#adrien: and can nathaniel and marc kiss me?

[buggachat]

remember when miraculous ladybug finally decided to do an "adrien hangs out with The Guys" episode, like how we get scenes of marinette hanging out with The Girls all the time, but i guess the writers decided that the only way adrien would fit in an environment with a bunch of guys was if they were in a gay night club, and the night club was adrien's bedroom, and they were throwing around rainbow glitter and kissing each other and blasting The Village People so loud that it almost killed his already dead mother and

#everyone come get your bi-weekly ''buggachat thinks about Party Crasher'' post #''there is no canon evidence that adrien is LGBTQ'' yeah well try to explain the existence of party crasher to me #like why else would they write it like this #nino: hey dude let's throw a party at your house. GUYS ONLY!!!! #adrien: i dont understand the gender distinction but can we blast The Village People? on my special edition rainbow record w rainbw glitter #adrien: and can nathaniel and marc kiss me? #nino (nodding along): yes. of course.

[immaturityofthomasastruc]

IOTA Reviews: Protection

In this episode, Lila is once again going to test the boundaries of Marinette's bond with her best friend, Al—Kagami. Uh, yeah, it's Kagami, not Alya. Because it's not like we saw that four episodes ago, right?

Let's get into the sixteenth episode of Miraculous Ladybug's fifth season: Protection

We start off with Kagami hanging out with Lila to establish the fact that Kagami still trusts Lila over Marinette for some reason before cutting to scene where Marc and Nathaniel reveal a plan for Marinette and Adrien to have their first kiss. Somehow, they believe kissing will allow them to be more honest with how they feel about each other based on what they've seen in fairy tales, shoujou manga, and Hollywood romantic comedies. I'm not making this up. Marinette and Adrien go on the Ferris wheel to try and have a romantic moment as part of the plan, only for Nino's terrible guitar playing to ruin the mood.

Nathaniel: Nino, have you never touched a guitar before?

Nino: Uh, no dude. This is my very first time!

Nathaniel: Well, then why did you replace Luka?

Nino: Well, it didn't look so hard when he was playing it!

Hey, to be fair, I'm there's at least a few people think Nino and Luka are the same character.

After the plan fails, we cut to Gabriel and Tomoe having tea as they discuss moving up the date of something called the Diamonds Ball. Gabriel claims its a scheduling issue, but Tomoe is able to hear his heart beating erratically. Because like in every TV show ever made, being blind somehow gives Tomoe the powers of Daredevil. Also, check out what Tomoe compares Gabriel's heartbeat to.

Tomoe: Your heart beats louder than a taiko drum!

GET IT? IT'S BECAUSE SHE'S JAPANESE!

After Gabriel reveals that he doesn't have a lot of time left (even dramatically showing his Cataclysmed arm to Tomoe when she can't even see it), we see Adrien and Kagami talking about how long Adrien was in the dark about Marinette for. All due respect, this is actually a pretty good scene. I like how Adrien admits that he doesn't want to force anything while also admitting that this is something he has to do on his own. It shows off their friendship and how far both of them have come. Of course, it's ruined by the fact that somehow, Gabriel and Tomoe never learned that Adrien and Kagami broke up over a season ago. Marinette is invited to Adrien's house, and in another good scene, she decides to stop worrying about what to do around Adrien and plans to go there in her pajamas.

Meanwhile, Gabriel and Tomoe argue about how their children were supposed to be the perfect couple, neither of them acknowledging that they didn't even know they broke up in the first place.

Tomoe: All of our plans are falling apart! You were supposed to control your son, Gabriel!

Gabriel: And you, your daughter!

Tomoe: My daughter's so perfect she doesn't need me to control her!

Gabriel: Well, it appears she does.

Tomoe: It's not my child who's falling for someone completely wrong for her!

Gabriel: But she seems to be the one encouraging him!

Tomoe: Take control of your son, and she'll have nothing left to encourage. Organize the dance as soon as possible. Don't fail in capturing Ladybug and Cat Noir's Miraculous. It is imperative that this situation be resolved before you... leave!

Where is he going to, the Shadow Realm?

After Tomoe leaves with Kagami, Gabriel talks with Adrien. He tries to convince him to get back together with Kagami because they're “Of the same design”, and when the camera shows Gabriel touching his ring, he forbids Adrien from continuing his relationship with Marinette.

Gee, I wonder how Gabriel is able to do this. I wonder what he means when he used the word “design” to describe Adrien and Kagami as if they weren't human. I wonder why we keep getting shots of Gabriel touching his ring whenever he orders Adrien around when this show has already established that creations of the Peacock Miraculous can be controlled with whatever object they were in and—Oh my God, just say Adrien and Kagami are Sentimonsters already!

We also get a scene where Tomoe tries to convince Kagami she still has feelings for Adrien, once again reminding us that she's Japanese.

Kagami: He loves Marinette, and Marinette is my friend. Some knots can't be undone.

Tomoe: When the knot cannot be undone, the samurai cuts right through it.

Ah, yes, just like the well-known Japanese legend of when Alexander the Great cut the Gordian Knot.

Adrien follows through on the order Gabriel gave him, until Nathalie gives him another order to do what he wants to do for his love life. For some reason, Gabriel is shocked even though I'm pretty sure Nathalie has had the ring since the end of Season 4, so this one's on you, dude. Meanwhile, Lila lies to Kagami about Marinette being a terrible friend, and once again, Kagami falls for it. Lila tips Gabriel off to what happened, and decides to send a Megakuma (and yes, I know the English dub always uses the term “Megakumas”, but this is the first time in a while where using one makes sense) towards Kagami, akumatizing her into Riposte Prime.

Riposte Prime is... literally just the same as Riposte, only now, she has a different sword, and not even a cool sword at that. Rather than the sword beams she used back in Season 2, Riposte Prime now has the Turtle Miraculous' Shelter power, which she uses by tapping people with her sword, trapping them in red spheres. Why they're red in the first place when the last time an Akuma used Shelter, it stayed green is beyond me. Even weirder, she can only use one Shelter at a time, and I don't even think she knows about this, since she uses it on Adrien and assumes he'll stay in one place. So to summarize, Riposte Prime looks about as creative as Sole Destroyer and needs the Turtle Miraculous to do something Penalteam had the ability to do with ease.

I also need to point out that the whole reason he did this was to ruin Marinette and Adrien's date. Because somehow, a near-death experience at the hands of Adrien's akumatized ex-girlfriend will convince him that he wants to get back together with Kagami. For comparison, there was an episode of Power Rangers Time Force where one of the villains, Nadira, fell in love with Lucas/The Blue Ranger thanks to a misunderstanding. Do you want to know how Ransik, her father, reacted? Not only was he willing to show mercy to one of his mortal enemies, he showed a level of dedication to his daughter and threatened Lucas to treat Nadira kindly, only going back to trying to kill him after the two broke up. The point I'm trying to make is that it says a lot when a mutant crime lord from the future is still a better father than Gabriel is.

Adrien tries to get Marinette to safety, only for him to be trapped in Riposte Prime's Shelter. The tension from that scene is resolved almost immediately as Marinette is then trapped in Riposte Prime's Shelter, giving Adrien the chance to transform into Cat Noir, who then frees Marinette with his Cataclysm. Marinette gets to a safe place and transforms into Ladybug.

Ladybug uses her Lucky Charm and gets a bottle of olive oil. Her master plan is to... just throw it at Riposte Prime. Yeah, all Ladybug does it throw the bottle of olive oil at Riposte Prime, Riposte Prime then cuts it in half, causing the olive oil to spill on her, leading to her losing her grip on her sword for Ladybug to break.

Ladybug de-evilizes the Megakuma, gives Kagami another useless Magical Charm, but she chooses not to accept it, so both Ladybug and Cat Noir head off to detransform so Marinette and Adrien can convince her that Lila lied to her, leading to her forgiving Marinette.

Marinette and Adrien get another chance to be together, but for some reason, Marinette decides to go home, so Gabriel and Lila call this a win. And so the episode ends with Kagami confronting Lila and telling her that she's not going to fall for her lies anymore.

Kagami: I'll still be your friend if your friendship is genuine.

Oh for fuck's sake...

This is the third time Lila has tricked Kagami, and she's still going to trust her? Why? She caused you to get akumatized three times! Yeah, Kagami claims she isn't going to be Lila's puppet, but it's hard to see this as character development when she was already made a complete idiot for no reason! Hell, for all we know, Lila's next plan is to trick Kagami into handing over her mother's social security number.

But I'm just kidding... because this is the end of the Kagami and Lila subplot for the season. Yeah, seriously. Once again, despite being built up a lot, just like with a lot of stuff last season, the writers decided to abruptly end this subplot, as Lila and Kagami have their own plotlines later on. You know what? Screw it, the episode's over anyway.

Like “Sentibubbler”, this episode actually started off pretty strong, but started to fall apart towards the end. I liked the character moments Marinette, Adrien, and Kagami all had, and it really highlights their friendship, and Marinette and Adrien continue to have some decent romantic chemistry. The problem came from how stupid the conflict was. Not only was it out of character for Kagami to be this gullible, but the entire conflict stemmed from Gabriel deciding to ruin his son's date. The Akuma was underwhelming, the resolution felt phoned in, and once again, the cliffhanger doesn't go anywhere for the rest of the season. It's not terrible like “Illusion” or “Derision” were, but it's still a pretty mediocre episode.

THE BIGGEST IDIOT OF THE EPISODE IS... GABRIEL

While Kagami came very, very close to getting the award, Gabriel ended up edging her out and became the first character to get the Biggest Idiot Award twice in a row. Not only did Gabriel have no idea his son broke up with Kagami, he didn't even know he started a new relationship with Marinette, forgot that he gave Nathalie one of the two things capable of overriding the orders he gives his son, decided to send an Akuma to ruin his son's date after he learned he and Marinette were dating, even though said Akuma was the girl he was trying to make Adrien develop feelings for again, and he did all of this right after the episode that ended with him vowing to be a better father to Adrien for what little time he has left before he dies. He's clearly spending what could be the last few weeks of his life well, isn't he?

#immaturity of thomas astruc #iota #miraculous ladybug #miraculous ladybug salt #marinette dupain cheng #ladybug #adrien agreste #cat noir #chat noir #gabriel agreste #hawkmoth #hawk moth #monarch #monarch miraculous #kagami tsurugi #riposte #riposte prime #nino lahiffe #nathaniel kurtzberg #tomoe tsurugi #nathalie sancoeur

[darkwitch1999]

A Random Headcanon: Why Marc Anciel Should Never Have Coffee Part I☕🚫

So I have a few headcanons that I am going to be included in my fanfiction series about Marc Anciel:

He has two moms. Emerson Anciel who runs a coffee shop and Kiki Anciel who is an aromatherapist.

Despite his mother running a coffee shop, Marc isn't allowed to drink coffee since caffeine worsens his anxiety.

During the few times Marc sneaked some coffee, he tends to become a bit...eccentric.

Anyway, I had this idea in my head for a few days now and I just couldn't resist writing this out and sharing it on Tumblr. Basically, this takes place during the "Adrienette" romantic plans time and it's stressing him out big time. As for what happens next, well, just read and see:

Collège Françoise Dupont: Art Room 33

(Nathaniel walks into the room to see his frazzled and twitchy partner. Is he mumbling to himself? ) 

Nathaniel: (hesitantly) Uh… H-Hi, Marc. (approaches the writer cautiously and nervously) W-Whatcha doing?

(Marc immediately snaps his head towards Nathaniel. His mouth spread wide forming a massive, unhinged smile. Deep, dark circles caked around his eyes with his right eye twitching rapidly. His black hair resembled that of a bird’s nest. And his hands trembling terribly. His partner’s appearance immediately took Nathaniel aback.)

Marc: (speaks frantically) Nath! I’ve got it! I finally figured it out! 

Nathaniel: (nervously) Uh…figured what out exactly?

Marc: (grabs Nathaniel’s shoulders) The answer to Marinette and Adrien’s kissing problem! The solution was right in front of our faces this time, and we just couldn’t see it! It’s so simple! There’s no way they could mess this up for the 72nd time in a row! (starts shaking Nathaniel) OUR SHIP IS SAILING AT LAST!!!!! THE WAIT IS OVER!!!!!

(Nathaniel pulls himself away from Marc’s grasp, recovering from the feeling of dizziness from being shaken by the frantic writer. Perhaps these Adrienette first kiss plans were starting to take their toll on Marc? Nathaniel couldn’t argue that he too was starting to feel burnt out on drawing new plans to help Adrien and Marinette finally have their first kiss. Still, he could also understand why these plans would leave Marc feeling the most drained since he is the one who wrote over seventy different perfect romantic scenarios that ultimately fail over and over again. Guess it was only a matter of time before he snapped.)

Marc: (picks up his open journal and starts frantically shoving it into Nathaniel’s hands) It’s all written down right here! The ultimate solution! The one I should have just thought up a long time before I wrote those other miserably failed plans!

(Nathaniel took note of the bitterness and venom that was lacing the writer’s tone of voice. Additionally, he also noticed that his partner’s hands were increasingly shaking violently as he kept trying to shove the journal into his hands. Now Nathaniel was getting even more worried for Marc’s well-being.)

Nathaniel: (uses caution as he speaks) Marc, are you feeling okay? Y-You seem a bit…

(Unhinged? Crazed? Frazzled? Unstable? Disturbed? Fixated?)

Nathaniel: Tense?

Marc: (starts talking fast) Tense? Who’s tense? (unhinged chuckling) Certainly not me! You worry too much, Nath! I’m fine! Yep, totally fine! In fact, everything is going to be great now because now we have a full-proof plan to get Adrien and Marinette to finally have their magical kiss so that they just kiss already, live happily ever after, and we can all finally get on with our LIVES!!!!!

(Okay, now Nathaniel was fully convinced that Marc had finally snapped. When this latest plan fails, he definitely needs to have a long talk with his class about leaving him and Marc out of these Adrienette plans for a while. He would have gladly done so now if not for his unhinged partner forcefully insisting that he read the latest scheme that he has come up with this time.)

Marc: (finally manages to get Nathaniel to take hold of his journal) C’mon, Nath! C’mon! Read it! Read it! I’m telling you, this idea is foolproof! There's no way they could mess it up this time!

(Marc stared at Nathaniel with his twitching eyes and wide smile. Nathaniel, despite being disturbed by the writer’s insistence, took the journal and started to read through the page)

Nathaniel: (reading the page) “JUST KISS ALREADY, FOR FUC-”...Marc!

(Nathaniel gaped as he skimmed through the rest of Marc’s “plan”, which was actually just a double-sided five-page long rant about how frustrating Marinette and Adrien were. He was taken aback by how many times the writer used swear words in his rant. Though the artist knew Marc rarely cussed, he knew that whenever the few rare moments when the writer did use swear words meant that his hidden rage would be unleashed.)

Marc: Soooo, what do you think?

Nathaniel: (cringes) I think you should see your therapist ASAP. I…uh don’t think that this plan is going to work out the way you want it. Honestly, I don’t even know where to start drawing this out.

Marc: Well, if you don’t like that idea, I also came up with another one right here. (Flips through the pages and then stops at a page) Take a look!

(Nathaniel was hesitant about reading Marc’s other plan. If the first one was this bad, he could imagine how terrifying the alternative would have been. Despite this, Nathaniel decided to read what his partner had written. He then lets out a shocked gasp as he reads.)

Nath: Marc! No! We can’t do this to them either!

Marc: (whines) Oh c’mon, what’s the problem now?! This one has got to be flawless! They are so close to kissing, they just need a little push!

Nathaniel: (raises an eyebrow) And by little push, you mean having our friends literally push them together and force them to kiss? Marc, there’s no way we can do that to them! It’s wrong and I’m pretty sure it’s illegal too!  What the hell is wrong with you?!

(Nathaniel knew that Marc wasn’t thinking clearly. He knew that Marc was against trying to force love onto someone and a ruthless critique when it came to other writers trying to force their ideals of “perfect lovers” onto their characters when there were better choices for character pairings.)

Marc: (his smile slowly falters into a frown) What’s wrong with me? (starts to chuckle unsteadily) You think that something is wrong with me?! Oh let me tell you something, Nathaniel Kurtzberg, if there is something wrong with anyone, it would be MARINETTE and ADRIEN! (Starts anxiously digging his finger through his hair) You know, when Alya and Nino first approached us and asked for our help to bring Marinette and Adrien together, I thought to myself “This is going to be so much fun!” and “It will be just like writing a romantic love story but in real life!”. I was more than happy to help out our friends and I was excited to play the part of Eros alongside you. I wanted to see them both become our LONG awaited favorite couple and do all of that “cutesy” couple stuff that either makes others go “awwww” or shout “Get a room!”. But most importantly, I wanted them to be happy together and to finally get over acting all awkward around each other so everything is not always so tense and complicated whenever they are in the same room together! (grips the sides of his head) But those two…those two, Nathaniel, are just so FUCKING FRUSTRATING! Don’t get me wrong, I love Marinette. She’s like a sister or a cousin to me and she was the first friend I made here at Dupont. If it wasn’t for her, I would probably still be writing alone under the stairs every day and avoiding human interaction as much as possible. BUT THAT GIRL IS SO FUCKING CLUMSY THAT IT IS OFFICIALLY CRINGE!!!!! It doesn’t matter how I set up each scenario, she always manages to trip over, fall, and break everything that crosses her path! Never mind KISSING Adrien, we’ll all be lucky if she doesn’t KILL him first. Oh and speaking of Adrien, how can someone so well-educated be so FUCKING CLUELESS?! I mean, I get it. He was homeschooled and sheltered all of his life, but how can he be so OBLIVIOUS towards Marinette’s obvious crush on him?! Seriously, she literally acts like she has rabies every time she tries to talk to him and apparently, he has to pretend to be a wax statue to get her to “profess her feelings” to him, and yet that obvious sign still goes over his fucking head! (tilts his head to the side). So you want to know what my problem is, Nath, or as you put it “What’s wrong with me?”?! I’ll tell you what my problem is! My problem is that in addition to schoolwork and writing our comics, I’ve had to spend the last couple of months playing matchmaker for two of the most awkward people in our grade! Tell me, Nath, do you enjoy sleeping? I know I USED TO!!!! I didn’t expect the first couple of “Adrinette” plans to succeed and I would be lying if I said I didn’t anticipate a few setbacks, but for FUCK’S SAKE! IT’S BEEN MONTHS!!! MONTHS!!!!! I’m all out of ideas, Nath! I don’t know what to do! This shouldn’t be that difficult! She likes him and he likes her. We’ve established that. (Slams his head down onto the table and starts pounding his fist on the table repeatedly) HOW HARD IS IT TO GET TWO PEOPLE TO FUCK-.....

Nathaniel: Marc!

Marc: -ING KISS ALREADY!!!!!

(Nathaniel was at a loss for words. His partner was having a complete breakdown and he wasn’t sure what he should say next. Did Marc admit that he was losing sleep over this?! Marc hardly ever pulled all-nighters because he knew that a lack of proper sleep wasn’t good for his anxiety. The whole “Adrinette” plans were supposed to be like a side project. When did they let these romantic fantasies become one of their priorities?! Nathaniel knew that Marc didn’t like letting others down and that he always put his own well-being last, but this was extreme even for him. This must have been building up for a while, but why was he letting this all out now? What could have triggered this breaking point? Marc was fine yesterday, even after their latest “Adrienette” plan had failed, he didn’t show any signs of frustration or resentment. Honestly, Marc was acting like that one time he stayed up all night to rewrite their manuscripts for their comics after the original copy was lost and he drank-....That’s when it hit Nathaniel! The unhinged body language. His erratic fast-talking rants. His violently shaky hands. Nathaniel’s eyes quickly fell onto Marc’s blue Stanley tumbler cup with “My Hero Academia” stickers decorated all over.)

Nathaniel: (eyes Marc with suspicion) Marc, what’s in your cup?

(Marc immediately raises his head off the table and looks at the artist with nervously shifting eyes.)

Marc: Uh…what?

Nathaniel: (crosses his arms) Marc Anciel, you heard me. What have you been drinking out of that cup?

(Marc’s eyes darted around nervously as he actively tried to think up a cover-up. Nathaniel’s suspicions were confirmed as he noticed how the writer took his time to answer the artist’s question as well as how much his eyes kept shifting all over the place.)

Nathaniel: Marc, there’s coffee in that cup, isn’t there?

Marc: (frantically) What?! No! It’s not coffee! It’s just water!

Nathaniel: Your lying, Marc. If there was water in that cup, you would have just told me right away and wouldn’t have asked me to repeat myself. 

Marc: No! Nath, I swear I’m not lying! I swear on my life!

Nathaniel: (raises an eyebrow with a smirk) What about on your moms’ lives?

(Silence fell between the two boys. Nathaniel was playing dirty, but it was necessary to get the truth out. Marc then started fidgeting with his fingers nervously and let out a sigh.)

Marc: (avoids eye contact with Nathaniel) Okay fine, maybe it is coffee.

Nathaniel: (gives Marc a disapproving look) I knew it! Marc…

Marc: (frantically exclaims) Look, I’m under a lot of pressure right now! Our next meeting with the editor is in three weeks and I had to finish writing the ending to our next comic issue so you could start drawing the panels! Not to mention I had to finish my science homework as well as come up with more doomed-to-fail ideas for our desperate attempts to get our friends’ ship to sail! I needed it to help me stay awake and keep me going!

Nathaniel: (looks at Marc with a concerned, softened expression) Marc, you know what coffee does to you. Drinking caffeine makes your anxiety worse. You could’ve given yourself another panic attack or be close to one right now.

Marc: (forces a grin) But I’m fine, Nath! Everything is fine! I swear, you and my moms worry too much. I can handle a little caffeine. 

Nathaniel: Just how much of this “little caffeine” have you had, Marc? And I want the truth this time.

Marc: (eyes shift left and right as he twiddles his fingers nervously) I’ve only had one cup…or maybe two? ……give or take five?

Nathaniel: (eyes widen in shock) Marc!

Marc: (defensively) I said I was under pressure! 

Nathaniel: (points at Marc’s cup) That’s your fifth cup of coffee?!

Marc: Weeeellllll, technically it's my sixth cup that I just started drinking…

Nathaniel: (gives Marc a stern look) Ok, Marc. I think you’ve had more than enough. I’m cutting you off.

(Unfortunately for Nathaniel as he starts reaching for his partner’s cup, the writer immediately snatched it off the table and started backing away from Nathaniel slowly. This caught the artist off guard as he watched the wide-eyed, erratic boy hold his cup protectively against his chest. Nathaniel then put his hands up in a placating gesture.)

Nathaniel: (tries to approach the writer cautiously and calmly) Marc…let’s stay calm and be reasonable. You're not well and I want to help you. Please, give me the coffee-...

(As Nathaniel tries to reach for the cup, his partner lets out a loud hiss at the artist like a wild cat and bolts out of the art room, leaving the artist flabbergasted.) Nathaniel: D-Did…Did he just seriously hiss at me?

Well, hope you all enjoyed part one, and stay tuned for part two!

@artzychic27 @nerd-chocolate @username8746489 @andromeda612 @princessbutterflysposts @lady0lunamoon

#miraculous ladybug #miraculoustalesofladybugandcatnoir #ao3 writer #marc anciel #coffee #caffiene #adrienette plans are cringe #character rant #mlb headcanon #marc anciel headcanon #marcnath #nathaniel kurtzberg #mlb marc #mlb nathaniel #angst #i wrote this instead of sleeping

[kasienda]

Spin the Bottle

Core Four OT4 - Read on Ao3

I had too much fun with this one! Please enjoy! ^_^

...

Nathaniel’s family home is not as large or ostentatious as the Agreste family manor, but that only means Adrien feels more at ease. The space is wide and open, but still feels like a home rather than a museum. And all his friends are here for a party, which makes it even better. 

“Dude! You’re here!” Nino greets, holding out his hand.

“Wouldn’t miss it!” Adrien exclaims, clapping into Nino’s open fist. He may have used a bit of Plagg’s aid to make it, but he knows from bitter experience that no one will miss him until morning, so why shouldn’t he come? 

Nino ushers him inside. Rose and Marinette are helping Nathaniel pour snacks into large plastic bowls. The rest of the class - minus Chloe and Sabrina, plus Marc - are circled around Kim and Ivan who are locked in an arm wrestling match.

“Yay! Adrien! You made it!” Mylene says. Everyone else cheers in greeting. Adrien grins back. 

“Hey guys!”

Kim looks up then, and in that moment Ivan pounds Kim’s fist into the table. Kim throws a pout at Mylene. 

“Is it surprising that I’m here?” Adrien asks Nino quietly. 

“I’m not gonna lie, dude. I didn't want to get my hopes up.”

Adrien sighs.

Nino offers him a dazzling smile and Adrien only feels warm. “But I’m always really glad to see you.”

“Me too!” Adrien agrees.

“C’mon Agreste! Welcome to the party!” Kim says, his arms draping over his shoulders. “Want to go up against Ivan in arm wrestling? No one can beat him.”

Adrien isn’t sure that’s a good idea. Some of his miraculous enhanced strength seems to carry over whenever he’s wearing the ring and Adrien doesn’t want to accidentally hurt anyone. 

“No? Anyone up for a game of spin the bottle?”

“Spin the what?” Adrien asks.

“Oh, Agreste. You are so deprived,” Alix says. 

“Spin the bottle is a kissing game,” Max supplies. 

A kissing game? 

“I dunno, man,” Nino says, pinching his own shoulder. “I have a girlfriend. Not sure if I should be kissing anyone else.” 

Alya waves away his objection. “It’s a silly game! And I’m right here watching.” Then she pauses and turns back to Nino. “Assuming you’re okay with it?” 

“Uh… yeah, sure. Levels one and two?” 

She nods. 

Adrien has no idea what they’re talking about. How could there be levels to a kissing game? 

“Then sure! I’m down,” Nino agrees.

“What’s spin the bottle?” Adrien asks again. 

Rose giggled, patting the space next to her on the floor. “We sit in a circle with an empty bottle in the middle. Then we take turns spinning it, and then whoever it ends up pointing at we’re supposed to kiss!” She claps her hands together excitedly.

“You game, dude?” Nino asks.

“You ever been kissed?” Alya asks before Adrien can answer. 

Heat blooms across his face. “I have,” he says. It wasn’t technically a lie even though he didn’t remember either of his kisses with Ladybug. They happened. They count, right?

Alya smirks. “Great! We won’t go easy on you then.”

Adrien swallows down his nerves. Maybe he should have said he had never been kissed, but he has always wanted to know what a kiss felt like. Maybe this was an opportunity to find out. He takes a seat next to Nino.

The action earns him another cheer from his friends. Then everyone scrambles into motion to find a seat. Nathaniel places an empty soda bottle on the ground. Kim shoves it towards Adrien. 

“As the only spin the bottle virgin, you should go first, Agreste.” 

Adrien picks up the bottle awkwardly. “I just spin it?” 

Rose crawls forward. “Let me show you!” She lays the bottle on its side and twists it around the center, sending it into a spin. “Like this!” She stops it before it slows on its own and hands it back to him. 

Adrien spins the bottle. He swallows his nerves, or tries to - but his stomach squirms as the bottle’s nose whips around the circle from classmate to classmate. Who will fate choose for him? 

When the bottle cap comes to a stop dead center on Nino, Adrien’s both relieved and somehow more anxious. 

His first kiss - not his actual first kiss, but still kinda his first kiss - the first kiss he will remember, will be with someone he deeply cares about.

But Adrien also cares what Nino thinks of him, so what if he’s a terrible kisser?

Nino offers him a reassuring smile, and he relaxes. Adrien glances at Alya for permission, and she just shoos him towards Nino. 

Adrien turns to Nino, leaning closer. If his stomach had been squirming before, it now feels like a half dozen Kwamis have taken up residence in his gut. But Adrien doesn’t hesitate. He blocks out the presence of all of his friends watching, and instead focuses on Nino - like Nino is a stage partner in a photoshoot.

Except kissing Nino is nothing like a photoshoot. Nino isn’t some model Adrien barely knows. Nino’s his best friend, one of his favorite people in the whole world with the possible exception of Ladybug, and even then, Adrien’s not sure. And Nino’s lips are soft and warm. Then Nino gasps, and they’re breathing the same air. What would it feel like to explore Nino’s open mouth?

But the sudden whooping and whistles send Adrien scuttling backwards before the kiss can become anything more, frantically searching Nino’s face. 

“Woah there, Sunshine,” Alya says. “At least buy him dinner first.” 

Adrien’s gaze darts back and forth between Nino and Alya. Nino’s golden brown eyes are wide, but he’s noticeably not smiling. Alya looks like a wolf about to catch dinner and Adrien’s pretty sure he’s the prey.

“D-did I do something wrong?” 

“No!” Alya immediately reassures, shaking her head. “You just jumped straight to level three, which you’re totally allowed to do. Established couples do it all the time!” 

Adrien’s cheeks burn as he glances back at Nino who was pinching his own shoulder, suddenly not able to meet Adrien’s eyes. 

Has he messed up? He and Nino are definitely not an established couple and Nino and Alya agreed to levels one and two only before the game started. 

Adrien hopes not.

“What’s level one?” Adrien asks. 

“Usually we start with a hand kiss, and then a cheek kiss if you get the same person again. And then on the lips for the third time,” Alya says, grinning at him. 

“Any other rules I should know about?”

“Do you want to know what all the other levels—“ Max starts to ask.

“Nope!” Alix interrupts. “That’s it!”

Adrien turns back to the group, and very carefully does not look at Nino, who is sitting right next to him. 

Mylene goes next. The bottle lands on Rose, and Mylene gives her the smallest of pecks on her cheek.

Adrien’s face burns hotter at how stupid he was, but he resists the urge to bury his face in his hands. He risks another glance at Nino who immediately looks away. 

But Nino had clearly been looking at him. Adrien wishes he knew what that meant . 

Did Nino like the kiss? Is he wondering what it would have felt like to let the kiss last longer or go deeper like Adrien is? Or is Nino feeling super awkward and weird that his idiot best friend kissed him on the lips instead of his hand? 

Adrien knows what he’s hoping it means, which makes him doubt that could possibly be what Nino is thinking. 

Alix goes next, and the bottle points to Marc. Alix approaches, and holds their hand like it’s a treasure. “Marc! Though I’ve loved you more than I’ve loved anyone—“

Marc snorts. 

“—I know when our romance is hopeless. Please forgive me! My heart is not strong enough to offer more than this small token.” And she dramatically kisses Marc’s hand to the giggles of everyone looking on before returning to her spot in the circle.

Adrien sits up straighter when Marinette spins the bottle. He feels almost as nervous as he did when the bottle was spinning for him. He’s not sure where he wants the bottle to stop, but when it points to Nathaniel’s knee, Adrien feels strangely disappointed. 

Marinette moves, but she’s not even halfway across the circle, when Nathaniel holds up his hands. 

“Marinette, I uh��� given our umm… history, I’d prefer if you were the one person who didn’t kiss me.” 

Adrien opens his mouth to object. Was Nathaniel seriously rejecting the just idea of Marinette in front of all her friends? Anyone would be lucky to—

But Marinette smiles at both Nathaniel and Marc whose hands are suddenly interlaced. “I understand completely. I’ll just spin again.” 

This time the bottle lands on Alya. 

Adrien is still a little disappointed, but it doesn’t twist his shoulders into knots the way it landing on Nathaniel had. He turns to watch the two girls with interest. Marinette and Alya exchange cheek kisses and then a peck on the lips with a playful “mwah!” before turning back to the group all smiles. 

Adrien is jealous of how comfortable they both seem with each other. Nino still will barely look at him.

Alya spins and the bottle lands on Kim. Adrien tenses, feeling oddly protective, though Alya is quick to deposit a kiss on Kim’s hand and it’s over before Adrien can make sense of his feelings.

He’s being ridiculous. Why would it matter if Alya kissed Kim anymore than it had that Adrien had kissed Nino? Like Alya said at the beginning, this is a game . And as Marinette just demoed, even during the game, boundaries would still be respected. 

He wishes he thought to ask Nino first if he was welcome. 

After they make it all around the circle, a second round starts.

Rose goes first this time. She literally squeals when the bottle lands on Juleka. She’s in Juleka’s lap immediately, her legs wrapping around Juleka’s waist. Their mouths are sliding against one another, revealing flashes of pink tongue between the tiny spaces between their lips. Then their hands . Rose’s fingers are tangled in Juleka’s hair, pulling her closer, while Juleka’s hands are squeezing into Rose’s thighs.

Adrien can’t look away.

“Oh my god!” Alix shouts, smacking the two with a pillow, which barely slows them down at all.  “Get in the closet already!”

“The closet?” Adrien echoes. 

“Level five is seven minutes in ‘heaven’ where you make out in the closet for seven minutes,” Max says. 

Rose giggles as Juleka leads her away. 

Then it’s Marinette’s turn again. Her bottle lands on him. Adrien has to remind himself to breathe. This is what he wanted during her first turn, he realizes. For Marinette to kiss him. He licks his lips. What kind of kiss will Marinette choose for him?

His excitement lasts right up until he looks at her. She’s white as a ghost, staring at him with wide blue, very much panicked, eyes. “I umm… I have to go to the bathroom!” 

She launches herself to her feet and runs. Adrien watches her retreat. 

“Girl!” Alya calls, running after her. “Get your cute butt back here!” 

The pleasant fluttering in his gut turns sour.

Sweet kind brave Marinette doesn’t even want to kiss his hand.

Did she dislike him that much? 

…

Alya chases Marinette into the kitchen.

She’s never completely understood what it is about Adrien that turns Marinette into a nervous basket case.

And Nino too apparently! She hadn’t missed how flustered Nino became after Adrien’s kiss. 

Though she likes it when Nino turns into a flustered mess. They’d have to talk about it obviously, but Alya isn’t even sure what she wants to say yet because she hadn’t wanted that kiss to end so quickly.

She shoves the thought aside. The point is Adrien is as kind and as patient as they come, and starved for love and friendship, both. If there’s anyone Marinette and Nino don’t need to worry about disappointing or accidentally pushing away, it’s Adrien! 

“Earth to Marinette,” Alya says when Marinette’s gaze remains distant. “I thought you would want to kiss Adrien.” 

Marinette’s forehead clunks against the refrigerator. “I do! Just not like that.” 

Alya arches an eyebrow. 

“It’s just if he’s going to kiss me I don’t want it to be because a bottle told him to. I want it to mean something! I want him to want to kiss me.” 

“Marinette, did you see his face?!”

Marinette turns to her with furrowed brows. “What do you mean?”

“He lit up when that bottle landed on him. He definitely wanted you to kiss him.” Not to mention that he visibly deflated when Marinette’s first turn landed on Nathaniel, but Marinette didn’t need to know that. 

“Or maybe he just figured out he likes being kissed,” Marinette said dryly. 

Alya grins. “You saw that, too?” 

“Does it upset you that he and Nino both seemed so bothered by it?” 

“No.” If anything she really really liked that they - especially Nino - were so bothered by it. She wanted to pounce on Nino right after. It’s not as often that she can push him into that shy flustered state anymore. She really likes him like that. 

“But we’re not talking about me! We’re talking about you and Adrien. How do you think running out like that made him feel?” 

Marinette buried her face in her hands. “I know! I know! He probably hates me.” 

Alya shook her head. “He definitely does not hate you.” 

Marinette likes Adrien because he’s so kind and understanding. Alya wishes Marinette would trust that.

“I really think that things would be a lot easier for you if you would tell him how you feel, but right now I’ll settle for you going back in there and giving that sweet boy who thinks you don’t like him , a tiny little kiss on the cheek.” 

Marinette shakes her head rapidly. “I want to! I know you’re right. But when I’m there looking at his stupidly perfect face I turn into all panic. I’m never going to be able to tell him! And because of that I’m always gonna be a crappy awful friend.” 

God grant her patience!

Alya wants a lot of things, several of which she may have just realized in the last ten minutes. What she would give to watch her boyfriend and his best friend really make out? Or better yet, her boyfriend and her best friend! 

Sadly, they’ll likely never go for that.

But more than any of that, Alya just wants all of them to be happy. 

“Marinette, Adrien is not going anywhere. He’s not that easy to scare away. He’s definitely confused right now, and maybe a little hurt, but just as he apologized to you the day you met him, you can apologize to him and I promise you, he will be all smiles.”

“You really think he’ll forgive me?” 

“I know he will! And a cheek kiss wouldn’t hurt.” 

Marinette smiles. “I can do that.” 

Alya smiles back. “I know you can!” 

And maybe if they kept playing, the bottle would grant a few of Alya’s wishes.

The chances are low with so many of them playing. Alya knows that, but a girl can dream. 

… 

Nino has never related so hard to a Marinette freakout. He is now painfully aware of how big a deal it is to kiss Adrien. 

He traces his lower lip, a tiny part of him wishing he hadn’t been so startled by Adrien’s actions so he could have savored it more. 

Except he can’t be thinking any of this! He has a girlfriend! He can’t be thinking about what it would feel like to kiss his best friend.

Except that he is thinking about it. He’s thinking about it a lot.

He’s so fucked. 

And when he glances over to see how Adrien is taking all this, his best friend is staring at the empty doorway, the personification of dejection. Everyone in the room is staring at Adrien with sympathetic frowns, which only causes Adrien to further cave in on himself. 

Nino taps his shoulder. “C’mon dude, let’s take a breather.”

Nino hauls Adrien to his feet and juts his chin at Alix over Adrien’s shoulder, who takes a hint immediately. “Mylene! It’s your turn!” 

They don’t go that far, Nathaniel’s house does have a small outdoor terrace, so they can at least put a door between them and the group even if that door is made of glass. 

“You okay, mec?” 

Adrien shrugs. “Yeah? If she doesn’t want to kiss me, that’s fine. I just… I just wish I knew what I did wrong.” 

“What makes you think you did anything wrong?” 

“Nino! She literally ran away. She didn’t even want to kiss my hand.” 

That’s not the problem. Marinette definitely wants to kiss Adrien.

But Nino can’t say that. 

“Maybe she has a reason.” 

“Like what?!”

Nino wishes he could explain. “You’d have to ask her, mec.”

Adrien sighs. And then looks at him. “Are we okay?”

Nino swallows, and glances down into his hands, heat burning in his face. “Of course, we’re okay.”

More than okay. Except maybe Nino really wants Adrien to kiss him again, but he definitely can’t act on that impulse. 

Because he has a gorgeous and amazing girlfriend and he absolutely doesn’t want to mess that up.

“Do you think we’re not okay?” Nino asks. 

Adrien rubs the back of his neck. “I just- I hope I didn’t make things weird. I’m sorry. I should have asked if you were okay with me kissing you. I thought that was the game.” 

“It is the game. The not explaining the rules fully thing is something every one of us has gone through the first time we played. It’s always a question of will the person chicken out or go straight for it.”

“Really?” Adrien sounds so hopeful that Nino wants to laugh at himself. He really shouldn’t have been surprised that Adrien kissed him. Adrien has always wanted to have the genuine party experience. 

“Really! Just in our situation it usually goes the other way.” 

“Our situation?” 

“Two dudes who are pretty solidly platonic?” 

Maybe not as platonic on his end as Nino had previously assumed, but that was a crisis for another day. 

“Was it weird?”

Nino’s ears and cheeks burn. “Umm… not to me. But I’m uh… not straight.” 

He can feel Adrien’s eyes widen to the size of saucers, though he doesn’t look up. 

“Oh. I uh… don’t think I am either.”

Oh god. That made everything so much better. 

And so much worse at the same time.

“Thanks for telling me,” Nino says, because what else can he say? 

“Yeah, you too.” 

“You feeling better, mec?” Nino shoulder bumps him. 

Adrien smiles. “Yeah, I am. Thanks.” 

“Ready to head back inside?” 

Adrien nods. Alya and Marinette are already there sitting next to each other with their arms looped together, and their fingers interlaced.

Nino licks his lips at the sight. If Nino says Alya is allowed to kiss her best friend, would she grant him the same boon? 

Gah! What is he thinking? That’s not how relationships worked. 

Alya smiles at him, and something in Nino’s chest loosens. He sits down and Adrien catches his gaze, and he’s smiling, and the warmth in Nino’s chest only spreads.

Oh, he’s well and truly fucked.

…

Marinette’s vaguely aware that Mylene and Ivan are taking a turn in the closet and Marc is about ready to throw the bottle out the window for refusing to land on Nathaniel. 

Alix is not even playing anymore, but whatever she’s doing, she can’t stop laughing. 

But Marinette’s attention is focused completely on the two boys outside. The fact that Nino and Adrien are outside, separate from everyone else, when Adrien had been so excited about just being at a party at all, is evidence enough that Alya’s right. Adrien is hurt. 

And it’s her fault. She’s the one that hurt him by running.

Alya’s arm hand loops through her own, and some of the tension in Marinette’s shoulders bleeds out, and she can breathe again.

She doesn’t know what it is about Alya, but Alya grounds her in much the same way Chat Noir does. Marinette has a tendency to float away and spiral and lose herself, and Alya has a way of yanking her back to reality, but also of catching her so that the landing is always soft. 

She grants Alya a beaming smile, hoping that some of her gratitude and appreciation shines through. Alya squeezes her hand.

The door slides open and Marinette’s gaze whips to Adrien immediately. He’s smiling and seems at ease. But when he sits down, he chooses the spot that’s further from her, the spot that places Nino between them. 

Which, fair. 

But she can’t stand it. 

She scrambles around Nino, throws her arms around Adrien’s shoulders and kisses him on the cheek. 

He presses a hand to his face where she kissed him, and turns to her with wide eyes. 

“I’m sorry I ran,” she whispers. It’s all she can manage before she retreats back to the safety of Alya’s hold. 

But Adrien is smiling again. 

Unfortunately when it’s Alya’s turn, she has to untangle herself from Marinette. 

In some cruel or amazing twist of fate, the bottle lands on Adrien. 

Alya shoots her a mischievous grin. Marinette knows that look, and it’s not good. Abort abort abort. 

Nino is in no better shape than she is at this pairing, Marinette distantly notes, but she can’t pay much attention to Nino, not when Alya is leaning so intimately into Adrien’s space, whispering something she can’t hear into his ear. 

Adrien nods. 

Alya grins and then she’s cradling Adrien’s face in her hands. Marinette forgets to breathe as Alya leans forward slowly, until there’s no more space. Their lips slide against one another—

Marinette’s nails dig into her knee.

—parting ever so slightly. The contact lingers, like a perfect moment frozen in time. 

Marinette bites down on her own lip. 

She’s not jealous. 

She’s insanely turned on. She likes watching Adrien and Alya kiss. She likes it waaay more than she should. 

And she is jealous, she realizes. But she’s jealous of Adrien. 

She wants to be held so carefully in Alya’s hands. 

Alya pulls away slowly. Adrien though doesn’t move. His eyes remain closed, totally blissed out. Alya grins, and turns triumphantly to Marinette. 

That’s how it’s done, she seems to say. She made it look so easy.

Marinette wishes she had half her courage. 

But Alya’s gaze doesn’t linger with Marinette. Instead, her attention turns to Nino who is also wide-eyed with his mouth hanging open. Marinette has never related to him more in her life. Alya’s grin only grows. Adrien finally blinks his eyes open. 

Alix cackles. “I think all four of you might benefit from a turn in the closet!” 

Marinette’s face is on fire. 

“W-what?” Adrien stammers.

Nino is still speechless. 

But Alya, Alya hums in agreement. 

Every inch of Marinette’s body is tingling. She can’t talk, but she can’t sit still either. And so she runs. 

Again. 

This time Alya doesn’t follow. Her friend’s laughter follows her though. 

She retreats to the bathroom, breathing hard. She tries to take a breath to calm her racing heart. She splashes water on her face and it doesn’t really help. 

The door bursts open and it’s Nino standing in the doorway, looking just as startled as she feels. 

“H-hey,” she says. “I… uh…” and she turns back to the mirror, unable to look at him.

“I’m s-sorry,” he stammers, backing away.

“N-no, it’s fy mault.” And she’s stuttering around Nino now.

She buries her fire-hot face in her hands. This is all Alix’s fault. She had Marinette thinking about kissing Nino now, as if Marinette needed a whole new person to be an absolute disaster around.

The problem is, it’s not hard to imagine. She had been overjoyed to know Nino was crushing on Alya all the way back at the zoo because she knew he was patient and just fun to be around even if she hadn’t known him that well then. 

She knew him better now, and that image doesn’t bother her at all. The idea of all four of them? 

She peaks through her fingers at him. 

He bursts into laughter. And a second later she joins him. She laughs so hard she doubles over clutching at her sides. It feels a touch hysterical, but it’s helping. 

Nino collapses down next to her a second later and she’s laughing so hard it hurts. And he’s laughing so hard he almost tips over, but she manages to steady him. 

Eventually their laughter subsides, and they sit beside each other on the bathroom floor. 

“D-did you want to talk?” Marinette eventually asks. 

He shakes his head. “No, I just… I ran in here because I needed to be able to breathe.” 

“Oh my god! I know! They’re both torturing us.” 

“Alya’s doing it on purpose.”

Marinette groans, burying her face in her hands all over again. “Which means she’s not gonna stop.”

“Definitely not.”

“How are we gonna survive?” 

Nino barked a laugh. “We’re not. We’re fucked.”

“At least we’re fucked together.” 

Nino laughed again and held out a fist. She met it easily, grinning.

She could think of worse than being tortured by Alya side by side with Nino and maybe hopefully Adrien too. 

… 

Adrien stares at the bottle that’s pointing at him, afraid to see Alya’s reaction. He starts when she puts a hand on his shoulder, but when she catches his gaze she’s smiling gently with so much patience.

She leans toward him. “I’m gonna kiss you for real,” she whispers. “You okay with that?” 

He nods dumbly just relieved that she’s still there - that she wants to kiss him. 

And kissing Alya is a very different experience than kissing Nino. Her hands on his face are warm and gentle. She’s the one who leans forward, the one who presses her lips to his. She’s softer, but more confident. Her lips part, and instead of pulling away as he had with Nino, he reciprocates. Her tongue slides across his lower lip, and electricity shoots down his spine to his toes.

When she pulls away, he doesn’t move. He’s dizzy, and he doesn’t want the sensation to end. 

Was every kiss this mind blowing? 

He pulls away staring at Alya in shock, but her attention is on Nino who is definitely staring at them both in slack jawed astonishment. 

And Adrien’s gut twists again, not sure where he stands with either of them at the moment, and nervous about how his kisses with each might be impacting their relationship. 

And then Marinette runs again. Nino lasts only thirty seconds longer, and Adrien fights to keep breathing. He had wanted to come to this party so bad, and now it feels like he’s messing everything up. His eyes are burning. 

But this time, Alya squeezes his hand and he relaxes. 

“It’s not what you think,” she tells him. “They’re just being stupid.” 

“They’re not stupid,” he defends. Marinette is brilliant and inspiring. He could watch her for days and never get bored. And Nino is just solid, grounding in a way that always makes Adrien feel like he is always enough. 

She laughs. She definitely does not agree with him, but she also doesn’t argue. 

Spin the Bottle seems to be a bust at this point. With Marinette and Nino gone, the group breaks apart. Nathaniel and Marc soon have their heads together over a notebook. Rose and Juleka are still making out in the corner. Mylene is on Ivan’s lap on a couch. Alix and Max are talking excitedly about something on his computer. Kim is nowhere to be seen. 

He and Alya are effectively alone in the sense that no one is really paying attention to them, though they’re the only ones who haven’t moved from the original circle. 

“Why did you kiss me like that?” he asks.

She grins. “I had lots of reasons.”

“Care to share?” 

“Not yet, but I hope soon.”

He sighs. He tries so hard to respect other people’s boundaries, but he’s so tired of being in the dark all of the time. He does appreciate that Alya is direct about it though. She doesn’t try to evade or dance around the fact that she’s holding information back from him. And he believes her when she says she wants to tell him, so he doesn’t push. 

“Are you okay that I kissed Nino earlier?” he asks instead.

“I’d be a total hypocrite if I wasn’t.”

Adrien frowns. “That doesn’t answer the question.”

She grins again. “Let’s just say I was a lot more okay with it than I thought I would be, and maybe that’s part of why I wanted to kiss you too.”

“Please don’t use me as a way to get revenge on my best friend,” he pleads.

She laughs again. “I promise you I was not trying to hurt him. And I don’t think I did, but you’re right. He and I should probably talk. Are you okay if I go find him?” 

He nods, though it’s not completely true. He doesn’t feel like he’s on the verge of panic anymore, so he doesn’t need Alya to stay. 

But when she’s gone, he’s alone with his thoughts. Thoughts he very much doesn’t know what to do with. 

He’s in love with Ladybug! He’s certain of it, but this crazy game is making him realize that he has other feelings as well.

Feelings for his friends that he’s not supposed to have.

He wanted Marinette to kiss him. Hell, he still wants Marinette to kiss him, but he’s not always sure she even sees him as a friend, let alone something more. So trying something there doesn’t seem worth the risk. But he wants it anyway even though he now realizes he has feelings for Nino and Alya as well. 

But he’s not allowed to have feelings for his best friend and he’s definitely not allowed to have feelings for his best friend’s girlfriend.

What is wrong with him? 

...

Nino’s not sure what shifted, but Marinette seems calmer now. She’s smiling and he can’t help but mirror the expression. He always liked her smile. 

A soft tap on the door stops his thoughts in their tracks, and Alya pokes her head around the door. 

“There you both are!” 

Marinette’s hands cover her face again, but Nino can still see the blush blooming under her hands.

“Hey girl, do you mind if I steal your spot to talk to Nino alone for a moment?” 

Marinette’s head bobs up and down with far too much enthusiasm. And as she disappears, Nino wonders if he should envy how easily she escaped Alya’s gaze. 

But the second the door is closed, Alya pounces on him. He barely catches her. Her mouth is on his, hot and urgent, her tongue demanding entrance, and he’s only too happy to grant her request. 

But he’s confused. He thought she would be upset. Not that he’s complaining. 

Her lips travel to his ear, and his neck. Oh yeah, he’s definitely not complaining. 

But he’s still very confused. 

“Babe! What the hell?”

“I’ve literally been wanting to jump you,” she tells him between kisses, “since Adrien kissed you.” 

For some reason this upsets him, and he pushes her off him. “This isn’t some game, Alya.” 

She frowns, settling backwards on her heels, but her hands stay on his shoulders. “I didn’t say it was?”

He takes off his glasses and rubs at his eyes. “I just… I’m kinda messed up right now because I think I like him, like him. And I don’t want to mess this,” He gestured between the two of them, “up. And I don’t want to mess him and I up either, but I can’t stop thinking about it now. And now, you treating that kiss like it’s just some kind of turn on or toy thing for you to get me all riled up.” 

Her hold on him loosens, but she doesn’t let go. Instead she’s rubbing soothing patterns on his shoulders. 

“Nino, it’s okay. Adrien is super sweet, and totally hot. And you care about each other immensely. Of course, you have feelings!”

Nino’s brows pinch together. “And you don’t have a problem with that?”

“I personally think it’s totally normal to have a bit of a gay crush on your best friend,” she says.

His eyes blow open. “Holy shit! You have a thing for Marinette!”

She clamps a hand over his mouth, as she glances frantically towards the closed door. “Shh! Nino! She’s not ready to hear that!” 

“I thought this was about you riling me up, but this is about her too, isn’t it?”

Alya doesn’t say anything. 

“How long have you felt this way?” he asks.

She bites her lip. “A long time. Longer than us.”

“I see.” 

“Nino! It’s not like that! I don’t have a favorite. I’ve known I was poly for a long time, but I didn’t think that you were and Marinette was never interested, and I thought I had made peace with all of that.”

But today apparently had been testing all of their limits. 

“Babe, why did you kiss Adrien like that?” he asks, but he thinks he already knows the answer. 

“You kissed him first!” 

“He kissed me! And that didn’t answer the question.” 

She looks up at him. “Because I wanted you to know what it felt like to watch two people you love, love each other.” 

He’s not sure he really got to appreciate that feeling in the moment. He had been too busy freaking out about his feelings for Adrien and if Alya would be upset.

“You’ve never told Marinette how you feel.” 

“She’s not remotely interested. She’s always had tunnel vision for Adrien.” 

Having watched her melt down after Alya kissed Adrien firsthand, he’s not so sure of that now. 

“You’re a hypocrite.”

She scowls. “What do you mean?” 

“You tell Marinette to confess every day. You’ve told me that you wish she would just be honest about her feelings and even if Adrien is somehow an idiot and turns her down she’ll still be freer. All of that applies to you. So why haven’t you confessed?” 

“Well one, I’m dating you.” 

It was a cop out. “That’s not in the way anymore.”

“Nino! It’s different when you’re best friends. Her friendship is precious and amazing and not less than romance. I don’t want to ruin that. ”

He nods. “Yeah. Totally. Makes complete sense. But I think that what you tell Marinette all the time is still true. That you will be freer if you are honest with her about your feelings.”

Alya suddenly grins. “Tell you what. I will confess to Marinette if you confess to Adrien.”

“Fuck. I walked into that one.” 

Alya laughs. “Yeah, you did.” 

He loves her laugh. It’s loud and real just like she is. She’s never as gorgeous as she is when she’s laughing her head off. He pulls her back into his arms and kisses her hard.

She breaks away, giggling. “What was that for?” 

He shakes his head in amusement. She tackled him first. He was just following through. 

“For luck,” he tells her. He doesn’t know for sure which way Marinette swings, but he knows that Alya doesn’t need any luck. 

But he might. 

…

Alya follows Nino out of the bathroom, and sure enough, Marinette is in the kitchen having never made it all the way back to the main living area. Nino nods at her and winks at Marinette before he leaves them both without a word.

Alya faces Marinette who is not meeting her eyes. 

Had Marinette overheard her conversation with Nino? Does it matter if she’s planning on telling her right now anyway?

“Hey,” Alya greets softly, looping her arm through Marinette’s exactly as she had earlier during the game. “Are we okay?”  

Marinette’s head shoots up. “Why wouldn’t we be okay?” 

“Well, I thought you might be upset that I kissed Adrien. I feel like maybe I should have checked with you first?”

Marinette blushes. “I figured you were just trying to inspire me.” 

“Did it work?” 

“Umm… it was definitely inspiring.” Marinette’s cheeks are red as she looks down into her hands.

Alya’s heart flips in her chest. Dare she hope this isn’t as hopeless as she fears? She licks her lips. 

Marinette frowns and grabs her hand. “Did you think I would be mad?” 

Maybe she had thought that was a possibility beforehand, but Alya knew afterwards that she wasn’t. “No… I…” and she trails off. 

“Alya?” Marinette’s voice trembles.

Alya shakes herself. She needs to pull herself together. This is Marinette . Marinette will never hold this against her.

“I never understood why you have such a hard time talking to Adrien. I mean, I knew that it was hard. Obviously in that you struggled with it, but I didn’t understand why you were so afraid . Adrien’s the nicest person on the planet, so even if he wasn’t somehow interested, which for the record, I think he is—“

Marinette shakes her head and Alya wants to shake her. 

“—he would never ever be mean about it. But I think I get it now because there’s something that I’ve never told you because I was afraid.” 

“You don’t have to tell me anything,” Marinette says, squeezing her hands. “Best friends don’t always have to tell each other everything.”

“Nino said I was a hypocrite for not telling you this and he’s right.” 

“Oh no! Did you and Nino fight?” 

“No! Nino and I are fine. I never told you this because I am absolutely terrified you won’t want me in your life anymore.”

Marinette laughs. “Alya, there’s nothing on this earth that you could do, be or say that would make me wish you gone.”

Alya forces herself to smile. She knows that, she believes it. And yet, she’s still scared her feelings could make things weird. She wants Marinette to come to her, to gush about boys, and ask for advice. 

Will she still do that, if she knows Alya loves her too? 

“What is it?” Marinette asks. 

“I’m in love with you, Marinette.” 

…

When Nino walks back into the main room, Adrien is in the corner with Max, Alix, and Kim. Max and Adrien are playing the latest version of his fighting game, which is inconvenient because Nino really wants to talk to him now while he still has Alya’s encouragement in his head. But he’s so nervous that interrupting seems impossible, and he’s hovering to the side of the group like an idiot. Even Alix and Kim are throwing him funny looks. 

Maybe he just can’t do this. 

But then Adrien glances at him out of the corner of his eyes, smiles that blinding smile, and Nino’s stomach drops in a fluttering mess. He has to do this because Alya is right. However Adrien responds, Nino needs to get this out or it will drive him slowly insane. 

Max groans, signaling the end of the match. Kim claps him consolingly on the shoulder and Alix cheers, clearly having just won a bet. 

“That was super close though,” Adrien says graciously. “I think you’ll get me soon.”

Max nods. “We’re definitely more closely matched. I appreciate you not going easy on me.” 

“Wouldn’t want to diminish your accomplishment in any way.” Then he turns his attention to Nino and holds out the controller. “You want a turn?” 

Nino shakes his head, stuffing his hands into his pockets so he can’t fidget. “Can I actually talk to you?” He points behind them with his thumb. “Maybe out on the balcony again?” 

Adrien smiles, but Nino can see the sudden tension in his shoulders. “Of course.” 

Kim makes a weird kissy face at Nino over Max’s shoulder. And Nino tries not to react, but he tucks his head into his shoulders like a turtle trying to hide in his shell. His neck and face are hot. Kim laughs, but at least it cuts off abruptly when Alix punches him in the arm. 

“Hey!” Kim complains, rubbing his arm.

“Leave them alone!” she hisses.

Nino is relieved when the sliding glass door closes, so he can’t hear the interaction. But that lasts all of two seconds because now Adrien is looking at him, waiting for whatever Nino wants to say, and Nino knows Adrien well enough to guess that Adrien’s bracing himself for the worst news ever. 

Which means Nino needs to buck up and be brave. 

“So you know how I said I wasn’t straight?” Nino blurts out.

Adrien lifts his head up and Nino can breathe just a bit easier. “Yeah?” 

“Well, that kiss, mec.” Nino adjusts his hat and risks a glance at his best friend. “I think it awakened some things. And if you’re game, I would k-kinda like to see where that could go?” His voice is pitched too high, and Nino wants to hide, but the hard part is done, and so he makes himself sit still. 

Well, mostly still. Nino doesn’t know how to be completely still. 

“What about Alya?” 

Nino relaxes at that objection. Adrien isn’t saying that he’s not interested. “She’s on board. In fact, if you’re into it, I suspect she’d date you as well, but we didn’t talk about that.” 

“And that’s allowed?” Adrien asks. His brows are furrowed so tight and it’s cute. 

“I mean, if you and I are okay with it and she’s okay with it, does it matter what anyone else says?” 

“I uh… guess not.” 

“But there’s no pressure here either!” Nino backpedals. “My having feelings doesn’t mean anything has to change. Just because Alya and I are poly, doesn’t mean that you have to be. And you don’t have to date us both, though if you dated her and not me, I’m not gonna lie, I’d be super jealous.”

“Nino?” 

“Yeah?” 

“Can we slow down please?” 

…

“You’re in love with me?” Marinette echoes. She heard it, but she can’t believe it. 

Alya has coached her through the most ridiculous anxious spirals, has seen her in her bathrobe rambling with her hair in nets at her most insane, and has chastised her when she was beyond petty. 

Alya has seen her at her worst. 

And Alya loves her? 

It’s so crazy her brain refuses to accept it. 

Alya nods. “Have been for a long time. And I want you to know I’m not at all sure where you would like to go from here if anywhere, but I wanted you to know. I don’t want to keep things from you.”

But if it is true, It’s the most amazing precious thing! She woke up this morning expecting a treat, and woke up with a whole cake! 

“Nino?” she squeaks.

“I love him, too. I’m poly. And I know you’re in love with Adrien. You know I’ve been rooting for the two of you since forever. Like I said, I just wanted you to know. And I guess I wanted to show you that even if you don’t get the answer you’re hoping for after a confession, that things can still be okay.” 

Marinette’s grabs Alya’s arm that is already looped through hers. Alya thought she was going to say no! 

But it’s too amazing. Marinette doesn’t want to say no.

“No,” Marinette says. 

“No?” Alya echoes, stiffening under Marinette’s arm. 

Marinette grip tightens around Alya. “No! No! I don’t mean no!! I mean– Alyaaaa!” she whines, burying her face against Alya’s arm.

Alya laughs. “I must be doing pretty well if you’ve lost the power of speech!” 

Marinette nods. 

And Alya untangles herself and holds Marinette by both her elbows, and suddenly Alya’s dark eyes are filling up Marinette’s entire field of vision. 

“Marinette, may I kiss you?” 

Marinette nods again. And now Alya’s hands ride up her arms to either side of her face, and Marinette basks in the feeling of being held in Alya’s embrace.

And then Alya’s lips are on hers, and Marinette forgets how to breathe. She’s kissed Chat before under battlefield conditions. Hell! She’s kissed Alya before! But it was never like this. Never with Alya pouring all of herself into it. 

Alya is warmth and safety. And she’s fire and courage. And Marinette never wants the moment to end. 

Alya pulls away first. 

Marinette doesn’t want to move. This was how Adrien felt earlier. She knows it. This is what it means to be blissed out. She can’t imagine anything better. 

“Now, I just want you to know, I don’t want you settling. I’m not kissing you again until you’ve confessed to Adrien.” 

Marinette’s eyes blink open.

“But Alyaaaaa!”

…

“Can we slow down please?” Adrien asks.

“Yeah, mec! Of course! I’ll just shut up now! And you can say whatever you need to.” 

Adrien laughs. Every inch of his body is buzzing. Like, he’s floating so high that his feet may never touch ground again. He has no idea what to say, but he knows he needs to say something.

“I think I’m game.” 

“You think?” Nino echoes. “You don’t have to tell me what you think I want to hear.”

“And I’m not! I just— Nino, that was effectively my first kiss,” Adrien admits. 

“What?! But you said–”

“I know! And I have, but it was under an akuma’s influence and I don’t remember it.”

“You could have said something.” 

Adrien rubs the back of his neck. He’s not good at speaking up. Not like Nino, Alya, or Marinette. “I just… when it landed on you I felt so relieved because I knew that my first kiss was going to be with someone that I cared about and who cared about me.”

And should have that alone told him something? 

Nino’s smile softens. “I’m glad.”

“And I definitely felt something, too. I wanted more, but everyone was watching. And I wasn’t sure if all kisses were like that? Because when Alya kissed me–”  

“Oh my god! I know!” 

“–I saw stars. But you’re saying she’s interested too? So maybe not all kisses are like that, and I’m just really lucky that the first two people I remember kissing are people that I have feelings for.” 

Adrien knows he’s the one rambling, but Nino only listens. 

“So umm… yeah. I’m game.” Adrien holds out his hand. 

Nino stares at it. “Yeah?” Nino’s voice cracks on the word, and he has to clear his throat. 

“Yeah,” Adrien says again. 

Nino takes his hand, their fingers interlace and it’s wild how natural it feels, how comforting the warmth of Nino’s hand is in his own.

“I want to do what you said,” Adrien says, “explore where we could go. And it’s not just because I want to make-out! Though that sounds amazing, too!” 

Nino laughs. 

“But a relationship with you? That sounds like a dream. How could I ever turn that down?”

Nino’s gaze drops. “Dude! I—“ His voice cracks again. 

Adrien squeezes his hand reassuringly.

But Nino stands suddenly, and yanks Adrien a meter to the side, where they’re not standing in front of a glass door.

Their second kiss is even better than the first. It leaves Adrien wanting more.

Good thing Nino is his boyfriend now and there will hopefully be so many more opportunities for more.  

�� 

The party continues like Marinette whole world hasn’t been thrown out of orbit. The pizza arrives, her friends eat and play Just Dance and Mecha Strike. And Marinette’s losing. 

Badly. 

She just can’t sit still, and she can’t think long enough to finish a slice of pizza, let alone pull off the complicated combos needed to send Alix’s avatar into next week. 

Marinette’s just so happy and so nervous, and her face has to be permanently stained red at this point. Everytime Alya touches her, everytime Nino laughs, everytime Adrien’s delighted smile meets her gaze, she explodes from her seat. 

She grabs another slice of pizza even though she hasn’t finished the first just to have an excuse to be out of her seat, and pours a cup of soda. She backs up and bumps into a solid warm body immediately. 

“Woah there!” Adrien says, his hands hovering over her arms obviously ready to catch her should she stumble. 

She only sees green. The green of spring grass and emeralds.

“Marinette?” he asks, his brows furrowed in concern. “Are you okay?” 

Her cheeks burn hotter. “Y-you’re fine! I mean, me! I’m fine!” 

He grins back at her and she feels warm. “I’m glad.” 

“A-Adrien?” 

“Yeah?” 

“About earlier, when I ran away?”

“Which time?” 

And god, she’s run from him twice today! Could she be more of a disaster? 

“I… umm… the first time.” She pushes a errant lock of hair behind her ear and licks her lips. “I wanted to explain.” 

“It’s okay, Marinette. You’re allowed to not want to kiss me, you know.” 

“But that’s not it at all!” 

“Then what is it?”

She swallows. She’s going to do this even if she messes up every word because Alya believed in her — because of Alya could risk everything to go after what she wanted, Marinette will too. And Alya if Alya can love her at her worst, maybe Adrien can love her at her most bizarre. 

“I’ve wanted to kiss you since the day we met. I just… I also wanted it to be special, you know?”

Her teeth press down into her lower lip, and she risks a glance up at him. 

And suddenly she can’t breathe.

…

Adrien isn’t sure he heard her right. 

She’s wanted to kiss him, wanted it to be special? 

For that long? 

He always thought he was doing something wrong, but she had just been nervous? Because she liked him?! 

A laugh bubbles out of him. 

Clearly the stars have aligned today.

Or at least he hopes so. 

“Marinette, what do you think of the idea of loving more than one person?” he asks.

“I… I don’t totally know,” she says, biting down on her lip. “From where I’m sitting, I really really want it to be a thing.”

Oh, this day cannot get any better. 

He reaches for her hand, which she takes. “Is it special enough if I kiss you now?” 

Her cheeks turn a delightful shade of pink. She nods, but he’s too lost in her eyes that are shining like stars to move. 

She moves first. 

And he learns that he’s been wrong on several counts. 

One, from his rapidly growing experience every kiss can be life changingly mind blowing. 

And this particular day can and will keep getting better. 

…

The party isn’t even close to over, but Alya asks if they want to bail early and they all agree. She lives only a few blocks away, and they probably need to spend some time, just the four of them together. 

Today has been a lot. 

But definitely the best kind of a lot, she thinks as they all four walk side by side. Adrien and Marinette are in the middle, their fingers just barely touching, but still interlaced. Nino is on Adrien’s other side, and her boyfriend cannot stop smiling. 

Alya has seen Nino excited and giddy when listening to a song. She’s seen him silly and flustered after she kissed him for the first time, but she’s never seen him quite like this, beaming like he just won the lottery. 

She’s never seen Marinette so calm and relaxed. She’s so glad that Marientte finally managed to confess, and she’s beyond touched that it was her own confession that finally goaded Marinette into action.

And she’s never seen Adrien so real. He’s joking and being silly, and just laughing. It’s a gorgeous sound. 

And she’s so happy for herself, too. That she doesn’t have to fantasize and wonder, she doesn’t have to settle. 

She gets to have all of this. All of them. 

She thought a day like this could never happen. 

“Alya! What’s wrong?”

Alya shakes her head, dabbing at her eyes. 

“I’m just happy.” 

Marinette beams at her. 

“I know! I don’t think I’ve ever felt so… loved.” 

Nino laughs. “It looks good on you.” 

It looked good on all of them. 

Because it’s perfect.

Right up until Alya has to let go of Marinette’s hand to unlock the front door. And instead of cuddling right back up to Marinette like she wants to, she ducks into the apartment trying to see if anyone is home. 

While she has no intention of keeping her unconventional relationship a secret, she prefers the chance to talk to all her partners for at least one whole conversation before she has to explain it to anyone else. 

Luckily, the whole place is dark. 

“Looks like we have the place to ourselves! Make yourselves at home! I’ll get drinks! Adrien, want to help me?” 

“Of course!” he agrees, his and Marinette’s hands slowly untangling, until they can’t reach as they part ways. 

“Why Adrien?” Marinette pouts.  

Alya laughs. “Because I need to talk to him! We’ll be out in two minutes.” 

He follows her into the kitchen. “What’s up?” 

“I just wanted to tell you all the reasons I kissed you today now that I’m not revealing any secrets.” 

He grins. “Please go on.” 

She hands him two cans of soda from the fridge. 

“One, I wanted to drive Nino nuts, but I swear in a good way.” 

Adrien laughs. 

“Two, I wanted to show Marinette that it wasn’t that hard. And that things could still be okay after the fact.” 

“Better than okay!” he adds. 

“Three, you are hot and I’m not blind.” She grabs another two cans of soda. 

He laughs again, and Alya really likes the sound. She looks right up at him. 

“And last, you were hurting earlier when Marinette ran, and I don’t know… I wanted you to know what it was like to be wanted.” 

“I…” he visibly swallows. “I don’t know what to say. Thank you.” 

She grins. “You're welcome! Now, come on!”

Alya freezes in the threshold. 

Nino has a hand on Marinette’s shoulder. He throws a silly grin at her and she sucks in a breath. He knows exactly what he’s doing. 

“So I don’t know how you feel about me compared to them,” Nino says to Marinette. 

Marinette blushes, and glances toward Alya who is staring at them both, still unmoving.

“But I have it on good authority that if we kissed, it would drive Alya wild,” Nino stage whispers. 

Adrien chokes on a laugh from behind her. 

Marinette nods enthusiastically. “She would deserve it after knowingly torturing us all day!” 

They turn towards each other. Marinette has to stand on her toes, and Nino leans down, and their lips meet. 

Alya’s throat feels dry. 

Adrien whistles in clear approval, and then the three of them dissolve into giggles. 

But Alya has to swallow several times before she finds her voice. “Not gonna lie. I have thought about this before and I didn’t think it would ever happen.”

Marinette holds her hand out, and Alya lets herself be pulled into their embrace. Adrien is only a few seconds behind. 

“Does it live up to your fantasies?” Marinette asks. 

“It’s even better. All thanks to Spin the Bottle! We’re gonna have to thank Kim for pushing it.” 

“And to think, Marinette didn’t think a Spin the Bottle kiss could be special,” Adrien teases.

“Shut up!” she protests, her cheeks turning pink. Alya kisses the closest one.

“Spin the Bottle kisses can obviously be life changing,” Nino says, his fingers threading through hers. 

“Did Marinette just tell Adrien to shut up?” Alya asks. “Maybe?” Marinette squeaks.

Alya grins. “I’m so proud.” 

…

Bonus:

Adrien’s never been this comfortable in his whole life. It’s almost overwhelming. Marinette’s head lay in his lap, while he leaned on Nino’s shoulder with Alya on Nino’s other side. He’s not sure how they got here all together like this, but he’s never going to let go now. 

“So are we exclusive?” Marinette asks, her fingers tracing patterns on the back of his hand.

“Why do you ask?” Alya grins, clearly amused. 

“I just kinda wanted to see if I could add Chat Noir.”

Adrien chokes. “Ch-Chat Noir?” he splutters.

“What? Is that crazy?” Marinette asks. 

“He does look hot in that catsuit.” Nino comments and Adrien’s ears burn. 

“I’m down for Chat Noir, Ladybug, and Carapace,” Alya interjects. 

Marinette glares at her. “I think you’re forgetting someone.” 

“Who?” 

“Rena Rouge!” 

“Oh! Yeah, sure,” she agrees readily. 

They all turn to him expectantly, and Adrien doesn’t know what to say. It sounds amazing and it sounds like way too much, and it also seems impossible. “What are the chances all four of them would be down for that?” 

Marinette glances at Alya and Nino before her gaze flips back to him. “Higher than you might think.” 

…

#miraculous ladybug fanfiction #ot4 #polyamory #adrien agreste #marinette dupain cheng #nino lahiffe #alya cesaire #miracuclass #self indulgent #mostly fluffy #practicing writing kisses #and love confessions #adrino #alyadrien #alyanette #ninette #my own content

[artzychic27]

And now a random post that totally doesn’t explain my current feelings by using Marc

Alix: Tell him! Do it!

Nathaniel: I don’t want to! I’m scared!

Ismael: It’s either you, his doting boyfriend he’d never hurt, or us. Just give us the signal and we’ll get him in The Box. Now go! *Pushes Nathaniel into the art classroom and shuts the door*

Nathaniel: … Uh… Rainbow?

Marc: *Looks up from his journal* Oh, hey Nath. What’s up?

Nathaniel: Um… So… AO3 is down.

Marc: Yeah, that sucks. I was right in the middle of this really good fic, but it’ll be back up in an hour or two.

Nathaniel: … Actually, Rainbow… Sweetie pie… Light of my life, my love and reason I get up every morning… There was a… DdoS attack… And… AO3 might be down for… A while…

Marc: *Creepy head tilt* … I do not understand the words you are saying…

Nathaniel: … Well…

*Outside*

Aurore: *Holding a cattle prod* How do you think it’s going?

*Before anyone could answer, a crash is heard*

Alix: GET THE FUCK IN THERE, PEOPLE! MOVE!

Marc: I’LL BURN EVERYTHING AND EVERYONE! *Chucks a table out of the window* WHO THE FUCK DO THESE BLOODY CUCKS THINK THEY ARE?! SO MANY OF MY STORIES ARE ON THERE, AND THEY HAVE THE FUCKING GALL TO DO THIS!

*Denise and Ivan tackle Marc to the floor and restrain him*

Nathaniel: They’re just gonna have you rest in The Box for a while, Rainbow. It’ll be okay.

Marc: *Getting dragged away* NOOOOOOO! I’LL BURN THIS FUCKING CITY TO THE GROUND! *Headbutts Ivan, bites Denise’s arm, and escapes while the teachers chase him down* YOU’LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE!

Adrien: Uh… What’s The Box?

Nino: Oh, just something the school had made when Marc couldn’t access AO3 for… For like a week.

Adrien: How long did he stay in there?

Nino: A week.

Denise: *Bleeding from their arm* It’s pretty brutal.

Adrien: Denise! You’re bleeding!

Denise: Oh, I don’t think it’s as bad as last time… I hear colors.

Louis: *Getting choked by Marc* You have the shot! Take the shot!

M. Grotke: *Shooting tranquilizers at Marc* I am taking the shot! He’s resisting! These things are supposed to take out Clydesdales!

*One hour later*

Meme. Mendeleiev: Okay, Nath. You know the drill. Here’s his lunch, and your tranq gun. *Hands Nathaniel a lunch tray and a tranquilizer gun*

Alya: Why does he need a tranq gun?!

Marinette: Did you not see Marc rip a door off of its hinges?

Mme. Mendeleiev: Remember, if you miss, play dead, and he’ll lose interest. Godspeed. *Pushes Nathaniel into the basement and shuts the door*

Nathaniel: Okay, it’s just like last time. Nothing to worry about. *Approaches a glass box in the middle of the room, and standing dead center in it is Marc in a prison jumpsuit*

Marc: Hello, Clarisse.

Nathaniel: Really?

Marc: What? Just trying to lighten the mood. Come onnn! Let me out! I promise, I won’t try to murder anyone this time. Don’t you trust me?

Nathaniel: Marc, of course I trust you. But you just need to calm down until AO3 is back up. For God’s sake, we almost lost Louis.

Marc: … Okay. That’s fine. I get it… Why don’t you be a dear and slide that tray in?

Nathaniel: Sure. *He opens a small glass door and starts sliding the lunch tray through it, only for Marc to grab his wrist* MARC! WHAT THE HELL?!

Marc: LET ME OUT OF HERE! I’LL MAKE OUT WITH YOU UNTIL YOU’RE SICK OF ME!

Nathaniel: *Yanks his arm away* There is a laptop next to you! You can read Wattpad, Fanfiction.Net, or Quotev. Love you, nutcase. *Blows him a kiss and leaves*

Marc: YOU CAN’T DO THIS TO PEOPLE! THERE’S NOTHING ON WATTPAD BUT STORIES WRITTEN BY EMO MIDDLE SCHOOLERS! IT’S ALL BAD!

#miraculous ladybug #miraculous #marc anciel #BRING BACK AO3 YOU FUCKERS! #nathaniel kurtzberg #science kids #I’M GONNA FUCKING BURN EVERYTHING! #Akuma Clasd

[imsparky2002]

Horrificator but slightly different

(The students are filming their monster short film, with Adrien as Officer Jones, and Mylene as Agent Smith.)

Adrien: Agent Smith, it's too dangerous! We must evacuate! Mylène: You're suggesting we run, Officer Jones? After it devoured my family, my friends, even my beloved dog, Sniffles? Never! I won't run! I no longer fear it, I'm going to face it, then I'll-

(Ivan shows up in his monster costume, and growls. Instead of screaming in fear, Mylene can’t help but blush and play with her hair.)

Mylene: Oh, Ivan...

(The two begin to makeout, Mylene giggling madly as she kissed her boyfriend.)

Nino: CUT!

(The director looks exasperated as Ivan and Mylene turn sheepishly to face him.)

Nino: Come on, Mylene. That’s like the tenth take! And we’re only at the halfway point.

Alix: Actually, fourteen, but who’s counting?

(Nino just rolled his eyes at her. Mylene just rubs her neck.)

Mylene: Sorry, Nino. It’s just... it’s so hard to be in character around Ivan. He’s just so cute!

Nino: He’s playing a horrifying alien monster!

Mylene: Yeah, well I find those sort of things cute.

(Ivan blushed and took off the head of his monster costume.)

Ivan: You think I’m cute?

Mylene: Of course, you’re my boyfriend. And the costume just makes it even better. Just imagining you snatching me up and putting me in a cocoon is like... my dream.

(Most of the classmates were staring at her with a baffled expression. Chloe was so weirded out by the situation, that she was surprisingly silent.)

Alix: Yo, hold up. Are you “into” monsters?

(In an unchararistic show of honesty, she only took a millisecond to answer.)

Mylene: Absolutely, without a doubt. I’m a “monster girl”.

Juleka: Sweet, me too.

Mylene: Favorite type?

Juleka: Anything gothic or creepy crawlies. You?

Mylene: Aliens.

(Before he could hear the “monsterfuckers” get into a conversation, Nino ordered a take five. During the break, Nathaniel gave a suggestion to the director.)

Nathaniel: There’s this kid I’ve seen around school who’s a writer. Name’s Marc, I think? Maybe I could ask him if he’d wanna help collab with Alya. We could turn this into a romance movie?

Nino: A romance movie between an alien and a soldier? You sure that’ll work?

Alya: We can make it work.

(And so, Horrific Love was made, becoming a smash hit at the student film festival. Marc got his name on the ground, Nino got his taste of fame, and everyone now knew that Mylene and Juleka were into monsters.)

So what do you think? I thought this was a funny idea and people liked my last rewrite (even if this one was more of a crackfic.) Lookout for Nino’s Crossover post by @artzychic27 and a poll for the crossover by @msweebyness

#mylene haprele #mylene #ivan bruel #ivan #adrien agreste #adrien #nino lahiffe #nino #alya cesaire #alya #nathaniel kurtzberg #nathaniel #alix kubdel #alix #juleka couffaine #juleka #chloe bourgeois #chloe #horrificator #miraculous ladybug #miraculous #crack #ivan x mylene

[howhow326]

Some of yall bout to be real mad at me...

Breakdown under read more.

Percabeth Energy: True love, made for each other, perfection, flawless, wholesome, zero bad vibes (Note: I planned to leave this part empty, but changed my mind when I saw these two ships)

Julerose is like a star in the void. In a show full of weirdness, these two are proof that an unproblematic relationship trumps all! For that, I give them the honor of Percabeth energy.

Tom and Sabine are just straight Julerose with the added bonus that Tom kicked his racist dad to curb and never looked back. Of only Marinette never found that guy again.

Lumity Energy: Full love, realistic problems but like not in an abusive way, the only reason these ships aren't giving Percabeth is because the show ruined them, yes that is what I'm going with, No I don't think Lumity is bad the name is just a joke

Alya x Marinette is a goated ship, fight me! "bUt WhAt AbOuT lIlA", everyone is an idiot in those episodes! Forgot Lila and remember that Marinette and Alya have a very supportive relationship that's mutual. Although, I couldn't completely forget about Lila which is why it's down here.

Lukanette was robbed. Luka x Adrien was also robbed.

So I don't dislike the gay boys but that one time Nathaniel ripped Marc's sketchbook just sticks in my head even tho he said sorry. It's not even in character for Nathaniel to do that! Oof. Still goated in the sauce.

I used to hate Marichat but then it went on to become the best side of the love square because it got so little focus?! More is less, and Elation is better than three thirds of the love square episodes.

Marinette and Kagami used to be such a wholesome relationship but then season 5 kept dragging out Kagami's kiddie pool sized jealousy for bad Lila episodes. At least I can pretend they don't exist.

Nooro and his only friend in the world. And now they've been separated 😭

BMBLB Energy: Not half bad, just not for me, may or may not be canon/developed well, I'm not criticizing BLBMB its just a joke

Adrien x Juleka could be cute, but it's one of those things that you have to accept will never be canon or even get episodes for it.

All of the other Lovesquare ships got dropped down here because of Arc Fatigue. Ladrien didn't even get a kiss!

Marinette and Marc got better development in Reverser than Nathaniel and Marc did.

"Back in my day, we used to ship Marinette with Nathaniel!" "Sure grandpa, let's get you to bed."

Ivan and Mylene wishes they could be the straight version of Julerose. These two are just weirdly codependent to the point that Ivan's last focus episode was like... season 1?

Skip

Adrien/Chat Noir and Alya/Rena Rouge had more chemistry with each other in two episodes than Alya had with Nino in the last 5 years (Yall bout to be really mad at me)

Adrien x Nathaniel could be cute, but it's one of those things that you have to accept will never be canon or even get episodes for it. Huh, deja vu.

Adrien and Nino had more chemistry with each other than Alya had with Nino in the last 5 years. Now I'm just doing it on porpoise.

"Oh look, a boy and a girl being friends? Not in my Westboro baptist church cartoon!!! They need to be married and have 8 children now!!!" Is the vibe this ship gives.

Past this point I don't really care about kwami shipping.

The only reason these two are up here is because the darkest skin background character managed to snag some sense of relevance. Good for him.

Klance Energy: waif like and blind, child like and bitter, guant visage, smoking mirrors, you have erased yourself, you learned to hate yourself, burning on the inside, he's tried so many times to take my life away, but he'll be the first to die tonight, I promise my dear

Remember when Chloe actually cared about Adrien before Astruc retconed her to be his spin on Marie Antoinette?

I stopped shipping it after Lies and you should too. Adrien was horrible to her.

Remember when Chloe actually cared about Sabrina before Astruc retconed her to not care about Sabrina at all and then he executive producers had to rerail her character by showing that she did care about Sabrina in her final moments?

GIRL, WHY ARE YOU WITH HIM???

Dosen't exist in canon, poor man's Lukanette in fanon.

Reread the last sentence. Also, I dislike the pare the spares thing.

Just wait until I get to Dj wifi.

GIRL, WHY ARE YOU WITH HIM???

Plagg/Tiki x Adrien/Marinette would be a good ship if half of the pairing weren't Fire emblem dragon wifu's that are 7,000 years old... but that's not going to stop some of yall, is it 😞

Skip

Reylo energy: forbidden, horrifying, abusive, wtf, GIRL WHY ARE YOU WITH HIM, unlike the other names I actually do hate Reylo

I do not ship canon Lila with anyone except the devil because she belongs in Gehenna. Reread this every time she shows up.

I do not ship canon Kim with anyone except his right hand because he deserves a kick in the teeth. All of the fanfictions that made him a mean jock were basically right. Reread this everytime he shows up.

Hi! It's me! I'm the guy who wrote Nino salt, it's me! I made a fic, where Alya punches him in his teeth! He should have never stalked her and assumed she was cheating on him; He should have never revealed her cover without her consent; why dafaq is Alya even still with him?

I refuse to ship Chloe with her victims.

Again, I refuse to ship Chloe with her victims.

Chloe is too toxic to be with prince Ali (Sabrina is also toxic so it balances out).

Kagami is too good for Chloe.

Three times the charm, I refuse to ship Chloe with her victims.

Max is Ace Me being an idiot

Does anyone even care about this AU anymore?

I am a big dumb dumb that confused Asexuality with Aromanticism. Whoops.

Marinette x Max does have some chemistry in the Gamer episodes. Unfortunately, Max stopped having episodes with her for some reason, and I blame the robot.

Boring

Do these two ever talk, or...

Well apparently the writers do because we're getting a special about them.

WTF IS THIS PICTURE???

WHY IS LUKA CHOKING NATHANIEL??????

#miraculous ladybug #ml salt #miraculous ladybug salt #ml writers salt #thomas astruc salt #alya sugar #nino salt #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #alya cesaire #chloe bourgeois #nino lahiffe #lila rossi #kagami tsurugi #luka couffaine #juleka couffaine #rose lavillant #max kante #le chien kim #sabrina raincomprix #gabriel salt #gabriel agreste #nathalie sancoeur #ship wars #ship wank #julerose #rolland dupain #nathaniel kurtzberg #gabenath

[msweebyness]

Class of Heroes AU: Miracuclass (+Others)

I absolutely love the Class of Villainy AU by @artzychic27 and @imsparky2002! It inspired me to come up with an AU where they’re the heroes instead of villains! These are what I have so far. I’d love to hear any suggestions you have for the others! I may even change the ones I have if I like an idea! Love and hugs!

Marinette: Mulan. Clumsy and a bit scatterbrained, Marinette took the place of her childhood friend, Socqueline, at the school so she could follow her dream. She aims to be a good warrior, but her inability to stay balanced may impede that.

Adrien: Rapunzel. Sealed away in a tower by his overprotective father for most of his life, he’s relishing his newfound freedom by trying to learn as much as he can and make as many friends as possible. His shining golden hair has healing powers.

Alya: Tiana. Driven and motivated, she is determined to open up her own, world famous restaurant, often neglecting to take care of herself in the process. She works several jobs to save up money and to help support her large family!

Nino: Fairy Godbrother. (Thanks to @artzychic27!) The ultimate bro, whatever you need, he’s got you! New duds? Sneaking out? Bam, you got it! His magic has a pesky time limit though…

Max: Hiro Hamada. (Thanks to @imsparky2002!) a brilliant young inventor who excels in anything related to robotics. He is typically accompanied by his most proud creation, Markov, an AI robot designed to tend to the sick and wounded. (Markov as Baymax!!!)

Alix: Aladdin. A cunning and quick-footed street urchin who loves to mess with authority figures. She also has mild kleptomania, obviously. She usually gives things back…

Kim: Hercules. A demigod with incredible strength, desires nothing more than to help people and be a hero. Sometimes gets overconfident and into trouble, needing help from his friends.

Ondine: Ariel. A young mermaid princess who made a deal with the sea witch Amelie to become a human in order to go to school. Bright-eyed and curious about the surface world, sometimes gets into trouble. Bonds with Marinette over being insanely clumsy. (She’s getting used to her legs…)

•Ondine and Kim are still dating in this universe. He was immediately smitten with the sweet, beautiful mer-girl when he caught her falling from a staircase on the first day of school.

Marc: Elsa. Terrified of hurting people with his ice powers, Marc is shy and withdrawn, constantly wearing his gloves and retreating to solitary places when he feels his control slipping. Nathaniel is the only person who can calm him down.

Nathaniel: Aurora. (Thanks to @artzychic27!) A shy and passionately creative boy who was cursed as an infant to be put to sleep for a hundred years unless he receives a kiss from his true love before he turns 16! Thankfully, a certain ice prince may be able to help him with that!

Sabrina: Pinocchio. A wooden puppet brought to life, she wants desperately to be a real child like her classmates. She’s upstanding and follows rules, like her father taught her, as well as very sweet, but you could say she has a bit of a problem with brutal honesty…

Mylene: Snow White. A quiet and shy girl, with a love for animals and nature. She spent most of her time in the forest, before she was driven from her kingdom by her cruel stepmother after her father’s death, the woman being jealous of how the people adored the princess.

Ivan: Quasimodo. Told that people would always be scared of him for his hulking and intimidating appearance, he spent most of his life hiding away. He’s still incredibly shy and gets along well with the school’s gargoyles.

• Ivan is surprised when the quiet and gentle Mylene isn’t scared of him, and the two quickly develop a sweet relationship.

Juleka: Beast. She and her household were cursed by a dark sorcerer for rejecting him, and it caused her to become cold and withdrawn. Until she meets Rose….

•Luka is still her brother. He was turned into a grand piano.

Rose: Belle. Kind and loving with a fondness of reading fairytales, Rose sees the beauty in everything and everyone. She makes it her mission to befriend Juleka, and the two eventually fall in love.

Zoe: Cinderella. Treated as a servant by her cruel stepfamily, Zoe is allowed to come to the school to continue attending Chloé’s whims. Her friends are helping her learn to stand up for herself.

Kagami: Merida. A fiery princess who fights hard against the restraints put on her by her controlling mother. She’s fond of fencing and archery.

(They all go to a big, fancy-schmancy prep/boarding school a la Auradon Prep. It’s basically a giant castle, with fairies, royalty and others for teachers!)

#miraculous ladybug #ML AU #Disney AU #akuma class #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #alya cesaire #nathmarc #kimdine #myvan #miraculous ondine #le chien kim #marc anciel #nathaniel kurtzberg #zoe lee #kagami tsurugi #julerose #juleka couffaine #rose lavillant #inspired by AU

[hcm92literature]

‘Out Of Character’ 13th October 2022

‘Out Of Character’ master page  

Read on AO3

Author’s notes: and that's all for today! now that i'm up to date again, i'll be posting the rest of the chapters on the dates they're supposed to happen (as long as i can finish the final two chapters in time)

thanks for reading! and happy birthday Adrien!

“A hat, scarf and gloves? Really?”

“What? It’s getting colder! He’s gonna need these sorts of things to keep warm.”

Alya looked thoroughly unimpressed. “But to give those things as a birthday present? After he made you that really nice lucky charm? Which, might I point out, you are currently wearing as a bracelet.”

Adopting an afronted expression, Marinette walked into the hotel’s elevator and jabbed the button for the floor the restaurant was on. “I just thought I’d wear it to make him happy on his birthday, that’s all. And I made these too. Plus, I’ll have you know, I put a lot of time and effort into them.”

“Why, because you only decided they were for him at the last minute?” Alya smirked.

“No. In fact, I’d planned to make these for him as soon as I found out when his birthday was.”

“And when was that?”

“T-two weeks ago. But it still counts!”

Alya laughed heartily as the pair walked out of the elevator only to be greeted by the contemptuous glare of Chloé Bourgeois. “Ugh, he invited you two as well? I didn’t realise Adricher was socialising with the common rabble nowadays.” The friends shared a look then greeted Chloé in exasperated unison. She waved a hand to usher them away from her. “You better have at least bought him decent presents. Now go join the rest of the riffraff over by the buffet and stay away from me.”

Rolling their eyes, Alya and Marinette moved further into the room and marvelled at how different it looked from normal. The main lights had been dimmed and disco lights installed to turn the room into a dance floor, and black and silver decorations had been attached to nearly every surface. Everyone they saw was wearing black and silver as that had been the theme stated on the invitations. Alya was wearing a silver sequined maxi dress and Marinette wore a black velvet skater dress with a silver ribbon around the waist, both of which Marinette had designed and made herself. The girls only recognised a few faces other than Chloé; Marc and Nathaniel, Benoît, and Nino who was manning the sound system. Everyone else was either from the fashion world or Agreste family friends. It was rather intimidating.

Alya then spotted Adrien leaning against the bar, surveying the room with a sour expression. He looked more severe than usual, with slicked back hair and wearing immaculately pressed black trousers and waistcoat over a grey dress shirt. The girls hesitated, wondering if he was in too bad a mood for them to greet him, when another more smiley Adrien appeared from between some of the guests and clapped a hand on the former Adrien’s shoulder, causing him to glower. He was wearing a similar outfit, with a shiny silver shirt instead of grey, but he was wearing it a lot less formally and straight-edged, and his hair was in the carefully tousled style they were used to. Sharing a confused look, the girls timidly returned a wave from the grinning Adrien who began walking towards them.

“Marinette! Alya! So glad you’re here!” He greeted the pair with a kiss on each cheek, then turned to look around the room. “It looks great, right? I personally wanted a Halloween themed party, but my father decided it wasn’t “in the brand’s interest”, so I settled for this. Still, it’s great to see everyone dressed up fancy, huh?” He turned back to Marinette whose cheeks were burning under his gaze. “You look…” Adrien seemed to struggle for words for a moment, then he cleared his throat and patted her shoulder lightly. “Really good.”

What the hell kind of compliment was that? Marinette frowned in confusion at him while Alya quickly pointed towards the other Adrien. “Who on Earth is that? He looks just like you!”

Adrien followed Alya’s finger and chuckled. “Oh, that’s Félix, my cousin. Our mothers were twins so I guess we turned out looking pretty similar as well.”

“He looks a bit… grumpy.”

“Yeah, I’m not really sure why. Maybe being in Paris isn’t agreeing with him.”

“Where’s he from?”

“London.”

“Ooh!”

The conversation continued in a similar manner for a while and Marinette couldn’t help feeling like an underdressed piece of furniture. She was again surprised by how different Adrien seemed from their D&D sessions and began wondering if she should rejoin the after-game drinks to see if this transformation was just a party thing or if the Adrien she knew from D&D was just him being in character. Alya then asked him what they should do with their presents and Adrien began rubbing the back of his head in what seemed like embarrassment. “You really didn’t need to buy me anything…”

“Oh, but Marinette made hers.”

Shooting Alya a glare as she received an elbow in the ribs and a smirk, Marinette couldn’t help the warm flush of her cheeks as Adrien looked down at her in surprise. She held out the shoebox wrapped in shiny silver paper with a black ribbon and firmly pressed it into his hands, letting out a squeaky “happy birthday”. Adrien smiled nervously at her then began opening the box. She barely dared to watch as he pulled out the light blue scarf with wide eyes.

“You made these? By hand?”

“Well… yeah, but it’s no big deal. I mean, I bet you’ve seen way more impressive stuff from your father’s work or whatever-”

Adrien dropped the scarf back in the box and rested his hand on Marinette’s shoulder. “I haven’t. Genuinely, this is a really thoughtful gift. Thank you, Marinette.” He then leaned down to kiss both her cheeks and she knew he must be able to feel how hot they were as she could feel the heat radiating from his as she pressed her lips to them. As he pulled away, they shared a look that flipped Marinette’s stomach and sent confusing thoughts racing through her mind. She didn’t like this. Things were much easier when she thought of him as the aloof and uncaring model she had assumed he was. Why did he have to turn out to be an actually okay human being?

“Adrien, your drunk music friend has spilled his drink over the carpet and Chloé is kicking up an embarrassing fuss.”

Everyone turned to see Félix standing behind his cousin’s shoulder and giving the girls a disdainful look. Adrien put his arm around Félix’s shoulders and gestured to the girls. “Félix! These are my D&D friends; Alya Cesairé and Marinette Dupain-Cheng!”

Félix’s gaze hovered over Marinette momentarily before he turned back to Adrien. “As charming as your girlfriend and her nerdy friend are, I really think you need to-”

“Girlfriend?!” Marinette couldn’t stop the outburst but immediately clapped her hands over her mouth as everyone turned to stare at her.

Adrien’s face flushed, then he laughed a little too loud and tucked Marinette’s shoebox under his arm. “She’s not my girlfriend, Félix. But you’re right, we should go help Nino out with Chloé.” He began shoving his cousin towards the sound system and grinned through gritted teeth at the girls. “Please, enjoy the party!”

Turning to the now tomato red Marinette, Alya cracked up laughing, resting a hand on her friend’s shoulder. “Girl, you should see your face!” Marinette buried her burning cheeks in her hands as Alya continued. “What’s it like being a supermodel’s girlfriend, eh Nettie? Maybe I should interview you for my internship!”

Grumbling unintelligibly, Marinette began stomping over to the buffet table to grab a drink. Or two. Maybe getting drunk would help her to forget the weirdness of what just happened.

#hcm92literature #miraculous ladybug #'out of character' #fanfic #au #Marinette Dupain-Cheng #Adrien Agreste #Alya Cesaire #Nino Lahiffe #Félix Graham de Vanily #adrinette #happy birthday Adrien Agreste

[miraculouscontent]

Who wants more sad statistics~?

Because say hello to the color-coded guide to Marinette blame/mistakes! Obviously there’s some room for debate (even I struggled with how to color an episode from time to time), but it should be mostly accurate.

Blue = "Marinette wasn't really blamed for anything notable and didn't really suffer from Adrien" Cyan = "Marinette was blamed for something unrelated to Adrien that she didn't do/she shouldn't be made to feel bad for" (this one is probably the most subjective) Green = "Marinette was blamed/made a mistake but it had nothing to do with Adrien" Yellow = "Marinette doesn't technically make a mistake or get blamed, but is negatively impacted by her crush on/relationship to Adrien" Red = "Marinette either was blamed for/made a mistake that related to Adrien."

"Negatively impacted by her crush on Adrien" could mean generally anything, but it leans towards Marinette embarrassing herself in front of Adrien, characters making snippy/unnecessary comments about her crush, and things that wouldn't have happened if her Adrien crush didn't exist. In the case that Marinette makes a mistake/is improperly blamed for something not about Adrien (cyan/green) but also is negatively impacted by her relationship to him (yellow), whatever is given more attention will take priority. There could've easily been a lot of cyan+red episodes had I allowed myself to use two colors.

Now look at all that red, which is easily the most frequent color, and then try and tell me that Marinette's crush isn't just a tool to humiliate her and force her to make mistakes in order to fit the "Marinette makes a mistake" quota.

I've put the explanations below on my decisions for each episode, as well as the tally for everything together:

Season 1

"Stormy Weather" (red) - Marinette blames herself for leaving Manon, and they're only at the park in the first place because of her Adrien crush.

"The Bubbler" (red) - Marinette uses Lucky Charm explicitly to stop Chloe and Adrien from dancing together.

"The Pharoah" (green) - Ladybug drops her schoolbook; relatively minor in the grand scheme of things, but seems to be why the show forces Marinette to awkwardly try to keep Alya in the museum instead of just having Tikki directly point out where to go.

"Lady Wifi" (green) - Marinette overslept while doing homework and was late for class

"Timebreaker" (cyan) - Marinette is blamed for not being home to give the cake to Nadja... who came early and thus Marinette shouldn't have been expected to expect her

"Mr. Pigeon" (yellow) - Marinette embarrasses herself in front of Adrien, with Alya making faces at her all the while

"The Evillustrator" (cyan) - Marinette is blamed for ditching Sabrina when she has an akuma to worry about, accused of "being like Chloe" (i.e: the person who Sabrina immediately goes back to anyway)

"Rogercop" (red) - Marinette, after being accused, states that everyone has the potential to be guilty, but sidesteps Adrien when someone suggests it

"Copycat" (red) - Marinette, panicked by an embarrassing confession she left on Adrien's phone (thanks to Alya), steals it to delete the message (also thanks to Alya)

"Dark Cupid" (red) - Marinette forgets to sign the love letter addressed to Adrien, which Alya laughs at her for

"Horrificator" (red) - Marinette is pressured/convinced to play Mylene's role instead when Alya throws out that she'd be kissing Adrien

"Darkblade" (cyan) - Marinette doesn't want to run for class representative because she already has enough on her plate (...what a monster?); both Alya and Alix make snarky comments at her for this

"The Mime" (green) - Marinette deletes a video on Alya phone and spends the rest of the episode trying to recreate it

"Kung Food" (cyan) - Marinette blames herself for defending her great uncle and insulting Chloe (again... what a monster?), which leads to Chloe sabotaging Wang's cooking

"Gamer" (red) - Marinette enters the gaming competition solely for Adrien

"Animan" (yellow) - Marinette offers to get Nino a date with Alya, an event that wouldn't have taken place if not for Marinette's crush (either there wouldn't have been a zoo trip at all or Alya wouldn't have been there); in addition, Alya tells Nino about Marinette's Adrien crush, which Marinette is distraught by

"Antibug" (cyan) - Ladybug is blamed for "not accepting help from others" (except she did at the beginning of the episode) and not listening to Chloe (who is a habitual liar)

"The Puppeteer" (green) - Marinette folds to Manon's "baby doll eyes" and gives her something that Nadja insisted she not have

"Reflekta" (green) - Marinette tries to steal Guiseppe's SD camera card so Juleka's picture will need retaken

"Pixelator" (red) - Marinette shirks her job as Jagged's gopher in order to get back to Adrien as soon as possible

"Guitar Villain" (blue) - Not much happens, just cool Marinette stuff; there are technically scenes of Marinette embarrassing herself around Adrien, but either no one else was there to witness it or there wasn't any significant reaction to it

"Princess Fragrance" (red) - Alya forces Marinette to go talk to Adrien, which results in Marinette tripping and losing Tikki

"Simon Says" (cyan) - Marinette... I guess is at fault for struggling to keep up with schoolwork and hero duties? That's what you get for wanting to help people, Ladybug

"Volpina" (red) - Marinette is mocked for being jealous, her following Adrien is presented as her doing it jealously (she literally says that she's going to warn Adrien about Lila stealing the book from him before Tikki stops her, but okay), and she yells at Lila as Ladybug, which is also presented as being "only about Adrien."

"Origins - Part 1 (Ladybug & Cat Noir)" (green) - Ladybug neglects to capture the akuma, having forgotten that detail

"Origins - Part 2 (Stoneheart)" (green) - The mistake from Part 1 carries over... the episode also may or may not blame Marinette for encouraging Ivan.

blue - 1 cyan - 6 green - 7 yellow - 2 red - 10

Season 2

"A Christmas Special" (red) - Marinette's "Adrien blindness" causes her to jump to conclusions and believe that a Santa Claus lookalike is an akuma

"The Collector" (red) - Marinette lies to Master Fu in order to protect Adrien, not able to believe that Adrien could be Hawk Moth

"Despair Bear" (red) - Marinette goes to Chloe's party for Adrien and is repeatedly mocked/teased for this

"Prime Queen" (cyan) - Ladybug "makes a mistake" in getting upset at Nadja for trying to pry into her romantic relationships and her potential romance with Chat Noir

"Befana" (cyan) - Marinette is blamed for "lying" to her grandmother about going to a birthday party with her friends (she didn't) and "not wanting to spend time with her" (she did, Gina is the one who neglected Marinette for literal years)

"Riposte" (cyan) - One of the more subjective ones, but going frame-by-frame, Adrien's saber bends first yet the episode calls Marinette "flustered" and "new to fencing" to say that she's wrong in her choice

"Robostus" (blue) - Mostly free of crush and mistakes, episode focuses primarily on the main plot of the akuma being caused (if I had a color for Marinette just normally being mocked/embarrassed though, it'd be here)

"Gigantitan" (red) - Needs no explanation: Marinette is embarrassed in front of the girls multiple times and the entire subplot causes the akuma that almost hits Gorilla

"The Dark Owl" (green) - Ladybug orchestrates a situation in which the Dark Owl could save her so as to not hurt his feelings, which ends in him being found out, humiliated, and akumatized

"Glaciator" (red) - Marinette is upset because Adrien didn't show up to get ice cream with her, which leads to her blowing up on Andre

"Sapotis" (blue) - Marinette goes largely blameless for everything; not much here

"Gorizilla" (yellow) - Multiple "jokes"/"mocking" about Marinette revealing skin/being in her pajamas in front of Adrien

"Captain Hardrock" (blue) - Surprisingly void of blame on Marinette despite her being depressed over Adrien; if anything, Luka apologizes for making a teasing comment when she was upset

"Zombizou" (cyan) - Marinette is blamed for being upset with Chloe for ruining her gift for Miss Bustier

"Syren" (cyan) - Ladybug is blamed for keeping secrets from Chat Noir (look at the Adrien stans for reference)

"Frightningale" (red) - Marinette is bothered by Chloe being Ladybug, but Adrien is involved so the fandom can easily put blame on her concerning her Adrien crush (see Marinette salters for reference)

"Troublemaker" (red) - Marinette's Adrien pictures are intentionally inflated/exaggerated to humiliate her more

"Anansi" (green) - I wouldn't argue if someone suggested that this is a cyan: Marinette "makes a mistake" in cheating Nora's arm-wrestle with Nino since Nora was being unreasonable

"Sandboy" (green) - Marinette agrees with Tikki that they should do something to help Nooroo without asking Fu

"Reverser" (cyan) - Marinette peeks at Marc's work and tries to help him work with Nathaniel (I see, so when Alya meddles to push Marinette past her comfort zone, it's fine, but--); she also embarrasses herself in front of Adrien over this

"Frozer" (red) - Marinette suffers because Adrien's an idiot and has tons of people in relationships to ask advice from, and he chooses to ask Marinette; Marinette appears to be "blamed" for either wanting to move on (due to the girls fighting) or agreeing to go with Adrien, along with a "bonus" (almost earning a cyan) due to Chat throwing a hissy fit over her rejecting him

"Style Queen" (cyan) - Marinette is blamed for thinking that the magic ladybugs would bring the miraculous back to Fu (see "Sentibubbler" covering for Chat for reference on how the narrative sees this)

"Queen Wasp" (cyan) - Carried over from "Style Queen"; Ladybug is blamed for losing the miraculous

"Malediktator" (red) - Marinette is made to feel bad for being glad that her bully of many years is gone (almost earning a cyan here, or even a yellow), and this is all due to Adrien; he also unintentionally convinces her to give Chloe a miraculous (her "mistake" according to future episodes), which sets off a slew of events that makes her suffer

"Catalyst" (cyan) - Alya not believing Marinette due to her Adrien crush carries over from "Volpina," almost earning this a red, but Marinette also lies about her gift for Heroes' Day. However, the fact that she is completely sleep-deprived from the night before and was being made fun of for only bringing macarons is largely ignored by the narrative and treated too much as her fault

"Mayura" (red) - When going to correct her mistake from last episode, Adrien throwing a pity party for himself makes Marinette go back on it

blue - 3 cyan - 9 green - 3 yellow - 1 red - 10

Season 3

"Backwarder" (red) - Marinette gives Adrien the wrong letter (due to each slip of paper she has conveniently looking the exact same but the episode clearly indicates it to be her fault); she's also humiliated over this

"Weredad" (cyan) - Marinette lies to Chat Noir in a panic to protect her identity. The fact that Chat Noir is an idiot who wonders why Marinette might be on her own darn balcony and that Tikki doesn't offer a better solution for the situation is given no attention

"Chameleon" (red) - Alya believing that Marinette is only upset with Lila over Adrien presumably carries over from "Volpina" and "Catalyst;" Marinette's relationship with Adrien also seems to make her more inclined to believe in what he says about doing nothing about Lila

"Animaestro" (red) - No explanation needed; Marinette's Adrien crush makes her more inclined to believe Chloe (remember "Malediktator" and "Zombizou"?) when Chloe claims that Kagami stole her seat next to Adrien, which convinces Marinette to team up with Chloe against Kagami, and this leads to Marinette being embarrassed over her crush

"Bakerix" (green) - Marinette makes a mistake in... I guess riling up her grandfather? (this one's pretty subjective and I wouldn't argue with anyone who says this should be cyan)

"Silencer" (blue) - Regardless of what "Crocoduel" says, Marinette isn't blamed in this episode for challenging Bob Roth

"Oblivio" (cyan) - Marinette seems to weirdly be blamed/punished for getting upset with Chat Noir if the smugness of Chat+Alya about the taken picture is to be believed (perhaps """explained""" in "Reflekdoll" about Chat having his role to play as the "sense of humor")

"Stormy Weather 2" (yellow) - Marinette spends a portion of the episode sulking about the little progress she's made with Adrien

"Reflekdoll" (red) - Needs no explanation: Marinette's anxiety is caused by Adrien and she's blamed for it despite Alya orchestrating everything

"Oni-Chan" (red) - Marinette chases after Adrien and Lila, which is made to be completely about Marinette's crush on Adrien despite Marinette telling Tikki about her actual concerns (which end up coming true as Kagami gets akumatized)

"Miraculer" (cyan) - Chat gets snippy with Ladybug for not telling Chloe right away (apparently assuming that Ladybug doesn't have other obligations to attend to like school; she even tells Chat that she "wouldn't have time that day"), and Ladybug was literally about to before the sentimonster and Miraculer show up

"The Puppeteer 2" (red) - Marinette repeatedly pushed and punished for liking Adrien, then punished again in front of Adrien (who she thinks is a statue) when she was actually just taking the advice that Tikki gave her

"Desperada" (red) - The guitar scene (i.e: "huh, who would've known that my wingwoman for Adrien was actually trying to wingwoman me with Luka one time!"), Aspik (i.e: "wow, the guy who I thought was perfect because that's what the narrative is always telling me actually doesn't fit what the narrative was telling me!"), and that's all I need to say

"Startrain" (blue) - Mostly mistakeless on Marinette's end; the focus is on other characters/plots (again, if I had a color for Marinette being mocked/embarrassed though, it'd also go here)

"Kwamibuster" (blue) - Marinette isn't blamed for anything; even though Master Fu isn't aware of the events at first, Tikki apologizes to Marinette in front of him later

"Feast" (yellow) - Marinette is briefly distracted by Adrien until Alya chides her so that she can show Marinette the information she might as well have hand-delivered to Hawk Moth

"Ikari Gozen" (red) - Marinette tries to sabotage her and Kagami to prevent Kagami from meeting up with Adrien

"Timetagger" (cyan) - Tikki notes Marinette's bad excuses (which are due to the sheer amount of akuma) to the point where Alya had replaced her as babysitter before Marinette explained that she couldn't show up (I wouldn't argue with anyone who said this should be blue instead)

"Party Crasher" (red) - Marinette tries to crash the secret boys-only party in order to spend time with Adrien

"Gamer 2.0" (cyan) - Marinette+Ladybug is blamed for being upset that they have no time for anything, with Ladybug in particular "making the mistake" of taking over and failing due to Chat constantly goofing off despite her urging

"Chat Blanc" (red) - Marinette is pressured/threatened by the girl squad (specifically Rose) enough that she decides to sneak into Adrien's house

"Felix" (yellow) - Marinette, after "finally" confessing to Adrien (for like--the fourth time), ends up running off and rambling in front of Luka (not knowing that he's there), which embarrasses her

"Ladybug" (red) - Alya's doubts of Marinette's hatred of Lila (implied in "Volpina" and stated in "Catalyst" to be about her crush on Adrien) carries over as Alya chides Marinette for blaming Lila, and had Marinette not listened to Adrien in "Chameleon," Lila may have been stopped early on and she wouldn't have gotten expelled (otherwise, the episode would've gotten a "cyan" because how dare Marinette be emotional at being accused of cheating and get angry at Lila)

"Christmaster" (red) - Marinette lies to Chris (in the exact way that Alya does to Manon in "Stormy Weather" but sure) in order to protect her darn privacy so Chris doesn't find out about her chest full of Adrien gifts, which leads to Chris getting akumatized

"Heart Hunter" (red) - Ladybug neglects to detransform due to being distracted by Adrimi happening, which leads to long-lasting and overly harsh consequences

"Miracle Queen" (red) - Ladybug's mistake carries over from the previous episode

blue - 3 cyan - 5 green - 1 yellow - 3 red - 14

Total: blue - 7 cyan - 20 green - 11 yellow - 6 red - 34

#category: salt

[mochinek0]

The Moon and her Shadow

LONG STORY

Luka sighed as he walked to the front of François Dupont Lychee. Juleka had left her notebook on the table and she had mentioned how important it was the night before, for a test. He looked around the campus, hoping to spot his sister's purple locks when he noticed blue instead.

He shifted on his feet before he weaved his way through the crowd, hoping he wasn't wrong. It had almost been three years since they broken up. He wished several times that Marinette would give him another chance, once she was ready to openly tell him the truth about herself. He hadn't expected to see her in the arms of another guy or for him to kiss her.

"Luka!" he heard Juleka call, waking him from his stupor.

"Who?" he demanded.

'Why hadn't she told him Marinette moved on?'

Juleka tilted her head in confusion until her brother turned back to glance at Marinette under the shade of a large tree. Juleka's eyes widened when she saw Marinette with some guy she didn't recognize.

"I don't know." his sister replied, "I had no idea she was seeing anyone. It's the first time I've seen him, but I'll ask the girls. I'll get back to you, okay?"

Luka handed over her notebook and left without a word.

'Has she really moved on?'

"You're dating?" Alya shrieked as they made they're way into the classroom, "Marinette!"

"What?" Marinette asked, confused as to why everyone was suddenly staring at her.

"Why didn't you tell us you got a boyfriend?" her friend questioned, "How could you keep this from us?"

"Oh." Marinette spoke, trying to find the right words, "Well, we just haven't been as close since College. None of us really talk anymore like we use to in Bustier's class; we all sort of do our own thing. I work two jobs and still have to strangle out doing homework."

Sure they had grown apart, but they never really thought it had caused that much of a change. Kim and Alix were usually at the sport's table and sometimes with Max in the library for help with classes. Kitty Section and Nino stuck together to get things done faster so they could have band practice and he could work out some new songs. Chloe, Adrien, and Marinette shared some of the same business classes. Alya was usually with Nathaniel and Marc for help with her blogs and getting and new perspective on how she could make things better. Ivan and Mylene had some classes with Sabrina. Everything had changed and none of them had realized it. No one was really sure what to say. Adrien took a step forward. He was the one who took the first step for their friendship, he wasn't gonna let it fade.

"How did you and your boyfriend meet?" he asked.

Marinette smiled, "He was visiting Paris with his father and cousin. I ran into them several times and ended up inviting them to the bakery. We all talked and we stayed in touch. He asked me out and I said 'Yes'. We visit each other when we can and we talk daily."

The Agreste heir smiled, "You sound happy."

"I am happy, Adrien." she replied.

Adrien put an arm around her shoulder, "Good. That's all that really matters."

"Can we meet him?" asked Rose.

"Yeah!" shouted Alix, "We should get to know him."

"We have plans for lunch, but I can see if he's up to meeting you guys after school. Would that be okay?" Mari questioned.

Everyone nodded.

"What did you find out, Jules?" Luka asked, when Juleka arrived.

"I found out in class that Marinette started dating two years ago." Juleka spoke, softly.

'Two years ago? All this time, I was still waiting; for nothing.'

"No one knew because she's been working two job; she was always so busy. Even she brought it to our attention on how we never really hang out anymore." she continued, "She said she was going out with him for lunch and see if he'll meet us after school. If so, we're gonna meet in the park after school."

"I'll be there." Luka responded.

'Luka?'

"I'll listen to his song." he insisted, with a smile, "We have to know if he's good for her, right?"

'Have you really not moved on? What if you don't like what you hear?'

Luka was the first one in the park. He had made sure to get there five minutes before the school let out. He left his yellow bike near the tree and waited by the park bench for everyone else to arrive.

Suddenly, a low, deep song approach the park. He turned quickly to see the guy from this morning. He sounded horrible.

'There's no way his song will be harmonious with hers!'

"Dami!" Marinette shouted, running right past him.

When she kissed him, their songs played together so clear, as if he was listening to a concerto. He had never heard her song so clear, so beautiful.

'How?'

After Marinette introduced everyone, she turned to 'Dami'.

"I haven't told them anything, other then we got together two years ago. I haven't even told them your name." Marinette spoke.

"My name is Damian Wayne." he stated.

'So formal.'

"Damian Wayne?" Max questioned, "As in, Wayne Enterprises?"

"Yes. My father and Drake are Co-CEO. Father doesn't understand the meaning of retirement." Damian answered.

"What about you? What do you do?" Max asked.

"Well, I'm very knowledgeable about business, but I haven't decided which direction to head in. I'm sure I'll eventually do something for the company." Damian replied.

Luka smiled. He already knew what he was gonna do; he had a plan. He was going to follow in his father's footsteps and go into the music industry.

"Just...business?" asked Nino.

"No. My mother made sure I had a wide range of knowledge growing up. I have already acquired three doctorates in different fields. I got bored so right now I'm pursuing veterinary school." he stated.

Everyone's jaw dropped, while Mari just smiled at his accomplishments. Next year, Luka had planned on going on tour with his father, taking college courses online. This guy, here, was already lightyears ahead of him. He could have a job right now if he wanted to.

Adrien quickly stood up, walked over to Damian, and placed his hands on his shoulders.

"Never, ever, meet my father, please. I'll be homeschooled again if he learned that was possible." Adrien pleaded.

Damian smirked, "I don't intend to."

"You're my new best friend." Adrien claimed.

"Hey!" shouted Marinette, Nino, and Chloe.

"Damn!" shouted Kim, "Agreste out here throwing out best friend cards like they were bachelor roses." making everyone laugh.

"What do you plan to do later?" Alya asked, "Do you have a place you want to travel to or-"

"I'll go wherever My Angel goes." Damian stated, looking at Marinette.

"Dami!" she cried, blushing madly.

"You know I don't say anything half way." Dami responded, admiring the blush on his girlfriend's face.

"What do you mean?" questioned Rose.

"Dami is very blunt about his opinion. He will tell you exactly what he thinks of you, your decisions, and anything else." Mari explained.

"Like?" Adrien asked.

"Ooh! Say soemthing about me!" Alya volunteered, raising her hand.

"Your two-toned hair reflects you indecisions. You are brass and push your way onto other to get what you want." Damian spoke, looking her over.

Alya wasn't sure how she felt about his opinion of her and turned to look at Marinette.

Marinette shrugged, "I mean, he's not wrong. That pretty much describes you to a tee. When you go after a story, you have blinders on, like when I work on clothes."

Alya pondered for a moment before nodding in agreement.

'He said it rudely, though. I let my music speak for me. My music is soft and mellow, but it holds the truth. He use harsh, cold, unfeeling words.'

"Dami is honest and that's something I've always looked for." Marinette announced.

Luka frowned at her words. They had broken up because she couldn't be honest with him.

"What about when there's secrets to keep?" Luka asked, letting his feelings be known.

Marinette turned to Luka and glared at him. Damian immediatley brought her into his arm.

"I don't keep secrets from her. She knows about my past." he declared.

"What about the secrets she keeps from you." Luka growled out, making everyone look between the exes.

"I know there is a reason and she will tell me when she is ready." Damian spoke up.

"That doesn't sound fair." the guitarist sneered.

"Maybe not to you, who has no knowledge of business, but I know she signs NDA contracts. I know she has to keep secrets because of her work. Father does the same. I know that once she is allowed to say something, she will come to me first and I will listen to every word she has to say. She's very excited to share her accomplishments. I am proud of her every time I see her clothes be worn." Damian growled out, glaring at the musician.

'Does he know who I am?'

"Habibiti?" Dami whispered, but Mari only shook her head.

Damian tilted Marinette's chin up, making sure her sole focus was on him.

"I plan to go wherever you go. I know you will work late and I know I will have to remind you to eat." he began, "I can assure you, I don't see anything in my future, but you and I plan on keeping it that way."

Marinette eased into his hug and nuzzled her face into his chest.

"Hey, I've seen you at a bunch of animal charities." Alix brought up, turning the couple's attention back to their audience.

Luka frowned at the unasked questioned. He knew Marinette loved animals; he, unfortunately, didn't share her sentiment. He had an allergy to fur. Marinette had expressed how she wanted a pet when she finally moved out of the bakery. When she had asked what kind of animal he had wanted, he had answered he would prefer a snake.

'Wouldn't a cat or hamster be cuter?' she had asked. 'I'm allergic to fur.' he replied. 'Oh.' she frowned and the matter had been dropped. She never brought up animals again, at least to him.

"I am an animal lover. I turned vegetarian after rescuing a cow from a slaughter house, one night." Damian answered Alix's question, "I donate to several charities and visit the shelters to make sure all animals are treated respectfully."

"A cow?" questioned Mylene.

Damian nodded, "She lives on my friend's farm at the moment. They make sure she is well fed."

"Do you have any other animals?" Asked Nino.

"Five." the young Wayne answered.

"We would have to keep Adrien away from Jerry though." Marinette stated.

"Jerry?" Adrien pondered, out loud.

"He's a turkey." Marinette smiled.

"But-" he began to argue.

"Feathers." Mari sang.

"Yeah." Adrien laughed, "I'll keep my distance."

"Another rescue?" questioned Ivan.

"Yeah." Marinette laughed, "I've always been indecisive about what kind of pet I would get later in life, but Dami has most of them. I get to baby them all when I visit him for the holidays."

"Marinette introduced me to Jagged and Fang last year." Damian announced, "Fang is very well trained. Once father learned about where I went, he declared he wouldn't be allowing me to build a moat."

'Father knew about this!'

Everyone began to laugh.

Marinette tip-toed up and kissed his cheek, "Maybe when we get our own place, you can build a menagerie for the animals in the back."

"You always know how to cheer me up, Angel." Damian whispered.

Luka looked away, frowning. It hurt to hear that Marinette shared his sentiment about living toegther in the near future.

"Why are you all dressed up?' asked Rose, "Are you going to a party later?"

"I was involved in several meetings in Father's company earlier, but I'm usually in suits." Damian admitted.

Alya noticed Marinette's cheeks begin to tinge pink.

"Why are you blushing, Mari?" Alya teased, "Are suits a thing for you?"

Luka huffed at that notion. He had never worn a suit. They felt too stuffy and would deprive him of his creativity.

Marinette began to take a red hue, "No!" and admitted, "I...I was just thinking what he looks like out of the suit."

"You two have....you know?" mumbled Nathaniel.

"No!" Marinette cried, blushing as Damian chuckled, "No! No! No!"

"But?" Alya goaded, hoping to get a real answer out of her friend.

"Dami....works out, a lot. Sometimes I watch." Mari explained, blushing, "He's very athletic and it shows."

"I bet I'm more athletic!" declared Kim, flexing his arms.

Kim raise his shirt, revealing his slim and flat stomach.

"Adrien looks more athletic then you." scoffed Alix.

"No way! Put it up, Agreste!" he demanded.

Adrien blushed and reluctantly reveals his four pack to his friends. Kim's jaw dropped, shocked. He thought Adrien was just skinny. He didn't know it was all lean muscle. On the bench, Luka tried to hide his disappointment. He was slim like Adrien, but he had Kim's stomach. Biking was great for his legs and stamina, but he never actively worked out.

"How did you know?" he asked Alix.

"Your photoshoot last week in the park. I was passing by on my blades." she smirked.

"HOW?" shouted Kim.

"Father keeps me on a diet. Modeling is more then just being a pretty face and posing. I have to actively keep my figure throughout the year." Adrien sighed.

"What exactly is your diet?" asked Marinette, "He's not feeding you only salads right?"

"No! Father has me on a low carb-high carb diet. I really enjoy it. Low carb has me eating a lot of vegetables and fruit, but I can't eat carbs during those days. By the time I get to my high carb days for rice and bread, it's just really heavy. Then I work it off." Adrien explained.

Marinette sighed in relief to his answer, "I'm glad you enjoy your diet, Adrien. If he was only feeding you salads, I was gonna march over and have some words with him. If you ever decide you want to continue modeling and you don't like the way he tells you to do it, you are more then welcome to come to my world of fashion."

"Yeah! Join the dark side, Adrien!" Nino shouted, "Marinette will feed you cookies!" making everyone laugh.

"Would I really get cookies?" he questioned.

Everyone just laughed harder.

"Okay. Okay. It's your turn." Kim spoke, pointing at Damian.

Damian turned to Marinette, who shrugged.

"It's completely up to you. I won't force you to do anything you don't want to." she stated.

Damian smirked as he removed his blazer and placed it in her hands. He untucked his shirt, revealing nothing , as he unbuttoned his shirt. Once Damian finished, he lifted up his undershirt and exposed his eight pack. No one spoke a word as he lowered his shirt and began to fix his state of dress.

Alya and Luka look to Marinette, only to find her openly staring at her boyfriend.

"You need a minute alone there, Girl? You're drooling." Alya spoke up.

Damian chuckles as Mari turned her face away form him and buried her face in his blazer.

"I'd ask what you eat, but you said you were a vegetarian. Even Adrien has better abs then I do." groaned Kim, "I think I'm gonna have to change my diet."

"You're ripped!" Alix shouted, "How? It can't be just fruits and vegetables!"

"I was trained in martial art since I was three." the Wayne heir admitted.

"Why so young?" inquired Max.

"My mother demanded perfection in many aspect of my youth. Martial art was one of those." he explained.

"Father just demands that I should fence, play piano, and learn Mandarin. He'd freak out if I bruised or broke something." Adrien sighs, "It seems really cool, though.

"I haven't attempted piano, but Mother had me classically trained for violin and my friend Jon taught me guitar." Dami spoke up.

"You told me he made you play Guitar Hero!" Marinette shouted.

"It wasn't all that different. Chords were the same and the plucking is similar to a violin." he declared, unintentionally pissing off Kitty Section.

"Right." Mari stated, "I don't even know why I was surprised. You beat Gar at DDR, on extreme, despite having never played it."

"It's all about coordination. Once your brain recognizes the pattern, it's very simple to follow through with. The same way you react to playing UMS4." he continued.

Marinette glared at him.

"Now I feel like you're not taking me seriously when we play. I know I can beat Tim 'cause he whines about it and demands rematches. You don't do that; you're analyzing my style!" Marinette realized.

Damian kissed her head as she huffed in defeat.

"So, can you fence and speak Mandarin?" Adrien asked, brining the questioned full circle.

"As well as seven other languages." Damian stated.

"Mari, where do you find these guys?" Alya questioned, "Adrien. Luka. This guy!"

"Me?" Adrien asked, confused.

"Oops." Alya whispered, trying to shrink in on herself.

"I had a crush on you, years ago." Mari admitted.

"Really?" the Agreste heir asked.

Marinette and Damian nodded in response.

"When I relaized you weren't gonna see me as anything else but a friend, I let go of my crush. Later, I dated Luka for a bit." she explained.

"Yes." Luka spoke up, "Until we broke up because you couldn't be honest with me."

Marinette nodded in response, not denying his statement.

"Beside, Alya, it's not like I dated Adrien and Luka had been the one to ask me out. He confessed several times before I finally agreed to date him." Marinette turned back to answering her best friend's question.

"Yes, but your attention was still on Adrien." Luka sneered.

"No, it wasn't! Adrien was happily with Kagami. When I found out that they broke up, my first reaction wasn't 'Oh my god! I can try to get Adrien to like me this time!'. I immediately sought out Kagami and tried to get them back together." Mari glared at Luka.

"She did." Alya announced, "I was the one who told her they broke up. I told her it was her chance, but she insisted that Kagami was perfect for Adrien. Any time I went over to see her, she was head down in her sketchbooks and wouldn't let me see what she was working on."

"And that focus, is what made me see the Angel hidden in Paris." Damian spoke, turning Marinette's eyes away from her ex, "Your head floats into the clouds when you are very busy, Habibiti."

"Good thing have a Demon to drag me down to Earth." she giggled.

"Demon?" asked Rose.

"My brother's nickname for me. I carried my mother's last name until my father changed it to his. It means 'Demon' in her native tongue so they took to calling me 'Demon Spawn'." Damian reassured her.

"You were also a bit of a troublemaker, as a kid." Mari smiled, "You weren't use to sharing a parent."

"Also true." he smirked, "Though that shouldn't be an issue for my heir." causing Marinette to blush.

"So, your parents are cool with him?" asked Nino.

"Yes." Marinette smiled, "Damian has met my parents and I've met his very large family."

"How large?" wondered Ivan.

"Twelve." Mari stated.

"Woah!" Nathaniel exclaimed, "That's a lot of mouths to feed."

"Indeed, although I am the only blood heir. I have three legally adopted brothers. My sisters are all but in name. My eldest brother has his own family, as well." Damian explained.

"And you're the baby of the family." Mari teased.

Damian glared at her answer, but it had no effect. She kept smiling until he sighed and gave in.

"It will be amusing to see what the media comes up with when I have you permanently by my side, while Father still circles around Selina." the Wayne heir admitted.

Luka could see it was worse then he had originally thought. They weren't just thinking of living together. This was something they saw leading for long term. They were thinking marriage and kids.

"Marinette, it's almost seven." Damian interrupted.

"Oh!" Mari gasped, "Sorry, Guys, but we have some dinner plans."

Luka could hear the well wishes for their relationship, as they hugged her. It annoyed him to no end. He saw Adrien tap him on the shoulder and guide him away from Marinette.

"Hey, is it okay that Marinette had a crush on me before?" Adrien questioned, "I didn't know and I still view her as a friend."

"It's of no issue, Agreste." Damian spoke, "Marinette already told me when we started dating. I knew exactly who you and Luka were, when I laid my eyes on you. I am not one to decide how Habibiti operates her friendships."

'He knew who I was when he arrived. Bastard didn't even introduce himself. He just let me think I was a threat this whole time!'

"What does that word mean?" Adrien asked.

"Habibiti?" Damian inquired.

The Agreste heir nodded.

Damian leaned in and whispered something in Adrien's ear. He wasn't sure what was said, but Adrien's ears exploded in red.

"Do-Does she know?" Adrien garbled out.

"She does. That is the feminine term. Mother calls Father by the masculine term when they meet up. Would you like to hear it, as well?" Damian teased.

Adrien's cheeks heated up and shook his head.

"Shame." Damian spoke, walking back to Marinette's side, leaving a flustered Adrien in his wake.

Luka stomped over to his bike and slammed his helmet on. Without meaning to, he looked back for one more glance at Marinette. He saw Damian pull out a small remote and press something on it. Out of nowhere, a motorcycle appeared, leaving them stunned.

"Anti-theft." he announced.

"Cool!" shouted Kim.

Luka gripped his handlebars tighter.

'Is this guy just showing off or does he simply not care?'

Damian opened the back seat and pulled out two helmets, handing one off to Marinette.

"You're getting on?" questioned Alix.

"Of course!" Marinette smiled, "Why?"

"You're not scared?" Mylene asked.

"My Nona use to take me on her bike all the time. I actually planned on getting one years ago. Dami bought me a bike. It's just at his home; I use it when I'm visiting." she answered.

"You have a motorcycle license?" Juleka quizzed her.

"Yep." she replied, "Nona taught me everything she could. Damian and his brothers gave me pointers and let me practice on their bikes before the test, too. This was nice, but we're gonna be late for dinner. Bye, Guys."

Marinette got onto the back of the bike and slid her arms around Damian's waist. She smiled as they drove off.

Without a word, Luka peddled off. Juleka frowned as she watched her older brother leave. She never thought he was still holding out Marinette and they both knew it was already too late. Juleka could tell from his outbursts that he still harbored feelings for her classmate, but she never realized the depth of his feelings. Even now, she wasn't sure if he wanted to date her or have a detective question her until she explained why they weren't together anymore. She knew he would have called Damian out if he thought for one moment he wasn't good enough for Marinette.

'Sorry, Brother.'

"Aren't you excited that Marinette found someone she's happy with?" Rose questioned, hugging her girlfriend.

"Yeah." Juleka replied, before looking back to where her brother had been.

By the time Luka got back to the Liberty, he was itching to hold his guitar. On the bike ride over, he realized the only thing he had going for himself, in terms of getting Marinette back, was that he lived in Paris. Damian Wayne was a whole ocean away and he wasn't even sure how long that was an option. He made plans around his dream of being a musician. Damian Wayne made plans revolving around Marinette's whole life and it didn't seem like he was going anywhere. They had openly spoke about moving in together and the possibility of a child. He hated it. He hated how perfect they fit. He hated their song and how it demanded to be heard by millions. He hated how everything that was wrong with their realtionship was perfect in theirs. Any issue they had, Damian had no problem with. Damian Wayne was everything he wasn't. Marinette still shone as bright as the moon and it looked like she had gained her shadow, her other half.

PERMANENT TAG LIST: @animeweebgirl @a-star-with-a-human-name @meme991001 @rosiesimone819 @vixen-uchiha @abrx2002 @alysrose-starchild @fandom-trapped-03 @dood-space @moonlightstar64 @saltymiraculer @loveswifi @marveldcedits20 @09shell-sea09 @icerosecrystal @animegirlweeb @insane-fangirl-of-everything @daughterofdeathgod @blueblossombliss @jumpingjoy82 @nickristus-dreamer

#damian x marinette #marinette x damian #maridami #damimari #lukanette #jealousy #luka bashing #adrienette #damidrien

[sturchling]

Hey, can you do a MLB oneshot

So this will contain Marinette sugar and alya and Lila and class sugar and Adrien salt/bashing And can this focus on Luka/Nath

So basically Luka and Nathaniel had been dating now and this starts to make Adrien jealous since he had a crush on Luka and he got very angry when he saw Nath and Luka kiss, he was very angry and later on he had a plan, after school he was gonna sneak on Marc and then push him hard down the stairs and then he runs away by the way Marinette saw the whole thing and she recorded the whole thing , then Nath was sent to the hospital and he stayed there for two weeks and his body was hurt and Nath was crying while Luka was comforting him, Meanwhile Marinette confronted Adrien and recorded the whole confrontation secretly on her phone and after Adrien punched marinette and then threatened her later on Marinette makes a Group chat and adds his friends except Adrien and she tells everyone what Adrien did and show proof, so then they showed the proof to Miss Bustier and the principal and Adrien got suspended for a month for doing a cruel thing and was grounded until for a month, and later on Adrien apologies to Luka and Marc but then they said that it would take a week for them to forgive and then they left leaving Adrien to cry while feeling guilt in himself

Sorry about the wait, here you go. Hope you like it.

Luka and Nathaniel were the talk of Mrs. Bustier's class. Everyone thought the couple were adorable together. Everyone, that is, except for Adrien. Adrien was filled with jealousy. He had liked Luka for a long time now, ever since he invited Adrien to join the band. Adrien tried flirting, but Luka never seemed to notice or care. But he always stared at Nathaniel. Adrien didn't get it. He was handsome, famous, and was always nice to Luka, so why didn't Luka like him back? It didn't make any sense. Adrien watched as Luka and Nathaniel went on cute dates, got Andre's ice cream together, and grew closer and closer. As he watched, the jealousy and anger consumed him, until he took drastic measures.

One day after school, Adrien had stayed late for fencing. After the fencing lesson ended, and everyone had left, he went upstairs to get something he forgot in the classroom, and when he came back out he saw Nathaniel leaving the art room and approaching the stairs. Adrien's rage and jealousy consumed him and he snuck up behind Nathaniel. Just as Nathaniel approached the first step on the stairs, Adrien shoved him hard. Nathaniel went flying, falling down the stairs and hitting every step on the way down. Adrien ran from the top of the stairs before he was spotted by anyone. Some of the staff who were still in the building heard the crash and came out of their rooms to see Nathaniel lying in a heap on the floor and no one else around. They rushed to Nathaniel, who clearly had several broken bones, and sent him straight to the hospital. Adrien watched from an empty classroom, feeling satisfied in getting revenge on Nathaniel for taking Luka from him. And he hadn't been caught. No one had seen him, not even Nathaniel. Or so Adrien thought.

What Adrien hadn't seen was Marinette standing downstairs, on the other side of the courtyard, with a perfect view of what happened. She had noticed how Adrien had been glaring at Nathaniel lately. Adrien looked like he wanted to kill Nathaniel most days, and so when Marinette saw him approaching Nathaniel from behind, she grabbed her phone and started to record, just in case. And it was a good thing she did too, because she caught Adrien pushing Nathaniel down the stairs on video. No one else saw what had happened, and Marinette was the only one with any proof. She wouldn't let Adrien get away with this.

Nathaniel ended up breaking one of his legs and one of his arms. He also had a concussion and a fractured rib from the fall. Everything hurt and all he felt like doing was cry. Luka was there every step of the way, and stayed with Nathaniel in the hospital while he recovered. Luka would play the guitar, play games, help him come up with new ideas for his comic book, anything to distract Nathaniel from the pain. Nathaniel would spend two weeks in the hospital before he was released, and the entire time he was there, he was doted on by Luka.

Marinette waited a day after what happened, to see if maybe Adrien would come to his senses and confess to what happened. But he didn't. The school didn't have any proof that Nathaniel was pushed so they just called it an accident. And Adrien was fine with letting them. So, Marinette went to confront him after school one day. She waited until he was done with fencing and they could be alone. She wanted to confront him, but also try to get him to come clean, not wanting to give up hope on her friend and think the worst of him. Before she went into the locker room, she started recording video on her phone, and made sure to hold it so it wouldn't look like she was recording. Then she opened the door and approached Adrien.

"Adrien, we need to talk. I saw what you did to Nathaniel." Adrien froze for a second, before giving Marinette a dazzling smile. "What are you talking about? I didn't do anything to him?" Marinette shook her head, "Yes, you did. I saw you push him down the stairs. You walked behind him and shoved him down the stairs. And I got the whole thing on video. Why did you do it Adrien? You need to come clean and tell Mr. Damocles what happened. If you don't I will." Adrien face darkened considerably. Gone was the kind boy she knew, and he was now giving her a very threatening look. Before Marinette knew what hit her, Adrien punched her in the face, knocking her to the floor. "You want to know why? He got in my way. He took away any chance I had with Luka, so I hurt him like he hurt me. And if you get in my way, I will do the same thing to you. Don't you dare tell anyone about what happened, or this either!"

Adrien stormed out of the locker room, leaving Marinette on the floor. He didn't know that she had recorded the whole conversation. Marinette, stunned by what had just happened, sat on the floor for a moment. When she collected herself, she went straight home where she knew she was safe. She then set up a group chat with the whole class, except for Adrien, and made sure to include Luka as well. She told them everything about what she saw and what had just happened. She also sent them the two videos as proof. The group chat was filled with angry messages when they saw everything Adrien had done. Pushing Nathaniel down the stairs, punching Marinette, and threatening her too. The class and Luka especially were ready to go to the Agreste Mansion and beat some sense into Adrien. But Marinette talked them out of committing a felony and instead they planned to go to the school.

They all got there early and asked to speak to Mrs. Bustier and Mr. Damocles in Mr. Damocles office. They showed them both the videos and told them everything. They were horrified to see what Adrien had said and done. As soon as Adrien arrived at school, he was pulled into Mr. Damocles office and was shown the evidence. Mr. Agreste was also present through a video call and saw the two videos taken of his son. Adrien was suspended for a month, the maximum amount of time Mr. Damocles could suspend him with out approval from the school board. When he was back at the mansion, he was informed that he was grounded for that same amount of time, at the least.

After his suspension was lifted, Adrien was still grounded, his father having decided to extend his punishment a while longer. He was only allowed to go to school and come home, nothing else. Even his fencing lessons were conducted at home. Adrien had began feeling guilty for what he had done, so one day, he hung back after school for just a minute. Nathaniel was never alone anymore, especially if Adrien was around. Luka would always come walk him home after school now. So when they heard someone call Nathaniel's name and they turned, seeing Adrien walk up to them after school, Luka looked ready to hit him, not that Adrien would blame him. Adrien apologized for what he did, and made it very clear that he was truly sorry for what he had done. "Can you ever forgive me Nathaniel?" Nathaniel just stared for a moment, before turning his back on Adrien, facing the exit again. "I'm not sure Adrien. And if I do, it will take a long time. A simple apology doesn't fix this. I am not sure I will ever fully forgive you for this." With that said, Luka and Nathaniel walked out of the school, leaving Adrien crying in the courtyard, wondering how he could have been such a monster.

#ml #ml fic #ml fanfic #ml salt #ml salt fic #ml salt fanfic #adrien salt #adrien agreste #adrien bashing #luka x nathaniel #luka couffaine #nathaniel kurtzberg #ml class sugar #class sugar #miraculous tales of ladybug and chat noir #miraculous ladybug #miraculous fic #miraculous fanfic #miraculous salt #miraculous salt fic #miraculous salt fanfic

[gale-gentlepenguin]

ML Fic idea: Per-chat to Dream

-Adrien wakes up in his bed and rubs his eyes. He felt weird. He couldn't remember how his fight with the akuma last night went.

-”Hey plagg did you...”

-Adrien looked around and noticed that the Kwami wasn't there. 

-Adrien was worried he tried to sneak into the kitchen for a snack again. When he caught a glance at his hand. He didn't have his ring anymore.

-He was freaked out! He looked around his room frantically! But it wasn't anywhere. Did Fu... no, Fu lost his memory and wasn't in Paris anymore. Ladybug wouldn't have taken it... did the akuma he couldn't remember do it? He needed to find ladybug and tell her what happened.

-When he got dressed and left his room. He heard... Laughter.

-Laughter? In the agreste mansion? That doesn't happen.

-He rushed downstairs and his eyes went wide. 

-His father was laughing, eating his breakfast. While talking with his mother.

-”Mom?” Adrien felt his hands shake.

-She got up from her chair, smiling.

-”Good morning my little sunshine, did you sleep well?”

-Adrien rushed to hug her.

-”You're here.” He spoke softly.

-”I didn't know you missed me that much. I guess going out to shoot that movie for a year was too long.”

-Adrien let go, he was confused. ‘Movie?’ That wasn't where she was.

-”I too missed your mother Adrien, but you should sit down for breakfast. You have class in an hour.”

-Adrien was confused, nervous, shocked. Why was his mother here? 

-Adrien didn't know what to think. There must be something wrong.

-He went to school, driven by his bodyguard. His friends greeted him. Nino gave him a brofist. It seemed normal.

-”So, your mom’s back home now. Is your pops done sulking?”

-”Huh, oh. Yea he is.”

-”Adri-kins!”

-Adrien looked to See Chloé greeted him with a hug and politely backed away after, respecting his pace. She asked him how he was. Sabrina caught up. Telling Chloé she dropped her phone.

-Chloé smiled and thanked Sabrina.

-”I swear you are always looking out for me.” 

-That shocked Adrien. Chloé was... acting nice. And not strained in doing so. Okay did he hit his head.

-Nino tapped Adrien’s shoulder,

-”Looks like our better halves are here.”

-”Our?”

-Adrien looked to see Alya approach Nino, Greeting her boyfriend.  It was then that he saw why Nino said what he did.

-Adrien noticed it was Marinette approaching. She seemed different. Her hair was down, but there were no other physical changes. But the aura she gave off was different. It was surprising how struck he was.

-”Hey.” She greeted.

-”H-hey.” Adrien managed to respond.

-She giggled.

-”Arent I the nervous one in our relationship Handsome boy.”

-She kissed his cheek causally, as if it was a fun part of a daily routine.

-Adrien didn't know why but damn, it was working for him.

-Adrien was shocked to notice the other changes. Lila wasn't lying about things anymore, she was actually working for the school news paper.

-Max told him about a new video game tournament coming up, but with a team of 3, so he Marinette and him can play.

-Ivan asked if he was coming to practice.

-”Practice?”

-”Yea, we can't be Kitty Section without our man on the keys.”

-”Don't worry, Adrien will be there right after fencing practice.” Marinette assured.

-Juleka chuckled. “She is better at keeping your schedule than you.”

-Adrien smiled, still very confused.

-He went to the bathroom to process everything. “So Plagg is missing, my mom is alive, Chloé is nice now? Lila isn't lying anymore?! Plus no sign of an akuma? This all seems so off.”

-He walked out and noticed Marinette waiting outside.

-”Are you okay?”

-Adrien dismissed it, saying he was just feeling a bit under the weather but he was fine.

-”Okay, but if there is something bothering you. You will tell me. You promised you would.”

-Adrien was surprised by how firm she was. Marinette was always caring, perhaps its because they are dating.

-She cupped his cheek. Looking into his eyes.

-”Okay, I don't know why but things seem... different.”

-”Different?”

-”I... I don't even know how to explain. I feel like I am going to sound crazy if I try. Its like its the work of an akuma.”

-”An akuma? Whats an akuma?”

-Adrien felt his heart sink.

-”You know, an akuma. Those black butterflies that turn people into super villains.”

-Marinette blinks for a moment, but then looks to come to a realization.

-”Oh! You're talking about Nathaniel’s comic. You had me going. You really have gotten better at pranks.”

-Adrien stopped.

-Marinette goes into her bag.

-”He really did come up with such a creative idea. Him and Marc getting a comic book deal was really something. I think that there is going to be a movie soon. I do hope they stick to animation and not make it live action” She explains as she pulled out a comic book.

-Adrien looked at the book.

-A comic book.

-He looked through it, it was the adventures he had with Ladybug. He looked to see the iterations. Plagg was in the comic, Tikki was in the comic. Even Fu was in the comic. Hawkmoth was in the comics. It was there.

-”Can you believe he based chat noir off of you? I do think they made him a bit more playful and in your face, but he does seem just like you.” Marinette commented.

-Adrien found himself thinking, what if... what if all of the stuff he thought was real was just a dream? Was he finally awake?

#ml #ml fic idea #miraculous ladybug #this might be my best idea #ml au #adrien agreste #marinette dupain cheng

[fridayfirefly]

A Guardian in Gotham

Read A Guardian in Gotham on AO3

Masterlist

Written for Maribat March Day 19 - Guardian

Note: In this AU Master Fu gave out the Ladybug Miraculous to Marinette and the Black Cat Miraculous to Adrien before consulting the Kwami. Marinette turned out to be a true holder, but for the Black Cat Miraculous, not the Ladybug Miraculous. However, she and Adrien made it work and were able to defeat Hawkmoth anyway. After Hawkmoth's defeat she becomes Lady Noire full-time.

----------

Being the Guardian of the Miraculous was hard work. There were no family vacations, no sleeping in or going to bed early, no breaks. Marinette could not relax until Hawkmoth was defeated. Which explained why it was such a jarring change once the Miraculous Team defeated Hawkmoth.

Gabriel Agreste was behind bars. The citizens of Paris were free from the threat of akumatization. Tikki, Plagg, and the rest of the Kwamis went dormant in order to restore the damage done to Duusu's Miraculous. Marinette didn't exactly know what to do with herself. Suddenly it hit her that she was no longer the middle schooler who accepted the burden of Guardianship. She was in her final year of high school, nearly an adult. All around her, her friends were making future plans. Adrien was taking a gap year to help Emilie recover from her coma. Alya was accepted to a prestigious journalism program. Nino was DJing at one of the best clubs in Paris. Luka was releasing his EP. Kagami was training for the Olympics. Chloé took up an internship with her mother.

Marinette couldn't move on, the way all of her friends were able to. Marinette couldn't be a normal girl anymore. She couldn't go to university, start a family, live a normal life. She needed the rush of adrenaline that came from two little words - Spots on! or more recently, Claws out!

It was around this time that the Temple of Guardian got in touch with Marinette, offering her an opportunity to continue her work as a Guardian of the Miraculous. They send Marinette a box of old journals, dating back to the 18th century. The journals detailed the discovery of twin "wells of evil" located in the American cities of Gotham and Metropolis, then named Mortham City. The Masters of the Miraculous who made this discovery studied the evil and expressed the desire to find a way to remove it, but didn't have the chance to complete the task before the Temple of Guardians fell. When the Temple reappeared they believed that the Masters had managed to destroy the evil in Mortham, due to the reports of the city's recovery and renaming to Metropolis soon after, but were unable to destroy the evil in Gotham. The city festered, growing more and more troubled while Metropolis flourished. Marinette's task was to do her best to study and remove the evil in Gotham.

Marinette applied to Gotham University, feeling relieved that she might finally find her purpose.

----------

Marinette's dorm room at Gotham University was rather lackluster; it was the typical tiny, cramped American university dorm, complete with a stained carpet and a bathroom shared between six girls. Her roommate was a computer science major named Barbara Gordon. Barbara was older than Marinette, a senior while Marinette was only a freshman. It was a fluke accident that the freshman dorms had filled up before she was admitted. Secretly Marinette wished that she had been able to room with another freshman. Barbara was rarely in the dorm room, too busy with her coursework and her real friends to make small talk with her nervous roommate.

Marinette barely spent any time in her dorm room, either. She spent most of her time in class or at the library studying. Marinette had the ambitious plan of double majoring in both fashion and business, in order to start her own fashion company someday. Her classes overwhelmed her, and Marinette began to regret overloading her first-semester schedule. It gave her barely any time to work on her Guardian work, let alone join an extracurricular.

Marinette wanted to decorate the dorm and make it more of a home, but because of a plane delay, she ended up arriving at the university the day before classes started, giving her no time at all to go to the store and buy anything. Another unfortunate casualty of Marinette's late arrival was that she still hadn't figured out how Gotham's bus schedule worked, so she walked everywhere, even in the pouring rain.

Overall, Marinette's first week of classes was miserable. That was why Marinette was crying in her dorm room, alone, at six in the evening on a Friday night. It all started when Marinette saw a picture of her old class on social media. Alya and Nino were making faces at the camera; Marinette and Adrien were both grinning, Marinette's blue scarf wrapped around his neck; Ivan and Mylène were holding hands, staring into each other's eyes; Rose was posing, kissing Juleka's cheek; Alix was perched on Kim's shoulders; Nathaniel had his arm wrapped around Marc's shoulders; Max was holding up Markov so he could wave to the camera, Sabrina and Chloé were smiling, holding hands.

The photo had been taken years ago, on their first day of lycée. Marinette remembered it well. They had all been nervous about starting at a new school. There was no guarantee that they would all be in the same class. Max had calculated the odds for even half of their class staying together and it wasn't good. But that morning, when Marinette walked into her homeroom and saw all of her friends sitting there, she knew that it would be okay. Chloé revealed that she had gotten her father to provide a generous donation to the school to keep them all in the same class for the rest of their education. Marinette had been so happy to get to stay with her friends. Now she was on a different continent from them.

The tears started to fall, slowly at first, then more and more until Marinette was sobbing, face pressed into a pillow. How could she have made such a stupid decision? All of her friends were in France and she left them, all because she couldn't move on.

Two knocks on the door halted Marinette's sobs. "Babs? Are you in here?"

Marinette got up and opened the door, revealing a young man. He looked to be her age, tall, with black hair and blue eyes. "Barbara isn't here right now," she told the man.

The man blinked, looking at Marinette like she wasn't what he expected at all. "I guess I should have called her before I showed up. I'm Tim, by the way. I was just here to drop this off." Tim held up a container filled with chocolate chip cookies.

"I'm Marinette. If you want, you can drop the cookies off on her desk. I'll tell Barbara that they're from you, once she comes back to the dorm." Marinette wiped her eyes with her shirt sleeve, trying to get rid of the evidence of her crying.

"Are you okay?" asked Tim.

"Oh, I'm fine. Just a little homesick. Nothing to worry about."

"You should come with me to get dinner," offered Tim. "I was just about to stop in at the dining hall."

Marinette shook her head. "I wouldn't want to impose."

"It wouldn't be an imposition at all. I hate eating alone."

Marinette gave him a wary look. "I don't know you. Why would you invite me to eat with you?"

Tim shrugged. "You look like you could use some company, to take your mind off of your homesickness. Unless you want to spend the rest of your night crying in your dorm."

Marinette bit her lip as she thought it over. It would be nice to get out of the dorm and get something to eat. On the other hand, Tim was a complete stranger whose intentions Marinette still didn't trust. Then Marinette remembered the photo of her friends and made up her mind. If she couldn't have her old friends here in Gotham she would have to make new ones. "Alright. Just give me a few minutes to get ready."

Marinette threw on a pair of jeans, a Gotham University hoodie, and her sturdiest pair of sneakers.

"So what's on the menu tonight?" asked Marinette as they walked out of the dorm building to Tim's car.

"Uncertain. I can't remember the last time the dining hall actually updating its online menu. I was planning on crossing my fingers and hoping that they would be serving something edible tonight."

Marinette wrinkled her nose. "Is the food usually edible?"

"It's hit or miss. If you want, we could go to a diner instead?"

Marinette nodded. "I don't want to spend my weekend with food poisoning."

"Good choice." Tim turned the car around and started driving into the center of Gotham.

"Are you a senior like Barbara?" asked Marinette.

Tim shook his head. "I'm a sophomore. How about you?"

"Freshman. This is actually my first Friday in Gotham."

"Where are you from?" asked Tim.

"Paris, 21st arrondissement."

"That must be a pretty big change. What made you choose Gotham?"

Marinette shrugged, not wanting to give away her real reason. "I figured all the supervillains and Rogues might remind me of home."

Tim looked confused for a second before a realization passed over him. "I forgot about Hawkmoth. It was a big deal here in Gotham when he first emerged because the Mayor of Paris refused to allow the Justice League to intervene. All because he was worried about 'damaging the historic buildings of Paris'."

Marinette let out a bitter laugh. "That wasn't the real reason, you know. I was friends with Andre Bourgeois's daughter, Chloé. She says that he didn't want the Justice League to get involved in the fight against Hawkmoth because he couldn't merchandise any of the Justice League members. Ladybug, Chat Noir, and the rest of the Miraculous Team, on the other hand, never copyrighted their images. Paris used the Miraculous Team to bring in billions in tourism and Bourgeois never paid them a cent."

Tim looked surprised. "You sound like you know a lot about the Miraculous Team."

"I got to know them all pretty well. My classmates were known throughout Paris as the 'Children of Hawkmoth' - as if it was our fault that Hawkmoth targeted my school at a rate astronomically higher than the rest of the city. Of course, when it turned out that Gabriel Agreste's son was one of my classmates the nickname got a bit more personal."

Tim let out a break. "I suppose moving to Gotham makes sense when you've spent that much time in proximity to superheroes and supervillains."

"Gotham is an improvement to Paris under Hawkmoth. At least none one your Rogues can mind control." Marinette shuddered at the memory of her friends and loved ones turning against her due to Hawkmoth's influence.

Tim pulled into the diner parking lot. The pair got a booth in the back and put in their orders. Tim and Marinette spent the night trading stories of the most interesting Parisian akumas and Gotham Rogues.

Tim was enraptured. He told Marinette that for years it had been difficult for outsiders to get any reliable information about the Miraculous Team, outside of what Andre Bourgeois used for his tourism campaign. So Marinette did her best to share all the little details that every Parisian knew like the back of their hand: That Valentines Day was the worst holiday because all of the akumas were love-based. That they were trained in school to either lock their emotions down or let them all out, if they saw an akuma, to try and diminish the akuma's power. That Ladybug and Chat Noir, once they realized that their fanbase was primarily children, made it a point to never swear during their battles.

By the end of the night, Tim and Marinette made plans to meet up the following day. Tim promised to take Marinette out into the city for the shopping trip that her delayed flight caused her to miss. Marinette went to bed that night hopeful for her future in Gotham, a feeling she never thought she would have again.

----------

Over the next few weeks, things got better at Gotham University. Marinette started spending more time out of her dorm room with Tim, and eventually, with her roommate Babs and Tim's brother (and Bab's boyfriend) Dick. Tim became Marinette's lifesaver after he taught Marinette how Gotham's bus system worked. Marinette finally got around to decorating her side of the room. Her new style and color scheme (navy blue and sunflower yellow, Gotham University school colors) suited her much better than the pinks and whites of her high school days. Her productivity increased as she settled into the school, and Marinette found that she actually enjoyed her classes. It wasn't perfect, but Gotham University began to feel a bit more like home.

Most importantly, Marinette had begun to make progress on her work as a guardian. It had taken a whole weekend, but she eventually located the epicenter of Gotham's evil, a rundown tenement building in the heart of Crime Alley. The basement of the building housed storage units, one of which Marinette promptly rented. She set up her workshop there, bringing out the Miraculous Box so that she could consult the Kwami. Tikki and Plagg both woke up from their hibernation and Marinette got to work.

"I can sense the evil," spoke Tikki. "It's overpowering."

"It's like going from the Sahara Desert straight to the middle of the ocean," added Plagg.

"It does feel similar to drowning," Tikki agreed.

"Do either of you have any idea how to get rid of it?" asked Marinette.

Tikki shrugged. "I wish I could tell you how to defeat it, but it's unlike any enemy the Kwami of your Miracle Box have ever gone up against before. But look on the bright side, we know that it can be eliminating. I can only assume that the Kwami were involved when the evil was eliminated in Metropolis."

"The solution is easy. We cataclysm the evil," said Plagg.

"We don't know what would happen if we use cataclysm against something that isn't fully corporeal."

"Then we use Sass's second chance until we get it right."

Tikki brightened up. "Oh, that is a good idea - using second chance, not using cataclysm irresponsibly."

"See! I do have good ideas sometimes. We could also use Pollen's venom to freeze the evil in place and stop it from fighting back."

Marinette could listen to her two favorite Kwami argue forever. She had missed them terribly. But she had a job to do, so she interrupted their banter. "Do you think I should use Mullo to wield multiple Miraculous?"

Tikki shook her head. "You'll need at least one other person with you. If you get hurt, someone else will have to use second chance."

Marinette pondered that fact. "Luka's going on tour next month. He's stopping in Gotham for a weekend. Chloé is only an hour drive from Gotham, up in New York City, so she could be here any time. If we plan everything right, we could have the evil destroyed before the semester is over."

Once again, Tikki shot down Marinette's plan. "This is too strong for Luka's second chance or Chloé's venom. If you want to do this right you'll need to use true holders."

Marinette winced. Finding the true holder of a Miraculous was a near-impossible task. Of her entire Miraculous Team, only Marinette and Adrien were true holders. While the Kwami could sense a person's aptitude, they needed to be within fifty feet to get an accurate read. There was no way Marinette would be able to find the true holder of both Sass and Pollen. "Okay, new plan. What if I get Mullo to multiply myself and then have each copy of me take a different Miraculous?"

Marinette brainstormed with the two Kwami for hours, desperate to find a solution to the problem that had plagued Gotham for centuries. However, they still couldn't come up with a plan in which Marinette would be able to rid Gotham of the evil without enlisting the help of at least one other true holder. In the end, Marinette decided to take Tikki, Plagg, Sass, and Pollen back to the dorm with her, hoping that they might stumble upon another true holder.

"I wish we had a better plan," sighed Marinette.

"Keep your head up, Marinette. The only thing we can do now is stay positive and hope for the best," advised Tikki.

It wasn't a good plan, passively waiting for someone to solve her problem for her, but it was the only plan they had. Marinette had no other choice. If she tried to take on the evil alone, it would overpower her. It was disheartening. Marinette rode the bus back to her dorm. The streets of Gotham felt colder on the return trip.

Getting dinner with Tim was the only thing that could cheer Marinette up, so she pulled out her phone and sent him an invitation to meet up.

Marinette: Do you want to go get dinner? I heard the dining hall has vegetarian lasagne

Tim: Sure! Be there in twenty

Marinette put her phone away as she got off the bus and started walking towards the dining hall, dodging the sidewalk puddles that never seemed to dry. Even when it wasn't raining, Gotham was a dreary city.

Tim and Marinette chatted about their classes as they ate their food. By the end of dinner, Marinette felt a little better about her disappointing day. Tim could always lift her out of a bad mood. Marinette considered it his superpower.

"I'll see you tomorrow," said Marinette as she got out of Tim's car in front of her dorm hall. She expected to get to her room without incident, but as soon as she got into the relative privacy of the stairwell, all four of her Kwami were circling around her head, speaking in rapid succession, too quick for Marinette to keep up.

"I can't believe it!"

"You've got some luck, Pigtails!"

"This is great news!"

"I can't wait to meet him!"

Marinette blinked as she tried to make sense of the Kwamis' words. "What's going on?"

Pollen's eyes were bright. "Tim is my true holder!" the Kwami squeaked excitedly.

Marinette gasped. "Really?"

"He'll make a perfect Bee. He seems so smart and funny and considerate. I bet he'll feed me loads of honey and get fresh flowers for all of his rooms and be my best friend." Pollen sighed dreamily, pure joy in her voice.

"Pollen, have you ever had a true holder before?" asked Marinette.

"Of course. It's been a long time, though - at least a thousand years since my last true holder died. I missed it a lot. But now I have Tim!"

Marinette smiled, overjoyed that she finally had the means to complete her mission, that Pollen finally got to meet one of her true holders again, that Gotham might be freed from the evil that had loomed over it for centuries. Mostly, she was overjoyed that she met Tim all those weeks ago, that he took the time to get to know her, that he was there for her when no one else was.

----------

"So the Kwami are little gods?" Tim stared at Pollen with an almost scary intensity, as if he thought looking away might make the Kwami disappear.

Pollen flew up closer to Tim to explain. "The Kwami are linked to certain aspects of humanity: creation, destruction, intuition, protection, et cetera. We have a certain amount of control over these qualities. I am the Kwami of Subjection, of control and mastery. I can give you the power to incapacitate your enemies."

"Incapacitate them how?"

"Using the power of venom, you will be able to freeze your enemies in place."

Tim wrinkled his nose. "That sounds a little morality dubious. How do you know I wouldn't use it for evil. This is Gotham."

Pollen rolled her eyes. "You're my true holder, Tim Drake. I trust you with my entire being."

"What does that mean, for me to be your true holder?"

Pollen's cheerful expression turned sad. "Of all the Kwami, my powers are the most often exploited. The power of subjection, of complete and total control over your enemies, is corrupting. However, you, Tim, are my true holder. Your self-control is strong, I can sense it. You will not be corrupted by the power I give you. You will wield it fairly."

Tim glanced over at Marinette, and she gave him her most encouraging smile. "I need you, Tim. I've needed you for a while. First, as a friend, when I was at my lowest, and now as my partner. There's an evil that resides in this city, that I have been tasked with destroying. I can't get rid of it alone. I need you to help me."

Tim's eyes widened. "You mean there's a supernatural reason for Gotham's condition?"

Marinette nodded. "There's a well of evil underneath the city. Using the Miraculous, I can remove it. But it's too powerful for me to do it alone. I know this is a lot to ask, but-"

Tim interrupted Marinette before she could finish her sentence. "You know, Gotham is well known for its distaste for magic-users and meta-humans." Marinette opened her mouth to protest but was interrupted once more by Tim. "However, I trust that you want to do what's best for this city. I'll help you."

Marinette's face brightened. "Thank you! I have a plan but I still need to fine-tune the details. I'll get back to you as soon as possible. For now, you should take the Bee Comb with you. You'll need to form an emotional bond with Pollen before you can achieve peak performance."

"You seem to know a lot about the Miraculous and the Kwami."

"It's my job to be knowledgable. I'm a Guardian of the Miraculous."

----------

"So how does a girl like you become a Guardian of the Miraculous?" asked Tim as they ate their lunch in the storage unit after a long morning of pouring over plans.

"I was chosen by the previous master. It's a long-standing tradition that the Guardian can only be a true holder, because true holders notoriously incorruptible except in the most extreme situations. I was the only true holder that Master Fu knew of, other than himself, so despite my age and despite the fact that I wielded the Ladybug Miraculous rather than the Black Cat Miraculous, the Miraculous I was the true holder for, he passed the responsibility onto me."

"How old were you when you became the Guardian full-time?"

Marinette tensed her shoulders. "I was fourteen. Master Fu wanted to wait longer, but there was a situation. I lost my only mentor, with only a fraction of my training completed."

"That sounds rough," Tim's tone was sympathetic. He placed his hand on her shoulder to comfort her.

"It was difficult," Marinette admitted. "For the longest time, I was mad at Master Fu for waiting so long to start training me. It wasn't until I got older that I realized why he was so reluctant to start my training. He felt guilty for stealing my childhood away from me. The situation in Paris was bad and tough choices had to be made. I don't blame him, but there are a lot of things I wish had been done differently."

"I'm sorry that you had to go through that. I don't know what I would have done if I had lost my mentor-" Tim's thoughtful tone turned frantic. "Not that my experience with mentorship would compare to yours, because I wouldn't know anything about being a teenage superhero."

Tim's words were suspicious, but Marinette didn't have time to figure out what he was hiding. They had a job to do. "Well, it's time to get back to work. You need to practice using venom on non-corporeal objects. I want to see if you're able to freeze the wind."

"Sounds good, Bugs."

"Bugs?"

Tim nodded. "I figured you could use a nickname. Do you not like it?"

"No, it's fine." Marinette paused. "Actually, it's better than fine. I really appreciate it. Thank you, Tim."

"No problem, Buggsy," Tim teased.

"Okay, now you're pushing your luck," Marinette teased right back.

----------

Lady Noire and her partner Yellowjacket stood in the basement of a rundown tenement building in the heart of Crime Alley.

Lady Noire spoke the plan aloud, the rhythm of her words revealing that she had spoken them many times before in preparation for the event. "I'll start by drawing out the evil. As soon as it senses the power of destruction that I hold it will try and consume me. I need you to be ready to use your venom the moment it emerges. Once it is frozen, I will use cataclysm. Are you ready?"

Yellowjacket responded. "I'm ready."

Lady Noire closed her eyes and let out her breath in a drawn-out hiss. The shadows around her darkened and she let out a pained gasp as she fell to her knees.

Yellowjacket sprung into action. "Venom!" he shouted, thrusting his palms out to let his power fill the room. The whole room lit up with yellow light, bright enough to rid the room of all but the supernatural shadows.

The shadows, which had been growing exponentially, suddenly stopped dead in their tracks. Lady Noire got back up onto her feet, a vicious snarl on her face. "You have been terrorizing this city for centuries. No longer will I will allow this evil to haunt Gotham. Cataclysm!"

The shadows crumbled, leaving behind only natural darkness. The transformation disappeared from Lady Noire, leaving behind a girl, who gasped for breath. "Tim, we did it!"

"Pollen, buzz off," commanded Yellowjacket. He was so impatient to hug the girl that he had his arms wrapped around her before his transformation was finished. "It's over, Marinette."

The girl shook her head gently. "It's not completely over. The effects will surely linger - Metropolis still sees its fair share of villains - but it will be nothing like what it was before. I imagine the vigilantes that roam Gotham will have a much easier job, though."

The boy tensed up. "Speaking of the vigilantes that roam Gotham, I suppose there's something that I should probably tell you. I'm Red Robin."

The girl blinked once, a dumbstruck expression on her face then burst out into peals of laughter. "Just my silly luck that I ask a vigilante to be my superhero partner."

The boy grinned. "I am rather fond of your silly luck. It's what brought us together."

@maribatmarch-2k21

#maribat #timari #timinette #marinette dupain-cheng #tim drake #MaribatMarch2021 #miraculous ladybug fic #my work

[kawaiichibiart]

No one asked for it, but I'm providing it anyways. pt. 3

Miraculous Kwami/Role Swap AU Trivia/Fun Facts

Lila

• First things first, Lila's targeting both Alya and Marinette.

° I mentioned it in part 1 of the random fun facts/trivia for this AU, but Lila only targeting Marinette to get back at Alya for changing her interview to point out her "lies" rather than post the interview where she "claimed" to be friends with "Curinus."

• How she targets Marinette isn't that far off from in canon. She threatens her and frames her for things she didn't do.

° If you're wondering, yes, the threat remains the same. Lila is under the impression Marinette likes Adrien and wants to date him. No matter what she says or how much she says it's not true, Lila won't believe Marinette.

• She has latched onto Felix many times, confusing him for his cousin.

° She does this well outside the school as well. She can be right next to both of them and still grab the wrong cousin. Her doing this has caused Felix to nearly beg Adrien to transfer to his class with Ms. Mendeleiev, that way he wouldn't have to be in her proximity. Adrien does appreciate the offer, but chooses to stay in his class so Marinette and Alya have at least one person on their side.

° Another thing to note about this, Felix did punch her the first time she grabbed his arm. It went down a little something like this:

Lila: *grabs Felix thinking he's Adrien*

Felix: *jumps and turns so he can punch her in the arm*

Lila: *crying* ADRIEN HIT ME!!

Felix: *completely deadpan* Yes. It is I. Adrien Anthonese something something yadayadayada Agreste. Sunshine and rainbows and friendship. Yay. *lazy jazz hands*

• She doesn't become a model for Gabriel. What with Felix being protective of his cousin and just not liking her, he refuses to model with her while he pretends to be Adrien. She does, however, claim to have modeled for famous brands and will show off some of the photos from her past "photoshoots."

Sabrina

• She actually did spend some time as a kid with Chloe, Adrien, Felix and Marinette. But for the most part, she spent it with Chloe.

• She had to get her glasses at a young age. She went about a month without wearing them because she didn't want anyone to laugh at her or call her names.

• She often sees Marinette after she finishes therapy.

° Sabrina also goes to therapy, mostly due to stress and social anxiety and perhaps minor depression, but it hasn't been confirmed yet if she has it or not, as it is a very recent thing she began to talk about after she was akumatized into Vanisher.

• Sabrina is a lesbian. Chloe was the first person she came out to, as well as the first person Sabrina had a crush on.

° Sabrina also happened to be Chloe's first kiss with a girl, while Chloe was Sabrina's first ever kiss. A secret neither have shared with anyone else.

Nathaniel

• Did someone order a bi disaster artist king? Here he is.

• For someone who draws himself as a hero, all his crushes have been on people who could save him. Marinette, Curinus, Bumblebee, and Renargenté to name a few.

° Honestly, the boy just wants to be a hero. He wants to be the one to save someone. As a kid, if he and his friends played pretend, he would always try to be the hero, be it an actual superhero, a cop, or a knight rescuing a princess. Yeah, Nathaniel is a bit of a.....romantic person. And when his interest in art fully developed, when he got fully invested, he decided to make it happen. And that no one would ever have to see it. (And we all know how THAT turned out)

• After the whole Reverser ordeal, Nathaniel would vent to someone, usually Alix or Rose, about Marc. He'd go on about his writing, his smile, the gleam of his eyes, how he wanted to run his hand through his dark hair-

Rose: *gushing* Nathaniel, I think you're in love!!

Nathaniel: Oh fuck, I think I'm in love!!!

• Once they get in a relationship, he and Marc will constantly change each others contact names. His current name for Marc is "Tie Dye For"

Marc

• Marc shares his table with Felix in Ms. Mendeleiev's class.

° Not many believe it, but the two are friends. They're friendship is the type where neither party has to say anything. They can sit in silence or be apart for a long time before seeing each other again, and they'll still be able to pick up on anything they left off on.

• Usually people confuse Felix with Adrien, Marc confused Adrien with Felix, which was a fun change according to the cousins.

• Marc and Marinette are unofficial cousins

° They're not actually related, but they're close enough that they call each other cousins. They did try calling each other brother and sister, but liked cousins a lot more.

• Marc uses he/they pronouns but has thought about fully changing to they/them only.

• As mentioned in Nathaniel's piece, the two change their contact names for each other. Nathaniel is currently "My Favorite Starburst"

° Cherry. It's cherry. Marc loves Cherry Starbursts. He had them like, once, when he and his parents went to the US on vacation and they wanted something to eat. They got a pack of Starburst and his favorite ended up being cherry. Strawberry was a close second.

#miraculous kwami/role swap au #miraculous au #miraculous #lila rossi #sabrina raincomprix #nathaniel kurtzberg #marc anciel #nathmarc #marc x nathaniel #nathanciel #nathaniel x marc #rainbow tomato #i was going to continue with the parents/parenta figures #but i had already come up with lila's stuff for this #so i chose three other characters to include in this and bam #also yeah #sabrina is one of those characters i decided to put into therapy sooner #as i can see her being stressed and socially anxious #as for the minor suspected depression #that comes from my own experience with (mild) depression #the contact names were fun to come up with #im very pleased with my pun #:) #tales of the miraculous

[artzychic27]

More Favoritism stuff, cuz… I fucking love this au. Also, the person who sent in the first ask, sent in another one where two gay punks get the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculous, so expect to see that soon

Now, let’s just throw around a few incorrect quotes

Marc: *About to go into battle as Mariquita* I know you're a little worried about me. Look, I'm not gonna lie to you. We've never gone into a fight like this, and I don't know what's gonna happen. But you don't have to worry. I will make it back. I love you, man.

*Kiran hugs Marc*

Lila: Aaw.

*Marc then turns around in shock to see Lila, who has heard his every word*

Lila: Are you talking to your baby brother?

Marc: No!… Shut up!

Lila: That's adorable!

—

Mariquita: And where have you been?

Bomb Shell: Nowhere?

Mariquita: How did you get so hurt?

Bomb Shell: Oh, that. Well, uh, we were...

Vulpix: Hit...

Viperion: By a...

CapriKid: Bus?

Queen Bee: *whispers to CapriKid* Hit by a bus?!

CapriKid: Well, what was I supposed to say, meteor, cow, flying building?!

—

Lila: *To the student body* Okay, yeah. I've got an apology. So, I have this friend who took pity on me as the new student this year. And I convinced him that it would be fun to mess up Marinette Dupain-Cheng’s life. So I pretended to be friends with Marinette, and then he would come to my house after and we would just laugh about all the dumb stuff Marinette said. And we gave these candy bar things that would make her break out, and then we turned her best friends against her because, oh yeah! She has her crush’s entire schedule in her room, which is creepy. And then... Oh yeah, Marc- you know my friend Marc? The mastermind got Adrien, Marinette’s obsession, to see the light and separate himself from her. Oh, God, and we gave her foot cream instead of face wash! God! I am so sorry Marinette. Really, I don't know why I did this. I guess it's probably because I've got a big crush on a guy who’s not even into you! Suck on that! AY-YI-YI-YI-YI-YI!

—

Marinette: Can I just say that we don't have a clique problem at this school? And some of us shouldn't have to take this workshop because some of us are just victims in this situation.

Mme. Mendeleiev: … Raise your hand if you have ever been personally victimized by Marinette Dupain-Cheng? *she watches all students and teachers raise hands*

—

Marc: Marinette Dupain-Cheng... How do I begin to explain Marinette Dupain-Cheng?

Jean: Marinette Dupain-Cheng is a blackmailer.

Denise: I hear she’s got dirt on all of her classmates and they don’t know it.

Lacey: I hear she’s stalking Adrien now.

Ismael: Her room is lined with photos of him.

Simon: One time, I caught her kissing a wax statue of him at the museum.

Mireille: And she threatened me not to say anything.

Cosette: One time she punched me in the face... So I kicked her ass. It was awesome.

—

Marinette: I'm sorry that people are so jealous of me... but I can't help it that I'm popular.

—

Marinette: Why were you talking to Marc Anciel?

Nathaniel: Well, I mean-

Marinette: He’s so pathetic. Let me tell you something about Marc Anciel. We super close back in middle school. I know, right? It's so embarrassing. I don't even... Whatever. So then in eighth grade, I started going out with my first boyfriend Gerard who was totally gorgeous and obsessed with me, and Marc was like, weirdly jealous. Like, if I would blow him off to hang out with Gerard, he’s be like, "When can we hang out?" And I'd be like, "Why are you so obsessed with us?" So then, for my birthday party, which I invited Gerard to, I was like, "Marc, I can't invite you, because I think you're in love with Gerard." I mean I couldn't have that at my party. There would be so much drama. I mean, right? Of course, everyone caught on, and saw him only as a homewrecker, because, duh, he is. And then he dropped out of school because no one would talk to him after, and he came back in the fall for lycee, his hair was messed up and he was totally weird, and now I guess he's on crack.

—

Adrien: Marinette seems... sweet!

Marc: Marinette Dupain-Cheng is not sweet! She's a scum-sucking demon queen, she ruined my life!

—

Okay, now headcanons!

Marc occasionally gets revenge on Marinette by cutting holes into her jeans, leggings, and shorts

After Marinette tarnished Lila’s reputation by claiming she got Akumatized because she was jealous of her liking Adrien, Marc seized the opportunity to adopt her

Marc: Hey, when you’re done crying over the school’s cult leader shunning you, I wanna restyle your hair.

Lila: … Why are you talking to me? Aren’t you worried about her highness sending them after you?

Marc: Honey, we’ve been bitter enemies the minute she was born. She can do or say whatever the hell she wants. Now, let me do your hair. I’m not a fan of the three ponytails.

Lila: Fine, go ahead. *Marc starts undoing her ponytails* … You do know you’re in the girls bathroom, right?

Marc: Screw gender, you needed help.

They spend their days avoiding Marinette and her classmates at all costs, reading under the stairs on in the basement, and doing each others nails

Lila has considered switching classes, but she doesn’t want to give Marinette the satisfaction

Marc’s closed off from his classmates in this au. He doesn’t know if he can trust them or not, and they don’t talk to him

Whenever they try to make conversation, he gives one worded answers and then walks away

Marinette has blackmail on all of her classmates, and they’re none the wiser. One person thinks everyone else loves her and they go along with it because they don’t want to be shunned and harassed like the outcasts by the rest of the school

It’s mob mentality. She popular and supposedly nice, so people go along with everything she says, and becuase she has connections with celebrities

The moment Nathaniel behind hanging out with Marc and Lila after Marc refused to make an Adrinette comic with him, Marinette made sure to let everyone know about his anger issues, causing him to be avoided by almost half the student body while the rest just try to provoke him

Well, that all ends when Marc defends him

Marc: Oh, Louis. Do I need to tell a certain someone I caught you making out with another certain someone in the school basement?

Louis: Y-you wouldn’t!

Marc: … Try me, bitch. *Louis runs away* That’s what I thought.

Nathaniel: … Thanks-

Marc: Don’t talk to me. *Leaves*

For that Carrie au, Marc’s not bullied as badly as 80s Carrie (because it’s not the 80s where teenagers had knives and could shiv you at any moment and slaughtered pigs), but it’s common to find graffiti on his locker and for some people to steal his belongings

Marc discovers his telekinesis when he inadvertently causes a cup of water to spill all over Marinette after she threw a crumpled up napkin at him

He gets his small dose of payback by tripping a few of his tormentors from other classes, making phones short circuit, and tying some shoelaces together

But enough about that, let’s talk about Malice- Marc’s akuma form in the Favoritism au, and the catty name everyone likes to call him at school

Grimm Reaper going through a punk phase, still has a scythe, can teleport similarly to Oni-Chan, and when people are slashed by his scythe, the worst parts of themselves are revealed

Imagine just these glowing hazes emerging from you, taking your form, and blurting out every awful thing you’ve ever done

Malice’s overall look is a hooded asymmetrical black jacket with a chain belt, torn black pants, and fingerless black gloves. The hood covers his face, showing only his narrowed glowing green eyes and wide smile. (That’s all most people ever see Marc as, just this malevolent person who enjoys the misery of others. But when you pull the hood down, there are cracks on his face, his eyes are dull with black streaks running down like tears, and the smile is gone)

#COME AT ME MARINETTE STANS! #Seriously please do #miraculous ladybug #miraculous #marc anciel #favoritism au #mlb au #Marinette salt #Marinette Dupain Cheng bashing #Marinette bashing