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sasuhinasno1fan · 9 months

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Wish come true - Adrien AUGreste Day 9+10

It took a while for this one to get written and I was a bit back and forth on letting Ameile get the ring just based on the reason for why Gabreil wanted to keep it. I never actually watched s4 and 5, just know from friends hatewatching, and I had assumed the rings had a bigger part in the story but so far, they just seem to be family heirlooms. But again, because it’s not cannon past s3, Felix actually has a relationship with his dad. Anyway, enjoy!

Friends

“Remind me never to do Student UN again.” Adrien said, dropping onto the deck of the Liberty.

It was the Saturday after their schools Model UN and while Adrien lucked out with Lila not participating, she was back in school and made it her mission to make his life difficult by being a nascence. it took the whole class playing shield to keep him from actually hurting her. Chloe surprisingly had been a huge help, giving her a dress down that honestly, was too good to describe. Obviously, the Mayor’s daughter hadn’t done a whole 180 but with most people remembering how her mother treated her and starting to give her the benefit of the doubt, she was coming out from her spoiled shell. She was still spoiled and self-centred, that was Chloe, but Adrien compared her to Cleo from Monster High. She cared and wanted people to know that, it just took a while for her to find the ways of showing it.

“No need to applaud, I’ve arrived!” Chloe announced, stepping onto the ship, stumbling when Sabrina tripped off the gangplank and crashed into her. Her best friend stuttered apologizes when she turned to glare but the blonde took a breath and asked if she was ok.

Baby steps, that’s what it was about.

“Look on the bright side, two days and a full party where we don’t have to deal with her.” Nino said. He was leaning against Alya’s legs as she sat on the stage with Marinette and Alix, still going over the story about the Miraculous and their secret society. She’d been even more into it when the news riel about the sudden return of the Temple, with a very familiar looking mark, ran.

“And even better,” Luka said, kneeling down next to Adrien, “You now have more free time and I’ve gotten ahead in assignments.”

Adrien smiled to himself. “I guess that is something worth celebrating. Other than actually pulling off the school’s first Student UN.”

“Oh my god. Chloe!” Alya called.

“I didn’t do anything!”

“No.” Alya got up, practically shoving her phone into Chloe’s face. “Did you know about this? that this was today?”

Chloe’s eyes widened. “Crap. I can’t believe I forgot. I didn’t think I’d forget.”

“What?”

“Lila’s mom disappeared a year ago.”

“Died.” Chloe corrected. “She died, I’m sure of it. she was really sick, dizzy spells, fainting, confined to her bed for days. I never liked Lila, but I liked her mom. I can’t believe I forgot.”

“It’s been a busy year, what with Hawkmoth and everything.” Sabrina said.

“Not to mention Lila suddenly showing up at school.” Marinette reminded. “I’m sure her mother knows you care.”

“She showed up at school?” Adrien asked.

“Lila was homeschooled. With her dad’s popularity, Emile didn’t want her being stared at. Not like she cared; she was always doing something to make a mess of things. She would be a clothing model for her dad for clothes for her age group and clearly, she loved the attention.” Chloe said. “it started small then, but she started lying to get her way. Emile would catch her a few times but she started to get better and then Emile got sick, so she hid better. All of a sudden, she walks into the classroom with this lie that her father hated that she was being locked away and wanted her to be normal and interact with the people who bought his clothes.”

“Which also brought in the lies she told us basically about how she was involved in all our favourite things.” Alya reminded.

“Which Alya here actually helped expose a little. Did you know she said Jagged Stone wrote a love song about her?” Alix said, putting a hand on the reporter’s shoulder.

“Jagged Stone, is in his 30s.”

“Her lies went crashing down pretty soon after he made a statement about it not being true. Didn’t stop her, but we knew to fact check and before you know it, newest big model on the scene is the biggest scandal no one wants to deal with.”

“But she lost her mom.”

Adrien thought about how she reacted the first day he met her. She had no standing, clearly grasping at anything to be seen. He understood it, keeping up a façade because it was easier, but she seemed to take singular focus on attacking him, insulting his mother and her love. He could blame it on Lila’s own mother and her disappearance, but he didn’t know. The popular kids he me at his schools, a lot were mad at their parents, but unless they were involved in some way with yours, your own parents never made conversation. Any cheap shot about them was about their looks or their jobs, not their ability to love you. he felt bad for her, but it didn’t justify her behaviour. He did feel bad for Chloe though. He wondered if Emile Agreste had been more of a mom than her actual mother.

“Chloe, did you want to go give your condolences?” Adrien asked. “To Gabriel and maybe Lila? I mean, I don’t like her, but if my mama disappeared?”

“We should at least let her know we’re thinking of her.” Mylene said. “But if we all went.”

“She’d lose her head. Or lap it up. Or, I don’t know, maybe be normal.” Ivan pointed out, all valid points.

“her dad wouldn’t want his daughter’s whole class coming by. He doesn’t even leave his house.” Chloe reminded.

“So only a few of us. Chloe, you and Sabrina. Maybe Juleka, since you model for him? And Marinette, since you’re working his internship.” Rose suggested.

“I will be working his internship. And honestly, if Lila hates Adrien the most, she hates me second. She constantly goes after me trying to get me in trouble.” Marinette reminded.

“I’ll go.” Adrien said, shrugging when everyone looked at him. “I don’t like her, but I mentioned to her dad that I liked Solitude. Feels like I should at least let him know how sorry I am.”

“So, Chloe, Sabrina, Adrien and Juleka?”

“Except, Juleka is practically becoming the new face of the brand,” Luka reminded. “I don’t know her well, but I know her enough. If we’re worried what all of us being there will do, do we really think sending her replacement is a good idea?”

“Chloe, Sabrina, Adrien and Luka? if only to stop Adrien when Lila undoubtly pisses him off.” Rose said, Adrien looking insulted.

“Hey!”

“Oh, you know she’ll do it. get filming, I’ll call the limo.” Chloe said.

________________

“Yes?”

Chloe tossed her hair, standing at full hight. Adrien would admit, it was impressive how easily she fell into being her snooty self when she wanted something. There was Chloe who held onto her self-importance and could still be ok to be around and then there was this side, who after a few minutes, you’d be tempted to throw her off the Eiffel Tower.

That was probably why any akuma she caused would take her there.

“We’ve come to pay our respects to M. Agreste.” Sabrina nudged her, leaving her to sigh and roll her eyes. “And Lila I guess.”

“We have guests Chloe.”

“Oh, let her in. I haven’t seen her in years!” that was a different voice, but one that perked Chloe up. She turned to Adrien, who was messing with the plastic covering the bouquet. She smirked in a way that worried Sabrina, who started tugging on her jacket to get her to spill.

The gate swung open and Chloe led them to the door. It was pulled open and Adrien had to remind himself that Emile Agreste had been missing for a year. The woman who stood in front of them was near identical though.

“Chloe!”

“Amelie! It’s so nice to see you again. How is it in London? Great, I’d like you to meet someone. This is Adrien.” Chloe dragged Adrien over, ignoring his questions of what she was doing.

“Um, hi?”

“Oh, my goodness. Felix, Felix! Come over here. Look at this.” grabbing Adrien, the woman dragged him in the house, Chloe still ignoring the questions over what was going on, smiling at the scene before them.

Amelie brought Adrien to stand in front of someone. Someone with the same shade of hair and eyes, near the same height and had the same expression Adrien tended to have when truly annoyed or angry.

“It’s this amazing? Felix, you two look exactly alike. Lila, you must have been so surprised when he came to your class. I hear you’re new?”

“Um, yeah. I’m Adrien Rossi…and this is a little strange.”

Amelie giggled, clapping her hands. “Oh, this is amazing! Emile and I always hoped our kids would look like this, near twins. I always wanted to play a trick on you Gabriel, and switch the kids for a day. Oh, the things the two of you could have gotten away with.”

Feeling a little awkward, Adrien gave the teen in front of him a smile. “Hi, and you are?”

“I’m Felix.” His accented French made Adrien tempted to switch to English, but he didn’t want to assume.

“Oh, and I’m Amelie. Emilie was my big sister. Chloe, why don’t you introduce me to your other friends?”

Adrien glanced over Felix’s shoulder to see Lila glaring at him. She seemed madder than usual, like she actually wanted to hurt him. Eager to get out, Adrien handed the flowers to him.

“Sorry for your loss.”

Felix looked at the flowers before looking back at him. It was strange, seeing such a proper picture staring back at him. Mylene, while waiting for others to finish their video, had braided his bangs into his hair and the fishnet poking out from under his oversized shirt was a definite contrast to his slacks and waistcoat.

“I know you don’t mean my father but thank you regardless.” Felix said.

“Oh, I didn’t know. I won’t say ‘I’m sorry’ because I know every kid who lost a parent never wants to hear that. So instead, I’ll say…I hope the important memories never fade and if they do, you never lose the feelings you had during them.”

Felix looked surprised and Adrien realised he was hoping for a reaction. Just not the one he gave. He took the flowers and handed them to Nathalie, who looked pained as Chloe held court with Lila’s aunt.

“If you don’t mind, Mlle. Bourgeois, this is a family occasion.” Gabriel finally interrupted.

“That’s fine, we just wanted you to know we were thinking of you. oh, and Sabrina.” The red-haired girl took out the SD card that they downloaded their video onto and handed it to Lila. “Just so you know we care.”

Lila dropped the SD card and stomped on it a few times. Whether or not it broke it, Adrien wasn’t sure, but they all got the message. She stormed up the stairs, ignoring her aunt’s yelling to come back and apologize, which turned into a near fight between her and Gabriel about Lila’s behaviour. Adrien took one look at Felix, who’s face still held the same expression, but with a bit of sadness and spoke without thinking much.

“Hey, Felix. Is it your first time in Paris? We’re having a party at Luka’s houseboat; you should come with us.”

A small bit of relief appeared in the green eyes as he turned to his mother. “Can I?”

“I suppose. How about you meet me back here at 4 so we can say goodbye and go to the station together?”

And with that, they had a new addition.

_________________

“Whoa. It’s like a funhouse mirror.” Kim said, looking Felix up and down, who looked annoyed at being gawked at.

“Except I’m sure his temper is the same. Sure, you remember that part, huh Kim?” Adrien said, smiling when the athlete got red and turned back to the party. “Sorry about him.”

“You didn’t have to do this because you feel sorry for me.”

“I only feel sorry you would have had to spend the afternoon with Lila.” Adrien said, taking in the same surprised look Felix had before. “If I felt sorry for you because of your father, then I’d feel the same about a lot of my friends. Lot of single household kids here. Fair amount due to a parent passing away but they have their ways of remembering them and it’s a reminder to us to always remember the important feelings. now, you hungry? Kagami is getting off training soon and she’s bringing freshly made mochi. It’s really good.”

Felix stared at him, like he was trying to figure him out before he turned away. “Not particularly hungry, though I am thirsty.”

It took some time, but Felix started to open up. He was sarcastic and a bit rude but they were all used to it with Chloe. When Kim’s teasing went to far, Felix shut him down with a rather well-timed insult that had the whole group laughing as Kim went red and pouted. His social skills lacked some, which made him bond with Kagami when she finally arrived.

“If they say something pop culture related you don’t get, just nod. They usually figure out we have no clue what they mean and explain to not look stupid.” She advised.

“Thanks Kagami.” Adrien said sarcastically.

Somehow the topic turned to the thing majority of their class shared in common, single parent households. It was a healthy debate of what they felt they missed compared to their friends and classmates with two parents.

“Twice as much worrying? That baby akuma accidently smashed through my room and my dad freaked out. I was in the bathroom, which is the furthest from the skylight so I was fine. but Papa lost it, trying to break in and check on me. Which is fine, I get it. but after Scarlet Bug fixed everything, he came by to check if I was ok while Catseye went to go drop the baby off and my dad’s first reaction is that I’m dating Scarlet Bug! Do you have any idea how mortifying that is? The poor guy didn’t get a chance to explain before my dad tried inviting him to dinner with us.” Marinette went.

“Please, you think that’s bad? Reminder that my dad became akumatized to keep me from leaving.” Chloe threw in. “Your dad got akumatized because he thought you were dumped.”

“Seeing how my dad won’t even talk to me since I came out,” Marc said, “I wouldn’t be too mad about him getting akumatized because he didn’t want to see me hurt.”

“At least your mother wasn’t akumatized because she wants to control you.” Kagami said, taking a sip of tea.

“Or akumatized because she doesn’t enjoy being control.” Luka said.

Felix looked confused. “Is this what we do? Talk about being akumatized? Wait, have all of you been akumatized?”

“Pretty much. I think Marinette is the only person who hasn’t been akumatized. Just all her friends and family.” Nino said.

“Besides, we’ve realised that talking about what happened and remembering the emotions we felt is a reminder that it’s ok to feel that way. If Hawkmoth didn’t exist, we could feel that without consequences. Our reactions would be different. We have to remind ourselves that while we try to keep a check on our emotions to keep Hawkmoth from taking us over again, feeling what we felt is normal. And one day we can feel those emotions without worrying about the really bad consequences again.” Rose explained.

“I think there are some consequences you should still feel worried about.” Felix pointed out.

“So, what would be your trigger?” Markov asked, hovering over the mochi to keep Kim and Ivan from having too many.

“My trigger?”

“A lot of ours was Chloe. Chloe’s was Scarlet Bug believe it or not.” Alya said.

“Mine was a grown man who thought it was ok to threaten kids and act like a child. But got us a contract out of it.” Adrien said. “It doesn’t have to be anything big.”

Felix’s gaze went to his cup, clanging his ring against the ceramic. “My dad. But not his passing. It could have been, he died in an accident but that would have been my mom’s. she lost her sister and the love of her life within a month of each other. My trigger would have been my uncle not showing his face at the funeral, but expecting us to come to his house to mourn his wife. I loved my aunt, but why should my father’s passing be brushed off? I can’t talk about it with my mother and I don’t make friends easy. Most just want something because our family is rich, but I wanted to mourn and because of my uncle I can’t. he doesn’t even seem to understand why my mother wants the rings back.”

“Rings?” Adrien asked.

Felix messed with the ring on his finger. “because my aunt was older, she got the family rings. Used to be told stories about how they had special powers and for a kid who grew up with his father telling him about fae and calling his wife Titania the fairy queen, I liked those stories. After my aunt disappeared, my mom wanted a piece of her back and that piece was the ring. They used them as their wedding rings and he doesn’t seem to get why my mom wants them back. He’s mourned her by hiding away. My mother’s hid her mourning to take care of the company and me. She deserves that much.”

Adrien looked at the ring, as Felix continued to mess with it. it was slightly big, a bit faded but Felix handled it like it was the most important thing in the world. Probably because it belonged it to his father. The ring could have gone to Amelie but instead Felix had it, to remember his father because she had him. and all she wanted was a way to remember her sister. He got why Gabriel wanted to keep the ring if it was his only link to his wife, but he wasn’t the only one who lost her.

“I think you should steal it.” Kagami said. “he lives inside his home, rarely coming out. I’m sure he has other ways of remembering her. The rings don’t belong to him, they did to her and now to your mother. But if you want to avoid getting in trouble, maybe convince your mom to have him sit down and explain her side. Guilt could probably work too if she adds how she can’t grieve her family with nothing to hold onto.” The whole group stared at her. “What?”

“You, are a terrifying person. Look, the point is, you have every right to feel the way you do. Tell that to your mom so she can take care of it. and if that doesn’t work, maybe steal the ring, but only if you feel like he’s saying no to be an ass.” Adrien explained.

“So, steal as last resort?”

“The guy is friends with the mayor of Paris. Try not to get banned before we can hang out again?”

“Again?”

“Well yeah. We’re friends now, you’re stuck with us.”

Felix took in the mix of faces, all – including Chloe – giving him looks that all said they were telling the truth. His usual personality turned people away, but these people were fine with it. he looked at Adrien, a wilder copy of himself and realised his original plan to be an ass wasn’t going to work. They were too stubborn and honestly, it was just easier to give in.

Later on, the train, he watched his mother smile softly down at the ring in hand.

“I have to say, I’m surprised Gabriel was moved enough to give me the ring. I’m sorry I had to use your father as an in.”

“It’s fine. I’m just glad you have it now. Besides, it wasn’t mainly my idea. Got it from a friend.”

“A friend?” she asked with a smile on her face.

Looking at his reflection, he spun his father’s ring on his finger. “Yeah. My first actually.”

#adrien august #adrien augreste 2023

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starguardianniom · 1 year

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The Lila Alliance AU

Remember the alliance ring Sabine wanted to give Marinette in Jubilation? The one with the Lila avatar?

I swear it would have been interesting to see Marinette interact with the fake Lila.

Frankly, the only reasons she would not take the al Adrien is because she would never get anything done if he was her avatar, as she would drool over him all day probably and wouldn't want any more teasing of her crush on him via having him at all times in her ring.

Even when saying that it does sounds far-fetched, like a lot, too, but still, just for this, hear this out, if people can make Lila become Marinette's best friend in salt fics over the rest of the class who go too far in their behavior of not siding with Marinette over Lila, then this concept should be easier to accept.

With the Lila avatar, some light revenge through it sounds fun.

She can make her wear some ridiculous costumes, could probably make her call "Your queen" or something else ridiculous, heck she could probably get the Lila al to get her name changed to Super Liar or something, and get her to say a lot of stupid stuff. Maybe she could even design some ridiculous outfits for her to wear, like that banana man costume, and the virtual Lila would still wear it with a smile on her face.

Point is, Marinette get some fun out of humiliating the virtual Lila as she can't do anything against the real one for now.

This would be her therapy. And revenge, don't forget the revenge.

Of course, the fake Lila doesn't mind or notice that it is wrong, she's an al and doesn't have feelings nor is affected by the real Lila's hatred of Marinette in the show.

The fake Lila is nice and takes it all graciously, to her, her owner has a lot of free time on her hands to come up with all of this stuff. She's not there to judge.

It makes Marinette angrier because the fake Lila is basically the ideal image of what the real Lila likes to pretend to be normally.

It somehow makes Marinette sad that she can only like a fake Lila who's not at all who she knows, just like everyone else on the show who thinks Lila is actually as nice as her al.

The irony is not lost at all here.

Cherry on the cake, the real Lila is not aware of this at all.

And yes of course, Marinette takes the ring off when she transforms into Ladybug, she tries to leave it in her room, her locker at school, or with Alya when she can, or if not, in the first dumpster that she can find because no one would bother to think that someone would throw away an alliance ring in the trash, even less getting the trash picked up while there's an akuma attack.

Marinette gets to humiliate Lila in a way that doesn't affect neither of them, nor actually hurt anyone's feelings, as the al Lila doesn't care at all, she's not programmed to.

And no one else actually knows about it, except of course Tikki.

That would be the only Pettinette/Saltinette that I would accept in any form to be honest. Or the Marinette salt taken in some funny and unorthodox way that somehow works without making her look like a jerk in front of anyone or hurt anyone's feelings and it all works out and you can actually laugh about it without feeling horrible about it.

It's really some mindless fun and revenge but not actually taken on the actual person, just a virtual copy of themselves.

Like, you play the sims, make a character based on someone you hate, and you make them do stupid stuff, without hurting for real the actual person.

Again, the real Lila isn't hurt at all in this, as her avatar who is with Marinette is the only one who gets humiliated, except given it's a program, of course she has no feelings or opinions or shame, so it works for Marinette who doesn't get flak for being on the real Lila's case when she's doing stuff to her al, which is entirely legal given said virtual Lila is a virtual paper doll that can be dressed in all kinds of different and maybe some funny costumes and can be customized to say all the weird stuff of the earth, so the joke would be on the developers who didn't think this through more, not on Marinette, nor really Lila.

#miraculous ladybug #marinette dupain cheng #lila rossi #marinette salt #ml season 5 #ml jubilation #ml season 5 spoilers #ml s5 leaks

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uptoolateart · 1 year

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If I Let Myself Love You - Ch 3

My fic for @mlbigbang 2022!

PREVIEW from Chapter 3:

Someone touched her arm, and she looked up. Hope against hope, it was Adrien, smiling down at her, messenger bag slung over his shoulder. She stopped immediately, sinking once more in his green eyes.

No. He’s not the storm. He’s the sea. I’m drowning.

Even with Alya beside her, it felt like Marinette was in a private time bubble with this boy she ached to know better while also desperately wishing she could shove him away and forget he existed – a bubble in which everything stood still, while the rest of the world whirled around them.

Adrien, would you like to walk home with me? I mean…with us? She willed the words to form on her lips, but he spoke before she could get the sounds out.

‘My father only agreed to let me come to this school if I’m chauffeured to and from my aunt’s house.’ He rolled his eyes. ‘So, I guess this is goodbye for the day. But I wanted to give you this, before I run off.’ He handed her something.

She dragged her eyes from his and looked at his hand – his long, elegant fingers, holding a folded piece of paper. She took it and unfolded it. ‘Is this…your phone number?’

He winked at her – winked at her. ‘Text me later, so I have yours, okay?’ He said this like the arrangement was obvious. Handsome boys who got chauffeured to school gave her their phone number every day.

‘Oh…okay.’

His face fell. ‘Unless you…think this was too forward of me? I really don’t know much about normal interactions with people my age.’ He scratched the back of his head.

‘No, no!’ She put up her hands. ‘I’m just…surprised. But I don’t know why. I mean…friends text each other…right?’ Please let him agree that we’re friends, or I’ve just made a fool of myself. But why else would he….

Adrien’s smile returned, sending a delicious shiver up her spine. ‘Right! Okay, I really have to go. My aunt actually has to send my father an update as soon as I get home, so he knows I got back on time. But text me, okay? You won’t forget?’

Marinette gave a jerky shake of her head. She seemed to have lost the feeling in her body. ‘I won’t forget.’

He grinned. ‘Bye for now, then!’ And he rushed away, through the exit doors and down the steps. Presumably, his car was waiting at the bottom, where it had dropped him off that morning.

Was that really only this morning?

Keeping Reading at Ao3

It’s hard to be a normal girl with a normal life when your mother has terminal cancer. And when fashion model Adrien Agreste moves back to Paris and wants to be Marinette’s friend – or maybe even more – her life is turned upside down again. How can she risk opening her heart to love when her whole world is falling apart? Especially when Adrien is hiding a dark secret of his own….

*** No kwamis AU - 100% Adrinette. Half funny / fluffy and half heavy but with a happy ending. Please read tags. *** Rating: Teen and up

#ml fic #ml fanfic #mlb fanfic #mlb fic #fanfiction 2022 #fanfiction 2023 #fanfic #miraculous fanfic #miraculous fanworks #ml big bang #ml big bang 2022 #adrinette #adrienette #adrien agreste #marinette

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hcm92literature · 1 year

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‘Out Of Character’ 31st December 2022

‘Out Of Character’ master page

Read on AO3

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

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

“S’up, dude?”

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

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

“Yeah… Well, about that…”

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

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

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

“You what?! Girl, spill!”

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

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

“Dude!”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Uh, thanks?”

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

Adrien shook his head, perplexed.

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

“I- did I?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Wait, what?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

#hcm92literature #miraculous ladybug #'out of character'#fanfic #au #Marinette Dupain-Cheng #Adrien Agreste #Alya Cesaire #Nino Lahiffe #adrinette #end of work

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that-was-anticlimactic · 1 year

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actually, no. you know what? i am so sick of this “marinette is just a friend” bs. okay. cool. adrien said she was just a friend a few times. whatever. it’s not that big of a deal and everyone in the mlb fandom like. hyperfixates on that??? idc if it’s a “just a joke” because it’s utterly ridiculous at this point. i have literally seen people go on heated rants about how stupid or clueless adrien was during the umbrella scene because he called mari just a friend. are you kidding me??? y’all are really going to take away that moment for him? he just made like his first ever friend in nino and when he called her a friend, he looked so excited because this boy has only ever had one friend before. of course he’s going to call mari just a friend because he just met her and the only time she’s actually spoken to him outside of the suit at this point is to yell at him like... y’all...

and this is not me hating on mari because i love her so so so much. i just hate how passionate and heated fans get about this. i mean... y’all... adrien didn’t even think mari liked him??? like, in puppeteer two, he is literally upset because he came to the conclusion that mari hates him. also, of course he’s not like in love with or crushing on her when she’s barely spoken actual sentences to him! again, not me hating on mari and her nerves because like i get it, it’s hard. and also this is like adrien’s first time interacting with people as peers, so 1. of course romance is not his main priority 2. he doesn’t understand social cues or situations very well At All which is made abundantly clear in the show 3. i don’t... i don’t think adrien knows what affection is??? i mean, he’s definitely learned some over the course of the show, but he’s used to a neglectful / abusive father, his stoic assistant, his bodyguard who doesn’t really talk like at all, chloé being chloé, and hoards of fans declaring that they’re in love with him, hanging all over him, acting like he’s a shiny thing rather than a person, etc... so like. how is adrien supposed to actually comprehend that mari likes him???

and okay no my last point: so so so sick of the double standard. i have seen countless people rant and rave and scream and shout about how stupid adrien is for not returning mari’s feelings or knowing he has a crush on her and then these same people will turn around and berate chat noir and say things like “gosh ladybug isn’t obligated to return his feelings:/” like... hELLO??? why is ladybug not obligated while adrien is??? it’s ridiculous and disgusting and i’m so so so tired of “just a friend” jokes on tumblr, in art, in fics, in youtube compilations... like... can’t we be normal about this? and i don’t mean normal as in “casually enjoy” i mean normal as in can we stop being so aggressive and harsh and hostile towards literal fourteen year olds my God they’re children they’re allowed to make mistakes and mess up and my God the way y’all talk about lila is disgusting, too like i hate her but i don’t want her tortured and killed??? and the way people characterize the classmates as physically and verbally assaulting mari because of lila??? like... my God they would never??? they would all honestly side with mari chameleon is a bad episode and is poorly written and everyone is out of character please use your critical thinking skills and understand that chat noir is not harassing ladybug anymore than mari may be harassing adrien (aka they are not harassing each other at all my God) and stop insulting and demonizing fourteen year olds so your otp can get together thanks

#i have. feelings.#sorry y'all #this may be harsh but i am so beyond sick of it #i've been going through the classmates tag on ao3 and filtered out all the s.alt fics for all the characters and the majority of the fics #i'm seeing are aggressive lila takedown fics or like unproperly tagged s.alt fics #where the classmates are still rude and aggressive and bully mari when even lila doesn't really bully mari that badly??? like yes it is #awful that she tried to get her expelled and lied a bit about her but lila has never been physical nor tried to kill mari and nor would any #of the classmates actually turn against her like. they may disagree with her or think she may be acting on her crush and yes lila did #threaten mari in the bathroom but like... what has she done since then? try to get her expelled and then... nothing. like. this is Not me #saying not to take bullying seriously but people take it to the extreme with lila and how she treats mari in fics and i am so so so sick of #it!!! i just want to read mlb classmate fics where they're all silly and being teenagers without mari being unreasonably and uncanonically #bullied and without the tags 'alya/adrien/classmate redemption' HELLO??? WHY DO THEY NEED TO BE REDEEMED??? THEY AREN'T VILLAINS??? THEY ARE #FOURTEEN??? as a rule of thumb i refuse to read fics with those tags like sorry but if you tag fics like that then you obviously don't know #the characters. i'm sorry if this sounds mean or harsh it's just exhausting trying to find fun or sweet or found family mlb fics because so #many of them are so negative and ooc and involve like extreme hatred towards fourteen year old fictional children... like... how do we not #see the problem with that??? like... am i overreacting??? please someone tell me they agree with me!!! i've been working on this really #stressful assignment that determines whether i graduate my future career and also costs three hundred dollars to take so i've been really #stressed and every time i try and take an mb fic break i end up more stressed because the fandom is so cruel to children ahhhhhhhh #okay i am. done. maybe i'll delete this later... i just need to see if someone agrees with me because i am. :))) on the verge of losing it #lol #mlb

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lunatic-fandom-space · 10 months

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Im about halfway through Party Crasher rn and its insane how bland Adrien is normally and how endearing he is when we get to see him hang out with his friends without him being on this pedastal by Marinette. Its not even like hes always that boring when Marinette is around or like this show cant write them being cute together because when they were hanging out as "just" friends in season 2 they were honestly pretty adorable! I also really liked them when they thought they were a couple in Oblivio, but for some reason the writers insist on writing Marinette as this bumbling fool whenever shes around him so anytime theres an opportunity for them to spend time together and develop their relationship, we need to get through this barage of bullshit hijinks where Marinette can barely get a word out and then the episode ends with a small moment where something kinda cute-kinda romantic happens but it doesnt actually affect their relationship in any meaningful way

I honestly think focusing more on Adrien would make the romance so much better because it would actually gives us reasons for Marinette to like Adrien because as it stands she really only seems to like him for shallow reasons but the show doesnt really acknowledge that? Like, they try to paint characters like Chloe and Lila as in the wrong for only liking Adrien for his looks and money but its fine for Marinette to do the same thing because idk, shes nice ig not a poorly-written caricature of the Mean Popular Girl archetype ? Granted, MLB has that False Ideal Self/True Flawed Self dichotomy-thing going on with Adrien obviously being that false ideal self in contrast to Cat Noir so you could say it kind of is calling her shallowness out but idk, this just reeks of misogyny to me

Also, before anyone accuses me of anything, I dont mind Marinette being the sole protagonist of the show while Adrien is just the love interest rather than the co-protagonist like you would think from the full title, I just think romances inherently work best when all of the people involved get an equal amount of focus and get fleshed out equally. I think if they wanted to have Marinette be the sole protagonist, it wouldve been better to focus more on female friendships (which is what actual magical girl shows tend to do anyway) and spend more time exploring the relationships between Lila and Chloe and Marinette/Ladybug. That would be a pretty interesting way to handle the theme of Persona vs Real Self with Chloe bullying Marinette but idolising Ladybug and Lila despising Ladybug but wanting to be friends with Marinette (ik that doesnt actually happen but shhhh Im trying to dream up a better version of this bad show) and you could even do something with Kagami outwardly being the type of person you would expect to be Ladybug but no actually being Ladybug and maybe even wanting a life closer to the one Marinette has

Also, to kinda bring this back around to Party Crasher, one of the things that I do apperciate about the show is how the Miracuclass feels like a big 'loose' friendgroup with smaller more close-knit 'sub' friendgroups within it. I dont exactly know what french school culture is like, but it seems like once the classes are picked, youre gonna be spending most of your time at school in the same group for several years. Its like that in germany too and since most popular media is american and about The American School Experience, I dont often get to see that dynamic portrayed in media and I appreciate that. I just wish we could have a few episodes that focus a bit more on those smaller dynamics, like Max and Kim have a pretty sweet unlikely friendship going on, the person Nathaniel texts his bad excuse to is Alyx and they have similar interests and seem happy to sit next to each other but I feel like they hardly interact, it'd be nice to flesh out Marinettes Girl Squad and some of their individual relationships a bit because aside from Rose and Juleka and Marinette and Alya I kinda feel like the only reason they hang is just that theyre all the girls in their class who dont suck ass. Also, this isnt really based on anything in canon, but I recently had a thought that Nino and Luca would probably get along well since theyre both musicians and theyre both meant to be Cool Guys, just in different ways and I like Adrien and Ninos friendship and the few times Adrien and Luka got to interact I thought they were cute and idk, ive been getting really attached to the idea of Adrien, Luka and Nino as a trio

#man i just realized that this whole post is just me looking at a show whose core appeal is its romance and being like #'why isnt it about friends though 🥺'#top ten aromantic moments #although honestly I think the only people who genuinely the LS at this point like it because of the base idea and the sunk cost fallacy #because the actual relationship is baddddd #miraculous ladybug #miravulous ladybug salt #miraculous ladybug salt

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clueblake74 · 9 months

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I watched the Miraculous Movie.

I’m not going to say I hated it. I watched it with my little sister, and there were some moments I loved. But they unfortunately didn’t outweigh the other things about it. Spoilers ahead.

I feel like everything I have to say about the movie has been said before. The animation was pretty. The character interactions with Ladybug and Chat Noir were pretty awesome at times. *Ahem. THE WALL SLAM.* I also liked Marinette trying to reject the miraculous And the reason why they get the miraculouses makes a lot more sense to me.

But then there were not so awesome moments like when Chat Noir pretended to be hurt to see if Ladybug liked him. Or the moment after the wall slam when Chat says “Don’t go 🥺.” Idk I couldn’t deal with that part.

I couldn’t help but notice that they NERFED Luka in the movie.

Okay, looking at them side by side, the movie Luka looks like a normal human boy. But where are the earrings? Where’s the flavor?

Speaking of flavor. I am obsessed with Marinette’s dress.

THE WINGS??!!! So cute. Made enduring all of the musical numbers almost worthwhile.

I know some people liked them, depending on which version they watched. I was tempted to watch the German version because I heard that was pretty decent. But I was watching with my sister and she doesn’t speak German so we stuck with the English dub. Which was... fine. No one sounded like their character except for Gabriel. But Keith Silverstein is in literally every anime and video game on the planet. So I can imagine he’s done some singing in character.

Right?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMhIwCLiBN8

Anyway. What was I talking about?

Oh yeah. Gabriel. I loved Gabriel in this movie. I loved the long hair. His little character design was so cute. It made me really like Gabriel. And I want to repeat a point that my little sister made about him after the movie.

She basically said “So the hero and main character of this movie is actually Gabriel?” And I think she was right in a way. Gabriel is the reason why any of this is happening in the first place. Gabriel is the reason why it ended. Gabriel is the one who gets all of this backstory and growth.

I know they tried a “be true to yourself” arc for Marinette in the movie. But none of it feels earned or real. With Gabriel, you can feel he actually loves his family. In the movie at least he is going out of his way to protect Adrien. He immediately stops his destructive behavior as soon as he sees what it has done to his son. Which is a moment I think a lot of people were hoping for.

But what about our main characters? What growth do they see? How do they change? Marinette grows out of her fearfulness. Cool. And Adrien, as per usual, doesn’t really get an arc. He is simply acted upon by is father and the plot. I think it’s fine that he accepted the miraculous no question. He’s silly like that. But he seems to have a total of two aspects to himself. Sadness about losing his mom and being in love with Ladybug. I know this might seem weird of me to say, but he feels like a woman written by a man.

The reason why we don’t like women written as jaded people who eventually ‘get better’ through the power of love isn’t just because they’re women. It’s because it’s a terrible way to write a character. Any growth they have belongs to another character. Even when he realizes his father is the literal villain... there’s nothing about that? You couldn’t have scrapped one song to explore that?

Maybe that’s why he wasn’t at the dance right away and Marinette finds him and they have a little chat about that? The plot of the movie felt very disjointed and unreal to me because of this.

One last point I’d like to talk about is how it seems people are divided because they are a) excited and happy the movie is finally out, or b) disappointed because the movie doesn’t follow the show’s lore to a T.

I frankly could care less about the movie following the lore. I liked the things they added, like their miraculouses glowing when they were calling for each other. If you’ve read my fanfiction, you know I’m fine with the lore being tossed up. But I don’t think the movie did that. In fact, it’s as if they expected you to already know what the backstory of the miraculous was, and hopefully not get too confused when they changed things or even just left stuff out. If they were going to change what the miraculouses did, I think it could have been explained better.

That’s my two cents on the movie. That’s totally why I haven’t uploaded in *checks calendar*… almost four weeks. Whoops.

Thanks for reading!

This post has been sponsored by VW.

#miraculous ladybug #miraculous movie #long haired gabriel #I was kidding about the sponsorship #volkswagen #I guess Tomoe isn't making cars in this universe

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critical-thinking-is-mandatory · 3 years

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i feel like ml needs to pick a lane.

you can’t have a ‘monster of the week’ type show where everything stays in the status quo and an overarching villain/romance plot because overarching plots rely on change. miraculous isn’t changing. when it does change, it does so in a single episode while the other dozen episodes per season enforce the status quo.

the change doesn’t even have to be big! let the show move forward! let the characters and the plot grow and change!

we’re getting bored.

#ml #mlb #ml crit #ml criticism #could be tagged salt i suppose #writing salt #i want to see progress!#i want to see lb and cn uncover clues about hm #i want to learn more about the world they live in and the other miraculouses #i want marinette and adrien to actually interact like normal people #there's so much potential!#and it's wasted

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nobodyfamousposts · 2 years

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Ya think that reverse crush would make CN less of a brat? I mean, I may NOT want the cat out at all or give Adrien a miraculous since that logically doesn’t make sense due t his career or home life, but isn't the LB crush ninety percent the source of his problems? I call entitlement and recklessness the rest of it. I just want to know if him crushing instead on Marinette would be better or WORSE. I can at least presume that she wouldn’t (normally) crush in either persona.

Strangely, I think it would make him less of a brat.

Part of the reason Chat is able to get away with his behavior (aside from the obvious bias of the writers) is because nobody is there to call him out on it. It's just him and Ladybug and they're partners. So if he tells her something then she'll listen and that if she tells him something then he can choose not to listen. We see this in the instances where he blows her off or acts particularly selfish since there's usually no one else to witness their interactions and pass judgement or tell him he's wrong. Namely, no one to see and know his behavior or recognize the problems with it means there is no one to hold him accountable. Except Ladybug, whom given the "rule" of the series, is always wrong in any stance she takes. So by all counts, Chat is pretty much free to do anything and the only one who could and should call him out can't because of the rule the narrative has forced on her.

Compare that with the position that a reverse crush would put him. Since it wouldn't just be the two of them but also all of their classmates, teachers, and family.

How do you think the girl squad would take some of Chat's antics if Adrien was the one doing them? Calling Marinette pet names that are arguably insults, distracting her in the middle of things she needs to focus on, and throwing tantrums when he doesn't get his way? We know the girls encourage and even try to force the cringe when it came to Marinette's pursuit of Adrien, but how do you think they would respond to seeing someone else behaving like that to her?

How much do you think the guys in class would put up with the tantrums Adrien pulls with Plagg and Ladybug? How likely is it, do you think, that his friends, being his friends, would tell him when he's acting like a brat and encourage him to do better?

How much do you think the teachers would let him get away with? Sure, they obey Chloe easily enough as she can call her father to do whatever she wants, but Adrien's father clearly isn't prone to such dramatic reactions of his son being upset.

Furthermore, let's be honest: would Adrien really let himself act out in such a way as his civilian self without the protection of a mask and the authority it gives him to act as he wishes without issue? After all, if someone sees Chat Noir destroying something in anger, it's just him being a hero and they shouldn't question him. But if someone sees Adrien destroying something in anger, they're going to know it's him as he does it and would be more inclined to hold him accountable.

Sure, he would still have brattish moments, but he would ultimately be less of a brat as he'd have to actually watch his behavior and would have people to call him out when he does.

The other thing to bear in mind is that Marinette in canon allows Adrien to heavily influence her actions (ie: Reward Chloe for bullying, Don't out Lila, etc). In this version, Adrien would at most be a friend to her, but since he's not her partner and she's not crushing on him, he would only be a friend along the lines of all her other friends and would only let him influence her so much as she'd let everyone else. So Adrien throwing tantrums and refusing to work with her because she won't date him would likely not go over nearly as well for him because Adrien in this case ISN'T her partner she has to trust and work with to protect the city because she has no other options.

Your hero partner refusing to work with you to stop a giant ice cream monster because you don't go to his date you told him you wouldn't make it to is bad, but you could try to overlook it because he's your partner and he's saved your life and you could have been more aware and you think you owe him and he's the only one who has been with you from the beginning and you trust him so clearly you have to have done something wrong here as well for him to act this way.

Your classmate who you only just met at the start of the year giving you the silent treatment because you don't go to his date when you told him you had other plans is kind of meh in comparison. Especially since he seems to take it upon himself to dictate to you what is supposed to be "right" or "wrong" when you didn't ask for his opinion and he sees no issue with your bully he is friends with despite knowing she's bullying you and others.

It's the feelings and relationship involved in the two scenarios that makes them different and present as different. Without her crush on him, Marinette would likely be substantially less impressed with Adrien and less inclined to follow along with what he says or appease him.

With a crush on her as Marinette, Adrien wouldn't have the safety net of expectations that "we're both heroes of the opposite sex and every manga ever says we'd totally end up together because we're dual heroes and the only ones who can 'understand' each other".

Bad way of going about this means he'd act like a "nice guy" and the narrative would portray her love as something he "deserves".

Good way of utilizing this would be wacky hijinks of sheltered Adrien trying to adjust to school life and first crushes while having no clue what he's doing and making things needlessly complicated for himself because he goes to the wrong people/sources for advice and further misunderstands how things are supposed to work. He learns lessons and slowly but surely makes little steps forward towards being able to confess and eventually date.

But who wants to see that?

#ml salt #adrien salt

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chloe-the-ice-queen · 3 years

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This Doesn’t Mean We’re Friends - Ch. 2

Hey guys! Another chapter done and posted, I hope y’all enjoy it!! Let me know if you want to be added to the taglist, I probably won’t cap it unless I really need to :)

First | Previous | Here | Next

Marinette and Chloe rode in the Bourgeois limo from Marinette's bakery to the Grand Paris. Chloe filled her in on what to expect and what to do. "I'll be with you most of the time, so I can tell you who to steer clear of, and who you should try to talk to. I'll try to introduce you to a few people I know would be interested in your designs. You made that dress, right?"

"Yeah, designed and created it from scratch." Chloe eyed Marinette's dress appreciatively. It was tastefully made, the dark blue complementing the girl's dark hair and bluebell eyes. The top was halter-style, with a high neckline and no sleeves. It fit Marinette's form, with rhinestones glittering on her torso. The bottom half of her dress was long and elegant, falling loosely to the floor, the front hem higher than the back, showing off Marinette's silver heels. It wasn't half bad.

It was actually quite impressive, as most of Marinette's designs were. She had upgraded from her normal pink capris and grey cardigan outfit after Lila had come back to school, transitioning to a more stylish, modern look. But this dress was nothing less than gorgeous on the small girl, but wasn't overly classy and overdone like some dresses she was sure to see throughout the night. It looked nice, but it didn't look like she was showing off, which Chloe could appreciate.

Chloe herself wore a sleek, sleeveless yellow dress that highlighted her fair skin and bright blue eyes. Chloe's hair flowed freely around her shoulders, curled and styled, while Marinette had hers up in an elegant bun, with loose curls framing her face. Together, the two girls contrasted each other, but the stark differences went well together.

As they pulled up to the front of the hotel, paparazzi and reporters swarmed the red carpet, bombarding the famous partygoers.

"They shouldn't be too interested in us, but just ignore them." Chloe advised Marinette, before opening her door and sliding out of the car. Marinette slipped out behind her, adjusting to the flashing of cameras and the buzz of conversation. She shut the door behind her, and joined Chloe in walking up the front steps.

Just going to the event was sure to bring her some recognition, especially accompanied by Chloe, but she wasn't too worried about being bombarded by paparazzi. Only a few reporters bothered them, and as instructed, Marinette tuned them out.

Once they entered the ballroom, the chatter became more of a dull roar. Chloe greeted a few people mingling just inside the doorway, before they were accosted by a very familiar voice. Adrien, who was dragging a disgruntled Lila along behind him. "Hey guys! It's nice to see you here!" Adrien enthused.

"I'm sure." Chloe said, unamused. "Now if you don't mind, we need to-"

"I thought that you could introduce us to some of your friends here, Chloe. That way Lila can make some new friends-" Adrien interrupted. Lila suddenly looked interested in their conversation.

"Well, since we know how many connections Lila has, I'm sure she doesn't need me to introduce her to anyone." Said Chloe.

"Don't be like that Chl-"

"Chloe!!" Someone near them half shouted, turning the heads of people around them. A boy around their age was walking over to them, waving. "I wasn't sure if you'd come or not. It's been a while."

"Henri!" Chloe said, looking entirely amused. "I haven't spoken to you since that party in London."

"I doubt either of us will ever be invited to that again." Henri said, making Chloe laugh. Now that he was closer, Marinette studied him. He was very handsome, objectively, of course. The kind of easy beauty that makes you want to laugh or cry. He had dark brown curls, and kind brown eyes that sparkled with amusement. When he glanced at her, she felt her face flush a little. Chloe and the stranger, Henri, traded stories and jokes for a minute, while the other three observed. Adrien seemed to recognize the newcomer, and Lila was waiting for her chance to jump into the conversation.

"Now," his voice was quieter, teasing, but making sure the other three heard him as well. "You should introduce me to your very pretty friend here. I don't believe I've seen her at any of your events before." He smirked at Chloe, who rolled her eyes.

"This is-"

"Lila, nice to meet you." The green eyed girl said, sticking out her hand, which he ignored, looking at her with annoyance and slight disbelief, if Marinette had to guess.

Chloe seemed taken aback, "This is Marinette, an amazing up-and-coming designer who my mother and Gabriel Agreste have both scouted for their brands." She turned to Marinette, "This is my friend Henri, his parents are both models and his mother is a designer my mother has collaborated with. I'm sure the two of you have quite a lot in common, so why don't we go find a table to chat?"

"Why don't we come with you? You know that I happen to be friends with quite a few designers and models myself, I might be able to give some input." Lila said, while Adrien, who had been looking angry at Chloe, perked up.

He and his date began to follow the trio, when Chloe said, "Sorry, you two, but my mom reserved a table just for three. And I'm sure Lila can get you guys seats next to someone much more important anyways." She grabbed Marinette and pulled her along with her to a table near the front, Henri following behind them.

"Adrien's gotten worse since last time." The boy remarked as they sat down.

Marinette looked at him disapprovingly, when Chloe responded, "I agree. I thought it was just because of his dad, but his social skills have somehow become even worse since he started going to school."

Marinette looked surprised. Probably because she felt surprised. Didn't Chloe like Adrien? Wasn't he her best friend? Maybe they had a falling out, or maybe Chloe had stopped liking Adrien for the same reason Marinette had. Whatever the case, they could all agree on one thing.

"That girl is nasty." Henri said. "Do you know her?"

Marinette and Chloe looked at each other. "Unfortunately," Chloe supplied. "She's in our class."

"Ah, my apologies. Anyways, it's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Marinette. If you're as good as Chloe said, I'm sure I'll be seeing you around more."

Marinette smiled as Chloe said, "She is quite talented. She made the dress she's wearing."

The bluenette looked at her shoes under the table. "Ah, an excellent designer then. I'll be sure to mention you to my parents when I get the chance. In the meantime, though, Chloe, I need to be going. I need to talk to a few people before I head out, it was good to see you again."

The three stood, and Henri turned and hugged Chloe, and then turned to Marinette. She smiled. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Henri."

"The pleasure is mine, I'm sure." Henri said, and took Marinette's hand, kissing the back of her knuckles lightly, his eyes teasing. Marinette laughed, blushing slightly.

The trio separated, Chloe pulling Marinette off to meet other people.

Through the entire interaction, two pairs of green eyes watched the small group from across the room. One filled with jealousy, one with annoyance and maybe a little sadness too.

----

Throughout the night, Chloe introduced Marinette to dozens of people. A few designers, models, artists, business moguls, celebrities, you name it. In return, Marinette stayed with Chloe and endured tedious conversations she had to engage in for her parents' sake. Chloe would never admit it, but having the baker girl there was nice, it made the evening slightly less unbearable.

For the bluenette, it was great exposure into the fashion world. She got to meet several of her idols and make connections with influential people. People started to hear about her designs, many of them admired the dress she wore that showcased her budding talent.

Style Queen herself was thrilled to see her there. Chloe had let her mother know who she was bringing once Marinette was invited, of course, but Audrey was still happy to see her favorite young designer.

At the end of the evening, Marinette and Chloe rode back to the Dupain-Cheng bakery together. When the limo pulled to a stop, Marinette started to get out, then paused. "Thank you so much for everything Chloe. I know you don't like me much, but tonight was so much fun and I'm so grateful that you introduced me to so many people. And thank you for inviting me to come with you, even if it was just to tick off Lila." Marinette gushed, honestly honored by Chloe's thoughtfulness, even if it was caused by spite.

"Yeah whatever, you're welcome Dupain-Cheng, this doesn't mean we're friends, okay?" Chloe grumbled.

Marinette smiled. "Good night, Chloe." She closed the door before Chloe could respond, and walked into the bakery.

----

When Marinette went to bed that night, she went to sleep with a happy buzz in her chest, Tikki nestled beside her on the pillow.

Alrighty then, I guess that’s Chapter 2 done! I hope y’all liked it!! And that should also be the end of these super short chapters, the next one will definitely be a lot longer, and will hopefully be posted sometime tomorrow?? I love you guys, thanks for all your support!

@agentofscifi

#miraculous #miraculous fic #marinette #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #adrien salt #alya cesaire #alya salt #nino lahiffe #lila rossi #lila salt #chloe bourgeois #chloe deserves better #chloe redemption #chloe redemption fic

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familyagrestefanblog · 3 years

Text

Theory for “Gabriel Agreste”

Saying that I'm EXCITED for this episode is an understatement, I'm THRILLED! So let me give you my speculation for what could happen in it and how it’ll affect the future, because pieces are literally just falling into place in my brain and I just have to write this down.

The episode is called" Gabriel agreste" because in this episode Gabriel will create a (long time) Sentimonster for himself that'll take his place and cover for him in his civilian life while he himself gets completely swallowed by his Hawkmoth/ShadowMoth identity (which is a direct paralell to the fate Marinette just escaped by telling Alya her secret). He doesn't want to "waste" anymore unnecessary time by having to NOT be Hawkmoth, which then completely separates him from Adrien who very much was one of the last (if not THE LAST at this point) few strings that kept him grounded in his humanity.

The episode takes place right before the middle of the season and since it's season 4 we are talking about here its fair to assume that both Adrien and Gabriel are back at (at least) suspecting each other to be Chat Noir and Hawkmoth again at some point. Adrien is going to be even more rebellious after the status quo break and set up of "Lies" so him maybe (or maybe even confirmed already to Gabriel) to be Chat Noir could definitely be the factor that sets Gabriel over the edge, rips these two apart for good (as I foresaw in my analysis of "Jackady") and brings Gabriel to distance himself altogether while covering his own identity from his son by creating a Sentimonster (bc Adriens secret being discovered by his evil family is already forshadowed to hell and back, just like him ending up getting Homeschooled again this season, mark my words)

---

"Queen Banana" is supposed to take place right before "Gabriel Agreste" and we have a leak where it's seen that Adrien is now kinda taking on Nathalies role since she is (supposedly) still bed ridden.

Seriously, just humour me here and stay with me. This would mean that Adrien would get to see and interact with his father much more often and Gabriel wouldn't be able to ditch everything and turn into Hawkmoth as easily as he was able to with Nathalie.

A cover up Sentimonster was actually already kinda forshadowed in "Party Crasher"

by introducing HoloGabe with the intention of providing Gabriel with alibis and to attend meetings etc for him in the future so Gabriel can invest more time into being Hawkmoth. But a Hologramm is not suitable for every occasion, which is where the Sentimonster comes into play.

At first Adrien wouldn't notice much off about his father and the few things he notices Adrien actually doesnt mind. If SentiGabe is really supposed to replace Gabriel as... Well, Gabriel, that also means as a FATHER and my money is on SentiGabe being created to be a better father than the original. SentiGabe does everything Adrien wanted his father to do in s1-s3: Join Adrien at dinner time, spend more time with him, is in general in better of a mood and not such an unpleasant dick and so on and so on.

Easy to say, Adrien basically welcomes the good change he always wanted in his "Father" with open arms and chooses to ignore things that seem suspicious and the always remaining gut feeling of something just being... off. This will collide with the unveiling of more of the family (+ Emilie) mystery which will for Adrien all continue to point at Gabriel as Hawkmoth because of one event that is likely to happen in episode 4.

I'm currently writing on yet another post about this topic in particular, so I will link it HERE for elaboration once I post it, but in short, I think Rena Rouge and the Grimoire secrets Marinette shears with Alya could be the catalyst of Adrien suspecting his father to be Hawkmoth again.

Adriens memories of the time he went through the Grimoire himself in "Volpina" would be triggered again after seing the Grimoire page Rena (honestly, quite recklessly) brings along into battle and from then on things will slowly pile up until Gabriel deflects from himself with SentiGabe in "Gabriel Agreste" (just like he did in “The Collector”)

People WAY to easily forget how ready and serious Adrien was in "The Collector" when he actually concidered his father to be Hawkmoth.

Keep in mind that Ladybug was only able to tell Chat Noir the weakest reasons of her suspicion against Gabriel (while the Grimoire being Guardian property was NEVER found out by Adrien... til NOW) that being Gabriels mysterious personality and the butterfly logo of his brand.

These arguments are weak because they are ONLY actually suspicious in the specific context of Gabriel being Hawkmoth. Once you have proof against that they hardly hold any ground anymore, hence why both Adrien AND Marinette so easily brushed off these points after seeing Gabriel akumatized. I mean, excuse a designer for choosing a BUTTERFLY as his logo when his last name is literally the name of a butterfly type. The fuck kind of accusation is that??

So I hope you understand that when I say that, yes, these reasons DID trigger further memories/realizations for Adrien in that moment

It simply was only the tip of the iceberg.

The fact that Adrien not only gave Ladybug the fucking benefit of a doubt and heared her out about accusing his FATHER of being HAWKMOTH and took it THAT seriously and wanted to find out if his father truly IS Hawkmoth means that Adrien very much sees his father as capable of being Paris villain Nr 1. This... understanding and acceptance of Gabriels nature already had to be in Adrien much prior to "the collector" to set it off like this. And while normally Adrien chooses to turn a blind eye towards his fathers bad qualities in favor of seeing Gabriels redeeming (and even the rare somewhat GOOD) qualities, Adrien only does so because he thinks Gabriel hasn't crossed the line yet that makes his father undeserving of these loving conciderations. But Gabriel being Hawkmoth IS CROSSING that line for Adrien and he immediately sets aside his remaining/choosen love for his heavily flawed father and willingly sees Gabriel for what he is.

Adrien already did it once with only a few somewhat solid reasons and the Grimoire being kept secret from him altogether,

So he will do it again, just this time the proofs and developments are supposed to stay for good.

---

This development would not only be forshadowed by "the collector"

But also by the episode "Ladybug". There Mayura used a Sentimonster version of Ladybug against Chat Noir, using their love against him. What she didn't know though was that Ladybug actually isn't in love with her partner (yet) which ended up with Chat Noir being put in the situation of having to decide which Ladybug he believes to be real.

Does he believe and hold onto Sentibug who returns the love he so desperately seeks in life or does he let go of his hopeful wish and accept the heartbreaking reality of once again not receiving his love in return from yet another person he holds so dear?

In "Ladybug" Adrien couldn't make that crushing decision yet (and don't clown in the replies about this, not only was the situation vastly different it's also a cruel thing to ask of Adrien) but as we are used from Miraculous by now, that episode was only the set up for future events.

What Adrien couldn't let himself believe about Ladybug and Sentibug he will have to FORCE himself to accept about his Father and Hawkmoth. Same set-up of the Sentimonster symbolising Adriens desperate and hopeful WISH what his loved one were vs the crushing, heart wrenching reality of what his loved ones actually ARE. Just that letting go of his wish for Ladybugs love didnt seem "necessary enough" for the mission to succeed so he just couldn't MAKE himself give her up whereas accepting and seeing that his father is Hawkmoth is going to be one of the most crucial sacrifices of the show, changing the game forever. So as horrible, cruel and soul shattering as this is, putting an end to his fathers villainous reign for the sake of the greater good is a reason worthy enough to force himself through his pain.Which brings us once again back to “The collector” (which seriously forshadows almost everything I love that episode), because there is ONE major aspect that episodes sets up like crazy

And that is:

And thats where we are heading now.

This entire time Adrien wanted his Father to behave more fatherly, spend more time with him and improve his explosive behavior but he always got disappointed over and over again. So how heartbreaking would it be if over the course of the second half of the season THIS would be the very reason why Adrien gets behind Gabriels secret? Because SentiGabe behaved too fatherly for Adrien to truly buy it in his heart and when forced to decide what he actually believes his father to be - like the fatherly Sentimonster or the villainous Hawkmoth - Adrien has to and WILL recognize and accept his fathers true nature and turn against him, as it has been set up for a LONG time now.

This season shit’s about to go DOWN!

#Miraculous #Miraculous Ladybug #Ml spoilers #Ml Theory #Ml season 4 #Episode: Gabriel Agreste #Adrien Agreste #Chat Noir #Gabriel Agreste #Hawkmoth #Agreste family drama #or tragedy #thats more like it #SentiGabe #I am so EXCITED for this episode!!!#Ml analysis

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soulmate-game · 3 years

Text

Harley's Plea for Help ch. 6

Ch1 Ch2 Ch3 Ch4 Ch5 Ch6-- you are here

Yet another night of barely any sleep, but this time Marinette didn’t have the coffee-angel Red Robin at her rescue. No, instead she had to go completely uncaffeinated until she and her class got to Wayne Enterprises. Madame Mendelieve could only sigh as she watched Marinette scamper off to the café as soon as they made it past the initial security of the building. A couple of her classmates chuckled or snorted at her familiar behavior.

It was the same barista at the register as before, but this time Marinette felt too tired to properly order or be adventurous in looking for new flavors.

“I feel like death. I don’t care if it tastes like pure bean oil today. Flavors will take away from the amount of coffee you can shove in one cup, right?”

The poor barista blinked, eyeing the deep bags forming under the poor girl’s eyes. She sighed. “I had hope yesterday that you were just a normal caffeine addict. Now I see we actually have a second Mister Drake,” she said it as if she was mourning at Marinette’s grave before poking a few buttons on her touchscreen order station and turning her head. “One Insomniac CEO, but not for the boss!” She called out. The barista making the drinks paused for a second with wide eyes.

“We have another one?!” He asked, shocked. “Piece of advice?” He turned to Marinette. “Get some sleep.”

“Sleep is for the dead,” Marinette deadpanned back. “I got stuff I need to do today.”

The guy just shook his head and sighed, making the drink as Marinette paid and left a good tip. The drink came out fairly quickly, and everyone behind the counter stopped for a moment to stare as she gulped down the hot drink with no concern for her tongue or throat. A satisfied sound left her as she finally pulled away from the cup.

“This is really good!” She complimented, turning to the Baristas with a still-tired smile. It would take a minute or two for the coffee to have full effect, but she already felt better. “A little too bitter for my usual tastes, but perfect for days like today. Thanks!” She waved at them before turning around and seeing that her class was already gone again. Before she could fully process that though, a hand slapped down onto her head and ruffled her hair.

Surprised (really, not a lot of people could sneak up on her anymore. Just how tired was she?) she let out a high pitched squeal.

“You’re a good kid,” the soft, slightly scratchy voice that said that made Marinette’s shoulders drop and eyes widen. Tilting her head back she was greeted with the widely-grinning face of Jason Todd. He was once again in the uniform of a security guard.

“Wha— Uh,” Marinette couldn’t quite find the right words right away. She was too stunned. Jason just chuckled, jerking his head to indicate the same door her class had gone through the day before and leading the way over there. Marinette scrambled to catch up.

Once they were far away enough from prying eyes and ears, Marinette cleared her throat.

“Um,” she started. “Did… I mean, do you..?”

“Yeah, our mutual friends had a chat with me last night,” he confirmed casually. He sent her a meaningful look even though his grin never left his face. “Like I said; you’re a good kid. And I’m not goin’ anywhere. You’re not responsible for the things your parents have done, you know.”

The girl at his side hummed noncommittally, not fully convinced but also not wanting to argue.

“You’re not,” he repeated firmly, stopping in the middle of the side-hallway. They could see her class at the other end getting checked in, but didn’t make a move to join them yet. “I mean it. The stuff that happened to me, none of that was you. Hell, you were a little kid back then. And there’s nothing you could have done to stop it, either. I’m not gonna hold anything against you just because you’re his child. You didn’t ask to be,” he shrugged. “Besides, I get it. Biological relation doesn’t equal family. Trust me,” his grin was gone and a tired one replaced it. “I know that better than most people.”

The pigtailed girl could only gulp, taking a deep breath as she forced down the tears that wanted to bubble up. She had had this conversation with Adrien a few times, but even then she had been convinced that he just didn’t understand. He was just being nice. But this— Jason’s words were more valuable than gold to her. He had no reason to be nice, so it had to be at least partially sincere.

“Thanks,” she whispered once she was positive she wasn’t going to break. She lifted her cup up and took a long sip of her coffee. The slight burn against her tongue helped ground her. “That means more than you know.”

Jason chuckled. “Nah. The fact that you stood up for me to the Bat,” his grin returned to his face full blast, making dimples appear on his cheeks. “Now that, you have no idea how much that means to me. You must have some serious guts to lecture that guy, too. Is it too late to adopt you for myself?”

That tore a quick laugh out of her, making her classmate’s head whip over to the opposite end of the hallway where she and Jason were. She quickly quieted herself, but her eyes danced with amusement as she looked up at Jason. “You’re too young to be my parent anyway, but I wouldn’t say no to a brother,” she joked. Jason’s eyes sparkled.

“Good, exactly what I was aiming for!” He slipped a piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to her. “That’s my number. Call me if you ever need anything, got it?” He turned to resume leading her back to her class and she quickly slipped the paper into her pocket before anyone saw and got the wrong idea. “And I mean anything.”

Marinette just smiled and nodded. By then, they were close enough for Alya to smirk and ask; “What took ya so long, girl?”

“Oh,” Marinette shuffled a little on her feet before an observation gave her a last minute idea and she straightened up with a wide smile. “We just got distracted talking about motorcycles!”

Jason’s eyebrows raised for a quick second before he settled his expression again and played along. He had figured that not many people knew about her biological family. That part made sense. But she had been a total mess just the day before when she had tried to lie about Paris’ little villain problem in front of Bruce. How was she able to actually come up with a good lie this time around, when she had been just as much put on the spot? He wondered to himself about what was different about this situation to allow her to lie more easily. Maybe Bruce not being there was part of it— she seemed easily flustered by famous people.

Think of the devil, because no sooner had that thought finished developing in Jason’s mind before Bruce Wayne walked into the hallway with a paparazzi-ready smile. Jason rolled his eyes and sunk to the back of the group silently, sinking back into his job and keeping an eye on their surroundings. He listened as Alya laughed softly and elbowed Marinette even as the group turned their attention to Bruce.

“You and your bikes,” Alya teased. “If someone knew enough about motorcycles, I bet you’d marry them on the spot.”

“Nah,” Marinette whispered back. “If they gave me a really nice one though? That’s marriage potential for sure.”

The two girls laughed for a second before focusing back on the tour. Adrien wasted no time making his way to Marinette’s side, silent questions in his eyes. Jason watched with interest as the two seemed to silently communicate with one another. It was obvious that Adrien was calling her lie, and Marinette was essentially silently telling him that she would explain later. It was so seamless and subtle that if Jason hadn’t been extremely familiar with that kind of communication already, he wouldn’t have noticed it. Once again his eyebrows rose a tick on his forehead, and he made a mental note of the interaction. That kind of silent conversation wasn’t an easy thing to do with people. It was most commonly seen in married or otherwise long-term couples, childhood friends, family, or hero partners. The childhood friends and family sections were already ruled out from their background check on her and Harley herself had mentioned that even though Marinette had once crushed on Adrien, she had unofficially adopted the boy as her brother since then. Though, their time as close friends was only documented as having lasted about a year. That wasn’t quite enough time for that sort of effortless silent communication to be possible.

Of course, Jason had his suspicions already. But there was no rush, either. The Clown was on the move and more important to focus on for now. He could focus on the puzzle that was Marinette and Adrien later.

Bruce took over the tour as he had the day before, and the class was instantly riveted once again. If the fact that they were being led through the building by the very man who owned it wasn’t awesome enough to get everyone’s full attention, the man’s personality was. He came off a little carefree and very kind, but there was an obvious undercurrent of just how much he loved his company that showed that he did take it and his job seriously. Just, not too seriously either. And he interjected everywhere he could with personal stories and anecdotes and little bits of his family history that the normal tour guides might not have known. It was not long after he announced that he was going to take them to a lower lab set aside specifically for their class’ tour, so that they could do their first interactive activity, that jason found the opportunity to sidle up next to Marinette on the opposite side from where Adrien walked alongside her.

“So,” he said casually. “How’d you know I ride a motorcycle?” he smirked to show he wasn’t upset as he looked down at her curiously. Marinette blinked, taking her attention away from Bruce to look over at Jason. Once his words registered, she smiled widely and pointed to one of his pockets. The corners of his bike gloves flopped over the edge.

“I noticed those. I figured you’d have a negative reaction that might give us away if my lie was too off the mark, and I do have a habit of saying stupid things if I don’t have a clue or something to play off of. I also had to make it believable for the class, and they all know that my Nonna has played a huge part in my love for motorcycles. I plan on getting a license to drive one when I turn sixteen later this year,” she told him softly. “I tend to gush whenever I see a cool bike, so I knew they wouldn’t question it.”

Jason huffed a little bit of laughter under his breath. It was like the trope of a character looking at random items in the room to come up with a fake name, but somehow it had actually worked for her. She was quick-witted and clever, he had to admit. And observant.

“I was running late, so I must have left them in my pocket when I was changing,” he admitted, unbothered. “Ah, here we are,” he nodded to return the two teen’s (he had noticed Adrien paying close attention as he and Marinette had their conversation) attention back to the tour. Bruce opened the door for the class with a flourish, gesturing for everyone to go in.

“Since these first few days are going to be tours and lessons about working in general, your first activity of your trip is to solve various problems we’ve given you based on real situations that WE employees have been in before. Split up into groups, and choose a table. Each table has a different problem covering a different industry. Reporting, Science— specifically research and development, business management, and entertainment…”

—*—*—*—*—*

“It’s straight,” Adrien assured her, trying to keep himself from laughing as Marinette straightened his tie for the millionth time. “I promise. And you look fantastic.”

Marinette stepped back, nodding at Adrien’s appearance in approval. “I know. We both look great, but…” she fidgeted and then stepped forward to go right back to over-straightening his tie. Adrien snorted, grabbing her hands before she could touch the poor thing again and lowering her arms to her sides.

“Calm down. Like you said, we both look great. You don’t have a single hair out of place, the outfits you made us look amazing, and my tie is at a perfect ninety degree angle to my collar. Take the model’s word for it,” he teased with a lopsided grin. “We look ready for the front cover of a magazine. So just take a deep breath, because we should get down to the lobby soon to wait for the ride he’s sending for us.”

“Right,” Marinette nodded. She followed his advice and took a deep breath. Once she was suitably calmed, she opened her eyes and nodded at him. Adrien smiled and held out his arm, making Marinette snort as she took hold of it gently and let him lead her to the elevator.

Bruce had not specified whether the dinner was going to be casual or formal, but with the fact that his kids were going to be present and it was at his own house, Marinette had a feeling it was going to be more of a casual thing than if they had went out to a fancy restaurant with a black tie dress code. At the same time, this was the Wayne manor they were talking about. She didn’t want to be underdressed, either. Not to mention that it was her design skills that had played a huge part in her winning the contest in the first place, so she felt like she had to show her work again to prove that they had chosen the right person.

A playful wolf whistle greeted the two of them when they got down to the lobby. Alya was, to no one’s surprise, the perpetrator. She stood in the lobby with Alix, Nino, and Max, who all had known about the dinner and agreed to be there to see the two of them off and put Marinette’s worries to rest. The four of them jogged over, Alix smiling and adding her own soft whistle of appreciation.

“You guys look great,” the short skater assured them, taking the time to skate slow circles around them to make sure that nothing was wrong with their outfits. “I think you’ve outdone yourself, Mari! Very cool.”

Alya nodded eagerly, bouncing in place with a wide, beaming smile on her face. “Ah! The both of you look ready to kick ass and woo rich people!” she added. Max pushed his glasses up on his nose with a small grin.

“There is a ninety-five percent chance of your work impressing all of the Waynes,” he said in his own version of encouragement.

“You guys got this!” Nino shot them a thumbs up. “They beat me to all the stuff I wanted to say.”

Marinette beamed, laughing along with her friends as she allowed herself to relax a little. Adrien’s outfit was of her own making, a subtle way for him to rebel since his father had sent him with his own Gabriel brand suit should an appropriate opportunity to wear it come up. Adrien had no plans of ever putting his father’s suit on his body. In an effort to spice up formal men’s wear a bit without making the whole thing white and silver like Gabriel wanted, Marinette had made him a classic silk shirt in black, with short sleeves that fell at that perfect halfway point between his elbow and shoulder. The sleeves had thick cuffs in a dark forest green, with decorative straight stitches on the seams in a bright magenta pink thread. On top of that was a corset-style sleeveless vest with a deep V. The majority of the vest was the same black as the shirt, but with dark green hand-stitched swirls that were just barely bright enough to be contrasted against the black. It created a very subtle pattern that would be hard to see in the wrong lighting, but would make it look that much more expensive and elaborate in the right lighting. The lapel of the vest was in the same dark forest green as the cuffs of his shirt, with a few decorative swirls embroidered on the very corners. The piping of the corset-vest made three curved lines on either side of his waist, curling from mid-rib cage to his waist. It gave him a slightly more feminine twist to his outfit, making his waist look smaller even though it wasn’t actually pulled very tight on him— it was mostly the illusion made by the piping rather than the actual tightness of the garment. The two outside piping lines were done in a magenta pink, while the middle piping line was once again in dark forest green. Unlike most corset-style vests, this one had no buttons or zipper on the front at all. Instead, it was closed only by corset lacing in the back, the laces done in such a dark shade of green that it was almost black, while the eyelets that the laces were threaded through were that same magenta pink as the piping and decorative stitches elsewhere on the outfit. The tie that Marinette had spent so long making sure was straight was almost entirely soft lace, but it was layered in such a way with layers of sheer green and pink lace that it looked like it was a constant swirl of the two colors. If someone got close enough to see the pattern of the lace tie, they would notice that it was a pattern of cats chasing a butterfly.

Underneath the artistic top of the outfit were black dress pants, once again with thick forest-green cuffs on the bottoms. But instead of the decorative stitching, the pant legs flared a bit at the ankles for just a little extra drama. Magenta-pink Oxfords peeked out of the wide cuffs. The green detailing made Adrien’s eyes pop, while the pink accents gave his boyish charm a little more of a feminine touch that almost seemed to highlight his naturally sensitive and charming nature.

In contrast, Marinette wore a sleeveless pink pantsuit. It was the same shade as the pink accents in Adrien’s outfit, and had a built-in corset as well that went only around her natural waist. The corset boning on Marinette was a solid black, while the rest was just the same base pink as the majority of the suit. The black of the boning seemed to flow downwards, changing from boning into thick hand-embroidery in thread of the exact same black. The embroidery flowed down the sides of both legs, in the shape of tree branches and apple blossoms. Pale green accents in the form of swirls at her high neckline and a pale green lace capelet that was the only thing covering her shoulders helped tie her outfit in with Adrien’s. She also wore pale green low kitten heels and her black hair up in a braided bun. With how her pant legs were form-hugging until they flared out slightly at the heel, and the lack of sleeves exposed her toned arms and shoulders and emphasized her strength there without making her look unbalanced or too masculine for the rest of the outfit’s style, she looked ready to rock the business world. Her bright blue eyes clashed with the green details of the outfit just enough to bring attention to them, assuring that people who met her eyes would not be able to easily look away.

The quick snap of a phone’s flash went off, drawing everyone’s attention to Madame Bustier. She was beaming at all of them, and had just taken a picture of her two students all dressed up. She waved her phone happily. “I’m sending this picture to the both of you. I’m so proud of you guys!” she gushed.

Marinette and Adrien both blushed deep red, shifting in their spots. They were confident in their looks, and Adrien was just as proud of his pseudo-sister, but neither of them was very good at handling so much positive attention aimed only at them. Especially not from their extremely sincere friends and teacher.

“Miss Dupain-Cheng?” An older gentleman with a British accent turned everyone’s attention to him. The first thing Marinette thought was that he had kind eyes. He also had soft wisps of white hair on his head, carefully trimmed and slicked back. Of course, Marinette and Adrien also couldn’t miss the high quality and perfect press of his carefully maintained suit. Once he had shown all the proper credentials to Madame Bustier, he introduced himself to the two well-dressed teens with a shallow bow. “I am Alfred Pennyworth, the butler for Wayne Manor. I am to escort the both of you there for supper tonight.”

“Oh! Thank you so much, Monsieur Pennyworth,” Marinette said, walking up and shaking his hand. Adrien was right by her side the whole time, matching her smile watt for watt and shaking Alfred’s hand with just as much enthusiasm.

“Yeah, thank you for having us over. I know it was technically Bruce who invited Marinette, but you’re probably the one that has to do all the work. So, thank you. We really appreciate it,” he told the man sincerely. Alfred’s answering smile was soft, almost fond.

“Yes, I admit I am in charge of most of the work for tonight. But you shouldn’t worry, it’s no different from any other day at the manor,” he said lightheartedly, a little bit of good natured snark shining through his otherwise proper behavior— “Every last one of the Waynes would die in less than a week without me to keep everything in order,” he joked. “Allow me to lead you to the car.”

Marinette and Adrien followed behind Alfred. She didn’t know if it was the calming aura he put off, or if it was the gentle way his eyes sparkled that made her want to look after him. But whatever it was, she found herself wanting to protect this kind old man already. Which is why her eyebrows slightly pinched together. Before climbing inside the luxurious town car he had brought for them, she couldn’t help but turn to Alfred and ask;

“I hope you aren’t overworked. I don’t want to overstep, Monsieur, but isn’t the Wayne family rather large for one person to look after on their own?”

Alfred laughed gently at that, his eyes once again softening. “Do not worry about me, Miss Dupain-Cheng. They are family to me. And though, yes, you are correct in assuming they are a handful, they are also wonderful people. They help me where they can, but taking care of themselves is not their forte. Being able to do that for them is my greatest joy.”

The wrinkles in Marinette’s brow smoothed out and she smiled. “That’s so sweet. You’re making me want to meet them all even more.”

Something about that twinkle in Alfred’s eye made her feel like he was laughing at some joke she didn’t hear. “I’m sure all of you will get along swimmingly.”

—*—*—*—*—*

“I FOUND HER FIRST!”

Alfred had barely opened the manor’s doors to let Marinette and Adrien inside before the chaos started. Or rather, before they were let in on it— it seemed as if the chaos had already been going on for a while.

Jason skidded across the floor in a mad dash, having to grasp the doorframe he was running out of so that he could turn the corner sharply and veer towards them.

“Tell them, Marinette! I found you first, you’re my sister now, don’t fall for any of their Jedi mind tricks!”

Marinette just blinked, a little caught off guard. It hadn’t exactly sunk into her head until right that moment that ‘Wayne Family dinner’ would include Jason. Her mind was still catching up to the fact that she was seeing him out of his security guard uniform for the first time. He wasn’t dressed up at all, in a well-loved brown leather jacket over a white shirt and dark wash jeans. He still had his motorcycle gloves on. Marinette looked down at first herself, then Adrien.

“Are we overdressed?” She asked with a grimace. Jason huffed.

“Of course not, you guys look amazing! But seriously, tell them that I claimed you as my sister first and none of them are half as cool as me.”

Marinette and Adrien traded glances before laughing together.

“If we’re being technical here,” Adrien drawled mischievously as he straightened out his vest. “I met Marinette first, and she adopted me as her brother long before we met any of you,” he pointed out with a sharp grin.

“Ha!” a younger man laughed pointedly, following after Jason. The newcomer was dressed more formally, in a dress shirt under a very luxurious looking burgundy designer sweater. Under that, he wore black perfectly-pressed slacks and nondescript oxfords. His collar showed signs of housing a tie earlier, but he had clearly taken it off sometime earlier. His hair hung slightly long, framing his face with two long locks while the back of his hair slightly stuck up in all directions in natural tufted curls. Like Jason, his hair was jet black and he had bright blue eyes. He was also about half Jason’s size, much shorter and leaner than his adoptive brother. “He’s got you there, idiot,” he snarked smugly at Jason before turning to the two guests. “Miss Dupain-Cheng, Mister Agreste. I’m Tim Drake-Wayne, it’s nice to finally meet both of you,” he introduced himself as he walked over to shake their hands. “And your outfits are amazing! Did you make them, Miss Dupain-Cheng?”

“Marinette,” she corrected with a lopsided grin. “My last name is a mouthful, and I prefer to just go by Marinette anyway. And yes, I made both of these outfits before we left Paris,” she admitted, trying her best to seem professional. She had already ruined her chances of that with Bruce and Jason, but this time she was prepared!

“They are just as impressive as the rest of your work that I’ve seen. And call me Tim, it’s only fair,” and then he smiled.

Damn his boyish grin. He wasn’t someone Marinette had a crush on— he wasn’t her type— but damn he was unfairly charismatic and charming. His smile temporarily short circuited her brain. That was exactly the kind of boyish smile that had started her crush on Adrien, and that she was unfairly weak for. Now she felt a deep-seated urge to protect this boy and his smile or so help her, someone would be sent to the ER if he was hurt and it wasn’t gonna be her. And she didn’t try to dissuade herself from that strong protective urge, her mother had already assured her that all the Waynes were trustworthy and that Tim in particular shared a lot of her bad habits. She could allow this little bit of vulnerability. Hopefully.

“... I’ve only known you for two minutes, but if anything happened to you I would kill everyone in this room and then myself,” she breathed. Adrien elbowed her hard, making her yelp.

“You said that out loud Mari,” he deadpanned. A deep flush immediately came over her face, and she covered her mouth with both hands.

“Oh shit. I’m so sorry— but you— just forget I said anything. Please!”

Tim was visibly shocked, his eyes wide and mouth agape. Jason snorted, overcoming his own brief moment of shock pretty easily.

“Careful there,” Jason chided good-heartedly. His gaze met Marinette’s with a slight weight in it though. “You barely know the guy. He’ll annoy you out of your mind soon enough.”

Marinette caught the hint, wincing and changing the subject. Jason could see that she had done exactly as her mother had warned— she had gotten attached to Tim almost immediately. And while he wanted to believe Marinette when she said that the same wouldn’t happen with Joker, that she was not going to repeat her mother’s mistakes…

He couldn’t help but worry. Joker was a slippery bastard, and good at getting past people’s defenses.

Tim eventually led them all to the dining room, where several people were already sat waiting for them.

“We decided it would be best if we didn’t all swarm you at the door,” Tim explained, grinning at her kindly. “Take a seat wherever you want, Alfred is probably going to be done with dinner soon.”

Marinette and Adrien both nodded, going to sit by each other’s side. Adrien put his hand on her knee when they sat down, and traded a meaningful look with her.

“Calm down,” he whispered. “We’re not in Paris. And if you slip, I’ll catch you. Promise.”

Marinette’s shoulders relaxed a little. Yeah, she could trust Adrien to make sure she didn’t slip up too much. Get too careless. He’d watch her back like she did for him. She’d be okay. They’d both be okay.

“Thanks, Adrien. I needed that.”

—*—*—*—*—*

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