#bc if he stops being a kwami he has no idea how he will feel toward adrien.

[weaverofink]

You guys seemed to like the deity!Tikki AU so I decided to make some more for it!!

I think once Tikki is free, the first thing she does is try to hunt down Plagg to “free” him from his miraculous and his holder, who she deems little more than a thief. Adrien gets wind of this and decides to get the hell out of dodge with Plagg in tow. Plagg is very conflicted about all of this-- he doesn’t actually remember ever being a god (due to the enchantment on the miraculous) and has grown to like both Adrien and the life he currently has, but he is haunted by the existential implication that his current self is just a lie dreamed up by the guardians

[theerurishipper]

Something I will never not be salty about is that Kwamis choice was Marinette's equivalent of Adrien's Kuro Neko, hitting their lowest points and "leaving bc they got rejected by their superhero partner"

which in Adrien's case wasn't even true, season 4 just had to suddenly pretend like it so Ladybug can get out of the conflict without learning anything and taking 0 accountability because that's the shows type of feminism, but Marinette in season 5 absolutely DID leave bc she couldn't have Chat Noir anymore. Oh how almost pathetically hypocritical.

Anyway, what I was getting to is that Kwamis choice part 1 is Marinette's Kuro Neko and MAN, that really shows off just how much Marinette is getting pampered senseless.

Loving parents who were worried about her, checked on her and baked her goods, Adrien and Alya checked on her, Miss Bustier had the homework being brought to her

And of course Adrien himself did everything in his power to be there for Marinette in the way NOT A SINGLE SOUL BESIDES PLAGG was there for him in "Kuro Neko"

I swear this show constantly pretends like no one had it ever worse than Marinette and she's oh so all alone and yet in comparison to Adrien/ Chat Noir she basically never is??

I WANT to be sympathetic towards Marinette's struggles and feeling of loneliness which has indeed gotten worse since the start of the show, but the show isn't LETTING ME because whatever Marinette thinks her loneliness and isolation are is simply nothing in comparison to the ACTUAL isolation and loneliness Adrien is being put through, in and outside the mask.

In comparing to Adrien in Kuro Neko, Marinette in Kwamis choice is simply being pampered senseless and it's so frustrating bc I hate that the show's writing has left me so unsympathetic towards Marinette in these cases. This IS normally a character story I highly sympathize with but the show is demanding of me to disregard the fact that Adrien/ Chat Noir has it worse and gets NON of the resources and support she has so, no?? I can't ? And that's the show's own fault.

Marinette is just as per usual crying harder and saying that no one will ever understand her pain when like.. gurl, Chat Noir is right tf THERE. Do u think he COULDN'T perfectly understand your struggle too? As if she doesn't know that unlike her HE ACTUALLY doesn't have anyone to confine in. Never had and continues to not get.

Gosh, I WISHED I could feel for Marinette in that episode and Elation too, but Jesus Christ is this hypocritical Towards Adrien/ Chat of season 4 in every possible way.

Like, I do get it. Trauma isn't a competition, and I understand the feeling of knowing that you have so much support around you, but still feeling like you're all alone. I understand that Marinette feels like she's living a lie and that she's all alone. I understand everything she's going through.

In fact, my problems with the way Marinette's struggles aren't because I think she's overplaying them or because I think they aren't valid. My gripe is that the show focuses on Marinette's struggles and Marinette's struggles alone. Like you said, at a certain point, it feels like the show is pushing the idea that Marinette is the epitome of human suffering and invented misery or something. Her struggles are valid, of course they are. But the show also doesn't seem to want to acknowledge Adrien's struggles in the same manner. And like you said, he doesn't even have a support system apart from Plagg the way Marinette does, and the narrative can't even be bothered to acknowledge that.

The show spends so much time on Marinette's struggles that it neglects to focus on Adrien's, or even other characters' in general. Adrien's struggles only matter when they relate to his relationship with Marinette or when they are beneficial to her in some way. Or else, it's just him being an inconvenience to her and he needs to stop being so sensitive and emotional, because that's not what emotional support partners are for. The show continually refuses to recognize how bad Adrien has it until it has something to do with Marinette. Adrien is being mind-controlled by his father and is living in an abusive home, and the abuse and mind-control are only treated as significant threats the moment they start threatening Adrienette.

Again, my problem with this isn't the fact that Marinette has struggles. My issue is that in order to deal with Marinette's struggles, Adrien's struggles are diminished and ignored by the narrative, and asking me to ignore that to focus solely on Marinette just ain't it for me. I wish I could feel sympathy for her, because her situation and her feelings are something I can greatly relate to. But I can't, not when the narrative is pushing her struggles forward at the expense of Adrien's. And Kwami's Choice even had Adrien be the one to bend over backwards to help and support her in ways she never does for him. All his struggles are made into the "Marinette is so sad because Gabriel is abusing her boyfriend" show, and I genuinely can't sympathize with her when this narrative is being shoved in my face.

I don't want Marinette to go "my struggles don't matter because Adrien has it worse!" I don't want the show to say Marinette's struggles are less worthy or less deserving of empathy than Adrien's. I just want Adrien to get some focus and get to deal with his problems outside of just being the perfect emotional support for her to lean on while he asks nothing of her. I want the show to stop pretending that Marinette is the end-all be-all of suffering. It really doesn't help me feel more sympathetic towards her.

Thank you for your ask!

[huge-enthusiast]

MIRACULOUS FIC RECOMENDATIONS!! (Part 2)

You can find part 1 here.

The first one was really popular! So I decided to make a second part.

The rules are the same:

All of the fics will be rated Teen and up audiences or lower. Also if I don’t put the author’s tumblr is because they didn’t put it in the fic or/and I couldn’t find it.

The only thing that changes is that I would be putting the pairing in the description of the fic.

Without further ado...

Written in the Stars by Boogum (@botherkupo here on tumblr!)

Pairing: Marichat and Adrienette.

He was the god of destruction. She was a princess whose kingdom had been prophesied to fall. To save her people, she became his wife. To save him, she would have to do the impossible. The castle has secrets, the gods are watching, and time is running out.

Chapters: 37/37

TW for mild violence.

Arrange marriage, God AU. While I'm making this list, I still haven't finished the fic, but I had to recommend it because is THAT good. The way I gasped out loud while reading some of the plot twists. The worldbuilding is so good, and even if you aren't into AUs that deviate a lot from cannon like me, I 100% reccomend it.

Need a Lift? again by Boogum.

Pairing: DJWifi

Getting stranded on a foreign planet sucked. Luckily for Nino, his rival was willing to give him a lift home. Unluckily for Nino, she was beautiful and funny and he might just be in love with her.

Chapters: 1/1

Space Bounty Hunter AU! Really sweet and funny. If you are into flustered!Nino then this fic is for you.

hey, you by peachcitt (@peachcitt here on tumblr!)

Pairing: Adrienette

“Have you ever had a dream about someone that changes the way you think of them?”

or Adrien has a dream about Marinette.

Chapters: 1/1

Okay so, peachcitt is one of my favorite ml writers. Everything that they write is sooo good y'all, and i'm already a sucker for adrienette, so I cannot recommend this fic (or any of theirs) enough.

double dare again by peachcitt (I told ya!)

Pairing: Ladrien (with lots of sided ladynoir)

“Don’t ever do that again,” Marinette says, maybe a little too emphatically, and Adrien looks at her, his expression quiet. His cheeks, Marinette notices, are a little red.

“But I wanted to save you,” he says.

or Ladybug and Adrien can't seem to stop running into each other. (whether that is on accident or on purpose is nobody's business but their own, of course).

Chapters: 30/30

This was a ladrien june fic! Every chapter corresponds to the day's prompts but it also continues a story. If that doesn't make you want to read it then I don't know what it will. I fear fanfic writers, they're insane.

(not) so much by therentyoupay (@therentyoupayfanfiction here on tumblr!)

Pairing: Marichat and adrienette

(The claws are sharp, but the host of Destruction—for all of his loudmouth chaos and lack of reserve—is paradoxically careful.)

Chapters: 1/1

In which Chat Noir pays a visit not long after Marinette has made a pretty difficult decision, and they accidentally make a routine.

Prompt: Marinette gives Chat a hickey. Adrien has a suspiciously similar looking hickey the next day at school...

Gotta be honest with y'all, I did not expect this fic to be as good as it is. The adrienette has everything a stablished!Marichat should have. Marinette conflicted with her feelings? Check. Adrien being a hot mess bc That's My Girlfriend But She Doesn't Know That? Check. Them being absolute idiots? Check. It's good!

Doctor, Doctor, Give Me The News (Your Lips Is The Only Cure I Could Use) by BreG21.

Pairing: Adrienette

Rainwater sloshed up from the pools they had made on the sidewalk and coated his jean pants with every step he took. He couldn't bring himself to care.

He sniffed away some of the water that dribbled down his matted head. "Yeah?"

He paused as if to consider his words while Adrien stared down at him, so lost. "You weren't wrong when you thought you knew. A part of you wanted it to be her, but it was too perfect, you let the illusion fool you because how would you get that lucky. But trust me, Adrien. You weren't wrong."

He wasn't wrong? What was he not wrong about?

You weren't wrong. You want it to be her.

And it finally clicked as a small gasp wisped past his lips. He wasn't wrong.

In which, Plagg falls ill, and with Fu gone and Ladybug being the guardian now, has to go find her civilian self-even with the knowledge that she might not like that-is shocked to realize that even with having the kwami that was supposed to embodied the very being of bad luck, Adrien could conclude the very opposite of what he had thought for so long.

He was so very lucky.

Chapters: 1/1

I screamed so hard while reading this fic. It's just one of those who gets the characters right. Do you like a good reveal? Go read this now.

Operation Mega Sleepover by InTheWild (@smellerbeee here on tumblr!)

Pairing: Adrienette

When Alya and Nino drop out of their long awaited mega-sleepover at the last minute, it leaves Marinette and Adrien alone together for the night. An Adrinette one-shot with lots of fluff and sleepover shenanigans.

Chapters: 1/1

I just,,, I love adrienette fluff so much,,, I love them,,,

You, Me & A Little Bit Of The Future by joonapeach.

Pairing: this is a fortunate case of all lovesquare shenanigans™

Marinette expects some disaster on her first outing alone with Adrien.

She just doesn't expect that disaster to be her future self passing off a baby for her to take care of with Adrien.

(Alternatively... two idiots obliviously in love cooing over their daughter while acting like they have no idea whose kid this is.)

Chapters: 1/1

I think the description says anything that it needs to be said. It's really sweet and funny and I love how they just change their minds so quickly and get emo for literally nothing. Peak shakesperean dumbasery.

The entire Marry That Girl series by Miraculous_Max (Maximilian_Alexander).

Pairing: Adrienette

Let’s say Marinette has a special sketchbook. This sketchbook is filled with drawings of their future house, of Adrien as an adult in multiple occupational settings, of Marinette and Adrien’s wedding, and most importantly, their future children.

Let's say Adrien found this sketchbook.

Works: 8 (All are 1/1 chapters)

Just realized how this list exposes me as number 1 adrienette sucker... oh well. I love how Adrien doesn't feel weirded out by the intensity of Marinette's crush. He likes it! He's as weird and romantic as her! That's one of the reasons I love the lovesquare so much and it makes me happy to see that everyone is in the same boat with me.

Strenght by 11JJ11.

Pairing: Adrienette

Marinette knew she was much stronger than she looked thanks to being a hero. So when her class had an arm wrestling contest she knew that she could beat all of them with ease, but she wasn't expecting anyone else to come close.

Chapters: 1/1

Good ol' accidental reveal feat. the entire class shenanigans. I, once again, screamed for an adrienette fic. Who could've thought.

Super Fan by Taliax.

Pairing: Ladrien

It was a good thing Alya was holding the phone and not her, because it would have slipped from her fingers and shattered. How had she not noticed? She had been there, and somehow she’d missed her crush looking at her like she was an angel sent from heaven.

Forget the perfume ad. This picture was going to be her new desktop.

(In which Marinette realizes that she and Adrien might both be obsessive fans.)

Chapters: 1/1

Canon divergent from after Gorizilla. They're so dumb. That's my opinion on this fic.

How to Kiss Your Crush in Five Minutes or Less also by Taliax.

Pairing: Ladrien

He just needed to know if Ladybug needed Chat Noir. He didn't expect to learn just how much she wanted Adrien.

This would be the best five minutes of his life, if he didn't expect her to forget it.

Chapters: 1/1

CW for making out.

Set during Desperada. I promise there's a happy ending. Also Luka is there for some reason, felt really bad for him.

Laying Down the Rules: The Gabriel Agreste Clauses by LadyKae

Gen

Adrien leaves the manor on a dark and stormy night and seeks sanctuary at the only place he feels safe: The Home of the Dupain-Cheng Family. When Sabine learns why her dear boy is fleeing to her home in the middle of the night, she makes a personal visit to one Gabriel Agreste.

There's more rules in play, but not for Adrien and Marinette.

Chapters: 1/1

This is just Sabine going to beat the fuck out of Gabriel and it's really satifying ngl

4am. by hannieks

Pairing: post-reveal lovesquare

In which Adrien has the cat tendency to wake up their owners at stupid o'clock, and Marinette just wants to sleep. Cuteness ensues.

Chapters: 1/1

Really short but really sweet. If you like Adrien acting like a cat then you would like this.

Can I Date You(r Character)? by midnightstarlightwrites (@midnightstarlightwrites here on tumblr!)

Pairing: Adrienette

Adrien turned to her, something unreadable in his gaze. “Are you ok with this?” he asked.

And what a loaded question that was. Was she ok with it? Was she ok with the one guy she couldn’t seem to get over in real life kissing her in a game of Dungeons and Dragons? When she put it like that, it seemed a bit silly to get so worked up.

It was just a game...right?

She was ok with it, right?

“Sure,” she lied. “I’m ok with it.”

When Adrien's character falls in love with Marinette's, they decided to date in-game. What could go wrong?

Chapters: 7/?

THIS ONE IS SO CUTE. You want to scream??? Read this.

two idiots and a hamster by Boogum (again) and carpisuns (@carpisuns here on tumblr)

Pairing: Adrienette

How do you hide your superhero identity from your roommate? (spoiler alert: badly)

Chapters: 5/?

Once @anna-scribbles described this fic as "is literally the closest i’ve ever seen a fic come to matching the energy of canon", and I couldn't have described it better.

And that's all for now! Next time I will probably make an only DJWifi list since I've been treating them so dirty lol.

[mc-lukanette]

do you have any lukanette ideas with chat/adrien salt? the newest episode reignited my annoyance towards him and his stans acting like he didn’t do anything wrong is not helping. i mean, flirting with ladybug while he’s dating kagami? getting excited over a possible akumatization?? and since i know that behavior won’t be addressed bc adrien is “perfect” and “the love square is endgame” therefore he gets a pass for any bad behavior, i was hoping for some fanmade salt (and lukanette is always a great addition to any story)

I can appreciate how starved you guys are to hear me salt on this blog.

But yeah, I came up with something considering that quite a bit of Chat’s behavior happens before Truth appears in “Lies.”

So hear me out--

Truth is a threat, considering that Luka is the only hero outside of Ladybug intended to be a planner. All others take orders directly from Ladybug herself, but Viperion could plan on his own.

This means that Truth realizes quickly that his strategy of asking for the heroes’ identities isn’t going to work because they’ll shout over him every time. He has to get creative and comes up with the idea to divide the heroes.

He comments on their teamwork, perhaps saying vaguely about how their teamwork can’t outmatch his and Pharo’s. Chat obviously takes the bait, talking on and on about how he and Ladybug are the best team and that they’re made for each other.

“Really?” Truth asks casually. “You’ve never done anything against her?”

Chat Noir responds, his white lips moving to say, “Of course I have!”

Ladybug gapes, and Chat looks calm for a second before his eyes immediately widen in panic.

He tries to say that it’s not what he means, but Truth’s power is active, so he just blurts out, “That’s exactly what I mean!”

He tries to cover his mouth with his non-Cataclysm hand, but gets shot by Pharo.

“I told Theo Barbot that we were dating and it got him akumatized!”

“You did what?!” Ladybug asks, having never heard this before.

Chat doesn’t stop - he can’t - and his mouth keeps moving. He admits that he sacrifices himself because he knows it won’t matter since Ladybug will fix it, and it means he’ll always leave an impression on her. He admits that he didn’t care when Nadja or Alya were egging on the LadyNoir ship because he feels like Ladybug will come around eventually. He admits that he doesn’t take her seriously when she goes off on him because “she’s cute when she’s angry.” He admits that he wanted an akuma to happen even though he knew Ladybug was busy, just because he wanted to spend time with her. He admits to telling his kwami he’d quit while Paris was underwater if he didn’t spill what Ladybug was hiding.

Honestly, even Truth at this point is like, “man I wanted to divide your teamwork, not your entire relationship.”

Ladybug eventually manages to snap out of her trance and deal with the whole situation (mostly by herself), but the damage is done. Even after the akuma has been purified and Truth turns back into Luka, Chat’s words linger and Ladybug ignores him.

“Are you okay, Luka?”

“Huh? Ah, yeah, thanks...”

Chat is awkwardly standing nearby, his tail in both hands as he fiddles with it. “So--ah... Bugaboo--”

“Don’t,” Ladybug cuts in, not even looking at him. “Is that why you use that nickname when I’m mad? To butter me up? Try to earn points? Do you think it’s funny?”

“No, no!” He waves his hands frantically. “It’s not--”

“See, the thing is that now I won’t know whether you’re lying or not,” she points out, the situation feeling all to familiar to when Tikki lied to her, only this was worse. She honestly wanted to trust Chat Noir; he was her partner, irreplaceable in the sense that he was there from the start.

But maybe not irreplaceable elsewhere.

“I wouldn’t lie to you!” he swears.

“But you’ll keep things from me,” she counters. She sighs, gently taking Luka’s hand and helping him stand, then addressing him as she says, “I’ll take you home, alright?”

Luka’s gaze briefly flickers between the two of them, but he asks no questions and nods. “Thank you.”

She guides him up the staircase to take him up to the balcony, Chat Noir rushing over to stand at the bottom of the steps.

“M’lady--!”

Ladybug turns to him with a silencing glare. “I really don’t want to be around you right now. We’ll talk later when I’m ready.”

(He’s going to be in for a long talk when they finally meet back up again, and suddenly, he isn’t so eager for an akuma to come rushing by to force them to come back together as a team.)

And with that, Ladybug goes up to the balcony, takes Luka in her arms, and leaves. Things are quiet at first, her taking in a few breaths of the night air as she tries to relax.

The past few days had been a mess, and that was putting it lightly. The kwami, dating, the akuma (that Chat Noir had apparently been soooo excited about), and now this big revelation. The stress must show on her face too, as she can occasionally feel Luka’s concerned gaze on her.

In a way, it’s nice, just having her boyfriend care like this, even when she’s in a mask. He’d put up with way more for her than she felt like he should’ve, and she knew that he’d disagree if she even dared to voice that thought.

Without really thinking, she starts talking to him. She talks about Ladybug, about everything; being thrown into this life that she didn’t ask for, and being happy to save Paris but sad at the emotional toll it takes. She tells him about all the friends who tease her for her lateness, and while it might’ve been funny at first - she was genuinely absent-minded at times - it doesn’t become as funny when knowing that it was something that couldn’t be helped.

“...I’m sorry you’re going through that,” Luka says in an offer of comfort. He sighs, not recoiling from her but it feels like he’s distant anyway. “I know it didn’t help that I was akumatized. I hope I didn’t do anything to Marinette.”

Her gaze softens; of course he’s thinking of her again. It’s Luka, she has no right to be surprised.

Chat Noir, meanwhile, was just thinking of himself.

“Actually,” she corrects, something occurring to her, “I think you might’ve helped in your own way.”

Luka tilts his head at her, puzzled.

She changes course just slightly, specifically to a spot not too far from the Liberty; one that is very familiar to both of them, and she can tell by the way his brows raise that he’s surprised by where she’s about to land.

Underneath the bridge, in the spot where he’d initially asked her - when she was Marinette - where she’d always been going, just before he got akumatized.

She sets him down, then paces around to try and clear her head.

“...Like I said, I didn’t get a lot of choice in this,” she begins. “I tried to give my miraculous up once in the beginning, but there was so much pressure and everything was going wrong. Then, things would just--happen around me, things that I couldn’t really think of--and this is coming from me!” She turns to him dramatically, gesturing to herself. “I imagine things going wrong all the time and I still can’t predict when they actually do!”

Luka chuckles lightly at that, but otherwise stays quiet, unsure of where she’s going with this but giving her his full attention.

“Me becoming the new guardian of the miraculouses so out of nowhere... it was a lot, and suddenly I had a bunch of kwami around my room who all wanted to get into my stuff or mess around. I didn’t choose to let them out; it just happened when I was trying to see how the box with all the miraculouses worked.” She groans a bit, rubbing her forehead as she paces around again. “Then in came Shadow Moth and all the akuma showing up, and now I’m even busier. I can’t even make time for my boyfriend.”

There’s a flicker of emotion in Luka’s eyes at that, but he doesn’t say anything, though his fingers twitch slightly at his sides.

“Then--” She looks down. “--there’s Chat Noir. I didn’t choose him either; the old guardian chose him for me, and he wasn’t even fully trained. I was Chat’s partner and that was it; I didn’t get a choice to give up, it just... was, and I have to deal with whatever the relationship--” She makes a face at the word. “--we have is, because if something goes wrong then everything can go wrong, and then Paris is in danger.”

She shakes her head, realizing that she’s rambling. She continues staring quietly at the ground, then releases the tenseness in her shoulders.

“But...” She looks up to meet Luka’s gaze. “I did choose you, Luka. I finally got to choose something for me, and the only thing I regret about it is everything that I can’t choose. You chose me and I chose you and...” She almost laughs. “It’s weird that it’s that simple for once.”

He’s clearly pieced the puzzle together by now but hasn’t quite processed the result. She can see the whisper of her name on his lips and she smiles at him, taking a step back and spreading her arms wide.

“You’re my real partner, Luka. You get me, you care about me, and we’re similar but different and it’s great.” She swallows, feeling her nerves building a little but pushing forward enthusiastically nonetheless. “So I want to make a choice for us, because we trust each other and I want to give you something no one else has.”

Then, she closes her eyes, taking a breath and briefly tightening her hands into fists.

“Tikki, spots off.”

[zaine-m]

Co-Guardians Idea

I was making a post about this but it takes me forever to make posts so someone else already brought it up but I have more to add onto it so I just removed the overlapping points

Quick rundown if you haven't read their post:

It's a pretty simple idea, Ladybug would share the responsibility of being the guardian with Chat Noir and the miracle box would split into 2 yin yang shaped boxes, one that's ladybug themed, and other other that's chat noir themed. It hasn't been specifically said that it is possible but they've said that the miraculous box can change for it's owners and that there aren't really any boundaries to their powers so it probably is.

The overlapping points are that it'll take some stress off Marinette and make ladybug and chat noir partners again

Why do I think that this would be a good thing to happen within the show:

1. They would lose their memories together/ live forever together

THINK ABOUT THE LOVE SQUARE!!! (I'm pretty sure guardians live forever but if I'm wrong just ignore the parts about immortality) If they don't become co-guardians then Marinette would either have to watch Adrien die or give it up and lose her memory, leaving Adrien sad and trying to bring Marinette's memory back. But if they become co-guardians then they'll either live eternally with each other or get their memories erased together and probably start dating again bc even though their memories were erased their feeling for the other weren't!

2. Don't keep all your eggs in one basket

If hawkmoth were to track down Marinette that would mean that he would only get half of the miraculouses and since we've seen him get the miracle box before it's a pretty real concern. But think of what would've happened in miracle queen if he only got half the box. Now would half of them now be in his house, yes, but I'll get to that later.

3. Incase Chat Noir turns into a villain

At first this may seem like it would worsen things if he were to become a villain but when you remember that the celestial guardian can track the miracle boxes that would mean that they would be able to track him down incase he were to go rouge.

4. He could tell Someone about him being Chat Noir

Since Marinette told someone her identity after becoming guardian it's only fair that chat would be able to do the same. This could help to relieve overall stress and get him out of tough situations. Now the question is who would he tell? If he does tell the wrong person it could them into trouble but, actually there's no but. That totally seems like a thing he would do, at least it would evolve the plot.

Now onto the downsides:

1. Adrien lives with Hawkmoth

Yeah, he would probably find a good place to hide the miracle box half (can you think of all the possibilities in his rich kid room!) there would just be this looming sense that disaster is about to happen, especially if the kwamis roam free. Now could the kwamis roaming free also help them to find out hawkmoth's identity, sure but it seems to uneventful for a kwami to stumble upon dusuu or nooroo and that be how it's reveals.

2. After Penalteam all the miraculouses will already be assigned to someone

This isn't so much of a downside just kinda that it's not necessary. Choosing someone for a miraculous is probably the hardest job of a guardian but I feel like this wouldn't make the entire thing useless as chat could still help with collecting and handing our miraculouses. They could also reassign people to miraculouses since some of their identities got leaked but it's been a while since that happened so I can't see why they would want to all of the sudden now.

3. Putting more stress on Adrien

Chat Noir is supposed to be where he can be reckless and imperfect but if he's a guardian that's gonna have to stop. Not to mention that Ladybug would be even more upset about him missing fights if she needs a miraculous that he has. He might not be as stressed out about this as Marinette is but it would take some of the fun away from being Chat Noir.

[aalissy]

Stay

Andddd this is the end!! This is the last chapter for Adrienette April <3. I certainly hope you guys enjoyed reading it bc I had a great time writing it. It DOES contain Gang of Secrets spoilers so don’t read this if you haven’t seen that episode :). Lemme know what you think of this chapter or what you thought of the whole month tho hahah <3. I’ll see you all in my Marichat May drabbles :) 

AO3

Marinette sniffled, gazing down at her bedroom floor that she had collapsed on. Everything had just been so much lately. Being both Ladybug and the guardian was almost impossible. Her phone buzzed incessantly on her desk but she ignored it, drowning in both stress and guilt. The kwamis snuggled around her, whispering reassurances in her ears but she huddled in on herself, laying down on the cold tiles. She didn’t even hear the knock on her trapdoor, only snapping back into awareness when the kwamis jolted away from her, phasing back into where she hid the Miracle Box.

Quickly, Marinette sat back up when the hatch opened, trying to scrub any remaining tear tracks from her eyes. She heard a voice call out her name hesitantly before she saw Adrien’s head pop up, “Marinette?”

She grimaced, swiping the heel of her hand against her smeared mascara. What was he even doing here? Adrien rarely stopped by the bakery, let alone her bedroom. Reaching for her phone, she winced at the number of text messages that greeted her.

“Oh my god, Marinette...” Adrien gasped before collapsing next to her. “Are you alright?! What’s wrong?”

“I’m fine.” She swallowed the harsh lump in her throat to give him a weak smile. “What are you doing here?”

He frowned at her, looking over her concernedly. “Alya asked me to come check on you. She said you weren’t answering your phone and I was the closest one to the bakery.”

“Of course she did,” she murmured, glancing down at her phone with a small smile. She could always count on her best friend to find a way to bring her back. She had done an even better job after Marinette told her she was Ladybug. She then gave herself a mental reminder to call Alya back as soon as she was able to.

She blinked up with some shock and slight panic as Adrien stood up. His frown had deepened further and he opened his mouth to say something when she quickly reached out. Marinette clutched his wrist rather desperately, nibbling on her lower lip. Slowly, she moved her hand down to hold his tightly, murmuring, “Stay, please. Don’t go.”

Adrien lowered himself back down to crouch beside her, squeezing her hand in his. “I wasn’t going to, Marinette. I promise.”

She gave him a watery smile, sniffling quietly. She scooted closer to him, whispering a quiet, “Thank you.”

Instead of responding, Adrien simply opened his arms to her and she immediately dove into his embrace. Marinette clenched her eyes shut tight, savoring the warmth and safety she felt as he held her to him. She nuzzled her head closer to him, letting out a quiet, happy sigh. Slowly, the pain and guilt from before ebbed away and she could finally relax.

She stayed like that for a few more minutes, content to stay exactly where she was for the rest of her life. Adrien gave some of the best hugs ever. Second only to Chat Noir. Slowly, Marinette pulled back, blinking away any last remaining tears. She gave him another wobbly smile before she worried at her lower lip. “I’m sorry about that. I had a long day today and I didn’t mean to drag you into it.”

Adrien’s look softened as he shook his head. “You never have to apologize, Marinette. I’m just glad you’re okay. Can you tell me what happened? I’d love to try and fix it for you if I can!”

His face was so eager to help and to please that she realized exactly why she fell in love with him once again. He was amazing. Marinette’s smile froze, however, when she realized that there wasn’t anything she could tell him. All of her problems were due to being both Ladybug and the guardian. She couldn’t risk her secret identity again. Especially not when she already knew the repercussions of Adrien knowing. Shuddering at the thought of Chat Blanc, she slowly shook her head. “I-I can’t tell you, Adrien. I’m sorry.”

“Oh?” He frowned at her in confusion as his head tilted adorably. “Why not?”

Marinette sighed quietly, tapping her two index fingers together as her gaze darted around. She couldn’t exactly explain that she had a secret identity that she had to protect. It was too risky with just Alya knowing. Nor could she tell him that she was Ladybug and the recent akuma attacks had left her without any free time to work on schoolwork or spend time with her friends.

She ran a hand through her hair as she blew out a harsh breath. Deciding to skirt around the problem, she murmured, “I’ve just been really stressed lately, Adrien. I haven’t had much free time to finish my homework or even go to the movies with any of my friends.”

Adrien nodded understandingly, “I get it, Marinette. Having a full schedule can be impossible. I’m sorry that you have to go through that.”

A look of realization and admiration lit across her face. Of course he gets it. Maybe not to the extent of having a double life to hide from everyone... but Adrien has certainly had to deal with a full plate before. Marinette gave him another shaky smile before throwing herself into his arms. This was exactly what she needed. Someone who understands and knows what she’s dealing with.

Quietly, she murmured, “Thank you, Adrien. You have no idea how much that means to me. S-so, how do you do it? How do you handle dealing with almost no free time?”

One of his hands came up to rub her back gently. Marinette’s eyes shut tight as her smile grew wider. If she hadn’t already been in love with him, she would have definitely fallen right there and then. How could one boy be so perfect for her and yet be so out of her league? It just wasn’t fair.

Adrien’s breath brushed against her ear as she shivered lightly. Softly, he whispered to her, “I focus on the things that are most important to me. I suffer through my responsibilities for a chance to finally be able to hang out with my friends and do the things that make me the happiest. You need to really relax and let loose in the free time you do have. And I also keep in mind that I have people who love and care about me and will always be there no matter what. Just like you, Marinette. Don’t forget that.”

Her lower lip wobbled as she tried to suppress the tears that were threatening to spill from the corners of her shut eyes. He always knew just what to say. She gave Adrien one last, tight squeeze before pulling back, looking at him rather adoringly. Swiping any stray tears away, she gave him a bright smile. “I won’t. I promise.”

She stood up slowly before leaning down to offer him a hand up. Her heart fluttered as he gave her a crooked grin back. She really had to give Alya that call thanking her because this was the best thing she could have done. Nibbling on her lower lip, Marinette said, “Thank you for staying, Adrien. You really turned a bad day into a perfect one.”

He gave her a soft look, patting her on the shoulder. “Of course, Marinette. I’m always here, whenever you need me. I’ll always just be a phone call away.”

Biting harshly on her lower lip, she ached to tell him her actual secret. How could this boy have ever told someone about her secret identity? He was just so sweet. Eventually, Marinette simply breathed in deeply, deciding that she’d tell him as soon as Hawkmoth was defeated. Peering up at him from beneath her lashes, she murmured, “I’ll be sure to remember that. I’m sorry for taking up so much of your time, though.”

Adrien’s brow furrowed at that. “You don’t need to apologize for that, Marinette. I like spending time with you. Especially if I can help you feel better.”

She glanced down, her cheeks dusted a light pink. “D-do you have time to play a game of Ultimate Mecha Strike III, or do you need to go?”

“I think I have time for one game. As long as you’re prepared to lose. I’ve been practicing.” He gave her a smug smirk.

Marinette’s eyes narrowed playfully as she said, “You’re on!”

With that, they both slid into the desk chairs and booted up the game. Her fingers slid across the controls with practiced ease as she and Adrien fought. Once she had a comfortable lead, her eyes slid over to him. One thing was for absolute certainty after today. She would never truly be over Adrien Agreste. A part of her would always love him. As she defeated him and he screamed for a rematch, Marinette slowly relaxed. He was right. It was time for her to learn to calm down and enjoy her free time before the next mission. Giving him a smug smirk, she set them up for the rematch, certain that she’d beat him once again.

[volperion-moved]

how id redo ML

keep felix. make him an anti-hero that turns full villain at some point. he goes through a lot of character development and is redeemed in the end

make lila explicit foil to felix. marinette hates her at first like in canon, but then when felix turns full evil, she reassesses her view of her. lila is given chances to be good that she throws away, but when gabriel/hawkmoth betrays her she realises how stupid she was and wants to make it right. she's able to talk to felix and say she knows what he's going through, but just like how she rejected chances at redemption, he does too (until the ending).

finally chloe. id probably wanna kick her redemption arc off at the very start of the show instead of in season 2 to introduce the concept? lila and felix are superpowered villains that work with hawkmoth, but chloe is just a bratty kid. showing that she can change before it's too late highlights how dramatic lila and felix's struggles are. chloe permanently becomes queen bee, there's no new girl bc that idea is dumb

now ik what you're thinking... three redemption arcs? isnt that too many? well first of all no, but secondly, gabriel and nathalie aren't getting redemption arcs. more attention is drawn to how they like to manipulate children for their goals and how messed up that is.

finally. the kwamis are twist villains. rather they each have their own agenda, some good, some bad. tikki is bad and after that reveal marinette becomes multimouse instead. before that she has a crisis about who she is without ladybug. plagg is how he is canonically but he gets a character arc to become more responsible and a better person so when felix turns evil, plagg sticks with him for a while but doesn't let felix use him for evil for too long. felix has a similar crisis about who he is without chat noir but it's more like he's in denial and claims he doesn't need anyone holding him back anyway. plagg and felix apologise to each other when felix is redeemed again, felix for turning bad and plagg for not seeing the signs and doing something to stop it sooner

felix and marinette still have feelings for each other like in canon but basically once felix turns bad the show stops being about romance. they both realise they didn't know each other well enough and their behaviour toward their crush was toxic in different ways - marinette's obsession might not hurt felix but it hurts herself at least. an identity reveal happens while felix is on the bad side and it really has them both reconsider their opinions on each other and have character development based on that - at first marinette feels terrible for all the times she rejected felix while she was ladybug and he was chat noir, but she comes to decide that it was the right thing to do and it's not fair on her or her fault that he chose to turn bad. felix can't believe that the perfect superhero he loved is this clumsy flawed girl and struggles to reconcile that before eventually realising putting her on a pedestal and acting like the victim isn't good. the series ends with them really talking and becoming friends and there's the suggestion that they could become more but they also might not - the point is more about them having a healthy friendship now.

[mcheang]

Miraculous Snow White—An Evil Queen and/of powerful woman in Paris hunts down Marinette bc she’s the most beautiful girl in all France, according to her magic mirror. Mari goes into hiding and everyone is heartbroken, thinking she’s dead, when really, she’s living with 7 magical beings. Adrien realizes his feelings and starts a search for her

Ruby Red and the 7 kwamis

Hmmm...I’m feeling kind of inspired by my “Lila the witch” fic...

Marinette Dupain-Cheng was the prettiest girl in all of Paris, if the love letters and presents left at her locker were any indication. But she only had her eyes on her prince - Adrien Agreste.

Marinette was a shy girl and was branching out more. Adrien was one of her first friends, and vice versa.

Life was good, until Lila Rossi showed up.

This youthful girl was in actuality a witch and her “Mother” was nothing more than an animated puppet. Lila sought beautiful girls to steal their youth and leave them withering corpses.

Lila had finally made her way to Paris. She established herself as the new queen bee (not hard. Nobody likes Chloe except for Adrien and Sabrina) and worked on ruining Marinette’s life.

Her plan was simple. Drive Marinette into suicide so no one would question her murder. (Of course, nobody would actually find her old corpse. Lila planned to dump it in the river where it would quickly turn to ash.) or they could even think Marinette had run away. Either way works.

Lila cornered a sobbing Marinette and set about readying to kill her.

Fortunately Marinette knew self defence and got away just in time.

Knowing now that Lila was a crazy killer and that no one would believe her, Marinette ran.

She ended up in Provence and found shelter in an abandoned temple.

When she woke up, she found 7 kwamis hovering around her. Tikki, Plagg, Wayzz, Trixx, Nooroo, Duusu, and Pollen.

Marinette told them about her problem and they agreed to help her...if she helped to clean up this dusty temple and feed them. Don’t worry, the kwamis helped....well Plagg’s idea of helping was doing nothing since according to him, he could cause a disaster and destroy the temple.

Meanwhile, the Parisians were devastated by Marinette’s disappearance. What was wrong with that girl? Or was it their fault?

Adrien missed Marinette. Ever since Lila came around, she’s been making snide remarks about Marinette and driving her away. No matter how many times Adrien told her to stop, Lila was like Chloe, they turned a deaf ear to him.

Sitting around and moping wasn’t going to get anything done. Adrien resolved to search for Marinette and bring her home.

Lila didn’t matter as long as they had each other, right?

Woah...it sounded almost as though he liked Marinette, as more than a Friend... hmm, he must really miss her.

Lila, on the other hand, also organised a search party for Marinette. She needed the fairest girl in France because her spell won’t work on anyone else in this country!

Marinette re-entered Paris was Ruby Red (Trixx gave her a disguise). She had prepared a way to expose Lila.

First she made a sentiMari with Duusu.

Then she sent Nooroo’s enhanced butterflies to a guilt-ridden Alya, offering her the chance to get to the bottom of why Marinette left.

Next, Tikki stole Lila’s phone and lured her to where sentiMari was trying to hack it.

Lila then pounced on sentiMari and set about trying to steal her youth, but why wasn’t the spell working?

Lady Wifi got it all on live camera.

Pollen stings Lila and she is finally caught.

Lila is arrested and thrown into jail, where her youth quickly evaporated and she turns into dust.

As for sentiMari... well there can’t be 2 Marinettes. And it would be a shame for Mrs Rossi to have to die just because she is a puppet. SentiMari and Mrs Rossi merge their life force and body respectively to create a new, living being who is independent of Duusu’s power. Her name is Bridgette and she is Marinette’s long-lost aunt.

Meanwhile, Plagg got lost in the city of cheese. He was found by Adrien. They were the first to reunite with Ruby Red. Adrien admits he is looking for Marinette and wants to apologize for never noticing her distress.

Ruby admits their mistakes would be very hurtful. Perhaps it would be best if they leave her alone from now on.

Adrien: I can’t do that!

Ruby: why not? If you want to make it up to your Friend, don’t be selfish.

Adrien: well, love is selfish! And I love her, alright! I don’t want to let her go, even if she hates me.

Both are then stunned by what he just admitted.

Adrien: I love her...and I took her for granted like a selfish, obtuse, unreliable idiot.

Ruby: well...if she still has feelings for you, she must be an idiot too.

Adrien: wait, what?

Ruby transforms into Marinette.

Marinette: I loved you, Adrien Agreste. And you hurt me. So much.

Adrien: I know. And I’m sorry, Marinette. I really am.

Marinette: but as angry as I am with you. I’m even angrier with myself for being an idiot!

Adrien: what-?

Marinette cut him off with a sealing kiss. Adrien eagerly responded.

Anyway, Marinette was brought home by her long lost aunt Bridgette. Her parents were confused about this relation they never heard of before, since when did Sabine have a Sister?!

Adrien and Marinette were off to a rocky start in their new relationship, since Adrien had to make it up to her. But he’s not alone. The class had become submissive whenever it concerned Marinette. They never decided on anything concerning her without first asking her permission.

[monkeebratz]

Bio!Dad Bruce - Summer Begins

Initial idea | How it Happened | Addition by iggy-of-fans | Reply to iggy’s Addition | Summer Begins (you are here) | Summer Part 2 | Supers Meet | Scarecrow Interlude 

Going with the nice, Sabine-and-Tom-send-Marinette-to-Gotham-during-the-summer version, Marinette goes to visit Bruce and Alfred in Gotham during the summer. Its honestly kinda a clusterfuck, since you have the Miraculous Team being told she’ll be out of town and coming back as needed using the horse miraculous. (Her notification for the akuma alerts is the alt. Ladybug intro at full volume. Same for the hero discord they made pre-hawkmoth defeat. Adrian set it to that right before she left. Marinette’s going to kill him next time she sees him.) 

(also the miraculous team consists of Abeelle (Chloe), Viperion (Luka), Chat Noir (Adrian), and Himeryu (Kagami). Please forgive my horrible mangling of French and Japanese but Chloe and Kagami got to keep their miraculous with a costume and name change. Everybody knows each others identities and support Marinette going to Gotham after Hawkmoths defeat. They’re hoping she’ll be able to have a break. She absolutely doesn’t.) 

Anyway. Bruce and Alfred sit the boys down and tell them that another of Bruce’s children will be coming to stay with them over the summer. She’s had a rough time in Paris and she’s coming to have a break. Damien is threatened by the idea that Bruce has a younger, blood child, and is not excited about having a civilian in the house while they do hero work. Jason makes jokes about how of course Bruce has a hidden child in France, that’s just par for the course at this point. Tim’s pretty excited? more family! Dick, on the other hand, is all about it. He’s so ready. 

(Again, forgive me, i’m not familiar with most of the robin’s but I’ll do my best.) 

(Jason: Wait. You have more children? Where the fuck have you been hiding them?  Alfred: Marinette lives in Paris with her mother and father. Tim: OH my god. Is she an assassin too by any chance? Is she going to murder us with an Eiffel Tower charm?  Damien: Oh, shut up, Drake. Dick: We’re all going to die, holy shit. That or she’ll be like. Sweeter than sugar. Bruce: -DEEP SIGH- Boys. Please.) 

Alfred makes it clear that they’re not to interrogate Marinette and make her feel uncomfortable. She’s been having a rough time at school and in the city in general and she doesn’t need all the boys getting on her case. Its still a lot, though. Four brothers she hadn’t really interacted with beyond what Bruce and Alfred have told them, and she’s pretty proficient with English but having 3-4 native speakers all talking over each other while you’re trying to figure out what’s going on is Stressful As Hell. Bruce is tired. There’s many jokes about how Bruce’s bio children are a little devil and a little angel. 

The first week is a crazy adjustment period. The first few days are just the Wayne’s going about their routine and Marientte getting used to everything. Mostly the fact that the Wayne’s live in a mansion and she knew Bruce was rich and ran a company but its different knowing and seeing that first hand. Bruce offers to take Marinette shopping or to Wayne Enterprises but she declines, saying she’ll go out once she’s more settled. There’s lots of her being on the phone with the Super Squad bc she’s super anxious about being in the house with near strangers and in a new city and with all the Miraculi she hasn’t given out yet. 

Because yeah, did I mention that she’s the Official Guardian now? And has all the Miraculi hidden in a box in a box. Like. She made a box for the Miraculous Box similar to her diary box. And you know that Damien. Suspicious, assassin-trained, Damien. Went to snoop through her room. And got his hand caught in the box. Kaalki sees this and warns Marinette, who’s probably chilling out in the library, and rushes up. There’s yelling. Yelling that brings Alfred and Jason and possibly Dick up to see the youngest of them screaming at each other in French and Marinette is in the middle of a panic attack and Damien’s pride is hurting that he got caught and couldn’t get out. Alfred breaks it up and brings the boys back downstairs an when he tries to comfort Marinette, he comes back to a locked door and Marinette being comforted by the kwami’s. He assume’s she’s just on the phone with people tho. There’s panic with the Super Squad about someone trying to steal the miraculi and everyone promptly plans to come to Gotham. Without telling Marinette. 

Its all around a rough time.

The next day, Bruce tries to sooth all the ruffled feathers and they take a family trip out to the city. Shows Marinette all the interesting stuff around Gotham, the old buildings and historic district and lots of Wayne buildings and such. They stop at the city gardens and Marinette just lays in the flowers and tries to calm down. Damien makes a comment and oh wow, look at that. You somehow got an incredibly staining flower on your suit. Such. A. Shame. 

How do Damien and Marinette make up, you ask? But kicking the shit out of each other under the guise of training, of course. Because, lets be real, nobody ever expects Marinette to be a fighter. The Wayne’s all train, of course, and Bruce and Alfred know that Sabine taught their girl some things. But she can hold her own against all the boys. All of them. Hell, she can hold her own against Bruce. Against Damien. They’re all frankly shocked and slightly terrified bc uh? Where did you learn this? How? Why? 

Meanwhile, Damien and Marinette are still yelling in French and basically tearing the training room you know the Wayne’s have apart as they jump around and use the room to their advantage. But its cathartic. Because Damien doesn’t want this newcomer to hurt his family and he’s used to high level threats and even family can be a threat. Especially family, honestly. And he’d do whatever it took to keep his family safe, despite his piss poor attitude about everything. And Marinette? Marinette still has such a weight on her shoulders, she took over a duty she wasn’t truly prepared for, and she’s terrified about what will happen if she fails, even if everyone keeps telling her she’s won. Because lets face it, evil never really dies and she has to be above it all and always on top of her game. And she doesn’t really know the Wayne’s, not like her family back in Paris, and she wants to be close, but it scares the shit out of her. She’s always messed everything up, what happens if she messes this up too?

... Basically this fight ends up with a big heart to heart and they call a truce while the rest of the family stands there confused and a little terrified. Bruce. Bruce what is wrong with your bio!children? BRUCE. 

Alfred has a sinking suspicion about what’s going on here though, but keeps it to himself. 

(Next in, Multimouse meets Batman and the Birds. Also a partial identity reveil. Family bonding. Y’know. The usual. Also the Super Squad kidnaps their leader and the Wayne’s promptly panic. Again.) 

(Also just a reminder, guys, if you’d like to be added to the tag list, please send me an ask!) 

[miraculous-mare]

Hi everyone! I'm Imbri, I made this sideblog earlier this month when I got super into MLB and DCU from a more fanfic-esque perspective and wanted to try my hand at fic writing. I've since been pretty sick and I'm only just getting better, so I wanted to throw some possible story arcs and headcanons on here so I could preserve them somewhere and hold myself accountable for writing them. If this gets long I'll make separate posts but for now enjoy my tired ramblings

1. To All the Vigilantes I've Loves Before (TALTBILB AU)

We're starting with a fluffier one bc I'm in that kind of mood. You know how in To all the boys Lara Jean writes her letters when she has a huge crush? To her, the letters are a way to immortalize that feeling, to preserve it forever. She locks her love away until she wants to acknowledge it again, preserving it and ensuring her feelings are never tainted by the reality of these people. I don't think Marinette would do that. No, Marinette gets too caught up in the rosy side of love, especially when she's younger. She doesn't need a constant reminder of the good things about her crushes, she needs to be reminded of the bad, of the harsh reality of these people. Young Marinette dives in too deep too fast with Adrien, ignores his character in favor of her fantasy, and she never forgets how much it hurt. So in a moment of clarity, when he tells her not to stand up to Lila and abandons her, she writes him a letter. It's not mean, or attacking, and she doesn't intend to send it (she still addresses and stamps it, of course, because she's extra like that, and makes sure not to seal it so she can reread it, but she plans to keep it locked away). It's just an honest reflection on how he's not who she thought he was. How her affection for him was toxic, how she can't go back to being the Marinette who's obsessed with him, but he will always be the first boy she ever loved. Loved, past tense. And she intends to keep it that way.

Luka is the next one to get a letter. She writes his in the middle of the night. She couldn't sleep, had randomly decided to design a new stage outfit for him, and was quite impressed with her work until she found herself coloring his eyes green and his hair blond. She stops herself before she adds black cat ears, but the damage is done. Mari realizes he had always been a distraction for her, that she was trying to use his affection to bounce back from heartache. She rereads her letter to adrien before taking out a clean sheet of paper. Luka's letter is about how she can't hold on to love or the idea of a relationship so as to ignore her feelings and her hurt. She writes about how she was lucky to make new friends when her class turned her back on her, but she was trying too hard to pretend nothing had changed. Luka was filling the void Adrien had left, and marinette knew that she couldn't fall back on her unhealthy habits. She mentions that she still loves Luka, of course she does, but not like that, never like that. The next day, she tells him, in no uncertain terms, that he means a lot to her, really, and she doesn't want to lead him on, but he's honestly just a friend. Luka smiles and hugs her and tells her that's fine, and they remain close.

Chat noir gets his own letter when she starts to see herself with him but he won't stop flirting. She writes that as much as she can get caught up in the daydreams of their superhero power couple, he never wants to give her space or let her figure anything out. When they defeat hawkmoth and she finds out who he is, she pens an short paragraph about how hypocritical it was of him to tell her to back off Lila and let things work themselves out while being so insistent in his relationship with ladybug. She puts all three letters into one envelope and seals it. She knows now she can never love Adrien, that she will never look at him the same. She's learned her lesson, and she wants to leave this chapter in the past.

As Marinette grows up, finishes high school and her Guardian studies, as she gets her business degree, the pile of letters only grows. But Mari has become too hurt, too cautious with her heart. Her letters, once testaments to her growth and maturity, are now filled with excuses. Too scared to let anything develop into more than a basic crush, she pens a letter every time she lets her guard down, every time she feels even a sliver of non-platonic affection for anyone, and stashes it away with the rest of her unresolved feelings.

When she pins Kim down for a second too long during one of their sparring matches, she writes that she cannot jeopardize their friendship. They train together less frequently after that.

When she finds herself laughing too hard at her seatmate's whispered jokes in Intro to Business, she reasons that they're probably a player and sits somewhere else from then on.

On a visit to Paris, she loses herself in Kagami's eyes and her letter is about how stupid it is to even try long distance. So on and so forth, until her letters are nothing but quick notes and her reasons become meaningless.

This post is too long so I'm gonna rush through the next bits I'm sorry. She finally moves to Gotham, opens up a little boutique, and ladybug accepts an invitation to join the League. Soon after, she meets the Robins (it's hard not to come in contact when everyone enjoys jumping off the same rooftops in the dead of night), and she has a new, albeit secondary, team/family (because of course they know each other's identities).

At this point, Marinette has over twenty letters, all wrapped in twine and stuffed into a small box she keeps at the back of her closet. Her kwami try to push her to date again, insist this terrible habit needs to be broken, but she insists she's fine alone. Most are okay with this, but Plagg and Trixx? Not so much. One day, while she's down in her Atelier in the middle of a fitting, they rifle through the box, pick out a single letter, and convince kaalki to (begrudgingly) open up a portal straight into someone's PO Box (p sure Plagg used cataclysm by himself once so it's possible. If not let's ignore that and pretend it is lmao). Tikki is not impressed, but she doesn't do anything to stop them either.

It's three days later when Marinette finds out it's missing, a flirty encounter with red hood sending her rifling through her stash for Jason Todd's name. She needs to remind herself that he's too much of a bad boy, too flirty, too dark, that she’s too close to the bats to ruin it with feelings. She decides she misplaced it until Jason stops by her flat two days later, letter in hand.

Now, Jason technically comes over to confront Marinette, but he’s not sure about what, exactly. she seemed to have liked him at some point, but was convinced it wouldn’t work out. Part of him wants to prove her wrong, part of him is wondering why she’s so mistrusting to have written him off so soon. Marinette, upon seeing her letter, panics, but she ends up having to explain everything. Jason isn’t sure if he should be more concerned that literal gods have decided to take her relationship into their own tiny hands or that she’s so scared of loving she’s got this stash of letters about nearly everyone in her life. Eventually he convinces her to pull them out, and Jason is so shocked by the sheer number of them that he almost wants to wrap her in his arms and show her that love isn’t all bad. Instead, he slips and offers to help set her up on dates, and before they know it they have a contract: he’ll plan a new blind date for her, with anyone from one of the open letters, every two weeks. She promises to go in open-minded and do her best to actually make it work. In exchange, he’ll model for her newest line (something she’s been begging him to do for ages). When she says the contract is all in her favor, he throws in that she can be his date to the Wayne Christmas Party at the end of the year. They shake on it, and the pieces begin to fall into place.

Cue six months of a heavily pining Jason setting Marinette up on dates she progressively wants to go on less and less. Cue them meeting for fittings and clothe designs in Marinette’s atelier and grabbing coffee together. Marinette starts to open up to the possibility of love, but with Jason, who’s obviously not interested or else why would he still be setting her up on dates? it’s all incredibly messy and complicated and a little angsty but just a ton of fun.

Idk I feel like this idea low-key sucks now that I’ve written it out so uhhh let me know what you guys think? I have other ideas but I’m gonna put them into other posts bc this is too long as is. 

[falsewings]

For the @goodintentionswipfest , here’s an abandoned wip for Miraculous Ladybug that I kept in a file named ‘More superhero teens (series of one shots)’ (that’s the closest I got to a title, sorry). It was supposed to be a serious of one-shots where Alya, Nino and Chloe also got kwami (the fox, peacock and bee) and became heroes alongside Marinette and Adrien. And the all knew each other’s identity. 

Abandoned because I stopped watching the show around the time season 2 aired and I lost interest in the fandom. I have one or two other Ladybug WIPs I’m not ready to abandon yet but the show moved on so this idea no longer fits.

This fic would have featured reluctant Marinette & Chloe teamwork and mutual awkward pining between Marinette and Adrien. Also Chloe using a scepter that had an electric shock and Nino got the peacock (I was convinced this would be canon) and fought with fans as weapons

First ideas that I had for stories but only some of them got snippets written for them (which I’ll post after the ideas) One Shot Ideas for this Collection:

LB and Chat don’t know how to work in a 5-man team

Marinette & Alya discuss superheroes & secret identities. (Are the miraculouses disguising them or is the Clark Kent effect at work here? PS Alya is dropping all the superhero refs)

The gang needs some place to meet weekly 

Chat flirts with LB w/o thinking about it and there is a moment of awkward bc post-reveal 

Chloe is tired of Marinette & Adrien being oblivious of their mutual crushes and obliquely steps in

Marinette & Chloe have disagreement during a weekly meeting. Adrien steps in with an egregious pun (“Bee Agrestive”). They both express instant disgust to Alya’s great amusement

Marinette has the idea to steal a phone to solve some problem. Alya & Tikki bring up the other times she’s stolen phones. Chloe is more interested in the fact the Marinette stole Adrien’s phone but everyone is too busy to answer her questions

Chloe has an evening ritual wherein she & her bee kwami share a tea service

Marinette trips & Chloe instinctually stops her from falling. It surprises everyone, even each other. It’s also an awkward 10 seconds

Marinette has a scrape on her hand that Lucky Charm doesn’t heal bc reasons. Chloe acts strangely & tells her to bandage it

Sabrina is feeling jealous that Chloe is suddenly spending so much time away from her. Chloe has to console her without explaining the whole superhero thing

Chloe is just as irritated by lovely-dovey Adriennette and clueless Marinette & Adriens. She vocally regrets forcing them to admit their feelings

LB once again catches Chloe (tho this time as Honeybee [Queen Bee?]) and Chloe once again feels slightly flustered. LB is once again oblivious.

Honeybee catches Chat & prevents him from falling. Then he makes an awful pun and she debates on letting him fall anyway

LB and Chat once again wind up entangled bc of an akuma. They flirt excessively until someone reminds them the battle is still happening

Honeybee saves Lila during a battle. The next day in class, Lila relays the story, adding that she & Honeybee are practically BFFs. Chloe is so completely reminded of her antics around LB before she knew that it was Marinette, that she keeps a blank face & tells herself that this is not happening

Adrien & Chloe find definitive proof that Gabriel is Hawkmoth. Chloe forces Nathalie to let Adrien stay @ Le Grand Paris for the weekend & everyone holds an emergency meeting

And now the snippets! for idea #3 There were several factors that Marinette had to take into consideration in deciding a time and place.

Adrien’s schedule was by far the most restrictive thanks to his many activities. And how he spent his free time was more likely to be scrutinized than anyone else in the group.

Alya’s younger siblings were too curious to not eavesdrop on their conversations.

Nino’s parents would not appreciate five teens showing up at their apartment every week.

Marinette’s parents were too kind not to stop in every few minutes just to stuff her friends with food. And she would have to come up with an explanation as to why Chloe, the girl whose antics Marinette had complained about for years, was suddenly hanging out with Marinette on a frequent basis.

And so, in the end, it was the Bourgeois hotel where they met up. Out of everyone in the group, Chloe was the only one Gabriel Agreste knew and approved of.

They also didn’t have to worry about anyone poking around.

for idea #1 The confrontation happens after an akuma has been purified. Although, it’s less of a confrontation and more of a barb from Chloe.

“Nice team work.”

for idea #4 “[Something flirting and related to the Akuma of the Week]” Chat says. The words slip out of his mouth. Just as thoughtlessly, he leans into her. It’s habit. A pattern that formed within their partnership. He’s just waiting for Ladybug to playfully nudge him away with a quip of her own. Except she doesn’t.

Instead, her eyes are wide and her face is becoming a brilliant red. It’s this slip in a well-worn routine that reminds him of their situation. He’s flirting with Marinette and she knows he’s Adrien underneath the mask. He’s flirting with her and he’s pretty sure they’re just friends.

He can feel heat crawling up his neck as they stand there, frozen and their faces way too close. It’s not until Volpina yells, “Incoming,” that they divert their gaze to the akuma and quickly dodge the attack.

After, when the akuma has been purified, he thinks about talking to her. He knows that he should. But Marinette’s already tugging on Alya’s hand and making her goodbyes and he’s a bit too terrified of the possibilities to try and change her plans.

So he’s stuck walking home with Chloe, trying to ignore the irritated look on her face.

[cruddyborderlandstheories]

okay this isn’t a theory at all but I wanted to talk about my 3 Zane builds... because I can and nobody can stop me ahahahahaha

I used this site: https://bl3skills.com/

so far they have Zane, Amara, and Moze available so you should 100% go check it out cuz the creator is doing god’s work and also making builds is fun

the kill skill build im probably going to use mainly on single player:

the reason it's a kill skill build is because the capstone for Hitman (Death Follows Close) is insanely powerful when you consider the Seein’ Red skill. That is, the Seein’ Red skill allows you to activate all your kill skills whenever you activate ur action skill. And Death Follows Close gives every killskill a 40% buff and +4 seconds. which is insane (I spent like an hour just doing the math for all my builds lol). This will be using Zoomer and the Clone, where Zoomer’s got both Bad Dose (radiation damage and movement speed/fire rate buffs for Zane) and Static Shield (if possible bc idk if u can take parallel augments- drains enemy shields and replenishes Zane’s (if not, we’ll take Winter’s Drone which does cryo damage)) and the Clone has Schadenfreude (when the clone takes damage, Zane’s shield is regened) and Which One’s Real (enemies will aggro the clone more often after teleporting - because we want our clone alive and taking aggro for as long as possible- if not possible then we’ll take Binary System in replacement of Schadenfreude). 

this is probably going to be my crowd control build. It likely won’t be outputting a huge amount of damage but if there’s a lot of people and i’m being overwhelmed i imagine the quick action skill charges and the increased movement speed will help a lot

which leads me to the omgwth build that i am v proud of:

This one is my kamikaze build because when I’m playing with friends I like to do dumb shit, and dumb shit includes running into a fight im most definitely not going to win without dying. I take inspiration from suicide psychos.

so basically I’m gonna use the barrier and clone. The idea is to deploy both action skills at once (and pick up the barrier), then run into battle screaming shooting at enemies through the shield. Hopefully at this point I’ll have picked up a nova shield and, i think you can see where this is going, then I can run into the middle of a bunch of enemies and as the barrier’s timer runs out and my shield depletes, teleport out using the clone once the nova hits (we don’t want to be there too long or else our clone’s timer might run out, which is why I didn’t go for Hearty Stock) and let my shields recharge in preparation to do it all over again.

an explanation for a few skills that may make you go “why??”: i chose Really Expensive Jacket over Futility Belt bc the latter is a kill skill, while REJ is always active- a -50% duration of DoT’s is REALLY good, especially if i get DoTed before i teleport, then the shields immediately recharging after i teleport (Quick Breather) won’t take effect because they’ll instantly be knocked out again. Also Zane screams a LOT when he’s on fire and I’m good. I’m good. As for why I chose Duct Tape Mod, I wanna see if it works with the Infinity. if it does, then my god. that’s glorious. Am also hoping it fires a grenade with your grenade mod attached. If it does, then it will likely take from ur stock, which is another reason to have Pocket Full of Grenades. if it doesn’t, then it’s a vanilla grenade and I don’t think that will take from the stock (that’d be kinda shitty), and, hey, free booms.

The barrier stays active for 9 seconds (12.6 with both action skills active) and the clone stays active for 18 (25.2 with both skills active- not sure how this will work when one action skill runs out). The reason I got Violent Momentum is because bullet damage is boosted by the barrier (+20%) and that’s an additional straight +30% gun damage on top of that without any speed boosts as we “run” into battle, but, even better, I’ll be using the Charged Relay (bonus speed!) and Deterrence Field (touch the shield as i zoom towards you and get zapped asshole) augments for the barrier. We’ll also have the skill Supersonic Man, which will maximize our movement speed when the barrier is up. Which is exactly what we want. And, of course, the clone will have Binary System (cryo nova on teleport) and Dopplebanger (booms whenever the action skill ends). because we want to maximize the amount of boom happening at the very end of this maneuver. 

The reason we’re going for grenade regen here (Pocket Full of Grenades) is because we want our clone to be a big strong boy so he can tank and output damage for us before going boom, since after we teleport to relative safety we’re going to need to let our shields regen. Binary System will cause a cryo explosion and Dopplebanger will cause a fire explosion, not the mention the skill that drops a ‘free’ grenade when the clone is killed (wondering if that stacks with Dopplebanger or not). without the Death Follows Close skill, we need to rely on the base 15%/s grenade recharge rate, so that leaves us with about 120% of a grenade 8 seconds after we kill an enemy. and, hopefully, with the way this build is gonna work, minimum 3 grenades before the next time our clone is summonable (with Adrenaline we get a 20.8 long second recharge rate w/ our clone and a 14.8 recharge rate w/ our barrier- 3 grenades would take ~24 seconds with max efficiency) and our shield is fully charged (not factoring grenade drops from enemies here)

Oh, also, my clone is getting a rocket launcher. because that’d be really funny with a +51% fire rate and +33% damage (not to mention the +10% damage from swapping places). If my nova shield burst won’t kill ‘em, then the cryo nova could, if the cryo nova doesn’t, then the rocket launcher could, and if the rocket launcher doesn’t, then the fiery explosion of death might! 

... or the grenade, depending on if i detonate the clone or it gets killed before i’m able to. We’ll see.

my turtle kwami build (that’s a protection build for those of you who don’t miraculous ladybug) for when i think i'm gonna get absolutely fucked without shields and/or I wanna snipe:

focus on cryo sniping and surviving mostly. i love cryo but uh im not the safety/surviving type so i am slightly disappointed it’s merged so far into his barrier tree. Thankfully, i don’t mind sniping/supporting my teammates every once in a while so it’s not a problem, i can get my cryo fix lol. i still prefer pretending this is Jackass the Video Game tho

anyway we don’t care much about increasing shield capacity because if things go according to plan we’ll have the barrier up most of the time (base barrier recharge is 18 seconds, it will become 14.4 seconds) and tbh capacity doesn’t matter much if our shields don’t regen fast enough. also if we’re using amp shields for sniping, then we want the charge rate to be as fast as possible for that as well. We’re also focused on health regen for surviving bc snipers are squishy and we might not be able to get out of danger fast enough so we wanna healthgate, so we got both Rise to the Occasion and Salvation

We’re also using Confident Competence and Nerves of Steel to maximize our sniping potential. To maximize Cryo stuff, we’ve chosen the skills Best Served Cold and Cold Bore. The reason I want to maximize cryo stuff is because of Calm, Cool, n Collected which is fucking amazing, and on a sniper where the duration or recharge of ur action skill can be fully reset? BEAUTIFUL. (even though I’m not big on the Under Cover tree, CCaC is one of my favorite skills. Holy shit is this awesome). Cryo is also great on a sniper in general, as frozen enemies can’t dodge you spamming their crit spot.

We’re also going to get Seein’ Red so activating an action skill will set off all kill skills. These kill skills include Futility Belt (all elemental damage is set to non-elemental damage- basically a 22% damage reduction to all damage for 8 seconds), Salvation (weapons grant life steal for 20% damage (which is AMAZING) for 8 seconds), and Cool Hand (increases reload speed). The reason we’re aiming for reload speed is because we wanted Almighty Ordnance and getting Praemunitus wouldn’t let us do that, so we take the second best thing to magazine size.

Our augmentations will be Nanites or Some Shite (health regen, reload speed (synergizes with Cool Hand) and shield recharge delay (amp shield)) and Redistribution (increased gun damage by +9% for 3s whenever the shield takes damage). For Zoomer, we’re gonna take Winter’s Drone (in hopes that will still proc Calm, Cool, and Collected- if not, well, cryo is brilliant for snipers anyway) and Almighty Ordnance (for long distance missile damage. I was thinking this plus whenever Zoomer drops a grenade (which will be a singularity grenade) will be absolutely amazing).

anyway, if it wasn’t obvious enough, im maining Zane and i'm going to have a great fuckin time yeet

im hoping i’ll be able to min/max further with class mods and artifacts. I get the feeling Zane’s class mods will allow him faster recharge rate for one action skill (either depending on slot or whichever tree the mod buffs most). Artifacts are apparently going to buff movement types, which I’m REALLY excited for. I hope I can get some cryo damage going with my slams/sliding.

I am also very much considering a Hyperion and Tediore build for my kamikaze build until I get max level, then we’ll see which legendaries i need to grind in order to maximize chaos with my gear as well. Idk what kinda rocket launcher i’d get though. maybe something Maliwan... ooo you know what, do the CoV make rocket launchers? I’d love to see how the heat mechanic plays with the clone getting a copy of your current gun...

EDIT: edited to add links to each build.

[aalissy]

A Forgotten Rose

Chapter 13 of Dreaming in Black and White. Sorry it took forever guys but I got sick blech. Hopefully this chapter makes up for it though. Also Chat Blanc killed me bc I just want my bebes to be happyyyyy. Lemme know what you think :)

AO3

Adrien’s first thought when he awoke that morning was of Marinette. Even Nathalie’s rapid knocks on his bedroom door couldn’t stop his heart from fluttering at the idea of seeing her later that day. Soon, however, that giddiness completely evaporated. He literally rejected her a week ago. God, why was he such an idiot? Marinette was amazing and super pretty. They could have shared a world of colors together if he had only said yes. A longing sigh escaped him as he imagined what that would be like. Groaning, Adrien buried his face into his pillow in an attempt to smother himself. Before he could do so, however, Nathalie entered the room, “Adrien, you need to get up. You have a photoshoot this morning, remember?”

Letting out a quiet whine, he turned his head to the side to give her a weak smile, “Thank you, Nathalie.”

She gave him a brisk nod before turning and heading out of his room. Sitting up, he scrubbed his face with his hands, blowing out a long breath of air. As Adrien made his way over to the bathroom, Plagg floated up from beneath his bed covers and followed him, “Well, somebody looks cheerful this morning,” he snickered sarcastically.

“Oh, shut up, Plagg,” he glared at his kwami.

“Hey, it’s not my fault you didn’t get with pigtails when you had the chance,” the small, black cat rolled his eyes at him, “In fact, may I remind you that I’ve been trying to tell you that you’ve been in love with her all along.”

“I know,” Adrien sighed as he got dressed, “I’m really just mad at myself for not realizing sooner.”

“I understand, kid,” Plagg nods before rubbing his belly, “Now would you get me some camembert, all this talk about love is making me hungry.”

Rolling his eyes at the gluttonous kwami, he spits out his toothpaste, wiping his mouth as he walks over to the supply of camembert. A sudden thought strikes him when he grabbed a piece of the stinky cheese and he turned to Plagg with wide, panicked eyes, “Plagg! What about Ladybug?!”

“What about her?” the small cat asked, his eyes completely focused on the cheese that was still in Adrien’s grip.

“How can I be in love with both Marinette and Ladybug?! Neither of them deserves that,” he ran a hand through his hair anxiously.

“My lips are sealed unless you give me that cheese,” Plagg said hungrily.

Adrien rolled his eyes before tossing the piece at the small cat. He watched in disgust as the whole piece was devoured in one bite, “Ugh, Plagg you’re incorrigible.”

The kwami merely grinned mischievously before taking on a more serious look, “Well if we’re being honest kid, only one of them has ever shown any interest in you.”

“Yeah, I suppose you’re right,” his brow furrowed, “Thanks for the talk, Plagg,” Adrien murmured before making his way downstairs.

“You’re welcome,” he beamed before diving into the boy’s front pocket.

Trudging into his dining room with a loud yawn, Adrien practically collapsed on the chair by his freshly-made breakfast. For the first time, the early morning hour hit him and he was struck by a wave of exhaustion. Scarfing down the small breakfast in front of him he downed his orange juice in one gulp. Chewing on his avocado toast, the model contemplated exactly what he was going to say to Marinette. 

As though sensing exactly when he had finished, Nathalie arrived into the dining room, “Are you finished with your meal?” she looked down at his empty plate with a quirked eyebrow. Adrien nodded at her, his lips quirking into a slight smirk before she handed him a slip of paper, “Good. Your driver is ready to take you to your photoshoot then,” the assistant turned and briskly walked out of the room as he followed along behind her, shooting one last, longing glance at his bedroom upstairs. 

I could be in bed sleeping right now, he thought forlornly.

As he slid into one of the plush leather seats of the limo outside, Nathalie turned to him with an expectant look, “The shoot should only take about 30 minutes, so don’t worry about being late for class.”

“I understand,” Adrien nodded before muttering quietly, “Besides, father would never let me be late for school.”

“What was that Adrien?” her eyes narrowed at him suspiciously.

He merely smiled at her innocently, “Nothing. Just wondering what class will be like today.”

Nathalie nodded at him before turning to her notes, leaving him to contemplate his thoughts to himself. Turning to gaze out at the colorless world from his window, his thoughts drifted to Marinette and how he was going to apologize to her. Sighing, Adrien rested his chin on his hand, vainly hoping that there was a way to salvage their relationship.

And perhaps add something more to it, a small, nagging voice taunted him, causing a red flush to light up his cheeks. Stop that! You ruined any chance you had with Marinette and you know it, he berated himself.

Soon, his limo had pulled up to the park where his photoshoot was getting set up. Directly after he stepped out of the car, he was immediately rushed into hair and make-up. Once again, Adrien’s thoughts drifted over to a certain designer and he wished that she were here instead. The usual long, boring process of hair and make-up passed rather quickly as he imagined Marinette’s hands fixing his hair and applying his bronzer. Eventually, he was snapped out of his daydreams as they finished up and hurried him outside. 

Vincent stood there with a large grin as he neared the fountain, “Adrien! You look fantastico! It is amazing to see you once again.”

The model chuckled at the eccentric photographer, “You as well, Vincent. It’s been a while since I’ve had a photoshoot.”

“I hope you haven’t forgotten everything, then,” he winked at the boy in front of him before toying with his camera, “Now I’m going to need looks of passion and awe from you, think you can do that?”

Adrien bit his lip, a small, shy smile spreading across his face as he nodded at the photographer, “Yeah, I think I can.”

I don’t think it’ll be too hard to look like that when I can barely stop myself from thinking of Marinette.

Leaning back, Adrien imagined just what it would feel like to be the designer’s boyfriend. A feeling of intense longing welled up from within him as he wondered what it would have been like had he accepted her feelings from the beginning. His fingers tightened around nothing as he envisioned holding Marinette’s hand and pulling her in for a sweet kiss. A small sigh left his lips as he imagined the colors they could have shared together.

As expected, the photographer gasped as he began snapping shot after shot, “Perfetto! Magnifico!” 

It was easy coming up with the looks that Vincent continuously shouted at him as he daydreamed about the adorable designer. In fact, it was almost too easy picturing Marinette as his girlfriend. With shocking clarity, Adrien realized that this was not the first time he had done this. He had thought about her multiple times during photoshoots, especially when she was right across from him when he invited her to come watch after the battle with Troublemaker. His eyes strayed over to her usual position longingly and, for a second, it almost seemed as though she were there, smiling cheerfully over at him. The model’s fists clenched together tightly with anger and bitterness. Had I just realized sooner none of this would have happened, he thought to himself furiously.

“No! No!” Vincent’s voice broke through Adrien’s sullen musings, “That is the expression of a boy who has just received a bowl of limp noodles! I want to see a look a bowl full of spaghetti inspires!”

“Sorry,” he murmured sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck nervously, “It won’t happen again,” Adrien assured before shaking off the angry thoughts. 

The rest of the photoshoot passed rather quickly with Vincent shouting out small words of encouragement and inspiration for poses. When the thirty minutes were up, Nathalie quickly hurried him into the limo, “You did very well today, Adrien. Vincent tells me that this was some of your best work,” she said as she looked through her notes.

The boy blinked at her in surprise for a moment, “Really? Wow, I’m glad.”

“Just make certain that you do just as well in the photoshoot after school today,” she shot him a pointed glance before turning back to their notes. 

Adrien gulped quietly, nodding at her before turning to face the window. His stomach tightened into knots as they slowly neared the school. Running over exactly what he had planned to say to the girl that had taken over his thoughts for most of the day, he placed his hand over the door handle. When they slowed to a stop in front of the entrance, he quickly bolted out of the car, eagerly running straight to class. Adrien’s eyes immediately shot straight to Marinette’s seat and his heart sank in disappointment when he realized it was empty.

Damn, I was really hoping to talk to her before class today, he thought to himself, his lips pursing in slight annoyance as he slid into his seat.

As the minutes ticked ever nearer, and more and more students entered the classroom, Adrien’s stomach continued to tighten anxiously. When his best friend, Nino, arrived he attempted to make light conversation with him, yet his eyes were continuously drawn to the door whenever it opened.

“You waiting for someone, dude?” Nino quirked an eyebrow at him after his eyes strayed for the fifth time.

A light flush brushed across his cheeks as he realized he was caught. With an awkward chuckle, he rubbed the back of his neck nervously, “Yeah. I ran out on Marinette during our project last night and I wanted to apologize.”

“Because of your dad?” the DJ gave him an understanding nod, clapping a hand to his shoulder sympathetically.

“Yeah,” Adrien winced slightly, a guilty feeling gnawing at his insides.

Nino merely smiled widely, squeezing his shoulder, “Ah, well you know Marinette! If she’s two minutes late, she’s five minutes early, and besides, it is Marinette we’re talking about! You’re probably already forgiven, dude!”

“I guess,” he mumbled, glanced down at his notebook awkwardly. The sound of the bell jolted him out of his dreary thoughts and he quickly focused on Mlle. Bustiers’ lesson. 

Rather soon afterwards, Marinette stumbled her way into the classroom, apologizing profusely before rushing over to her seat. Adrien watched her sit down with an adoring smile on his face. His previous feelings of anxiousness completely disappeared into a wave of butterflies from her presence alone.

After Mlle. Bustier turned around once again to continue their lesson, he felt a small tap on his shoulder. Turning around, he was met with Marinette’s beaming, adorable face as she smiled down at him, “I was hoping you’d be in class today because I made you this,” she whispered, pulling out a bag and handing it over to him, “Are you feeling better after yesterday?”

Adrien nodded dumbly at her for a moment before he snapped out of his stupor, taking the bag from her with a purposeful brush of their fingers. He reached inside and grabbed a perfect-looking croissant out, “Thank you, Marinette,” he murmured breathily back.

“It’s no problem at all!” her grin grew wider, “I just hope that it’s still warm! I rushed over here as fast as I could,” she nibbled lightly on her lip.

“I’m certain that it’s perfect, Marinette,” he whispered back at her, quickly turning around before they could get caught. Adrien immediately bit into his croissant, letting the savory flavor explode on his tongue. The warmth from the pastry mixed perfectly well with the light layer of butter and he practically devoured the treat. He gave Marinette a quick thumbs-up and a beaming grin before facing Mlle. Bustier once again.

For the first time in his life, the model realized that sitting in front of Marinette was the worst thing ever. He practically ached with the need to turn around and stare at the girl as she worked. Luckily, Adrien managed to sneak a few peeks at the girl behind him and watch her tongue stick out in utter concentration as she took notes. However, these looks did not go unnoticed by Alya who raised her eyebrows at him smugly. The model merely gave her a shaky smile, shrugging with a faint blush spreading across his cheeks before turning back to his notes.

When the bell finally rang at the end of his last class, Adrien packed his things eagerly, hoping to meet Marinette outside and exchange a few words with her before going to his photoshoot. 

And maybe have a chance to discuss the current status of your relationship, a sly voice snickered from inside him.

Brushing the voice off, Adrien quickly hurried outside, scanning the grounds for Marinette. Though he was unable to find her, his limo was already nearing the school’s entrance. Huffing out a breath of air angrily, he waved goodbye to Nino and trudged over to the car. With a tired smile at the Gorilla, he slid into his seat with a quiet sigh. Adrien’s eyes glanced over at the empty seat next to him, wishing futilely that Marinette was here and that they were going to her house to study instead of the park for another shoot. 

Instead of Marinette, however, Nathalie slid into the empty seat, giving him a polite nod, “Good afternoon, Adrien.”

��Good afternoon, Nathalie,” he gave her a tired smile in response.

“I trust you already know that you have a photoshoot in twenty minutes?”

The model nodded, “Yes, Nathalie. Thank you for reminding me, though.”

“You’re welcome, Adrien,” she said curtly, “It shouldn’t take long if you do as well tonight as you did this morning.”

“Let’s hope so,” Adrien murmured, leaning his head back against the headrest as his eyes fluttered closed. It didn’t take long before they arrived, and his peace was interrupted as he was whisked into hair and make-up. Only light touches needed to be reapplied to his face and hair before he was placed back in front of the camera.

What a great day today was, he thought to himself bitterly, I barely got to talk to Marinette and these photoshoots are just the worst.

Placing his usual, model smile on his face he tried to get through the photoshoot as quickly as he could. When they were nearly wrapping up, his eyes were drawn to a lone figure on a bench nearby who was staring up at the sky. It took a few seconds before he realized that it was Marinette and his eyes lit up in excitement, “Uh, Vincent, would you um, mind if we stopped early?”

“Hmm, give me just a few more pictures in a new pose and I bet I will have enough to wrap up here,” he beamed at him, “But make them count, Monsieur Agreste.”

Adrien nodded eagerly, puffing out his chest with a confident smile as he continually glanced over at the bench to check on Marinette, vainly hoping that she might spot them. Within a few more pictures, Vincent let out a happy cry and let Adrien go.

With a thankful smile at his photographer, he slowly walked over to the girl who was clearly sketching a new design. Gulping nervously to himself, he tapped on her shoulder watching her look up at him startled, “You making a new outfit?” the model grinned down at her.

“Oh, Adrien! I didn’t know you were here!” Marinette looked him up and down which caused his face to turn a deep red. He practically squealed in his head, feeling his heart beat faster as her gaze returned to his face with a curious smile, “You look different. You had a photoshoot after school today, right?”

“Yeah, I did,” Adrien sat next to her, letting his foot rest against her own, as he preened slightly for her, “What do you think?”

Marinette giggled, shaking her head at him with a roll of her eyes, “You look great, Adrien. Though I suspect you already know this.”

“Yeah but your opinion is the only one that matters to me,” he poked her side teasingly.

Her mouth dropped open into a cute expression of surprise before her brow furrowed and she gave him a strange look, “Really?”

“Y-yeah because you’re a fashion designer and everything,” Adrien chuckled at her nervously, scratching the back of his neck. And because I want to look good for you, he added to himself silently.

“Mhm,” Marinette hummed before returning to her sketch.

He leaned closer to look at the design, breathing in a deep breath full of cinnamon and cookies, “So, like I was saying before, what are you working on?”

Her lips slowly spread into a wide smile and damn if he didn’t want to kiss that look right off her face. Marinette’s eyes shot up to the sky for a moment before returning to his gaze, “I got really inspired by the sky yesterday so I was making a new dress. Do you wanna see?”

“Of course!” Adrien used the excuse to shuffle closer, letting his arm bump against her own, feeling a trail of warmth run along his arm with the movement. He gazed down at the pretty, poofy dress and imagined how beautiful she would look in it, “Wow, Marinette, that looks amazing!” he breathed out.

“You really think so?” she bit her lip shyly as she glanced at him from beneath her lashes.

He nodded quickly to assure her, “Oh definitely! You know I think your designs are just the greatest!” Adrien took a deep gulp of air before continuing, “And I think you would look amaz-”

Before he could finish his sentence, he was cut off by a throat clearing in front of them. He looked up to see Nathalie glaring down at the two of them, tapping her heels in the ground impatiently, “I heard from Vincent that you left the photoshoot early. Is that true, Adrien?”

His brow furrowed as he leaned away from Marinette, “Well yes but-”

“Your father is going to be extremely disappointed to hear this, Adrien. You know that if you finish early you’re to head straight home,” her angry glare chilled him and he shrank back from her slightly.

Before he could open his mouth to explain, Marinette stood up with a remorseful smile, “I’m so sorry, Mlle. Sancouer. This is all my fault,” she paused to take in a deep breath of air, “You see after Adrien went home early from our group project, I asked him if he would be able to get out of one of his photoshoots early and come meet with me. I had a few more questions to ask him and I honestly didn’t realize it would be so important, considering he had two shoots today.”

“Is this true, Adrien?” Nathalie turned to look at him as he stared up at Marinette in awe.

“Hmm?” his head snapped to hers at the sound of his name before he stood up, nodding sadly, “Yeah, I’m really sorry Nathalie. I honestly didn’t realize it was going to take up so much time.”

She gave them a brisk nod, “Then that is acceptable. However, next time tell me so that this does not happen in the future. Finish discussing the state of your project soon and then come to the limo so that we can head home,” with that, she turned and strode away from the two teens.

“I can’t thank you enough, Marinette,” Adrien reached out for her hand, giving it a quick squeeze.

 “Don’t mention it, Adrien,” she smiled at him, “I just didn’t want to see you get in trouble over nothing.”

She’s absolutely amazing, he thought to himself with awe, How come I never noticed that before?!

“Still, thank you so much, Marinette. You have no idea how much trouble you’ve just saved me from. Where did you learn how to do that?”

She giggled sweetly before nodding over his shoulder, “Let's just say I've gotten good at coming up with excuses recently. Now, you had better go before you get in trouble again. I don’t know how many excuses Nathalie will accept before you really do get in trouble.”

Giving her hand one last squeeze, Adrien let go of her reluctantly. Staring down into her beautiful, sparkling eyes he made the quick decision to lean down and peck her cheek, “See you tomorrow, Marinette,” he whispered in her ear before swiftly dashing off towards the car.

He sighed dreamily after sitting down in one of the comfy seats, causing Nathalie to look at him curiously, “Did you finish answering all of her questions regarding the assignment?”

“Yeah, yeah I did,” Adrien nodded dumbly, still staring off into space as he envisioned himself stealing Marinette’s lips in a kiss instead of just her cheek. Continuing down that line of thought he barely even realized that they had arrived home until Nathalie shut the car door loudly. Snapping out of his daydreams, he practically floated his way up to his bedroom before falling onto his bed with a loud sigh.

“Feeling any better, lover boy?” Plagg snickered down at him.

“Mhm,” he hummed happily, “Did you hear the way she stood up for me, Plagg? God, she’s perfect!”

His kwami merely rolled his eyes at him, “Are you going to be like this all the time now, Adrien? I don’t know how much of this I’ll be able to handle.”

“Just wait until we get married and have three kids and a little pet hamster,” Adrien sighed loudly, “I’ll be absolutely insufferable by then.”

“Yuck, all this talk about love is making me sick. Got any cheese to make up for it?” Plagg asked hopefully. The model nodded his head before getting up and tossing the black cat a piece from his stash. The kwami’s eyes narrowed in suspicion as he ate the slice of camembert, “Huh, that was easy. Usually, you put up more of a fight before giving me my cheese.”

Ignoring the kwami, Adrien shook his head, “I have to confess, Plagg. I don’t know how much longer I can stand not being with her. Especially with how amazing and beautiful she is.”

The small, black cat chuckled, “I can’t wait to see how that’ll go seeing how you rejected her about a week ago.”

His eyes took on a mischievous twinkle as he smiled at Plagg, “Adrien rejected her, Plagg. I know someone else who didn't. Someone she’s also confessed too,” he shook the hand containing his ring in front of his kwami’s face with a smug smile.

“No, no, no!” the small cat begged, “Let’s not be hasty here kid and just wai-”

“Plagg claws out!” Adrien interrupted the kwami’s pleadings as he felt the energy rush through his bones. 

With an excited bounce to his step, Chat Noir immediately leapt out the window. Taking off into the night, he felt the wind ruffle his hair as he scanned the ground for what he needed. It didn’t take long before he spotted it, and he quickly and neatly landed next to the rose bush. The superhero searched the bush for the perfect flower before he finally found it, plucking the delicate rose from where it was hidden within the leaves. Carefully slicing the thorns with his claws he tucked the flower behind his belt before he took off for Marinette’s house. 

Rehearsing exactly what he was going to say to her in his confession, Chat prayed that he wouldn’t freeze up in her presence and forget everything. Butterflies fluttered happily within his stomach as he neared her balcony and he took in a huge gulp of breath. Landing right next to the trapdoor, he reached out to knock on the hatch before pausing, “You can do this, Chat,” he whispered to himself nervously as he began pacing, “It’s just Marinette. You know her and it’s never been hard to talk to her before.”

With those last encouraging words, he ran a hand through his hair anxiously before leaning down and quickly knocking on the small trapdoor. Chat’s hand went behind his back to reassure himself that the rose was still there. As he heard movement from down below, he clutched the flower in his grasp tighter.

Within a few moments, Marinette’s bright face grinned up at him in a wonderful beam, “Chaton!” she jumped up and tackled him into a giant embrace.

He stumbled back from the force of her hug and almost lost his grip on the rose. Holding onto the flower tightly with one hand he used the other to snuggle deeper into the girl’s embrace. Her warmth sent delicate shivers up his spine, lighting his body on fire before he leaned back to look down at her.

“I have news!” they both blurted out at the same time.

Giggling, Marinette gestures at him, “You go first. What do you need to tell me?”

Taking a deep breath, Chat holds onto the rose tighter, “Well,” he drags out before he’s cut off by the designer.

“Did you know that the sky is blue?” she practically squeals, biting her lower lip with barely contained excitement.

“W-what?” he breathed out, his grip loosening around the rose.

“Luka asked me out yesterday!” she practically shouts, bouncing with joy.

His mouth drops and his heart tumbles along after it, “O-oh and is he your...?” he trailed off, unable to finish the question.

“He’s my soulmate!” Marinette shouts, “I can see blue!” she sings, capturing him in another tight hug.

A long rush of air escapes Chat’s lungs and he can barely manage to stand as his legs buckle uselessly. His grip on the rose is completely lost and it falls off the balcony’s edge, tumbling down to the street below. He forces himself to bring his arms up to hug Marinette back as she continues to squeal about colors.

“It’s just absolutely insane being able to see color!! Blue’s just so beautiful! Did you know that both my hair and eyes are blue?!” 

“I-I’m so happy for you Marinette,” he manages to choke out, trying to stop the rush of tears that are threatening to fall.

She pulls back out of his embrace and Chat attempts to rearrange his face back into a smile, though he’s certain it comes off as more of a grimace. Marinette blinks at him for a moment before grinning softly, “Anyway, enough about me. What about you?! What was your news?”

“Oh n-nothing,” he stutters slightly, backing away from her slowly, “I just wanted to see how you were doing. It looks like you’re doing well, and um, I just remembered that... I need to go now... I have something I need to do. I’m really sorry.”

Her brow furrows as her head tilts to the side in confusion, “O-oh, okay. Are you sure?”

“Yep,” Chat choked out before turning to go.

“Wait, Chaton,” her hand shot out to grip his wrist, turning him back around to face her, “Are you sure you’re alright?”

“Yeah, I-I’m fine,” he barely manages to give her a wobbly smile.

Her grip loosens yet her frown deepens, “Alright. I’ll see you soon though, right?”

“Oh, yeah, definitely,” the superhero nods and Marinette lets go completely, allowing him to jump off her balcony and run straight back home.

“That was weird,” she mumbled to herself, watching him go until he’s entirely out of sight. Shivering slightly, the designer turns and heads back to the warmth of her bedroom.

As he runs from rooftop to rooftop, Chat is unable to stop the tears that leak from his eyes and drop onto the tiles. His vision blurs and he works on muscle memory alone to get home, his mind empty and his emotions numb until he finally bursts through his window. Releasing his transformation, Adrien collapses onto his bed with a quiet sob. He buries his face within a pillow and lets the bitter tears stain the soft surface.

“Kid?” his kwami’s voice pipes up from above him, “You alright?”

“No, no I’m not Plagg,” his head whips up as he looks at the small, black cat, “I ruined my chances with both Marinette and Ladybug. I can’t believe I even thought I still had a shot with her. Especially when I knew that both Marinette and Luka liked each other. Th-this is all my fault,” he sniffled.

“No, it’s not Adrien,” Plagg shakes his head at him before hugging the boy’s shoulder, “It’s no one’s fault.”

“You don’t understand. I could have had Marinette a week ago and I let her go. I let her run straight into Luka’s arms,” another choked sob wracked through Adrien’s body before he clenched his eyes shut tight.

His kwami snuggled further into his arm, “Want me to go cataclysm him?

A bitter laugh escaped him before he could stop it, “No, Plagg. Luka’s my friend and I don’t want to see him or Marinette get hurt.”

“You sure? I can make it so he just loses a rib or two,” the small cat snickered, leaning back, “A few broken bones won’t hurt, I promise.”

“Well, if you’re sure,” Adrien says with a chuckle before hugging his kwami tightly, “Thank you, Plagg, you always know how to cheer me up.”

“Someone’s gotta keep you from getting akumatized,” Plagg squirmed out of his embrace before flopping to the bed uselessly, “Besides I also need cheese and you’re my only supplier.”

Adrien merely rolls his eyes, getting up with one last sniffle before going over to his kwami’s stash and handing him two pieces of the delicious substance. He heard Plagg scarf down the camembert quickly as he dragged himself to the bathroom to change into his pajamas. Quickly changing into the warm, comfy material he dove back into the bed where he struggled to fall asleep.