#like 'what if chat noir stopped punning and ladybug was sad :'('

[gale-gentlepenguin]

Gale’s Analysis: Movie!Adrien vs Show!Adrien (which is better?)

That’s right people it’s time for the fight you’ve been waiting for. The Shows ball of sunshine and depression vs the movie’s Careless whisper enthusiast

Now for this post I will be comparing them in the following categories as well as the points of each category.

Do remember that this is also based on opinion and can be taken with a grain of salt. (And let me know your thoughts.)

Design (2 points)

Personality (3 points)

Relationships (6 points)

Agency (3 points)

___________________________________________

Design

I’m gonna cut right to it. The movie’s design for Adrien and chat noir look better than the show

Now the only clear difference really is the animation budget increase, but if you watch the movie, Adrien and chat noir appear to look softer, it’s less like a shiny suit, more of a sleek and slightly more padded costume. Also I like that the bell is slightly smaller, the suit isn’t as skin tight. It looks more useable. Even his clothes as a civilian look softer and more useable.

But to be fair I will not give movie Adrien the full two points. Since they don’t really change much of his outside just give him a budget increase

Movie!Adrien: 1.5 points

Show!Adrien!: .5 points

Personality

This is where we dig into the meat and potatoes of what makes each Adrien tick. The 3 points of this category will be distributed as follow.

1. For Personality as Adrien

2. For personality as Chat Noir

3. For personality at his core.

1. Personality as Adrien.

So this is where differences really seem to form. The key personality Traits of Show!Adrien are that he wants freedom, wants to be loved, and sees the best in everyone. He is basically a golden retriever. He is a kid that has felt trapped by his strict father and wants to see the world. He is a model and despite being ‘Perfect’ feels like he isn’t that great.

The Key Personality traits of Movie!Adrien are Withdrawn, insecure, and wants to be loved. He is a sad little cat. He is a kid who lost his mother and has a father that threw himself into his work to avoid grief. Thus Adrien in this world is withdrawn and feels empty. Deep down he is a kind soul but he himself feels hollow. The isolation he feels isn’t forced on him as much as he himself put the walls up.

Now for this one, I’m giving the point to the Show!Adrien.

Show!Adrien: 1.5

Movie!Adrien:1.5

Both are good takes on a character for their respective medium, but It’s clear Show!Adrien has a more 3 dimensional motivation and while there are peaks and valleys, they are really good peaks.

2.Personality as Chat noir

Believe it or not there is actually not as big of a difference on these two takes of chat noir than one would think.

Show! Chat noir is a pun loving act first kind of hero. He is playful and likes to flirt and tease ladybug. But deep down is the emotional core that keeps Ladybug centered. One of the problems is that this chat noir does have trouble separating personal emotions from the mission

Movie!Chat noir is more cocky but just as playful. He is trying to play the confident hero at first but that bravado quickly melts and he confesses he’s new to this. A LOT of people fail to realize it’s an act when watching the movie. And despite that he is actually professional afterward, when Ladybug tells him “Not to push something” and the situation is serious he stops immediately and focuses on the task at hand. But really this iteration has more overlap as Chat noir is able to be more open with Ladybug. They can flirt, they can play, they can actually be more open without the shows restrictions on identities must be kept. Which actually gives Them both more freedom.

So this one is a bit surprising to me, but I have to say it’s a draw for me.

Show!Adrien: 2

Movie!Adrien: 2

The movie and the show have peaks and valleys with chat noir. But in the movie chat noir actually feels important in general rather than just being told he’s important. The show has him get controlled a good chunk early on or have his emotional conflict be half the problems, which for a show is fine, but for a movie wouldn’t work out. Though I will say Show!Chat noir is also MUCH more developed and grew a lot more to be the solid partner he is. Movie! Chat noir didn’t have nearly as much growth… he does have significantly more game and is quick to admit his own short comings. (When he’s being himself and not the bravado)

3. The personality core

Adrichat should be defined by 5 traits. 1. Loyalty. 2. Kindness, 3. Wanting love, 4. Emotional, 5. Wanting freedom.

And of the two only Show!Adrien has all 5. Movie Adrien could potentially have 3 to 4 but he is by his own admission (hallow). Show!Adrien does have his problems but at his core he has more to give and I gotta give the ball of sunshine his due

Show!Adrien: 3

Movie!Adrien: 2

____________________________________________

Relationships.

Okay so this obviously can’t encompass all the relationships Adrien has. So I cut them into the main ones we can compare. The rule being he has to at least have 3 interactions with them

With Plagg: 1 point

With Nino: 1 point

With Ladybug: 1 point

With Marinette: 1 point

With Nathalie: 1 point

With His Father: 1 point.

So let’s get into it.

With Plagg:

It’s Show!Adrien and not even close. Plagg in the show is one of the best characters and the dynamic and care between the two is so crucial to show!adrien’s growth. Even if you only took 1 season of the show to compare to the movie, each one beats out the movie dynamic by a country mile. Movie!Plagg is a fart machine and while he does comfort Adrien and tell him to move his butt when things are serious, the gap of this battle is massive.

Show!Adrien: 4

Movie!Adrien: 2

With Nino

Interestingly enough, I’m going movie on this one. Sure Adrien and Nino have some good interactions in the show, but in the movie I think it demonstrates it more that they are closer than in the show. Adrien sought out Nino for advice, Nino and him have a friendship and show they hang out more. Idk it just felt to me more natural in the movie than in the show. I think maybe it’s because when you stretch it across 5 seasons, Nino’s friendship with Adrien seems minuscule especially in the later seasons. The reason Adrien isn’t as close to Nino in the movie makes more sense then in the case of the show. That maybe a controversial take but it’s where I stand on it.

Show!Adrien: 4

Movie!Adrien: 3

With Ladybug

So this one is not as cut and dry as one would think. Because the real question is, what do you prefer. A complex dynamic where they both care about one another but one side is constantly feeling as though they aren’t helpful or even equal in the dynamic only to have it glazed over then move to a platonic friendship. Or a simplified dynamic where both sides had some trouble getting along initially before finding their way and even starting to fall for eachother and open themselves up only for their personal lives to muddle things up and only for things to clear up and for the masks to drop.

I am shocked by how difficult this choice was. Because if I’m being honest, the show does have good Ladynoir moments but it also has a ton of complex bullsh*t that COULD have been great development only for it to get sidelined. And my favorite episode is strikeback, which arguably has the best Ladynoir moment of all time. But if I’m going to judge this correctly I have to judge this relationship on its highs AND it’s lows. And trust me some of the lows are really low.

But let’s not pretend that the ladynoir in the movie is perfect either, yes it has good scenes, but it also has some cringe. It does miss some of the best beats that can only be found in the show. But at the end of the day, what dynamic do I think fits the ideal of what I think Ladynoir is?

Show! Adrien: 4

Movie! Adrien: 4

It really did come down to the wire. But I ruled in favor of the movie, because in the end, the ladynoir in the show fizzled. And Movie!Adrien gets to be closer to ladybug then show!adrien ever could be. No masks between them.

With Marinette:

I’m not gonna sugar coat this one. Show!Adrien wins this one so easily it’s not even funny. Adrien is constantly growing closer to Marinette throughout the show, while his relationship with ladybug is all over, his love and care for Marinette grows. Not to mention, show Adrienette has so many moments that are much higher than any in the movie. The umbrella scene, the statue scene, the picnic scene. And before you ask, why this and ladybug are a separate category, it’s because to Adrien in the show he doesn’t know. Now let’s not say the relationship doesn’t exist in the movie, I actually like that the two can talk early on, and hang out as a group. Movie!adrien even opens up to her. But it doesn’t make sense why Movie!Marinette is picking Movie Adrien over chat noir.

Show!Adrien: 5

Movie!Adrien 4

With Nathalie

Another sweep for Show!Adrien. Nathalie in the movie does show some concern for Adrien, but it is not as clear as the care shown by Nathalie in the show. We see Adrien in the show help and thank Nathalie. Though it makes sense that movie!Adrien would be more withdrawn with Nathalie as set up by his personal arc in the movie. His dynamic with Nathalie is not as deep. Maybe if they had another scene together it could have worked but… it didn’t shake out

Show!Adrien: 6

Movie!Adrien: 4

With His Father

I can’t even begin to describe how EASILY movie! Adrien wins this. Like the dynamic in the show is such a mess that most people are clamoring for Gabriel’s death. Heck! That’s the one universal agreement on the season 5 finale that everyone likes. They like that show!Gabriel is dead. His dynamic with his dad in the movie is much more grounded and understandable. Adrien is hurt by his father being distant, and has sadly gotten accustomed to it. Adrien even calls out his father without the need of encouragement. He was emotional and vulnerable and called out his dad’s neglect. There we even see the parallel of how the two view heartbreak, shutting themselves off. but we see that even in his grief and madness Gabriel still cares about his son, worrying about him, and even when he’s about to get what he wanted; he stops when realizing he hurt his son. We see why Gabriel couldn’t bear the grief, how much his baby boy matters to him. We see that Adrien understands his fathers grief and wants to help him let go. And we get the most genuine moment between the two in the entire franchise. Something 100 pancake breakfasts couldn’t do.

Show!Adrien: 6

Movie! Adrien: 5

____________________________________________

Agency

If we removed Adrien from the plot, how much would actually be impacted?

So this is where things get kind of murky. Because in the movie, does drive a section of the plot and his actions do have some consequences.

And if someone else was Chat noir, Hawkmoth would have won. No questions asked.

In the show, Adrien is arguably the most critical character to the plot, Marinette’s motivations are heavily entrenched in Adrien. And Adrien being there did basically set all the plot for the Agreste in motion. But he is often sidelined. It’s more of Adrien existing as a MacGuffin then a character at times.

But Adrien’s inability to make choice for himself actually becomes a plot point with him being a sentimonster.

It’s hard to really judge in some aspects because in the end Adrien’s choices in both mediums aren’t as impactful as one would think.

So if I had to call it.

Show!Adrien: 9

Movie! Adrien: 5

Adrien in the show and in the movie both have an agency issue, but in the grand scheme of things, Adrien’s actions in the show do hold more weight, even if a lot of them get negated.

_________________________________________

Ending

Now in truth I think it is difficult comparing the portrayal of a movie character to one from Tv, especially when both are trying to accomplish two different tasks.

I enjoy both iterations and I can recognize the flaws that are within each.

It really does make me wonder how different things would be if Zag and Astruc were more in step rather than clashing because if both Adrien’s could be mixed there is something amazing here. I do want a sequel to explore movie Adrien more, and I want to see how things would go with Adrien and Marinette not having to deal with the identity shenanigans.

But if there needs to be a winner

Show!Adrien wins

TL:DR

Show Adrien wins because more writing is often better but the movie Adrien does have some things going for him.

#miraculous ladybug #ml #miraculous movie #Adrien agreste #Gale’s analysis

[mxrvelouss]

ok so this is my silly little idea for if the reveal happened earlier in the show, like before all the love webs happened lol. i really wanna make this into a comic but my motivation is so weird sometimes- i was trying to before this but now it feels hard- so im just gonna write it for now!

The Reveal (Miraculous AU)

It's night time in Paris, and Ladybug is sitting by herself on a rooftop. She hugs her knees up to her chest. She hears Chat land next to her and gives him a small smile.

"Hey, M'Lady," Chat says, smiling down at Ladybug.

"Hey, Kitty," Ladybug quietly replies as he sits down beside her. "Couldn't sleep?"

"Nope," he says. "I'm assuming you couldn't, either?"

Ladybug shakes her head and looks down, tears starting to fill her eyes. Chat looks at her with concern, wanting nothing more than to embrace her and take away whatever was causing her pain. But she needed her space.

"You know you can tell me anything," he gently says as he sets his hand on her shoulder. "I'll always be here for you, okay?"

Ladybug turns to look at him. He was so kind, so gentle. Always there for her when she needed him. And yet here she was, sulking because she had made a fool out of herself in front of Adrien Agreste once again earlier that day.

But she couldn't just stop loving him, and therefore she could not love Chat Noir.

She felt waves of sadness and flames of anger rise up in her. And suddenly, the feelings that she had always wanted to tell Chat but never did because of fear just started to tumble out. "I'm so sorry for always pushing you away, Chat..." Tears spill out of her eyes, and Chat stares at her with great concern and intensity. "It's just...it's just..." The anger starts to take over, and she suddenly stands up.

"It's just that I act SO STUPID in front of the boy I love every. Single. Day!! He's so sweet to me, and I know that life gets hard for him sometimes and yet he never fails to be kind and perfect to EVERYONE. And I just wanna tell him how much him and his kindness means to me..." she stops mid-sentence, looking down at her superhero partner. He was staring at her, clinging on to every word she said as if it was his lifeline. The sadness washes over Ladybug's anger, and she gently sits back down next to Chat Noir. Looking down, she quietly says, "And...and I want YOU to know how much you mean to me, too, Chat. I'm sorry I don't show my affection back. Because you really do mean everything to me, and I wouldn't be able to do ANY of this without you. It's just...the boy in my personal life...I love him so much. And I can't just STOP those feelings."

Chat was so grateful that Ladybug was finally opening up to him- and that he meant so much to her. I mean, deep down, he knew that, but...it was just nice to hear. And he was determined to help her with whatever she wanted to tell this boy. Taking a deep breath, he says, "Well, you were able to just tell ME your feelings- or should I say, FELINES-"

"Chat," Ladybug interrupts him, giving him a look. But she was smiling. She may not enjoy his puns all the time, but Chat knew that this time it would make her smile.

"Okay, okay," Chat laughs. "My point is, you were able to tell me the way you feel, so that means you are FULLY capable of telling this boy whatever it is you wanna tell him."

Ladybug slowly nods. "I guess that's true..."

"So," Chat says. "What is it you wanna tell him? Just...go ahead and say it. Say whatever's on your mind." He gives her a reassuring smile. "You can do it."

Ladybug smiles at him, and takes a deep breath. Confidence was replacing the anger and sadness in her- a little too much, in fact. Because this is what she blurts out. "I would say, 'Adrien Agreste, thank you for always being so kind and I hope-'" Her eyes widen, and she slaps her mouth shut.

Chat Noir stares at her, a jumble of thoughts swimming through his head. "Did she just say my name?! Does she know my identity? Or..." A smile took over his face as he realized.

Ladybug stands up, nervously backing up and rambling. "Whoa, did I just say, 'Adrien Agreste'?! That's so funny, because what I actually meant was, uh, Damien Shameste! Yeah! Who's Adrien Agreste? Never heard of him!"

Chat was up now, walking towards her with a grin on his face. "Marinette," he says gently.

"What? W-who's Marinette?! Never heard of her, either! Anyways, I gotta go now, so, uh, catch you later, Kitty-" Just as Ladybug was about to take off the roof with her yo-yo, she stumbles backwards, slipping off the ledge. With a quick, confident swoop, Chat Noir reaches out and grabs her arm. As he holfd her in place, looking down into her wide, anxious eyes, he whispers, "Claws in."

Ladybug stares at the beautiful, familiar face who saved her from falling. She stared as he gently lifts her back up onto the rooftop. "A-Adrien? How...what..?" And suddenly, relief floods over her face, then tears of joy along with a smile so wide her cheeks hurt. "Spots off," she whispers.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Adrien Agreste stare at each other's eyes, illuminated by moonlight. Plagg and Tikki watch from the side, their smiles also taking up the width of their faces.

And then, laughter, followed by the most genuine, heartfelt kiss one could ever wish for. Smiling against his lips, Marinette speaks. "How did we not see it before...?!"

"I don't know," Adrien laughs. "But we see it now, and that's what matters. Marinette, I told myself you were just a close friend because of my love for Ladybug...but I knew my feelings were more than that." He glances over at his Kwami, smiling. "Plagg knew it, too."

Tikki chimes in. "And Marinette knew of the affection she felt for Chat Noir..."

"But I pushed it aside because of my love for Adrien," Marinette finishes, smiling at Tikki. She looks back at her soulmate, whose grin was wider than what was probably possible. Embracing her arms around his neck, she whispers, "Oh, my kitty..."

"My ladybug," Adrien whispers back as they kiss again.

When they finally pull away, Marinette giggles. "So...now what?"

Adrien smiles. "No one has to know. It'll be our little secret. At school, we're just Marinette and Adrien. And at night..."

"We're Ladybug and Chat Noir!" Marinette exclaims.

"And together, we'll defeat Hawk Moth. And after that..." Adrien blushes. He touches his forehead to Marinette's and closes his eyes. "I'll be forever yours, m'lady."

THE END

*Bonus Scene*

Chat Noir drops Ladybug off on her balcony, and they turn to each other. "I'm so glad that this happened now. Imagine if we went YEARS without knowing our true identities! That would just be..."

"Horrible," Ladybug finishes. "If we were in a movie or something and that happened, I'd turn it off!"

With one last laugh and a kiss, Ladybug de-transforms. "Goodnight, my prince," she whispers. "I love you."

#mlb fanfic #miraculous #miraculous ladybug #ladynoir #adrinette #mlb #chat noir #fanfic #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #miraculoustalesofladybugandcatnoir #miraculous au

[swingsdown]

memory/desire: part iv

title: memory/desire summary: When Adrien is seventeen, Ladybug dies. Nearly six years later, Marinette Dupain-Cheng comes home to Paris. (ao3)

// previous - -

february, 2017

She doesn’t see him die.

They’re separated by the building collapsing all around them, the path between them literally aflame. She thinks if they were near enough— if he’d still been alive —he would have made a pun—( you set my heart on fire milady)— but they aren’t, and he isn’t. He had been trapped on the other side of the fire with the akuma, and even though she’d tried, even though she’d used every bit of cunning and agility and strength she’d had, Marinette had failed.

She doesn’t see him die, but she feels it. She has seen it before—watched as he slipped through time, watched as he was skewered or pierced or thrown off of tall heights—but she has never felt it like this:

Something missing. Something gone. Something so intrinsic that she hadn’t even known she’d had it until confronted with the shape of its absence.

She’d heard the triumphant roar of the akuma one moment, and then the next (even though it’s impossible, because she’d been too far away) a sharp intake of breath and a blinding green light. Chat Noir, revealed in death.

Marinette calls for a Lucky Charm without thinking. And this is world’s worse than conjuring a record so your crush stops dancing with another girl. This is death. That is life. Ladybugs do not meddle in either.

So one moment, the green light, and then the next, the pink. Afterwards, she catches a glimpse of his eyes across the room, frantic with panic and love. And then the building whines and creaks and groans and she’s sinking underneath the flames. 

april, 2023 

“Hello.”

Adrien looks up from the display of flowers in front of him, expression owlish, body still angled to smell a heavy bloom.

“Adrien?” Marinette tries again; Adrien thinks back to all the times he’s flustered her in the past and wonders if this is karmic punishment.

“Marinette! Sorry, you caught me by surprise.”

Marinette smiles, “I can see that. Fancy meeting you here again.”

“Yeah, are you buying anything?”

They’re the only ones in the front room besides the surly old owner. The space is perpetually hot and humid, and Adrien is struck by the picture Marinette makes: her flushed cheeks, her dark hair, her blue eyes a shock of color in the middle of all that green.

“I was just looking. The weather’s been so gloomy lately that I thought some flowers might be nice. You?”

He takes a moment, wondering how he might answer, when the decision is made for him by the emergence of the old man’s wife from the back of the shop, a large bouquet of red snapdragons dripping ruby red over her arm.

“Monsieur Agreste, your usual is ready.”

“Snapdragons?” Marinette asks, her voice faint.

Adrien takes the flowers from the older woman, his answer absent minded as he carefully inspects the blooms, “Somebody very important told me once that they were her favorite.”

“What a coincidence, they’re mine, too.” 

When Adrien finally glances up, Marinette’s half-smile is so sad that he asks without thinking, “Do you want to come with me?”

//

They end up in a park square a few streets away, sitting  pressed shoulder to thigh on a small bench to ward against the cold. 

There is the initial shifting and settling and crinkling of cellophane. Adrien looks at the obscenely large bouquet of flowers awkwardly laid across both of their laps, and thinks not for the first time that he’s an impulsive little fool.

“Very cozy,” Marinette says, breaking the silence. It’s nearly impossible to turn and look at each other unless they want to bump noses, but Adrien can still hear the smile in her tone. It automatically makes him want to smile in return.

“Yeah, only the best for my friends.”

Even though it’s stilted and (more than) a little lame, Marinette laughs.

“I don’t remember you offering to pick me up in that limo of yours on the way to school,” she teases.

“Yeah, I didn’t pick up on social cues until at least the end of lycée.”

Marinette snorts, but to Adrien even that’s a generous statement. He had not been kind the last year of lycée, either. He hadn’t been much of anything beyond the grief and rage.

“I’m making up for lost time now,” he says, and pulls a snapdragon from the bouquet.

He holds it out to Marinette with a little flourish, and there’s no reason why she would think this out of the ordinary, but Marinette’s eyes widen, her mouth a perfect “o” of surprise and her face suddenly stark white.

Before Adrien can panic, Marinette’s expression softens, and she takes the flower. 

“I love it,” she says, still staring at the livid red of the petals. “Thank you.”

There’s a significance that Adrien is pretty sure he’s missing, but he lets it go, “Like I said, making up for lost time.”

//

They talk a little about what they’ve been up to: Adrien about university and his tentative plans to apply for a thèse, and Marinette about Shanghai and the small label she’d started in her junior year of university. They skirt around their terminale, and why Marinette had to move in the first place. They do not talk about Adrien’s father, or Paris’ heroes, or the dark time in between. 

They talk long enough that they start walking again. After all, Adrien had flowers to deliver.

“Do you do this often?” Marinette asks, looking at the over-large bouquet in his arms. Already, the flowers had swatted three unsuspecting bystanders in the head as the duo shoved their way into the usual metro madness. 

Adrien grimaces, trying to shield the blooms from the crush of people around them, “Enough.”

The train is too crowded to speak, but Marinette silently laughs every time Adrien mimes stabbing people taking up more than their fair share of space with his bouquet.

“We’re close!” Adrien says when they get off at the familiar stop, Marinette trailing behind him as he navigates the familiar route. 

“Oh,” Marinette says when the statue of Ladybug comes into view, the bronze likeness garlanded with the usual flowers. 

It’s a good likeness, but Adrien knows the artist would never have been able to capture everything that made his lady his lady —not the fond curve of her smile or the gleam in her eyes as she considered a particularly thorny problem.

Adrien has never brought anyone with him on his regular visits, but Marinette is different—Marinette had been there too. She stands back as he walks up to the memorial, carefully laying the snapdragons at its base.

I miss you; I hope I’ll see you again; I love you .

When he turns around, her expression is inscrutable.

//

Marinette is quiet afterwards, but Adrien’s reluctant to let her go. They walk aimlessly around the neighborhood, to-go cups of coffee in hand. 

“I’m surprised you’re not mad.”

He takes a sip of coffee to give himself a moment to think. “I was mad—for a long time about a lot of different things, but never at Ladybug.”

“You should be,” Marinette says, so quietly that it’s almost a whisper. The flower he’d given her dangles limply from one hand, and she’s nearly shaking. 

They come to a stop at an intersection. Adrien bites his lip, thinking again: Marinette had been there too. Of all of them, Marinette has the most cause to be angry, not Adrien. Not when it’d all been his fault in the first place.

“I’m thankful,” he finally says. 

“Then you should have been giving those flowers to Chat Noir—or her.”

It takes every ounce of the self-control that he’d learned over the years for Adrien to not stiffen up. The light changes, and the crowd jostles them in their impatience to cross, but Adrien doesn’t think he can walk and come up with the right words at the same time.

“I am, I’m grateful to them both, but Ladybug…Ladybug most of all.”

He hears a sniffle, and whipping around to face Marinette is distraught to see the tears on her cheeks.

“Marinette—Marinette, I’m so—”

“No,” she steps away from his outreach hand, roughly wiping the tears from her cheeks. “I’m sorry, I think—I think I need to go.” 

She’s so quick, turning and hurrying away in the direction that they’d come, and Adrien is left helplessly watching as she is swallowed by the distance. 

february 2017

She is floating in a deep darkness; muffled, as if from a great distance, she hears him screaming for her.

She struggles to stay awake, to tell him that she’s sorry, that it’ll be okay— 

Don’t fight it, Marinette. She feels the soft flutter of Tikki against her cheek; Marinette lets herself sink.

- -

// next - first

#miraculous ladybug #miraculousdaily #mlfanfiction #adrienette #ladynoir #fic: memory and desire #mine: fic #fandom: ml fic

[limdywrites]

Open Your Eyes

Part 1

Char Noir sat, perched atop a lamp post in the orange dusk light. One hand gripped the post between his feet while the other held his baton off to the side, although there was no sign of danger.

Ladybug watched from the roof adjacent, examining the glimpse of his profile discernible at this angle. The lamp he crouched over flickered to life as the remaining sunlight faded, illuminating strands of his golden hair that had escaped the messy knot secured at the base of his skull and now danced in the breeze.

A lot had changed since Ladybug had last seen Chat Noir. The lamp seemed to highlight the differences before her eyes: his long hair, the defensive posture, the stiffness in his movements. Most of all, as Chat turned his head to look back at her, the light cast his face into stark relief.

There were no playful grins, no silly puns, no… anything… just a hollow expression with a barely-raised brow that said “what are you doing?”

Sure, Ladybug had changed too, and she liked to think for the better. No more pigtails that she kept as part of her super heroine persona all throughout lycée, even when she had stopped wearing them as Marinette. Now she wore her hair in either a bun or a high ponytail. Now she was in her final year of university. Now she had been through heart break and loss. Now she knew better than to pretend everything was fine.

But she couldn’t ask Chat what happened. Not yet. She had just gotten him back. Four hours earlier, she had nearly died of shock when Tikki informed her that a message was coming through the miraculous.

Marinette hadn’t even stopped to think about the familiar background of her bedroom before transforming and fumbling to open her buzzing yo-yo.

“Chat!” she yelped as he appeared on screen.

“Umm, hey Ladybug,” he responded, not really looking at the screen. “I, uh, moved. But now I’m back. Just thought I should let you know. In case anything big happens, you can call me.”

She wanted to scream, wanted to cry.

Where were you?! What happened? I thought you said we would do this together. I thought you were dead. You left me alone.

All the words caught in her throat as she took in his face. Empty eyes stared just to the right of the screen, and his mouth set in a tense, flat line. She hardly recognized him.

“Uhh, well… that’s all, so…”

“WAIT!” she finally choked out. “Where are you? Can’t we meet up somewhere?”

Chat lifted a gloved hand to rub the back of his neck and shifted his eyes further from the screen.

“Uhh, I can’t right now.”

“Later?” Ladybug nearly cut him off. “I’m patrolling at nine. Meet me at the Eiffel Tower. Our usual spot.”

She slammed the yo-yo shut before he could say no. Her stomach, which had been on fire with nerves just moments before, turned cold and heavy.

That wasn’t Chat. It couldn’t be. Who was that?

***

I haven’t posted a fanfic anywhere in like….. a really long time. Like… 10 years…? But I’ve been writing a lot lately. And I was reading miraculous fics today and I got this picture of angsty aged-up Chat on a lamp post. So I wrote this on a whim.

Part of my inspiration comes from Blue Spring Ride, a very great and sad manga/anime. Loss changes people. So in this AU, they defeated Hawkmoth when they were about 18, and then Chat disappeared. And now he’s back! But different. Very different.

Aaaand that’s all for now!

#writing #writeblr #miraculous #miraculous ladybug #miraculous fanfic #limdywrites #miraculous au #chat noir #ml ladybug #Marinette #open your eyes

[emsylcatac]

It's post-Rocketear angst time 🌧

#miraculous #ladynoir #ml spoilers #rocketear #rocketear spoilers #yes it took me [checks calendar] nearly 4 months to drop this #and in the meantime canon proved me things weren't gonna be as dramatic dfhhjdf #btw don't expect a continuation it's just a one-time thing #with angsty ending uwu #like 'what if chat noir stopped punning and ladybug was sad :'(' #wanted to try my hand at comics #took so much time & energy that I'm not sure I will again #but it was fun & taught me lots #ml comic #ml fanart #myart

[emtornado]

I'm cancelling majority of Season 4 of Miraculous. INSTEAD...

Oh my gods, I just saw the trailer for 'Hack-san' and I AM SO ANNOYED RIGHT NOW!!!

As far as I am concerned right now, I will accept SOME parts of this season.

Telling Alya? Questionable but okay

Luka getting to know? This will help them in the future cuz Luka is awesome.

Chat getting sidelined? Heartbreaking but okay fine, I'll take it.

ALYA BECOMING LADYBUG? BITCH NO.

This show is about Ladybug and Cat Noir- Marinette and Adrien.

For me, Season 4 right now is gonna be Chat being heartbroken cuz wtf man, his lady is being distant as fuck. Being Chat Noir always gave him a sense of freedom, but now he feels more and more like Adrien as Chat as well, trapped and useless to everyone around him.

So my dude goes and tells Ladybug that he can't do this. It's too much and she has Rena Rouge, Carapace and the others to help her. He is not important anymore, so it'll be fine if he gives his miraculous back to her.

Ladybug is shocked. She never wanted this. The main reason she was staying away from Chat is because of all the mental damage she suffered from Chat Blanc, because them being close, them being in love, basically destroyed the world.

So she sits there and she listens to her best friend (cuz Chat is her best friend, not Alya, fight me Thomas Astruc) say that he is gonna leave her, and she just kinda freezes.

Chat being Chat, sees this and goes to her being like, "Milady are you okay "

and before he finishes, he sees that she is basically having a panic attack and she's not breathing (duh. The number of expectations this kid, YES KID SHE'S LIKE 14, has is heartbreaking and she's been bordering on Anxiety and Depression for too long) and has tears streaming down her face and Chat immediately goes and hugs her and helps her through it (Imma stick to the 5-4-3-2-1 technique cuz its been effective for me).

After that happens they finally show some vulnerability to each other, and Ladybug finally tells him about Chat Blanc and how she's basically traumatised because of it.

Chat is heartbroken.

He never thought that him loving Ladybug could have such drastic consequences, and so he asks her if she wants him away. She could choose another Chat Noir, but this time so the fate of the flipping world doesn't hang in the balance, and after like a few more hours of opening up to each other, they decide that Ladybug and Chat Noir will always be Ladybug and Chat Noir. Best friends, partners and each other's solace.

Nothing else. At least until Hawkmoth is defeated.

And so they both go home, and Marinette is finally at peace cuz her partner is her partner again and she doesn't have to do all the unnecessary crap of having new superheroes in every new episode.

Adrien on the other hand is defeated as fuck. My man is so sad and he doesn't know what to do. He can't talk to Nino about this, he can't talk to Alya about this (they're just not that close, honestly) and he doesn't know what to do.

So, he bribes Plagg with a wheel of Camembert and transforms before going to the one person he trusts as much as he trusts Ladybug (3 guesses who lol)

Marinette is a little surprised to see her partner less than half an hour after having a huge talk with him. Of course, Chat doesn't know that and he just wants a friendly face who he knows will listen to him without an ounce of judgement.

And so Mari invites him in for passionfruit croissants she definitely made for Adrien that morning and makes them both comfortable in her room.

And then Chat talks.

He talks about how alienated he felt, he talks about how scared he is and he doesn't stop talking to Marinette until they're both just wrapped around each other, asleep, leeching off of each other's warmth cuz getting up to take the blanket was just too much work.

In the middle of the night, Plagg detransforms and goes to the other Kwamis to look at these two dumbass kids, who have way too much weight on their shoulders.

As the sun rises, Plagg (after being told by Tikki to 'be subtle for fucks sake, Plagg') gently wakes Adrien up, and Adrien leaves a note for Marinette, thanking her for listening to him, and leaves again.

And then, they go about their days as usual. Go to school, fight Akumas side by side, with a little extra help from Rena Rouge and any other hero, but people in Paris can see that it's The Ladybug and Chat Noir team once more.

And at night if the two heroes spend a little extra time together, as Chat Noir and Marinette, then nobody knows about it.

ON THE OTHER HAND, Alya is getting a little annoyed (just like we did with her lol) and straight-up asks Marinette what was the point of telling her all this if she was just gonna use her as a sidekick and Marinette (who has a lot more confidence considering during day time Adrien boosts her ego, and at night Chat does it) just goes "cuz you are a sidekick...? Your job, along with every other hero I give the miraculous to is to help Chat and me." (is this a little OOC for Mari? I don't care lmao)

Alya bristles and goes on to make a series of bad decisions to prove that she is vital to the tram, but she only adds a lot of drama smh.

OKAY BACK TO CHAT AND MARI. Gods they are SO in love. These two fools really do friends to lovers properly and cutely. Mari unknowingly gets over her crush on Adrien, and develops one on Chat instead, never realising that she fell in love with the same idiot.

And Adrien? Gods, he doesn't know how he never SAW Mari. Funny Mari who always beats him in Videogames and always gives him the best food (cuz gabby is a dick and doesn't feed his son enough) and gives the best hugs and always comes to every single tournament of his to cheer him on and laughs at all his puns and talks to him every night until they fall asleep together, either in each other's arms or over the phone. (If you think Adrien didn't get another phone just so he could talk to Mari as Chat at night and to send her memes during his photoshoot, then you're lying to yourself, bestie.)

And so one night, they kiss.

And everything seems so, so right.

And then they both get an akuma alert so Chat has to go asap, and Mari quickly transforms to meet him. They get there, and Rena Rouge is there, but with different colours and Ladybug and Chat Noir are confused cuz you know.

This is their friend. Their ally.

And then Rena turns around and says,

"Hello, Marinette."

End of Season.

Okay yeah, thanks for reading that. If I ever get the time I'm making this a full fanfic hehe

#miraculous #miraculous ladybug #ladybug #chat noir #ladybug and chat noir #ladynoir #marichat #marinette dupen chang #adrien agreste #adrinette #season 4 rewrite #mlb #mlb fanfic #miraculous tales of ladybug and chat noir #miraculous chat noir #chat blanc #miraculous rewrite #rena rouge #mlb ladybug #mlb chat noir #thomas astruc #angst

[mochegato]

Even the Losers

Chapter 16

Chapter 1     Chapter 15

Marinette blinked as the room around her slowly came into focus.  She tried to bring her hand up to rub her head to help alleviate her pulsing headache but her hands weren’t responding.  It felt like there was a weight on them.  Or like they were being held down, bound.  Marinette’s eyes flew open and her heart started pounding as she searched the room for the akuma.  She looked at her hands and silently cursed to herself.  Not only were her arms bound to the arms of a wooden chair, she saw her own naked hands instead of her distinct red suit.  

She groaned and looked around for any clues to where she was being held and what the akuma might be.  If she could figure out their powers, she might be able to figure out how to get out of this.  She stopped when she saw a man in a green suit making his way toward her.  She blinked a few more times taking in his suit and hat.  “Is that… are those question marks?  Are you a question akuma?” she muttered out in French.

The man tilted his head at her.  “You’ll find English is necessary if you want to get out of this one alive, young Wayne.”

Marinette stared at the man a few more seconds, letting his words settle in her head as things started to click in her mind.  She wasn’t in Paris.  This wasn’t an akuma, because there weren’t akumas anymore. She and Adrien had defeated his father. She was in Gotham.  She had been on her way home after a disastrous dinner at the Wayne’s. This was a Gotham villain, not a Parisian one.  This was the Riddler.

Marinette breathed out a sigh of relief before her face scrunched in frustration.  “Are you kidding me?  Are you kidding me right now?  You had to do this right now?”

“Oh, I never kid about riddles.  Now, is not the time to panic, Little Lady,” he taunted.

“Oh, you have no fucking clue.  Now is most definitely NOT the time, but you made it the time,” she hissed at him.  “Do you have ANY idea how bad my week is going?  My night?  Do you? Do you have any idea of the trauma and nightmares I’m going to have to deal with already?  And that was before you forced me to witness your suit in person. And can you comprehend the mental and emotional cataclysm I’m already going to have to endure?  And you’re pulling this shit?  Now?”

“I’m just going to ask a few questions and then it’ll all be over and then you can have your little mental breakdown,” he jeered condescendingly.

She narrowed her eyes at him and tried to lunge at him, but her chest was tied to the chair, holding her back, and she’d never hated rope more than she did in that moment.  She growled and glared at him.  “Oh thank you for the permission.  And for the record, it won’t be little.  It’s going to be a monufuckingmental breakdown.  Thank you very much.  Granted it isn’t everything on Earth is destroyed but me and one other person, who caused it in the first place, level of bad.  But I think I’m justified in needing to take a fucking second to think and process. A second I’m not going to fucking get now am I?  Because of you.”  She turned her head to the side in frustration but her eyes got caught on a small red light.  Her mouth dropped open.  “Are you recording this?” she yelled at him.  That complicated things considerably.  Now she needed to watch her words.  Now she needed to make sure she didn’t expose anything.  Well that just sucked even more.

“Well, it wouldn’t be much of a game show without an audience, now would it,” he purred.

She scowled at him.  “By all means, record this to watch later.  Most people aren’t looking to get bitch slapped as hard as you’re going to get so publicly, but to each their own, I guess.  But, consent is a thing and next time, keep me out of it.”

She strained against the ropes holding her hands to the chair arms.  She glowered at him when they proved too tight for her to move her wrists.  “Also, it’s already not much of a game show.  If you have to knock out people and tie them down just to get them to play, either your show sucks or your host does.  Or in this case, both.”

“Now, now,” he snarled, his smile considerably more strained than it had been before.  “We’re just testing the newest Wayne to see how you’re going to fit in.”

“I could have told you that without all this,” she glowered.  “But you wanted to be a big man and ask a question.  So ask your little question.  Be a big man putting a bound, petite, non-native English speaking woman, in her place.  Although if that’s what it takes to make you feel like a man, that’s one of the most pathetic things I’ve ever heard.”

Riddler seethed at her, attempting to keep his face neutral, but failing spectacularly.  One of the Waynes should be afraid of him.  He had been hoping the new one would finally give him a Wayne that cowered in fear.  Instead, he got yet another feral child.  He gripped his question mark staff tightly, fighting the urge to hit her with it.  It was too early to start.  She’d get her punishment soon enough.  He looked up with a grin.  Very soon.

He looked back at her with a sadistic smirk. “Fine.  I’d hate to keep a lady waiting.  Perhaps first I should start with the stakes.”  He moved closer to smile in her face.  “Think well on your answer young Wayne, because for every question you get wrong,” he pointed up with his staff, “a knife falls.”

Marinette let out a deep, annoyed sigh and looked up to see a series of knives tied to the ceiling right above her seat.  She sighed and gave him a flat look. “Really?  That’s the best you could do?  You realize what I’ve been faced with before, right? Or did you not do your research?”  She narrowed her eyes at him.  “You look like a man who never does his research.”

Riddler sidled up to her in a step, his face a few centimeters from her own.  “We can start by testing out the knives if you’d prefer.”

Marinette leaned her head back.  Even if she couldn’t talk him out of making one drop, it wasn’t going to get her.  They would miraculously get diverted just enough to miss her.  Luck could be a bitch when it was against you and he’d left too much up to chance.  “Already changing the rules of the game?  What were you saying about a good game show?  Guess you really don’t care.”

“Fine!” Riddler screamed.  He walked away a few steps and turned back to her with a malicious glint in his eyes.  “Let’s start slow, shall we?  Starting in 1881, this hall brightened Paris’ nights while darkening its satire.  What is the name of this baby of Salis?”

Marinette stared at him blankly for a few seconds. Her face went slack.

Riddler leered down at her, his face breaking into a creepy grin at her apparent inability to answer his question.  “Oh, how sad.���  He gave her a mock pout.  “Looks like the new Wayne isn’t so smart after all.  What do they see in you anyway?  Can’t even answer a simple, easy question.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?”  Marinette finally burst out.

Riddler frowned at her.  Instead of the fear he expected, her voice was incredulous and angry. “That’s the question, if you can’t answer…”

“ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?  That’s not a… You’re the Riddler.  That’s not a riddle!  That’s a… are you okay?  Like, seriously.  Are you okay?  Because I think… You know what?”  She took a deep steadying breath.  She opened her eyes to give him a serious look, completely devoid of fear, leaning more towards concerned.  

“I think you need a break.  I think you need to take a bit of time to reassess, refocus, and recenter yourself.  Then you can come back and be the Riddler I know you can be.  Because this,” she tried to motion toward him, “this is not it. That is... that isn't a riddle!  That's trivia!  You inaccurately named, evil Alex Trebek!  This would be a perfect opportunity to say I’m in Jeopardy, clueless asshole. So disappointed right now.”  She shook her head in disappointment, refusing to even look at him.

Riddler seethed at her, his face turning red with anger.  “Look either answer the question or…”

“THAT’S EXACTLY THE PROBLEM!” she screamed at him. “It’s a question, not a riddle.  And you missed a golden opportunity to ask a follow up question and saying it’s Double Jeopardy.  You missed the obvious pun!  This is why I say you need to take a break.  This isn’t you.  You’re better than this, I know you are.  I’m just… I’m worried about your mental health.”  She gave him a concerned look.

“If you can’t answer…” he snapped at her.  He gripped and regripped his question staff menacingly, leaning toward her with a snarl.

Marinette rolled her eyes at the attempt at intimidation. “Of course I can answer.  I’m from Paris and you’re asking about Le Chat Noir? Of course I know the answer.  Let me guess, your next question is about a ladybug,” she chirped, widening her eyes with false excitement.

Her face dropped the false sweetness and turned back into an aggravated frown.  “That’s not the fucking point.  My point is you interrupted my fucking abomination of a night for this bullshit and you’re not even on top of your game.  So I not only get shoved into the spotlight, against my will, by people violating my and my parents’ privacy, forcing Mon… my father to ramp up plans for my introduction.  Making sure my family and I knew we weren’t safe and exposing me to this bullshit along with the other attempts on me since it happened.”

Her frown turned into a disgusted sneer.  “And I was actually afraid for a moment because I thought you were an akuma, but you’re really just an underprepared asshole. It’s insulting frankly.”

Riddler swung his question mark staff at her catching her across her cheek.  He grinned at the blood trickling down her cheek.  Marinette glared up at him but refused to let a grunt of pain pass her lips. “Next question, hopefully this one is more to your liking.”  His eyes took on a malevolent glint.

Marinette’s eyes flicked behind him.  He smirked at her inability to make eye contact any longer. “No,” she interrupted, a smirk forming on her own lips.  “It’s my turn.  I have one for you.  It’s actually in the form of a riddle, if you think you can handle that.”  The Riddler growled at her and moved closer to tower over her threateningly.  “What lights up the day with black against yellow yet lights up the night with yellow against black.  It brings hope to those who see it yet marks your demise.  What is it?”

Riddler narrowed his eyes at her and backed away to get some space while he thought.  He looked down for a second, searching the ground as though it might hold the answer for him.  He suddenly looked up, his eyes bright with realization.  “A signal!” he exclaimed, jumping with excitement.  His face suddenly fell realizing the words that passed his lips.  

He spun around just in time for Signal to punch him in the jaw.  Riddler stumbled back falling backward on his ass.  Signal stalked toward him, eskrima sticks out and ready.  He kept his eyes on Riddler but raised his voice so Marinette could hear him.  “You alright, Ma’am?”

“I’m fine.  Just pissed,” she grunted.  She focused on her bindings, trying to figure out a way to loosen them enough to get out.

Signal smirked and gave a short nod.  “Preying on young women again?  Not a good look for you.”

“Penguin and Scarecrow both tried and couldn’t get to her.  I did,” he said defiantly, his chest puffing out even as he was slumped on the floor. “Penguin got to the museum too early. Scarecrow got to the hotel too late. But me?  I plan better.”

“And got a verbal bitch slap the likes of which Gotham has never seen for your trouble.”  Signal shook his head in mock sympathy and regripped his sticks. “Publicly.”

Riddler sneered at Signal.  “It won’t happen again.”

“You’re damn right it won’t,” Marinette called from her seat.  She pointed at him threateningly with her now miraculously freed right hand.  “Next time I’ll do it physically too.”

Signal grinned proudly and snorted at her comment. Riddler growled before looking back up at Signal with an angry scowl.  “Looks like this show has come to an end.  But we’ll be back after a short break.”  He hit his staff hard on the ground and a gas started emitting from it, obscuring Signal’s view.  Signal backed away and rushed over to Marinette, uncertain if the gas was dangerous.

He pulled out a knife and quickly sliced through the remaining ropes and helped her get free.  “Can you walk?”

Marinette started sprinting toward the exit.  “I can do better than that,” she called over her shoulder.  “You just going to stand there and let the gas get you?”  Signal smirked and followed her out.

She grunted as her shoulder rammed into the doorframe when she miscalculated the distance.  She silently cursed how long it was taking her brain to recover from having been knocked out.  Now out of the room she stopped running and rubbed her head as if willing it to kick back into gear.

“You sure you’re okay?” Signal asked catching up to her.

Marinette couldn’t see his eyes under his mask but the bottom half of his face seemed to be contorted in concern.  She grumbled noncommittally in response and rubbed her shoulder.  She looked around them quickly.  “You sure this is a safe way out?  He has to have had help.  I don’t see him doing his own dirty work.”

Signal nodded.  “He did have help.  But, so do I.”  He nodded behind him.

Marinette craned her neck around him to look behind him. She cringed as she saw Red Hood kneeing someone in the face.  The goon fell limply to the ground, unconscious before he hit.  Red Hood looked up and ran over to them as soon as he spotted her.  “Pi… uh… pretty impressive mouth,” he stuttered.  He looked over her closely as he could without touching her.  His eyes zeroed in on her cheek.

Marinette stared at him for a few seconds missing the incredulous look Signal tried to give him.  “Um… thanks… I think.”  She blinked a few more times before frowning.  “Yeah, can we not talk about my mouth, please?”

Red Hood choked on nothing and shook his head, leaning away, as if trying to get away from the idea.  “I meant your att…” he shook his head again and looked back at her. “Not a problem.  Let’s never talk about it again.  Are you okay?  Did he hurt you anywhere else?”  His eyes scanned her again and stopped at her wrists.

Marinette rubbed her wrists self-consciously. “No…” she started.  “I mean!  No he didn’t hurt me anywhere else.  But I am okay,” she rushed out when she saw him tense up at her words.

“Where is he?” Red Hood growled, still staring at her wrists.

“Got away,” Signal answered.

Red hood rounded on him, his entire body tensed for a fight.  “What do you mean he got away?”

Marinette stepped between them and pushed Red Hood back gently.  “He released some kind of gas.  He got me out of there before we found out what it did.  Seems like a good move considering how he got me in the first place.”

Red Hood looked down at her for a second before looking up to Signal with a nod.  He remembered seeing the gas dissipating when they finally caught up to where she was taken.  It had looked like there was enough to knock out an entire city block.  Definitely overkill, but spoke to Riddler’s desperation to be the first to kidnap her.  “Idea which direction he went?”

Signal sighed a heavy sigh.  “I didn’t see which way he went but it had to be out the west side of the room, but that’s all I got.”

Red Hood nodded and touched his com.  “You got that?”  He paused for a moment listening to whatever was being said over his com.  “Yes, she’s fine.  A few rope burns and a cut on her cheek, but seems okay other than that.”

Signal nodded and laid a hand on her shoulder. “Do you have family we can call?”

Marinette shook her head absentmindedly, the strain of the night starting to hit.  “No, I can call my brother.  He’s probably terrified about me.”

Red Hood seemed to freeze.  “Just… the one brother?  You… aren’t you one of the Waynes?”

Marinette’s eyes widened and her face paled.  She plastered a smile on her face. “Right.  Yes.  Of course. I… I meant my one brother was with me at the time.  Yes. Yeah.  The Waynes are my family.  I’m a… I’m… Yeah, I’m a… Wayne,” she barely managed to get the word out of her mouth.  It felt wrong and foreign on her tongue.  She smiled wider at them.  “But you don’t… you don’t have to bother them.  They’re all busy.”

“Yeah, looking for you,” Red Hood answered back sharply.  “They’re the ones that called us.  They’re terrified right now.”

“I think they’d want to know,” Signal urged gently, his voice heartfelt and slightly pained.

She let out a bitter scoff before she could stop herself.  She squeezed her eyes shut and mentally berated her still drugged mind for letting that slip out.  “I meant,” she started loudly, “I’ll inform someone.  They’d want to… hear it from me,” she finished quietly.

Red Hood took a breath and moved closer to her, gently resting his hands on her shoulders.  “I promise you, they’re worried about you and they would want to know. They’d want to make sure you’re okay. They’d want to make sure you feel safe. They would want to protect you. In fact, I’d expect to see a lot more of them over the next few days.”

Marinette opened her mouth to answer but got interrupted by the police breaking into the room.  Marinette pursed her lips and seemed to let a calm come over her.  Red Hood looked harder at her change as the police led her off to take her statement.  No, it wasn’t calm.  It was a numbness, an absence of any feelings.  His face contorted into a scowl.  Exactly what Adrien had described.  “You get that,” Red Hood snapped into his com.  He waited a few seconds before shaking his head.  

“That’s a fool’s bet,” Signal scoffed.  “Of course she’s not going to.  She might send a text.  And even then I bet it won’t be much.”

Red Hood listened for a few more seconds before he shook his head again.  “I’m not taking that bet either.”  He watched as Adrien just stopped himself from tackling Marinette in his excitement to see her again.  After what looked like a worried conversation, he saw Adrien pull her into a tight hug and Marinette melt into it.  “We need to fix this and quick before B does anything else to completely destroy any chance we have,” Red Hood snarled.  He turned and started grappling away.  “I’m going rogue hunting.”

Chapter 17

Tags:

@maribat-bdbwm @jayjayspixiepop @redscarlet95 @alice-hazelwood @deathssilentapproach-blog @unoriginalmess @alyssadeliv @emotionalsupportginger @frieddonutsweets @when-no-wings-do-broomsticks @toodaloo-kangaroo @colorfulmongerpsychicranch @iloontjeboontje @wolf-for-life @maribatserver @aespades @prettylittlebutterflie @imarivers8  @ certainmuffinbagelcalzone @ritacrow-blog @unoriginalmess @demonicbusiness @kking13 @lady-bee-fechin @blur-of-colours @kittenmywaythrulife @kashlyn @loysydark

#maribat #bio!dad bruce #bio dad bruce wayne #roynette #Even the Losers #mbdbwm2021 #prompt - last name Wayne

[adriensaltprompts]

Submitted Prompt: It's not my fault.

Inspired by the “violence is the answer” prompt and few others.

Happens after “Anansi”.

OOC marinette possibly.

—–

A year has passed since Marinette had taken the mantle of the Ladybug heroine, and had to deal with Hawkmoth and of course, his victims that he controls.

This year was quite the period. It went so fast she didn’t realize it. She had some good times this year.

And of course, there are the more annoying and distateful times, such as her crush on Adrien giving her a lot of heartache and problems, but the thing that is getting more problematic for her is Chat Noir’s attitude.

Okay, she can admit that he wasn't that bad when she started superheroing with him. Some puns and jokes that she didn’t really care about that much at first. They were both newbies at that time, and she expected that some people will like having fun with being superheroes. She knows she did get thrilled to a degree.

(She was never there to witness him subjecting her friends to suffer under an Akuma, or provoking the Akuma into getting even more angry without even trying to stop it, so she doesn’t know how bad he was even then)

But… He is getting worse, getting more and more arrogant, bratty and selfish and she really doesn’t know how to deal with him.

So with no other way to know what to do towards him and with no trust in the adults around her (Ms. Bustier and Damocles being prime examples), she goes to some of the sites that she saw as one for consulting and giving good advices (the site is also fair towards people of different colors and orientations).

She puts an ask hypothetically explaining her situation with Chat, and few minutes later, she is flooded by replies telling her that if the guy doesn’t get that a ‘no’ is a 'no’, then she has every right to stop him, even by physical violence.

Of course, the infamous “it’s not harassment unless you punch him!” excuse that the misogynists make is mocked here and she is told that if that’s what the guy thinks, then she should go all out, and to remember that it’s not her fault at all. She is just making her boundaries clear. It’s not her fault she is using his own logic to make her point clear.

After reading more of the replies, with some jokingly stating that she might need a shovel to deal with him permanently, Marinette makes up her mind.

Well, those people here might say some horrible things, but, they are the pros here, right? So it might be good idea to listen to them.

--

Cue during an Akuma battle, Chat Noir acts bratty, and stands in the way of an attack to torment her and she kicks his body to push him out of the way from the Akuma’s attack. Of course, she might not have been gentle about it.

When he complains in his usual mocking and “sad” tone, she is in her no-nonsense mode, and tells him that it’s not her fault if he isn’t going to move and be hit, and that if he didn’t want her to hit him, he should be a better fighter.

She had effectively told him that he better fight seriously because she knows he can, or she will literally kick and punch him out of the way if he is getting annoying.

Him being all annoyed at how “harsh and unfair” she is after the battle is met by her telling him that being a hero is a responsibility, and if he is not going to meet the standards then…

And she simply extends her hand and looks at his ring.

Chat Noir recognizes her meaning and promptly escapes in rage, leaving Marinette both worried, and strangely happy at what she did.

That was not the wrong thing to do, right?

Such question keeps popping in her head, but a voice in her head tells her that she did nothing wrong.

It is not her responsibility to babysit him and listen to his every need. Being chosen as a hero is a duty, not a right. And it’s all his fault if he is not going to act like it. People’s lives are at stake and they have a responsibility to protect them.

Of course, she had to deal with Chat Noir not appearing at all in the next akuma fight, but at that point, she had quickly gone to Fu and had Alya and Nino as heroes.

It takes a while but the fight ends. It is by far a lot easier than she was used to with Chat Noir.

Marinette instinctively feels a little guilty about Chat Noir, because of all the times Ms. Bustier and Adrien have guilted her about standing up for herself, but that quickly gets crushed.

“It’s not my fault.” she repeats the phrase as she returns to her home. It’s not her fault Chat Noir doesn’t want to be responsible and wants to act like he owns her.

The next few fights, Chat Noir doesn’t appear, but Marinette learns at some point, and she discusses with Fu and they decide to have Alya and Nino as permanent heroes.

Fu has some concerns about Chat Noir and the currently weakening relation between him and Marinette, but tells Marinette that he will go try to contact him in his civilian identity to check on him and try to make him see sense.

But it mattered little at this point to Marinette, and she made her opinion clear to Fu.

If Chat Noir doesn’t pull himself together or at least put some noticeable effort, she is going to deal with him, permanently.

It’s not her fault if Chat Noir chose to be a brat, and she has no more patience to deal with him. 

How things proceed, is up to you.

Rules for the blog - send a prompt

#Adrien salt #adrien salt prompts #ml salt #ml salt prompts #miraculous ladybug #ml writing prompts #Adrien Agreste #Marinette Dupain-Cheng #Ladybug #Chat Noir #Chat Noir salt #submission #Show!Miraculous #Show!Marinette #Show!Adrien

[chatonne-rousse]

Turtle-y Awesome

@sketchy-panda sent me the following ask last week:

...and this is the story that sprang from that ask. You never know what you're going to get when you share a headcanon with me! 😉

Read it on Ao3 here.

"...et puit, quand il fut bien certain que personne ne pouvait le voir, Benjamin alluma sa veilleuse."

Adrien turns the last worn page and sets the book beside his knee on Hugo's bed.

"What do you think, kitten? Benjamin was turtle-y being a scaredy-cat, wasn't he?"

Hugo giggles, eyes bright. "He's not a cat, Papa, he's a turtle!"

Adrien nods sagely at his son. "Right you are," he says, patting the book's cover. "If this book tortoise anything, it's that Benjamin is definitely a turtle."

The number of turtle puns in the world is finite, and Hugo has heard his dad tell them all repeatedly, but he still laughs every time. The sound is music to Adrien's ears. He grins as he leans down to tuck the duvet around Hugo's shoulders and lifts his son's dark fringe to place a kiss on his forehead.

"Can we read another story, Papa? I'm not even tired."

Hugo's big green eyes scrunch shut as he yawns widely.

"Mmhmm. I can tell. You know what?" Adrien grabs another stuffed turtle from the bookcase and tucks it in beside the Carapace plushie already cradled in Hugo's arms. "Monsieur Vert looks very tired. He was almost sleeping over there! Maybe if you hold him really, really gently, that will help him fall asleep. I'm sure Carapace is tuckered out after a long day of superheroing, too."

"He is," Hugo says, nodding. He strokes his little hand up and over Monsieur Vert's soft shell. "I'll help them, Papa."

Adrien smiles even as his chest squeezes with emotion. "I know you will, my kind-hearted kitten." He can't resist pressing another kiss to Hugo's forehead and delights in receiving a loud, smacking kiss to his own cheek in return.

The turtle lamp on the nightstand is switched off and the Carapace nightlight beside the bookshelf activates, dim light glowing green through the plastic.

"Bonne nuit, ma petite tortue."

He watches his son cuddle his turtle and Carapace close as the closing door slowly eclipses the bed in shadow from the hallway light. Leaving the door open a crack, Adrien listens for a moment as Hugo gets comfortable in his bed.

He smiles as he pads down the hall toward Emma's room to join his wife for another round of goodnight kisses for their precious kittens.

*****

"Kitty, this is getting ridiculous. How is that the only thing he wants for his birthday?" Marinette shakes her head, but her grin betrays her lack of any real annoyance.

Adrien rubs his face and groans. "I know. Believe me, I know. Can you imagine if Nino knew?"

That surprises her. "You haven't told him? I told Alya ages ago when he said Carapace was his favorite." She thinks for a moment. "I don't think I've shared the, um...depth of the obsession, though."

He stares at her, deadpan, before they both laugh.

"Turtles I could handle, Mari. They're cute. They're green." He bats his eyes at her and she swats his arm playfully. "But Carapace? Carapace? When Chat Noir is right there? I don't get it."

"Awww, Chaton. Is my kitty jealous?"

"Of course not," he says, pouting, though he can't keep up the ruse and his smile breaks through. "Okay, maybe a little."

"Nino made a wonderful hero, and is the perfect holder for Wayzz, and you know it."

She scooches closer to him on the sofa and rubs his back gently. His eyes close for just a moment before opening them to find his wife gazing at him with what might just be his favorite look in her eyes - a teasing glint, a touch of heat, and an endless well of love. Everything goes fuzzy momentarily, but he catches her next words clearly.

"Besides, my favorite hero will always be Chat Noir. Always."

"Yeah?" he breathes.

She nods.

Her eyes go wide when he hauls her petite frame from the sofa beside him and settles her across his lap. She laughs as she wraps her arms around his neck and presses a kiss to his lips.

"What a coincidence, My Lady," he murmurs into the whisper of space between them, "because my favorite hero--" He pauses, kissing her again, "is also Chat Noir."

There's a beat of silence and then she's laughing, pressing her face into the crook of his neck to muffle her giggles. His arms tighten around her shaking shoulders as he laughs along with her, swept away by the sweet sound he will always love. There's no joy in the world quite like making his wife laugh.

"You know I'm kidding, Bug," he finally whispers into her hair when their laughter subsides. "Emma and I share a favorite hero. The greatest of all. Prettiest, too. Oh, wow, is she ever beautiful. And strong. And smart."

"Rena Rouge?" Marinette asks cheekily, her nose still pressed to his neck.

"Nooooo," he croons, tickling her sides until she laughs again. "It's Ladybug, jumping above, Lady magique et lady chance!"

"Kitty, no!" she begs through her giggles, "Don't get that in my head!"

"Too late!"

He silences the last of her laughter when he captures her lips with his, twin sighs mingling in the late-night quiet of the living room.

With forever in his arms and their shared future asleep down the hall, Adrien simply loses himself in this blissful moment, forgetting that their baby will turn five next weekend, that the passage of time is as inevitable as the dichotomy of creation and destruction. Wrapped up in his wife, time seems to stop altogether. Marinette - her love, her care, their unshakeable bond - is eternal.

But of course, the clock still ticks. And when they part a few minutes later, after one last kiss and a nuzzle of her nose against his, he still has to ask.

"So we're really throwing Hugo a Carapace-themed birthday party?"

She nods. "Yep."

"And we're buying him the new Shell-ter Secret Hideout Super Bunker, complete with Carapace action figure, power-ups, costume changes, a Turtle-mobile sports car that Nino never had, and four different colored shields that he also never had?"

"There's a jet, too, for some reason. But...yep."

Adrien nods slowly, a smile spreading across his face. "He's going to love it."

"Oh, he is," she affirms, her grin matching her husband's. "And so is Uncle Nino."

He snorts a laugh and pulls her close once more, breathing in the familiar scent of her shampoo.

"This'll be hilarious."

Marinette smiles against his shoulder.

"Yep."

*****

Everything is green.

Their normally colorful apartment seems to have transformed into an emerald dreamscape that doubles as a turtle sanctuary.

Everything is green, and there are turtles everywhere.

Sea turtles, tortoises, turtles of all kinds - including a certain turtle-themed superhero - adorn every surface. Adrien had been surprised by the amount of Carapace party merchandise he was able to find online. He's used to the numerous Carapace items in Hugo's bedroom, pieces he's added to his collection one by one over the past year or so. But this, his best friend's face dangling from streamers, emblazoned on little party hats, is just a little weird.

He's proud, though. A little jealous, a lot amused, and very, very proud. No desperately sad, pitifully lonely teenage boy has ever found a better friend than Nino Lahiffe. He's the brother of his heart, the mellow to his anxious, the staunch protector of their little group of best friends and hero teammates. Adrien has to admit that Hugo has great taste in favorite superheroes.

Someday he'll discover that his idol is also his Uncle Nino, but today is not that day. Today, the magic and wonder still shines in his son's eyes, and it's a beautiful thing.

Adrien putters around the kitchen making last-minute preparations to the food and drink selection, making sure there are plenty of cups and plates (all printed with a Carapace action scene, of course) stacked on the island. Oddly, he couldn't find Carapace napkins to go along with the other paper goods, but Marinette had saved the day by snagging a pack of sea turtle patterned napkins that coordinated perfectly in a pinch.

He smiles at the thought of his resourceful bug, his grin widening as he hears her welcome guests at the door. This is followed by a squeal of glee when Hugo and two of his classmates run off to his bedroom to play. Adrien shakes his head, still smiling. He'll have to lure them out in a bit with snacks and the promise of gifts and cake.

It's not like he doesn't already know from several years of experience that children's birthday parties are mostly adults mingling and intermittently making sure the kids don't get into too much mischief as they play together.

He takes the spinach quiche from the oven where it was warming up and sets it on the table with the other food, rebelliously placing a black potholder with a neon green pawprint pattern under the hot ceramic dish.

A towering, tiered tray of green macarons has pride of place on the dining room table, the top half of each cookie painted to look like a turtle's shell in edible glittering gold. They look almost too pretty to eat, and the same goes for the expertly-decorated turtle cake nearby, made by Hugo's grandparents and brought straight from the bakery for his big day.

The vegetable plate is an array of green, from broccoli to peppers to celery. The party has barely begun, but the celery is already running low, thanks to Emma's clandestine snacking in the hours beforehand.

Everything is green, and Hugo loves it. And that's what it's all about, really.

*****

Adrien is on his way back from checking in on the now half dozen kids playing in Hugo's room when he hears Alya's laughter from the entryway. Clearly she's spotted the party decor. He rounds the corner to find Marinette hugging her best friend, Alya's pregnant belly only getting in the way a bit and not stopping her from throwing her arms around Marinette's shoulders.

"Sorry we're late, Mari," she says, then pitches her voice to a stage whisper. "I had to pee. Twice." She leans back from the hug and cradles her bump. "Actually, I'm just going to..." She points down the hall, and Marinette laughs.

"Go for it, Als. We've all been there."

Nino is still crouched by the door, helping his daughter out of her jacket and shoes. He just shakes his head and laughs. She races off to find her "cousins" and Nino stands, kissing Marinette on each cheek and wrapping Adrien in a hug.

Surveying the apartment over Adrien's shoulder, he claps him on the back and says, "I love what you've done with the place. Very inspired design choice."

Adrien rolls his eyes and all three of them laugh.

"Hugo is obsessed with turtles. You have no idea."

"Oh, I think he has some idea, Minou." Marinette smiles at her husband over her shoulder, linking arms with Alya when she joins them again and ushering her into the green-bedecked living room.

He glances sidelong at Nino with a sheepish grin. "This isn't too weird for you, is it? It was all Hugo's idea. He hasn't stopped talking about his 'Carapace Turtle Party' for weeks," Adrien says, air quotes included.

"Nah, mec, it's cool. Kind of flattering." Nino raises an eyebrow and laughs. "What do you think he'll say when you tell him someday?"

Adrien just shakes his head. "Probably ask if you can adopt him and be his dad instead." His smile is teasing but just a touch rueful.

Nino laughs again. "No way, man. Number one, I've already got enough kids. Number two, you're the best dad. They love you like crazy, bro. Seriously."

His chest fills with warmth. Nino is such an incredible friend. And he's right (about the last bit, at least).

"They're incredible, Nino. Being a dad is..." He trails off, unable to find the words.

"I know, dude." He claps Adrien on the shoulder. "They're a pain in the ass, but they make up for it by being totally awesome."

Nino glances around, finally spotting the table full of green food and turtle-themed treats.

"Wait. Bro. Is that a turtle cake?"

*****

"You know," Nino says a few minutes later, washing down a matcha macaron with a swig of turtle punch, "I could get used to this. It would mess with my head, but after a while--" he looks at the cup with his face on it and shrugs, "it's not so strange. Better than having my face plastered on a billboard outside the Galeries Lafayette."

Adrien groans. "Et tu, Brute? Why would you remind me of that?"

"Because I can." Nino takes another bite of macaron and nudges his best friend's shoulder, laughing.

*****

As the kids snack and carry on, Adrien finally decides it's time to let his best friend see the Carapace shrine that is his son's bedroom.

Nino takes in Hugo's completely green, turtle-filled bedroom as Adrien waits with bated breath beside him for his reaction.

It is, as usual, relatively chill.

"Little dude has good taste!"

"Indeed." Wayzz peeks from Nino's collar with a pleased smile on his face. "The turtle has always symbolized wisdom, strength, and longevity." His tiny smile widens. "I'm also partial to the color green."

Nino steps farther into Hugo's room to examine the bookcase. "I...did not know they made this much Carapace merch."

"Believe me, there's more. We have to draw the line somewhere." Adrien closes his eyes and sighs. "Although he does brush his teeth with a Carapace toothbrush."

Nino's laugh starts as a snort and builds when he spots the Carapace wastebasket beside Hugo's bed and the Carapace plushie propped against his pillow. It turns positively raucous when he sees his best friend's face.

"Holy crap, dude," he wheezes. "This is hilarious. You must be so jealous."

"I am not!"

"You totally are."

"Well--" Adrien sputters, "Marinette is, too!"

"Not as much as you are, Kitty!" she calls from the living room.

Adrien throws his hands in the air. Nino doubles over.

"Chat Noir is cool, too," he mutters, petulant.

A still-laughing Nino pats his arm consolingly. "If it makes you feel any better, Chat Noir is my favorite hero...after Rena Rouge."

That actually does make him feel better, but he's not telling Nino that. Instead, he just grins a sly half-smile at his best friend. "Good save, man."

"Hey, I know which side my bread is buttered on, mec. Don't act like you don't."

Adrien is helpless to the smile that spreads across his face.

Nino groans. "You've been married for seven years, dude. Are you ever not going to go all gooey just thinking about Marinette?"

Adrien quirks an eyebrow and glances sidelong at him. Nino nods once and pats Adrien's shoulder.

"That was a dumb question, wasn't it?"

"Yep," Marinette says from the hallway behind them.

Adrien's heart beats faster at the twinkle in her eye. He wonders how much she heard. Probably all of it - she always did have sonic hearing, but motherhood seemed to ramp it up to eleven. Not much escapes his wife.

"Time for cake and presents," she announces. "Nino, you can revel in Hugo's Carapace shrine later."

"And I will, don't you worry," Nino says with a laugh as he turns to head back to the party.

Adrien throws an arm over his best friend's shoulder and smiles brightly at Marinette.

Hugo has merch, but Adrien has a real, live Ladybug who promised eternity to her Chat Noir. He holds his own favorite superhero in his arms every night, and nothing, nothing compares to that.

*****

Surrounded by wrapping paper and bows, the birthday boy sits on the floor with one last gift in front of him. The box is taller than he is when seated, and he has to stand up on his knees to tear the paper off the top. As soon as he can see what's inside, he shouts with glee and jumps to his feet. Overjoyed, he scampers around the coffee table to his parents, first thanking Marinette with a hug and kiss, then getting swept up in Adrien's arms for a bear hug.

The fact that Hugo doesn't push away from him to return to his barely-unwrapped gift is not lost on him, nor is the fact that he abandoned it and thought to thank them first in his excitement.

Sometimes Adrien feels like he's been given so much more than he deserves. Marinette alone is a blessing beyond his imagination, but Emma and Hugo, too? It's too much and he knows it, so he holds them close and relishes every single moment like this one with his little boy hugging him tight and murmuring thanks into his neck.

A few minutes later finds Hugo examining every detail of his new treasure (after Adrien wrangled all the parts out of their plastic-encased prison).

He claps his hands when he sees that this set comes with a bonus Chat Noir action figure in addition to Carapace and his shields of many colors.

"Maman!" he cries, jubilant, holding Chat Noir above his head so she can see. "Look! It has Chat Noir! You love Chat Noir!"

Blushing, Marinette pointedly avoids looking in the direction of the two moms of Hugo's school friends who've stayed for the party but smiles widely at her son. "I do. He's my favorite superhero of all time."

Hugo nods, turning to his dad where he sits beside him on the floor, struggling to snip the tiny plastic anchors holding each piece to the cardboard backing.

"See, Papa? He's Carapace's sidekick."

"Hey!" Adrien says indignantly. He looks up from the mess of cardboard and plastic in his lap as Marinette, Alya, and Nino laugh.

Nino, best bro that he is, chimes in. "Nah, little man, Chat Noir is no one's sidekick. He's way too brave and cool for that." He grins at Hugo and points first to the Carapace action figure on the coffee table and then to Chat Noir in his hand. "They're a team. Best friends and superheroes at the same time. That's why they're so awesome."

Hugo looks at the Chat Noir figure for a long moment. "Wow," he breathes. "Chat Noir is as cool as Carapace." He says it like a revelation that's rocked his entire worldview.

Alya sniffles and Marinette hands her a tissue.

"Okay, but Ladybug is still the coolest," Emma pipes up from Hugo's other side.

All the adults besides Marinette nod. Adrien reaches around Hugo to pat Emma's back.

"You're absolutely correct, kitten."

Marinette blushes again and Alya blows her nose.

Hugo tucks Carapace into the driver's seat of the Turtle-mobile with Chat Noir beside him as his passenger, racing the sports car across the rug toward his friends so they can play with his new toys, too.

Adrien looks from his son to his own best friend, and Nino gives him a thumbs up and a grin.

*****

Later, when the dishes are washed and their living room looks slightly less like a turtle habitat, Adrien sits on the sofa with a cup of tea and watches Hugo play with his new, treasured birthday gifts. The Shell-ter Secret Hideout Super Bunker is open, its many accessories strewn around Hugo where he sits cross-legged, Carapace in his left hand and Chat Noir in his right.

"I'll protect you!" "Carapace" cries, Hugo's voice pitched to sound brave and true but still carrying his sweet child's tone.

"Thank you for keeping My Lady safe, Carapace!"

Adrien snorts a surprised laugh into his tea. "Chat Noir" speaks in a husky growl, though Hugo gives him a note of cheery confidence, as though he truly appreciates Carapace's brave deeds, as though Chat Noir can take the decisive cataclysmic swing knowing his beloved partner is safe from harm.

And honestly, Hugo has the right of it. Adrien wonders how his son could possibly know that this exact scene - with slightly different dialogue, of course - played out many times over, years before he was born.

Hugo mimics the sound of an explosion, then an "oof!" as Chat Noir falls to his back but springs up again quickly. Just as Carapace returns to Chat's side with a confident, "What can I do to help save the day, Chat Noir?", Marinette's hands snake around Adrien's shoulders from behind, surprising him.

He sets his mug on a coaster on the end table and wraps his hands around her forearms, pulling her in closer. Leaned over the back of the sofa, she nuzzles his cheek with hers before pressing a kiss to the corner of his mouth.

"I think we pulled off the dream turtle party pretty well, don't you, Chaton?"

"Oh, we turtle-y did."

Adrien delights in the huff of laughter she exhales against his cheek. That might be the most overused pun in the house, but sometimes it still lands just right. They watch Hugo play, matching grins making their cheeks press closer together.

"Looks like that was one shell of a gift, eh?"

He swoons dramatically, his head falling to the back cushion of the sofa so he looks at Marinette upside-down. "My Lady, you know what it does to me when you pun."

"Oh, I do," she says, completely unapologetic, and boops his nose.

He just has to lean up to kiss her because, well, she's so beautiful and he loves her so much and she's right there.

They break apart a moment later when they hear Emma call for Marinette from her bedroom. She plants one last upside-down kiss on his forehead and lets her hands drift slowly across his chest and shoulders as she stands.

She gives him a wry smile. "Duty calls."

"Hmmm," he hums thoughtfully, picking up his tea and taking another sip. "And here I thought her name was Emma."

Marinette groans at him as she walks away, and the sound catches Hugo's attention.

"Papa? Will you play superheroes with me?"

Of course. Always. I will never, ever be too busy for my kittens, he thinks.

"Sure, buddy," he says instead.

Finishing his tea in one big gulp, he slides from the sofa and scampers on hands and knees like a giant cat to where his son is playing. Hugo giggles at his dad's ridiculousness.

Adrien takes stock of the many accessories scattered around the play set and asks, "What are Chat Noir and Carapace up to today?"

Hugo explains the situation, the bad guy's motives, and what the heroes need to do to save Paris from disaster. Adrien listens carefully. Looking up at him with green eyes that match his own, big and wide and crinkled at the corners with his happy smile, Hugo offers the Chat Noir action figure to his dad.

"Will you be Chat Noir, Papa? He's Carapace's best friend in the world and they need to work together to save the day."

Adrien cradles the action figure in one hand and gently pats the pocket where Plagg hides with the other. His kwami presses a paw against his chest in return. Overwhelmed, all he can do is grin at Hugo and try not to cry.

"It would be my greatest honor," he vows grandly, holding up a hand in oath. "I purr-omise to be the best hero I can be. Cat's honor."

Hugo laughs. "You said honor twice."

"So I did. That's because it's very important."

His son nods solemnly, then reaches for Carapace's super jet. He places the hero in the cockpit and flies the jet around his head, making zooming noises.

"Are you ready, Chat Noir? I'm coming to pick you up!"

The jet has only one seat, but that doesn't seem to bother Hugo. Adrien readies the tiny plastic baton in Chat Noir's hand and uses it to vault from his own knee into the imaginary sky over Paris.

"Meow-velous!" he crows, delighted. "This cat is ready to be whiskered away in your very realistic jet! Allons-y, my turtle friend!"

Hugo giggles, Adrien's heart melts, and they set off on a grand adventure together.

#domestic fluff #dadrien #mominette #hugo loves turtles #and carapace #and uncle nino loves it #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #adrienette #future fic #family fluff #thanks for the idea sketchy! #gift fic #ml fanfiction #ml fanfic #ml #miraculous ladybug #my writing

[person-behind-books]

kuro neko canon divergence/alternate timeline; adrien and chloe friendship because i love her; and a bit marichat&ladrien. as a treat.

Adrien knows when he isn't needed or wanted. He learnt to recognise it from a young age when his parents were busy with the company or didn't have time for him for some other reason. It's a skill that only developed in the year his mom has been missing.

So when Ladybug makes it clear to him she doesn't need him and her team is enough he gives up his miraculous so she can find someone who will be of more use to her and the team, someone who isn't as busy and has as many obligations, someone who doesn't annoy her.

And when the evening the next day a guilty looking ladybug shows up in his room he feels like he wants to cry.

She explains to him that she need a new chat noir and that she says she knows the snake miraculous didn't work out but this one would be a better fit to his skillset. Patiently she makes it clear that he doen't need to say yes but it would be a great help to her and while she knows he's busy she has a team of backups if he can't come.

He loves her so much and even while it breaks his heart that she doesn't want him, only wants his perfect side of adrien, he accepts her offer the words of plagg that costumes are what the holder imagines them to be playing in the back of him mind.

When transforming he tries to focus on the days he was felix with his proper clothes and proper manners and the playdates he had with chloe, her the princess and he the proper prince. His costume reflects these memories and ladybug seems happy with him.

He allows himself a little pun, cat walker, and ladybug lets out a little laugh as she realises it before a look of sadness flashes over her face, it is gone as soon as it came.

Adrien's hreart breaks further.

Ladybug is happy with his progress over the weeks and Adriens live feels to have regressed back to the times where he was only perfect adrien only more busy that before he entered school.

He spends more time with chloe as a result because her Adrikins is perfect but also fun and they watch anime and read manga and go drinking milchshakes and a few hours every week are a lot more berable. It's a little strained in the beginning on his side because chloe still has a crush on him and she still is really rude to their classmates but falling back in old habbits with her is easy.

Then his "biggest yet" akuma comes about three months of fighting akumas with ladybug and her smile dimming and brightening in a frecrency he hasn't decifered yet.

It's name is kuro neko and ladybug is convinced it's the previous chat noir. It hurts to think that he would give in to his misery he sometimes feels and let himself to be akumatiezed. He loves ladybug and he would never fight her so he will never be akumatised. He makes sure of that.

The fight is dragged out because every plan of ladybug is faulty and there seems something very wrong with her smile this evening.

The fight ends and it is revealed that no this wasn't chat noir but ladybug is tense and tells him they need to talk.

In his room he detransforms and waits while she feeds her kwami in the bathroom.

When she's ladybug again she breaks down. He had seen it coming so he's prepared and like always he catches her and builds her back up.

Then she tells him it would propably be better for him to stop being cat walker. Or course, even when being perfect Adrien he can't be enough for his lady. She surprises him when she explains that se needs chat noir and that she is so sorry she dragged him into their mess.

Explaining to her that it's okay he lets himself hug her before telling her goodbye.

Plagg comes to him a few hours later telling him ladybug sent him to beg him to agree for at least one meeting. The Eifeltower at midnight. It's seven and he want's so bad it burns. But when he transforms he is scat walker not chat noir.

His second try makes him chat noir again and he knows he will forever do what his lady asks of him because he loves her but he needs someone else right now.

Marinette is nevously pacing on her balkony - maybe she's worried about something? - and when she sees him there is a tremble in her smile, maybe she missed chat noir? he hadn't said goodbye and they had faily regular meetings before ever since they met that  night full of broken hearts.

She brings up some of the lemon macarons he likes and the choclate ones she prefers and they talk for hours about nothing and everything.

He leaves at half past eleven and ladybug is already at the eiffel tower. she cries and apoligizes and begs him to come back to being her chat noir and of course he agrees.

When she hugs him there is choclate on her breath and he smiles of the similarity to marinette. he should introduce them sometimes. the lady he is in love with and the friend that he loves would most certainly get along with each other.

H esmiles because he is chat noir again and because he never will get akumatized and spends the next hour reconnecting with his lady before they both leave because she, assumed she really is his age like he guesses, also needs to go to school tomorrow.

He smiles when marinette runs into class seconds before the bell rings and finally feels like the wold was right and he was finally whole again.

#another mlb drabble #although this one is almost 1k #minor marichat #minor ladrien #minor ladynoir #adrien agreste #chat noir #chat walker #miraculous ladybug #mlb #drabble #sorry for my terrible english

[thatasianstereotype]

Fuck. I’m Gay.

I’ve been reading a lot of ml salt fics lately (mainly @unmaskedagain which is a literal goldmine of saltiness). And getting into the Damienette ship. Marinette really does deserves better (Fuck Canon) but so does Adrien. He is not a “sidekick”. Chat Noir and Ladybug are partners = equals. So I decided why not write a fic where Adrien gets his own happy ending in the form of a grumpy assassin-turned-vigilante that loves animals more than people. 

Somewhat of a crack writing where creative liberties were definitely taken. 

.

.

.

Lila Rossi is a bitch and everyone knew it. Well, by everyone, Adrien means himself, his good-amazing-make-pastries-for-him friend Marinette, his maybe-not-really-sure friend Chloe and his-not-that-close-really-classmate Nathaniel. 

Yeah. It was a small number. 

But Lila is still a bitch. 

Anyway, Lila’s lies and manipulations have disturbed the status quo and not in a good way. She ended up making the majority of the class fawn over her like she was a perfect goddess and not a pompous-temperamental-hormonal teenager. Teenagers were prone to be gullible; he can understand his classmates being inclined to believe her. But this was utterly ridiculous (man, Chloe is rubbing off on him). No. You know what’s even more ridiculous? Ms. Bustier letting Lila get away with it. She doesn’t even stop the class mistreating Marinette who claimed she was a bully just because of you know who - Fucking Lila Rossi. The audacity of that bitch and her bitchy followers, am I right? 

Growing up he watched the tv shows and the animes. High schools always had their drama but he thought that was to get some plot going on. He didn’t think it was an actual thing that happens in real life. But he was proven wrong. Françoise Dupont High School had their drama and it was way worse than what he watched on screen. 

The worst part was that he couldn’t get away from Lila. Or he’ll be pulled from school (Fuck you Dad). He had to sit next to that bitch and listen to her drone on and on about things they both knew she didn’t do, about things she promised to do for her ever gullible followers friends. And couldn’t say anything against it if he wanted to stay in school. But even his discreet questioning didn’t do that much. It got some of the class to think something’s possibly fishy with her stories but not enough to think Lila was evil. So he just gave up. Because what was even the point? 

He was distancing himself from Alya and Nino. He couldn’t really be friends with people who thought Lila held the sun and moon. They didn’t hang out as much as they used to and he made excuses when they did invite him to stuff. Lately, he was making outrageous excuses - like he had to take his cat to the vet even though he didn’t have a cat - to see if they caught on. They didn’t. It was fun but he didn’t know whether to feel happy or sad about that. But feeling sad-depressed-pain over it was a bitch so he decided to take his victories as they come. 

Chloe had left the school earlier on. Her mom wanted to spend one-on-one time with her daughter (Yeah, Audrey is better at being a mother here). She was completely out of this drama mess. And Nathaniel kept his head down to not paint a target on himself. 

His only consolation and ally in this whole mess was Marinette. His darling angel. His sunshine incarnate. His own goddess (not like that bitch Lila let’s get one thing straight). 

When he was feeling overwhelmed (which was a lot), he spent it at her house. They spent it discussing fashion, trash talking Liar-la and the sheep class, playing video games, and making/eating the best baked goods in all of Paris. If he wasn’t at his photo shoots or at school, he was at her house. And with how often they spent time with each other, it wasn’t long before they accidentally revealed their alter egos to each other. 

(The class’ Everyday Ladybug was actually Ladybug. How amazing is that! Isn’t Marinette the absolute coolest?!) 

Since they outed themselves to each other, they had to give up their miraculous. And new heroes had to be chosen. As the guardian, Marinette decided to give the Ladybug miraculous to herself and the Cat one to Adrien. And make them the superheros of Paris. 

(Just when he thought that Marinette couldn’t get any cooler) 

They both collectively decided that being friends were for the best and put away their obsession crush over the other far far away. Now they were best friends-almost siblings. Oh who was he kidding? He was an honorary Dupain-Cheng. Marinette and her parents said so. And who was he to deny the goddess? 

All was well. 

Until he met this gorgeous boy with raven black hair and piercing green eyes that made him question everything in life. 

Like fuck. His life wasn’t hard enough already? 

.

It was a slow patrol. Just stopped a few petty crimes. No akuma tonight. He wasn’t really expecting much to happen.

Mari said patrolling regularly gives citizens a sense of security and it helps if one of them were on scene if an akuma does appear. 

He didn’t mind. He loved running on the rooftops and feeling the wind in his face. After some time, he stopped and stood on top of one of the tallest buildings. Just soaking the view. The peace and serenity of it all. Seeing the glowing lights of his beloved city. Seeing the Eiffel Tower standing tall and proud. 

(Forget school. Forget Liar-la and her hoard of bitches) 

This was his city. This was why he fights Hawk Moth with Ladybug. They had something precious to protect. 

He was done patrolling the regular routes and all his schoolwork was already finished. He could go to sleep but he didn’t feel that tired. And he really didn’t want to go back home. Mari shared her theory on his dad being Hawk Moth. She had really good reasons and a plethora of proof. If they could switch miraculous, why couldn’t he and Mayura - most likely Nathalie? Which would explain how Gabriel got akumatized.

After all her support with dealing with Lila, he was way more inclined to believe her even without the evidence. But those things just made him more wary of his dad. And he wasn’t too stoked on spending more time than what he can get away with with the guy. Because his dad being Hawk Moth explains why he wants Lila (his strongest supporter - Chameleon and Oni-chan, anyone?) close and makes Adrien play nice with her. And anyone who enables Lila’s bitchiness is on his enemy list. 

Anyway, he was out here to enjoy the good mood not think about evil bitches and evil dads. So he sat himself down and enjoyed the sights. It was more calming than you would think. 

He heard cars blaring and even a dog barking. The slight breeze felt nice. The moon was pretty bright tonight. The stars too. There was a lone couple walking through the park. There was also another teen in black running on rooftops a few buildings away. 

Wait. 

What? 

He blinked and looked again. Huh, there was another teen in black running on rooftops. And it was not a hallucination. 

What the actual fuck?

He was instantly on his feet, baton already in hand as he raced across the roof to reach said stranger. 

“Hey!” 

But because he was the lucky owner of the unlucky miraculous, the moment he said that, the guy was about to jump off a building to presumably roll onto the next one like Chat was watching him do beforehand. But his call made him lose focus and Chat watched horrified as the guy slipped and started falling into the alley. 

Oh fuck! Mari was going to fucking kill this dumbass kitty!

He hoped to everything that Mari thinks is holy that he makes it in time. Extending his baton, he used it as a huge Pogo stick to basically catapult himself towards the stranger and wrapped his arms around him as he braced himself for the full weight of hitting the gravel at this height and speed. But he wasn’t that that concerned. His suit protected him from the majority of the injuries that would’ve occurred if he wasn’t wearing it. It hurt but it isn’t as bad as it could’ve been. Remember earlier? He takes his victories as they come. 

This was not the smartest of ideas, he’ll admit. Mari had the brains to be honest. But it wasn’t bad if he say so. And he does say so. 

He rolled over and immediately looked over the stranger that was remarkably unharmed in this whole mess. 

And oh.

Oh.

The stranger was taller than he was with a lithe and lean frame. He had raven black hair that complimented his tanned skin and gorgeous green eyes that pierced through him, making his heart do funny things. 

He was not expecting him to look as hot as he did. He wore a simply black t-shirt and jeans but he looked like a fucking Adonis, what the fuck.  Even the moon shone down on him, highlighting his handsome features even more.  

He shook himself of those thoughts and focused on what was more important. “I’m so sorry. Are you alright?” 

He was rudely pushed away, but he didn’t take offense. He did cause the guy to fall after all. 

“Do not touch me.” (What kind of accent is that?) “I’m fine. You are truly a moronic imbecile of the highest accord to yell like that. And what are you even supposed to be? Some kind of knock-off Catwoman?” 

At that, Chat looked at Hot-And-Sexy weird. “Are you new here? I’m the superhero Chat Noir. I protect Paris with Ladybug.”

“You’re joking.”

“I know I come off as the goofy hero because I make purr-fect puns all the time but I’m not joking about this.” 

He took out his phone to show the foreign (since he’s obviously not a Parisian) stranger the akuma attacks and Ladybug and Chat Noir being a dynamic duo, saving Paris and beating Hawk Moth. Ok, he showed the stranger a lot of stuff. Sue him. He gets to brag about his Princess. And himself too.

“I never heard about this before.” Hot-And-Sexy (he has got to come up with a better name) said afterward. “3 years this has been going on? Why didn’t you ask for help from the Justice League or other superheros?” 

Chat shrugged. “We tried. But they said we’re obviously pulling a prank and making this all up. So we stopped asking for help.”

For some reason this made Hot-And-Sexy angry. “They ignored your plea for help and left you to fight for yourselves?”

“Pretty much, yea.” 

“You and Ladybug are children.” 

“Excuse me? Are you doubting our ability to protect our city?" He was not apologetic at the sharp edge his voice took. Forget looking hot. How dare he? The audacity really. 

Hot-And-Sexy shook his head. “I’m not. I know some child superheroes who are adequate at their jobs and a few who are remarkable like Robin in Gotham. But the majority of them had adult mentors to guide them. From what you’ve shown me, you and Ladybug had no one. You were left alone to fend for yourself with essentially no help.” 

He never thought of it that way. But hearing it like that made him think: Fuck Adults Who Chose Children to Fight Their War For Them and Fuck Hawk Moth For Putting Them In This Position In The First Place. 

You know what. Just to clear all his bases - Fuck Everyone But The Dupain-Chengs. 

Chat couldn’t help but shrug, not quite knowing what to say to that. “Life is a bitch, I’ve come to find out. But enough of that. Why were you running on rooftops anyway?”

“It calms me down.”

Relatable. 

“Is...Is your tail moving?” 

“Huh?” He looked behind him to see his tail was indeed moving lazily. “Yeah. I’m called Chat Noir for a reason.”

“May I touch them?” Chat was used to people (usually kids) pulling on his tail to see if it was real (It was). And it really hurts because they usually rough. Not that he blames them. Kids don’t know any better. Still, he usually says no when people ask. 

But Hot-And-Sexy had such a sincere expression that he said yes. To his surprise and delight, Hot-And-Sexy was extremely gentle (Can this guy be anymore perfect?) and it felt nice to be petted like that. Curse his touch-starvation (again Fuck you Dad).

Hot-And-Sexy was apparently fascinated by his ears and tail. 

“Are you a meta?” He noticed how Hot-And-Sexy’s voice turned softer and fonder (or was he imagining that?).

“Nah. I’m fully human. I just got powers to transform into this.” He looked down at his phone seeing that the time was nearing 2 am.

“Have you suffered any injuries from your stupid stunt?” 

“Hmm?” Chat looked back at him before gesturing to his body. “Don’t worry. I may not look like it but I can take it.”

He can practically feel Hot-And-Sexy rolling his eyes. “What an utter dolt.” 

But there wasn’t any heat behind it so he didn’t take it to heart. 

“Thanks, babe.” 

“That was an insult.”

“And I’m taking it like a compliment.”

Chat stood up and stretched his limbs. Hot-And-Sexy doing the same but dusting off his clothes instead.

“So, uh, need any help getting home?”

“I am perfectly capable of finding my own way, thanks.” 

“Ok. Have a nice night.” He was about to leave when he was caught off guard by Hot-And-Sexy staring at him for a good few seconds, making his limbs freeze in place at the heavy attention.

Before he said. “You should try contacting the Batfamily in Gotham about Hawk Moth. They’re used to dealing with weird things. I’m sure they won’t turn you or Ladybug away.” 

Chat was a bit distracted by how intensely those green eyes focused on him, making his heart beat faster and his cheeks turn a vibrant red. 

He was so screwed. 

He used his baton to shoot himself up so he can run on rooftops, hurrying to the Dupain-Cheng bakery. 

.

“Mari! I think I’m gay!”

“It’s 2 in the morning, Chaton. Go to sleep and we’ll talk about it in the morning.” 

.

After a good night’s rest (and thank everything that was right in the world that today was a weekend), Adrien told Mari all about Hot-And-Sexy. And yes, he did call the stranger that out loud. His everything-that-actually-matters sister simply took it in stride after giggling a bit. They spent the majority of the day discussing emotions and everything that came with that bundle. 

Before he finally came to a conclusion. 

He is definitely gay (He liked girls but not like like them). And most definitely had a crush on Hot-And-Sexy with the pretty green eyes. 

Good news: He is no longer having a sexuality crisis. 

Bad news: He is going through an emotional crisis. 

Like dealing with these feelings that is making his stomach flip flop over and over again? The only one he ever had to deal with was the one he had on Ladybug and that (he talked with Mari about it months before. She was amazing with these emotional matters) was more of a hero-worship crush than anything really romantic. 

And his crush on Hot-And-Sexy was so much more. 

.

So it’s been about 2 weeks since he encountered Hot-And-Sexy. And he still haven’t figured out what else to call him. But the nickname was growing on him. 

(He also told Mari about asking the Batfam for help but she was a bit apprehensive after the disastrous attempts of convincing the Justice League. He shrugged, trusting her opinion and left it at that) 

Anyway, Lila was being her usual bitchy self. Father was being non-existent like always. Mari was his only source of sanity at school. And Hawk Moth was being a bitch. 

Because of course, the day before they have a huge test, he decides to akumatize someone (in this case, a businessman who was really unhappy with getting fired) and cut in on study time. And this akuma took a while to defeat. Guess he drew a lot of strength from his burning hatred of the failings of the corporate world. 

And just yesterday, a teenager who was upset at being grounded got akumatized and terrorized the city for 3 hours before Ladybug could purify her. It did however confirmed her fears. Hawk Moth was getting stronger. It took longer to defeat his monsters. They needed to find him and ended this fast. 

Adrien landed on Mari’s balcony and slipped in her room, crashing on her big comfy bed, de-transforming on the spot. Plagg sleepily floating and laying next to him on the pillow. He was so tired. And photo shoots and school drama were not helping things.

.

For the record, he was not at all expecting to see Hot-And-Sexy in a bookstore of all places. 

He was so engrossed in looking through the latest Boku no Hero Academia manga (can’t wait until Season 5 comes out) that when someone touched his shoulder, he was not proud to admit he squeaked a bit.

He turned around and his eyes widened his surprise. 

“Hot-And-Sexy!” 

It was indeed the Adonis Adrien had a huge crush on. Today he was wearing a white t-shirt paired with a blue denim jacket and black ripped jeans. Wow. He really can make anything look hot.

No. Bad Adrien. Don’t let him know you actually have a crush on him.

And oh fuck. Hot-And-Sexy was staring at the blonde and Adrien tried not to let himself get flustered. He has a very intense stare. For all he knew, Hot-And-Sexy stares at everyone like that.

Calm the fuck down, heart. You too brain.

He raised a handsome eyebrow in amusement. “Excuse me?”

Adrien felt himself burn with embarrassment, his face turning bright scarlet. No wonder he was fit for the unlucky miraculous or was this just a side-effect? Note to self, ask Mari about this later. 

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t get your name last time. And I just started calling you that in my head. Cause you’re really hot and you have pretty eyes.”

Fuck mouth! Why won’t you stop talking! Please for the love of everything that makes Mari a BAMF stop. Stop digging further into the hole of embarrassment! Abort mission! Abort!

“When did we meet?”

At that, he blink a few times. Oh fuck. He was not Superhero Chat Noir. He was Civilian Adrien Agreste. Mari was definitely murdering his dumbass tonight. Lightning please strike him down right now. Where was an unlucky lightning strike when you need it?

After a few seconds of his horrified silence, Hot-And-Sexy chuckled (he had such a nice laugh). “You are extremely lucky I already figured out your alter ego beforehand, Chaton.”

Before Adrien could even unwrap that statement, he held out a hand and had a dangerously sexy smirk on his face. “My name is Damian Wayne. Would you care to get a cup of coffee with me?”

And Adrien nodded his head, not trusting himself to speak. He can deal with the superhero thing later when he can think straight (hah!) and is not distracted by Damian’s beautiful smile and alluring green eyes and perfect everything.

.

Guess what?

Ya Boi got game.

(At least, he likes to think he does)

After a successful coffee date (was it a date? Please let it be a date), they exchanged numbers (cue internal squealing) and met up a few times afterward to hang out.

Apparently, Dami was here on business to deal with something for Wayne Enterprises.

“Aren’t you 17?”

“Father believes in preparing us when we’re young.”

Dami was amazingly sweet. Arrogant and pretentious with a stick up his ass but sweet. He treats stray animals with such reverence that Adrien’s heart melt every time he sees it.

It was an added bonus when Damian scorned Lila with cruel words and disgusted looks when she tried to cut in Adrien and Dami’s date(?)/meetup(?)/spending-time-together event.

She cried and whined afterwards and Adrien has to endure his father’s lecture. But it was totally worth it.

Oh yeah. Mari was not pleased that he accidentally outed himself to a civilian. But nothing that a couple of sad kitty eyes can’t fix.

“You are so lucky you’re cute, kitty-cat.” Mari grumbled but she was smiling. “I just need to have a good talk with him on the importance of secrecy.”

.

That day Damian Wayne learned to fear a certain Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

.

It was 2 weeks later when Adrien woke up to a package next to his futon in Mari’s room. When he opened it, he saw the Butterfly and Peacock miraculous inside.

There was a card beneath it. And in beautiful cursive script read: 

I dearly hope you enjoy my courting gift, mon amour. Allow me the honor to formally ask you out on a date. I look forward to hearing favorably from you soon.

- Damian Wayne

He couldn’t believe it.

“Mari! Damian likes me back!”

“Chaton, I swear. It is 2 in the morning.”

Next

#ml x dc #ml salt #ml salt fic #lila rossi salt #marinette deserves better #but so does adrien #adrien deserves better #adrien agreste #sexuality crisis #gaydrien #adrien agreste x damian wayne #adridami #oneshot #how the fuck did this crack idea span 3K words #apparently I'm down with this ship

[yannowhatigiveup]

My One And Only - Chapter 14

Previous | Next | Master List

This chapter is the longest one yet with 3000 words so I hope you enjoy reading. Also thank you so much for all the notes and reblogs! I just realised that I’m not far from 100 followers and can’t thank you all enough!

TW: Injuries at the end

The cat-themed hero sat on the floor, Ladybug sat in front of him and after a big breath, he spoke. "Ladybug, I- I don't think I'm the true holder of the Black Cat miraculous"

————————————————————

Ladybug looked at her partner wide-eyed. "Wh-what?"

Chat Noir sighed. "Plagg told me that true holders gain side effects. He said that you already have yours"

The spotted heroine nodded slowly.

"From what he said, true holders get the side effects around the same time, when they acknowledge each other in a way. Plagg also said that if you weren't a true holder, using the Ladybug miraculous or the Black Cat miraculous would be...dangerous and would do more harm than good to the user" The cat-themed hero scratched the back of his neck nervously, trying to avoid eye contact with his partner.

"Okay...what does the 'more harm than good to the user' part mean?" She asked, her voice faulty in worry for her friend. Then Chat Noir looked at her in the eye, he seemed saddened and disappointed in himself.

"I... I haven't been myself. I've been treating people who are close to me as if they were...objects. Options. As if they weren't their person. And I feel horrible because of it." Ladybug reached her arm out to hold Chat Noir's shoulder, showing that she didn't judge him for it. "Plagg says it's the destruction from the miraculous, it's not natural for me"

"So you came to tell me" she concluded and the blonde hero nodded.

"I don't want my emotions to spiral out of control, I-I don't want to hurt you because of it so..." his voice trailed off. Ladybug tensed to hear what he had to say next. "I came to renounce the Black Cat miraculous"

Her eyes glinted in realisation "Y-you're sure?"

He nodded solemnly. "I don't want to risk hurting you or anyone else"

She sighed while nodding in understanding, she got up and motioned for Chat Noir to do the same.

"Plagg...claws in" Chat Noir mumbled with a heavy heart, it would be the last time he was ever going to say those words. As soon as he did, his transformation dropped gloomily, almost slower than usual. There stood Adrien Agreste, one of her best friends. He looked dejected and worried, looking at Ladybug for her approval. "Hey....bugaboo"

"Wow...you acted much more...freely as Chat, Adrien" The blonde let out a sigh of relief after seeing Ladybug's approving smile before noticing her face turned solemn in understanding once again. "I'm guessing you two want a moment to say goodbye" she glanced at Adrien and the kwami while stepping back to make space for the two.

"I guess this is goodbye, Kid" Plagg floated in front of Adrien's face, looking sadder than the blonde has seen in his entire time being with him. The kwami floated closer to hug Adrien's cheek.

"Thank you Plagg, for being my friend all this time" The blonde choked out.

"No, thank you, kid. You were one of the best Chat Noirs I've ever met" he hovered back in front of Adrien's face. "You're a good kid, Adrien. Don't forget that"

He took a shaky breath. "I won't...goodbye, Plagg"

"Let's get this over with now, or we'll make it rain" the kwami blurted out, but his voice was heavy with sadness. Slowly, Adrien pulled off the ring on his finger, watching as it turned black when Plagg got sucked in. He then handed the ring to the spotted heroine, surprisingly she took it hesitantly. She brought out her yo-yo, opened it and put the ring inside. She then looked back up to Adrien.

"Thank you" her voice was mournful. "For all, you have done as Chat Noir, all of Paris will grieve over your...retirement" She then took a deep breath trying to lighten the mood. "We need to think of a cover story that will be able to convince the Parisians as well as Hawkmoth"

The blonde put a finger on his chin. "Why don't we say that I got injured in the most recent akuma attack?"

The spotted heroine shook her head. "Hawkmoth would know that's a lie" Ladybug hummed while thinking for a valid reason which even Hawkmoth would fall for. 'Dami has good ideas, but he isn't here right now...what would he suggest?' She snapped her fingers. "I think I got it!"

"Well, what is it?"

"Let's say that as the akuma in the most recent attack had used his power to cause a defect with the Cataclysm, it was Sandboy, so that makes sense. The defect caused some damage with the Black Cat miraculous that wasn't fixable with the Miraculous Cure thus causing Chat Noir's miraculous to malfunction. This malfunction caused some physical damage to you and made you no longer compatible to use the miraculous without causing further damage, henceforth refraining you to be Chat Noir any more and forcing you into early retirement" 'If that isn't a good idea then I don't know what is' she took a deep breath. "What do you think?"

Adrien blinked once, twice before answering. "Sounds perfect M'lady". It wasn't said in a flirtatious manner he would normally use. 'No, Chat Noir used it in that way. Adrien doesn't need to any more, well at least not to me any more. Kagami probably'

"Well" Ladybug breathed in. "I'll drop you at your mansion then? I won't let my former partner walk all that way when I can easily help you get there"

Adrien flashed a friendly smile. "Yeah... I'd like that, thank you Ladybug"

~~~

A few swings later, Ladybug and Adrien arrived in front of Agreste Mansion, she settled the boy down gently on the ground.

"This is where we must depart, can't thank you enough for all that you've done. For all that you've done for Paris and for all that you've done to help me" Ladybug pulled the blonde in for a cordial hug before pulling away and looking at him in the eyes. "Just because you can no longer be Chat Noir, doesn't mean that you'll be excused from this battle permanently. If you want to, tell me now"

Adrien didn't hesitate to answer. "No, I joined the fight wanting to unmask Hawkmoth. I won't stop now just because I'm not paired with the right miraculous"

The spotted heroine smiled at the determination in her friend's voice. "Well, you can help behind the scenes. You can help the citizens out of the way of the akuma, that's all I ask of you for now. But that doesn't mean that I won't give you a miraculous if things get too out of hand. Right now it's best to focus on channelling out the destructive magic in you. Take a break from all of this" She used her arms to gesture fighting akumas and Adrien laughed.

"Don't worry I will just-" he paused. "Don't hesitate to find me if you need help, kay?"

Ladybug smiled and nodded while reaching for her yo-yo that was wrapped around her waist. She launched it at a nearby building and rugged on the rope before turning to Adrien and saying "Goodbye, Chaton"

~~~

Alya briskly walked the streets of Paris, her fingers fiddling with her phone as she was itching to talk to Ladybug. During the most recent akuma attack, while hiding from Sandboy, Alya noticed that Chat Noir seemed...unlike himself. He wasn't goofy or flirty and he wasn't cracking any puns like he usually did. The black cat-themed hero seemed worried and on edge, the aspiring reporter desperately wanted to find the spotted heroine to ask about this. As if by luck, Alya noticed a familiar figure swinging from rooftop to rooftop.

"Ladybug!" Alya called out, reaching to press the record button on her phone. "Can I ask you a question for the Ladyblog?"

Ladybug's yo-yo wrapped around a pole near the reporter which helped her gracefully land in front of the girl. "Sure, I've got time"

Alya hit the record button. "Ladybug I couldn't help but notice that Chat Noir wasn't himself during and after the latest akuma attack, is this something to be worried of or am I just overreacting?"

'I knew I had to talk about this eventually, I just didn't expect to talk about this soon. Alya would be able to spread the message clearly though' The spotted heroine took a deep breath. "During the most recent attack, something unforeseen and irreversible happened"

Alya, noticing the extra seriousness in the heroine's voice, straightened and projected the same seriousness in her own eyes.

"When Chat Noir called on his cataclysm, he was hit by one of the akuma's attacks. He and his miraculous were damaged in the process. Though I managed to fix the miraculous, Chat Noir wan't healed, even with my cure. He is currently recovering and he will no longer join me in battle. For how stable he is currently I... cannot say. I hope you understand that Chat Noir did not want to give up fighting Hawkmoth. Please do not be saddened by this as he is still helping me from behind the scenes. I hope this answers your question."

"Yes... it does. Thank you for spending your time with me today. Please send my regards to Chat"

"I will" she smiled solemnly as Alya pressed the stop record button before it morphed into a more cheerful one. "I hope you don't mind if I ever have to call you to help in an akuma attack, with Chat not being able to physically it'll be more... difficult to say the least"

"I'll always be here to help you out Ladybug!" Alya smiled proudly at the trust that Ladybug was showing her, she was one of, if not, the first to join after the original duo.

"Well I'm glad to have you as my personal reporter. Bug out!" The spotted heroine used her yo-yo as a grappling hook, leaving the stunned reporter.

'Oh my god..she called me her personal reporter! Ohmygodohmygodohmygod-'

~~~

Gabriel had a hand on his chin, smiling maliciously as the video ended. Mademoiselle Césaire has been known as Ladybug's go-to reporter, this video just proved it. Though that wasn't what the fashion designer was thinking. 'With Chat Noir out of my way, we can finally begin this experiment' The video had worked too well, Gabriel truly believed it enough to start trying a power up his miraculous had. He managed to translate a page the grimoire, and he was ready to test it out. 'Now would be the best time, Ladybug is at her most vulnerable'.

He saved the project he was working on previously before calling for his assistant. "Nathalie"

"Sir?" She entered the room immediately, expecting something to happen considering she just finished watching Alya's video which was currently the number one video trending in Paris.

"I believe it's time to move onto phase two" he answered with a smirk as he turned towards the painting of his wife.

"I shall make sure Adrien is safe in his room" Nathalie concluded before turning to leave.

Gabriel's hand brushed the portrait, reaching the familiar buttons that would lead him to his lair. 'Today will mark the beginning of your doom, Ladybug'

~~~

Marinette was sitting on the sofa in Jagged's hotel room. She had just been briefly told how Bob Roth was no longer Jagged Stone's manager and how Penny was now assuming the role. He was caught stealing from Kitty Section and was now working with XY, truthfully, Marinette was glad he was gone. Currently, she was discussing titles for all the songs that were in Jagged's up coming album, including the one she would be in.

"Marinette, have you got any ideas for your song yet?" Penny asked while setting down her clipboard. She had actually already had an idea thanks to Damian.

Marinette sang a bit of the song she wrote unknowingly. She asked Damian to skim through the lyrics sometime they went to bed and somehow she was singing the chorus. She only realised what she was doing when she felt arms wrap around her waist from behind and a husky voice whisper in her ear.

"You sing angelically, mon amour" Damian pressed his face in the space of her neck.

"You really think so?" She asked, she wasn't as tired as Damian was at that moment so she made sure to talk in a way that would soothe him to sleep.

He hummed. "I have a suggestion for a title" he murmured into her neck. "Dernière Danse"

Marinette blinked, slightly unfocused considering the fact that she could feel her boyfriend's breath on her neck, she liked the feeling. "Yeah... I like that"

She hummed and turned to face the sheets of lyrics in front of her, all of which still needed names. "Dernière Danse, Damian helped me decide last night"

"That's rock'n'roll Nettie but-" he had a knowing smirk on his face. "Who's Damian?"

'Damn, nothing gets past him' "Is he your boyfriend?" Penny asked, fond of her honorary niece. The two adults looked smugly at each other after being met with silence, practically confirming Penny question. "What's his name?"

"The sooner I find that out the sooner I can threaten that boy with Fang-" A look from Penny shut the rockstar up.

"You're not gonna threaten him anytime soon" the bluenette only continued after hearing a huffed 'fine' from Jagged. "And his name is Damian... Wayne" her voice veered of at the end and she looked to anywhere but the two adults.

"Wait Wayne? As in Brucie's youngest?!" Jagged exclaimed.

"You know his father?" Marinette tilted her head in curiosity, her honorary uncle had never mentioned him before.

"Yeah we were good friends back in the day, been a while since I've seen him actually" he smiled wistfully.

Marinette looked at the time. "Well I better get going. Bye Uncle Jagged! Bye Auntie Penny!" She turned to leave and reached the door but before she turned the handle, she turned to face Jagged and Penny, well, Jagged specifically. "Please don't tell anyone yet, Damian and I only recently got together. And no threatening him"

"I won't tell anyone" he crossed his heart with her fingers but he didn't confirm whether or not he would threaten the boy.

Marinette glared at her honorary uncle until Penny spoke up. "I'll make sure he won't do anything"

The bluenette smiled as she waved goodbye and left the room. She sent a quick text to Damian before she got on the lift and when she did, she pulled the silver ring out of her purse. It laid in the palm of her hand, Marinette glanced at it with a quizzing look on her face.

Tikki then made her presence known. "You have to find someone to use the miraculous soon Marinette" she flew in front of her holders face. "You can go without it for a few battles but then a new user has to be found, you can't fight alone"

She sighed and looked at the kwami. "I know Tikki, I'll ask Plagg if he can sense for any chosen users later"

She soon reached the floor and knocked on her boyfriend's door. He opened up immediately, the bluenette went inside and sat on the sofa. He sat next to her, wrapped his arm around her waist and gave a tender kiss on her temple.

"What happened? With Chat Noir I mean" Tikki then flew out of her owner's purse with the ring in her hands.

"Chat Noir was never destined to use the Black Cat miraculous" Tikki stated matter-of-factly "Luckily he was able to renounce Plagg before the magic corrupted him entirely"

Damian nodded slowly he opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by a loud crash in the distance. On instinct, they both rushed to the balcony to see what was going on. Channeling her energy, Marinette recognised the aura of an akuma. She ran back inside and Tikki placed the ring on the coffee table before joining her holder.

"Tikki, Spots On!" The bluenette was then engulfed by a bright light and when it subsided, there stood the spotted heroine. She walked back onto the balcony and before she used her yo-yo, she turned to her lover and spoke in a teasing manner. "Don't lose the ring"

He nodded. "I won't and-" he stared at her in the eyes. "Go show Hawkmoth whose superior"

She smiled and and yo-yo'd away. Damian sighed and went back inside, closing the balcony door behind him. He still hadn't updated the file he was working on, he knew his father and his imbecilic brothers would be on his back so he decided to do just that. He sent a quick text to the group chat he was in to buy him some time. It didn't take long for him to finish and he decided to watch the battle between Ladybug and the Akuma, he had the LadyBlog up on the flatscreen as Alya was streaming the fight. Luckily from a safe distance. Damian didn't doubt Ladybug's ability to fight, in fact, he was impressed. He just wanted to watch his girlfriend take the villain down.

As he turned the television on, he observed as Ladybug and the Akuma, who called itself 'Guerrier', fought. He noticed how incredibly aware the spotted heroine was of her surroundings. She was great at multitasking as well whenever a civilian was in danger. And how she would easily switch from offensive to defensive. It appeared that she had the upper hand. Unfortunately for him though, that would soon change.

~~~

Jason felt very tempted to switch Tim's cup of coffee with the cup of decaf that he had. He was about to do just that when his phone dinged, Tim noticed it too. Huffing at the lost opportunity, he picked his phone up. "It's the demon brat" he scoffed.

"What he say?" Dick asked.

"That there's currently an attack and we can watch it if we wanna, Dickhead" he retorted.

"Tim?" Dick ignored Jason's comment and turned to where Tim was a few seconds ago, though there was only an empty seat.

"Done" Tim's voice came from the living room. 'Where the fuck did he get that energy from-'

The two eldest sons went to the living room and found Tim sitting in front of the television with a live feed from Paris displayed on the screen. There were two figures that stood out. One was in a matte black fencing suit with a long black blade. The other was a red and black spotted heroine which all in the room presumed to be the hero. They watched as the heroine, now identified as 'Ladybug', fought the villain. She was graceful, skilled and tactical. As the battle got slightly closer to the camera, Dick noticed something.

"She looks so young!" He exclaimed. "Like fifteen!"

"She got mad skill for a fifteen year old" Jason commented, slightly unnerved at the realisation of how young she was. After those words were said, the spotted heroine back flipped over the villain to avoid the blade. Ladybug gracefully landed behind him and gave a powerful kick from behind, launching the villain forward and onto the ground. Jason whistled.

The spotted heroine seemed to be in control of the whole situation, it also seemed that way to the men until the villain did something completely unexpected. His body twisted in an inhuman way to get out of Ladybug's grip. Taking advantage of the situation, the villain used his sword to impale the young heroine. The sword went deep into her chest, the handle nearly reached her back. It stabbed through her body with a horrifying and repulsive sound. The three men in the room flinches at the image, they've seen more revolting images than this but this seemed much more different. The sound the blade made, the way the heroine's body was twisted, the fact that she was so young and this was happening and all the screams and shouts in French adding to the atmosphere.They notice her face twist in surprise, pain and pure determination.

The situation in Paris was much, much more serious than they assumed.

———

Taglist: @little-bluestar, @miracleofadisaster, @frieddonutsweets, @jjmjjktth, @genderfluidmoma, @starlit-dreaming, @icerosecrystal, @lolieg, @kashlyn, @mochegato, @eggadoodle, @walkingthroughonautopilot, @toodaloo-kangaroo

#daminette #damian x marinette #maribat #maridami #marinette x damian #mlb x dc #ml x dc #damianette

[arolla-pine]

You always have me

Spoiler alert! If you haven’t seen “Gang of Secrets” don’t read it! There are some references to “Truth” and “Lies” too… 😉

* * *

Something was wrong.

Adrien saw Marinette in all possible moods – from excitement, nervousness, determination to sadness… But she had never been so broken as recently. Like someone turned off the lights or the sun was gone forever. He noticed these eyes filled with tears and red marks underneath – the visible proof that she’d been crying. A lot…

He was worried because all that suggested that she had some problems. He wanted to help her but had no clue how to do it. He was hopeless when it came to help girls. Like yesterday… He’d thought it was a brilliant idea to invite Ladybug for a movie to the cinema. Just to comfort her… The result? She gave him a lecture why rom-coms are such nonsense! And when he tried to talk about feelings and being heartbroken, she told him she was perfectly fine and went to swim… So, if he was so terrible in helping Ladybug, how could he manage to help Marinette?

But this morning he noticed that Marinette looked like she felt much better. Alya left the company of Nino and Adrien and focused only on her best friend. When Nino asked his girlfriend why they couldn’t spend time altogether, she answered that Marinette needed girl’s support after breaking-up with Luka. And she left them for the rest of the day. The girls kept sitting in a corner chatting all the time in whisper. That was the moment when Adrien realised he would never understand girls.

Yet… In the evening, all his doubts came back to him. Maybe because of a message he got from Luka, who cancelled another rehearsal… He suffered as much as Marinette… So why had they split up? Why so many relationships didn’t work? Why couldn’t he, Adrien, date Kagami? Why couldn’t he date Ladybug? Why, why, why! Go to hell with all that!

“I miss adult holders, really…”, Plagg muttered when he got enough of Adrien’s dilemmas. “You, teenagers, can make saint’s blood boil. You can say anything about me but not that I’m a saint…”

“I cannot disagree to that…”

“Well, well, well… Some Cat is showing, I see…”

“Cat?”, Adrien repeated. “What would you say for an evening walk?” He smirked.

“What?! No!”, kwami objected. “No way! Night air is deadly for me!”

“Right… Sure… Plagg, claws out!”

A few minutes later he landed on the rooftop of Marinette’s house. He had no rational explanation why he could visit her. Thankfully, Plagg had had no chance to ask him about his plans, because Adrien couldn’t find a reason why he came here. He had no idea what to tell Marinette either if she asked him what he was doing there. He just wanted to see if everything was OK with her. Most likely…

So, why was he hiding behind a chimney, instead of showing his presence? What a fool!

And then he heard a whisper:

“I don’t know what to do anymore, Tikki…”

Cat Noir froze.

Did Marinette say “Tikki”? That Tikki?!

His heart stopped, and he forgot about breathing for a moment. That was impossible! And yet… So obvious at the same time… His brain suddenly matched all the dots and all puzzles found their place. Just like that.

“Marinette?”, he whispered, landing right next to her.

Maybe it was an optical illusion or just wishful thinking but he could swear he noticed a red flash as if a red kwami ran away in a rush.

“C-Cat N-Noir?”, Marinette stuttered.

He saw panic in her eyes. He guessed she was trying to remember last seconds on the balcony and probably realised already what he could have heard. That was kind of amusing watching her figuring out an excuse. He had been there so many times before!

“Is it bad that I know?”, he interrupted her efforts.

“Nobody taught you that you shouldn’t eavesdrop?!”

“How could I predict you’d be chatting with your kwami on the balcony? You should be more careful!”

“So, maybe I’ll just announce my secret to the world!”, she was mad at herself. “If I don’t stop revealing, soon a half of Paris will know who I am! Hawkmoth will be happy…”

“You have told someone already?”

“Alya…”, she mumbled.

“You’ve told Alya?!”

At first, he felt disappointment that she had chosen her friend, not him. He was her partner! They trusted each other! But then he remembered what Alya had done today at school, how she took care of Marinette… He couldn’t do the same being Adrien… That was painful to realise that couldn’t offer the support that this girl needed.

“I couldn’t stand it anymore, Cat…”, she whisper like she wanted to justify herself. “I was so tired… You can’t even imagine how hard it was to keep everything secret… I had no one…”

“You always have me, M’Lady…”

“I don’t even know who you are, Kitty… I know you so well as my partner and I can trust you with my life… But… I don’t know who you are as the civilian…”

“We know each other, Marinette… We’re…”, he began, but she stopped him putting her hand on his mouth.

“No! No more secrets revealed. I don’t want to know… I can’t… Not today… It’s too much… I don’t want to start thinking who you are… No!”, she began blabbing, and that reminded him yesterday Ladybug’s lecture in the cinema. “It’s enough that you learnt about me…That’s a catastrophe!”

“CAT-astrophe?”, he smirked, and she rolled her eyes.

“You couldn’t resist, could you?”

“That’s stronger than my will, Bugaboo…”

She blinked twice in surprise. Well, he just call her by Ladybug’s nickname. Now, she’d probably kill him for that pun… Instead, she looked at him, as if the situation was too serious for fighting against puns.

“What now, Cat?”, she whispered.

“Everything will be OK…”, he assured her and hugged her to his chest.

“How do you know that?”, she asked somewhere around his heart, and he felt the warmth spreading through his body.

“Don’t worry, Marinette. I’ll take care of you…”, he whispered in her hair.

<3

#miraculous ladybug #SPOILERS ALERT #fanfiction #marichat #marichat story #gang of secrets #MLspoilers #Season 4 #Season 4 spoilers #what if #after end credits #after gang of secrets #Marinette Dupain-Cheng #Adrien Agreste #Plagg #Cat Noir #reveal #identity reveal #half-reveal #spoilers

[fanficgirl104]

Writing prompt: "Do you want me to leave? "

~~~~~

Adrien noticed there was something wrong with Marinette. She wasn't as joyfull or bubbly as usual, she looked as thought she was bored.

When he tried talking to her she answered his questions shortly and didn't try to make conversation like she usually does. Also, she didn't even statter once.

At first he thought it had something to do with him, but he noticed that she didn't even talk to Alya. Even Chloe didn't try to make a witty remark on the bags under Marinette's eyes. She had stayed quiet, which is unusual. As though she understood what was going on.

During last period Adrien remembered who Marinette would actually talk to. A certain black cat who liked visiting her from time to time. When school was finally over he looked over to Marinette to see her gathering he things and leaving with her head down.

He grabbed Alya's shoulder before she left. "Hey, do you know what's wrong with Mari? " He asked and Alya frowned "No. She won't tell me. She keeps saying she is fine even though it's obvious that she is not and won't let me help. Sorry Adrien she won't talk to me. I don't know why. She even asked me not to go over to her place." Adrien nodded sadly and let the redhead go.

His bodyguard walked him to the car and he could not stop thinking about Marinette. He has known her for a little more that three years now and even thought he still loves Ladybug very much, he learned to get over her and move on. That was when the sweet girl with the pigtails, a girl he considered one of his best friends, his every-day-ladybug, as he once called her, made her way into his heart.

He was visiting her as chat noir and they would talk and talk for hours. They would look at the sky and the stars. She knew a lot about them, something he recently found out, they would drink hot chocolate and share a blanket when it got cold. She would comfort him and make him feel loved and accepted for exactly who he was. Not the perfect model and shy friend everyone else thinks him to be. But the funny, adventurous, clown he really is. She would even laugh at his silly cat puns sometimes.

He thought back to the first time he realised he was in love with her.

---

It was just a normal day at school for him. No akuma attacks, no sudden explosions or anything of the kind. Just a normal, boring school day when he heard Kim talking to Max.

"Oh please! Ladybug is doing all the work, Chat Noir is just a useless idiot who makes mistakes and hold her back." He said naming Adrien's biggest fear. That he was useless, that Ladybug didn't need him. That he was holding her back. That he was vulnerable.

He looked around to find Marinette looking a second before realising smoke from her ears. Face red, if looks could kill Marinette would have tortured, brutally killed, brought back to life and killed him again. Alya was holding her arm like if she let go Mari would attack Kim like a rabid dog.

"I mean what kind of idiot almost gets his partner killed, and himself?! He is the worst partner anyone could have. He only brings bad luck. She would be better off without him, or she should at least look for a better partner." Kim said chuckling. Adrien wanted to crawl away and cry like a stray baby cat who had been hit by a bus and survived.

He almost missed the blue-black haired girl that was making her way to Kim angrily.

"EXCUSE ME?!?! WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!?! LADYBUG AND CHAT NOIR ARE EQUALS IF NOT HE IS BETTER!!!! HE MAY HAVE MADE A FEW MISTAKES BUT SHE HAS TOO. HE HAS SAVED HER LIFE MULTIPLE TIMES PUTTING HIS AT RISK WITHOUT HESITATION!!! SHE MAY BE ABLE TO PURIFY THE AKUMAS BUT SHE WOULD NEVER BE ABLE TO DEFEAT THE VILLAINS ON HER OWN!!! SHE WOULD BE DEAD THE MOMENT SHE EVEN TRIED TO TAKE THEM DOWN ON HER OWN!!!!! HE IS AN AMAZINGLY KIND PERSON WITH THE BIGGEST HEART, HE IS SINCERE, HE IS GENEROUS, HE IS BRAVE, HE IS THE GREATEST PARTNER SHE COULD HAVE EVER ASKED FOR!!! SHE IS THE ONE THAT DOESN'T DESERVE HIM!!! SHE WOULD BE NOTHING WITHOUT HIM!!! IT IS SAD HOW EVERYONE IS LOOKING AT HER WHEN HE IS THE ONE GETTING THE HITS AND RISKING HIS LIFE TO SAVE US!! SHE WOULD BE ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WITHOUT HIM!!! AND DON'T YOU DARE SAY ANYTHING LIKE THAT ABOUT HIM EVER AGAIN!! YOU DON'T KNOW HIM!!! "

Adrien was sure the whole of Paris had heard her. He could stop smiling and blushing at what she had said. Did she really think that. He was close enough to hear Lila day something like "Of course trash likes trash. The most useless person on the planet would of course like the useless superhero. " He was so close to hissing at her. Like she had insulted something of his. But since when did he consider Marinette his?

He passed by her house that night to find her on her balcony curled up in a blanket holding two cups of hot chocolate. Waiting for him.

"Hello purrr-ncess. How are you in this lovely day? " He asked making an overly dramatic bow. She rolled her eyes at him playfully. "Why it had been great my kind knight. " She slightly bowed her head at him playing along.

He sat beside her, taking a sip, looking at his feet. "So, I was passing by your school.. And I heard an argument you had with K-a guy. I've been meaning to ask. Did you mean all that princess? " He hesitantly asked. Marinette turned around to look at him. She put her chocolate at the small table and cuped his face with both her hands making him look at her. "Of course I did. Every word." He averted his eyes "I didn't think I would actually matter to someone that's all. "

"You matter Kitty. You matter to a lot of people. You matter to me. " She said making him look at her shocked. He noticed how her eyes where a piercing blue in the moonlight, impossible not to notice them sparkling. Her eyes sparkle when she talks about something that she loves. He saw how her hair looked almost midnight blue when light hit them. He saw her smile. A smile that was for him. A smile he said to himself that he wanted to see everyday.

She kissed his cheek and hugged him. He felt his pulse quickening, he felt warm and at peace. Like he wanted to hold her forever. To freeze time. That was when he knew. He knew that girl was a criminal, she had stolen his heart.

---

With Marinette

"I'm tired Tikky. I'm so so tired. I can't do this anymore it's too much!! " Marinette was sobbing on her bed. She was just so sick of everything. Having to deal with school, being ladybug, being a guardian, having to lie to everyone around her. She feels like she lost her entire life. It has been three years! She was 17 going to 18. She feels as though her life ended three and a half years ago. She has lost her sleep.

Tikky was trying to comfort her any way possible but all Marinette wanted was to be left alone. On top of everything she had to deal with moving on from Adrien and her broken heart, her newfound feelings for chat noir, her «break up» with Luka and getting fed up with all the romance crap.

She was still crying softly when she heard someone tapping on her window. "Princess? " She heard Chat's voice. She remembered he promised to come by. After a minute without an answer he knocked again. "Princess?... If you don't answer in the next minute I'm coming in." He said.

Tikky begged Marinette with her eyes. She could almost hear the creature saying 'you need to talk to someone.'

She heard her window open. Apparently it had been a minute and he was worried. He thought something had happened to her. He saw her curled up on her bed her back facing him. "Princess?" He asked.

"Chat don't-dont look at me.. " She already felt insecure and her, well, maybe, crush seeing her a crying mess was not something she liked. "Why princess I bet you look beautiful, like you always do." He complimented. She didn't know that he actually ment it. That he thought she was the most beautiful girl he had ever layed his eyes on. That every time she had her hair down during the nights he visited it took his breath away every time. That he thought she had the most beautiful smile that could light up an entire room. That he thought everything about her was beautiful.

He went closer to her bed while she hesitantly turned. And slightly sat up not looking at him. "Really? " She asked. She felt like such a little girl. Vulnerable. She felt disgusting like she was fishing for compliments. She is ladybug dammit. She doesn't need anyone to tell her she is pretty.

He cuped her face the way she had that night. The night he knew. He looked into her eyes and whispered "beautiful." Her slightly red nose and puffy glossy eyes gave away that she was crying. Yet he thought she looked amazing. He wiped her tears and placed his forehead against hers "what's wrong princess? " She started crying again and hugged him tightly.

"In just so tired chat. It's just too much. The responsibility is too much I can't deal with it. Everything is in the air! Nothing is in order. Nothing has a program. I am 17 and a half Chat! I've been doing this for three and a half years!! I've been lying to everyone for three and a half years. I'm saying I'm fine but I'm not chat. I'm not at all. I just want it all to stop. I just want to be alone.I can't do this chat. I'm not strong enough. "

Chat felt something inside him break. The girl that he thought was one of the strongest people he knew just broke into his chest. He didn't know what she was talking about him but he didn't really care. She would tell him when she was ready. Part of him wanted to comfort her. To keep her in his arms and let her know that it was okay to feel like this. But after the words 'I just want to be alone. ' he could help but think he was included so when she broke the hug he had to ask.

"Do you want me to leave? "

She looked at his through her lashes she didn't speak for a moment and he got nervous. He didn't want to leave her in a state like this. "No. No I don't. Please stay.. " She said. She looked tired. "I am. " He reassured her "when was the last time you slept? " He asked "I actually don't remember. " She answered and automatically yawned.

He layed her down and cuddled her. "Sleep princess. I am here now. " He whispered. She rubbed his chest making him purr. How did she know exactly how to do that? He would not find out. And frankly he didn't care. All he cared about was the sleeping girl in his arms. The girl he once thought as just a very good friend. Now he felt like an idiot. All that mattered was that she was in his arms. He would do anything to help her feel better. He didn't care about the cost.

He only cared that he was asleep with the girl he loved.

If only he knew she felt the exact same way...

#marichat #miraculous ladybug #chat noir #marinette dupen chang #writing #romance #comfort #marinette x chat noir #marinette and chat noir

[a-drienette]

Secrets at Sunrise

So, this is my first attempt at writing fanfic (which is why it’s short and not wonderfully written, so it’ll probably be my last) but this idea woke me up one morning and my mind wouldn’t let me go to sleep until I wrote it down, so enjoy this slightly angsty, slightly hopeful bit about Ladybug and Chat Noir disclosing their dating lives to each other. :)

~~~

Akuma defeated, Ladybug and Chat Noir had agreed to regroup to discuss Hawkmoth’s latest failed attempt to get their Miraculous.

Ladybug stretched her legs out in front of her, then let them dangle over the edge of the rooftop where she and Chat Noir had decided to convene. She loved how still Paris was before sunrise, when the last of the night clung to the city and a sense of anticipation hung in the air for what the new day would bring. 

“Do you think he’ll ever run out of people to akumatize?” Chat asked, sounding tired of having to wake up in the middle of the night to deakumatize yet another helpless civilian. Ladybug was exhausted too; she had barely fallen asleep when the akuma started wreaking vengeance on the city of Paris. Of course, it also didn’t help that it was a school night, so Marinette would be struggling to keep her eyes open all day. 

“Doubt it. Remember, he re-akumatized Reflekta, Chloe as Queen Bee, and Puppeteer. And don’t forget Mr. Pigeon. He’ll never get tired of it.” Ladybug plopped her head in her hand, gazing at the Eiffel Tower that stood in front of her and her partner.

“Well, at least we can watch the sunrise together.” Ladybug smiled warmly at Chat Noir, a look that, would he have seen it, would have surely melted him, but his eyes were locked on the landmark in front of him. 

Ladybug thought it was odd that he hadn’t made a flirtatious remark, but she let it drop and looked down at her polka-dotted legs, swinging them slightly. She noticed Chat shift out of the corner of her eye as if he was trying to move away from her, and she turned her bluebell eyes onto him.

Chat Noir was silent, then cleared his throat. “Ladybug, I...I have a girlfriend.”

“Oh,” Ladybug said. Why did he say it so suddenly? And why did he pass up a perfect opportunity to flirt back with her? Then again, Ladybug couldn’t recall Chat Noir being his usual flirty self lately. He wasn’t even the one to propose meeting up after the battle, it had been her suggestion. When was the last time he had called her “bugaboo” or “my lady”? There was a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach, almost like someone had just punched her. “That’s great.” It wasn’t great.

“Yeah, it is.” Chat didn’t sound convinced. A moment of confused silence fell over them as the sounds of Paris waking up slowly began to fill the air. A few birds chirping, a car or two driving down the road adjacent to the building they were perched on. 

“I, uh, I have a boyfriend.”

Chat’s head swiveled towards her so fast she thought surely he had pulled a muscle in his neck. “You do?”

“Yeah,” Ladybug admitted. “I’ve never really thought of him like that before, but I guess he is my boyfriend.”

“Oh,” Chat Noir breathed. His expression of surprise turned into that of heartbreak, an expression Ladybug as Marinette knew, and wore, all too well. He hung his head and Ladybug turned hers away, focusing on the slowly rising sun. 

After what seemed like several minutes, Chat asked in a voice barely above a whisper, “Is it the boy you’re in love with?”

Ladybug tensed, then said with a pained expression that she was grateful Chat couldn’t see, “No.”

Chat’s head swiveled again. “What do you mean ‘no’? There’s someone else?” His eyes were wide. Then his expression turned crestfallen and he looked off into the distance. “I was competing against someone else?” he murmured, barely audible, but Ladybug still heard it and heard the unmistakable hurt in his voice.

“Yeah,” Ladybug barely managed to say, her throat felt dry and now it felt like there had been two blows to her stomach.

“So you’re dating someone, but it’s not the boy you’re in love with?”

“Oh, come on, Chat!” Ladybug cried, suddenly defensive. “Sometimes you love someone and they don’t love you back! So you have no choice but to move on!” 

Chat Noir looked at her in a way she wished he never would have; the heartbreak, despair, and anger he was feeling all stared back at her. She had never seen him this way before.

“I know. Believe me, I know.”

They were silent.

“I should go,” Chat said. He got up and turned away. 

“Wait!” Ladybug held her hand out as if she could grab him and pull him back into a normal conversation full of puns and plans for defeating Hawkmoth. “You don’t have to go, you could stay. We never get to talk like this, just us two with no akuma threat.”

Chat Noir started to turn back towards her, then stopped and said, “It’s cool. I’ll see you tomorrow or later today probably.”

He extended his staff, took a step, then pivoted back towards her. “Thank you anyways, Ladybug.” He flashed her a quick, kittenish smile. 

And then he was gone, jumping over rooftops until he faded from her view.

Ladybug looked down at her hands, wondering why it felt so wrong to call Luka her boyfriend and why she wanted Chat Noir to stay with her, more than anything. She had seen the same playful smile every day, but it was suddenly stuck in her head. A puff of air escaped her nose as she scoffed at herself. A breathtaking sunrise over the city of Paris sat before her and she had the best seat in the house, but all she could see was that cat’s smile. 

With a strange sadness mixed with a feeling Ladybug thought was only reserved for a different boy with spring green eyes and golden hair, Ladybug watched the sunrise by herself.

~~~

If you made it this far and took the time to read all that, I love you. 

♡ a-drienette 

#and i apologize if it isn't great i haven't done any creative writing in literally 6 or 7 years #but yeah this was fun and i'll probably never do it again! lol #adrienette posts stuff #adrienette writes now #miraculous ladybug #miraculous #miraculous tales of ladybug and chat noir #tales of ladybug and cat noir #chat noir #cat noir #ladybug #ladynoir #ml #miraculous fanfic #miraculous ladybug fanfic #ml fanfic

[bevvydraws]

How I Would Fix Miraculous Ladybug

(A Guide That No One Asked For)

I’m gonna break this up into sections. Universe Rules, Main Characters, Setting, and Plot. 

Universe Rules: 

1) There is no “adults can use their power indefinitely”. That’s cheap writing. It doesn’t even make the tiniest bit of sense. 

- Instead, holders gain more power the stronger their bond with their kwami. This can be either through trust (a slow, gradual process) or through fear. Having a kwami’s complete submission to use their powers is what unlocks their “ultimate potential”. Of course, this potential is weaker if you choose to go the fear route. 

2) Guardians do not lose their memory when they give up the box. 

- This is something else that just doesn’t make sense to me. Why would they lose their memories? They’ve been committed to keep a box safe just to lose all memory of their hard work at the end of it? It’s pointless and cruel to the characters. 

3) There’s no other superheroes. 

- The NYC special really upset me because if America has all of these heroes at their disposal, then why are two teenagers the only people trying to stop someone who is obviously a terrorist? Sure it’s in France, but these are supposed to be top-tier heroes like Majestia. And if it’s a “oh well that has nothing to do with them” type of situation then they are pretty terrible heroes. So no, there wouldn’t be any other superheroes. The only way to be a hero was to gain access to a miraculous. 

4) Making the consequences of the wish clear.

- Maybe the wish uses equivalent exchange? Or it answers your wish but in a twisted and grotesque way like the Monkey’s paw? Or maybe the wish is something that completely destroys you? By making the consequences of the wish clear, and making it obvious that Gabriel knows just what the risks are, it makes him seem all the more desperate of a villain. 

Main Characters: 

1) Marinette Dupain-Cheng

- Honestly, I love Marinette’s character. But I wish their writing of her would be more consistent. She’s resilient, clever, quick witted, and charming. She has stood up to Chloe Bourgeois on multiple occasions (something even adults are afraid to do because of her status) and yet she let’s herself get bested by Lila? A practical nobody who’s only power is somehow getting away with lying. It’s inconsistent with what we’ve seen prior. If they want Lila to be a reasonably formidable antagonist and foil of Marinette, they need to make her schemes more believable. Her outright lying and just “magically getting away with it” isn’t good enough writing. 

- Also, I’d like there to be more focus on just how much strain there is put on Marinette. Let her show weaknesses and vulnerabilities. It wouldn’t make her a “weak” character, but it will help add to the seriousness of what she goes through all the time. Make her seem a little more standoffish, or tired, or quick to snap. Let her show her frustration. Let this be something that teaches her that it’s okay to ask for help (a good lesson not only for her as a character, but for those watching.)

2) Adrien Agreste

- I’m sorry but it makes no sense to me for Adrien to be as naive as he is. It’s cute, I admit, but it doesn’t make sense. When it comes to dealing with people his age I can understand the social awkwardness. But he was raised around elite adults and high-standing social circles. There’s no doubt he’s witnessed the ugly sides of the glitz and glamor. If anything, it would make more sense for him to be on the slightly cynical side. 

- Keep his dorky humor. The puns are cute and lighthearted. He can still come off as being jovial, friendly, and “pure”, like in the show. But occasionally he could let a cynical remark slip, or an eyeroll, or a sarcastic remark that doesn’t “fit” with how he normally acts. Show the struggle of him trying to maintain his perfect image to please his father while also trying not to let himself be turned into another upper class asshole. 

3) Gabriel Agreste

- MAKE. HIS. STORY. MORE. CLEAR.

- IT IS LITERALLY ALMOST 4 SEASONS IN AND WE STILL HAVE NO CLUE HOW HE GOT THE MIRACULOUS, HOW EMILIE GOT SICK FROM THE PEACOCK MIRACULOUS, ETC. 

- Also, pick what type of villain he is. Is he meant to be sympathetic? Is he meant to be a villain we feel sorry for? Or is he meant to seem so evil that we never even want to think of redemption for him? The show flips between “sad dad” and “terrorist” too much. Almost like they are trying to make him sympathetic but failing miserably. 

Setting: 

- Obviously it would still be in Paris, there’s nothing wrong with the setting location-wise. It’s more time-wise that troubles me. 

- Like... why would Fu choose teenagers when adults (canonically) have more power? Why would he willingly give heroes the disadvantage? 

- So I would age the characters up a little bit. It makes more sense to give the miraculous to even a 16/17 year old than to a 13/14 year old. I could see Fu not wanting to trust “older generations”, but 14 years old is a little young to be entrusting the fate of so many people to. 

Plot: 

- The plot could be pretty much the same. Only as time passes, more people join Team Miraculous permanently. 

- It starts off with Ladybug and Chat Noir. Eventually, the akumas become so overwhelming that Rena joins permanently. Then Carapace, then Queen Bee (yes, in this rewrite Chloe would get the character redemption arc). There would still be temporary holders (like Viperion would be for extremely dangerous akumas just in case) whose powers aren’t always useful in every situation. But the main five would all be permanent holders. 

- The show actually shows them making an effort to track down Hawkmoth. Of course, it isn’t easy, and it takes them a while to even come up with a method, but they do. 

- Depending on how Lila is written, you could even have Hawkmoth defeated somewhere halfway through the series, and have Lila take up the mantle and be a villain even more dangerous than Hawkmoth. Then they’d have the struggle of fighting even more villains all while dealing with the reveal of Hawkmoth being good-ole-gabe. 

------

And that’s it :D this is mostly just big things, there are little things I would change too, but this is just the parts I would change about the foundation of the show. 

#bevvy talks #random #miraculous ladybug fix #miraculous ladybug #miraculous ladybug salt #salt? #i don't know if it counts #miraculous ladybug critique