him to beam at Luka as he came further into the private room, and he grinned back at her. “Luka, it’s been forever!”

“We texted less than an hour ago,” he teased gently.

“Yes, but I haven’t seen you since…” Since she’d been admitted to the hospital. She had hazy memories of Luka being there when they wheeled her into emergency, and of clutching his hand and crying with relief as someone in blue scrubs reassured her that she was in good hands, but the psychiatric assessor had restricted Marinette’s visitors to family only until they could make sure her mental state was stable enough that the hanahaki was unlikely to flare up again.

“I’m here now,” he said simply, shifting closer to the bed.

Marinette’s mother gave a tiny cough, and Luka straightened abruptly as if he’d only just realised anyone else was in the room. His cheeks seemed to grow warm under Sabine’s amused gaze.

“Uh, hi, Mme Cheng –“

“Sabine, please, dear,” her mother corrected him. “Tom and I were just on our way to get a cup of coffee. We’ll leave you two to catch up.”

Luka’s face seemed to heat further at Tom’s rumbling chuckle.

Sabine paused as they passed him. “Oh, don’t let me forget, Luka dear. I’ve washed your shirt. I’ll bring it in for you next time you visit Marinette.”

Marinette frowned in surprise at the look that crossed Luka’s face, as if he was going to throw up. Her mother, however, reached out to put a hand on his arm.

“Or I can put it away for you,” Sabine told him gently.

“I’m never going to wear it again,” he said a little shamefacedly, but Sabine gave his arm an understanding squeeze before she let him go.

“What was all that about?” Marinette asked as he drew closer. Her parents had paused in the hallway, just out of earshot, to talk to one of the nurses. Luka glanced over his shoulder at them.

“The shirt I was wearing when we got to the hospital was a bit of a mess, and your ma washed it for me,” he explained, his voice still sounding a little off. “Your dad gave me something to wear instead.”

“And you’re still wearing it?” Marinette teased gently to try and lighten his mood, reaching up to tweak the oversized blue shirt he had on. “Luka, it’s miles too big for you.”

“But I think it suits me,” he teased back, the odd twist of his mouth turning into a wry smile as his gaze came back to her again. “And your dad gave it to me. It’s got better memories than the other one.”

When Luka moved to sit in the chair next to the bed, she tugged on the handful of shirt she was still holding and pulled him onto the bed beside her. He hesitated, then gave in and fitted himself into the narrow space, settling back against the pillows.

“You’re looking a lot better today,” he said.

“I could hardly look worse. At least I’m not out of it on painkillers and antibiotics anymore.” Marinette held up her hands to demonstrate that the cannulas were gone, although there were still obvious marks where they’d been under the rainbow of bruises. She let herself lean against his shoulder with a tiny sigh that was half release and half frustration.

“It feels like I’ve been in here forever.”

Luka looked like he agreed with her, but all he said was, “How much longer are they going to keep you here?”

“The pulmonologist wanted to run some more tests, and make sure the swabs come back clear, but she thinks I should be ready to go home in a day or two. It's still going to be another few months before I get my energy back, and I'll always have to be a bit careful of my lungs. They're referring me to a psychologist, too, to help me work through stuff so the hanahaki doesn't come back. But I'm just looking forward to going home.”

A week ago, she’d just been grateful to be there, and to know that the medical staff were taking care of her. Now, she was starting to feel worn down by the noise and light, and being woken up by the constant blood pressure tests and temperature checks every time she managed to fall asleep. And the stream of surgeons and specialists and psychiatrists who all asked the same questions about the hanahaki and her symptoms again and again.

“How are you feeling now?”

How did she feel? That was the question that she’d been trying to answer since the first signs of hanahaki had bloomed in her lungs. It felt like a complicated question.

“Tired, but getting better. I managed to get to the bathroom on my own this morning,” Marinette told him a little wryly, and Luka gave a soft chuckle. “I’m still feeling too wiped out to do much, or concentrate on anything, but at least they’re letting me have visiting hours now, and it’s been nice to get to see people.” Marinette glanced up at Luka, and then dropped her gaze as she felt a blush creep up her cheeks. The one she was happiest to see was him. She hurried on, “Mylène and Ivan came earlier to see how I was doing, and Alix. And Kagami.”

There had been no word from Adrien, but then she wouldn’t have expected any. The thought of Adrien drew her eyes to the untouched stack of fashion magazines that Alya had left for her that morning, and the teddy bear clutching a Get Well Soon! balloon. No one had brought flowers for her.

“Looks like Alya’s been in to visit, too,” Luka said, his gaze following hers.

“She’s still trying to make it up to me that she didn’t believe me when I said I was over Adrien.”

Alya had been trying so hard, but a contrite Alya was almost more exhausting than Alya in full flight, and Marinette had found it hard to walk the line between tact and honesty. She hadn’t realised just how much of their conversation had revolved around  either Alya’s plans to catch Ladybug on camera, or Marinette’s love life, until Alya had exhausted her speculations on why Ladybug had been missing from the last akuma fight (Tikki was still adamantly refusing to even consider the question of a replacement Ladybug while Marinette was recovering) and moved on to trying to awkwardly tease Marinette about asking Luka on a real date. A prickle in her lungs had scared Marinette into a bluntness that had left Alya rearing back with a hurt look, until Sabine had intervened and kindly but firmly suggested that this was a conversation that could wait until Marinette was recovered.

“Maybe I was a little bit too honest with her,” Marinette admitted, and Luka shifted his position.

“She’ll cope,” he said flatly.

“I just hate feeling as if I’m under some kind of truth spell and I can’t hide anything,” Marinette said a little grumpily.

Luka laughed sympathetically, but he reached up to tap one finger gently on her forehead. “I’m betting there are still more than a few secrets lurking up there.”

He had no idea how right he was. Marinette couldn’t help the quick, flickering look she threw in the direction of her handbag and the kwami who was lurking patiently inside it.

Her parents probably felt the same way, judging by the careful questions they’d been asking her since she’d come out of the medical fog.

Marinette glanced at the doorway, and the quiet conversation still going on between her parents and the nurse. Sabine had half-turned to watch Marinette, an anxious little crease in her forehead, but she gave her a sheepish little wave and turned away when she met her daughter’s eyes.

“It’s going to be a while before Maman really trusts me again,” Marinette said guiltily. “And I get it, I spent three weeks hiding just how sick I was from them, until they got the call that I was being taken to hospital. Maman apologised for not realising how serious it was. Everyone’s acting so guilty, and treating me like they think I’ll break.”

“We nearly lost you. It’s going to be a while before any of us get over what happened.”

“I know, I know, but… Everyone’s been apologising.” She pulled a face.

“You don’t think they have anything to apologise for?” Luka asked.

And Marinette weighed her answer. She’d been doing that a lot more since she’d woken up after her collapse.

“Honestly? I’m mostly angry at myself.”

She saw Luka check his first, instinctive response, and was grateful that he didn’t rush to reassure her. Instead, he tipped his head to give her a thoughtful look, and asked, “Why?”

“Because maybe I would have figured it out sooner if I hadn’t been such a coward about speaking to Adrien when Alya tried to get me to talk to him.”

But Luka frowned at that. “Seriously? Marinette, you’re one of the bravest people I know, and the most decisive.”

“All I had to do was say ‘Adrien, I like you’ ...”

“When you weren’t sure about your own feelings, and he was dating Kagami?” Luka said with a trace of harshness that was unusual in him. “Maybe you would have figured out how you really felt sooner if we hadn’t all been shoving you at Adrien all the time.”

“You never shoved me at Adrien,” Marinette protested, and he raised an eyebrow at her.

“I pushed you to go tell him how you felt when we went ice skating,” he pointed out. “And I was the one who invited Adrien to the rehearsal, without even asking you about it first.”

“You were just trying to help. And if you hadn’t invited him to the rehearsal, then I might never have got rid of the hanahaki.”

A shadow passed across Luka’s face at that.

“And now I have everyone telling me to just be honest about how I feel,” Marinette went on. “Like it’s that easy.”

“Isn’t it?”

“Maybe for you,” she muttered. She sometimes felt a little envious of how easy Luka seemed to find it to just say what he felt, no matter how often he claimed that he wasn’t good with words. “It’d help if I wasn’t feeling a million entirely contradictory things all at the same time. How do I tell the truth about what I feel when I don’t even know myself?”

The smile he gave her was sympathetic and oddly wistful. “You’ll figure it out.”

“I’m not so sure about that. You know what I’m like – my head’s always all over the place and I flake out all the time. No wonder Alya gets so frustrated with me sometimes.”

“You don’t hesitate when you feel it’s right,” Luka told her a little more forcefully, “and that’s what we should have remembered. Remember the first time we met?”

“Are you kidding? I was such a mess. I could barely string two words together. That’s not exactly an argument for me being decisive and clear-thinking.”

The look he gave her was amused, but he shook his head. “I remember a girl who worked out in a split second how to get us out of those chains, and climbed out the window of a boat, no less, to go get help, and then came back because we were all in danger when Ma got akumatised. I remember a girl who was sweet and funny before I even knew just how amazing she could be.”

“Luka…” she whined softly.

“And you didn’t hesitate to take on Chloe Bourgeois when she bullied Juleka. You talked the school photographer into redoing the whole shoot because Jules had been left out and it wasn’t fair.”

“Anyone would have done that.”

“Anyone didn’t. You did.”

Marinette pressed her hands to the heat climbing her cheeks.

“The problem was,” Luka went on thoughtfully, “you didn’t know what you really felt, and none of us were letting you just talk it through until you figured it out. If you’d really felt sure of your feelings for Adrien, you would have got there in your own time. That’s what we should have remembered, instead of pushing you into something you weren’t ready for. You’re fine with being honest about how you feel, and acting on it, as long as know what that is.”

“That’s what really scares me,” Marinette admitted. “I’d be a lot less worried about the hanahaki coming back if my mind wasn’t such a mess and I knew what I actually felt from one second to the next.”

She fell silent, thinking of the look in Adrien’s eyes in that split second when she’d confessed to him, and the pressure of Chat’s hands on hers before he’d let her go. And the way Alya had reared back from Marinette with a hurt look on her face before she’d covered it up with a wobbly smile.

“And whatever I do or say, it feels like I’m hurting someone, no matter how hard I try not to.” She glanced up at him, and chewed her lip for a moment before adding, “I know I hurt you, and the last thing I ever want to do is hurt you again, Luka.”

“You can tell me anything, Marinette. There’s nothing you can say to me that would hurt more than feeling like you can’t talk to me about something,” Luka said quietly. “I’m here for you, and I’ll always be your friend, no matter what.”

His hand clenched where it was resting on his thigh, and he deliberately relaxed it. It looked like he was bracing himself for something, and Marinette frowned, trying to work out what was wrong.

It slowly dawned on her that for all Luka was so sure of how he felt about her, he might think she was still uncertain about him, and she stared at him in astonishment.

No one had really talked to her about what had happened when she’d collapsed, and her own memories were a pain-soaked blur at best, but she knew she must have said something to release the hanahaki’s hold on her. She’d expelled the last withered wisps of her tangled feelings, and the chrysanthemum roots had given up their hold on her lungs before she’d even reached the hospital, and she was pretty sure she knew what she must have said to make that happen.

But of course Luka wasn’t going to take her feelings for granted on the evidence of a handful of flowers and a few words that she couldn’t even remember speaking.

She touched her palm to her chest, feeling the clear rise and fall of her breath, and his eyes followed the movement.

“Are you feeling okay?” he asked quickly. He glanced away from her to the nurses bustling past in the hallway, and started to shift his weight on the bed beside her as if he was going to get to his feet. “Should I get –?”

She cut him off with a shake of her head. And maybe he was right about how she didn’t hold back when she knew her own mind, because she felt no hesitation when she lifted her hand and drew him down to press a quick kiss to his mouth, giggling a little at the dumbfounded look on his face.

Her giggle faded into a soft smile as he kept staring at her with wide eyes.

“Are you sure?” he almost whispered, and her smile grew bigger.

“I’ve never been more sure of anything,” she told him, and put a hand to her chest again. “This time I’m fully conscious, and there aren’t any more flowers, remember? I love you, Luka Couffaine.” She sank back into the pillows. “Just thought you should know–“

Luka cut her off with a sudden kiss of his own.

Marinette squeaked in surprise, and he drew back in alarm.

“Marinette? Did I hurt –“

Before he could finish, she flung her arms around him and tugged him down into the pillows. Luka didn’t resist. He kissed her again, leaving her breathless in ways that had nothing to do with flowers or scarred lungs, and Marinette responded with a fervour that drew a sound from Luka that was half groan, half awe. That she could make him sound like that… The hospital walls and beeping machines and the constant noise and footsteps in the corridor outside all faded away into the feel and taste and thrill of kissing Luka…

The sound of Tom’s rumbling voice coming back down the hall broke them apart eventually, and Luka sat up hastily. He dragged a hand through his rumpled hair, and Marinette suppressed a giggle. By the time her parents came into the room they were both sitting upright on the bed, an innocent handspan of space between them, but Marinette could feel Luka stealing glances her way.

Sabine smiled serenely at them, but her smile faded into a frown as she took in her daughter’s flushed face and uneven breathing.

“Marinette, sweetheart, you’re sounding a bit wheezy again,” Sabine said in concern.  “Are you feeling alright?”

Marinette’s hand found Luka’s in the mess of blankets, out of sight of her parents. Her eyes met his.

“I’ve never felt better,” Marinette said, and felt her smile bloom bright and clear.

[starwarsmum]

Day 5 of the Maribat BioFam Sept prompts! Trust Fund

@maribat-calendar-events

A short fluffy one today ❤️ Sibling! Timinette Masterpost

“You know, now that we've done the DNA test, we should talk about how to split up the Drake inheritance,” Tim said casually, sipping the coffee he had freshly brewed for them. When Marinette gave him a questioning look, he launched into a brief discussion about Drake Industries. “So, yeah, since you're one of us, you should be getting half of the inheritance.”

“Oh, oh no no no, that's all yours,” Marinette said, waving her hands frantically. When he looked put-out, she started to splutter and squeak. “It's just that, Maman and Papa are the only parents I've ever known, it seems greedy to just show up and take half of an inheritance from you, who was their actual kid.”

“Nettie, it's fine,” Tim reassured her, taking another sip of coffee. “I have more money than I know what to do with, especially as I have a trust fund from Bruce after he adopted me. Splitting the inheritance with you would make me feel better about not being there for you our whole lives.”

“Tim, that's really not your fault,” Marinette complained, burying her head into her arms. She looked up with a glare when he laughed, which only made him laugh harder. She grumbled something unintelligible before sliding off of the stool to grab her own mug of coffee.

“Good morning, Drake, Marinette.” Time groaned internally when he heard Damian’s voice behind him, wishing it was anyone else. Marinette had been visiting for two weeks by this point and Tim felt like Damian had spent more time with her than he had. “Marinette, did you still wish to see the manor’s gallery today, or was there something else?”

“Morning, Dami,” Marinette chirped, pouring another cup of coffee alongside her own. “I don't really mind, but I did promise Tim that we could go skateboarding today, and he said we were doing that after lunch. So whatever we do has to finish at lunchtime.”

“I did not know you were interested in skateboarding,” he replied, hovering close to Marinette as he accepted his cup of coffee. Tim was very much beginning to feel like a third wheel and coughed loudly to remind them that he was still there. Damian ignored him. “We shall do the gallery today then, as it ensures we shall not be late.”

“Thanks, Dami! So, where are you teaching me the basics of skateboarding this afternoon, Tim?” She turned back to him, cheeks lightly flushed as Damian didn't step away from her. Tim fought to keep the grimace of his face while she was looking at him.

“Bruce built a skate ramp and half-pipe on the grounds, so I thought we could head there,” he said, smiling when her eyes went wide. He waited for a beat before turning to Damian and deciding to try and be civil. “If you want…to join us, you're welcome to.”

“I shall give it a miss this time, thank you,” Damian replied stiffly, though there was an undercurrent of surprise in his tone. He then turned to Marinette and offered her his arm so they could walk to the gallery. Tim might not like the attention Damian was showing to Marinette, but he couldn't deny that it was doing a lot of good for Damian to spend time with her.

_ _ _

Looking through the gallery with Damian was a dreamlike experience. She loved how thorough he was in pointing out the different pieces, the techniques used, and his own personal thoughts on them. So when he offered to show her his works, she jumped at the chance. Which is how she found herself in his workshop, gazing at a piece he had created of her.

“It is not as true a likeness as I would like,” Damian said, and Marinette could hear a note of anxiety in his voice. She touched the canvas reverently, speechless. He had captured her in a creative snit, head bent over her sketchbook and her eyes focused. 

“You're right, you've made me look pretty,” she whispered. She was pretty sure she had stopped breathing. How had he made it look like her and yet she knew she didn't look this beautiful. She turned to look at him when he huffed in annoyance.

“Tt, so you see the issue - I was unable to capture how beautiful you truly are, downgrading it to ‘pretty’. Pretty is a wholly inadequate word to describe you,” he said disgustedly. And now he had stopped her heart dead in her chest. She felt heat rush to her face as he looked at her, his fingers brushing her flaming cheeks. “Precisely like that, I do not know how I could accurately paint how transcendent you look when you blush.”

If she could have made a noise, she's pretty sure she would have whimpered. She could only stare up at him, eyes wide as he moved closer. They were almost nose to nose and she could feel his breath fan across her face. It smelled like the coffee they had drunk that morning.

“I would like to kiss you, Marinette,” he murmured and suddenly she realised that her heart hadn't stopped, because it was beating so loudly she was sure it would leap out of her chest. Somehow, she managed to move enough to make her lips meet his.

It was wonderful but over much too soon. Clearly Tikki's luck was rubbing off on her because how else had she managed to catch the eye of the greatest guy she had ever met? He was sweet, sarcastic, funny but serious and his straightforwardness meant that she never had to guess his meaning.

“Unfortunately, we must head down for lunch,” Damian said at last, sighing into her hair. Marinette pulled back slightly and gave a mischievous giggle as she looked him in the eye.

“Oh, I think we can be a few minutes late.”

[daggerzine]

MY FAVORITE RECORDS OF 2024!

MY FAVORITE RECORDS OF 2024 (in no particular order)

Chime School- The Boy Who Ran the Paisley Hotel (Slumberland)

Mary Timony- Untame the Tiger (Merge)

Weak Signal- fine (12XU)

Dummy- Free Energy (Trouble in Mind)

The Softies- The Bed I Made (Father Daughter)

The Tyde- Season 5 (Spiritual Pajamas)

Best Bets- The Hollow Husk of Feeling (Meritorio)

Jessica Pratt- Here in the Pitch (Mexican Summer)

Ducks Ltd- Harms Way (Carpark)

Peter Perrett- The Cleansing (Domino)

The Sharp Pins- Radio DDR (self released)

Lightheaded- Combustible Gems (Slumberland)

Beachwood Sparks- Across the River of Stars (Curation)

The Reds, Pinks and Purples- Unwishing Well (Slumberland)

The Infinites- Archetypes (Meritorio)

The Lemon Twigs- A Dream is All We Know (Captured Tracks)

Redd Kross- S/T (in the Red)

Yea-Ming and the Rumors- I Can't Have it All (Dandy Boy)

Humdrum- Every Heaven (Slumberland)

Jim Nothing- Grey Eyes Grey Lynn (Meritorio)

WAIT HERE'S 20 MORE!

Lovejoy- ..and it's love! (Shelflife/Spinout Nuggets)

Class - A Healthy Alternative (Feel It Records)

Bloodstains- S/T (self released)

The Hard Quartet- S/T (Matador)

Michael Head & the Red Elastic Band- Loophole (Modern Sky)

The Resonars- Electricity Plus (self released)

Mythical Motors- Seven is Circular (self released)

Sad Eyed Beatniks- Ten Brocades (Meritorio)

Club 8- A Year with Club 8 (self released)

Torrey- S/T (Slumberland)

Pale Lights- Waverly Place Jigsaw)

The BVs- Taking Pictures of Taking Pictures (Shelflife)

Deep Tunnel Project- S/T (Comedy Minus One)

Mt.Misery- Love In Mind (Prefect)

Winged Wheel- Big Hotel (12XU)

Lunchbox- Pop and Circumstance (Slumberland)

Tears Run Rings- Everything in the End (Shelflife)

Nada Surf- Moon Mirror (New West)

Savak- Flavors of Paradise (Ernest Jenning)

Kevin Robertson- The Call of the Sea (Futureman)

AAAAAAND....HERE'S 10 MORE!

Steve Wynn- Make It Right (Fire)

Pernice Brothers- Who Will You Believe (New West)

Laughing- Because It's Better (Celluloid Lunch)

Outer World- Who Does the Music Love? (HHBTM)

Rachel Love-  Lyra (The Cat Collects)

Wussy- Cincinnati Ohio (Shake It)

The Armoires- Octoberland (Big Stir Records)

Boyracer- Seaside Riot (Emotional Response

Being Dead- Eels (Bayonet)

Quivers- Oyster Cuts (Merge)

I ALSO REALLY LIKED RECORDS BY:  2nd Grade, Mo Dotti, Water Damage, The Folk Implosion, The Umbrellas, Laughing, Lupe Citta, Feeling Figures, Flowertown, Trust Fund, Chimers, Smashing Times, Ned Collette, Kim Deal, Metz, Sleveens, Cathedral Ceilings, Soup Activists, Bill Ryder-Jones, Neutrals, Pete Astor, Buffalo Tom, GospelBeach, The Shop Window, Lions of the Interstate,  The Caraway, Extra Arms, J. Robbins,  The Grain Hoppers, The Yellow Melodies, Mark Bacino, The Proctors, Penny Arcade, Magic Fig, Seasonal Falls, The Reflectors, Chanel Beads, etc. 

MY 15 FAVORITE REISSUES/COLLECTIONS OF 2O24

The Saints- I'm Stranded box set (In the Red)

Galaxie 500- Uncollected Noise New York '88-'90 (20/20/20)

Shop Assistants- S/T (Chrysalis)

Birdie- Some Dusty (Slumberland)

The Rain Parade- Emergency Third Rail Power Trip (Label 51)

The Ladybug Transistor- Albermarle Sound (Merge)

Love Child-Never Meant To Be (1988-1993) (12XU)

Velocity Girl- Ultracopacetic (Sub Pop)

East Village- Drop Out (Heavenly)

A Girl Called Eddy- S/T (Last Night From Glasgow)

David Kilgour- A Feather in the Engine (Merge)

Linda Smith- Nothin Else Matters (Captured Tracks)

The Fluid- Clear Black Paper (Sub Pop)

Drop 19's- Delaware (Wharf Cat)

High Llamas- Hawaii (Drag City)

MY 5 FAVORITE EPS OF 2024!

R.E. Seraphin- Fool's Mate (Safe Suburban Home/ Take a Turn) 

Finnogun's Wake- Stay Young (What's Your Rupture)

Cori Elba- Full Stop (self released)

Slack Times- Gone Things (Meritorio)

Surfing Pointers- S/T (BirthDIY)

[kailer]

Ticklish third wheel

A miraculous tickle fic

Lee:alix

Ler: Juleka and rose

- after juleka and rose were being so sweet to each other, they decided to cheer their third wheel up a bit -

Juleka and rose were being sweet to each other as usual on the boat, Luka is not there doing some delivery that time meanwhile anarka is reading a book of how to fix the boat JUST IN CASE something happend (luka convince her to read it), Alix is there staring at juleka and rose looking annoyed. Juleka: "rose, you are so sweet!" juleka said to rose. Rose: "no you are!" they are doing their own thing making alix tired. Alix: "ughh, can You two stop for a second? Don't we have anything better to do! Like do homework or getting smoothie!" juleka and rose finally look at alix who look annoyed and Angry.

Juleka: "we don't have homework for today what do you mean? Beside tommorow is saturday." rose giggles a bit. Rose: "can You stop talking about smoothie for a second?" (the smoothie is a reference from the gang of secret episode)

Alix: "but its so boringg, you both are the only people that are free now, i don't want to follow mylene planting or Alya and marinette trying to record ladybug... Also i don't want to be at the Museum i already know everything there!" juleka look at alix, she knew alix is lying. Juleka: "you sure you know everything?" before alix could answer she get confused. Alix: "well... No everything i guess..." rose look at juleka still have a smile on her face. Rose: "jules, don't be rude to alix" juleka smiles at rose and then look at alix. Juleka: "sorry"

Alix: "you're not mumbling like usual, you seem in a very good mood." alix said. Rose: "yes, its kinda rare for her to talk like that.

Both juleka and rose then got an idea.... If alix is bored why don't they just tickle her? Beside she is very very ticklish anyway

Without any warning juleka just carry alix (alix is smol). Alix: "JULEKA?! WHAT IS THIS!" Rose giggles seeing how mad alix is rose: "don't be such an Angry head alix! Its just a little tickles!" alix's anger turn into fear, she is very ticklish. Alix: "tickles?... LET ME DOWN, BOTH OF YOU!"

Juleka: "relax." juleka's fingers is on alix side causing alix to squeal and giggles. Juleka: (mumbling) "i didn't even start yet" her fingers is now moving and dancing at alix's sides causing alix's giggles to be even more louder. alix: "w- whahahat ahahahare you eheheheven sahahahying!" rose's fingers is now on alix's stomach, juleka put alix down but trap her hand causing Alix to Kicking a bit. Rose: "i can be a translator if you don't know what juleka is saying!" her fingers move faster at alix stomach causing alix giggles to become Laughter. Alix: "NOHOHO STAHAHAHAHAP! PLEHEHEHEASEHEHE!"

Juleka: (random mumbles) rose look at juleka and nods and then look Back at alix. Rose: "juleka said that she didn't expect you to be this ticklish." juleka's fingers then move to alix's ribs causing alix to squeal and kicks even harder. Alix: "EHEHEHEHE SHUHUHUHUT UHUHUHUP! JUHUHUHUST SHUHUHUHUT UHUHUHUP!" juleka then mumbles something again and look at rose. Rose: "juleka said that arent you the one who is bored?"

Alix: "JUHUHUHUST STOHOHOHOP AHAHAHAND SHUHUHUT UHUHUHUP!" rose's fingers are moving to alix's side causing alix to get flustered and giggly. Rose: "im sure the tickles Pony would say that you are the most Ticklish person if they met you!" alix laughs even louder and keep telling them to shut up.

Alix: "STOHOHOHOP! THAHAHAT THIHIHING IS NOHOHOT EHEHEHEVEN REAL!" somehow juleka and rose words are making her feel So useless and that she cant do anything. Alix: "WHAHHAHY CAHAHANT YOU BOHOHOHOTH JUHUHUHUHUST SHUHUHUHUT UHUHUHUP!" juleka and rose smirks a bit they knew how ticklish alix was. Juleka: (mumbles something again) rose: "juleka said that if you want us to stop then why are you laughing" juleka's fingers move to alix's stomach and ribs, alix tried to squeal but it was no use but instead she start to squeak. Rose: "that is so cute! You're like an aqua pony!"

Alix: "NOHOHOHOHO! SHUHUHUHUT IHIHIHIT DOHOHOHONT YOU GUHUHUHUYS EHEHEHEVEN DAHAAHAHAHARE!" they are becoming faster making alix to start to tear up "NOHOHO PLEHEHEHEASEHEHE NOHOHO!" juleka then mumbles something again causing them both to stop. Rose look at alix. Rose: "juleka said that maybe we should stop because you look like you are about to faint"

Alix: "don't... Ever do that again"

the end ig!

[baenyth]

Bethany's Bizarre Miraculous Baseball Episode!?

I decided, while I was readying myself for the finale and Chloe's character death, why not write one of the Miraculous ideas buzzing in my head not related to my fic? This one's a baseball episode because I like baseball episodes.

In terms of background plot, the Peacock Miraculous is fixed and Hawkmoth (no, not Shadowmoth, this is my canon,) has whittled down the identities of Ladybug and Chat Noir to being in Mme. Bustier's class. He doesn't immediately think Ladybug and Chat Noir are the only two students unakumatized in class because he knows Miraculouses can be swapped around, and Miraculous wielders can change their appearance. As for the episode prior,

Ms. Bustier's class is playing baseball for whatever reason. Gym class or something.

Hawkmoth, knowing Ladybug and Chat Noir are in the group, decides to strike, but instead of the overdone and constantly-failing akuma method (not to mention no one's having that bad of a day,) he decides to get creative.

Hawkmoth shows up at the baseball field the Miracuclass is at, in full baseball gear as well? The exits are blocked off by a mass of mold created by the peacock Miraculous, and Ladybug and Chat Noir have trouble running and transforming due to said mold having eyes everywhere, including, yes, the toilets.

He's also created a full robotic baseball team with the peacock miraculous, with 7 basic robot players, 1 armored catcher, and 1 pitching machine on wheels. The latter wields a bat by having it duct-taped to its "head," btw.

Hawkmoth merely wants to wager a game of baseball. If the home team wins, Hawkmoth will leave the class alone. No more akumas or amoks targeting them. However, if Hawkmoth wins, and he might, he gets to take all their accessories! Necklaces, Bracelets, Jewelry, Earrings, Rings, etc.

After the initial cries of shock, confusion, and "Ridiculous, utterly ridiculous!", the class decides on what to do. Some members see this as a low-cost high-gain game, not to mention they were already playing baseball in the first place.

Marinette and Adrien, being Ladybug and Chat Noir respectively in the first place, realize Hawkmoth's plan and are not for playing, although they have problems explaining why for reasons that don't expose themselves. Same with the classmates that have figured out their identities (Ivan, Nathaniel, Juleka, and Max,) although they fare a bit better in the reasoning department. Also Chloe is on team no for obvious reasons. As is Sabrina.

Lila's with team 'no' at first for the same reasons as Chloe, but changes sides when she figures out Hawkmoth's scheme and comes to the same conclusions as him.

Ultimately, not willing to risk what would happen if they said no, the Miracuclass takes up Hawkmoth's offer. Also they have uniforms now. From the power of baseball or something.

Since a baseball team only needs nine players and Ms. Bustier's class has fifteen people (six too many,) Chloe, Sabrina, Rose, Mylene, Lila, and Marinette form a cheer squad instead with uniforms as well. Very modest uniforms. Like at the lightest no sleeves and yes modesty shorts.

In terms of positions (because I care deeply about this,) Alix is the pitcher (a great one at that!), Ivan is the catcher, Nino looks over first base, Max looks over second base (he can catch and throw well by calculating the trajectories), Adrien looks over third base, Alya, the girlboss that she is, handles Shortstop, while Kim, Juleka, and Nathaniel are all outfielders. While Kim's highly athletic and a runner and Juleka is frequently at the right spot to catch the ball in midair, Nathaniel is an art kid that wants nothing to do with this and would rather doodle comics.

As for batting, it's as you'd expect. The students that are muscular, sporty, or have spent time as superheroes (mainly Alya and Nino for the latter,) bat better. Ivan's a bit on the slow side and Juleka's a deceptively fast runner, however. It helps that her girlfriend's cheering her on.

Finally, the cheer squad. Chloe, being a talented gymnast and Mean Girl, kills it as a cheerleader, with Rose and Sabrina not being too far behind. Mylene's doing her best, Marinette keeps on tripping over her own feet, and Lila's doing the bare minimum and using faked health conditions as excuses. She also tries to take the other cheerleaders' earrings and rings in case they're Ladybug or Chat Noir, and makes more fake excuses when noticed. At one point Chloe and Lila start fighting. Sabrina tries to break it up.

Hawkmoth's really getting into the sport, by the way. Yelling, telling the enemy team what to do when they mess up, getting mad when his robot baseball players try to cheat, etc. Mostly because some of Gabriel's best times with Emile were at baseball games. He even proposed to her after a game!

Adrien, sweating a bit: "Why does Hawkmoth keep on looking at me? Has he figured out my identity?"

Hawkmoth, looking at Adrien: "My son isn't doing as well as I'd hoped. A pity. Is he not interested?"

Also the bleachers are filled up with some audience members, let in by the Mold. Not a full crowd by any means, but there's people! It helps Nadja is broadcasting the game as well. Marinette's parents are there. The Gorilla is whistling in support of Adrien and has a foam finger. Nathalie isn't there, though. She was never into the sport.

Of course, a bunch of middle schoolers don't fare too well against a team of lifeforms designed to be good at baseball. Alya, using her own form of Ladybug vision (or whatever it's called,) on the cheer squad, determines that Marinette should join the team in place of someone else. Nathaniel seems like the best choice due to being the worst player.

Nathaniel: "NO! I am not becoming a cheerleader! Can't I just sit on the bench or something?"

Alya: "We need six cheerleaders. We can't have a full pyramid with only five!"

Murmur of agreement from the others

Nathaniel: "...Well can't you get someone else to be a cheerleader instead? Why can't it be someone like Jule-Gets hit by a thrown baseball mitt and shoe-OW! Hey!"

Adrien: "Everyone, calm down. I'll be the cheerleader. I've never liked competitive team sports like baseball anyways. I'd rather be my own rival."

Adrien walks over to Marinette and hands her his hat and baseball mitt

Adrien: "Win the game for everyone here, okay?"

Marinette: (Internally) Adrien's counting on me. I can't let him down again! I'll win this game not just to keep my Miraculous, but so I can rebuild Adrien's trust in me!

For the record, I decided in my canon this episode takes a while after Marinette and Adrien got together before having a horribly messy break-up three episodes later, and in general this is meant to be platonic, but if you make art of this and change that dialogue a little for the sake of Adrienette, I won't be cranky.

But yeah. The entire cheer squad welcomes Adrien in with open arms because they're nice girls, Lila, Chloe, and Chloe's girlfriend. Also maybe I'd have Adrien in a skirt but I'll need consultation on that.

As for Marinette, her passion and muscle give the team the nudge and morale to outplay Hawkmoth's team and ultimately win. Taking the pitcher position from Alix, she throws fast, unpredictable balls to strike out the basebots, and she manages to outbat the pitching machine and hit a home run at the ninth inning while three of her teammates are on each of the bases.

Hawkmoth is a man of his word, thankfully. A pretty good sport, too. Very impressed. He dispels his baseball team, skedaddles away, and finally dispels the Mold so Ladybug and Chat Noir can't immediately chase him.

At the ending part, in the Agreste Manor, Gabriel goes over to his son and said he heard all about his game, including what he said about competitive team sports.

"Did you mean all that?"

"Yes, father."

"Would you rather be a cheerleader than be in the basketball team?"

"Yes!"

And so Gabriel puts Adrien in the cheer squad instead of playing basketball and the two of them play a game of catch because Gabriel realized he's never done that with his son.

With baseball mitts and a baseball.

[lilasbutterflygarden]

Ladybug vs Chrysalis

Ladybug, and Chrysalis are fighting. They are evenly match. 

Chrysalis: “Give me your miraculous so I can make my wish!”

Ladybug: “Never!”

Chrysalis: “How can you be so selfish?”

Ladybug: “Do you really think that I’d let you make your wish?”

Chrysalis: “I’m dying!”

Ladybug: “What? But how?”

Chrysalis: “When Gabriel made his wish he did something to the butterfly miraculous. That’s right. I know that Gabriel was Hawk Moth, Marinette. I was there when you were fighting him. Just waiting for the right moment to seize the butterfly miraculous.”

Chrysalis starts laughing.

Chrysalis: “And to think you had the nerve to call out all my lying! You are such a hypocrite Ladybug!”

Ladybug: “Lila?”

Chrysalis: “That’s one of the many names that I’ve gone by my little Ladybug. I’ve also gone by Cerise, Iris Verdi, and my birth name Lilith.”

Chrysalis pushes up against Ladybug and puts her tongue into Ladybug’s mouth.

Ladybug pulls out of Chrysalis’s kiss.

Chrysalis: “I love you Marinette. Did you like my cinnamon flavored lip gloss? I’ve ruined countless people’s lives with my lies, but not you. You seem to be the exception. You always seem to see through my lies. I have to kill you cause I love you Ladybug!”

Chrysalis coughs up some blood.

Ladybug: “Lila you need help. If you turn yourself in I’ll personally see to it that you get medical attention.”

Chrysalis: “Promise!?!”

A time portal opens behind Chrysalis. A young Bunnyx comes out of the portal, and tries to sneak up behind Chrysalis.

Chrysalis: “No one likes a third wheel Bunnyx. And I won’t let you ruin my date with Ladybug.”

Chrysalis smacks Bunnyx away with her butterfly cane.

Chrysalis: “I look forward to our next date Marinette.”

Ladybug: “No! Lila wait! Lucky charm!!!!!!”

A needle syringe appears. Ladybug throws it at Chrysalis.

Chrysalis: “Oww!”

Chrysalis starts to break down crying.

Chrysalis: “What did you do to me?!? I’m feeling all of these emotions.”

Ladybug: “I think that I just injected you with empathy.”

Chrysalis: “Well I don’t want it!”

Ladybug runs towards Chrysalis who jumps onto the roof of a nearby building out of Ladybug’s reach.

Chrysalis: “I really do love you Marinette!”

Tears start running down the eye mask on Chrysalis’s face.

She jumps down the building out of Ladybugs sight.

Chrysalis returns to her lair.

Chrysalis: “Dark wings fall.”

Cerise falls to the floor of her lair. She grabs Nooroo into a tight hug.

Lila/Cerise: “You’re the only friend that I have left. The only one who hasn’t abandoned me.”

Cerise curls up into a ball, and cries herself to sleep.

[pearl484-blog]

A World a Little Less Lonely

Adrien Agreste loves the Ladyblog, and he loves the Ladyblogger, Alya even more. She's the best: insightful, smart, clever, and most important of all, she's Nino's girlfriend. The problem is, she doesn't like him.

My entry for Adrien AUGreste 2023: Friends

Ao3 link. Series link.

It was no secret that Adrien loved Nino. Maybe not in the same way that he loved Ladybug. Adrien was pretty sure he’d never love anyone the same way he loved Ladybug, but Nino was his best friend . Sometimes, Nino felt like he was his only friend. 

Which was crazy because he had Chloe…who sometimes got too busy hanging out with Sabrina to really want to spend time with Adrien. Or Marinette…who may or may not hate him. He wasn’t really sure about that one. Sometimes they would be fine together and have a great time, or other times she would suddenly get really scared of him and start saying a bunch of weird stuff like she was afraid he was about to eat her or something. Adrien supposed he had the guys, but if he was being honest, they really only hung out with him if it was a group outing…

Well, it didn’t matter. What mattered was that today, he and Nino were listening to some of Nino’s remixes together, just the two of them. It was nice, just being with Nino and knowing that he wanted to be with Adrien and only Adrien. 

Adrien knew , in the same way he knew that Ladybug would always save the day, that if he ever said something or if he wanted to talk, Nino would pause the music and just…listen. Like Adrien mattered, like he really cared. It didn’t matter how emotional Adrien was or how crazy he was acting, Nino always had his back and he always had this way of making Adrien feel like he wasn’t crazy or out of control. 

If Father had hurt Adrien’s feelings, Nino would say he was being unfair and way too hard on his best bro. If Adrien’s schedule was getting way too full, Nino would say that it was unreasonable and remind Adrien that he was a good kid, the best kid that Adrien knew. He told Adrien that he was responsible, even when Adrien knew he wasn’t being a good son. He told Adrien that he was good, even when he felt miserable. He told Adrien that he deserved to be happy, even when Adrien just felt so hollow, like he’d been eaten alive, and the thing was, when Nino said that stuff, a part of Adrien believed him. 

Yes, Nino had an unreasonable hatred of Father. Yes, Nino didn’t quite understand all the things you had to do to be the face of the Agreste brand, to deserve that honor. But Nino made Adrien feel like it didn’t matter. Like the only thing that mattered about Adrien wasn’t his reputation, or his skills, or his smarts. It was just Adrien, and Nino loved him. 

God, it was almost painful how much Nino loved Adrien, and all the ways he’d show Adrien. He’d show Adrien all of his movies. He’d tell Adrien all of the stuff that happened in his crazy, loving home. He’d tell Adrien all his little secrets, and when it was just him and Adrien, it was just him and Adrien. Nino never ignored him or kept on doing what he was doing without at least trying to let Adrien feel included. 

Sometimes, though, it made Adrien feel a little guilty. Especially when Nino invited Adrien out on his dates with Alya. 

Now, don’t get Adrien wrong. He loved Alya. You didn’t get to be the Ladyblog’s #1 fan without at least liking the Ladyblogger herself at least a little. He especially loved watching Alya and Nino get along. They were so adorably cute and in sync, and Adrien could only wish that one day, he and Ladybug would be this endearing if they got together.  

It was just, he felt selfish. He knew Nino was only inviting him along because he liked the Ladyblog so much, and Alya was his girlfriend. Plus, Nino always wanted to include Adrien in his plans, but Adrien knew he was a third wheel, and well, he was pretty sure Alya didn’t like him. 

Nino always insisted that she did, that it was Alya who was asking Nino to invite him to all sorts of things, but, if Adrien was being completely honest, he didn’t believe a word of that. 

For starters, everytime that “Alya” invited Adrien, she would bring along Marinette or get super anxious whenever Marinette wasn’t around. It didn't matter what kind of outing it was or how late Marinette was, Alya always made them wait. Which, yeah, fine, Alya was just being a good friend, and Marinette did always struggle with her schedule. Except, Alya always kinda ignored Adrien whenever it was just the three of them, preferring to flirt with Nino constantly, and whenever Marinette was there, she always tried to get the two of them to talk to each other. 

Now, Adrien knew that Marinette was Alya’s friend, and Alya had every right to flirt with, cuddle, and otherwise hang out with her boyfriend on their dates while leaving the non-lovebirds to hang out. He was fine with that, but Adrien wasn’t stupid. 

Every time Adrien tried to bring up something on the Ladyblog to try to talk with Alya about, she always tried to get Marinette to answer him. Every. Single. Time. Marinette didn’t even like the Ladyblog that much! She only ever read the articles about Ladybug, Chat Noir, and their fights because she still had a massive crush on Chat Noir. 

Which Adrien was not judging her on. He knew how hard it was to get over an unrequited crush. Both as the object of many of those crushes and his affections towards Ladybug. 

But Adrien was very freaking certain that Marinette did not give a hoot about debating Adrien on the Ladyblog’s most recent post about the possible link between wish granting carp and Ladybugs. No. There was only one possible explanation. Alya was totally using Marinette as a social buffer. Probably to avoid making Nino sad when he asked if he could invite Adrien on outings. 

Of course, that left Adrien in a pickle. On one hand, he was definitely interrupting a lot of date nights between Alya and Nino, which Adrien was sure violated several rules in the bro code, but Nino was the one inviting him, not Adrien. Adrien knew he was just being nice and thoughtful and caring, and Adrien could never turn down an opportunity to hang out with his best bro. He just couldn’t . Plus, if he did, he might hurt Nino’s feelings or worse, leave Marinette hanging. Still, if things kept going the way things always did, Alya would just keep resenting him more and more, and that drove Adrien crazy. 

Then, one day, something unexpected happened. For some reason, both Adrien and Alya had arrived at their hang out, a nice little coffee shop before either Nino or Marinette. Together they went to a table for 4 to hold their missing’s friends’ seats while they waited.  

They waited in silence for one minute. Then two. So, Adrien, deciding to finally get the chance to talk with the Ladyblogger herself, sans the costume, asked her opinion about one of her earliest articles: “A History of Ladybugs in Folklore Throughout the Ages”. It was a bit Euro-centric and had a lot of the flaws from her early work, but it had been fascinating, and Adrien wondered if she would ever revisit it. 

Alya had hemmed and hawed before saying that she was kinda meh about it, but she thought that Marinette might have some pretty good thoughts about it. Marinette was very thoughtful and super interested in all that stuff and blah blah blah. Lies, lies, lies. At the same time that Alya was talking, she started texting on her phone, not even bothering to hide the fact that she was panic-texting Marinette asking where she was. 

Finally, Adrien had enough. “Why don’t you like me?” he asked, quietly. “Did I say something wrong? Did I do something?” He froze as he realized something. “Are my comments too wordy?” 

That got Alya’s attention. She put her phone down as she looked at Adrien, cocking her head and putting her hand on her hip. Her look of confusion almost seemed believable.  

“Wait, what?” she asked. “Why would you think I don’t like you?”

Adrien gave her a small shrug. It was best not to start out by actually accusing someone. That just burned bridges, but it was usually a good strategy to start off being as quiet and meek as possible. People tended to like that. They liked to stay in conversations where they were the confident ones. 

“You never really want to talk to me,” Adrien told her quietly, trying not to be overheard by one of the patrons. The last thing he’d want is a scene. 

Alya rolled her eyes. “That’s ridiculous,” she said. “Of course I like talking to you. I’m talking to you now, aren’t I?” 

Adrien knew he shouldn’t push it. This was Nino’s girlfriend. Whether Adrien wanted to admit it or not, she had been awfully generous in letting Adrien tag along on as many of her and Nino’s dates as she did. He was Adrien Agreste, the face of the Agreste brand, and he knew better than to let his insecurities get the better of him. Even if they were whispering at him that he needed to fix this, he needed to patch this up to get it under control. She was only a little cranky because he was a third wheel. That was all. He didn’t need to poke at it. 

“You always want me to talk to Marinette instead,” Adrien told her, unable to stop himself from this inevitable train crash. Well great. Adrien must’ve been spending too much time as Chat Noir lately. Well, in for a penny, in for a pound. 

“Even if I’m trying to talk to you about the Ladyblog,” he told her, holding firm, “there’s always something more important or some reason that I absolutely need to talk to Marinette instead.” He tightened his hands, feeling the bite of his fingernails digging into his palm as he dug deep for courage. “I know that it's probably annoying, having me tag along on so many dates. I get that. I can talk to Nino for you, if that’s a problem, have him stop inviting me so much so you guys can have your alone time.”

“What?” Alya said a little too loudly, drawing the attention of all the patrons around her. “No no no. I like you being here. I like you coming to these things. That’s why I keep asking Nino to invite you to these things. Didn’t he tell you that?”

Adrien blinked. “Wait, so Nino wasn’t lying about that? I thought he was pressuring you into letting me do this with you or something.”

Alya snorted. “Come on. You’ve met Nino. Do you really think that I would let him push me around? Trust me, if I didn’t want you here, you wouldn’t be here. End of story.”

Adrien thought about that for a moment, trying to understand what was going on, before he gave up, and asked, “Then why don’t you ever want to talk to me?”

Alya sighed in frustration. “It’s not that I don’t want to talk to you. It’s-” Alya groaned. “Look, it’s complicated, but really, part of it is that I think that you and Marinette, you two have a lot in common, and I was hoping that if you two got to know each other…”

Suddenly, Adrien had a realization. “Oh, you’re trying to make sure that Marinette and I become friends?”

Alya’s smile tightened. “Yeah, something like that,” she gritted out. 

Adrien nodded sympathetically. It was no secret among the class that Marinette had social anxiety, and while it wasn’t as bad as Juleka’s, Adrien knew that she struggled with talking to people often. Then he realizes something. If Alya’s trying to help Marinette make friends with Adrien, does that mean that Nino’s trying to help Adrien extend out his own friend group?

“Is Nino helping you?” Adrien asks, even though he already knows the answer, because Nino’s just a good friend like that. 

“Yeah,” Alya admits. “Nino’s helping me.”

“Nino’s the best,” Adrien tells Alya, as if she had somehow managed not to understand just how kind and awesome and amazing Nino was, as if anyone could miss how lucky they were to know Nino, his Father excluded of course. 

“Of course he is,” Alya says, and the look in her eyes lets Adrien know that he’s found the one person in the world who might love Nino more than he does. As she leans in close like she’s whispering a secret, she asks, “Did he tell you about the special mixtape he made me?”

It doesn’t take long for a conversation to follow after that. Both of them trade stories about all the little ways Nino shows he cares and trade all the funny stories they have, and it’s not about the Ladyblog, but in a way it's something better, something kinder. Nino may have only intended to help Marinette and Adrien be friends, but Adrien thinks it's kinda poetic how he brought Alya and him together too. 

It’s nice, Adrien thinks, to have a world that’s a little less lonely.

[clovercalloway]

We Best Love: Episode 2, "Why are we here, just to suffer?"

ON THE PREVIOUS FIRST EPISODE:

Well, damn, now I have no idea what'll happen next. I usually expect something like this to happen near the end of any romance, but they just went and did it.

Will they reach the second base in this episode, then? Who knows.

They already kissed, now we just wait for that sweet tension.

I swear, the more I watch this intro the more gay it looks. Like, I can feel the tension in the air.

Meanwhile, Shi De is a hopeless romantic, he can't be more obvious with that monologue. Like, it's impossible.

He keeps saying things like "look at me" as if that isn't the gayest thing to ever say in any fictional show when you refer to another guy.

[EAW: Now I know what this reminded me of. Warning: kinda MHA spoilery but w/o context , @bossman ]

Idk which one is gayer, I'll be honest

Shi De, you're the one that kissed him underwater OUT OF NOWHERE. Are you really in the position of asking that?

"What's wrong with you? Why did you kiss me?" TELL HIM, SHU YI!

He says that Shu Yi wasn't coming up. Boy, that's the lamest excuse I've heard. Please just follow Bruno Mars advice and say this instead.

Now he's asking about Yu Xin, like he's tired of Shu Yi pining after her for so long (the jealousy, guys... Alexa, play Heather). But Shu Yi is all "you stalkin' me?".

I know he asked that as a joke.

THAT WAS A RETHORICAL QUESTION, BUT SHI DE SAID GO BIG OR GO HOME!

Is Shu Yi fucking serious?

"So you can defeat me". Sweetie, that's not-

Not the reaction I expected. Like, I used to watch Ladybug but this guy's too much. How is he somehow more oblivious than Adrien? Is barely episode two. Lord, please don't tell me it gets worse. I'll need ice cream if he starts acting more dense than he already is.

Anyways, Gao Shi De tries to comfort him but Shu Yi tells him to get lost and our boy obeys.

He went back into the water, istg...

I can only picture Linkin Park in the backhead of his mind playing very loudly. My son is in his sad arc.

He's being very dramatic and thinking "boy, I need to get over it".

Well, he actually says a lot more, trying to be deep and all that, but I was very distracted by his dramatic self.

Tho he's right that it's worse when the unrequited love is a friendship. Little does he know, for Gao Shi De the unrequited love is hitting hard.

Oh no

He seems into it

Well, idk what'll happen next, but whatever it is, please don't let this pretty lady be a rebound, what you need is to dwell in your own feelings, even if it doesn't feel right at the moment, because it's better to learn how to live with those emotions and then manage them, that way you will be mature enought to fall in love in a better- who am I kidding, his ass is not listening

Fang Zheng Wen tries to talk to him, but then Yu Xin appears and invites them for lunch, but Shu Yi says he "doesn't wanna be a third wheel".

I feel you, man. You don't have to force yourself to be in that uncomfortable situation.

HERE COMES THE BOY TO THE RESCUE

It's a green flag if someone notices what you're trying to say without saying it. He was uncomfortable and at least someone not only noticed but also did SOMETHING about it.

Like, no hate to Zheng Wen but it's obvious the atmosphere is not pleasant for your friend, you should say or do something.

Speaking of being proactive, Shi De went and showed him a recording of him at the pool, in a low moment as we know he got a taste of that unrequited love.

Shu Yi is again asking the right questions ("why do you follow me all the time", "what do you want") that would give him a clear answer if he wasn't so dense.

The nerve of this guy. He's blackmailing him with the video.

"You have to be on-call and obey me." Sounds fruity, LET'S GO!

Modern marriage proposal, they call it.

So the only way to break this deal off is for Shu Yi to beat him, anything counts. Shi De tells him that and Shu Yi looks excited.

"I'll beat you hard" This isn't getting less gayer by the second.

"Tomorrow in my house" I'll count those as dates.

Skip to the next morning and now they're arguing over going on a car or a MRT.

Bro is blackmailing him with the video again, so they end up being late and Shu Yi pretends to be mad about it.

You are not beating the stalker allegations.

"You have it so you can put pranks on me?" Why are we here, just to suffer?

While Shu Yi keeps being his oblivious self, Shi De invites him for breakfast.

Class is boring and Shu Yi falls asleep on his shoulders, so adorable.

Still, you'll have to lend him your notes, man.

Classmate over there is telling Shi De to wake him up and our boy refuses. Let him have this moment, dude.

"But he's not even from this departam-" "Shut up"

After class, Shu Yi suddendly wants to have lunch.

Oh

Well, Yu Xin is there and Gao Shi De can tell that his boy is not feeling good.

So now both of them are hiding, but

"How long do you have to hide from her?" He's not wrong

Obviously is gonna be awkward but is better to do it sooner rather than latter or it'll be worse and he'll end up losing his friends without wanting to.

And Shu Yi knows this, but he says it still hurts. And that's totally reasonable

But then "if she finds out, we can't be friends anymore"

No, man. If you can get pass that, you'll just have an even stronger friendship. If not, she at least will know it and will try to explain how you're still important to her, even if her love isn't the same as the love you say you feel. The only thing actually puting your friendship in danger is the dreaded miscommunication.

"Why do I tell you this" Cause he's your future husband

And, of course, because is nice to say things. Bottling up your feelings will only hurt you more on the long run, you need to face them head on.

Gao Shi De agrees with me, a total w

"You can't just put [love] back into the shelf"

Then he says Shi De wouldn't understand. Boy do I have news for you...

Shi De says he DOES know and Shu Yi is curious

This is too much. This is Wei Ying levels of oblivious.

Shu Yi, stop ruining my ship, you're part of it.

Shi De's classmate keeps looking at him like that meme of someone pointing with their eyebrow raised and a big rainbow at the side.

Wait, I had an idea

Sorry, I had to

Sharing a meal is fruity activity, says science (at this point it's just me thinking these are dates, because if they're not, I'm even more curious about how a REAL date between these two would be).

Well, now the classmate, the same one from before, keeps butting in and acting as if this couple's existence is a personal offense.

But his dislike seems more inclined towards Shu Yi. [EAW: is this guy 🌈 too?]

Now our main couple and their closed ones (even tho the guy with no name may only be a classmate) are all in the same table, and this dude keeps making passive aggressive comments, but Shu Yi bro defends him and says that Zhou Shu Yi doesn't lose, not against Shi De, and if he did, it was on purpose.

Thanks for exposing him, man.

And guess who comes in

Welp, a lot has happened in just one meal, right?

Of course, Shu Yi leaves immediatly. And Shi De follows.

At an arcade, Shu Yi's friend is asking him why are they so close now? Is it another prank for Shi De?

No, my man, but you should ask Gao Shi De, at least he knows more about his own feelings.

Suddendly, and idea.

Did you really never think of this? Were you so caught up in trying to rile him up that you didn't actually do any basic competition? You really are something else.

Playing montage!

This is even funnier because for Gao Shi De, I bet he shares my mind and totally thinks of this as a date

Meanwhile, Shu Yi

"Your days are numbered, you little-"

Shu Yi does his litle finger gun at Shi De and I'm like don't worry, you already shot him, just look at how his eyes are hearts when he's with you.

Welp, we have a flustered Shi De.

It's obvious who keeps winning again and again. But in case it wasn't clear with episode 1, it's Shi De.

Shu Yi leaves, ready to be "tortured" again tomorrow, and Shi De is totally smug because he got what he wanted, at least. A nice time with future bf.

Cute aggression, they call it. Typical of future life partners.

Perfect opportunity to commit theft, says Shu Yi, but he's caught instantly.

Both begin to wrestle for the phone and for being caught and then somehow this happens.

The way I had to pause (the video and myself) after this. Gods, my mind is not pure and I'm going to hell.

Also, I snorted hella hard.

Yu Xin is me fr

I know it's basically the same scene, but this is just too perfect for a meme

Yu Xin apologizes saying "I thought you and Gao Shi De were together". Give them a few months. If it depends on Shi De, it could be weeks. If it's on Shu Yi's hand, maybe we'll need like three years at minimum.

It's usually "from their limited perspective, it can be seen as fruity" but man, from my non limited perpsective as someone who witnessed those moments, this is still fruity as f.

Yu Xin has the right energy but not the right idea and keeps insiting that Shu Yi confesses. Shi De gets tired of watching this uncomfortable circus and leaves with Shu Yi.

"Are they really not dating?" You both are his friends and know him well enough, I do not. And even I think this is very very rainbowish.

Well, Yu Xin, they are on a date so does this answer your question?

"Why do you add spicy if you can't take it?" "Cause you like it" This is a gem.

"I just know you too well" It's nice to know that at least from Shi De's perspective this is a rivalry more than an enemies relationship.

Shu Yi thanks him for getting him out of there, and says that Yu Xin and Zheng Wen are really compatible and make a perfect couple.

"What would you do if the one you love loves another person" says Shu Yi, having dealt with something similar to rejection but accepting it.

After eating they go out but Shu Yi starts feeling bad and Shi De takes him to a doctor.

"Try to separate them and take adantage of it" says Shi De and Shu Yi gulps hard. Try to run but you won't get far, kid.

So that was episode 2! Aside from the doctor being a bummer and not letting me and Shu Yi live (or well, die), it was fun. They're not even in an official relationship yet, but sure feels like it!

"If you want to die keep eating spicy hotpot" Hey doc, I'll die but I'll die happy, ok?

Shu Yi, man, like, besides the obvious hints through the whole episode, he literally kissed you. Like, how dense can you be?

And to @bitacrytic, oml, thanks a lot! Tumblr was being a b*tch and didn't let me answer your comment. And yeah, so far I'm invested. But also busy. I hope to finish the post for episode 3 sooner.

The most probable case is that I'll be uploading these blind reactions weekly, but only if I'm less busy those weeks. [Jokes on me, adult life is hard.]

Anygays, hope you enjoyed this. (I surely did.)

[princess-of-the-corner]

I remember reading a fic where the main ship was chloe x marinette and it was a "What if instead of Adrien getting the Cat miraculous, it was Chloe?" Type of fic with the redemption and all that. And Chloe decided to take up fencing as a precaution for the job, marinette was most definitely feeling things about that little fact but didn't want to admit them (girl was on heavy denial) (especially when Chloe and her had this "enemies with benefits" thing going on 😭) so when Kagami showed up and did the fight with Adrien and everything else, Chloe was like "😳" and went to talk to her and everything (but Chloe had feelings for ladybug aka Marinette) and Kagami was like "🧐🙂😊😉" and then chloe invites her (or was it Adrien??? No it was definitely her) to the ice skating ring which Kagami taught was a date but really Chloe was just being friendly and also be cuz she didn't want to be a third wheel to Adrien and Marinette (which I'll get to in a minute) so during the entire outing Kagami and Chloe were doing all types of moves on the ice and Marinette was like "😤😤" but chloe didnt notice. Cuz she was preoccupied with something else

Kagami and Chloe during the "Frozer" episode

Kagami: *Flirts*

Chloe: *Hesitantly Flirts back*

Kagami: *Flirts harder*

Chloe: *takes a few steps back becuz she doesn't want to lead her on*

Kagami: *understands but continues to flirt*

Chloe: *Flirts back but now in a joking way*

Both of them becoming best-of-friendos

Marinette sees them flirting and leaves in a hurry not knowing why she feels that way (she in denial, father) Chloe hesitating on going after her, Kagami encourages her to go after her, Chloe does but she doesn't make it and the rest I don't remember

Like I literally only vividly remember that part and another one from that same fic 😭😭

GAAAAAAAAY

but also like. Yeet the name if you remember it

[nekogaaaaaaa]

I know this is most likely not gonna happen

But I want to see this kind of trio

What will they be called?

Hawkmoth haters trio?

Trying to life trio?

Afsggshshsh Third wheel Felix