#no. no lovesquare this time >:D

[secretagentspydetectiveninja]

posting this also without context

[ladyofthenoodle]

only one bed: the masterpost

me & a small group of writers decided to challenge ourselves this month by writing different variations of the "only one bed" trope featuring lovesquare. here are the results, collected in one post for your convenience!

Alone, with a roommate by @h-sunnywet-d a delightful twist on the trope in that both ladybug and chat noir already know there's only one bed - it's their unexpected visitor that is surprised!

dared not to remember your name (you found me anyway) by @chocoluckchipz an creative AU version of the trope that still manages to incorporate the fun of secret identities into the mix!

Displaced by @kasienda short but sweet, adrien shares a bed with his family

just a taste of the undiscovered by @cakemousse kwami swap with delightfully clingy lady noire dragging mister bug into bed for cuddles

our little secret by @thelibraryloser she's just a very good assistant 😉 so of course they'll have to share a bed! super clever plotting!

you don’t even know me at all (but i was made for loving you) by @ladyofthenoodle this one is mine. post-reveal adrinette with memory loss... but they're married, so there's only one bed

you're all that i want (when you're lying here in my arms) by @jennagrinsoverml adorable ladynoir piece featuring them getting stranded without any space powerups! and a new potion takes a long time to brew...

[kari-go]

Welcome!

You can call me Kari, my pronouns are she/her. English isn't my main language, so I make mistakes sometimes. Please be aware that I am a minor.

I post my art here, currently only of Miraculous Ladybug (kwami swaps mostly) and my own AU

I have a sideblog just for the kwamis so if you have any questions about them (that don't really apply/correlate to MD), ask them there. I won't answer them here.

My asks are always open so ask away (especially about my au pls)

I get nervous with social interactions and like to think that I'm funny, so sorry if I'm awkward.

Requests

My kwami swap requests are currently closed.

Rules:

I'll do a maximum of 4 characters per request

I'll use my au's rules, so the show's miraculous might look different or not exist at all, in that case, I will not do that request

list of all the miraculous

I won't do characters from other fandoms/shows, only ML (my version ofc, so no Adrien) and my ocs

Drawing takes time so please be patient with me :]

Miraculous Disaster

MD is my Miraculous Ladybug au. I guess you could consider it a rewrite even though that wasn't my intention. It's very much in a production hell right now but you can still ask questions. I always appreciate the interest :D

Other stuff about ML:

I stopped watching the show around season 3 and get the new stuff from Tumblr and the wiki.

I don't really care about Adrien (I hc her as trans tho) and she doesn't exist in MD

I don't ship the lovesquare

actually, the only canon thing I ship is Lukanette lol

[chocoluckchipz]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

thank you @ladyofthenoodle and @kasienda for the tag!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

Surprisingly 38! I had no idea I had that many.

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

780,093

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Miraculous Ladybug

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Unexpected Surprise

A Bride for the Prince

The Other You

Forbidden Love That Wasn't

Dance With Me, Chaton

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I try to, but when life gets busy, I am not able to get to them for months. I do read and love all of them, though! My favourite emails are the ones with comments!

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I do not write angsty endings, period. A happy one is the only way to go! So, the closest to that I have would be a "hopeful" ending, and that would be Rain.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

I'll probably say Dance With Me, Chaton or A Bride for the Prince only because they went through a ton of angst to get to their Happily Ever After. Maybe also, The Other You.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not anymore.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

No, I don't. It's always "Fade to Dark" but we all know what it implies ;D.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

No. So far, no show apart from ML had ever inspired me to write for it, least of all do a crossover.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Yeah, a few times. That is the reason I have a WattPad account. The thieves claimed they stole only because the WattPad community deserves to read my stories and I wasn't sharing them there.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes, quite a few.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yup. I co-wrote:

A Bride for the Prince with @thenovelartist

The Other You with @maerynn-blog

The Cat, the Bell, and the Wardrobe (Malfunction) with @kryallaorchid, @maerynn-blog, @eizabeth, and @midnightstarlightwrites

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

Lovesquare.

15. What's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

Things We Don't Say and The Royal Tale. The second one, most likely, will be written as an original sometime in the future since I already have an outline ready and it's going to be EPIC!

16. What are your writing strengths?

I think - dialogue, but if you don't agree or think of something else, let me know. I'd love to hear what are my strengths and weaknesses as seen by my readers.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Getting the sentences on the screen. Especially the first few. XD Oh and descriptions of surroundings.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I wouldn't do it unless it's a part of the plot and meant to confuse my reader. I prefer for my readers to understand what they are reading.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Miraculous Ladybug.

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

That is a cruel question. But if I had to choose only one, it'll be Dance With Me, Chaton, Dreams of You and A Bride for the Prince!

No pressure tags @h-sunnywet-d, @thenovelartist, @jennagrinsoverml, @miabrown007, @thelibraryloser, @wackus-bonkus-maximus, @sariahsue

[aanabear2803]

People you would like to get to know better

Sure babes, @lu-inlondon, I'll do it :D I just have to figure out what I've been watching recently.

Three Ships Korrasami, Catadora and Lovesquare (Ladynoir). (Figure that odd one out lol)

2. First ever ship. My childhood memories are so weird. But I'm pretty sure it was Taichi and Sora from Digimon Adventure. Pretty sure they broke off too lol. I don't know why I wanted them to work out either.

3. Last song Boyfriend - Dove Cameron .... We're moving on!

4. Last Movie Due to how much I glue my eyes to my laptop screen. The last movie I watched was Puss in Boots the last wish. It's a really good movie. They actually had villains in them

5. Current reading Next Question. Well it's pretty nsfw. An unfortunate side effect of booktok. Twisted Love by Ana Huang

6. Currently watching I'm currently watching an anime called 'Campfire cooking in another world with my absurd skill' Had a bunch of laughs just watching the characters fumble around. Also idk, I like watching people cook. Even if it's animated. It's the only asmr videos I will gladly watch.

7. Currently consuming Had to walk to the fridge since I'm keeping it cold but it's traditional Soda Lemon lime and bitters. Has an extra kick to it and also real sour~ (I like to suck lemons so um... it's good)

8. Currently craving Violence. I want to stab into a piece of leather and just shape it how I want. I'm binding a book. So uh... yea!

Friends! I remember I have friends this time! You guys can try it out. @lilaflyy @katieykat513 @van1shiro @seas-of-silver

[literaphobe]

OH GOD!!!!! THE ADRIENETTE DYNAMIC IN TVL IS EVERYTHING!!!! It's one of the best-executed adrienette dynamics I've ever read!! I love how you captured the yearning from adrien and the panic and avoidance from marinette. I was screaming "kiss her" the whole time and i almost thought they were gonna kiss in bed and have sex hahaha but then i remembered that's literally the whole conflict of the story and its only chapter 4. The pace of the scene was perfect!! i was on the edge of my seat.

Finally i love how your lovesquare is not so black and white and the character's feelings overlap because you can tell a&m still love each other and have sexual tension to a lower degree than ladynoir who btw also really like each other!!

ANONNNNN this ask is so sweet ive been slow dancing with it for the past few days……… im so glad u liked ch4 AND the tvl adrienette dynamic!!!

also im so glad u pointed that out!!!!! I love the concept of love square being messy and there being feelings on both sides…….. it works bc they’re in such denial/attempting to repress it ALL so hard. they’re doing a terrible job but no one can say they aren’t trying!!!!!!!

btw shout out to everyone who’s commented on ch4 so far :D u are all so so so so sweet and im giving u guys a big squishy hug!!!!!! and to those who haven’t read/commented on ch4 yet take ur time!!! im in there waiting w OPEN ARMS for u 🥰🥰🥰

[teawinx]

I know I said I’m gonna be off for a week, but I managed to find a little time to work on Marinette a bit. Not much, just colour exploration. (I know that D’s colours make her look like Mirabel, it’s intentional. I love Mirabel’s design)

I’m mostly into B and D, I want to keep her in soft and muted shades to contrast with her bright red Ladybug suit.

I figured out how to make her face not ugly, and changed her pigtails to braided pigtails. She keeps her og hair when transformed though, because I think the resemblance to Ladybug wigs adorable. But I’ve been adamant about changing everyone’s hair when they transform, so why should Marinette be any different? And I just think the braided look is adorable. Also Marinette’s hair could be used for visual storytelling, but canon only uses it for lovesquare stuff. Love it.

And I actually don’t mind how no one can tell she’s Ladybug in canon. It’s like Superman’s glasses, and it’s never bothered me. (Of all the problems within the show, that’s not a big priority) In the reboot within the first two eps it’ll be established that the masks serve as a perception filter. Bam problemo solved.

She still has her little strawberry bag don’t worry!

[bluiex]

been I while since I've been here on your blog, but I thought I'll give a little update on the ETAC miraculous X boatem AU!

I've been fiddling with the timeline of the AU a lot, so I've planned a whole lot of fics to happen simultaneously with each other. There will be like,,, one multi chapter fic from Mumbo's pov...

that occurs around the same time as some other povs outside of boatem+ soup group!

In my flower husband-centric fic, most of the akuma stuff is comedic background action that force Jimmy and Scott to constantly be in close proximity with each other. Third Life is basically a PE class, which un/fortunately means that all the lifers get a front row seat to the action whenever there's an akuma attack. at one point, Scott & Jimmy find Grian & Scar detransforming separately at different times in the storage room behind the theatre, but don't actually see them detransform. sus.

they naturally come to the wrong conclusions. rather gay conclusions (but I guess they're still kind of right lol-)

also lovesquare enjoyers, psst, I have a Scar equivalent of the "Like Rain In The Desert (m'adoreras tu?)" fic in the works that takes place during the FH fic. (note I said equivalent instead of just pov. you'll see what I mean eventually >:D)

I gotta finish up a few more action scenes before you lot get an actual akuma fic! I'm excited about that one because it involves another hero, plus casual 4th wall break and fire.

that is all for now. byeeeeee

YOOOOOO HYPE MORE FOR THIS AU

That Mumbo fic sounds like it'll be fun

and ofc OFC Jimmy and Scott would think other gay things about Scar and Grian LMAO

[lu-inlondon]

rules: give us the links to your fic with the most hits, second most kudos, third most comments, fourth most bookmarks, fifth most words, and fic with the least words

I was tagged by @rekishi-aka - thanks, love <3

Fic with the most hits: Of Angels and Bells A Lovesquare-multichapter, for which I wrote 13k in one day, completely shredding my wrist for two weeks :D Marinette has a kid in this one, which is Adrien's which he doesn't know for reasons* (*because I said so).

Adrien drives a black jaguar, which I thought was hilarious, but only one person got the joke T-T

Fic with the second most kudos: A Token of Affection A Dreamling-OS, which I wrote because I found a knitting pattern I thought Dream would love :D So Hob gets to knit and live my "I studied in London during the pandemic"-experience

Posting this was so wild? Because I've been writing for a much smaller fandom for about a year or so at the time, I was floored by the amount of kudos this one received overnight. But I'm happy people liked this fluffy OS and grateful that I learnt about the sweater curse

Fic with the third most comments (comment threads): Sand zwischen meinen Zehen, deine Finger zwischen meinen Hörk, undercover at a holiday resort, pretending to be a couple trying to salvage their relationship.

It was supposed to be 7 chapters and an epilogue, but I had to much fun torturing those two, so I ended up with 37 chapters :D

Fic with the fourth most bookmarks: Here's the deal, Kitty Four chapters of Marichat smut with an eventual identity reveal.

This is by far my most popular fic and I'm both surprised and not surprised at all :D For one it's smut??? And people - while they read it - are more reluctant to leave comments (no judgement) so I don't get why it has so many. But then again it's Marichat ;)

Fic with the fifth most words: A little Trouble goes a Long Way A Stucky-Multichap (this game really covers all my fandoms, huh?) with accidental baby acquisition and the second fic I ever posted to Ao3

Spelling and Grammar could be a bit better on this one, but it was the first long story I wrote in English so overall, I don't mind. I'm just happy that people liked it :)

Fic with the least words: Well, there are two that share the same wordcount of 500 words - Die Sache mit der Steuererklärung und In der Lampenabteilung

Both are short Hörk Fics, both are thanks to @pinksnowrabbit. The first is a Rainer POV OS, that examines both Leos tax report and his relationship to and with Adam, the second is based on this gif, which both Leo and I think is very cute Adam behaviour :D

tagging @aanabear2803, @starlighnes, @writingowl1985, @falleraatje, and anyone else who might want to play and playing is (of course!) optional

[thelibraryloser]

Tag 9 people you would like to get to know better

Thank you @h-sunnywet-d for tagging me!

Three ships: lovesquare, dalek (leviathan trilogy), ummm gonna have to dig here. peraltiago?

First ship ever: clois (smallville). had a massive crush on clark kent, then married a guy that looked just like him. i’m normal i swear.

Last song: moon river (foster daughter’s most requested lullaby)

Last movie: does the miraculous special count bc i just finally watched it!

Currently reading: Love Remains by @kasienda

Currently watching: glass blowing tutorials idk how i got here

Currently consuming: spearmint lavender tea

Currently craving: sleep

well i’m not going to tag anyone bc i feel like by the time i get to these everyone’s already done them so if you want to, go ahead!

[rosie-b]

some tropes in no particular order:

and there was only one bed

fake dating for absolutely insane reasons

five times x and one time y

Grading key:

• A: Love it. Spend my time combing A03 for it.

• B: Like it. Not one of my bigger cravings, but it can scratch a certain itch if l'm in the right mood.

• C: Neutral. A good author might be able to sell it, but a bad one will kill it deader than dead.

• D: Not my favorite. I avoid it if I can, but it won't necessarily put me off reading something.

• F: Hate it. Will immediately make me nope out of a fic.

Only one bed: B, I don’t usually seek it out but I almost always enjoy it (me not being comfortable with reading smut does make this one a bit tricky lol)

Fake dating for absolutely insane reasons: A, amazing outstanding and perfectly suited for the lovesquare! The shenanigans you get with this one are to die for

Five times X and one time Y: D, this one usually feels disjointed and hard to follow. It rarely leaves me feeling satisfied, but if I really like the premise or the author I’ll give it a shot.

Together these tropes are BAD like Michael Jackson lol

Thanks for the ask @aidanchaser! 💕

(ask game)

[ayydrienagreste]

Tell me about your au!!!

Mai you have opened the biggest can of worms

Ok listen, listen, right off the bat it's Kwami Swap ok? Ladynoire and Mister Bug, but also Le Filou and Tortuvelle (you can figure those two out ;) and more!

With that comes some dynamic swapping of course. Adrien has a huge crush on Marinette and refuses to tell her, yet flirts with her constantly. Laugh machine, is never serious. Mister Bug on the other hand is Serious and sometimes standoffish. Can be short with Ladynoire but respects her and admires her courage in battle. Struggles with thinking outside the box regarding his Lucky Charms. Mister Bug is dedicated to the people of Paris and doing what's right without hesitation (to a fault) Tikki is a great resource for keeping Adrien on track as a civilian because he can be easily distracted by small issues.

Marinette is a nervous ball of anxiety and Plagg does his best to show her that chaos can be a good thing. She is desperately in love with Mister Bug and tells him constantly as Ladynoire. She is much more open to being a force of destruction knowing that the Lucky Charm will undo all of the damage she causes. Sometimes you have to break things to fix them. Plagg loves her dearly and wishes he could help er more.

Lovesquare now consists of Mister Noire, Adrienette, Ladrien, and Maribug (sorry, that's the best I could do). Mister Noire is very one sided from Ladynoire, Mister Bug ignores and rebuffs most of her advances. Will sometimes smooch. Adrienette is mutual pining honestly, they are just too dumb to confess. Ladrien is friendly and sweet! Adrien appreciates getting to know Ladynoire without the devotion and Ladynoire enjoys spending time with Adrien that's not school or bakery focused. Maribug is Marichat 2.0 and I will not apologize.

Some episodes are moved around for my version. For example, Lady Blanc replaces Befana in season 2, Dearest Family happens in season 1 and Chloe doesn't get her Miraculous until season 3 (but she actually earns it this time) Luka gets his during Captain Hardrock and Juleka gets hers during Princess Fragrance. Also none of them get their canon miraculous :D if you squint hard enough you might be able to guess which ones they get but don't worry if you cant, I'm not making it super obvious.

Holy crap I hope that makes sense. I've been thinking about and planning this for months.

I will make a separate post regarding Hawkmoth and Mayura and how that works because oh man it's heartbreaking. They are the only non swap right now but that could change.

Let's call it... Color Theory AU because colors have a lot to do with it and the post regarding GabeNath and HawkMura will explain it better

[h-sunnywet-d]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Thank you @chocoluckchipz for the tag! 😊

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

8! Wow, I'm on fire or what? :D

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

18 501.... nah, I'm not on fire :"D

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Miraculous Ladybug

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Alone, with a roommate (333), Chat Noir's Tumblr Asks - the sequel (141), Loss (77), Get Lucky (76), Scary, like a little black purring kitten (47)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Yes, every time, and also try not to cry of happiness because people liked my story enough to leave comments 🥺💖

6. What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I do not like angst as ending, but Loss has a sad theme overall.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

I think it's Get Lucky :)

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I don't think so? 🤔

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Nope

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Nope

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I don't think my fics worthy enough to be stolen ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

See above, just with translating

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

@dkrosi was the sole inspiration for Scary, like a little black purring kitten, does that count?

14. What’s your all-time favourite ship?

Lovesquare (if not fanfic related and established relationship also counts, then Morticia and Gomez Addams)

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

Chat got your tongue? and Fancy Dress too. The latter already has a fanart, and I would like to finish it one day.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I don't know? ^^;

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

A c t u a l l y w r i t i n g

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I'd write it in the same language as the fic, but note that they switched to another language and use italics to show what's said in another language. If the character which pov I use does not understand it I'd just say they speak in a foreign language, but won't write down what exactly has been said.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Oban Star Racers

20. Favourite fic you’ve ever written?

All of them! U_U (can't choose, don't force me please)

No pressure tags @dkrosi and @nebilas 😊

[valiantlyjollynightmare]

any artists interested in a collab?

I've been working a lot on the witch au recently and I've been wondering if there'd be any artist who'd want to collab on it with me. Kind of how the big bang works except without a certain deadline. I don't want to spoil too much of the plot, but basically it's lovesquare centered, where Adrien runs away from home and ends up living with Marinette. Because of him, Marinette gets discovered as someone who practices magic illegally and is forced to either take enough magic suppressants that her magic fades away or get a license which she can't because of cultural reasons.

Because of Marinette, Chloe gets accussed of making bussiness out of black magic and has to run away from her own city lest she'd be arrested and ends up living in Marinette's house because she wants her to fix what she broke.

Because of Chloe, Luka gets dragged into this mess as well, and he drags Alya into who drags in Felix who is very happy to have found his missing cat brother.

They'll be living together in a house that is very much not supposed to accomodate that many people and Nino will be the only person actually sane in the vicinity.

featuring a whole year of shenanigans, trains, a magic fair with masks and umbrellas, flowers and mistranslations, cultural differences, a very complicated magfic system that is approached in 2 different ways by 2 different cultures, longing for family that left abroad, longing for family period, longing for a whole family, longing for a nice family, /longing/, christmas traditions, easter traditions, singing and daancing and spending a lot of time in the forest, wheat fields, going sledding, flower crowns, and a lot, lot lot of stained glass.

it's just about the /vibes/. btw the fic is set in an alternate universe but imagien 1900 france. kind of like that.

And an ever growing playlist. if you want to get a vibe of the fic, listen to curses by the crane wives, the mouse (from the ost of the gruffallo), lumino forest by piano novel, little talks by monster and men, and labirint by om la luna :D

please please dm me if you're interested!!!!

[hcm92literature]

‘Out Of Character’ 31st December 2022

‘Out Of Character’ master page

Read on AO3

Author’s notes: and this is the end! again, apologies for this ending a month after it should have done, i have definitely learned my lesson and won’t be posting any fics until they’re 100% finished from now on Dx but thank you so much for reading and commenting, i appreciate all the love this fic has been given!!! i do have a few more ml wips in the works so watch this space for more lovesquare shenanigans!!!

As soon as Marinette had arrived at the party - fashionably late at 11pm - and caught sight of Adrien, she had flushed a deep red, grabbed Alya by the wrist and dragged her into the bathroom. They still hadn’t spoken properly since the last larp game, though not for lack of trying on Adrien’s part; he had texted and even called her a few times but she hadn’t replied to anything. He wondered if it was always going to be this awkward or if he would have to back out of d&d and larp to make her less uncomfortable. Sighing heavily, Adrien ran a hand through his hair.

“S’up, dude?”

He turned as Nino stuffed yet another mini sandwich into his mouth and laughed weakly. “You remember at the beginning of the year when you told me about the larp game and I asked you not to tell Alya?”

Nino nodded as he chewed. “Because you didn't want Marinette to come.”

“Yeah… Well, about that…”

In the bathroom, Marinette had her hands on her head. “This is a disaster!”

Alya rolled her eyes. “Calm down, girl. It just means you’ve kissed the same guy twice and you’ve been in love with the guy you hate this entire time.” She shrugged as if it was no big deal, to which Marinette buried her face in her hands and let out a muffled cry. Smirking, Alya patted her friend’s shoulder. “Okay, it is a little bit weird. But I thought you’d decided Adrien was actually a nice person after all. Doesn’t him being Chat Noir make him even better in your books?”

“Alya…” Marinette looked at her friend through her fingers. “I invited him over… and had him in my room… as Chat Noir.”

“You what?! Girl, spill!”

“What do you mean, you visited her in costume? That’s weird as hell, dude!”

Adrien ran a hand down his face as Nino gawked at him and almost forgot about his party food. “Yes, you’re absolutely right, and I probably absolutely definitely shouldn’t have done it. But… she really wanted me to and I just… couldn’t say no. And it was possibly the best night of my life…” He trailed off with a smile as he remembered cosying up with Marinette on her chaise.

“Dude!”

Nino’s gawking turned into a glare and after a moment of confusion Adrien’s eyes went wide in realisation. “No no, not like that! Nothing like that happened! All I meant was… we watched a movie and… and cuddled, and it just felt so natural and so much like… I dunno, like home. She felt like home.”

Alya gave Marinette a sceptical look. “He didn’t make a move on you?”

Groaning at the memory, Marinette leaned her palms on the sink and shook her head. “If anything, I was kind of the one who threw myself at him. I tried to get him to stay but he didn’t wanna do anything when I didn’t know who he was. Like a total gentleman. I don’t know what I would’ve done if he had stayed and I’d found out he was Adrien…”

She looked up in the mirror as Alya snorted. “You are a mess.”

Marinette groaned again and repetitively banged her head on the rim of the sink.

“So, what, you think she’s too weirded out by the situation?” Nino gave Adrien a calculating look as he sipped some mulled wine in what he probably thought was a sophisticated manner.

Shrugging, Adrien rubbed the back of his neck. “I wouldn’t blame her. I mean, I was kind of a jerk at the beginning of the year, even if I didn’t realise it at the time. And-”

Nino held out a finger. “I’mma stop you there, dude. You weren’t a jerk, you were just awkward. It’s not your fault you didn’t know how to interact with people in a normal way.”

“Uh, thanks?”

“Anyway, yeah it’s a bit weird, but like… she likes you, dude. Like, you you. Adrien you. You know what I mean?”

Adrien shook his head, perplexed.

“You started liking him at your birthday party, right?” Alya waggled her eyebrows at Marinette.

“I- did I?”

“Well, you definitely thought he was hot.” Marinette hissed through her teeth as she glared at Alya, making her chuckle heartily. She shook her head then continued. “I also seem to remember you making a comment about how cheerful he was, and how thoughtful his present was.”

“Yes, well,” Marinette mumbled under her breath. She then shook her head, struggling to piece together the events of the year. Trying to reconcile Adrien being the same person as Chat Noir had been a seemingly impossible task over the last two weeks, and his texts and calls only felt like more pressure to figure things out. She had hoped it would be easier to see him by the time this party came about, but as soon as she caught a glimpse of him in his black dress shirt with the collar undone and the sleeves rolled up her head had started spinning.

A pat on her arm made her look up at Alya giving her an encouraging smile. “I’m sure both you and Adrien can figure it out. But you need to actually talk to him to do that.”

Marinette nodded sullenly. She then nearly leapt out of her skin as a loud banging came from the bathroom door. “I’m sorry to interrupt but can you girls come out now? Juleka really needs to pee!”

Alya opened the door to a smiling Rose and flustered Juleka then moved passed them to find Nino. Blushing all the way to her ears, Marinette quickly apologised and ducked out, immediately bumping into Adrien’s chest as he walked towards the front door. He looked down at her in surprise and she felt her heart hammering against her ribcage. She could also feel his heart doing the same, as she had raised her hands to his chest in the collision. Taking a step back, Adrien apologised and looked away, his cheeks turning a light pink. Letting her hands fall to her sides, Marinette tried to decipher her feelings but it felt like a rollercoaster with way too many turns, loops and drops that went way too fast. On the one hand, she had hated Adrien for being aloof and unpleasant for the better part of a year, but on the other she had loved Chat Noir for being bright, carefree and kind and had hoped to find out who he was eventually. And Alya was right, she had started seeing Adrien in a different light in recent months; he had really come out of his shell and shown he was a more cheerful and caring person than she had realised. Surely she would be able to come to terms with them being the same person, right?

She was still in a world of her own when she heard the tail end of his sentence. “… so I’m gonna go…”

“Wait, what?”

He looked down at her with a pained expression. “I don’t want to make you more uncomfortable than I already have.”

Marinette shook her head nervously. “Please don’t go! I don’t want to ruin your night just because I’m rattlebrained.”

Letting out a short laugh, Adrien looked away again. “It’s not your fault, Marinette. I was… it was wrong of me to hide who I really was from you. I was just so desperate to spend time with you and not have you think I was a dickhead. But I guess I really was a dickhead for doing that…”

“Adrien,” Marinette reached a hand out for one of his and squeezed it gently, giving him what she hoped was a reassuring smile, though she could still feel her heart going berserk. “I was the one who invited you over. I accepted that you wanted to be Chat Noir. It was probably weird, yes, but you were definitely not a dickhead. And…” She ducked her head in embarrasment. “I had a wonderful time with you…”

Adrien looked down at their joined hands then back at Marinette’s face and his cheeks deepened in colour. “As did I.” He paused then took a breath as if to say something else but Rose and Juleka walked passed, giving the pair knowing smiles. Rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand, Adrien looked embarrassed for a moment, then a thought seemed to cross his mind and he turned back to the passing girls. “Hey Rose, is there somewhere Marinette and I could… uh, talk in private?”

Marinette felt her face burn yet again as Rose beamed at him. “Of course! You can use our bedroom or maybe the balcony. It’s a bit chilly out tonight so no-one else will want to go out there!”

“Hah we don’t want anyone to get the wrong impression so we’ll take the balcony. Thanks, Rose.”

“Don’t forget to kiss at midnight!” She winked at them before grabbing Juleka’s hand and waving at some of their other friends, leaving Adrien and Marinette to laugh nervously to themselves.

The pair collected their jackets, hats, gloves and scarves and a cup of steaming mulled wine each then made their way to the balcony. Marinette’s face was still bright red and had even deepened when she saw Adrien donning the light blue accessories she had made for his birthday. As they both leaned over the balcony’s railing, he smiled affectionately at her which only seemed to make things worse as she looked away over the glittering Paris skyline. Clearing his throat made her look back at him and his breath nearly got caught as he saw the streetlamps sparkle in her eyes. She was stunning. And creative and girly and passionate and unapologetic in who she was. “I’m in love with you.”

Marinette’s eyes went wide. “You- you are?” Adrien nodded simply and watched as she glanced away and a million thoughts seemed to cross her mind. Her expression cleared after a moment and she looked back up at him. “I think… I think I am, too.”

Adrien raised his eyebrows, his heart fluttering in his chest, then smirked. “You’re in love with yourself, too?”

She snorted and gently nudged his arm with her elbow. “Silly cat.” Turning to face him properly, she smiled shyly. “I’m in love with you, Adrien.”

Mirroring her movement, he raised a gloved hand to brush a hair behind her ear and revelled in her blush deepening yet again. She loved him. Marinette loved Adrien. He began to lean down towards her when the music inside quietened and people not just in the apartment started counting down from ten. Turning back to face each other, the pair smiled. They could wait just a few more seconds.

As soon as the chanting got to one and cheers erupted from all around, Adrien leaned down again, though he didn’t need to lean far because Marinette launched up onto her tiptoes to capture his lips with hers. This was an entirely different kiss from their first two. It was confident and fierce and neither of them could stop smiling the whole way through. Almost forgetting about trying not to spill their wine, Adrien wrapped his arms around Marinette and lifted her up, disbelieving how happy he felt at that moment as she giggled against his mouth.

Marinette pulled away momentarily. “Happy new year, Minou.”

Adrien beamed back at her. “Happy new year, Nettie.”

[jacquesthepigeon]

Can't think of anything to salt over for this episode. It has lovesquare focus but it's more of a backburner thing while we get glimpses of anti-Ladybug sentiment. I can imagine Gabriel in the middle of the night like making his 20th Monarchwasright meme. Would hope the Reunion powers come back sometime but probably not. Like Alyx was about to use it, wonder what that's about. Marinette uses logic to defeat the villain this time which I liked and it was fun seeing them bring up random trivia in the episode. Is it possible I like a season 5 episode?

Tbh up till now I never knew the answer to the white horse question so I got a fun factoid out of it :D