#also they clearly didn’t hit Ivan with them

[chokehoe]

Sobbing somebody save me from alnst

#alien stage #alnst till #alnst #alnst mizi #i can’t take it anymore #these gays are making me depressed #where is sua?? #why’d they kill her so soon #why is Ivan now dead to #these aliens are homophobic as shit #the only time I’ve seen this many gays kicking the bucket was with toji from jjk #they need to put the jjk mangá down these aliens got to many ideas from toji #what do you mean the bullets make peoples heads explode?! #that’s fucking sick!! #why do you need that?! #also they clearly didn’t hit Ivan with them #if they did the man would’ve exploded #he would have been looking like gojo from chapter 236 #would’ve broke like a dam Kit Kat😭 #son of a bitch someone save me from these tragic gays #does till even like Ivan back?!?!? #like how does till feel about this?? #man is going through one of Hercules trials I swear #till don’t worry baby I’ll save you!! #I don’t know how but I will!! #also mizu are u ok? #that was a dumb question of course your not #aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh #also Ivan calling his love shallow aaaahhhh #LET ME OUT!!!!!!!

[ayakashiz]

Alien Stage R6 Analysis

VERY LONG compilation of my interpretations, impressions and unanswered questions about Round 6 of Alien Stage. I just wanted to write this to put all my thoughts in one place so I can finally rest (in pieces). TW for mentions of suic*de/suic*dal ideation.

The most debated is no doubt the kiss/choking scene and Ivan’s motivation for doing so in the first place. 

I think from the very beginning, even before R3, Ivan was planning to go out with a bang. That’s the immediate impression I got from the comic where he mocks/criticizes Sua for planning to “selfishly” die for Mizi and feel good being the “heroine” rather than having to deal with the trauma of being the one left behind. 

(I'm too lazy to edit the whole translation as of now, but might do so when I have more time.)

Ivan tells her how he’s “relieved that he’s not the only who’s that twisted” = He’s comparing himself to Sua. He thinks they’re both ‘twisted’ for planning to do the same thing, but from Ivan’s perspective, he at least isn’t fooling himself into thinking his motives are altruistic. He tasted the feeling of being ‘abandoned’, and he knows he doesn’t want to experience it twice. 

He also probably thought that his death wouldn’t be as impactful on Till as Sua’s death on Mizi, and therefore his own selfishness is more justified in his mind. This most likely plays a role in how cold and biting his words are towards Sua –he’s jealous of that difference between them.

I hadn’t noticed this detail the first time I watched the video: Not only did Till look absolutely miserable and defeated from the get go, but he completely gave up and stopped singing at some point. If you look at the video, we can hear the audio that was supposed to be sung, but Till is quiet and still, and THIS is the moment Ivan chooses to act.

Although they do not show the votes at that particular moment, stopping mid song would have definitely taken a hit to Till’s score as it’s basically forfeiting –a huge contrast to his previous match where he didn’t even let his opponent utter a single line.

In response, Ivan doesn’t just walk towards him but throws his microphone to the ground, explicitly forfeiting as well in order to then pull a drastic move like it was foreshadowed in his interview.

The kiss itself imo was the less calculated/arguably unplanned part. He could have just choked Till from the start and it would have gotten him the same if not better results (since it was the act of violence against another contestant that ultimately lowered his score and got the counter to stop). 

That kiss was authentic and for himself entirely, both as a last desperate attempt at conveying his feelings and a selfish way of leaving a strong impression on Till that he wouldn’t be able to forget (a hypocritical move going back to how he criticized Sua). In that sense, I don’t think Ivan was seriously trying to take Till down with him –although that’s up to interpretation. As I see it, that would contradict his actions up until that point.

Till was VERY CLEARLY suic*dal (once again, he gave up singing), and after the initial shock of Ivan squeezing his neck, this fiery, rebellious man who is KNOWN to fight tooth and nail, simply closed his eyes and relaxed his body, waiting for Ivan to end him without fighting at all. 

The thing is, no matter how suic*dal one may be, the fighting response when being actually suffocated is automatic and completely involuntary. People mention there not being marks on Till’s neck but I think the most telling sign is him not going red, not squirming, not struggling or holding onto Ivan’s wrists (again, expected involuntary responses), his eyes not watering or having blurry vision while we see Ivan from his POV, not opening his mouth even a little to gasp for air and not coughing or gasping either when he was finally released.

Ivan definitely had him in a strong grip, might have even made him a bit lightheaded, but the reason why Till could look so relaxed in the first place is because he had given up and was waiting for Ivan to go ahead. If his closed eyes and limp posture were due to the choking itself, he would have fallen or stumbled when being let go, but we see that his eyes open as soon as he feels Ivan’s hands slipping away and he looks shocked instead.

So then what was Ivan’s motivation, if not to kill him? Yes, there’s the already discussed plan to get himself disqualified. But Ivan glances at the screen only a few seconds after he starts the choking, confirming that the voting had in fact stopped with Till having the higher score. He then goes for one last ‘goodbye’ kiss before continuing to choke him, holding his grip even as he starts getting shot.

We see a closeup of him, his eyes and hands trembling, looking more frustrated/emotional than in Till’s first POV where he looks rather stoic. It makes me think that the reason he refused to let go was simply because he wanted Till to look at him. 

They strongly imply throughout the whole video that being annoying or mean or violent was the only way Ivan learnt how to make Till focus his full attention on him, but now even as he’s threatening his life, even as he himself is dying, even after that kiss, Till wouldn’t look. 

It took him getting fatally wounded and realizing there was no turning back to reach a state of acceptance. His bittersweet expression here reminds me A LOT of his smile after Till runs back during the meteor scene, although this one seems a lot more tender. He seems to accept the fact that Till will never love him back, but Ivan cannot stop loving him anyways and he at least got to put his feelings out there. 

(The parallels here are driving me insane. The way there is light in his eyes in both instances as he looks at Till even while 'losing him' in a way. The struggle between wanting to posses him yet realizing his free spirit/strong will is part of what he loves about him. That last genuine gaze from a character who spent his whole life putting on a mask. Yes I am very normal about this.)

Until then, Ivan’s more tender/vulnerable side is only shown while Till is unconscious or looking away.

(That soft, loving nuzzle to Till's face has me in SHAMBLES.)

But ironically, it’s only when he releases him and shows him this vulnerability without a mask that Till really looks at him for the first time. I’d go as far as to say that it was this moment, and not the kiss, that finally made Till understand Ivan’s feelings. And in turn Ivan gets that little shot of euphoria as he falls to the ground.

Going back to the survivor’s guilt… I can only imagine it’ll go completely downhill for Till from now on. Not only does he already think Mizi might be dead and is angry at himself that he couldn’t save her (as seen in the shot where he punches his own picture), but now he has most likely realized that Ivan intentionally fumbled their match for his sake –which would lead to the realization that he was the reason why Ivan chose to run back to Anakt Garden after him in the first place, and that choice ultimately lead to his death. 

Even though we see them fighting a lot as children through the videos and comics, it’s also implied that they were always together and they shared some quiet moments –the “Mizi didn’t play with you, I played with you” art, all that art of the main 4 playing together, those bright smiles as they ran away together during the meteor shower scene and Till looking so guilty when he let go of his hand. 

There are a few cute doodles of them for those who are on Patreon, and some more lore in the Anakt Garden kit –so they were at the very least friends in their own way (as best as 2 very traumatized and abused children could), constantly fighting and making up. Which God… it shows that despite appearances Till must have actually had the patience of a saint when they were little lmao.

But what I’m trying to say is that despite what Ivan may have thought, his death will most definitely have an impact on Till and the narrative going forward, and I’m excited to find out how that reflects in the final round (if the resistance doesn’t manage to get back up in time to disrupt it). 

Despite how much I adored (and SUFFERED WITH) this round, I still have MANY questions that were left unanswered, both about Ivan and Till, and the lore in general, and I wonder if there’ll be time to answer them all, as I can imagine the next MV will be focused on Luka’s perspective, the only one we haven’t been presented with.

One of the most pressing questions being: What’s the relationship between Ivan and that alien dog? Did he tame it? It is implied that it was Ivan who somehow led Till and Mizi to it in the first place in that one scene, and if so I wonder what his motivation was? Normally jealousy would be the first thing to come to mind but Ivan wasn’t interested in Till until AFTER he saw him stand up to the beast to protect Mizi, so it couldn’t have been that. 

This is something that was also teased on Patreon and I was looking forward to the explanation on the MV, but it never came, and now Ivan is dead, so the next video will most likely not be too concerned with his backstory any longer. (Which, also, I was really curious about his life in the slums before being captured, auctioned and brought to Anakt, as that would have played a huge role in his twisted personality/dark tendencies –once again teased on Patreon very briefly, but not explained beyond that frame of him looking famished.)

The second is, how is Ivan able to open Till’s collar/muzzle so easily? This is a question I’ve been having since R3, but chalked it up to Ivan being sneaky and figuring out some kind of code to the cell door and that somehow automatically deactivating the locks on the restraints… or something. But with how many times he does it in R6 with just a touch it’s very clear that that isn’t the case and also imo they’re trying to point this out as a significant detail. 

It may turn out that I’m just looking too much into it, but I find it really curious and interesting. Not only is he the only child without a collar (Mizi and Sua still had them despite being just as well behaved as him), but he seems to be the only one able to take them off –or at least Till’s. I’m pretty sure the children wouldn’t normally be able to remove them by themselves as it seems to be a control mechanism. So how can Ivan? This might explain a lot about how they were able to escape, and also add a layer of tragedy knowing that Ivan could have chosen to escape by himself at any point, but refused to leave Till behind.

Last but not least there’s all the human experimentation Till was subjected to, which was the main topic of the teaser and we see the same images show up in the very beginning of the MV. They help emphasize Till’s suffering and distressed state of mind, but then they’re never expanded on or mentioned at all for the rest of the video. That’s a huge piece of lore that I also hope isn’t forgotten.

I mean, I really doubt it will. So far VIVINOS & co. have been incredible with their ability to hold back information and release it at the moment where it’s the most impactful, which is refreshing to see. So I trust we’ll get some answers eventually. 

Really curious to know why they would experiment on an ALNST contestant in the first place, especially one that is undoubtedly talented and described as a musical genius (aka. has good odds of doing well on stage and earning the segyein revenue). A very plausible theory might just be that he was just getting constantly drugged to make him less of a threat/more submissive –like we see on the karaoke room scene. But it might as well be something bigger.

As for my expectations for the next round… I’m still just trying to process this one, as you can see by the sheer amount of text. There are many things left to address, and the Hyuna/Luka confrontation has been strongly teased. I wonder also, if the round goes on without interruption, what would Luka’s strategy against Till be? Would he go for provocation again, trying to imitate Mizi/hint to his recent trauma with Ivan? It probably won’t be that simple.

I mean, VIVINOS has been known for subverting our expectations with each round:

The ominous/callous framing that was given to Ivan by the end of Black Sorrow and the art that followed, making us suspicious of his intentions, only to have him die for love. The lifeless/doll-like framing given to Luka, vulnerable and cornered by flashing lights, only to have him be the cruelest/most calculating one (that we know so far). The rebellious, rowdy, willing to do anything to survive framing given to Till, only to have his fighting spirit completely break and willingly waiting to die by Ivan’s hands. The naive, complacent and passive image given to Mizi, only to have her snap, beat the shit out of Luka and join the rebellion –and with how things are going (and her being the protagonist) I wouldn’t be surprised if she, and not Hyuna (the one who was framed as the most strong and reliable, giving us a false sense of security going into R6), is who will have to try and rescue Till (and Luka???).

There are still a ton of things that keep me awake at night about R6 –my favorite character dying aside. I could talk about it forever, but I’ll leave it here. 

Feel free to share your theories, delusions, interpretations or any detail I might have missed with me. God knows we need group therapy after this as the cute chibi keychains can only heal us so far. Thanks for reading my rambles if you made it this far. :’)

#alien stage #alnst #에이스테 #ivantill #vivinos #ivan alnst #till alnst #im GOING INSANE idk if you can tell... hahah #the only reason i didn't flood this with more videos and pictures is cause tumblr gave me a limit of 30 :')

[cloudcountry]

ivan kupala

SUMMARY: The whole point is about summer solstice and renovation of nature, but we're gonna focus on one particular tradition here: girls make flower crowns, decorate them with candles and ribbons and release them into a river or a creak as a way to look into the future. It is said that the guy who picks up a flower crown like that is the girl's one true love and will become her husband. So the mc in this one is obviously Slavic(probably implied female, but you can change it however you see fit) and missing their home and culture, as well as having a crush on Riddle. So I put my faith in your writing skills so you can manifest a creak on NRC's territory, we have our mc with a crush releasing a flower crown, a clueless Riddle picking it up and bringing it to them - BOOM.

CHARACTER: Riddle Rosehearts

WARNINGS: None!!

COMMENTS: this was a request on ao3 with a slavic mc!! also reader is implied to be afab but they/them pronouns are still used!!!!

~~~~~

Homesickness was hitting you hard as the weather warmed up and the flowers around Ramshackle began to bloom. In an effort to combat this, you spent most of your free time gathering flowers and weaving them together. Back in your world, it would have been Ivan Kupala today, and even though that didn’t matter to Crowley you were not about to give up one of the parts of your culture that brought you comfort.

Once the wreath was finished, ribbons and candles decorating the woven flowers, you made your way down to the mini creek that passed through the Botanical Gardens. It ran throughout the whole campus and from what you remember the Science Club was often tasked with checking the water purity to make sure the natural beauty of the water was preserved.

Crowley’s words, not yours.

Crouching down, you gently place the crown of flowers in the water. It bobs for a few seconds before drifting away, and you watch it go. Eventually it leaves the greenhouse and you can no longer see it, so you make your way back to Ramshackle.

A few hours pass as you busy yourself with cleaning up your dorm, the dust and grime having practically vanished since you came here. A knock on the door stops you from sweeping, and you can’t help but be confused. There’s no one aside from Malleus that would visit you, but he isn’t normally here at this hour. Leaning the broom against the wall, you make your way over to the door and pull it open.

Riddle stands on your doorstep with your wreath in hand, a confused look on his face. Your heart catches in your throat and you wait for him to speak with bated breath.

“Pardon my intrusion, Prefect.” he says, holding out the wreath for you to take, “This was floating in the creek by Ramshackle and I wanted to make sure it wasn’t a decoration of some kind that you had lost.”

“Um…no, that’s not what it is. Riddle, do you guys have a tradition involving wreaths and marriage here?” you ask, hoping there’s something similar to Ivan Kupala so he’s not flying blind here.

“I…don’t think so, no. Though I did not celebrate many holidays as a kid.” he mumbles, brow furrowing, “Why do you ask?”

You explain what that wreath means, stumbling over your words when you get the part about how the first man to pick up your wreath would be your future husband. Riddle’s face is turning red by the second, his lips wobbly and eyes wide.

“Ah, pardon me then.” he blurts out, fumbling as he hands you the wreath like he’s in a rush to leave, “I…didn’t mean to imply such a thing, I’m so sorry-”

“Hey, hey! It’s okay. I wouldn’t want it to be anyone else.” you try your best to smile as he freezes in place, hands clearly shaking from nerves.

He swallows thickly, peeking at you through his lashes.

“Well, uh- in that case, it would- be my pleasure to, um- I mean, I would love to…” he winces before taking a deep breath in an attempt to regain his composure, “I wouldn’t mind courting you. Shall I begin the process, or...?”

You try to hide your laughter behind your hand, but he notices.

“Why are you laughing?! Did I do something wrong?” he freaks out, gnawing at his lower lip worryingly.

“No, no. You’re just so adorable.” you laugh again, and he can only blush harder.

#auburn's fics <3 #drabbles <3 #disney twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland x reader #twisted wonderland #disney twst x reader #twst x reader #riddle rosehearts x reader #riddle x reader #riddle rosehearts fluff #slavic yuu

[nobodyfamousposts]

Chloe’s Lament Part 3

She didn’t know how long she spent ruminating. What drew her out of those thoughts was the sudden shouting from behind her and the exclamation of Bustier ordering Ivan to go to the Principal’s.

…wait…

Yes! Yes, this was it! This was the start of Stoneheart, the first akuma!

This was the start of the previous Ladybug’s debut!

And it would be the beginning of her own!

Chloe was almost squirming in her seat as Ivan was ordered to go to the Principal’s office. She watched eagerly as he stormed out of the room.

Soon, she reminded herself.

Soon…

So caught up in her own plans and imagining all the things she would do with the Miraculous, she didn’t even notice when class was over until everyone was leaving.

That’s right! She had to go, too! Her Miraculous awaited!

Sure, she didn’t know where it would be, but it was supposed to show up when Stoneheart appeared, right?

All the more reason to head out now to start looking!

Or she would if it weren’t for Bustier calling her before she could get out the door.

“Chloe. Do you have a minute?”

No, she didn’t! She had a Miraculous to receive and a city to adore her!

But at Bustier’s expectant look, she turned back with a sigh and walked up to her teacher’s desk. This was just a minor and temporary obstacle. Surely her Miraculous would wait! It wasn’t like there was anyone else fit for the hero role.

Her thoughts shifted to Marinette briefly before she waved them off. Certainly not!

“Did you need something?” She asked. As much of a rush as she was to get her Miraculous, Bustier was her favorite teacher and had always been on her side. The least she could do was allow her a bit of her time.

“I wanted to check in with you before school, but it seemed you had gotten here before I did.” Bustier smiled but her expression seemed tense. “I heard there had been an argument before class started?” She asked gently.

Perfect! Just the opening she needed.

Chloe fixed a hurt expression. “It was awful! Marinette was dictating the roles for the work study and she was going to make Adrien work in the kitchen!”

There! Let’s see how that wannabe responds when the school calls her out on this!

Bustier listened to her cries and nodded in sympathy, so Chloe was sure she had this set.

“What did Adrien say?”

…except for that.

“Pardon?”

“Did Adrien say he didn’t want to work the kitchen?” Bustier asked curiously.

Did he?

“Marinette didn’t give him a chance!” She argued, though truthfully she didn’t remember how he responded at the time. She had just been focusing on calling out Marinette and getting back at her for everything.

“Did you ask Adrien what he wanted?” Bustier asked.

A long pause followed.

The teacher looked at Chloe almost pityingly.

What? What was that look for?!

“I already knew!” Chloe defended. Because she did! Of course she did! She didn’t have to ask! He was her best friend! Of course she knew him better than anyone! So of course she knew what he wanted! “I was just looking out for him!”

It was just to help him! It wasn’t about herself! Wasn’t that good? Didn’t that make her the good guy here? Where was the outrage at Marinette?

“Were you looking out for him or against Marinette?”

Silence.

Bustier sighed.

“Chloe, I know it’s difficult coming back after what happened. And I know you want your feelings to be justified.”

Because they were. Chloe’s feelings were justified, but no one could possibly understand why. She was the only one who knew about the previous reality. 

“—don’t know what you were doing in her locker, though I’m sure you had a reason, you know that wasn’t the right way to go about it—”

How could she even begin to explain what had happened? Of everything she had suffered while Marinette had gotten to play the hero and deny her what was rightfully hers?

“—though I’m sure it was an accident, but the things you said before and afterwards gave everyone the wrong idea—”

No. There was no point trying to explain. Even Bustier wouldn’t get it. Especially not at a time before magic was shown to be real.

“—really tried to argue on your behalf, but you were caught on camera—”

Though it seems like she at least is still on Chloe’s side. Plus there was that time she believed Marinette cheated on the test and did whatever, so clearly her trust in the girl wasn’t that great.

“—have already talked to Marinette about it and she’s willing to try to forgive—”

Plus Bustier was a bleeding heart. She never punished her for anything. Even looking the other way with some of Chloe’s plans. Getting bi-colored hair out of the way so she could be in the class photo next to her Adrikens. Her methods to win the Class Rep position. She never even made her do anything as the Rep. Surely that meant she was on her side, right?

“—but her parents are still very upset. It took a lot of effort to get them to agree to—”

Whatever this ‘probation’ was, it wasn’t like she’d be held to it.

“—advocated to keep you in my class along with her to prove you can do it. I have faith in you—”

Chloe nodded, not really listening, her mind busy formulating new plans.

It didn’t matter that Chloe was starting at a slight disadvantage. She could work around this.

“—so I hope you can understand—”

It meant that she just had to keep under the radar as Chloe.

And complete her revenge through the mask of Ladybug.

All the better.

After all, what better irony would it be than to ruin Marinette by using her own former hero persona against her?

“—what your counselor has been telling you—”

Chloe shook her head, realizing she had missed out on what Bustier was saying. And one word in particular stuck out to her.

“Counselor?”

Bustier looked surprised at Chloe’s own surprise, then worried. “Please tell me you haven’t been skipping your sessions, Chloe. Those are part of the requirements per the agreement for you to continue coming to school here.”

Chloe blinked in shock.

“What?!”

“I was able to argue for you to stay in my classes, and the administration agreed to keep you on a probationary period, but these are part of the conditions, Chloe.” Bustier explained. She sounded particularly anxious about it, causing it to really hit Chloe just how serious this was. “You need to see your counselor weekly and you need to not antagonize any of the other students, especially Marinette. Her parents were willing to accept the arrangement and not demand a hearing with the school board to have you expelled, but there is only so much the school can accommodate.”

No…no way…

How could she start off with things this bad for her already?

Wait…was this Marinette’s fault, too? Had she framed Chloe somehow?

Bustier rested a hand on Chloe’s shoulder in some attempt at reassurance.

“I want to continue to work with you, Chloe. But please…you need to at least try.” She said more than asked, but was still pleading. “Marinette has been willing to forgive, but if her parents hear anything more about you antagonizing her, this will be your last strike and they may very well demand your expulsion. Maybe even press charges.”

“Press charges?!”

But no one had ever pressed charges against her! She had never even had a detention before! And now she was facing this immediately?

“They aren’t going to!” Bustier assured her. “Believe me, no one wants that!”

Clearly Marinette did, the evil bit—

Bustier crouched, just enough to be eye level with her.

“Chloe, things aren’t over yet. We want you to have the best chance for your future. That’s why I’m working with you this year and why you have a counselor to help you with all these feelings you’re having a hard time with. And that’s why you need to take this as a new chance and do your best with it.”

Bustier looked at her hopefully.

“Do you understand?”

Yes, she understood clearly.

She understood that this world was ridiculous, UTTERLY RIDICULOUS!

This was not at all what she had wished for and she would be having words with that little kwami as soon as she got the Miraculous!

But as she couldn’t exactly explain any of that to Bustier, she simply nodded numbly and returned to her seat. There, she looked over her notebooks. And when Bustier wasn’t focusing on her, she glanced over her phone. Really, she should have done that first thing as soon as she woke up, and she regretted not doing so sooner.

What she found was…illuminating…

Chloe had gotten it completely wrong.

It wasn’t that Marinette was a threat. Or that she was abusing her power to bully Chloe. Or just doing any of the things that Chloe had assumed she would.

It was that Chloe herself was on thin ice for a history of bullying and harassment. And this time around, as a normal girl without her former clout, people were not as inclined to overlook her behavior. Especially when the girl in question being targeted was the daughter of the Mayor and also unexpectedly well regarded (not loved, because surely it had to be the position that made people hate Chloe originally, right?)

Marinette may not have been willing to demand punishment for whatever reason--probably to look good to the peons, but the school administration, being the cronies that they were, would hardly risk the liability of something happening to the child of an official under their care.

She left the class but honestly didn’t know where she was going. She was running on autopilot at this point as everything finally started to sink in about the new reality she was in. Nothing was as she expected. If anything, it was worse!

She just needed her Miraculous! Everything would be fine when—

“Chloe?”

Speak of the devil…

She had nearly bumped into the very girl her thoughts were raging against.

“Chloe?” Marinette asked. “Are you okay?”

No! No, she wasn’t! Everything was wrong and nothing was how it was supposed to be and it was all her fault!

“What do you want?” Chloe demanded sourly.

Marinette held out a hand but hesitated. She drew back but instead pressed on verbally. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay. You seemed confused earlier, and—

Yeah, cutting that nonsense off right now! If she thought pretending to care would spare her once Chloe became the Ladybug hero, she had another thing coming! And there was no way she was going to let the traitor use her to try and make herself look better by acting nice.

Chloe sharply cut her off. If Marinette hadn’t pulled her own hand back, it would have been slapped away with Chloe’s motion.

“Stop faking! There’s no way a spoiled brat who is given everything by her parents would help others! You’re just as crooked as they are!” She shouted.

Because that’s what Marinette had to be! What she always must have been! Why else would she hoard all the Miraculous to herself and not give Chloe what was hers?!

Marinette looked at Chloe almost…pityingly.

That witch was looking down on her!

“I don’t know what is upsetting you, Chloe. But I’m not responsible for your problems. You can lash out for as little as it actually makes you feel better, but I don’t have to take it.”

Don’t have to—DON’T HAVE TO—!!!

Chloe pointed at her angrily. “It’s because of you that I’m having to see a counselor!”

And Marinette sighed! Sighed! Like she was the one being put upon here! Bad enough she stole Chloe’s life, but now she was trying to act like she was the wronged party, here!

“Chloe, the alternative was a restraining order and another fine. And I’m pretty sure your dad can’t keep paying them. All things considered, I think you got off lucky.”

Chloe broke off sputtering, wanting nothing more than to put the other girl in her place but having no way to do so without revealing anything.

Marinette stared her straight on, unperturbed.

“Whatever you’re facing now is a result of your own actions.”

How dare she?! Like she knows anything!

Who was she to talk?!

“Oooh!” Chloe stomped her foot before storming off.

She’d show her!

Just wait! Once she got her Miraculous, she would tear her down in every way possible and she would enjoy it! And THEN Ladybug would be sorry! She would regret ever denying Chloe!

She just needed—

From a distance, she could hear crashing and the sound of screams echoing through the school. Many people ran past her in terror. And peeking out, she caught sight of what could only be Stoneheart rampaging through the school. 

“No doubt looking for what’s-his-name.” She muttered. She hadn’t really cared to know the details of that first akuma attack aside from her involvement in it.

But still, there was an akuma, just as expected! Which signaled the first appearance of the heroes!

She smirked.

This was it! That meant she should be getting her Miraculous at any time now! She just had to wait for whoever to deliver it to her!

So she waited in place, grinning with excitement the entire time.

And waited.

And waited.

And…waited.

Waiting…

…

…

…

…but nobody came.

“WHAT GIVES?!”

How was she supposed to become a hero if her power-granting jewelry didn’t show up? How did Marinette get it originally anyway? She seemed close to that old guy…wasn’t he supposed to show up by now? She hasn’t seen any old guy!

“Where is it already?!”

Well, someone had to deliver it, right? Maybe they just didn’t know where she was and left it somewhere she could find…which meant she had to be the one to search.

“I can’t believe this!”

Nothing in her locker.

“What kind of service is this anyway?”

Her desk was empty.

“Is this how you treat your hero?”

With little other options, she stormed home in a huff—not like classes would happen anyway with a giant stone monster running around. She didn’t even need to bother checking, as it was what happened last time. And if the way everyone was running around was any indication, it would no doubt be the same now.

She couldn’t afford to waste anymore time. Her moment had come! And that meant her Miraculous was here!

She flung open the door to her room.

…somewhere.

“Where is it?”

Not on her desk.

“Where is it?!”

Not on or under her bed.

“Why would they make it so hard to find?!”

Really, she should be handed it on a golden platter as everyone begs her to save them! It shouldn’t be this difficult! And she shouldn’t be having to actually have to search herself!

That’s what the servants were for! Or Sabrina.

She was determined, however! Nothing would stop her, even a messy room! So she continued her search, throwing this or that aside—they weren’t a Miraculous, they didn’t matter.

She didn’t even notice that one of the items she tossed was a remove, which landed in such a way that it turned on the nearby TV.

“Maybe it’s in my closet?” She wondered.

That made sense. After all, once she got all the Miraculous, she’d be able to switch them out as easily as a pair of shoes. She would probably need to leave them in the closet when she’s not using them.

She opened the closet doors, giving a grimace at the small space and her much more limited wardrobe. It was so much smaller than her old one!

She briefly mourned the loss of the space and all of her top-brand designers as she forced herself to dig through the various clothes and accessories.

Not this.

Not that.

Ew! She wouldn’t be caught dead wearing that!

“—stone monster has been defeated!”

Chloe froze.

What?!

But she hadn’t even made her appearance yet!

Chloe spun around, nearly tripping over some shoes in her escape from the closet. All to get a closer look at the screen because clearly it was some cartoon or show or something. It was a mistake! It had to be a mistake!

But no, there was that news anchor—whatever-her-name-was. And behind her was a video of her classmate—Jim? Ryan? Whatever the rock monster had been, now back to normal—or as normal as anyone could be in THAT tacky shirt and getup!

And next to him…

A boy in black—blond but in a distinctly different getup from her Adrikens.

And a girl.

In red.

Red and black.

Ladybug!

It wasn’t the Ladybug she knew. It couldn’t be. She had just seen the now Ex-Ladybug in the halls!

The new hero’s hair was as red as her suit with a black headband—almost like a tiara. Her mask was a mix of red and black. Her suit was a black bodysuit with red accents—with her hands covered in gloves that seemed to be red and red boots that reached just above her shin. And the collar of the suit seemed to expand into a sort of dress that lengthened in the back, which when she turned appeared more like a cape that was red in color. Like a Ladybug’s shell.

And of course, the outfit was sparse with spots of differing colors, with multiple black spots on her red cape and single red dots center on her gloves and the peaks of her boots.

And looking closely—to the point she was literally pressed up against the screen, she could swear that the spots were all…in the shape of hearts, of all things? How juvenile!

But there was no mistaking it!

That was Ladybug. Maybe not the same Ladybug as before, but still the Ladybug Miraculous! It hadn’t been waiting for her like it was supposed to. It had gone to—been stolen by someone else!

They had made her tear up her room for nothing!

“—day has been saved thanks to the combined efforts of Red Queen and Cheshire! Paris’s new heroes!”

Chloe felt something crack. It may have been her TV.

Not only did this upstart steal her place as the city’s hero. And her rightful victory over the Ex-Ladybug by taking her place…

She took her title as Queen!

“How dare she?!”

Bad enough to injure her this way, but to insult her, too?!

At this point, she didn’t even know whether she was more angry with this faker or with Marinette!

She froze at that as the realization hit her…

Chloe didn’t have the Ladybug.

She wouldn’t be able to fix anything.

Her Wish had switched her with Marinette so she could make the other girl experience the burdens of her life while she could become the hero and make her suffer for her past life’s crimes.

But rather than hated, Marinette was actually well liked by their classmates and just in general. A few internet searches had pulled up Marinette using her power over others much as Chloe had in the past, so it wasn’t like they were any different! But apparently cancelling talks to make a new building for a corporate gym chain in order to keep a lame old skating rink open was good somehow! And forcing people to do backbreaking labor to plant trees on a Saturday! And that work study program at her Dad’s hotel! That was just free child labor!

The fact that Chloe had done the same thing in the previous timeline only with putting people in the suckier jobs had no bearing on this!

Chloe growled, clenching her fists and shaking at the injustice of it all.

And while Marinette was getting to live it up, meanwhile, poor Chloe herself was despised and about two steps away from a criminal record for things that weren’t even her fault! She couldn’t even enjoy the one nice thing about Marinette’s original position of becoming a hero and being popular! And any attempts to call out Marinette for her evils only made HER look like the bad guy!

Becoming Ladybug had been her only chance to fix this. She could have used it to promote herself. To tear down Marinette. Even to go back to the previous reality where she could still be Miracle Queen if nothing else! But now she didn’t even have that! Whatever stupid power in charge of this must be broken somehow!

This meant…

Marinette had won before Chloe even had a chance to do anything.

And now there was nothing Chloe could do about it.

She didn’t have the Ladybug. She was going to need a new TV. She didn’t have any of her previous life’s accommodations or riches to replace them. Nobody liked her. Her Daddykins had no influence to help her. Her Mother was still in New York.

There was only one thing she could count on, she realized as she picked up a picture frame.

“At least I always have you.”

The picture of Adrien stared back at her, flat and unblinking.

________________

Once upon a timeline, son of a fashion mogul, Adrien Agreste, was a popular model who was sad and cut off from the world, being isolated except for his only friend: daughter of the Mayor and the Style Queen, Chloe Bourgeois.

But someone didn’t like that story, so they changed it.

So once upon a timeline, son of a fashion mogul, Adrien Agreste, who only sometimes took part in his fathers business had two friends: daughter of the Mayor, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, and daughter of the Style Queen, Chloe Bourgeois.

He was sad and cut off from the world for a time, true. But the current Mayor was a big believer of children having normal healthy childhoods and was not as inclined to ignore child labor laws. And her daughter, while happy to be his friend, was similarly a big believer of healthy childhoods and not as inclined to be Adrien’s only friend.

Being on good terms with the family, Sabine and Tom convinced Gabriel and Emilie to cut down on the modeling and activities for their son to let him go to school and spend time around kids his age. And being on good terms with Adrien himself, Marinette convinced him to interact with his various classmates and introduced him to a number of peers.

What followed was the beginning of beautiful—if not headache-inducing friendships.

A couple of years made all the difference. So much so that by the time that particularly Miraculous school year started, Adrien had already been going to school for a good couple of years. Long enough to become settled, join clubs, and make his own friends. Ones outside of Marinette and Chloe and their social circles.

Adrien Agreste was popular. Not the kind of popularity that comes with hundreds of fans chasing him down the street, thankfully, which he would certainly appreciate if he knew about. But rather, his popularity was the general school variety that came with a guy who was good looking and kind to everyone.

Adrien was, to put it simply, quite happy. And not at all alone.

He would play sports with Kim and Alix. Study with Max and Sabrina. Geek out over books and anime with Marc and Jean. Play games with Max and Nino. Blabber on about heroes and comics with Nathaniel and Mirelle. 

And of course, there was Marinette.

Adrien would be lying if he said he never had…some feelings for Marinette.

She was the one who had helped to convince his father to let him join public school three years ago. While it may have been possible for the man to argue with an hour long presentation complete with a fifty slide PowerPoint explaining why public school was beneficial for children including statistics and psychological studies, it was substantially more difficult for him to argue with the girl’s mother when she was both the Mayor and a close enough family friend. It couldn’t be sure which of the two had been the final push that had convinced Emilie, but once she was on board, Gabriel couldn’t help but cave soon after.

Either way, Adrien was grateful to his friend.

…and a bit smitten. Not that he could tell her that. Especially the way she would stick her tongue out when she was so focused on a drawing. Or how beautiful she looked when she took charge of a project. Or how cute she was the way she would get annoyed when she’d catch him wearing the worst possible combination from his closet, which was made all the better partly because it made his Father look ready to have a coronary as well. Plus it helped that she’d drag him to her house at the first opportunity to salvage his outfit into something bearable. He didn’t have to, but he let her every time.

She was adorable like that. And at least he wasn’t alone since it seemed many of his other friends had admitted a crush on her at some point that never went anywhere. He doubted he’d be different.

After all, he was admittedly a sucker for the childhood friend to lovers trope in anime—which made him all the more bummed that they hardly ever worked out.

And since he was apparently the equivalent of an anime protagonist now if his new little companion was any indication…

He looked down at his bag, where his new little friend smirked up at him.

…yeah, he didn’t want to risk it.

Especially given some of the things the little cat-god had told him.

“What do you mean we’ve done this before?” Adrien asked, rather confused to say the least.

“Yeah, it didn’t work out last time.” The creature—Plagg, replied. Though not actually answering his question in any way.

He looked up at Adrien with a smirk.

“But things will be different this go around. We’ve made sure of it.” He then turned away, muttering darkly something Adrien couldn’t hear about some “brat” and a “surprise”.

“O…kay?” He didn’t get it, but okay?

Plagg shook his head before turning back and floating up to eye level with him. “Just change up your suit, ditch the bell, and don’t call yourself Chat Noir and things will be fine.” It told him.

“But why?” Admittedly, his first thought had been “Wild Pussycat” due to his current favorite fandom, but Chat Noir actually sounded really cool.

“Trust me, kid. It’ll help.”

And apparently it had, since he’d met his partner and they’d defeated that monster easily enough.

Plus Adrien did rather like the Wonderland theme they agreed on.

He had been excited about the adventure—what teenage boy wouldn’t be? Still, it was a relief to return to the school the next day and find everyone safe and sound.

Mostly.

Ivan admittedly wasn’t having the best time, unfortunately. He was being crowded by everyone and questioned about the incident by the time Adrien had arrived. Everyone was clearly worried and no one knew for sure what had happened. Marinette in particular was being supportive.

Chloe was…not.

“—monster!”

“He’s not a monster!” Marinette countered defensively. “He doesn’t even remember what happened!”

“He could just be saying that!” Chloe yelled, pointing at Ivan. “Once a monster, always a monster!”

“Hey, back off, Chloe.” Alya said, stepping in front of her. “It’d not like Ivan asked to become a stone golem, and besides, any damage was erased and he’s back to normal.”

Adrien sighed. He was going to have to play mediator again, wasn’t he?

“Hey, Chloe?” He asked benignly, stepping up to her. “If you’re worried he’ll transform again, maybe upsetting him isn’t a good idea? We don’t know what caused it or if it was a one time thing.”

Actually, he did know. But given what Plagg had told him about how the akumas worked, he didn’t want to risk Ivan getting reakumatized. And he couldn’t very well come out and say any of that until this Hawk Moth guy revealed himself and the city as a whole had a better idea how his powers worked.

“Of course, it—” She suddenly cut off, as if realizing something. “Whatever!”

With that, she turned and stomped off.

What was her deal?

Still, everyone else was uncertain of what else to do and with class about to start, several other classmates chose to leave as well. Soon, the previously larger crowd had only a couple people left. Adrien, for his part, figured he should step back and give Ivan some space.

Marinette took advantage of the opportunity the lack of crowd gave to push Kim forward. The taller boy began nervously apologizing while Marinette sat by Ivan as support.

Adrien sighed in relief as he walked away.

Marinette was a wonderful friend. 

Chloe, on the other hand…

___________________

Speaking of Chloe, the girl in question had realized a few minutes after she had stormed off that in her anger, she hadn’t kept track of where she was going and had apparently gone the complete opposite direction of her next class.

Seriously! She knew more than anyone! They should be flocking to her for answers and instead, everyone was focusing on Kim! Or what’s his-name! Rocker boy! Sure, he was only going to be the first of many akumas, but nobody else knew that! She thought she could use that to boost her status by confronting the “threat”!

Last time, she had led the crowd by calling him out for what he had done. Yet much like many things, that had gone wrong this time as well! Instead of rallying behind her against the clear threat only she knew about, most of the people were giving her the side-eye. And of course Marinette freaking Chang had to be the one to act against her!

Really! She was the victim here and nobody even knew it! Thanks to that new Red Queen stealing her rightful place, Chloe had lost everything! And she couldn’t even TELL anyone! Now what was she supposed to do?

She growled, smacking a wall with her fist.

And now she would have to walk all the way back! And she couldn’t just skip classes for the day to make them suffer without her presence for siding against her; the school wouldn’t allow it. Which meant she would have to face everyone again. And walk in these old shoes that were murder on her poor feet!

Oh, the life of suffering she lived!

She trudged back through the hallway the way she came, taking a slightly different route—just in case the others were still where she left them. She didn’t want it to seem like she was intentionally coming back or anything. That would just be letting them think they were right.

“That was something earlier, huh?”

“Yeah. Poor Ivan.”

She paused. Up ahead was a connecting hallway that led to another path to her classroom. And she could hear voices from around the corner.

One of them was Adrikens!

She almost felt herself floating forward, her feet no longer in pain and her shoes no longer a trouble to her. Adrikens always made things better! And surely he of all people would understand her misery!

She peaked. Sure enough, there he was. Her precious friend! The only one she could count on!

But she didn’t recognize the other boy with him. It wasn’t Nino. She couldn’t not know if it was him due to how his name was engraved upon her psyche with how much Adrikens would talk about him.

The other boy grumbled, though Chloe barely took notice of what he had to say. Not until he started talking about her.

“I can’t believe Chloe. Well, I can, because that’s nothing new for her. What a…”

Gasp! How rude! Who did he think he was? He was luck he cut off or she would have had his parents’ jobs!

She winced, remembering that she couldn’t do that anymore.

…well, she’d cause him some repercussions, anyway.

But unaware of her, he kept going, turning to Adrien.

“Dude, why do you even put up with her?” The loser asked.

How rude! She wasn’t someone he had to ‘put up with’, she was a joy to be around! Of course her Adrikens adored her! And he would no doubt admonish that low class nobody for talking about her in such a way!

‘Because I’m his best friend,’ Chloe thought smugly.

Of course Adrien would be on her side.

Because she was his best friend.

Because they were each other’s only friends for years.

Because they’re the only ones who understand each other.

Because even if everything else changed, that was one thing that would remain true.

He would never abandon her.

Chloe Bourgeois and Adrien Agreste—them against the world!

“Honestly, I don’t even know anymore.”

She froze.

"I mean, we used to be friends, but that was more because her parents were friends with mine. Right now her Mom is my Dad's business associate and I kind of have to be nice to her or she could complain or something."

"Oh yeah. She did threaten to run to 'Daddy' earlier. Stands to reason she'd use 'Mommy' the same. But do you really think her Mom would care that much?"

"I don't want to risk it. Being in school the past three years has been like a dream. The last thing I want is to lose it all because Chloe threw a tantrum."

He sighed.

“Besides, I do feel bad for her. I mean…she’s alienated pretty much everyone she’s ever been in a class with and I’m the only one who will even talk to her.”

“The only one who can, you mean.” The other said snarkily. “She insults anyone else who even looks at her.”

He shook his head. “She doesn’t have any friends. And it’s just…sad.”

“Dude, that’s not your fault.”

“I know that now. She was always a...” He hesitated for a moment before spitting it out, “well...a brat. I’m honestly not sure I ever liked her. I just hung out with her at the time because she was the first kid my age to interact with and I was told to. Back then, I thought that was enough to make us friends. That that was what friendship was supposed to be.”

“Thank God for Mari and her mom.”

“Tell me about it!”

His words were like a blade piercing her heart from behind.

One after another, they stabbed her.

And he—her only friend, completely unaware, he just kept going.

“When we were kids, neither of us knew better. But while I grew up, she…didn’t.”

That…that wasn’t right!

None of that was right!

Adrien sighed. “And I really wish she would.”

Chloe didn’t even realize she had lost all feeling in her legs until she had slumped to the ground.

He…

He really thought that?

About her?

“I try to step in and help her when I can. Partly because I feel obligated to since we were close once, but mostly because I know she would just make things worse if I didn’t. I mean, you know what she did with Mari when she got mad. But honestly…I’m really tired of it. Of having to pacify her, the way she grabs me, her stupid ‘Adrikens’ nickname, and just…dealing with her. All of it.”

He sighed again.

“But who knows how much worse she’d be otherwise?”

“Dude, you’re not some sacrificial lamb here.” The other boy assured him. “And besides, you heard, didn’t you? Chloe’s been reprimanded and she’s only still in school on a trial period. If she does anything and people complain, she’ll be out of here and you won’t have to deal with her anymore.”

A weak chuckle. Her Adrikens—Adrien actually laughed at that.

“I’d feel bad if I said I was looking forward to it.”

The other boy laughed at that. “Y’know, I had a dream last night where she announced she was leaving Paris.”

“Sounds like a good dream.” Adrien replied, not even missing a beat.

“I know! I almost didn’t want to wake up!”

The two left, with Adrien just…continuing to chat and laugh and joke like they were best friends and like they weren’t making fun of Chloe who was supposed to be his best friend whose side he was supposed to be on no matter what…

But…

Where was he just then? Where was his defense of her? Where was his declaration that he was still her friend no matter what? Where was his insistence that she wasn’t as bad as people think? Where was his lecture of that boy for speaking ill of her? Where was his disappointment of the others for being mean and wanting her gone? Where was his promise?

...Where was her Adrien?

That was what finally broke through.

Chloe sobbed.

It wasn’t just Adrien. That was simply the last straw.

Marinette had Chloe’s life and was apparently happier than she ever was in the previous life—happier than Chloe had been even! Someone else was the Ladybug hero and had taken her title as ‘Queen’. She didn’t have a Miraculous. She didn’t have Pollen. Her Father wasn’t the Mayor. Her Mother was still in New York. And everything was…

Everything that had made Chloe Bourgeois who she was was gone. 

What was she, after all?

Chloe Bourgeois was rich.

She was the Daughter of the Mayor.

She was the Princess of Paris.

Without that…who was she?

Who was this new Chloe Bourgeois she had become?

She wasn’t feared. She wasn’t respected. She wasn't in any way liked. She was an annoyance at best. An irritant. A bug to them. Someone to be avoided.

And in Adrien’s case…pitied.

That, more than anything, was what hurt the most.

Adrien didn’t love her. He didn’t even like her.

And maybe…

“…I hate you, Chloe.”

…he never had.

…

“You’re the sort of person who is never satisfied with anything.”

…did he ever care about her at all?

“Whatever you do. Whatever world you create. My feelings won’t change.”

Had he…been trying to warn her?

“It won’t be real, Chloe. Whatever we had…whatever you would call it is already gone.”

She slowly pulled herself up. She wasn’t quite sure where she was going at this point, but she didn’t want to be there anymore. She was deaf to everything but the pounding of her own heart and the memory of Adrien’s words.

“Chloe, you don’t know what friends are!”

…

“And I didn’t know better before because I only ever had you. But since I’ve started school, I’ve learned what friendship is!”

…

 “I wish I had learned it sooner.”

Well…it looked like he had gotten his wish. Seeing him now, surrounded by people in a way he had never been before. Not even just Nino this time, but others from other classes.

He looked happy.

…had he ever looked that happy when he was with her?

She bit her lip.

That liar.

He…he was a traitor!

Just like Ladybug!

Just like all of them!

She looked up to the sound of cheers.

From the angle she was at, she could see her classmates gathered close to the doorway of the classroom. Apparently rocker boy and rainbow-haired girl were together now? Oh yeah, that had happened around this time like time, hadn’t it? Wasn’t he supposed to have been akumatized a second time first, though?

It didn’t seem to matter. They were holding hands. And the others were going on about how great it was. And Adrien was congratulating them just as much as everyone else. And they were all just so damn happy.

And there was Marinette, in the middle of it all. Smiling.

And not once did she even look at her.

Chloe could only watch on as they ignored her. As Marinette brushed her off like it didn’t matter while she got to carry on with what had been Chloe’s life. Still kind. Still friendly. Still popular. And somehow even more despicably perfect than before now that she had taken Chloe’s place.

All that…having everything that made Chloe who she was, and somehow, she was still so…disgustingly happy.

Not despised. Not unloved. Not a hateful, selfish person. Not…anything like Chloe.

“Marinette is a better Ladybug—a better person than you ever will be. And that’s because she chooses to be kind! Regardless of the circumstances!”

 …

 “Even if your positions were switched, that wouldn’t change.”

It…

It wasn’t fair.

IT WASN’T FAIR!

_________________________

The Universe is a director. It doesn’t alter the script, merely the parts. When someone demands a different role, the most it will do is swap people around to put them in places that best fulfill the demand. And if the ones who saw fit to make demands didn’t like their new roles...well...

The Universe didn’t particularly like critics.

So the critic wanted the baker girl’s life? That was fine.

After all, the critic’s father had two roles.

One for two. Two in one.

Why not split the difference and see what comes of it?

At least, that was what it figured. And it turned out pretty well in its not so humble opinion.

The city had a steadfast leader. The hotel had a caring manager. The bakery had a decent owner. The heroes were both the same and different. The sad male lead would get to display greater range. The former hero got to take a break after carrying the entire production previously. And the invisible actor would get a chance to step out of a shadow and finally shine.

And if the little critic didn’t like it, maybe she shouldn’t have complained?

Some people just didn’t appreciate what they were given.

The Universe nodded to itself and turned its attention to the new heroic duo, curious as to what would come of this new dynamic.

It was getting bored of the old love square anyway...

#chloe's lament #chloe salt #adrien agreste #marinette dupain cheng #plagg #kwami swap #sabrina raincomprix #sabrina deserves better #marinette gets a break #chloe has a hard time #Be Careful What You Wish For #chloe is not careful #chloe is a horrible person #miracle queen

[yakumtsaki]

-Wish you would have seen Shajar’s face when I showed up, huhu!💗 -Her dumb ass really thought you’d stay dead, she cried herself to sleep last night LOL

Ya and that was the most anyone in this house cried about the Cyn death debacle, I still can’t get over how much these people didn’t care. The icy blood of Victoria clearly flows through our veins.

-Wyatt, I’m here in this bathroom after our failed geriatric coitus attempt to autonomously lecture you about your diminishing libido! -Je suis désolé, mon chéri, but je suis alsò seventié :( -That’s no excuse! Why, when my mother was seventy, she was fornicating with Malcolm Landgraab so often she broke his penis, and even that didn’t stop her! The hospital had to put guards outside his room!

Speaking of geriatric fornication, it’s that time of night: cucking Don time. We take our latest geezer boy-toy to P.U.R.E and its deathtrap flamethrowers! Bucket Hat Townie stop judging us.

Bucket Hat Townie:

Hehe.

FINALLY. Man I have had it with these fossils playing hard to get.

Mary Gavigan next to the flames of Hell: O.O

Ok we’re done here Cyn! See you never, grandpa. So here’s our score so far:

We have the Slob, Don, CADP (Culturally Appropriating Drama Professor), Jack Do, iVan, ProbablyJeff, CBG (Charlatan Beard Geezer), Malcolm, Wren, Castor Nova, and Matthew Hart aka 11/20! We’re doing pretty well, and especially now that Cyn is back from the dead and her lifebar has reset we have all the time in the world..

..but I don’t wanna go back to the house and train pets! We hit up Londoste and we also hit bullseye with JSTWG (Jon Smith Tricou Wannabe Geezer) here.

Immediately after introducing ourselves to him, JSTWG hits us with this. Honestly I was tempted because the thought of Cyn as a Twitch streamer with an army of simps was HILAR but if she gets a job we won’t have time for our hoeing so we have to decline.

Things are going well, we bring up our dead grandma as one does on dates..

..we flirt..

..we learn that Andrea Hogan is apparently a cop who walks around in a gown all day..

..AND WE GET REJECTED. JSTWG WTF

Thankfully Cyn is always more than happy to override others’ free will and immediately rolls the voodoo want, just like she did when she got rejected by Malcolm lmao. Fakest 10 nice points EVER.

-The power of the voodoo doll compels you, huhu!🌸

Well isn’t that better! It’s a dream date with JSTWG, which refills Cyn’s motives and I’m like fuck it, you don’t walk away from the table when you’re on a roll-

-so back to the diner of love we go, hoping to catch the early bird special. 

Clearly this guy went to the ProbablyJeff School of Self-Cucking but I accept this time because I’m curious who we’ll get..

WHAT LMAO. KENNEDY. Aren’t you gay??

Clearly not! So it turns out this blind date thing is like the matchmaker when you spend max cash, you get a triple bolter BUT in this case you also get a nice relationship bonus! Like it took 2 interactions for them to become friends, iconic.

-Kennedy, don’t tell anyone, but my grandma who’s been dead for 40 years cheated on my grandpa! Scandalous, huhu!💗 -Oh I know, I was there!

So this was literally the easiest hook-up Cyn has ever had, like I could not believe how perfectly it went-

-this much chemistry with Kennedy Cox of all people??? 

This is not ACR btw, I never use it for Cyn’s LTW because I feel it’s cheating, this all just organically happened over a single date! If I had known this earlier I would have just married Cyn to Kennedy!!!

Cyneswith has woohooed in public a lot so a bunch of the townies have been at one of her previous photobooth romps, I like to think of it as following your team during a championship, you just travel wherever the next match is.

Bruh. I still can’t believe that under his plaid shirt, shorts, and calf socks, Kennedy was hiding this much sexual prowess! It’s always the ones you don’t expect.

We return home, where it’s still night time because I keep forgetting to download that mod that fixes the community lot time thing, and spend some quality time with iVan, whom Cyn is obsessed with ever since he saved her from Death’s embrace.

-Huhu, I got you iVan!🌸 -𝙸𝚗𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝚕𝚊𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚎𝚛; 𝚁𝚞𝚗: 𝚋𝚎𝚜𝚘𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚍.𝚎𝚡𝚎;

-Let me tell you, Shaj, when me and Kennedy were in that photobooth.. Pure magic, huhu!💗

Don: *leans on the wall emo-ly and cuckedly* (he’s actually just doing that stretching thing, I haven’t seen that since Marissa in gen 1! memories <3)

Come on Don, a few skill points away from LTW!

-Ya it’s a bit hard to concentrate with whatever the hell’s going on behind me.

There’s nothing going on behind you!

iVan:

#can u tell ive been rewatching the office #gen 3 #ts2

[stopeatingwhales]

"i'm going to go see pj harvey instead." x graham coxon

mainly dialogue this time! this was so funny to write- also starshaped graham???? that man was so HOT

also pj harvey bangs so hard. i refuse to argue

Pairing: 1993 (starshaped era) graham coxon x reader

Warnings: arguing - it's really petty though

Word count: 691

Requested by anon <3

༉‧₊˚✧

"I just don't see how you're not seeing my side of things!" I groaned, huffing as I paced around the grass outside Blur's trailer. A while back Graham had asked me whether I wanted to accompany them to Glastonbury festival, as I hadn't ever been to a festival or seen them perform properly - only in rehearsals - but here we were, having an argument about how I had apparently pissed Alex off by eating his cheese. "It didn't have his bloody name written on it, how was I supposed to know it was his?"

I stared at Graham as he ignited a flame from his lighter, holding it underneath his cigarette as he lit it before taking a hit. It was quite a hot day, so I was unaware how he was able to handle wearing a blazer in this heat, though nevertheless he looked very attractive in it, so I wasn't complaining much. "You know how much he gets fussed about cheese!" he groaned, depending on his tobacco roll to calm his frustration toward the situation.

"Oh come on Graham, you can't be serious right now," I scoffed, a grin curving on my lips as I was astounded at how serious they were handling the situation. "Do I need to ask before I eat? He should've told me!" I argued, my arms moving around to add to how annoyed I had gotten to the silliness of the apparent dilemma.

"Ivan's messed up the cheese at every gig we've gone to during this tour," he began, pinching his cigarette between his index finger and his thumb to carry on speaking. "Today he got it right, but you had to have it the day he did."

"Graham, you seriously can't be siding with Alex on this right now," I said, not understanding what the big deal was. Graham avoided my stare, darting his gaze around the empty field behind the stage as he continued to puff smoke out of his cigarette. "Oh my goodness, you are!"

Turning to look at me, he sighed. "What do you want me to say? It's not my fault that he's mad about it!"

"Talk some sense into him!" I exclaimed, my voice just under the volume for it to be considered a yell. "It's not the end of the world!"

"Well, to him it is!" he replied, his voice matching the same tone to mine as he tossed the now soiled cigarette onto the ground, stomping any excess contents with the sole of his shoe. "You've seen how annoyed he's been these past couple days!"

"You've seriously got to be kidding me."

"I apologise, Y/N, but I'm not." he scoffed. To him, he didn't understand how hard it was to go and apologise, though he was completely unaware of the pettiness of the situation, all because of Alex and his cheese. "Just go and apologise to him, it's not that hard!"

"Oh, fuck you and your band Graham." I scoffed, chewing on my bottom lip.

"That's very sweet of you, thanks," he replied, shifting his torso around the blazer he was wearing, clearly beginning to feel uncomfortable at how hot it had become. "Come on, we're about to head on stage."

"I'm going to go see PJ Harvey instead." I mumbled, knowing that my words would shock him, and they did. I knew that the only reason that I came here was to see the boys perform, but after the argument me and Graham had, and us not reaching an understandable agreement about the mere triviality of the circumstance, watching them live was the last thing I wanted to do.

Watching as Graham's facial expression dropped, I bit harder on my lip to mask the grin that was forming. "Oh, you wouldn't."

"If he can be petty, then so can I," I laughed, walking away from Graham as I headed towards the festival stages. "She's performing the same time your band are, conveniently!" I shouted, though he was already aware.

Turning my head to continue walking off, I lifted my hand in the air to send him the middle finger. "I'll tell you all about it after!"

#graham coxon x reader #blur #blur band #my imagines #band imagines #fluff #angst #graham coxon #alex james #90s #britpop #nineties #music #bands #pj harvey

[mlwritingprompts]

Submitted Prompt: Maledictator AU What if Adrien pseudomoralizing spech had other effect than intended by him.

(edited to follow the rules and be more in character)

Chloe is leaving Paris. This is the end of her bullying me and the rest of the school - Marinette thought, and she wanted to approach the group of students who were toasting.

Then Adrien came up to her, pulled her aside, and began his (canonical) speech about how people shouldn’t be glad Chloe was leaving. 

Chloe is his childhood friend, so it’s no wonder Adrien is upset that she’s leaving. Marinette thought to herself, But that doesn’t mean everyone else should be sad too...Slowly the realization that Adrien was guilt-tripping her for celebrating Chloe’s departure began to build in her mind.

After a few minutes of listening to Adrien’s “moralizing lecture”, something suddenly broke in her. She couldn’t take it anymore. She burst out, “How dare you expect me to despair that Chloe’s finally going to stop bullying everyone!”

She had to clench her hands behind her back, suddenly afraid she would hit him if she got any angrier. Fighting Akuma for so long had given her a physical way to vent her frustrations, but Adrien wasn’t an Akuma. He was a civilian. Just a stupid, stupid civilian-- “The fact that you are sad does not mean that all the others, whom Chloe has done nothing but bully, are also to be sad, you selfish jerk!” She shouted.

She took a few seconds to cool down, and noticed that her screams had caught everyone’s attention.

“Marinette, what happened?” Alya asked worriedly, hurrying over.

“Adrien was trying to make me feel guilty that Chloe was leaving Paris. And to think that I fell in love with him.” Marinette replied, suddenly so disgusted by the thought of her crush that she didn’t care whether he knew about it. It was gone. It had been destroyed as quickly as it had been created.

Alya took a moment to take in the scene, and saw how angry and upset Marinette was on a day she should have been celebrating, and said the first thing she could think of to distract her. “Forget him and come celebrate. That’s what we’re here for. Besides, I heard from Juleka that you liked her brother, Luka.” Alya joked, trying to distract Marinette from her anger at Adrien. Marinette looked angry enough to hit him. Her first priority needed to be getting her friend away so she wouldn’t get herself in trouble.

They could deal with Adrien later, when the party was over. This party wasn’t for him or any other Chloe stan to crash. 

Her plan to distract Marinette worked, though it probably wasn’t the best way to go about calming her down. “Alya!” Marinette gasped indignantly, her face burning red as she glared. If Alya hadn’t known her better she would have thought the blush was just embarassment, but she knew it was also anger. She felt bad immediately.

“Sorry, sorry,” She soothed, mentally rehearsing the conversation she would have to have with Juleka later about gossiping behind people’s backs, gently tugging on Marinette’s arm to pull her back to the party. Marinette allowed herself to be led, and didn’t look back at Adrien once.

Alya and Marinette grabbed plates at the punch table someone had set up, and Marinette only looked back at Adrien when Rose’s high-pitched voice rose above the crowd. Rose, Max, Kim, Mylene, and Ivan were confronting Adrien, and were clearly in a heated argument.

Kim was reminding Adrien about how Chloe had not only purposefully humiliated him on Valentines day instead of just turning him down, she’d live-streamed it. The others were listing off more and more examples of Chloe’s cruelty, not even just including the things Adrien had been there to witness--everything that Chloe had done through the year since they’d met her. Adrien had been in their class for only a few months. He had no idea the kind of hell Chloe had put them through, and he had no right to tell them how they were allowed to react.

“This has been going on for as long as I can remember, Adrien!” Rose cried, “Her bullying didn’t start when you joined our class! She’s been doing this for years! Ever since we first started going to school together! You’ve never been her target, you’re her friend! You do not get to tell us we aren’t allowed to celebrate that she’s gone when you’ve never been her victim and you never will be!”

Eventually, they turned their backs on him, and rejoined the party, telling everyone as they went that Adrien was to be ignored completely, because he was still defending Chloe, despite the new stories they’d told him of her cruelty.

 At one point, Adrien tried to drag Marinette into the argument again after Alya went to join the impromptu dance competition someone had started, but Marinette just gave him the cold shoulder, determined to enjoy the party.

Then Adrien broke the last straw when he reached out to grab her shoulder when she tried to walk away. She wasn’t expecting it, she was already feeling threatened, and instinct drilled into her from months of fighting supervillains kicked in without conscious decision.

Before she even knew what had happened, she’d grabbed Adrien’s wrist, flipped him over her shoulder, and slammed him to the floor. Exactly the same way she’d had to do to too many Akuma to count. Exactly the same way as she’d done to Chloe by accident that one time.

She was shocked, but then the anger came surging through the surprise, and quickly turned to rage.

“Don’t touch me!” She shouted down at him. Adrien was still lying on the floor where she’d slammed him, lying on his back and gasping for air, since the concrete and knocked it out of him. She would have felt bad, if not for what he’d said, if he hadn’t tried to physically stop her from walking away.

She already had to deal with that kind of crap from Chat Noir. She refused to put up with it from anyone else. She had to play nice with Chat Noir to defend Paris. But she didn’t have to play nice with Adrien. And after today she never would again.

She stormed away, leaving him where he lie as a crowd of even more angry friends gathered around, having seen the whole encounter, her hands clenched into shaking fists at her sides.

She went up to the upper hallway to calm herself down, sitting with her back against the bars. There were other students up there too, chatting or sitting and playing video games, but no one bothered her.

It was only then that she slowly unclenched her fists, which had gone numb with her rage, and realized that she was now holding a white ring. She stared down at it, completely bewildered. Some of the cupcakes someone had brought had plastic rings on top of them, but she hadn’t had any yet, and this wasn’t plastic. This was metal.

It was only after staring at it for a minute that she realized that it was Adrien’s ring. It must have come off in her hand when she’d flipped him. She hadn’t even noticed, she’d been too angry at the injustice of Adrien’s words and the audacity of him trying to physically restrain her.

She contemplated the ring, and after a minute of thinking about it, slipped it onto her finger. Oh, she would give it back eventually-- she started to think to herself--

And then the ring turned black.

And a black kwami in the shape of a cat suddenly appeared above her hand, and just as quickly as it appeared, darted into her purse, where Tikki was hiding.

Marinette’s brain stopped working.

When Nino came looking for her a minute later, her brain still wasn’t working. He asked if she was okay, and in shock, she answered yes. Somehow she managed to be convincing. He asked if she wanted to go back to the party, and Marinette said yes and followed him back down, and celebrated with everyone, because she had reason to do it.

Her brain could restart later.

She could think about the now two kwami hiding in her purse later.

#ml writing prompts #au prompt #marientte dupain cheng #Adrien Agreste #Adrien salt #ml salt prompts #adrien salt prompts #Marinette deserves better #Plagg deserves better #Miraculous Ladybug #ML salt #Adrien deserves worse #Adrien loses his miraculous prompt #Adrien loses the ring #submission #Show!Miraculous #Show!Marinette #Show!Adrien

[miraculouscontent]

Didn’t Need Burrow (May 30th-July 5th)

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need a Burrow: Narrative basically ret-cons bad behavior of someone who isn't Marinette.

Oh yay! Alya V2!

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need Burrow to know that Mouse!Mylene will be called Multimouse.

I read somewhere that her name will be Polymouse but the source was broken.

Please be a mistake back when we saw the hero names and Mylene didn’t get her own name.

I’d also like to add a bonus that either Mylene gets named that without her consent (like someone calls her that), or Mylene names herself that without any knowledge of Multimouse!Marinette at all.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't need burrow: Assuming Luka×Zoe actually happens, there will be no build up whatsoever. In one episode, they just happen to get trapped together somewhere, talk for like ten seconds and start dating immediately afterwards. Basically the same as Alya×Nino bc none of the ships in this show (other than Lukanette and Adrigami) had any sort of meaningful developement before happening

A relationship beyond the love square getting development??? That’s cute.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't need burrow: Nino is gonna realize that Alya has the fox miraculous full time now and because of that he's gonna get pissy and so somehow Alya will be outta commission and Nino will be there so Marinette will give him a miraculous, Alya will probably say something encouraging about Nino, and then HE'LL get a full time miraculous to.

The only reason I don’t feel like this won’t happen is that it doesn’t direct anywhere near as much blame onto Marinette.

Anonymous asked:

Don't need burrow to know Chat will get angry at Ladybug and maybe Rena because Rena is now a permanent hero and he'll spend the day being a dick, but he'll be forced to work with Rena and realize things are good, but he'll only apologize to Rena.

Ladybug is just used to being chopped liver I assume.

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need a Burrow: Adrigami is restored, while Lukanette isn't.

Marinette will be too busy being forced by the narrative to continue caring about Adrien.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't need burrow, Su Han will only reappear at the end of the season and then disappear again.

“Hi, Su-Ha--oh, there he goes.”

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need a Burrow: Adrien decide to confess his secret identity as Chat Noir to Nathalie. She decide to don't tell him that his father is Hawkmoth (but also decide to don't tell Gabriel that his son is Chat Noir)

God, the Agreste drama intensifies. Kill me.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Marinette actually REJECTS Adrien after the identity reveal after it hits her all at once that HE did all the awful, questionable things Chat Noir did. This allows the Love Square Drama to continue, with Marinette being slammed for DARING to be upset/have STANDARDS - everyone claims that she's set the bar too impossibly high and is responsible for her own romantic misery, while Adrien continues being coddled by other temporary love interests while waiting for her to wise up.

Uggggggh.

I’m just waiting for Ladybug to loudly reject Chat Noir and then she falls for him soon after and bonus if Chat rubs it in her face that she’s moved on or the narrative ignores Chat’s past actions as Ladybug is all like, “WOW HE’S SO RESPECTFUL NOW.”

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Ladybug's continued rejections of Chat Noir are directly compared to Gabriel's shitty parenting -- both of them are denying Adrien things he wants, and these crimes against Sadrien are depicted as equally awful.  (If not weighted towards Ladybug being worse because sHe'S bReAkInG hIs WiDdLe HeArT~~~)

This one wins for making me the most upset.

Anonymous asked:

Didn’t need burrow: Juleka will become the tiger hero in another Julerose-centric episode, but this time Rose is akumatized (into princess fragrance again, but this time with a sentimonster so it’s DiFfErEnT). It will chronologically take place after guilt trip, but Rose’s disability will not be acknowledged, even in passing.

I swear, if I have to see a repeat akuma ONE MORE TIME!!!

Anonymous asked:

Didn’t need burrow: The major conflict of the season will be Marinette repeating “mistakes” (this can be similar to not keeping chat 100% in the loop till he throws a fit or having a human to depend on emotionally about miraculous stuff) Bonus: The show doesn’t show the good that came out of her actions and only the bad (Not having a breakdown and etc)

Yup. Definitely Marinette’s fault that she needed to rely on someone so she didn’t have a breakdown. She should’ve buried her emotions and broke down every day instead.

Anonymous asked:

Didn’t Need Burrow: After the show runners give into another fan theory of new permanent heroes, they will quickly show why this was a mistake. Bonus if it’s the very next episode (because if Marinette did it then it has to be bad)

This already felt super likely and then you added “because if Marinette did it then it has to be bad” and now I’m just sad because it’s doubly right.

Anonymous asked:

Didn’t Need Burrow: Marinette, who dreams of being a fashion designer, designs something that’s just ugly. Bonus if it’s never addressed/characters just say it’s great so the show doesn’t look bad at designing clothes

Does Ladybug count? Still can’t believe Chat Noir gets the “complex” outfit with actual thought and Ladybug gets the onesie.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: It's revealed that Emilie intended to use the Miraculi they'd found to 'give Adrien the world'.  This is treated as a sympathetic motive because, as Word of God constantly insists, Adrien is perfect and deserves everything he desires, regardless of how anyone else feels about it.  Thus it doesn't matter what horrific things his parents did or intended; their goals are treated as righteous, with Ladybug being Wrong to oppose them.

They just want what’s best for their son!!

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: There will be a plot in which LADYBUG is accused of not caring about civilians, with Adrien/Chat Noir getting to lecture her as if HE has the moral high ground.  Or any ground to stand on.  His abysmal track record is completely ignored, retconned, or otherwise treated as inapplicable; we likely get a singular moment where he suddenly Gives A Shit about protecting one of his friends/classmates, which is treated as proof that he Always Cares About Such Matters.

Bonus if it’s Ladybug choosing not to defend/save someone who spited her/deserves it, which is “clearly worse” than Chat Noir threatening to let Paris drown in “Syren.” Ladybug is not allowed to be human and also not allowed to show people that there are consequences for their actions, proving that they/Chat can take advantage and mock her as much as they want with no repurcussions.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Sabrina and Chloe have another Friendship Breakup; when Sabrina seems poised to actually get away from her abusive 'BFF' for good, Adrien intervenes/whines at Marinette to help him fix it, because it's nOt FaAaAaIr for Chloe to be aLl AlOoOoOoNe...

Is it too late to make Adrien disappear and have it look like an accident.

Anonymous asked:

DNB: In a Shocking Twist, Cats are revealed to be cursed - the majority suffer some catastrophic fate as the Ring eventually causes their Destruction.  Only True Love can break it, making Ladybug's refusal to give in to Chat Noir's advances a literal matter of life-and-death and 'justifying' all of his behavior.  Bonus if it's retconned that *Adrien always knew this*, despite nothing in his behavior ever indicating he believed himself to be on borrowed time.  Because Angstrese.

Also bonus if this is also used as just another way to make him seem sympathetic. Double bonus if this information is brought up after Ladybug snaps at Chat Noir, and she’s told this information to make her feel guilty.

.

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need a Burrow: If Adrien reveal someone his secret identity, it will be ... obviously Wayhem.

Nino: hello darkness--

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Goat!Marc, Rooster!Nathaniel and even Ox!Ivan will be buffed out because not even the boys in this show are allowed to keep their own body shapes when they become superheroes.

I’m positive Ivan especially will be beefed up. The civilian models are really awkward at times and clearly not prepared to be put in onesies (it’s hard to explain and maybe someone more experienced with propotions/anatomy will be able to say it better, but their limbs don’t have a lot of “shape” to them I guess?).

Anonymous asked:

Didn’t need burrow: Alya’s miraculous looks exactly the same in it’s “camouflage” mode solely so Lila can easily switch her necklace with Alya’s. (seriously why does it not change that bothers the hell out of me)

If that happens, I’d put money on Alya not getting called out on it. Good to know you put so much priority on “secrecy,” Alya.

Anonymous asked:

Didn’t need burrow: A kwami swap will happen again somehow. Marinette will uncharacteristically scold Adrien way more harshly than normal AGAIN to make him feel bad about himself and this will further the (Adrien melodrama depression arc) of him feeling useless/ replaced. Bonus points if Alya picks up his slack.

Honestly, I was here for the scolding in “Reflekdoll” just because there weren’t consequences for her for once.

Anonymous asked:

Didn’t Need Burrow: There will be Sad Noir galore. Its all Ladybug’s fault, naturally.

Naturally.

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need a Burrow: Episode where Sabrina gets Dog Miraculous will be Chloe-centric (or Bourgeois sisters centric)

&

Anonymous asked:

Didn’t Need Burrow: the episode where Sabrina gets the Dog Miraculous (which seems inevitable now, ugh) will heavily feature or even focus on Chloé, despite the fact that Chloé has already had a couple of episodes focusing largely on her this season. Sabrina’s introduction as a hero will have about as much focus as Kim’s or will be jammed into the last five minutes of the episode. Bonus points if they manage to deny her a proper transformation sequence like they did Kagami.

Roger: *exists and desperately needs development on his policy that caused Sabrina to become Chloe’s slave in the first place*

show: okay but--

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Under pressure, Marinette admits to Alya and/or Tikki that she doesn't mind the attention (aka constant harassment) Chat Noir gives her; parroting common claims by sexual harassers, she says it makes her feel *special* and *noticed*.  She may also insist that she still wishes he would focus on the AKUMA/their responsibilities more, but the obvious point of this scene is to 'justify' his behavior with evidence that 'she enjoys it'.

MARINETTE

PLEASE

YOU DESERVE SO MUCH BETTER

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: There will be a joke about Chat Noir *copping a feel* on Ladybug after an akuma sends them into an awkward position.  Ladybug's shock and discomfort is played for laughs; bonus if he quips about her suit not leaving much to the imagination.  Adrien is in a fantastic mood afterwards, considering that to be the 'best battle yet'.  (Alternatively, another heroine is victimized and Ladybug is visibly jealous/her annoyance at Chat is treated like jealousy.)

I’m not adding this to the spreadsheet just because a scene like that is too dicey for a kid’s show (though, believe me, if it were to happen, I’m putting that on it’s own damn card), but I will say that this would 100% happen if this were an anime/aimed towards an older audience.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Adrien tricks Alya into thinking that Chat Noir already knows Ladybug's secret identity, thusly learning that she's Marinette.  This is passed off as all MARI's fault, naturally.  If Alya apologizes at all, it's in a backhanded, "But why didn't he know this already?" sort of fashion.

It’s Marinette’s fault for telling Alya her identity in the first place.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Post-Reveal, Marinette struggles to reconcile how her crush is also her abusive slacker 'partner'.  Adrien, by contrast, accepts her as Ladybug immediately... though his words make clear that he doesn't give a shit who SHE is, just that she's Ladybug.  Naturally, this is treated as Mari needing to learn how to accept Adrien for who he is, all while insisting that his many flaws and failings aren't issues at all.

i hate it, thanks

Anonymous asked:

DNB: The RLBS is EXPLICITLY punishment for Marinette: after a mutual reveal, Adrien declares that they can't get together as civilians until she accepts him as Chat Noir.  Mari is forced to awkwardly pursue Chat as Ladybug while he strings her along/humiliates her; meanwhile, Adrien trolls her with shallow gestures to fluster her/rile up their shipper classmates, who ride her ass for not 'sealing the deal' and making their relationship official.  Alya, aware of everything, is the WORST about it.

I presume that “RLBS” is “Reverse Love BS” which... yes.

Also, that whole “she needs to accept him as Chat Noir” infuriates me because that’s been a fandom thing forever.

.

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need a Burrow: The only reason Sabrina got Dog Miraculous is because of a scene where Chloe literally "Kick the Dog".

&

Anonymous asked:

Didn’t Need Burrow to know that despite Sabrina almost certainly getting a miraculous and becoming a hero, the fact that she deserves better than being abused by Chloé and is a worthwhile individual in her own right will not be addressed. Because StATuS QuO!

I just had a horrible thought that they’ll do the episode like--

Chloe treats Sabrina terribly like usual, Sabrina ditches Chloe and Chloe is miserable + takes it out on everyone else for it, then Chloe gets akumatized over it and Sabrina gets the dog (for “loyalty”), which leads to Sabrina going back to Chloe so that Chloe will direct the abuse more solely towards Sabrina because “she takes it out on others otherwise”/she’s “used to it”/”it’s her responsibility and this is the right thing to do.” This will also be presented as the “right choice” and Chloe and Sabrina’s relationship will basically not change for the sake of leaving Chloe the way she is.

Anonymous asked:

Didn’t Need Burrow: Cat Noir is gonna throw a Syren-Sized fit if/when he finds out that Ladybug dares to have a support network through Alya (not a very GOOD support network, but one nonetheless).

Still waiting for the “lesson” where Ladybug is told she’s not allowed to have emotions/be vulnerable.

Oh wait, that’s the show.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't need Burrow: Adrien/Chat Noir will angst and fish for sympathy points instead of apologizing for the 40th time in the series.

Every time.

Anonymous asked:

Didn’t Need Burrow: Luka is gonna say that Adrien and Marinette are made for each other. This is the last appearance that he will make in the show (with exception to background/shipping fuel between him and somebody else w̶h̶o̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶p̶r̶o̶b̶a̶b̶l̶y̶ ̶e̶i̶t̶h̶e̶r̶ ̶Z̶o̶è̶ ̶o̶r̶ ̶K̶a̶g̶a̶m̶i̶).

Considering the ““““parellel”“““ episodes of “Truth” and “Lies,” I’m just ready for the same thing that happened with Kagami in “Mr. Pigeon 72.”

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Trixx plays pranks on Alya's family and is a little troll; he particularly loves teasing the twins, since any claims they might make about seeing a 'magical flying fox' will be passed  off as childish imaginings.  Alya blames Marinette for this more than she does Trixx.

Marineeeette, raise your “children” better!!

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Alya will wind up spilling Ladybug's secret identity to Nino because 'she needs to talk to SOMEONE about this!' (and Mari CLEARLY doesn't count for anything) and trusts her boyfriend.

I would also imagine Alya going on about Marinette’s secret to Nino without explicitly telling him.

Also, this will be an episode in this season because Alya couldn’t even keep it in for ONE SEASON (”Animan” all over again).

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Ladybug will be seriously injured during an akuma battle, with circumstances preventing them from winning the fight/repairing the damage with Miraculous Cure right away.  Adrien/Chat Noir attempts to exploit the situation to learn 'his lady's' secret identity.  The narrative REFUSES to call him out on this; it's entirely on Marinette to protect herself by hiding the truth despite her injuries.

Bonus because “Ladybug” seemed to imply that their almost invincible in their suits, though I imagine if they get hurt, it’ll be Chat Noir and used for angst (like in “Miraculer”).

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Marinette will combine Miraculi more often to cut down on having to track down others all the time and put them in danger.  (And also because the merch guys want more stuff to base toys off of.)  She gets condemned for being a 'glory hound' and 'taught' that she needs to rely upon others more often, no matter what sort of risks that might entail (she'll get blamed for that anyway) or how they might let her down (again, always her fault).

Marinette: *tries not to burden others and instead does what the narrative has convinced her of; bearing the world’s weight alone until she breaks*

show: gOd, mArIneTtE--

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Chat Noir's tendency to screw around, flirt, and not read or work with his allies at all gets Rena Rouge, Vesperia or one of the other heroes hurt.  Naturally, this is played for Sadrien above all else -- if Ladybug or anyone else DARES to show any anger towards him for it, it's depicted as completely unjustified and unfair.  Bonus if the injured party insists that it's okay.

They neeeed Chat Noir to lighten the mood! He’s worth the risk!

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: RLBS is kicked off by Marinette being utterly HUMILIATED by Adrien publicly rejecting her once he can't ignore her crush anymore, spurring her to give up on him 'for good'.  Adrien decides that he misses her chasing after him and starts pursuing her, with Alya and others encouraging her to accept his advances/telling her that she's crazy to reject him even after what he did.  Marinette's utter misery over the whole ordeal is treated as HILARIOUS.

It’s not like he mEaNt to embarrass you, Marinette!!!

Marinette didn’t meant to do a lot of things too but you don’t see the show giving her any slack.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Adrien/Chat Noir starts treating Alya/Rena Rouge with exactly as much 'respect' as he gives Ladybug -- which is to say, nothing but lip service paired with stunts like refusing to help unless she spills Ladybug's secrets.  Alya naturally blames Marinette for this.

I’m torn on whether he’d “””respect her””” as much as Ladybug or give her even more respect, probably on the premise that “Ladybug chose her,” and that somehow proves that Chat Noir is a good guy in all this (while, again, disrespecting/not trusting Ladybug/making his own decisions at every corner).

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Adrien/Chat Noir attempts to charm Alya/Rena Rouge into sharing Ladybug's secrets with him, possibly making Nino jealous in the process.

*sees “Rocketear” trailer*

oh no...

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: We get another 'Bad Future' episode centered on Sadrien; this time around, it features him losing the Ring, painting this popular plotline as a horrible idea because Adrien is Perfect and Never Does Anything Wrong, and should never be punished for his actions.  No matter how it happens, Marinette is blamed for it; bonus if somebody angrily tells her that SHE should have lost HER Miraculous instead.

Wouldn’t be surprised, but that would also mean making a new model of a cat hero.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: It's revealed that part of the reason Alix/Bunnix refuses to share any 'Spoilers' about how the future is 'meant to go' is because Marinette Suffers Incredibly in the process, and Alix knows that she'd try to find some other way... and assumes that she'd fail in the process.  This is treated as entirely valid and Marinette, if she learns that this is part why Bunnix won't tell her shit, has to accept that she's just doomed to be Fate's personal punching bag.  Sucks to be her!

It’s “meant to be.”

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Marinette/Ladybug is told outright that she's a horrible person for not respecting Chat Noir's feelings for her.  Bonus points if it's Alya, citing Mari's crush on Adrien as proof that she should know how it feels to constantly fail at getting your crush's attention.  (Alternately, Adrien venting to her about how *unfair* it is that Ladybug's so cruel to her partner, unaware of the dramatic irony.)  Triple-7 Jackpot of Shit if this contributes to the RLBS becoming a thing.

UGGGGGH.

And of course Chat Noir wouldn’t get the same treament and it’ll be like, “WELL ADRIEN DOESN’T kNoW sO--”

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Instead of Lila, Chloe is revealed to be the next holder of the Butterfly Miraculous. This shows Chloe as "irredeemable" while successfully writing Lila out of the show.

Meanwhile, the writers’ script is frantically scribbled on with red marker.

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need a Burrow: Reveal that post about Lila being future Hawkmoth was Red Herring (or in this case orange herring)

Dumb herring.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't need a burrow;

By the end of the series, Gabriel will have a redemption arc to feel sympathy for him :o

guys he’s so sad don’t you see--

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Adrien's inability to choose between the 'love of his life' and the abusive shitbag excuse of a sire who'd just smacked him like a ping-pong ball foreshadows that he will ultimate choose Gabriel after learning that he's Hawk/Shadowmoth.  This will be entirely blamed on Marinette not being able to keep him by her side because 'she didn't love/cherish/appreciate him enough'!

After “Guiltrip” and the whole, “I don’t say this enough--” line, I’d buy it and now I’m sad.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: The RLBS is kicked off by Chat Noir switching sides and joining Hawk/Shadowmoth.  Ladybug is forced to appeal to Chat's 'love' for her, with Alya, Tikki, and various other 'friends'/allies blaming her for his defection.  Meanwhile, Sadrien starts pursuing Marinette as an outlet for his mangst, 'unintentionally' making her more miserably conflicted in the process.

She rejected him and therefore he’s in his right to switch sides. She never even gave him a chance!!!

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Adrien is a Sentimonster/was created by other Miraculous magic by the Agrestes, who desired a 'perfect/model son'.  This is used to further the narrative that his entitlement is actually a Good Thing: Adrien was not MEANT to have any wants/needs/desires of his own, but mysteriously developed them anyway.  Thus Marinette NEEDS to cater to his every whim because it's sO mIrAcUlOuS that he HAS them in the first place.  Hooray...?

His very EXISTENCE is MIRACULOUS, Marinette!!!

Also, Astruc will act like this was amazingly foreshadowed in “Ladybug” where Ladybug comments on Sentibug’s perfection.and with Astruc always called Adrien perfect (either on his own or through other characters).

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Another Shocking Familial Connection is revealed: Felix is not Adrien's cousin, but Gabriel and Emilie's original son, whom they shunted off on her sister and replaced with the 'perfect' Adrien.  50-50 split on whether this is used to excuse all of Felix's shitty behavior or if he's demonized further -- 'See, THIS is why they replaced him!  ANYONE would choose the Perfect Adrien over someone like THAT!'

Why not both????

It’s like the Chloe-Zoe situation but male.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: After learning that Rena Rouge has become Ladybug's confidant, Chat Noir outright REFUSES to help at a critical moment, sneering about how 'you ladies CLEARLY don't need me'.  As with everything else, the blame for his latest stunt is laid neatly at Marinette's feet, because Adrien is never EVER responsible for his own actions.

They’ll probably blame Marinette because Ladybug “didn’t tell him right away.”

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Circumstances force Adrien to be Mr. Bug again (since they already have the models).  Much is milked from how HAAAAAAAARRRRD his temporary responsibilities are on him, and he reiterates afterwards how happy he is that he doesn't have to deal with that all the time.  No actual sympathy for Ladybug's situation is displayed, though stans treat it as such; what we're actually SHOWN is that Adrien only cares about the burden when HE'S the one stuck carrying it.

As per usual, no one cares about Marinette’s problems until it directly affects THEM, and then they’ll go back to not caring.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: With all of the other abusive behavior Adrien has shown towards Ladybug, it's only a matter of time before we get a 'Why did you make me hit you?' moment.  No akuma influence; just him physically lashing out at her because he's an entitled little shit upset over not getting his way, followed by the inevitable bleating about how bad HE feels and how he'll 'never do it again'.  Naturally, this is presented as though Marinette 'deserved it' and must accept his apology.

Show, don’t do this to me, I swear--

I’d be surprised if this did happen, but more because it’s like wow the lack of self-awareness is even worse than I thought.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: We get a Very Special Episode about sexual harassment... which not only refuses to acknowledge Adrien's behavior as such, but asserts that he would NEVER touch 'his lady' in any kind of inappropriate fashion.  Bonus: he harasses her in that very same episode to 'prove' that his behavior isn't inappropriate.

So “Felix” but worse...

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need a Burrow: The reason why ML Writers made Zoe an actress is to justify why she managed to recognize that Lila is "Liar that lies" instantly after meeting her.

Waiting for the moment where Zoe talks to Marinette to address Marinette “acting like she’s not in love with Adrien.”

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Lila steals the Fox Pendant from Alya/does something that affects her *personally*.  Alya then reads Marinette the riot act, demanding to know "Why didn't you WARN ME about her?!"  (None of the times that she DID count because Alya dismissed them as her 'just being jealous', which is, of course, entirely Mari's fault.)  Bonus if we allude back to her claiming that 'good reporters do their research' and how she expected MARI to provide her her with proof of her claims.

Marinette: *thousand yard stare*

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: When Lila is exposed, Marinette gets blamed for all the harm she caused with her various deceptions, since she tried to warn others and couldn't convince anyone of the truth.  Adrien 'taking the high road' is largely glossed over; if anyone finds out that HE knew too and never did anything to warn anyone, he's quickly forgiven for 'not knowing any better'.

See, Marinette, if you just hadn’t tRiEd--

And Adrien was just trying to “be nice to everyone equally” so he’s forgiven.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Adrien/Chat Noir outright admits that he dislikes Rena/the other heroes being around since they make him feel unnecessary.  This is treated as a perfectly reasonable and valid complaint rather than a slacker piss-moaning about being shown up by others making actual EFFORT.

*flashbacks to “You’re not trying to replace me with a turtle, are you?” after Carapace shows up LITERALLY ONCE*

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: We get a retread of the NYC Special's Angstrian when he accidentally ('accidentally?') Cataclysms Rena/somebody else.  Bonus if the victim once again argues that THEIR experiences/trauma are FAR less important than his.  (Especially if it's Alya, Nino, Max... somebody who ALSO happens to be a character of color temporarily killed off to make the spoiled white rich brat feel sorry for himself.)

It’s an accident and also probably “Ladybug’s fault.”

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Adrien/Chat Noir skips an akuma attack/shows up late to find it was resolved without him, and mopes about how 'his lady doesn't need him anymore', requiring somebody else to massage his ego.  Bonus points if somebody (likely Ladybug) is demonized for getting annoyed at him for being late/a no-show, because HOW DARE they take defending Paris seriously?!

Well excuse us, Chat, next time we’ll just awkwardly stall for twenty minutes.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Chat Noir will 'accidentally' Cataclysm one of the protective Charms so that its holder can be akumatized again.  Bonus if he does this to Alya/one of the other heroes.

Probably Chloe.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: The protective charms are ultimately rendered effectively pointless when Adrien switches sides and starts using his powers to destroy them.  Naturally, Marinette is held completely responsible for his actions, because God FORBID he ever be called to account for himself.  Not when his 'partner' is around to absorb all the blame.

You didn’t make him feel loVeD, Marinette.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Adrien pulls a Chloe with his own attempt at engineered heroics, putting the lives of others on the line to 'prove his value'.  Ladybug is completely blamed for the stunt; bonus if someone accuses her of 'not learning anything' from what happened with Chloe.

Hate it. Hate it a lot.

We already got him trying to cause/hoping for akuma, so this isn’t too far off.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Adrien gives Zoe better advice for dealing with her bullies.  His policy for handling Chloe and Lila remains the same as ever.  (In other words, only Marinette has to 'be the better person' and keep suffering at the hands of her abusers, since it maintains his preferred status quo.  But it's no skin off his nose if Zoe's situation changes/improves.)

I also imagine that Adrien would give this advice without Marinette onscreen, so Adrien won’t be called out on it.

Anonymous asked:

Didn’t Need Burrow: Alya will reveal Marinette’s identity to someone (possibly Nino) and the show will then punish Marinette for trusting Alya in the first place. Bonus point if the show then says she should have trusted Adrien/Chat Noir because he would never have betrayed her trust.

I’m just remembering the fandom’s complaints and wow I hate it.

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need a Burrow: Ladybug Miraculous basically change into Poor man's version of Green Lantern's Ring

*stares at the phone in “Optigami” that somehow picks up on the kwamis’ voices* hm

Anonymous asked:

Didn’t Need Burrow: Marinette will look through the future and see one where she and Luka get together, except it’s portrayed as bad and abusive, more so if he knows her secret identity, and the only way for her to escape it is by getting with Chat Noir(and not...you know, anybody else. Or being single. Or MAKING THE RELATIONSHIP WORK!!!). Chat Noir sees it too, and gloat about in her face, since it proved that they were “meant for each other, m’lady!” Bonus points if someone calls Thomas Ass Truck out on this shit, and he either replies that it was the best thing to do, claims it doesn’t matter how Lukanette is treated/the love square ends up together because they’re “made for each other” anyway, or even tries to pass it off as “girl power”, because how could we let the female lead get with the respe—oops, I mean abusive guy over the one who treats her te—oops, I mean respectfully and like a “gentleman” would?! And then he’ll follow up by blocking them for daring to question the Ridiculous Relationship Rhombus and respect the “non-endgame” ship. Even wor—oops! I mean, better, if love square shippers use this opportunity to gloat about how “I always knew Adrien and Marinette(notice how they always place his name first?!) were perfect for each other, Luka wasn’t good enough for Marinette, take that, Lukanette shippers!” declaring it “anti-salt”.

bfgkdjfgdfg god

Also, the only problem with this idea is that it would mean making an adult model for Luka.

Bonus if another “disadvantage” to Marinette dating Luka is that Luka isn’t high class.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Marinette will be told outright to 'Get over yourself' and stop bringing up valid complaints about Chat Noir's shitty behavior, as the series becomes increasingly overt with its subtext about how one of Marinette's Biggest Mistakes is having STANDARDS.

Ignoring that Luka exists, of course, and if it’s mentioned that Luka exists then cue, “OH BUT SHE DOESN’T AAAACTUALLY LOVE LUKA.”

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need Burrow: SentiWiFi (Lady WiFi Sentimonster)

SentiEveryone at this point...

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need a Burrow: Nino is again robbed of screentime by Sentimonster based on him.

*sees “Sentibubbler” title and trailer*

Did--did you predict the future??

...I mean, we’ve been doing that the whole time, but damn.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Alya will continue shoving Marinette towards Adrien, then mockingly ask 'Didn't you want to give romance a break?' or something along those lines.  Showing that not only is she fully aware of Marinette's wishes and doesn't give a damn, but implicitly blaming Marinette for her inability to stick to them, despite how SHE is the one forcing the issue.

“We all know that you WANT HIM, Marinette! Stop denying yourself!!!”

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: When Marinette gets a spot of hope regarding her relationship woes, Alya leaps in to take all the credit for the apparent success.  Once the light turns out to be an incoming Drama Train that blindsides Marinette and leaves her humiliated and heartbroken, Alya insists that it's entirely MARI's fault that things went off the rails.

Waiting for a line from Alya about how she’s doing everything right and Marinette must be really hopeless if Alya’s schemes aren’t working...

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Alya and Nino will get into a bit of Relationship Drama in order to further reinforce the series' double standards.  (Such as 'It's OK for boys to lie, but girls shouldn't have any secrets.'  Or 'Boys can hold grudges, but girls must forgive every trespass.'  Or 'Girls shouldn't told boys to impossible standards like expecting to be treated with basic human decency.')  Bonus points if Marinette gets blamed for it.

Yup.

Yup.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: The subtext about Marinette not deserving a GOOD love interest is further emphasized by Kagami and Luka getting together.  Kagami comments on how she can trust Luka not to lie to her; this is the closest she gets to explaining to Marinette WHY she broke things off with Adrien in the first place.  After all, it doesn't matter if Adrien lies to Marinette; they're 'meant for each other'.

I’m still not over Kagami saying that the guy who lied to her is “made for” her only friend????

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Zoe learns a valuable lesson about the importance of Being Herself with Luka's help, teasing the idea of the two of them getting together.

“Bonus” for Marinette saying that Zoe and Luka are made for each other.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Chat Noir deliberately strings Vesperia along in a ploy to make Ladybug jealous.  Zoe is naturally heartbroken when she learns the truth.  Her pain is blamed entirely on Marinette, since Adrien can NEVER be held accountable for his own actions.

Ladybug, you should’ve seen this coming!!

Anonymous asked:

Didn't need burrow (kinda?), Astruc apparently is aware that his perfect Adrien is flawed as Chat Noir (he said so on twitter), and I fear that if anyone ever asks him why the two sides of Adrien so different, he'll reveal that the cat miraculous changes the holder's personality or some shit, which will cause "Anti Adrien Salt" to explode, screaming "the salter's claims aren't valid anymore, it's not Adrien's fault, it's the miraculous!!!1!!111!!!!¡¡!¡¡¡!!!"

I feel like he denied that back when he still had a Tumblr but gosh I’m just waiting for it to be confirmed because FANON THEORIES.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Adrien gets a taste of what Marinette goes through constantly when he/Chat Noir suffers a bit of minor humiliation over his crush.  His pain and angst over this is played DEAD SERIOUS, treated as though he's suffering through the WORST THING EVER even though whatever happened pales in comparison to what Marinette has endured.  Anyone who dares so much as chuckle at what happened is villainized, since only a MONSTER would find his suffering funny.

I’m seething.

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need a Burrow: Return of Sentibug (for fanservice)

Bonus if they kill her off again. Something something “only one Ladybug” something.

neyla9 asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: So if Zoe gets sent to a new boarding school after being in Paris for a few months (there is a chance the writers will just completely ignore that this was established in Sole Crusher, in which case this probably won't happen), I predict that Zoe was brought in specifically to redeem Chloe, rubbing it in Marinette's face that she failed at redeeming Chloe, and force Marinette to give Chloe the bee miraculous back

Most likely. Apparently needed to bring someone else in to make Marinette feel worse.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Adrien abandons/ditches his responsibilities as a hero because he's too busy sulking over his ego being bruised by some slight (real or imagined).  Marinette is naturally blamed for this.

Oh, of course!

Marinette probably had to be late for patrol so he was intentionally late for something, and then was like well you did it to me, so--

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Chloe will get another tiresome 'Will she or won't she be redeemed?' arc, only to backstab/betray everyone again.  Astruc will preen and croon on social media about how gullible anyone that thinks she could ever be redeemable is.  Bonus points if Chloe's damning act that proves she's unsalvageable is something ADRIEN has done.

Meanwhile, Nino is back here absolutely collecting DUST!!!

I guess you gotta be a horrible person/make Marinette suffer to get screen time.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Chloe will discover Vesperia's secret identity and steal the Bee Miraculous, then spitefully out Zoe so that SHE can't be a heroine anymore.

Marinette is running out of teens at this point but finding new ones would mean more models.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Zoe is used to teach Marinette that she's too harsh on others for lying, and should accept that they can be dishonest sometimes.  (Especially Adrien.)  As a natural follow-up, Marinette is blamed/punished for falling for a friend's lies -- because CLEARLY it's not Alya/Adrien/anyone else's fault if she believes their bullshit!

No one’s perfect, Marinette! People are human!!

...Except you, of course.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Despite the incident with SentiNino, Shadow Moth will *successfully* obtain a miraculous by using the same trick.  Bonus points if it's Marinette/Ladybug who falls for it... though really, she'll be blamed regardless.

Double bonus if she doesn’t fall for it but it still goes through.

Anonymous asked:

DNB: The 'Shocking Twist' of Adrien/Chat Noir betraying Team Miraculous and joining his father will be presented as though it's entirely Marinette/Ladybug's fault, with Adrien acting as though he Had No Choice and angsting about being 'forced' to betray his lady and friends.  The series never acknowledges how self-serving his motives actually are, and any call-outs he gets are treated as Wrong and Awful and Blaming Poor Innocent Victim Adrien.

“hE’s jUsT tRyinG tO sAvE hIs mOm”

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: 'Borrowing' from many a Salt Fic, Marinette will thank her for 'proving who my *real* friends are'.  This entails giving Adrien, Alya and possibly others credit for always standing by her, believing in her, and various other things that they never actually did.

I’m presuming “her” means “everyone”/”the girl squad” and yup.

Better tell than show I guess.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Alya will be retconned into having 'never believed anything Lila said'.  Or at least, she will CLAIM that she never believed her.

I WILL BE SO UPSET

Also prepared for them to handwave it, like, “oh whatever, now I’m helping you since I know so it’s all good!”

Anonymous asked:

Don't Need Burrow: Similarities between Luka and Zoe were only red herring. Zoe will become Kagami's new love interest (and Kagami and Zoe's dynamic will be suspiciously similar do Fanon!Marigami)

But that would imply they care enough about LGBT rep.

Though they could always pull a Voltron and slip it in at the very end.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Marinette will suffer the toll/backlash from using multiple Miraculi ONLY for the sake of making that her Latest Mistake. Her past successes are only acknowledged as a way of painting her as arrogant for assuming she could continue doing so safely.

She’ll probably be yelled at and told not to “keep doing everything herself” even though that’s what the narrative keeps telling her to do.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow: Adrien discovers his father's secret identity and hides it... and this is painted as an act of incredible self-sacrifice rather than selfishness.  Rather than treating it as a betrayal of Ladybug/Team Miraculous, the series focuses on his angst and 'inner struggle', pretending there's something heroic about him refusing to expose Hawkmoth and potentially put an end to his terrorizing Paris.

:|

Deep breaths, Clarity.

Anonymous asked:

Didn't need burrow: Alya will get to keep her boyfriend despite her being involved with the miraculous box n stuff, unlike Marinette. Why, you ask? Easy, the bond between Luka and Mari just isn't sTrOnG eNoUgH for them to last through difficult times, like Alya and Nino do so easily.

Ignoring that Marinette and Luka only just got together and also that Marinette has it WAY different than Alya.

But no I guess. Adrien and Marinette are “made for each other” so gotta discredit Lukanette whenever. Marinette isn’t allowed to be happy, we know.

Anonymous asked:

Didn’t Need Burrow: The one time Marinette gets a break from akumas and her responsibilities all hell breaks loose and the lesson for that episode will be that Marinette and Marinette alone must carry the burden of being Ladybug and Guardian.

Marinette: *gets five minutes of sleep*

Paris: *catches on fire*

Anonymous asked:

Didn't Need Burrow (Can I do two at once?): "Crocoduel" will not acknowledge the Lukanette breakup at all, and the titular Akuma will just be Guitar Villain and Captain Hardrock again.

(You’re allowed two, absolutely!)

I’d like to add as well that, even if they do acknowledge the Lukanette breakup, Marinette will talk to Luka about it but then be like, “I’m not focusing on love right now and I’m too busy so I’m sorry for everything that happened,” even as everyone keeps pushing for the love square.

#category: salt #Didn't Need Burrow #other: ask and answer #((This was supposed to come out earlier but I've been SUPER nauseous lately.))

[malewife-darkling]

Evil Father Darkling headcanons?

So, this is assuming that Alina still grows up thinking she's an orphan as per callstolike's post

The fact that he is both Her Dad tm and Hundreds of years older than her is definitely used against Alina.

Like, "little girl", "young lady", "*miss* Alina" - all his favorite names to call her.

I feel like any Dad Darkling's attempt at parenting is him trying to heal the inner child that was hurt by Baghra. Especially Show Darkling, who when we meet him in canon obviously despises her. I like to think that he would train Alina to use her powers personally. And like, he would definitely push her to her limits, but he would also give her lots of praise. And he definitely would NOT hit her. (If he got her when she was a younger child he would probably ruin her by spoiling her rotten. Just turn her into an absolute bratty monster)

There is definitely a turf war over Alina between Baghra and Aleksander, but the Darkling has the upper hand bc he'd actually be nice yknow? I could see Baghra being nice to try and manipulate Alina to her side but honestly i think she would be worse at it than him.

The Darkling definitely tries to make her hang out with David, bc David is his Son tm and it's only right for his daughter and son to interact. I could even see him trying to encourage a relationship between David and Alina, just for getting David both as like, an Official Son, and getting that much more power over Alina by having her be with someone who is very much in the Darkling's kefta pocket. (Literally everyone but the Darkling thinks this is a bad idea, for the record. David is still clearly in love w Genya)

Zoya would deeply despise Alina like in canon, bc what is this New Girl that is taking all of Darkling's attention (no it doesn't matter that she's literally his daughter), and she'd be dropped by him in a heartbeat. Ivan would try to be nicer than he is in canon, but I imagine Alina still kind of hates him. She also doesn't understand why he's being nice to her until someone (Genya) points out "Alina he's literally dating your dad"

Alina and Fedyor adore each other. He definitely takes on a more Dad role than in canon, and I could see her being almost as close to him, or maybe even closer to him, than she is to the Darkling.

There is no way Alina would call Darkling "Dad" right away and this fact crushes him.

Alina: I mean, Mr Kirigan. Mr General Kirigan sir. Isn't there something else I could call you than... Dad? Like for now?

Darkling, holding back tears: How about P-Papa?

Alina:

Darkling, sobbing into his soup: They took you from me before you could even call me Papa, Alina

Now, the thing about Mal:

On the one hand, he fucking hates him. He is non-Grisha, he’s like dust to them, and also Mal hates Grisha and I cannot imagine him standing for his Little Girl having to deal w that 

And yet, Darkling knows the pain of having a parent push away and forbid a love interest. 

So on the one hand, he might outright forbid her from seeing Mal... but on the other hand,  I could see him allowing her to see him, but assuming they will fail bc Mal hates Grisha, and Mal is a mayfly compared to Alina. And she’ll love her Dearest Papa all the more for allowing her this choice 

So, w the way this au is structured, it would work best w Cis Darkling, just so the pregnancy would be able to be an accidental one off thing, so Alina would be able to grow up thinking she's an orphan when her mom dies

But if this was trans Dad Darkling, there are a few spicy possibilities:

I can't see him ever willingly carrying a baby to term himself, bc it would leave him way too vulnerable. Like, I could possible see him willing to as part of some Grand Design for Grisha Good (a Noble Sacrifice, if u will) but not until Grisha are safer

So, this would have to be a very planned pregnancy. Im thinking he could do something with merzost to create the equivalent of a magical bone marrow pregnancy. He either Loves This Person Very Much or this Mom is a Very Powerful Grisha)

But during her pregnancy, two things could happen: either the mom is kidnapped... or the mom runs away. Im leaning towards runs away, for the drama of it all. Maybe something like in canon, where Baghra gives the mom cold feet (reveals the darkling's past, reveals his plans for her child), and so Mom flees to the middle of nowhere (maybe she stays in Ravka bc she figures Darkling will think she fled him for Shu Han?)

Trans Darkling would also use the fact that Baghra is transphobic towards him to his favor. "You know that she likes to lie about me, to spread such nasty rumors about me Alina. You have to take what she says with a grain of salt"

"Baghra humiliated me in front of everyone at the last winter fete, do you really think she's above using her own granddaughter to hurt her son?"

Dad Darkling would still want to use the stag on her, but I can see him bringing up the idea early on. Especially since in this au he’s her mentor-dad, so having a strong, capable Grisha guiding her power would make a lot of sense to her. He could even have her think she was agreeing to it of her own volition.

Or he could even float his idea of using the fold as a weapon to her, and get her in on his plan. He would spin some lie about his wife being kidnapped by Fjerdans or Shu (or maybe he himself thinks she was kidnapped and didn’t leave of her own volition) 

------------------

Anyways thats my thoughts on this au for now. I probably have more. Thank u anon this was so much fun to answer 

#ask #dad darkling daughter alina au #long post #shadow and bone #the darkling #aleksander morozova #alina starkov #baghra morozova #this is kind of cursed im sorry #transphobia cw

[onlyganymede]

Wedding Band

Wow! First time doing an LBSC sprint challenge... 

I picked the prompt “Tan lines”, and I literally just finished editing and sprinting (I did all three rounds in one go) right now. 

Also on ao3. @lovebugs-and-snakecharmers

Marinette brushed her fringe out of the way. She was sweating, trying to pry open boxes and lift things and just be helpful. Mylène and Ivan had just moved into a new house, and while several people had agreed to help them move in, it turns out that most of them had meant that they were willing to throw a housewarming party. As for the actual moving in part—Marinette appeared to be the only one, outside of Mylène’s stoic cousin and two of Ivan’s coworkers from his fancy new job. She didn’t envy his city planning, or civil engineering, or whatever it was that he was doing. But she supposed a friendly work environment was something she was a little jealous of.

She worked to heave another large box inside from Mylène’s car (it had a lot of trunk space), and satisfied herself that she hadn’t been left with all of the easy stuff. She may be small, but she could pack quite a punch. She could lift stuff. Size was no indicator of Marinette Dupain-Cheng’s strength.

“Marinette! I’d like that over in here!” Ivan called from the next room over.

“Sure thing,” she said, walking carefully until she saw him and he relieved her arms of the box’s burden.

He set down the box and sighed, looking about. Ivan looked happy. She was glad. Moving out of the Paris city proper was nothing to scoff at. A quieter life had always seemed to suit the pair.

“How about some water? Or other refreshment? I’ve got beer, popsicles…” Ivan led her to the kitchen, where indeed the fridge was sparsely stocked with only  beverage and frozen treats.

“I’ll have a popsicle.”

Ivan handed her one, red, sure to be strawberry or cherry or something that wouldn’t be fruity so much as color, and she unwrapped it. He ducked out to go offer to everyone else, since they were working out how to get the washer and dryer through the doorway, and he thought they deserved a break too.

Marinette had just achieved a brain freeze when both Mylène and Ivan squealed in delight.

“Jules! Luka! So good of you to come!” Marinette heard Mylène say.

“Oomph!” That was Luka, probably receiving a bone-crushing hug from the hostess.

Juleka ducked into the kitchen with Ivan and Mylène’s stoic cousin, her eyebrows briefly flickering up in surprise to see Marinette there, sucking languidly on a popsicle.

“Hi Marinette. Long time no see,” she greeted.

Marinette nodded, swallowing. “Nice to see you too! How’s, y’know, life?” She gestured vaguely.

Ivan handed Juleka a beer, and cracked one open for himself as the stoic cousin filled a cup with tap water from the sink.

“Oh it’s been great. Rose and I, we’re in Germany now, but we’re planning on moving to Amsterdam next spring.” Juleka gave her a sideways glance. “Did you know she’s planning on proposing to me?”

Marinette shook her head no. “She’s seemed the type to do it, but I haven’t really been great at keeping in touch.”

Juleka smiled, taking a swig of her beer. “Little does she know I’ve also been plotting something.”

Luka walked in, Mylène in tow. “What’re you plotting, Jules?” His eyes locked on Marinette’s, and his expression seemed to flicker. “Hey, Marinette, how are you?”

That was decidedly less energetic than his conversation with Mylène had been, more uncertain, something like calm, but she’d take it.

Juleka pointedly ignored Luka to sidle up to Mylène instead.

“Oh, good. You know, designing career is picking up, and all of that. You?”

Marinette was distantly aware of the way the popsicle was melting down her fingers, and was grateful when Mylène suddenly opened the back porch door, and some of the party filtered out. She followed, Luka at her side.

His hair was wet, and his clothes were damp. But he didn’t smell of sweat like her. Nor of river water, as she might expect from his life on the houseboat. It was chlorine.

“I’ve been catching shifts as a lifeguard,” he explained. “Sorry about the pool smell.”

“It’s alright,” Marinette said. Another wave of brain freeze hit, and she with drew the popsicle, which had her fingers and lips a sticky red mess. This was terrible. She was a disaster, unable to even eat properly.

Luka got handed a beer, and then another, as Ivan made his rounds. One for him, one for her. This break was determined to be longer than ten minutes. Marinette didn’t mind. The day was warm and the company was good.

She was fine, seeing Luka now. Until she glanced at his hand, the one holding her beer for when she was done with her messy popsicle, and saw his ring finger. Somewhere in Luka’s work as a lifeguard, he had probably gotten his tan, that was to be expected. But here… there were tan lines around where a wedding band should be. Where one apparently did sit, if Luka wasn’t in the pool or about to help lift heavy objects.

So much for reconnecting. Marinette had always hoped that one day, she’d see him again, and that one day, she’d be able to work up the nerve to flirt, to take chances.

“You good?” He asked, aware that her mind had gone elsewhere.

“Oh! Yeah, I’m fine. You know how it is! Brain freezes!” Marinette defended.

Luka’s eyes only sparkled with mirth. “Right, right.”

“Um, if you don’t mind my asking,” Marinette bit down on the popsicle this time, and quickly licked up the trails of red juice before continuing, “who…?” She indicated the tan lines. The spot where his wedding band should’ve been.

“Who…?” Luka’s brow was furrowed, not processing. She knew he wasn’t teasing, Luka never would. Marinette was about to clarify, to tell him that she didn’t know he was married, when—

“Oh. Oh!” Luka exclaimed, coming to the realization about what she was asking. “I’m not actually married,” his cheeks grew warm, “it’s just that sometimes when I’ve been on tour, the attention just gets to be a bit much, and so I bought myself a cheap ring to wear. People can’t tell it isn’t legit, and I guess it just became a part of me.” He looked at his finger, holding onto her beer and his, inspecting the tanned skin on either side of the band of white.

“Ah.” Marinette didn’t know what to say, other than she had jumped to a conclusion, again.

“Hey Ivan!” One of Ivan’s coworkers called. “We got the machines in, and we need to know where the laundry plumbing is so we can help you hook them up.”

Ivan walked back in the house, and Mylène took that as a cue to guide Juleka back in too. The stoic cousin had already vanished back inside either to help move the machines or for more tap water.

Just Luka and Marinette, outside and alone.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you think—” Luka started, as Marinette said:

“I just wondered because I—”

They both looked at each other, sheepish, and started to laugh.

Marinette’s popsicle was practically slush at this point, and Luka guided her back inside so he could set down the beers and turn on the kitchen sink for her to wash her hands. Her face burned as she watched him pluck the popsicle stick from her fingers, eat the rest off, and throw it away, all with a grin aimed in her direction.

“You first,” Luka said.

Marinette dried her hands, and then folded the towel back up nicely. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I haven’t seen you in a while, and so, well, I’m really glad you aren’t married.”

Luka clearly hadn’t been expecting that, but maybe he had been hoping, just like her.

“I am glad too. I’m sorry you thought that, even for a moment. I never expected you to wait for me or anything, but I’m glad to be available when you are.”

Marinette smiled at him. “Me too. Maybe you want to grab a bite with me when we’re done here and catch me up on your studio work?”

“I’d love to,” Luka smiled back, opening her beer and then his. He touched his bottle to hers in cheers.

“And maybe if things go well that tan line won’t have to go away?” Marinette asked in one breath, rushed words blending together.

Luka almost choked on his drink, grinning again. “I didn’t know you had been pining that badly!”

“Luka! Don’t tease!” But Marinette, too, was grinning like a fool.

#lukanette #luka couffaine #marinette dupain-cheng #lukanette endgame #Pro Lukamari #lbsc sprint challenge #prompt: tan lines #onlyganymede #wedding band

[qqueenofhades]

I am loving all the Fivan fics. Thank you! I feel like we may now need some good old fashion Fivan hook up. If you’re in the “mood.” Get it? Mood? See what I did there? :)

An excellent idea. So let's have some "yay I survived my interview!" smut. Below the cut for sexy, very NSFW reasons.

The moment he locks eyes with his husband across the dusty, noisy courtyard, crowded fit to bursting with otkazat’sya, Heartrenders, Healers, Fabrikators, Durasts, Squallers, Inferni, horses, pack animals, wagons, and the other detritus of the battalions finally returning from six months on the Fjerdan frontlines, Fedyor Kaminsky knows for an unassailable fact that they are not going to make it to the bedroom. He has been going out of his mind, even if he has been diligently focused on the equally important duty (or so he tells himself) of serving as a guard for the Grisha examiners traveling around the country, providing support for the supply lines to Shu Han, and otherwise trying not to think about the fact that this is the longest they have been separated since they got married. Fedyor is a good soldier, and a loyal servant. He has done his job exceptionally well, and so, off in the godforsaken frozen wastes of Tsibeya, has Ivan. But right now, in a crowd of thousands, the only thing the two of them can hear is each other’s heartbeats, and all they can see is their life.

Fedyor raises a hand, as if he actually needs to do this to let Ivan know that he’s there. Ivan glances at him, shucking his fur hat and ripping open the buttons on his black-embroidered red kefta, now that they’re back in the safety of the Little Palace and don’t have to worry about gunfire. Ivan, curse his contrary northern heart, then turns away to discuss something with the equally dusty general, as if Kirigan didn’t have all that damn time on the road. Fedyor wonders how much trouble he would get into, exactly, if he murdered his commanding officer. Or maybe just gave him a minor heart attack.

It probably only takes a few minutes, though it feels like forever to Fedyor. He is, he likes to think, normally a patient man, but not when he hasn’t seen Ivan for six months and is standing a dozen yards away with a hundred other people and not yet able to touch him. Finally he catches Ivan’s eye again, affects a nonchalant shrug, and turns to leave the courtyard, as if to signal that if Ivan would like to catch up, he should really get on it. Nothing to Fedyor himself, though. He has important things to do elsewhere, do svidaniya.

To Fedyor’s entirely unqualified smug delight, it takes barely thirty seconds until he hears the sound of pounding boots running up at full speed behind him, and breathes a strong smell of horse, sweat, and unwashed Heartrender. That part he is less thrilled about, but in the next instant, a pair of fiercely strong arms are around his waist, he is being pushed into the nearest room with a door that closes and locks, and Ivan growls into his mouth, “You are a little bastard, Fedya.”

Fedyor would answer, but he’s currently too busy making out with Ivan like their lives depend on it, their hands pulling and clutching and seizing fistfuls of each other, the usual desperate ritual that they have to perform after a lengthy separation, checking that everything is real and right and good. Ivan only pulls back long enough to start feverishly unbuttoning Fedyor’s kefta, and the reinforced material hits the floor with an authoritative thump. Fedyor then dives in to take his turn, except Ivan clearly thinks he’s going too slowly, and pulls it off over his head himself, which is not as easy as it looks. Underneath, he’s wearing only his linen undertunic, and then he shucks that too.

Fedyor lets his eyes roam luxuriously over the hard muscles of Ivan’s torso, searching for the subterranean lines of new scars. He can always tell when they’re there, even when the Healers have smoothed them away. He shrugs out of his own tunic, as Ivan has already started on the lacing of his trousers. He accomplishes the necessary revisions, then grabs hold of Fedyor and walks him straight to the nearest flat surface, which as it happens is a wall. A nice wall as walls go – it’s covered with a thick, soft tapestry of someone who appears to be Sankt Vladimir, who is about to get one hell of an eyeful that is probably not at all Saint-appropriate – but still a wall. Fedyor bites a grin, then pants, “Really, Vanya? Can’t even make it to a divan?”

“You want to go find a damn divan?” Ivan, distracted from his frenzy of lust just long enough to (barely) form words, looks vastly irritated. “Or do you want me to fuck you now?”

“I wasn’t aware it was an either/or – ah – situation.” Fedyor gets cut off as Ivan lunges in for another growly, possessive kiss, his big, callused hands clamping firm hold of Fedyor’s hips. They make out with luxurious sloppiness for another minute or two, but Fedyor can’t really wait much longer either. He fumbles for the laces of his own breeches, slipping them off his waist and kicking them free of his feet, as Ivan digs in the pocket of his fallen kefta for the small vial of oil he keeps there. (It’s usually for saddle leather, but it does also have additional purposes.) He flicks it expertly open with one thumb, pours in a palmful, and rubs his hands together to warm them up. Then he grabs Fedyor and pulls him close, slicks them both, and murmurs something incoherent against the back of his neck. Asking, as he still does despite the almost-decade they have been together, for permission.

“Saints,” Fedyor pants, pressing himself back against Ivan with desperate, starving need. “What do you think, you utter blockhead?”

He feels Ivan smile, the rough curve of his mouth against the tender nape of Fedyor’s neck, the scratch of the unshaven stubble on his chin. He takes a better grip on Fedyor’s hips, his knees sliding between Fedyor’s thighs to push them apart, and eases into him. Slowly at first, carefully. Then, all at once, almost savagely, to the hilt.

Fedyor hisses, moans, clutching ragged fistfuls of the tapestry in order to keep his balance, as Ivan presses against him and then into him at full length, joining their bodies in raw and naked and utterly intimate communion. Ivan bites the back of Fedyor’s shoulder and swears again, and Fedyor wriggles his hips to ease the fit, as one of Ivan’s oil-slick hands slips down between them to be sure. Then he reaches up again and clamps his hands over Fedyor’s where they grip the tapestry, crushing their knuckles together with almost bruising force. Then he thrusts with his full strength, pinning Fedyor flat against the wall, and both of them gasp.

Their mental connection, their utter attunement to the other’s heartbeat and body and breath and bone and space, doubles the pleasure like an amplifier, so they feel both their own ecstasy and each other’s, shared and reflected back and magnified until it’s no longer possible to tell which sensation belongs to who. Fedyor is himself, with Ivan inside him, and he is also Ivan inside Fedyor, and he is something both and neither, and whatever prayer he is mouthing now is one that even Sankt Vladimir has never heard. It is heat and hardness and madness, soft for a moment or two and then rough again, delightful, claiming, possibly only between two lovers who know each other as intimately and trust each other as thoroughly as they do. Ivan is hitting the sweet spot in him, over and over until Fedyor thinks his own heart will burst sooner than stand it. Then Ivan’s hands let go of his and grab his waist again, dragging him as close as can be managed as they both lose their minds, and then the rest of them. Fedyor loses his grip on the tapestry and slides down it to the floor.

They remain where they are, breathing wildly, entangled, Ivan still halfway inside him, slick with sweat and having utterly desecrated this nice drawing room that some unsuspecting Grisha will walk into later completely oblivious as to what it has just hosted. Then they hear an imperious voice in the corridor outside. “Ivan? Ivan!”

Saints absolutely strike him dead, it is the general. Even in his dazed post-coital haze, Fedyor is perfectly capable of wishing for it. How the hell has Aleksander bloody Kirigan not had enough time to talk to Ivan already? They’ve been on campaign together for half a year!

The footsteps come closer. “Ivan? Are you in here?”

Swearing for a rather different reason, Ivan pulls away from Fedyor, making both of them moan, and scrambles across the floor on all fours, frantically trying to get dressed before Kirigan barges in without knocking, as he has a bad habit of doing. (When you’re the Black General and this entire palace is your personal fiefdom, why would you bother?) Fedyor likewise does his best to grope wildly for his discarded clothing, but has only managed to lace himself back into his breeches and pull on his under-tunic before the door opens. “Ivan! I need you to check the requisitions for that last – ”

At that, Kirigan stops short, taking in their state of barely-habiliment, Fedyor’s mildly murderous smile, and Ivan’s painfully studied nonchalance. His eyes flick them up and down. “Mr. Kaminsky,” he says. “I’m glad to see you’re welcoming Ivan home?”

“Yes, sir,” Fedyor says, his smile now even more fixed. “Absolutely, sir.”

Kirigan’s dark gaze surveys them again, even as his face remains unreadable. Then he clears his throat and coughs delicately. “The requisitions can wait until after supper,” he says. “Presuming that you make it. Good day.”

(Fedyor and Ivan do not, very decidedly, make it to supper.)

#ivan x fedyor #heartrender husbands #fivan #anonymous #ask #fivan ff

[verfound]

WIPWed: Festering Folder Edition: Legally Blonde AU

@mintaka14 asked about the Legally Blonde AU, which the Disco witnessed the birth of and was briefly mentioned in the notes for "Move Like Jagged". So. Yeah. This is the latest crack AU I've been working on. 😂

See, for my last project for those unit classes I had to take for work, I was talking about different reasons conflict can pop up in your kitchen and how to deal with them. And one of the ways to deal with conflict is by staying positive - you can't control what other people do/what happens, but you can control how you react to it. And that got "Positive" from the Legally Blonde musical in my head, which got me thinking who would be who in a LB AU, and...it all just ran away from me so hard. We have a Plunny Adoption channel in the Disco, and I dropped it there because I did not want another WIP, and the next thing I knew I was 1700 words into the Bend & Snap scene and no one else had adopted the plunny come on guys. 😂

So. Yeah. This is happening. I'm maybe a third of the way through the outline with about three scenes fully written out. 😂

The setup: Marinette is an aspiring fashion designer in her senior year at UCLA. Her life is all set up: she's going to graduate and marry her perfect boyfriend Adrien Agreste, who's on his way to becoming a lawyer and future president of the United States. Everything's perfect until he suddenly dumps her, claiming he needs someone more serious. He moves back out East to start at Harvard in the fall, where he's now dating childhood friend and fellow Snobby Harvard Girl Kagami Tsurugi. Marinette realizes that if she's gonna get her man back, she's got to be someone serious, too - someone lawerly! Someone who wears black when nobody's dead! So Marinette follows him out to Harvard, where she's...let's face it. The laughing stock of the school. But with a little determination (and the help of her super sweet TA Luka Couffaine, who's convinced she's not as Dumb as the others paint her) she's going to show everyone she belongs there - and win her Adrien back in the process!

So Marinette's Elle, Adrien is Warner, Kagami is Vivian, and Luka is Emmett. I'm putting Gabriel as Callahan, with the idea that part of the pressure on Adrien is that his father is this super successful lawyer & professor at Harvard who's expecting him to follow in his footsteps. (Also there's a line in the finale of the musical that says "Warner quit / Says he makes more modeling anyhow!", so while he's at UCLA I have Adrien modeling on the side and he totally goes back to it. 😂) Mylène is Paulette and Ivan is Kyle (the UPS guy). Rose and Alya are Marinette's Delta Nu sisters/best friends, and Juleka is still Luka's sister; Rose and Alya come out and the end to cheer Marinette on at the final trial, where Rose and Juleka meet.

Jagged is Brooke. He's being accused of murdering Bob Roth, his former label owner. He's innocent, but he refuses to give Gabriel his alibi (he was...getting...botox). He was Marinette's neighbor back in LA, and she designed his favorite leather jacket - so he freaks when Marinette walks in with his Estranged Son as part of his legal team. Luka and Jagged have a...tenuous relationship. Jagged is Luka's father, and Luka used to love music/want to be a rocker. He toured with Jagged for a year or two when he was younger as his opening act, but it really disillusioned Luka to the Music Scene. So he ended up pursuing law (thinking he could get into the legal side of things, and Anarka's always in and out of jail anyway so she'll need a good lawyer?), and finds out he's good at it & really enjoys it? It wasn't the career he thought he'd have, but he's happy.

I'm still kicking stuff around & writing the outline, but that's the bare-bones. 😂 And as much as I love the LB movie, the musical is one of my favorites. There's...guh ok I'm not gonna start gushing on how perfect the musical is bc we'll be here all day. 😂 But it is absolutely perfect, and this AU is going to be a blend of the movie and the musical.

Case in point: the song "Take It Like A Man", where Elle repays Emmett by giving him a makeover. It's the scene where Emmett realizes he's fallen in love with Elle and absolutely adorable ("God, I love shopping for guys - watching them change right before my eyes!" "...stop watching me change.").

As for a scene y'all haven't seen yet...I think you've seen a handful of sentences from this one? It's all new for Tumblr, but I think I shared a few sentences on the Disco. 😂

“Hey, Luka, what are you doing tonight?”

Luka looked up, his eyebrows lifting at the smile Marinette was giving him. Her chin was propped in her hand, her eyes looking over him like…well, a little like she was undressing him, if he was honest, and he wasn’t entirely sure how he felt about that.

“Er…prepping for tomorrow?” he hazarded. “Big day in court? Opening statements? Have to make sure we’re ready so my dad doesn’t swing.”

She rolled her eyes, and then she rolled her chair over to his. He jumped when she laid her hands over his.

“You’re ready,” she said. She squeezed his hand, and he swallowed thickly as she continued to look at him like that. Why did his throat suddenly feel so dry? “Can we go somewhere? I…I want to do something. To thank you. For…everything, really. Please?”

“You don’t need to thank me, Marinette,” he said, wondering what exactly she had in mind. Maybe dinner? He was getting kind of hungry, and he’d be lying if he said he wouldn’t mind spending more time with her away from the law books…

“I do, though, Luka,” she said earnestly, squeezing his hand again. “You…you’re the only one who’s believed in me this entire time. You’ve done so much to help me, and…I just wanted to do something for you, too.” She took his hand and held it to her chest, pouting her lips and batting her eyes at him, and when had the heat kicked in? It was almost May – it shouldn’t be so hot in the old, draft library! “Please?”

“I…um…ok?” he finally squawked out. He cleared his throat when she hit him full-force with her mega-watt smile, hoping his face wasn’t as red as it felt as she squeezed his hand tighter. She gave an excited little squeal-giggle-bounce that had him smiling fondly. “What…what did you have in mind?”

“Well,” she said, releasing his hand and turning towards the table. She began gathering the files they’d scattered over the surface, tidying up. “You know I used to want to be a designer – you’ve heard Jagged go off about that coat.”

“His little frock star,” Luka snickered, and she gave him an exasperated little smile.

“If I had the time, I’d love to design you something,” she said, tapping the folders against the table to straighten them, She turned to him, hands on her hips. “But given we need you ready by tomorrow, that’s not possible. So, Luka Couffaine, I am going to give you…a makeover.”

That…was definitely not what he’d been expecting.

“Er…thanks?” he asked, because by the little hitch in his voice he was definitely asking, because he was definitely confused. A…makeover? But…why? Her expression fell a little, and he coughed as he reached up to loosen his tie. “I mean…it’s just…I didn’t think I needed one?”

And I was kind of hoping you’d suggest dinner?

“Luka,” she sighed, still exasperated. She grabbed his hands and hauled him to his feet before dragging him over to the fireplace. She gestured to the mirror sitting above the mantle, where he could clearly see his…ok, yeah, he looked a little disheveled, but they’d been in the library all day! He was expected to look rumpled! “Look at yourself.”

“I am,” he said, trying not to sound offended. She smoothed her hands over his shoulders, trying (unsuccessfully) to even out the wrinkles in his shirt. He tried to ignore the shiver that wanted to race up his spine at her touch. Focus, Couffaine, he thought. She sighed, turning him towards her, eyeing his clothes rather critically.

“Luka, you know I adore you,” she said, and he tried to ignore the way that made his stomach flutter, “but look at you. This is a high-profile, celebrity case. It’s going to be televised, and you’re going to show up looking like your only suit came from a Goodwill?”

“Hey,” he protested, weakly. He could feel the heat rising on his cheeks again. He looked at the floor and rubbed the back of his neck. “I have two suits, thank you very much, and only one came from Goodwill.”

He glanced up at her to find she had lifted one of those perfectly sculpted brows at him, and he grinned sheepishly before adding: “…the other came from Salvation Army.”

“Luka!” she laughed, squeezing his arms, and his grin warmed into a smile. He liked making her laugh like that. He… “That’s my point, you dork!”

Her laughter petered off, and she started fiddling with his tie. He glanced down at his outfit and tried to see her point, but he honestly thought he looked fine? Rumpled, sure, but that wasn’t anything a good tumble in the dryer or some ironing couldn’t fix. The gray slacks weren’t bad, and the white dress shirt with the thin, dark blue check matched his dark blue tie. Sure, his shoes were a little scuffed, but no one was going to be looking at his shoes. Marinette sighed again, and he looked back up at her.

“Luka, do you remember what I told you I did? Back at UCLA?” she asked. He nodded.

“You had a 4.0 in fashion merchandising,” he said, making her smile. “You wanted to design clothes.”

“So let’s just say this is something I’m actually good at,” she teased, and he frowned as he reached up to lay a hand over one of hers. He squeezed, making her look up at him.

“Hey…you’re good at this, Marinette,” he said. Her smile said she didn’t believe him, so he squeezed her hand tighter. “I mean it, Marinette. I may have helped you study, but all of this was you. You got Agreste’s internship all on your own. You went from the bottom to top of your class on your own. You put the work in, Marinette. You’re so incredibly smart, and you’ve got this…this…gift. You see things others don’t. You aregood at this.”

He wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting, but it certainly wasn’t for Marinette to throw herself at him in a bone-crushing hug. He stood there for a moment, dazed, but before he could move or think or respond she was already pulling away and wiping at misty eyes. She smiled up at him, and he wondered if it would be ok if he hugged her again. He kind of felt cheated out of the last one.

“Thank you, Luka,” she said, shaking her head to clear it. “Ugh, ok, but seriously! This is what I was originally good at – so let me shine, ok? Look. You’re good at this, too. You’re such a talented lawyer, and if Agreste gives you half the chance you’re going to blow them away in court – but no one’s going to be thinking about how brilliant you are if you show up looking like a bum. Luka, it’s…it’s me showing up to a costume party dressed like a bunny!”

He blinked at her, remembering all too well that night he’d bumped into her at the bookstore and she was dressed in nothing more than a one piece, bunny ears, and tail.

“The look is half the fight,” she said, taking his hands in her own. “Don’t give them a reason to judge you just because your shoes are old. Please? Let me buy you a suit. Let me do this for you, Luka.”

He still didn’t get it – not really, if he was perfectly honest – but when she looked at him like that…

“…ok,” he said, and the smile and second hug she gave him made it all worth it.

#miraculous ladybug #luka couffaine #marinette dupain-cheng #lukanette #endgame lukanette #lukanette endgame #wip wednesday #wip wendesday: festering folder edition #legally blonde au #lukanette legally blonde au #y'all know how this story ends #it may get an adrienette tag #but they're never endgame round here #I don't know if you've noticed before #but each time adrien walks through the door #your IQ drops down to 40 #maybe less #I've been smiling and sweet an thoroughly beaten blowing my chance #let's not chase 'em away let's face 'em and say #HEY PUNK LET'S DANCE #I'm so excited for this one #mintaka14

[lady-bugginette]

Rose Painted Glasses (A Lila Exposed Fic)

First Next

Inspired by @chatonbean post. 

The first part is by another lovely user by the name of @time-is-a-pain. This is their original post here.

The part after this one, that I will make sure is indicated, is by another amazing user @lenoreofraven. Their original post is also here. Their entry is after the cut.

I want to quickly thank both of the amazing people above for letting me use their additions for setting up this fic. It is very much a collaborative effort between many talented writers, I cannot take entire credit for this. 😏

time-is-a-pain’s entry:

Nathaniel had noticed lately that a bunch of the art Lila claimed as hers were in wildly different styles. At first he tried to rationalize it, maybe she’d been branching out style-wise? Maybe she hadn’t actually found her own style yet? 

It got much harder to rationalize away the differences when he caught a glimpse of an oddly colored part of a background. Only a shade or two off, but it was there. And it looked like it might cover a signature? Now that he was thinking about it, only a few of the art Lila had shown the class had a signature.

It was harder, but it was Lila. They’d talked a lot about how horrible it felt to have your hard work stolen like that. She wouldn’t steal from anyone. Right?

Nathaniel shuddered, he hated the idea that someone would try claiming his work as their own. He made extra sure that his signature was on the picture, and would be hard to cover when he posted it to insta. H was proud of it, and no art thief would stop that.

And he was right to be proud. It quickly became one of his most popular posts. So when he got to school on Monday. and saw Lila showing off his work, he snapped at her.

Of course, most of the class took Lila’s side. But when Alix and Marinette got there, and saw what was happening, they took his side immediately.

“How can you prove it’s yours?” Kim asked. 

A chorus of agreement swept through the room. Nathaniel took a deep breath, his hands were trembling, and pulled out his sketchbook. Flipping to the right page, he stalked over to Lila’s desk, and slammed the book down in front of her.

There it was. The original sketch. Clear in view of the whole class. Nathaniel’s work.

Lila peeked out from behind her fingers when the class went deathly silent, and Alya pulled away from her. 

“How many others?” Nathaniel asked quietly, watching the panic appear, and get locked behind Lila’s mask. “Were any of them actually yours?” 

lenoreofraven’s entry:

“How could you say that? How could you do this? After all the conversations we had about art theft.” Lila exclaimed back, trying to extinguish the doubt in the eyes of  those that watched her. Not everyone was convinced. Alix stood by Nathaniel, trying her best to offer support. While Adrien gently touched Marinette’s wrist, as if signaling for her to stay back.

It was obvious Lila couldn’t win these artists over, artists who have had their work stolen. Instead her eyes settled to Ivan, Rose and Juleka. After the situation with XY, they were fuming the moment the accusation touched the air. It was their weak spot really. Took any logic they may have away.

“You said you wanted me to do a quick sketch, and lent me your notebook as I had left my tablet at home. Then you do this to me?” 

“Lila just stop it.” Marinette growled, but she wasn’t the audience for this little stunt. Lila could claim they were in France, and Marinette would check google maps to make sure they hadn’t moved. This was about everyone. 

Even Adrien, who glared at her from Marinette’s side, was part of the intended audience. As he could make, or break, her reputation if he so desired. Considering how Ivan responded to the demand. perhaps, just possibly, she could deal with two birds at once. Use this as Marinette was an expert on plagiarism, and if she picked the wrong side it could be ruin for her.

“Stop what? Trying to take credit for my own work? I know you don’t like me much, but do you honestly condone this? I thought you would be the first person to support the victim of art theft.” Marinette just looked back with a blank stare, not even humoring the accusation with a response.

All eyes were still on Lila and Nathaniel. Not ideal, but it could be managed. It was the wrong time for crocodile tears. Her eyes scanned the work again. When she had erased the signature from the upload she had been careful, after this she would start adding her own sign. For now she just needed proof. This was a draft, not the official upload. She just needed something.

“Maybe I have been experimenting with styles a bit, but this is mine. See, there’s an L, as in Lila. I made it subtle so it couldn’t be erased, like how you stitch your name into designs in clever ways, Marinette.” Lila explained, pointing at something that could be an L, but was just as likely to be miscellaneous lines. Alya, Sabrina, and a few others that were still on the fence squinted at it, tilting their heads to try and see it. The members of Kitty Section instantly took it as fact. Max, Alix and a few doubters all shook their heads, realizing the stretch.

Nathaniel glared back at her.

“That’s not an L. That’s just lines. I don’t erase signatures like some people because if you look on my insta it clearly had my signature, matches all my other work, and is clearly mine!”

“Then you must have added it. We all know how disrespectful you can be of other’s art.” Lila remarked, as she flinched away from Nathaniel. She made it as dramatic as possible, acting as if the artist would hit her. 

“LILA!” Snapped Alix, not sparing any notice for Ivan, who now stood as a shield for Lila.

Lila simply sighed with a shake of her head, moving slightly to the side so she could be seen, but Ivan still acted like a bodyguard.

“I know Marc didn’t want to mention it, but that couldn’t have been easy to witness. I don’t know what happened, I wasn’t here for it, but I do know you tore apart someone’s journal. I can’t imagine anyone doing that. It’s cruel. Sure you’re friends and have made up, now working on the comic, but doing that to someone’s notebook? I’d rather eat glass than have my precious sketchpads or notebooks damaged in anyway. I’m just saying, someone who does that may be the type of person to disrespect other people’s art.”

My entry:

Nathaniel flinched back, looking at the others in class. Rose and Juleka glared at him while Ivan stood in front of Lila, unmoving.

“How dare you!” Alix started toward Lila only to be held back by Kim. Max frowned at Lila while adjusting his glasses, he looked at the drawing again, and looked between Lila and Nathaniel.

“Don’t you dare talk about something you have no idea about- You Snake!”

Lila smiled her condescending smile at her opposers.

“It’s not my fault he caused an akuma because of his jealousy. I know he was angry with-”

Alix made another lunge for her, Kim had to quickly catch her body from the air before she could attack the other girl.

Marinette was fuming, she was burning with rage. Her face was slowly turning red, before she suddenly took out her phone. 

Adrien looked concerned. He could feel the heat coming off of her body. He looked to the windows, and the classroom door, fro any akumas. He knew it needed to be resolved, and fast. Rose and Juleka were yelling in defense of Lila, while Alix was screaming in defense of Nathaniel. Lila was still ‘cowering’ behind Ivan, and Nathaniel looked like he was on the verge of becoming another akuma. Adrien was about to speak up when someone else did.

“Actually-” A voice broke through the yells of the classroom. Alya looked uncomfortable, with Nino standing, just as uncomfortable, next to her.

Lila looked triumphant, she knew Alya would be on her side. She sent a smug look at the oposing group, one that earned a glare from Nathaniel, a growl from Marinette, and a lunge from Alix, again. 

Nino stepped forward, his expression placating.

“All we have to do is see where Nathaniel says his signature is, and see if the spot was altered on the photo posted to both accounts.”

The request seemed reasonable, if the nodding heads of the other classmates were anything to go by, if it weren’t all a lie.

Lila started crying her crocodile tears, lip wobbling at the pair closest to the door.

“Y-You don’t believe me?” She sniffed as Rose comforted her, and Juleka glared at them.

“Not at all!” Alya walked up, her hands waving in front of her.

“We’re not accusing anyone.” Nino clarified. 

“We’re just comparing the pictures, that’s all!” Alya hastened to add.

Lila didn’t look happy at all, but Rose was already pulling up the picture on Lila’s instagram. Marinette doing the same on her phone of Nathaniel’s instagram.

They both laid out their phones on a desk for everyone to compare. Max was looking at the two closely, as well as his own phone.

“Oh Marinette, that’s a screenshot.” Max pointed out. 

Lila smiled through her tears, sure that she could convince the class that she edited the photo for Nathaniel, because he accused her that one time too. 

“Oh, my bad” She said in a falsely sweet voice, something was up.

“Here. Oh!” She made it look like she was backing out of her photo gallery, when she just swiped over, and let the class see another piece of art work.

“Hey! That looks like one of Lila’s pictures!” Rose, oh so helpfully, pointed out. And it was, one of the ones she posted to her instagram anyway. 

“Oh but that’s from this artist. See? I screenshoted it when they posted it, two weeks ago. See?”

They looked closer, and sure enough the artist posted it two weeks before, They looked at the same picture on Lila’s instagram that she claimed she finished two days prior. With a suspicious bloch where the other artists signature was was on their post.

Max pulled back, pushed his glasses back up, and nodded.

��Yup. That picture is the original, you can see the watermark. And the convenient spot that covered the watermark from the original picture, right there on Lila’s instagram.” Rose and Juleka looked at her, confused. Ivan turned around, looking for answers as well. Before Lila could get a word in Marinette took that moment to completely pounce.

“Oh, but what about these pictures? Do they also have erased watermarks, because they look an awful like the other artists I follow that have had their work stolen from them too.”

Alya and Max descended on the photos like vultures on a carcass, picking apart every screenshot in Marinette’s phone, and every post Lila had made on her instagram with Rose’s phone.

Rose didn’t protest as the hovered over her phone, she looked at Lila with tears in her eyes.

“Is it true? Did-Did you s-steal them?” Juleka wrapped her arm around her shoulder, but gave a hesitant glance to Lila. Ivan looked lost, Mylene currently being out sick, he didn’t know who to side with.

Kim didn’t have to hold Alix back, she stood back on her won. Her arms crossed, and a smug look on her face, she knew Lila had been caught. She gave a smile to Marinette, who gave a thumbs up in return. Nathaniel looked relieved, he also gave Marinette a grateful smile that she returned.

Lila knew she was losing her hold. She looked to Adrien, but he was busy looking (out for akumas) around the room.

She had to play her ace in the hole.

She burst into tears, sobbing.

“I-I’m so sick of this lying disease!” 

The others looked at her confused.

Alix snorted.

“Yeah, you are lying, and you are a disease.” Kim elbowed her for that, but he didn’t say anything. 

Lila had to move fast.

“I w-was going to take them down. B-But I really do like the pictures. I h-had no idea they had b-been stolen b-by those artists-”

“That doesn’t explain the watermarks!” Alix cut across.

“I didn’t steal them! Someone else did! I-I got permission f-from whoever stole the art f-first. A-and-” She hastened to add when she saw that Alix and Marinette were about to interrupt her.

“A-and I couldn’t help but put that I drew them, because of my lying disease! R-Remember?” Marinette looked enraged, Alix and Nathaniel looked at her in disbelief. Max also looked skeptical. 

“L-lying disease?” Rose asked tentatively. Lila nodded.

“Yes! R-Remember? W-When I accidentally got Marinette expelled.” At the memory being brought up, Marinette’s face darkened further, Adrien looked uncomfortable, and Alix and Nathaniel shared a look of realization.

“I didn’t mean to get her expelled! It was my disease! It acts up during times of stress! And with all of the charities I help with, and my disabilities, I get too stressed out and start lying again!” She looked to Alya, who looked like she was almost convinced. Nino was looking to Alya. Rose, Juleka, and Ivam were firmly back on her side again.

She just needed to convince Alya, and the majority would follow, or join Marinette in exile.

“I-I’ve been getting so stressed out lately! And I can’t control the urge when it happens! I am so sorry you guys! I didn’t mean-”

“That still doesn’t explain why you accused Nathaniel of stealing your supposed artwork.” Marinette pointed out.

“Or the fact that you brought up something that you have no idea about and threw it in his face!” Alix added.

Lila schooled her face to guilt.

“I’m sorry that I offended you Nathaniel. I didn’t mean to.” She let a few tears come to the surface of her eyes, but never let them fall. 

It was all Juleka and Rose needed to flock to her and comfort her. She looked to Alya, who looked on the verge of joining her. She just needed a little more.

“I can understand what made you want to draw that picture you posted, it looks a lot like mine. You drew inspirations from that, I get that!” Nathaniel looked livid, and Alix was ready to blow.

But Lila only worried about the two that were in front of her that weren’t at her side yet. She needed them to keep her hold of the class.

“I can understand drawing inspiration from what’s around you, Marinette does that all the time no?” Said girl glared at her. Adrien had finally stopped his tour of the room with his eyes, and looked at the group. He glared at Lila, but she could deal with that later. As long as he kept his arm out in front of Marinette, and out of her way, she could deal with him later.

She just needed Alya and Nino.

“I don’t blame you for being inspired! Not at all! I just want an apology for accusing me of stealing.” At the start of the protests from Marinette, Alix and Nathaniel, she looked to Nino and Alya.

“Right Alya? Nino?”

Alya hesitantly nodded. Nino didn’t react one way or the other, Hmm...

“See? It;s alright! We just needed to communicate!” Rose cheerfully added.

At that convenient time, Madam Bustier entered the room.

“Alright class! We have a busy day ahead of us! Finish up your chat and get to your seats!”

Lila looked to Nathaniel, an expectant look on her face that made his stomach turn.

Was this how Marinette felt?

Rose, Juleka, and Ivan looked at him expectantly too.

 Madam Bustier looked back at the group, waiting. Kim slapped him on the back.

“Hey! It’s resolved now! Just apologize and it’s all good man!” 

Alix glared at him, but Nathaniel just sighed.

“I’m... Sorry Lila.”

She smiled her condescending smile once again, that Nathaniel was beginning to realize was the one she always gave to Marinette.

“I accept your apology.”

And everyone started to go back to their seats.

Nathaniel didn’t missed the way Marinette opened her mouth again, but stopped when Adrien touched her arm with his hand. He whispered something to her and shook his head. Alix noticed this too.

She looked angry, and gave him a look of disgust before she subtly tore her arm away from his. He looked sad, but retreated back to his seat anyway. Marinette looked back at Nathaniel and Alix, to see them already looking at her.

She gave them a sad smile and looked to her desk, to see Lila already seated there. She let out a quiet sigh, and made her way to the back of the classroom.

“Hey Marinette?” Nathaniel asked quietly. She looked between him and Alix, who was toeing the floor.

“Do you want to sit in the back with us?” She was about to ask why Alix would sit at the back when she saw her bookbag in her hand.

She smiled at them and nodded. They made their way to the back, not noticing Adrien’s frown of sadness or Lila’s frown of annoyance.

She didn’t like reminding them of her ‘lying disease’. It might give them a reason to not totally believe her,though it was a great skeleton key to get her out of any situation because of her lies.

She turned back around in her seat, plotting her next move for the two new people that joined her exiled list.

Oh well, looks like she’d be adjusting her plans to fit two more.

What she didn’t know, was that there was another person that was beginning to catch on to all of her little lies. He just had to catalog them all on his phone first, before bringing the evidence to light.

Tag List:

@bean2342 @chris-pixie @pirats-pizzacanninibles @multifacetedfangirl @might-as-well-happen @legallyspawned @firesong323 @kuroko26 @runestarchild @mariae2900 @laadychat

#Rose Painted Glasses #lila salt #lila rossi #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #alya cesaire #nino lahiffe #max kante #alix kubdel #nathaniel kurtzberg #rose lavillant #juleka couffaine #ivan bruel #le chien kim #lila reveal in progress

[mc-lukanette]

"See anything you like?" Luka asked after he was sure that they'd already looked over at least half of the children's books.

Ivan and Mylene's kid looked up at him, then around to the books. They placed their hands to their face, leaning back and letting out a long, drawn-out hum, then finally answered, "Mmm, not yet."

They were always quiet like that, so when they did say something, it was because they'd made sure to think about it. In that particular case, they knew they were being spoiled with whatever books they wanted, but they didn't want to just grab everything either, clearly focusing on what they "needed" rather than just books that looked neat.

Luka shrugged with a smile. "Alright. We'll keep looking."

He scanned the shelves as he walked, letting the child run ahead so long as they stayed within his sight. Ivan and Mylene had loosely suggested that he be on the lookout for any books about body positivity and of course he agreed with them. Thankfully, after spending most of his life on a houseboat that demanded one be an expert at finding things in an instant or risk losing them forever, Luka was able to catch a few good books that fit Ivan and Mylene's description just by the cover.

He'd skimmed them too, just in case.

As his gaze went to follow the kid running past him to restart their quest for perfect books, he was stopped by a brief glimpse of teal, red, and black from a part of the aisle that he hadn't gone to yet. His eyes darted over to it, squinting at the familiarity of the shades, then looked back at the kid once more.

Confirming that they were okay, Luka approached the book that had drawn his attention, having to crouch down to see it properly since it was on the bottom shelf. He'd only taken it in for a split second before he was hit by a wave of pleasant memories and nostalgia.

The Snake and The Ladybug was the book's title, and the cover featured a teal naga boy across from a ladybug-themed girl.

Luka took a breath at the obvious similarities to his role as Viperion from back in the day, as well as Marinette's role as Ladybug. She'd never come out about her identity, but it didn't take him long to figure out, and the book was giving him all sorts of mushy feelings just by its art alone.

He reached out, gently grasping the book without taking it off the shelf. Running his thumb along the cover, he was surprised to realize that it actually had a texture to it that shifted based on where he was stroking, and he couldn't deny that it seemed like Marinette's handiwork.

The naga boy didn't have highlights, but his hair still had a noticeable feature, with the front of it being long enough to cover up the eyes. The boy was lounging against a tree, which went along with the forest setting that took up one side of the book, and his arm was outstretched towards the remaining side, seemingly catching dandelion puffs that were being blown in his direction. Said dandelion puffs were being sent his way by the ladybug girl, who had the dandelion in hand and her eyes closed. She was featured in a more castle-esque place, sitting on the edge of a windowsill, and both she and the naga boy were clearly enjoying themselves.

"Are you gon' buy that?"

Luka was jerked out of his trance by Ivan and Mylene's kid, who had apparently snuck up on him while he was taking in the cover. He looked over at them, surprised that they'd ask a direct question over something that didn't concern them.

He glanced back at the book thoughtfully, considering the question anyway, then sighed with a sad smile.

There was no way. Marinette wasn't an author; she was a fashion designer, living her crazy life somewhere, and they hadn't seen each other for a long time. She'd have no reason to write a children's book.

It was just a coincidence.

"No," he finally answered, pulling his hand away from the book, "It just made me think of some happy memories."

They pursed their lips, brows furrowing as they tilted their head in confusion. "B'shouldn't y'get it then? Mommy keeps some o'those too."

They said it like it was the simplest thing in the world, and Luka supposed that it was. He was just being a dumb adult by denying it, uselessly pining as a result and fantasizing about Marinette leaving him some sort of hidden message in a book. Still, the kid was right; the book made him happy and that should've been enough.

There didn't need to be a deeper meaning, even if it wouldn't stop him from thinking about one.

Reaching out again, Luka plucked the book off the shelf, keeping it separate from the books held in his other arm.

"You're right. Maybe I will."

—————

After having dropped off Ivan and Mylene's kid, along with all the books but the one, Luka headed home and plopped down sideways on his recliner, holding up his chosen book to examine it from all angles. He was tempted to read the summary on the back, but resisted, opting to turn back to the front to look at the author's name.

In hindsight, he should've done that from the beginning.

His face fell at the name Belle Nescire, a far cry from Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Pen names were a thing, certainly, and his inner Viperion - who plotted out Ladybug's Lucky Charm alongside her at times - felt suspicious, but it also didn't sound very Marinette at all.

Mentally shrugging any further thoughts away, he sat up just enough to properly read the book, opening it up to finally take a look at its contents.

The story began with the ladybug girl, saddened and stressed by her daily life. She had friends of all kinds, but sought something deeper than mere companionship: a connection with someone. She didn't know exactly what to look for, only able to hope that she'd know when she found it.

One day, against the advice of her friends, she headed into the forest to pick flowers. She'd been repeatedly warned about the snakes who lived there, suggestions tossed around to chat with the cats on the rooftops instead, but she went to the forest anyway. It was there where she met the snake boy who, yes, had startled her at first with his sudden appearance, but he immediately apologized and merely warned her about the flower she had almost picked, which would've laid a curse on her had she'd picked it.

Snakes, as she'd been told anyway, lived for disorder and were terrifying for their looks alone, what with their fangs, scales, and the like. The ladybug girl, however, wasn't afraid of the snake boy, rather enjoying his company and finding herself wanting to come back and visit him. Eventually, she ended up doing just that, and they became fast friends, meeting frequently to make flower crowns and talk about their lives.

Without noticing at first, the ladybug girl had found her connection, the snake boy becoming a source of calm where she could escape from the emotions that always weighed her down. The moral of the story was about seeking out and cherishing the people who bring out the best in oneself, due to how rare they are to find.

Luka breathed up when he realized that was the end of the book, closing it and turning it over to read the summary as if that would give him more content to read.

The coincidences were stacking now. He had startled her when they first met, and there had been an apology from him even if it'd been for his teasing of her instead. There was also the undeniable mention of cats, though he wasn't sure if things like the cursed flower could've been some sort of metaphor he was missing.

As the thought of the author being Marinette re-entered his head, he began to blush. He'd known that he was her support in many ways - a role he'd always taken pride in - but to be called her connection, as if he were special and stood out above everyone else? That would be news to him.

Reminding himself yet again that it wasn't a guarantee, he sat up and set the book down on the table, mentally scolding himself for over-analyzing when he'd said he'd get the book for the reminder of happy memories instead. Nonetheless, he was picking up his phone not even ten seconds later, searching up the book's title and author to see if he got any results. It turned out that the book he had was the first in a series of books, featuring the same two characters and continuing their story.

Well, he knew how one of his afternoons were going to be spent in the near future.

#lukaneventte: No Context November #Flower Arrangement Shipping #((So does that make it Lukanette or Viperbug fanfiction?)) #((Yes.)) #((The answer is yes.)) #Pro LukaMari #Lukanette

[unmaskedagain]

Oh Lady Luck (How I miss you so!)

Okay; first off. I hated this. I had a massive case of writer’s block while doing it and lost inspiration near the end.

Oh Lady Luck (How I miss you so!)

           Bustier’s class was the luckiest in school, everyone knew it. They got to go on the most amazing trips, win contest after contest, competition after competition, met all sorts of celebrities, frequently got to meet Ladybug, through the best dances and school plays, and always seemed to have a pep in their step. Anything any of the students went after they always managed to get. Everyone knew Bustier’s class was the luckiest in school. Then one day that changed dramatically.

“You’ve changed,” Alya accused Marinette after the class voted her out as Class president. “You become a bully.”

           Alix snorted, “More like a jealous bitch.”

           There were nods from the other students in class. Lila smiled at Marinette; happy that her promise to ruin the girl was coming true.

“You’re always so mean to Lila,” Rose added. “It’s not nice.”

“You’re worse than Chloe now,” Kim glared.

           Juleka frowned, “We miss the old Marinette.”

“You should’ve chilled out like I told you to, dudette,” Nino said with a shake of his head, clearly disappointed.

“We can’t be your friends anymore,” Alya crossed her arms.

           Marinette had listen to them quietly as they relayed reason after reason why they were ending their friendships with her; all to do with Lila. She didn’t bother to look at Adrien. He had warned her what was going to happen; Nino had told him. There had also been a group text apparently. Adrien made it clear he stood with Marinette. Even more so, when he chose to sit with her in the back of the class, a fierce glare on his face at the other students.

The bluenette placed down her pencil, closed her sketchbook and said, “Fine. Then we’re not friends anymore.”

“That’s counts double for me,” Adrien hissed. “Lose my number. In fact, don’t bother; I’ll just change it. That goes for every last one of you. I’ll be informing my Father and Nathalie that only Chloe and Marinette are on my visitors list.”

           The class blinked in shock. Not expecting that reaction from the blond boy who was usually so amicable and nice.

           Chloe watched with amused eyes. She had been sentenced to the back of the room not long after Marinette. “We’ve never been friends but consider all extra little perks you’ve gotten used to: dead and over with.”

           That was it. None of the other students knew what to say or do. They hadn’t gotten the reaction they expected. Marinette didn’t seem to care. Adrien seemed ready to set them on fire. Chloe looked rather pleased at the idea of seeing them burn. Most shrugged it off; figuring at least two of the three (Marinette and Adrien) would come crawling back in no time.

           They didn’t.

           Things started to change for the students in Bustier’s class the next day.

           Lila woke up in the morning to an email confirming that she would no longer being a model or any type of employee for the Gabriel Agreste brand. Or as Nathalie put it when the sausage hair girl called her, “We will no longer be needing your services, Miss Rossi. Do not contact us again.” Click.

           That was when Lila realized her plan of using Gabriel to get Adrien under her thumb had went up in flames. She hoped that Adrien wasn’t informed so that maybe she could still use his father as a threat against the boy.

           When she go to class, the blond model sent her a vicious smirk. Lila paled. She knew without a doubt that Adrien didn’t just know Lila was fired, he was the one got her fired.

           Nino woke up to the news that the gig he was due to play, his big break, had replaced him. It would’ve been huge for his career.

Oh well, he thought, back to DJ-ing for birthday parties.

           Alya accidently dropped her phone in the toilet; ruining hundreds of videos and pictures for the Ladyblog.

           Alix took a dive while skating; broke her ankle and the watch her dad gave her.

           Max broke his glasses.

           Kim got food poisoning.

           Ivan’s dad ran over his drum set while parking in the garage.

           Rose tried to call Prince Ali and found out he changed his number.

           Nathaniel spilled coffee all over his Ladybug comic strips. Marc had been pissed.

           Juleka’s mom accidently put bleach in with a load of her laundry; it ruined everything.

           By the time they had all got to class, all the students were in a terrible mood. However, when Marinette walked in with a box full of delicious smelling breakfast pastries; they perked up. The bluenette always seemed to know when they needed a pick me up. And there was nothing like a treat from the Dupain-Cheng Bakery.

           Marinette didn’t acknowledge any of their presences. She walked straight to the back of the classroom, sat in her seat between Chloe and Adrien. “Morning!” She beamed at her friends. “I brought treats for the three of us.”

“Awesome!” Adrien smiled, quickly opening the box and snagging a chocolate croissant. “Delicous, Thank you” He said. Or least they thought he said that. His mouth was full and it was mostly garbled.

           Chloe rolled her eyes. She grabbed a mixed berries and cream cheese pastry, “Perfect way to start the day. Thank you, Marinette.”

           Marinette took out her favorite: a berry and jasmine scone. Then she promptly through the box away; making clear that she hadn’t brought any for anyone else. “Anything for my friends.”

“We’ll do lunch at Le Grand Paris,” Chloe said. “On me of course. The chef there is to die for.”

           The other students visibly wilted. Alya in particular who loved going to Le Grand Paris as her mother was the head chef.

           It all went downhill from there.

           Over the next week things went from bad to worse for the students.

           Bustier told the class their trip the Presidential office was cancelled due to an unexpected flooding incident. The plan had been for the class to tour the office and have amazing picnic on the beach afterwards

           Lila’s mother, who had been busy nearly 24/7, officially went on vacation, meaning she plenty of time to spend with her daughter. Her daughter was panicked when her mother inquired about visiting her school.

           Alya discovered that the hits to her site had started to declined dramatically. She didn’t have time to worry about that as her internship with a local new studio had been cancelled; something about realizing Alya didn’t have enough experience. So her summer plans were cancelled.

           Nino’s Dj equipment sparked or shorted out or something but nothing would work anymore. He had cancel the rest of his gigs until he could buy new ones.

           Kim lost a swim match against Ondine.

           Markov got a virus and broke down causing Max to break down in tears.

           Nathaniel lost the expensive sketch pencil he won in a contest.

           Alix’s grandmother brought her a new dresses; frilly monstrosities that Alix’s forced her to wear to school for the entire week.

           Rose, Ivan, and Juleka were heartbroken when Luka announced he was going Solo.

           It didn’t help anyone’s mood that every day Marinette, Chloe, and Adrien walked into class with big smiles on their faces and pleasantly discussed their amazing plans.

           On Wednesday, Adrien invited Marinette and Chloe to come with him to meet the Prime Minister.

           Apparently, Adrien’s dad had called in favors so the three would tour Palais Bourbon, where the French Parliament meets.

“He said I could invite all my friends!” Adrien smiled.

           Marinette had been shocked at this. Until Adrien explained that his aunt had threatened to reveal to the world Gabriel Agreste’s neglectful behavior, his tendency break child labor laws, and his need to isolate Adrien. Thanks to his aunt, Adrien had a much free-er schedule and Gabriel had been in therapy for weeks. “I’ll bring food from the bakery. We can have a picnic!”

“Beach day!” Chloe cheered.

           No one else so much as smiled at the news. Even more so when pictures surfaced on Friday of Marinette, Chloe, Adrien, Ondine, Marc, Mireille, and Aurore with various members of Parliament; including the prime minister.

           Thursday, Chloe loudly invited Marinette and Adrien to an event for her mother, “It’s a fashion show! It’s tonight. Adrien can relax behind the scenes, while Mari and me model on the run way. Mama’s lost a few models so I told her I could recommend a few friends.”

“I’m modeling!” Marinette paled so much, her friends were sure she’d pass out.

“I get to do nothing!” Adrien grinned.

           Pictures of Chloe and Marinette modeling exploded across the internet; multiple fashion websites and online magazines deeming the girls’ Style Queen’s secret weapon and modeling next big thing.

           Most of the guys in class shrugged it off. But a few of the girls turned greened with envy; Lila in particular.

           On Friday, Marinette invited Adrien and Chloe to meet her uncle and her cousin, “He’s back in town on Saturday and he wants to meet all my friends.”

           No one else in class paid too much to that. Who cared about Marinette’s uncle? Or her cousin? They were probably just as stuck-up and nasty as she was.

           Then on Saturday, picture of the same group who went to Parliament, plus Luka, with Jagged Stone and Clara Nightingale started trending on the internet. Jagged Stone posted a tweet about how awesome his honorary niece was, with a picture of him and Marinette. Clara posted a pic with her favorite little cousin, Marinette.

           Alya couldn’t believe her eyes and immediately started texting Marinette for the deets. She received a text back saying; new number; who dis?

           Nino flat-out called Adrien only hear that the number had been disconnected.

           The rest of the class faced the same issue.

           And then one by one, they each remembered that they weren’t friends with any of the tree Ostracized students anymore.

           Monday, Alya found out that BugOut, a competing Ladybug blog, had been officially endorsed by Ladybug and Chat Noir. Something that hadn’t happened with the Ladyblog.

           Max lost the science fair. For the first time. He had to go see the school guidance counselor.

           Kim got kicked off the team for his poor grade.

           Lila’s finally called the school to schedule an appointment. Lila was Akumatized within the five minutes.

           Alix’s grandma brought her more clothes; some which were tacky sweaters with cats all over them

           Nathaniel misplaced his new sketch book, with his redone Ladybug comic strips. He never found it. Marc wasn’t happy.

           Nino got a call to dj a huge event only to have to decline as he hadn’t bought new equipment yet.

           It was Adrien that brought in breakfast for the other two; Mcdonalds. Much to the Chloe and Marinette’s dismay, but they didn’t say anything as the boy was clearly happy about being allowed to eat it for the first time.

           Marinette unwrapped her sausage Mcgriddle, wondering who she hurt in a past life, “Jagged is doing a private concert. You two want to come?”

           Adrien nodded, his mouth full of fried hash brown and bacon. “Count me in,” They think he said.

           Chloe held the egg mcmuffin in her hand like it was physically hurting her to do so, “I’m in,” she said. “And I’m bringing breakfast tomorrow.”

           The class was dismayed at missing at meeting Jagged Stone again.

“Are you going to invite us?” Alya asked with a huff.

           Marinette didn’t even look in her direction, “Sorry Uncle Jagged said I can only invite my friends.”

           Ouch.

           Over the course of the next few months, things continued to fall apart for the class. They tried planning one of their usual amazing dances, only for everything to crash and burn. Then they remembered that Marinette planned everything, and before her, Chloe.

           The class never made enough money fundraising so nearly all planned class trips were canceled.

           They had to deal with seeing pictures of Marinette, Adrien, and Chloe and all their friends meeting all sorts of celebrities.

           Ladybug disowned the Ladyblog; causing Alya to burst into tears.

           No matter what any of the students tried, did, competed in, they never won. They practically failed at everything.

           Rose tried to bake cookies for the class; her kitchen caught on fire.

           Max applied for science camp; all spots were full.

           Nathaniel who had lost his comic drawing for the twelfth time in a row was finally told by Marc to take a hike.

           Nino lost his hat, broke his glasses, a dog at his homework, and he tripped landed face down in the mud; all on the way to school one morning.

           The students were constantly late, frustrated, and always seemed to have something accidently spilled or thrown on their clothes.

           Lila’s  mother, who finally decided to just randomly drop by the school after being told repeatedly by her daughter that it was closed so she couldn’t do the appointment for months, was shocked to say the least when it was clearly opened and active. She had a long talk with the Principle and all of Lila’s lies were revealed to class.

           Class was very apologetic to the three ostracized students after that but it didn’t matter. The three made it clear they weren’t interested in renewing their friendships.

           By the end of the year Bustier’s class went from the luckiest in school to the unluckiest kids on the planet.

           The students of Bustier’s class couldn’t help but wonder aloud why they lucked changed do much.

           Tikki, Plagg, and Pollen, hidden away in their chosens’ school bags just smirked.

#ml salt #ml fic #Marinette deserves better #marinette dupen chang #adrien deserves better #adrien agreste #chloe bourgeois

[jemmahazelnut]

The boss's son

Summary: Freed works as a waiter at a luxury resort, a dream place if it weren't for the hateful boss. When Freed finds out that the boss's son is coming, he thinks the situation will only get worse. At least until he discovers that he's a beautiful guy who doesn't look like his father, and who will drive him crazy in completely different ways. [Freed/Laxus]

Link: AO3

Notes: Basically, a story in which Laxus and Freed make fun of each other, starting with small and innocent pranks to end up being sexual pranks. Rating explicit, this is NSFW and they are not in a stable relationship, so you may not like it (idk, they aren't that assholes but well, they play sexual pranks, just to let you know). For those who will read, have fun!

The boss's son

“You know, usually if someone comes to this club it's to meet people, not to hang out in a corner drinking,” said a voice above him.

Freed looked up and eyed the boy who had approached him. He was blond and muscular, the light and wet shirt he wore left little to the imagination, he had an arrogant smile and two beautiful blue eyes. The typical guy Freed would have had fun with, if only he'd been in the mood.

“I'm not interested,” he said right away. He was the umpteenth man who had flirted with him that night, but Freed had only come there to see Hibiki and let off steam with him on his hateful boss. If only the friend had finished flirting with every Blue Pegasus customer.

The blonde sat down next to him, leaned back and spread his arms out, probably just to emphasize his muscular body. A hot muscular body, highlighted by the wet shirt that clung to his skin. Freed looked at him slightly more interested, even though he wasn't in the mood for flirting anyway. It didn't matter if the man next to him embodied his ideal type, the frustration of the day was still there.

“Your look says otherwise,” said the stranger with a smirk. Freed rolled his eyes in exasperation.

“Did someone spill a drink on you out of your arrogance, or did you spill it on yourself to get my attention?” he asked a little irritably, hoping to get him away. The blond, however, laughed heartily.

“Neither, a guy spilled it on me by mistake,” he replied and then smirked. “Although I think he did it intentionally to see more,” he added arrogantly. Freed snorted and returned to his drink, turning his gaze back to the bar. Hibiki was still flirting with the client and had probably completely forgotten about him. “So why are you in a bad mood? Do you have a crush on that bartender?” asked the blond.

“No, he's just my friend. I came here to talk to him but apparently a muscular man is enough and he forgets that I exist,” Freed commented sourly.

“Well, you can talk to me,” the blond proposed. Freed turned back to him. At least the blonde had taken a more decent stance and now the arrogant smirk had been replaced by a more sincere smile. Maybe that was what broke Freed, or maybe the fact that he really needed to let off steam about his hateful boss.

“I had a shit day, I had a fight with my boss because he's a fucking asshole who can't admit when he's wrong and because he doesn't want me to be a cook, but he's looking for other chefs because clearly the ones who are there, aren’t enough. I’ve a good career as a chef, and he makes me a waiter, damn it,” he snapped irritably.

The blond frowned.

“If you’ve a good career as a chef why don't you go to another restaurant?” he asked.

“Because working as a chef at that resort will give me a lot more chances and give me a good reputation. It seemed like a fantastic idea last year, now I realize that with such a boss it would’ve been better to work elsewhere” he grunted irritably.

The blond was silent for a moment and Freed looked at him.

“If you want to go find another guy to have fun with you can do it, I'm definitely not in the mood,” he said at that point, thinking he was getting bored.

“No, I was actually thinking about your boss. He must be really an asshole if you said so” the stranger commented, throwing him a curious look.

“Asshole is an understatement,” Freed grunted “A spoiled and arrogant man who's only there because his father made the effort to open the resort. He didn't do anything and I also doubt he can handle business, he probably makes other people do everything. He’s there just because he’s lucky. And the worst thing is that in the next few days his son will come, probably another spoiled boy with the stink under his nose unable to do anything, like any son of the boss” he growled irritably, tightening his grip on the glass.

The blond looked at him a bit puzzled and then smiled amused.

“What's funny?” Freed asked nervously.

“Nothing” said the stranger. “Actually I'm sorry for you. I know how annoying guys can be who have done nothing in their entire life and are only there by sheer luck,” he added.

“Have you had anything to do with it too?” Freed asked.

“More or less” smiled the blond. “What's your name?” he asked.

“Freed,” he replied.

“Well, it was nice meeting you. Your friend is coming, so I'll get out of the way,” he said as he stood up and again an arrogant smirk spread across his face. “I'm Laxus Dreyar, see you at work,” he said winking at him, and then walked away through the crowd.

Freed remained speechless staring with wide eyes at the broad back of the blonde who was walking away. That was definitely a shitty day, and probably also the end of his career.

***

Freed had thought things couldn't get any worse after insulting his boss in front of his son. But they actually got worse, because when he had to serve breakfast that morning, he found himself having to serve none other than Ivan and his son.

Really, that was bad luck.

He would probably have been fired on the spot and also in front of the rest of the waiters. Probably Ivan would also put bad rumors about him and Freed would have to run away from Magnolia and also from Fiore to find a decent job. Perhaps he could no longer be a chef.

With those thoughts he reached the tables. The two men were sitting in one of them, and Freed put down the orders they had taken. Two croissants, two coffees and two glasses of water. He met Laxus' gaze who, in addition to being much more beautiful in the sunlight, was clearly smiling at him with amusement.

“Thanks. If all the waiters are so sexy, I think I'll go through here more often” he said and Ivan almost choked on the water he had started drinking, starting to cough frantically. Freed looked puzzled at the blonde, completely at a loss for words. He had thought of many possible scenarios, but certainly not such a thing.

“Laxus,” Ivan growled.

“What's up? It’s true. I was almost afraid you’d only taken girls in short, low-cut uniforms. This is much better, especially with the tight pants he’s wearing,” Laxus continued, eyeing him openly. Freed was still too stunned to have any reaction. Seriously, what game was that boy playing?

“Get out of here, go back to the kitchen” Ivan growled and Freed obeyed, walking away a little dazed.

“What’s up? You should be happy, at least I’ve a good reason to come back here” he heard from Laxus, but soon after Freed entered the bar and could no longer hear the conversation between the two.

He went back to the counter and thought back to the absurd scene he had just experienced. Did Laxus want to embarrass him in front of his father? It didn't make sense, the most embarrassed had seemed Ivan. And honestly, getting a compliment from a man as handsome as Laxus would certainly not embarrass him, on the contrary, it would only make him gloat more. He shook his head in confusion and took another tray, pushing that thought away and thinking about his work. The important thing was not to have been fired.

***

Freed didn't think things would turn out for the better. He had had his job as a cook, and he honestly didn't fully understand why. Ivan had come to him pissed off, told him he could have his job as a chef and told him not to go near his son. Freed had assumed by then that perhaps the reason he would no longer be serving the tables was Laxus' comment. Not that it made any sense, as they could still see each other at the resort. Besides, it was Laxus who hit on him, Freed hadn't done anything. All in all he had nothing to complain about, as he had gotten the job he wanted.

Dreyars were just weird and Freed didn't want to have anything to do with them anyway. Even though Laxus was handsome -and he really was, dammit- he was definitely a weird guy. Plus, Freed didn't really want to piss off Ivan any more than necessary. Now that he had his job as a cook, he wouldn't do anything to ruin his chance. He would work hard until the end of the season, so that he would have a good experience and maybe even a springboard to work at other resorts.

And probably by being a cook he would have had less chance of meeting Laxus.

Probably.

It wasn't quite like that. Either he was unlucky, or that blond was following him, because one evening, as soon as he finished his shift and walked out of the kitchens, he passed Laxus who was talking to a waitress. Freed waved goodnight just out of politeness, and then walked away quickly, but obviously Laxus was there for him, because he reached him.

“I heard you got the job as a chef. You can thank me,” Laxus said. Freed gave him a mixed look between doubtful and frowning.

“Excuse me?”

“The only reason why my father locked you up in the kitchens is because in this way we don’t have a chance to see each other again, you know?” Laxus explained.

“A rather absurd reason, we still work in the same resort,” Freed commented, stopping in the middle of the corridor and glancing around hoping that Ivan wouldn’t pass by at that moment. Just two days ago he had ordered him to stay away from his son, damn it. Even if it was an absurd order, he didn't want to risk his career.

“I agree with you, but he couldn't fire you and he thought that this way we wouldn't see each other again,” Laxus said. Freed narrowed his still doubtful gaze.

“Won't you tell him I insulted him?” he asked, lowering his voice as if fearing Laxus wanted to blackmail him in some way. Laxus, however, chuckled.

“Nah, don't worry. I insult him half the time and to tell the truth I understand you. He's an asshole at home, at work he can't be different,” he replied with a shrug. Freed still looked at him doubtfully. He still didn't understand what Laxus wanted from him.

“What do you want?” he asked.

“Know you better. I thought getting you your dream job would melt you a little, ice-boy” Laxus replied immediately. Freed raised an eyebrow.

“So the only reason you made that out of place comment was to get my attention?” he asked skeptically. Laxus chuckled.

“Well, more or less. I also pissed off my dad, which is always fun, and at the same time I did a good deed by getting you the job you wanted. Not that I wasn't sincere, I didn't really think my father would hire a guy like you,” he replied mischievously.

Freed looked at him in silence for a couple of seconds. So that blond was really attracted to him. Or maybe he was angry with him because he had thrown his ego down by refusing him to the Blue Pegasus. Well, whatever he had in mind, Freed didn't want to have anything to do with him. Even though he was probably the sexiest guy who had ever flirted with him, he didn't want to lose his job and antagonize Ivan even more. So he threw all the desire to flirt down his stomach and took on an impassive tone.

“Well, thanks for your good deed then” he said “But as I said the other night, I'm not interested” he replied.

“Not yet” Laxus smiled “Try not to drool behind my body as you did the other night” greeted him and walked away. Freed looked at him in silence, while a faint blush rose up his cheeks.

He shook his head and walked to his room, with a clear thought in mind: the Dreyars would be his downfall.

***

There were advantages to working in a luxury resort. First of all, the fact that when Freed had an afternoon or a day off, he could benefit from his services without having to move. Second, the employee discount.

Freed walked into the sauna, thinking that that would definitely do him good for relieving the nervousness he had built up throughout the day. Like every day, Ivan had been unbearable and for some reason he had taken it out on all the cooks, including Freed. Freed had made a tremendous effort to keep his tongue between his teeth, and for once he had succeeded. It had been a miracle, but he was still thinking about what he wanted to tell him.

He tried to clear his mind and after taking a quick shower taking off his swimsuit, he wrapped the towel around his hips and went straight to the saunas. He entered the first free sauna and sat on the bench, inhaling deeply and trying to relax.

It wasn’t difficult, the heat had a good effect on him and he leaned his head to the wood, enjoying that tranquility more than deserved.

Until he heard the door open. He opened his eyes and was shocked to see none other than the boss's son.

Laxus Dreyar in all his glory, with only a small towel wrapped around his hips.

Holy shit.

“You too here” smiled the blonde sitting not far from him and Freed made a clear effort to take his eyes off his body. Great, his whole goal of relaxing had gone to hell. Why did the Dreyars always have to ruin his days in one way or another?

“Apparently,” he said a little annoyed and closed his eyes, trying not to think about the fact that the incredibly muscular and incredibly naked body of that blonde was just inches from him.

“Stressful day?” Laxus asked.

“Enough, since I've been working all day, on contrary to you,” Freed said and didn't regret his tone in the slightest. He didn't care that Laxus was Ivan Dreyar's son, in fact, that was probably just one more reason to be angry with him, even if he wasn't as much of an asshole as his father.

“Just because I do a different job doesn't mean I don't work,” Laxus replied and Freed heard a rustle, which made him open his eyes. Laxus had stretched his legs on the bench and was staring openly with interest. Hell, if he hadn't been Ivan Dreyar's son, Freed would’ve done a lot of things to that body.

“I guess watching others work and give absurd orders is very tiring,” he said ironically, turning his gaze again.

“You know, mentally it's very stressful to be behind such a resort. And at least you do a job you like,” Laxus replied.

“Sure,” Freed muttered, staring at the door in front of him. If only he hadn't been locked in an extremely hot little sauna with Laxus naked beside him, maybe he would have found a better answer.

“Does it bother you if I take off the towel?” Laxus asked and Freed felt himself flush. Now it was hot. Very hot. And the idea of seeing that body completely naked… no, he really didn't want to.

“No, I'm done,” he said, keeping an incredibly firm tone. He got up and opened the door to get out of there as fast as possible.

“Hey, if I make you uncomfortable, I can stay with the towel,” Laxus said following him.

“You can do whatever you want,” Freed retorted trying to keep a cool tone. It was getting difficult though. He headed straight for the showers, to freshen up a bit and maybe put some distance between him and Laxus. It didn't work, because the blonde followed him.

“You don't have to leave because of me.”

“I'm not leaving because of you,” Freed retorted, avoiding looking at him. He walked over to the showers and turned to Laxus, who was looking at him amused. Freed stared at him in silence, giving him a dirty look that he hoped would push him away. Laxus, however, remained there. “Can you leave?” Freed asked after a while.

“Why should I? I'm here to take a shower. A piece of advice, if you want to do it you have to take off your towel” he added with an arrogant tone. God what an asshole.

“Seriously, get out of here,” Freed said irritably. Laxus leaned his back against the wall, abandoning his smirk and arrogant attitude.

“Are you really not even a little interested?” he asked in an oddly calm tone. Freed hesitated for a moment and again his gaze fell on the incredibly toned and sweaty abdomen of Laxus. Damn, that boy was practically a god. If only he had been dressed Freed wouldn't have been so distracted. And if he wasn't Ivan's son, Freed would have succumbed to flirting by taking both towels off their bodies and touching those gorgeous muscles, letting Laxus do whatever he wanted with him in that shower.

“Look, I'm certainly not going to do it with my boss's son. Besides the fact that Mr. Dreyar clearly told me to stay away from you,” he said, thinking that saying he wasn't interested would be a colossal lie.

“Oh, so that's the only reason you're not giving in,” Laxus commented.

“No. Also because you're not my type.” Freed lied sharply.

Laxus pursed his lips provocatively again.

“Not your type, huh? Yet your gaze says otherwise, Justine,” he said. Freed stiffened and when Laxus approached him he forced himself to stand still and not back away. Not that it would help him much, as he had a wall inches from his back.

Laxus came close enough to make touch their chests and make him feel the warmth of his skin. Once again, Freed forced himself not to move and to keep his gaze, forcing himself to swallow all the excitement that was building up to have such a handsome man so close. Damn close.

“You know, the fact that my father doesn't want me to approach you is just one more reason to do it,” Laxus admitted in an amused tone.

“Because you’re an asshole who enjoys seeing others immersed in problems?” Freed asked trying to keep a firm tone.

“No, because I enjoy pissing off my father,” Laxus admitted and lowered his face to him. Freed held his breath. “But if I'm not your type, I won't stress you out anymore,” Laxus blew on his face. Freed just wanted to get closer and close the distance between them, kissing those incredibly inviting lips. Laxus walked away and the air returned.

“I hope you won't kick yourself, Justine,” he said and a moment later he hit the shower button, and Freed was hit by the jet of water. He opened his mouth in shock but no sound came out and Laxus laughed. “I told you to take off your towel if you wanted to take a shower. See you” he greeted and Freed stared at him with a dry throat and a throbbing heart.

Damn asshole.

***

Laxus had kept his word. He hadn't stressed him out anymore, nor had he flirt with him again. Freed had to admit, with some nervousness, that he was quite disappointed with that behavior. He wasn't kicking himself, he just wanted revenge on him for how he had soaked him in water when he was still wearing the towel. Yes, that was the reason. Certainly not the fact that Laxus was practically a walking God. And certainly not the fact that Laxus was temperamentally much kinder and much friendlier than his father.

Not that it took much to be better than Ivan Dreyar, Freed kept thinking, to get rid of all the good thoughts about that blonde.

It didn't work at all, as Freed had seen with his own eyes that Laxus was really nice with all employees. Everyone loved him and spoke well of him. He looked nothing like his father at all. Neither temperamentally, nor physically.

In any case, Freed kept thinking about how arrogant he had been at first, so as not to kick himself. Because, he could admit at least to himself, Laxus was really handsome and friendly. But he remained Ivan's son and Freed had only had one very specific order from the boss, it shouldn't have been difficult to respect it. So Freed continued to work, insulting Ivan every night -paying attention to whoever talked about him- and trying to think as little as possible about Laxus.

That evening he was walking down the corridor to leave the resort and go to the Blue Pegasus to talk to Hibiki, but when he turned the corner, he collided with Laxus.

“Piece of shit,” the blonde growled.

“You're the one who came on me,” Freed immediately retorted. Laxus looked at him for a moment in silence, then snorted and turned away.

“I wasn't talking to you, sorry,” he said. Freed looked at him a little surprised, just nodded and they both got into the elevator. Freed saw that Laxus wasn't pressing the button, so he asked if he should go downstairs. Laxus nodded and Freed hit the button.

“Stressful day?” the cook asked to break the silence and Laxus smiled bitterly.

“Not really, I just had a fight with my dad,” he said. “You were right to say he's an asshole.”

“I'd rather you didn’t say it out loud,” Freed reiterated. Even though they were inside the elevator, he didn't want to risk being overheard by the wrong person.

“You can rest easy, the asshole is away, on a fucking trip with his new wife,” Laxus growled. Freed didn’t reply and looked at him a little worried. He didn't know anything about Laxus' family and didn't want to ask intrusive questions, but the blonde looked really pissed off.

“I'm sorry,” he just said.

“Nah, it's lucky that he's gone, or I’d have risked punching him. But next week he'll be back with that woman who's even more annoying than him,” he said.

“I find it really difficult,” Freed commented softly and Laxus gave a short, bitter laugh.

“Yeah, I thought so too,” he said.

The elevator reached the ground floor. The two went out and both walked towards the exit of the resort. When they were out Laxus sat down on a bench, running his hands through his hair, obviously nervous. Freed started to greet him, but when he saw him bitterly staring at the grass at his feet, he hesitated for a moment. Laxus was a really good person, he was sorry to see him like that. At that point he decided to take a step towards him.

“If you want to let off steam, on the beach there’s an area with a punching bag.”

Laxus looked up in confusion. “I’ve a gym on the floor above my room, if I want to let off steam I go there” he pointed out in a tired tone.

“Yes, but you wouldn't have the chance to be admired by the guy who destroyed your ego a few weeks ago by refusing you,” Freed said and regretted the sentence as soon as he finished it.

For long seconds Laxus just blinked with a shocked expression. Finally, he smiled in amusement.

“You're kicking yourself, huh?” he asked him.

“Not at all,” Freed replied promptly. “I'm just returning the favor you did me when you got me the job as a chef. But as I returned the favor, I’ll also return a revenge for letting me take a shower with the towel,” he declared.

Laxus laughed slightly.

“If I can make you drool then I accept the invitation” he said, standing up.

“I doubt I'll drool. Rather I can tease you when I see that your muscles are just full of air,” Freed retorted.

“Yeah, I think you'll drool a lot,” Laxus smiled.

***

“My father has always had very high demands, he decided everything for me and made me study economics and then let me take over the resort,” Laxus said as he walked with Freed along the beach.

The two had reached the beach but hadn’t found the equipment to let Laxus vent. On the other hand, they had played basketball, finding an abandoned ball and making a few shots for a basket. Then they walked towards the shore and started walking aimlessly chatting. And apparently, Laxus was now comfortable enough to tell him about his family.

“And I wanted to make him happy, partly so as not to fight constantly, partly because I wanted his approval. And when I finally started working seriously in high school, things almost got better. For a period of time we also got on well, he bragged to me to his partners, and I went to those fucking dinners just to make him happy,” he said and then shook his head.

“Practically I didn't have a social life, but at least I didn't fight it anymore with him. Until he caught me with a guy,” he said. Freed looked at him sorry and Laxus snorted. “He made me an incredible scene, and it’s only thanks to my grandfather that he then 'accepted' me,” he said making the quotes with his hands. “He didn't really accept it, but since I'm his only child and he can't tell me anything about the rest, he just doesn't talk about it and pretend nothing has happened.”

“I'm sorry,” Freed said.

“Nah, I'm used to it now. And it could be worse” he added and then glanced at him. “Anyway, I'm not the only one with a fucking family,” he added. Freed flapped for a moment and then smiled slightly.

“My family is great, they didn't even have to accept it. I think they knew even before I told them,” he revealed with a shrug. Laxus nodded slightly.

“Well, glad to know there are such families,” he muttered. “They probably even took you to the marches,” he later commented.

“More or less,” Freed chuckled. “My mother wanted to support me at all costs and in every moment of my life. She was a little embarrassing, but she’s really fantastic” he admitted and Laxus smiled slightly.

“She must be a really good person,” he said.

“She is,” Freed said confidently. “Even though she came to me one day with a book about gay sex and how to protect myself, I think it was the most embarrassing moment of my life,” he said and Laxus chuckled in amusement.

“Well, you can't say she wasn't close to you.”

“No, definitely,” Freed smiled. “Even if I drove her crazy a lot in the last year of high school,” he said.

“Really? Were you one of those dicks who didn't study anything?” Laxus asked.

“Not at all. I was actually a model student,” Freed revealed.

“One of those nerds with the stink under their nose?” Laxus guessed and for a moment Freed frowned, but then chuckled and nodded.

“Yeah, you probably would have called me that,” he revealed. “Until the end of the fourth year, from there I got engaged to a guy who made me do shit one after another. My mother, on the one hand, wanted to support me, on the other she was very worried,” he said. “Once I didn't come home for a whole weekend, she thought I was on drugs and that I was fucking with who knows who. In reality I was just sleeping with him”.

“Well, from a model student you turned into a rebel,” Laxus teased.

“Not really, I just melted a little,” Freed revealed. “And I think all teenagers have done shit in life,” he added. Laxus frowned and Freed feared he had said something bad. “Sorry,” he said, realizing that Laxus had previously told him that he had spent his entire life under his father's rules.

“Don't worry, it's not that I didn't enjoy. I just... I had a bad temper and got along with very few people,” Laxus said. “I still remember that time everyone went for a midnight swim and I refused and left. It would’ve been fun, but for some reason I was convinced that if I did, someone would steal my clothes,” he said.

Freed turned to him and met his gaze.

“Are you telling me you've never had a midnight swim? If I were you, I’d be ashamed of it,” he said clearly jokingly.

“I never understood the meaning of it,” Laxus objected, frowning.

“The point is to have fun going out first and stealing other people’s clothes, especially if he's the guy you like,” Freed explained. “So, do you want to take a bath?” he asked.

Laxus turned to him recovering the arrogant smile, which sent a shiver of excitement down Freed's spine.

“You're really kicking yourself, huh?”

“You’d like it,” was the presumptuous reply. “If you don't undress, I'll throw you into the sea, as revenge for the surprise shower,” he added with a smirk. Laxus laughed and they both began to undress to go in for a bath.

Freed, even knowing it was a bad idea, because Laxus was the boss's son and because they didn't know each other well yet, decided not to think. There was something about that boy that told him that if he didn't take advantage of it, he would miss a once in a lifetime opportunity.

***

Freed boarded the ferry and took a seat, while Laxus sat in front of him. They had gotten pretty close since they had taken the midnight swim. Laxus had started flirting again and Freed enjoyed flirting back, at least when Ivan wasn't around. Unfortunately, however, due to their work they were unable to see each other often, even though they worked in the same resort. That’s why that afternoon they had decided to go for a tour to the Tenrou island. Freed had the afternoon off, and Laxus had no problem shifting his working hours.

“Have you really never visited it before?” Laxus asked and Freed shook his head.

“No. Unlike you, I work, I don't have time for boat trips” Freed teased him a bit. If at first he had been acid, now he did it jokingly, clearly he knew that Laxus worked.

“Funny,” Laxus commented.

The ferry left and Freed looked down at the brochure he was holding, to read more about Tenrou, the small island that was now a nature reserve. The wind ruffled his hair and threw it in his face and Freed moaned softly as he heard Laxus chuckle. He took the rubber band and began to tie them in a high ponytail, but in doing so the brochure fluttered and Laxus caught it, smiling clearly amused.

“So, you’re interested in the myth of Tenrou?” he asked.

“Yes, I’m interested in history in general,” Freed replied as Laxus leafed through the brochure. “Even if that myth seems more like a way to advertise the island to engaged couples. From what I read, there lived a woman forced to immortality killed by the man whom she loved because of a kiss” he said. Laxus raised an eyebrow as he turned the pages.

“There’s another myth about that island,” he said. Freed became interested and leaned slightly towards him. “My grandfather always told me when I was a child. It's about Mavis' story, how she met her first friends and founded the city of Magnolia,” he explained.

“And what does it say?” Freed asked.

Laxus returned the brochure to the boy and began to tell about the life of Mavis, a girl who had lived for years alone on that island with only her imaginary friend, and how he had met her first friends, a gang of thieves.

When they arrived on the island, Laxus had just finished telling the whole story, and the two boys got off the boat as they began to visit the place. Laxus led him to see the big tree, Mavis' grave and other places while he continued to tell the stories his grandfather had told him, which Freed was very interested in.

They wandered around the island chatting and when they finished the tour inside and returned to the beach Freed realized that time had really flown by.

“I really need to take a bath,” he commented noting he was all sweaty after that hike. The heat of the summer season didn't help at all.

“Well, you can do it. And if you don't have a swimsuit, don't worry, it's a nudist beach,” Laxus said quietly. Freed stared at him skeptically and in silence, a little surprised at the revelation.

“Really?” he asked.

“Of course, it's an isolated beach and there aren't many tourists. Besides, it was written in the brochure,” Laxus said.

Freed frowned, he didn't remember reading such a thing and he was sure that if he read it, he would remember it. He wasn’t modest, but he had never been to a nudist beach and didn’t want to undress in the sunlight, especially when he didn’t see other people around him to confirm that statement. At the moment it was just the two of them on the beach.

“You’re really modest,” Laxus commented with a smirk.

“Because I don't trust you,” Freed muttered as Laxus set the towel on the beach and sat on it.

“Do you really think I would risk getting you a fine?” he asked, arching an eyebrow.

“I think you'd do anything to see me naked,” Freed promptly replied and Laxus chuckled.

Freed sat down next to him when Laxus waved him to sit down, then took the brochure and reread it to find out if the blonde had really been bullshitting him or not. He read it all and eventually found no paragraph, not a single line that said it was a nudist beach. He looked up at Laxus who was clearly looking amused.

“Seriously? You’d have made me get a fine,” Freed said irritably and also embarrassed at being fooled so easily. Laxus laughed.

“Everyone is looking at Mavis' grave. I would’ve enjoyed the view and then I’d have told you to get dressed before the others came,” he retorted. “Or maybe I would’ve made you run around naked until the others came, who knows,” he added amused.

Freed narrowed his gaze.

“I'll take my revenge,” he warned him.

“Nothing happened,” Laxus retorted with a laugh.

“Because I'm smart,” Freed retorted. “I doubt you’ll be able to escape my revenge.”

“Sure,” Laxus said derisively. “I doubt you can be vindictive, you're just a kid who gets embarrassed easily,” he added.

“We'll see,” Freed retorted and turned his gaze towards the sea, thanking the fact that he hadn't undressed.

***

Laxus was having a great time. He'd almost feared that staying at that resort with his father would be terribly boring, but Freed's presence was distracting him enough from the fights with his father and the stress at work. In fact, teasing him or flirting with him had become the funniest thing of the day.

In the end, Freed didn't take revenge, but Laxus wasn't surprised. That guy might be good at flirting and resisting his advances, but Laxus doubted he could really embarrass him. Also, Freed was really attracted to him, he could see it from the way he looked at him. And God, the idea of being able to take such a man to bed sparked arousal throughout Laxus' body. After the sauna he had feared that he had exaggerated and that he had missed his chance, but luckily that wasn’t the case.

Knowing that Freed was still willing to flirt with him and play along with him was exciting.

“Hey Laxus, are you in the world of the living or are you dreaming?” Cana called him back and Laxus returned to reality. He hadn't heard anything about his friends' conversation. Evergreen, Cana, and Bickslow were clearly watching him expectantly.

“Sorry, work stresses me out,” he said.

“Yeah, with that look I guess the problem is work,” Cana commented ironically and Laxus found himself blushing slightly. He had no idea what expression he had, but certainly thinking about Freed couldn't help him keep a serious look.

“What are you talking about?” he changed the subject.

“Later I want to know what you were thinking,” Cana said.

“I'm pretty sure it has to do with a guy,” Bickslow commented amused.

“Not that it's hard to understand,” Evergreen gave a strong hand.

What great bastards.

Laxus just shook his head. “What were you talking about?” he asked again.

“About the waitress,” Cana said with a nod and Laxus followed her gaze. Ah, Mirajane. “So, will you tell me if she’s engaged or not? And even if she’s interested in women,” Cana said.

“She's not engaged and... I honestly don't know,” Laxus admitted.

Mirajane at that moment approached them with a tray in her hand and a dangerous smile on her face. Laxus didn't give it too much thought, thinking that she probably wanted to make fun of Evergreen by telling him about Elfman. This girl had a sadistic streak about embarrassing people publicly, and Laxus enjoyed helping her.

“Here are the orders,” Mirajane said, putting down three cups of coffee and one of tea for Evergreen. Then she gave two slices of cake to Bickslow, two brioches to Evergreen and Cana and then she turned to Laxus and smiled broadly at him placing a slice of cheesecake in front of him.

“This is for you. The cook told me to tell you that it was made by his golden hands, that you adore, just for you”.

Laxus was stunned for a moment, while Mirajane watched him clearly amused. The boy then realized what she had said and felt his face blush furiously. Fuck. Fuck! Mirajane giggled.

“Oh, and he also said to tell you that if you want to see him naked, you don't need to take him to a nude beach, you just have to join him in the sauna or hot tub. And that he’s very pleased to have caught your attention. Enjoy your breakfast!” she trilled and then walked away happily as ever as Laxus's face took on a distinctly red color.

Cana, Evergreen and Bickslow turned to him in shock and with a thousand questions. Laxus suddenly regretted telling Freed that his nosy friends would be arriving that day and that they had fun pissing him off.

“So, who’s this cook?” Bickslow asked with a grin on his face.

“And did you really take him to a nudist beach?” Evergreen asked.

“But above all, what did he do to you with those golden hands?” Cana asked.

Laxus pounced on the cheesecake to keep from answering their questions, thinking he'd take revenge for that stupid fucking prank.

***

Freed smiled broadly as he relaxed in the hot tub. He would have liked to have seen Laxus' expression when he made fun of him in front of his friends, but Mirajane's description was satisfactory anyway. Was he really blushing so much? Freed really wanted to see him.

He chuckled to himself as he turned on the whirlpool and stood in front of the jet so that it hit his back directly. After a day of work it was definitely pleasant to go there and the fact that there were only a few people at that time helped him to relax even more.

He closed his eyes and rested his head on the edge of the pool sliding further down into the tub and muttering softly, enjoying that wonderful massage. Until he felt a shift of water and a warm hand resting on his side.

He snapped his eyes open only to find Laxus in front of him with his lips folded in a smirk that heralded nothing but trouble.

“You enjoyed yourself, right?” Laxus asked as he approached and pinned him against the edge of the tub. Freed blinked for a couple of seconds and swallowed nervously, trying to control the eyes that wanted to travel every single groove of that fantastic body. Somehow Freed managed to fold his lips into a smirk.

“Actually yes, Mira said you were red as a tomato,” he said smugly. Laxus blushed slightly and Freed's smirk widened. “I didn't think I'd embarrass you so much in front of your friends,” he teased again, trying to ignore Laxus's body.

“You're an asshole, you know,” Laxus said.

“Maybe, but I'm not the one who started it,” he retorted. Laxus narrowed his gaze and pushed forward causing their chests to collide. Freed inhaled sharply and Laxus smiled sadistically at his reaction.

“No, but you won't be the one to finish it either,” he said, straddling him and Freed swallowed nervously. Laxus's hands held his hips steady and his thighs prevented him from getting up. Not that Freed would have wanted to do it. “And now I really want to find out what you can do with those golden hands” he blew in his face.

Freed felt himself blush and blinked in surprise. Did he really mean…?

Oh fuck yeah, he really meant it.

Laxus's hand that went down his abdominals and reached the hem of his costume was definitely eloquent.

“Here?” Freed asked hoarsely.

“Well,” Laxus started with a grin as he ran his hand under Freed's swimsuite. “Since you embarrassed me in public, it seems right that your punishment takes place here.”

Freed was about to retort, but Laxus's hand moving under the costume made him forget all complaints. He looked around and noticed that, at least in that room, there was no one. However, in the others there were probably other customers or employees.

Laxus gave his cock a hard pump and Freed moaned. However, that didn't seem like a punishment at all.

“I advise you to be quiet if you don't want to be overheard,” Laxus said as he pulled Freed's cock out of the costume and pumped it faster.

“Shit,” Freed whispered and Laxus smiled, placing the lips on his neck and kissing him voraciously. Freed decided to get busy, if Laxus wanted to know what he could do with his hands then hell, he would.

He ran his hands around his muscular body that he had admired for far too long and gasped at the sensation. God, he hardly believed he had such a man sitting on top of him. His hands quickly went down to his stomach, he pulled down the costume directly and, after taking a look at Laxus's cock, wrapped it in his fingers and started pumping.

“Fuck,” Laxus muttered and moved to remove the costume from both himself and Freed. Then he positioned himself on Freed again and pushed their cocks against each other.

“Oh shit,” Freed moaned.

“Shut up,” Laxus whispered.

Freed wrapped his fingers around their cocks and started pumping them together, all thoughts focused on that wonderfully sexy body and the contact he had craved. Laxus bent over him and took Freed’s face in his hands, kissing him.

Freed inhaled sharply but didn't take long to reciprocate, while he felt Laxus' hands go down his neck and then his chest, until they reached his nipples and teased them. Freed glanced at the door to check that no one was arriving. Damn, the fact that anyone who could arrive at any moment was exciting him even more.

Laxus moved his lips back to his neck stifling another moan and Freed increased the movement of his hand. Then Laxus pressed the whirlpool button which hit Freed's back directly.

“Fuck” he moaned too loudly.

“Faster,” Laxus gasped on his neck.

Freed obeyed, unable to restrain himself any longer and felt his orgasm approach. He increased the movement of his hand and with the other hand he grabbed Laxus's hair, forcibly turning his head and kissing him intensely, while he felt his orgasm rise again. Biting Laxus' lip he cummed into the water. He kept moving his hand until he also felt Laxus's cock squirt and his body shaking at the sensation.

When it finished Freed stood still enjoying the last moments of the whirlpool, with Laxus's body still attached to him and his breath tickling his face.

“Fuck” Freed muttered after a few seconds.

Laxus smiled wearily and Freed smiled back, exhausted and high.

“Shit, you're fucking awesome,” Laxus said, kissing him again. Freed reciprocated without having the slightest desire to break away from that incredibly sexy body. “Now I can tell, your hands are truly magical,” he said and Freed laughed slightly.

Laxus moved and grabbed his swimsuit and put on it, then grabbed Freed's. The boy reached out and thought he was going to pass it to him, but Laxus grinned and walked out of the pool without giving it back.

“Have a nice walk, asshole,” he said as he walked quickly to the door.

“Laxus,” Freed called as he stood up to follow him, but the blond was already at the door and Freed was still in the tub.

“I advise you not to scream if you don't want to attract attention,” Laxus mocked, then grabbed his and Freed's bathrobes and hurried out of the room.

Freed could only watch the glass door move and remain naked and red-faced in the tub. Embarrassed, he covered his crotch with his hands, thinking that he would soon take revenge on that sexy bastard.

***

Laxus had discovered that Freed had managed to reach the towels without being seen by anyone, but then he had had to walk all the way down the hall with only that miserable piece of cloth around his hips to his room. It wasn't that bad, but Laxus laughed when he imagined the scene.

And well, thinking back to that night and how Freed had touched him, gave him constant ideas about how to take that boy and what it would be like to run his hands over his body again. Damn, that boy was a natural temptation, Laxus had thought that from the first time he had seen him sitting on the loveseat of the Blue Pegasus. Who knows what it would have been like to fuck him, have him under him and hear his loud moans instead of the muffled ones he had heard in that tub. Laxus smiled, thinking that at that rate it wouldn't take long to get him to bed, especially if Freed was so responsive.

At the moment, however, he had something more serious to focus on, like the meeting between his father's partners, which would have unnerved him even more. So after having breakfast, he went to the elevator, adjusting his jacket and waiting for it to arrive on the ground floor. He glanced at his watch and then realized that someone was approaching. It was Freed. He frowned slightly.

“What are you doing here?” he asked.

“I forgot something in my room,” Freed said, admiring him. Laxus smiled slightly, Freed wasn't as discreet as he thought he was. But it was okay, and Laxus enjoyed knowing he had an effect on him. Especially considering how crazy that green-haired devil drove him every time Laxus saw him.

The elevator arrived and the two went up.

“Do you have a meeting this morning?” Freed asked.

“Unfortunately,” Laxus commented, glancing at him.

Freed smiled devilishly and pressed a couple of buttons, sending the elevator into a tailspin.

“What are you doing?” Laxus asked.

“You'll like it” was his reply and without wasting time Freed stood up on tiptoe and kissed him, running his hands over Laxus’ pants. He unfastened his belt and with a sharp gesture opened his pants. Laxus gasped on his lips.

“I’ve a meeting in five minutes,” he said.

“I bet I'll be able to get you to cum within that time,” Freed smiled.

Laxus would have turned him away. Damn, even if that cook was sexy as hell there was no way that he masturbated him in the elevator risking to dirty his work clothes. And in five fucking minutes he wouldn't be able to do anything. But before he could say anything, Freed reached down between his legs and all the words Laxus wanted to say caught in his throat.

Freed lowered his boxers and took his cock between his fingers, gave two strong pumps and then put it in his mouth. Laxus's eyes widened and a whimper escaped his lips without him being able to hold it back. Shocked he watched the boy move his mouth over him.

Oh fucking hell.

Freed looked up at him and Laxus groaned just to see those evil eyes. Freed increased his speed, moved his tongue to its full length, and then rolled it over the tip of his cock.

“Oh shit,” Laxus moaned as he felt his legs shake. The elevator started up again and Laxus pressed the buttons again to stop it. “Freed… holy shit,” he gasped and leaned his head against the wall, thrusting his hips forward asking for more. Freed picked up speed and took it down his throat, Laxus cursed again.

“F-Fuck” he moaned but the lift started up again. Before he could stop it a third time, Freed stood up and took Laxus’ face in his hands, kissing him. Laxus let himself be carried away by the kiss and placed his hands on Freed's hips, even though his cock was demanding attention.

He felt a sensation of panic when he realized that the elevator was going up and he broke away from Freed. At that moment the cook adjusted his boxers and pulled up the zipper of his trousers.

“I lost the bet,” Freed said with a shrug.

“What?” Laxus asked stunned as the elevator stopped at his floor.

Freed just stamped a kiss on his lips and smiled wickedly. “You don't want to be late for the meeting,” he said.

At that moment the elevator doors opened and Freed walked out, greeting Jellal Fernandez politely and walking down the corridor. The man entered the elevator while Laxus was still looking at Freed in disbelief, excited and pissed off.

“Isn't that your plan? The meeting has started,” Jellal said.

Laxus without answering came out of the elevator, with an erection in his pants and an incredible desire to fuck that asshole's mouth. He barely wondered how he was going to get to that fucking meeting in those conditions. All his thoughts were focused on the revenge he would organize. That damn cook was playing with the wrong person.

***

When Erza came to call him saying the boss wanted to talk to him, Freed felt panic envelop him. His first thought was that Ivan had discovered that he was having fun with his son. Fuck, it could be. Maybe Mr. Fernandez had understood this when he got to the elevator, or maybe someone had seen them in the tub, or had heard them flirt. Maybe Laxus had talked to his father about him after he got pissed off. Freed immediately dismissed that thought, Laxus was an asshole, but not such an asshole. He wasn't going to get him fired and for something like that, and then it seemed to him that he was having a good time.

This didn’t mean that Ivan couldn’t have found out about it some other way.

Freed went up the stairs anxiously but when he got to Ivan Dreyar's office floor, he noticed that Laxus was outside the door. He approached a little hesitantly.

“As you can imagine, I called you,” the blond said.

Freed felt the worry vanish, replaced by a completely different anxiety. An anxiety full of expectation and excitement. Freed knew that Laxus would organize a revenge. He knew it from the moment he got out of that elevator. He didn’t care in the least, on the contrary, he was looking forward to Laxus putting something into action, if that meant touching that wonderfully sexy body again.

“Isn't Mr. Dreyar there?” he asked.

“Yes, but it's in his office. Follow me,” Laxus ordered and turned.

Freed couldn’t help but obey him, until he reached Laxus' office. As soon as he entered, he looked around, almost envious that the blonde could have such a beautiful view when he was working. A large table was positioned on one side of the room, with the windows behind which you could see the beach directly, on one side there were shelves full of books and in one corner there were two armchairs with a small table in the middle.

“Why did you make me call?” he asked turning back to Laxus, who was looking at him smiling.

“Oh, you really don't get it?” the blond asked, approaching him and taking him by the shoulder. He led him to the windows and Freed felt a thrill of excitement go through him as Laxus showed him Magnolia from the windows. “Nice view, right?” Laxus asked blowing in his ear.

“Yes,” Freed replied, trying to chase away all the perverse thoughts that were coming to his mind. Laxus fucking him against the window. Freed fucking Laxus against the window. Laxus bending him over the table and fucking him there. Whatever his revenge had been he was already getting tough.

Laxus' hands rested on his hips and Freed held his breath, agitated and with the adrenaline flowing through his body. His big hands pulled his shirt off his trousers and then climbed under the fabric and Freed shivered slightly.

“You really like the idea of getting fucked by your boss in front of the window” Laxus commented amused with his lips on his ear. Freed thought of Ivan Dreyar and made a face.

“God no,” he said seriously. Laxus stopped.

“What?” he asked incredulously.

Freed turned to him and leaned his back against the windows. He realized they were closer than he thought. And elegantly dressed Laxus was terribly hot.

“You're not my boss,” Freed said trying to regain a certain demeanor “And let your father fuck me... definitely makes me pass all the excitement” he said seriously. Laxus was surprised for a moment in silence and then chuckled slightly.

“Well, I'll be your boss.”

“I doubt it,” Freed said. “For sure it will be years before you can become one and I’ll be gone by that time,” he said. Laxus frowned but Freed continued. As much as the idea of Laxus fucking him appealed to him a lot, he didn't want to give him all the power. If he had managed to reverse Laxus' revenge it would’ve been much more satisfying. “Also, using your power against me is pretty unfair, as well as pathetic. Can't you really think of anything better?” Freed asked him.

Laxus narrowed his gaze and was silent. Freed smiled victoriously and ran a hand through Laxus's shirt, enjoying his slight gasp. Perhaps reversing the situation would have been easier than expected.

“You can't wait to fuck me, right? Ever since I turned you down at the Blue Pegasus. But if you want to do that, you'll have to think of something better than using your role. If you can,” he added, grabbed Laxus' tie by pulling it and forcing him to lower his head. “Clear?” he asked.

Laxus had dilated pupils and the two boys breathed in their faces for a moment. Freed wanted to close that distance and jump on him, let Laxus kiss him and do whatever he wanted with him. His cock was pressing on his pants. But he didn't want to give up.

“You know what, I changed my mind,” Laxus said hoarsely. Freed frowned but didn’t have time to think that he felt grabbed by the legs and Laxus without too much effort made him sit on the desk. Freed felt the excitement rise again, but he forced himself to stay still.

“Fucked on the desk? Really obvious”.

“No,” Laxus smiled as he stroked over him. “I'll make you cum in your pants, and then you'll have to go all over the resort with a nice spot here,” he said running his hand over his cock.

Freed swallowed hard but instead of pulling back, he wrapped his legs around Laxus’ hips.

“Let's see if you can,” he challenged him and grabbed his hair and then smashed theirs lips in a passionate kiss, made of tongues and teeth. If Laxus wanted him to come in his pants, then Freed would have made him come with him.

He began to rub against him, running the hands over his ass as he felt Laxus' lips travel up his neck, and his hands back under his shirt. God, Freed didn't know how long he was going to last, but he hoped he would last long enough for Laxus to come too.

He unbuttoned Laxus's shirt and ran his hands under it as he continued to rub against the bulge in Laxus's pants. When the blonde tried to take his pants off, Freed grabbed his wrists and smiled against his lips.

“Afraid of coming before me?” he asked panting.

Laxus took a step back but Freed kept his thighs around him not wanting to give him even the slightest chance to undress. That movement caused him to move off the desk and inevitably he slid down. Laxus lowered himself to the floor with him and pinned him underneath, grabbing his wrists and holding them over his head. With the other hand he undid his belt and Freed tried to free himself from his grip.

“Are you really about to come already?” he instigated him.

“Fuck you, I'm not going to cum in my pants,” Laxus snarled on his neck, biting him. Freed groaned but struggled again, determined not to come until Laxus was on edge. He managed to free one of his hands and grabbed Laxus's wrist with his, preventing him from taking off his pants.

“We'll see that,” Freed moaned.

Laxus growled again and again their lips collided, while the hips continued to move against each other. Freed never thought he'd ever done anything this hot, locked in a fucking office rubbing against a terribly hot guy who could really be his boss. He moaned into Laxus's mouth and heard the blonde swear.

“Fucking shit,” he gasped and Freed smiled. Laxus wasn’t supposed to be better off than him.

The smile disappeared when the blonde ran his hand under the shirt, reaching his nipple and teasing it with his fingers. At the same time a stronger push hit him.

“Fuck” Freed whimpered.

“Are you cumming?” Laxus said with a victorious smile. Freed tried to restrain himself and gritted his teeth even though he was terribly close. He wanted to take Laxus to the limit with him. Something occurred to him and he sat up, fighting the blond who was trying to keep him sprawled on the ground.

Freed managed to win long enough to sit with his back against the window. He wrapped his arms around Laxus, now sitting astride him, and Freed grabbed him by the hair and forcing him to rest his chin on his shoulder and look out the window.

“Nice view, huh?” Freed asked.

“Shit,” Laxus cursed.

“You wanted to fuck me here, huh?” Freed asked continuing to move their crotches against each other. God, he wanted to take those damn pants off both of them.

“Fucking shit,” the blond moaned.

“You wanted to fuck me and show me to all of Magnolia, huh?”.

“Shut up, oh fuck. F-fucking… fuck,” Laxus moaned and tightened his grip on Freed's hips. He pushed against him and came into his pants, increasing the thrusts and friction between the two. Freed threw his head against the glass and finally let himself be overwhelmed by orgasm, completely disinterested in where he was cumming, happy to be able to take Laxus with him.

Laxus stood with his chin resting on Freed's shoulder and his arms wrapped around his body for a long time, and Freed didn't even try to move. He just caught his breath, panting deeply and running his hand through Laxus's hair. They were both tired.

“You... you're a bastard” Laxus said after a while and Freed smiled, while the blonde sat down in front of him, running a hand through his hair. Freed looked down at Laxus' pants, pleased with his small victory, even though he was in the same condition.

“I am,” Freed agreed.

“A fucking bastard,” Laxus added.

Freed's smile widened.

“I know,” he replied. “You can add irresistibly sexy, devilishly intelligent and fucking good in bed,” he added. Laxus laughed.

“God, you’re more arrogant than me.”

“I doubt it,” Freed commented with a chuckle. Laxus joined in but soon calmed down and became serious again. He looked at him intently.

“Let's go to my room, I've seriously had enough of all this teasing. I want to fuck and you want it too,” he said.

“In your room?” Freed asked surprised.

“Yes, I don't want to put on a public show,” Laxus replied. Freed found himself giggling again.

“Really? I thought public sex was your favorite thing,” he commented and Laxus smiled.

“Oh, there are so many things I like. You’ve no idea” he said passing a hand over Freed's bangs and moving it behind his ear. Freed looked at him in surprise, finding himself blushing at that unusually sweet gesture. “And then we can go out on our second date, and maybe hang out seriously” he said.

Freed frowned. “Second date?”.

Laxus nodded. “When I took you to Tenrou was our first date,” he explained.

“Oh really,” Freed said skeptically. “So, on a first date you usually take the guys to the beach and get them naked by humiliating them in front of everyone.”

Laxus laughed. “Only with those assholes” he replied “So, you're not afraid of my father, are you?”.

“Afraid,” Freed scoffed. “No, on the contrary. I can't wait to fuck in every corner of this resort just to annoy him” Laxus laughed heartily.

“I see that you understand”.

#fraxus #freed x laxus #freed justine #laxus dreyar #fanfic