Core Four Appreciation Week

A week to celebrate the friendship of the core four from Miraculous Ladybug: Marinette, Adrien, Alya, and Nino. From 2nd October 2021 to 8th October 2021. header by bananagreste

[mlcorefour]

The Core Four Appreciation Week starts today! Be sure to tag us when you send in your submissions, links, fanart and fics so that we can reblog your work! Please, at all times leave NSFW under a cut, otherwise it will not be reblogged.

And if you are unable to participate now and want to come back later, or will be finishing your work after our main dates, do not worry! We're always happy to reblog your submissions whenever you finish them.

Please refer to this to remind yourself of our rules, our prompt calendar and what we will not accept.

Take your time, and most importantly, have fun! We can't wait to see what you have in store!

[ladyofthenoodle]

team is a four letter word: chapter 9

rated T, alya & adrien & marinette & nino friendship, lovesquare romance (it’s prpr now y'all 🎉)

love dares you

chapter summary: The moment has arrived: Adrien and Marinette finally talk to each other. Then, they party.

thanks @kasienda and @chocoluckchipz for the beta read!

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10

Marinette stood at the counter, trying to ignore the sudden, oppressive silence of the kitchen as she opened the drawers looking for a cloth to wrap Adrien’s ice pack with. Adrien himself stood a few feet away at the fridge, one hand still rubbing the back of his head where he’d hit it. The music that had seemed so deafeningly loud in the living room only meters away felt too quiet now in the tension between them.

She pulled out the first one she found, a worn, cream-and-red tartan dishcloth, and laid it on the counter.

Adrien, who’d always been the braver of them, broke the silence as he deposited his ice pack into the center of the cloth.

“I’m sorry for my behavior the other day.” His voice was too controlled, too steady, as he began to wrap the ice pack, but Marinette had no doubt he was sincere.

Which was stupid because he had nothing to be sorry for! She was the one who should be apologizing.

Marinette told him as much as she grabbed the corner of the tartan, pulled it so that it was centered in front of her, and began wrapping the ice pack herself.

“I’m the one that messed up. That should’ve talked to you sooner, and more often.”

“I wish you had,” Adrien admitted, reaching an arm in front of her to grab the other side of the dishcloth, bringing it to the middle where Marinette’s fingers were busily tucking the other end in. “But that doesn’t excuse my reaction. I shouldn’t have snapped at you. Shouldn’t have made you feel like—like—” 

Adrien’s hand stopped at the apex of its journey as his voice faltered. Marinette reached up, wrapping her palm around his fingertips, and guided his hand to finish its task, layering the second half of the tartan over her neatly tucked edges.

She wanted to be brave enough to look back at him, but her eyes refused to move from the point where their hands touched. Even without looking, he was so close that she could feel the tension in him—the way he was bracing himself for whatever he was going to say next. 

She braced herself too as she heard him inhale.

“It just hurt, so much,” he said, voice thick and tenuous all at once, like dough stretched between her father’s fingers and held up to the light. “To think that… I trusted you more than anyone else in the world, and you didn’t feel the same.” 

She wrapped their hands together across the icepack, squeezing his fingers the way his words squeezed her ignoble heart in her chest.

“But I do, I—”  

“I trusted you with my identity, Marinette.” His voice broke as he pulled his hand away, leaving hers alone with the chill of the ice seeping through the tartan up to her fingers. “With my ring. And you… trusted Alya.”

read the rest on ao3

[masilvi]

Is there a core four zine?  I think we, as a fandom, need a core four zine 

[ladyofthenoodle]

[ladyofthenoodle]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

written for @mlcorefour appreciation week

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

day 6: AU

thanks @chocoluckchipz and @ladynoirist for the beta read!

chapter 6: finally i figured out (but it took a long long time)

The second she stepped out the door of the rotunda, Marinette ran.

And ran.

And ran.

She couldn’t put enough space between herself and that room, couldn’t move fast enough — couldn’t swing from building to building and skip past all the people on the streets and let the air against her cheeks dry her tears.

And if she opened her purse, no one would be there to comfort her.

Marinette was alone now, truly and completely — more alone even than when she’d first become the Guardian — when she’d lost Master Fu.

She’d thought telling Alya would change things, that she would finally have someone else to rely on, that she wouldn’t have to lose all her friends, to push away her family, to sacrifice her chance for love.

She’d thought she could trust someone with her secret and her world wouldn’t come crashing down.

She’d thought if she opened up to her partner, explained why she’d been distant and scared, he’d understand. She’d thought their partnership would be stronger.

Why hadn’t he told her he was hurt, when she’d confessed about Rena Furtive? Why hadn’t he said anything last night, when she’d poured her heart out to him? He saw how hard it was for her to talk about it, how she could barely get the words out — he’d waited so patiently as she choked out the whole story of Chat Blanc.

And he never said anything about himself.

She’d told him her worries — her fears — she’d talked about all the things she never liked to acknowledge out loud, because their partnership meant everything to her.

And he’d listened, and held her, and said everything she needed to hear, and she was still scared and raw and overwhelmed, but she’d thought things between them would be better.

Why weren’t they better?

Why hadn’t she noticed that he didn’t open up in turn?

She knew something was wrong when he’d arrived, that he was upset, but then she started talking, and once she started talking she started crying and they’d both been a mess at the end, and her own anguish was so all-encompassing that she forgot that he’d ever been upset about something besides Chat Blanc.

She’d opened up to him and never noticed that he remained a closed book.

Why hadn’t he trusted her?

Why hadn’t she noticed, when even Alya had been able to see how badly he was feeling? Why had she let herself get so caught up in her own pain that she’d forgotten his?

Of course he hadn’t trusted her. Stupid, selfish Marinette didn’t deserve to be his partner.

Maybe Su Han was right — she couldn’t be the Guardian and Ladybug.

Maybe she should’ve given him the Miracle Box when she’d had the chance.

Maybe she still should, the next time they meet.

read the rest on ao3!

[mlcorefour]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

[ladyofthenoodle]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

written for @mlcorefour appreciation week

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

day 5: zoo trip

thanks @chocoluckchipz and @kasienda for the beta read!

chapter 5: sometimes even the zoo isn't enough

Nino realized pretty quickly after gym class that his “Adrien is Ladybug” theory was a dud. Sure, it had seemed logical at the time — Alya seemed to know something about Adrien that even Nino, his best friend didn’t, and considering how close Alya seemed to be with Ladybug now… well, it wasn’t a huge stretch to think Alya might know Ladybug’s identity.

But Adrien being Ladybug was a big stretch, Nino knew. Setting aside the fact that the transformation would have certainly been pushing the upper limit of how much the miraculous could change your appearance, Nino had seen Adrien and Ladybug together. More than once.

Hell, after Jackady, Nino had been relatively certain Adrien harbored a small crush on Ladybug. Though that really didn’t line up with Adrien’s reaction to Nino’s Chat Noir rant — surely, if Adrien was carrying a torch for Ladybug, he would’ve been eager to empathize with Nino’s plight.

Unless.

Adrien wouldn’t have understood Nino’s position if he knew Chat Noir wasn’t a threat to him.

And Ladybug had been blushing that day too…

Maybe Nino had been on to something with his secret dating theory. He’d just gotten the wrong hero.

Adrien was dating Ladybug.

Poor Marinette. She’ll be heartbroken.

read the rest on ao3 this chapter is so long guys

[ladyofthenoodle]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

written for @mlcorefour appreciation week

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

day 3: secrets

thanks @chocoluckchipz and @kasienda for the beta read!

chapter 4: and i thought what i felt was simple (and i thought that i don’t belong)

Monday morning

Adrien ran his thumb over the thick beads in his pocket and curled his toes inside his shoes as the town car turned onto the street of Françoise Dupont.

He knew the Gorilla wouldn’t mind Adrien bouncing in his seat, but Adrien also remembered the first — and last — time he’d convinced the Gorilla to open the sunroof and let Adrien poke his head out.

The Gorilla didn’t drive any car with a sunroof anymore.

So Adrien channeled his excitement through his fingers and toes as his mind conjured up eager fantasies of where today might lead.

He couldn’t wait to see Alya.

Which was a bit out of the ordinary for him, admittedly.

But that was silly. Why wasn’t he always excited to see Alya? Alya was great. And fun, and brave, and smart, and trustworthy, and almost never annoying. No one kept secrets from Alya or got uncomfortable when she joined the group, because Alya put people at ease. Everyone liked Alya. Nino, Ladybug, Marinette… Adrien should like Alya too.

And he did like Alya! That’s why he was so excited to see her!

Well, that, and the chance to interrogate the aspiring reporter for every detail she’d managed to glean on Ladybug’s crush. He wasn’t sure what he could actually do with that information — Ladybug was too responsible to start a relationship with her celebrity crush, and he’d long accepted that revealing himself against her wishes wouldn’t end the way it did in his fantasies — but Adrien wouldn’t mind hearing more about how great his lady thought he was, even on the wrong side of the mask. Even if it never went anywhere.

read the rest on ao3

[team-leo-v]

It's Streamstress, y'all

Well, this isn't their first time fighting as a team, so this should be easy...

Finally, something for my sblnau 😭 It's been a long time since I made art for it 🤡 This is both for the October event over at @mlwritersguild and Day 6 - AU over at @mlcorefour ! Thought I should strike two birds with one stone:D

So the akuma name is Streamstress, like I said earlier, and her name is streamer (the party ribbon kind), stress, and well, seamstress. She's basically ribbon dancer Spiderman who walks kind of like Vexana from the other ML. She can trap people with her ribbons and/or sew their body parts together, and suffocation is... not very fun.

She's an intern at those party planning organizations whose boss basically overloaded her with work. She had to redo the decorations for the ceiling and the tables, and when she got fed up, she went over to a break room and an akuma fluttered into her rings (which is where the streamers materialize from!).

I originally made her for my groupchat fic (which is currently sadly dead) but scrapped the chapter. She's too cool not to resurrect tho. Drawing her was awesome, her design is so blocky and I love it

And as usual... we have Scarabella, Lady Noire, Carapace, and Goupil (name to be decided) battling her! yay

[kagamitsu]

@mlcorefour / day 7: sleepover 🛌

a very comfy sleepover comic to end core four week. now go look through the mlcorefour page to read some comfy fics!!!

[ladyofthenoodle]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

written for @mlcorefour appreciation week

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

day 4: messages

thanks @chocoluckchipz and @kasienda for the beta read!

chapter 3: your history of silence won’t do you any good

sometime last week

Alya:

girl that boy is NOT okay

Marinette:

what boy? nino? is he still upset?

Alya:

not nino 😿

Marinette:

OH yeah, he seemed really off 😥 but he didn’t want to talk about it and we don’t pry into each other’s personal lives, secret identities and all so there’s not much we can do 😕

Alya:

are you sure it’s his personal life that’s the problem?

Marinette:

what else would it be? if it was something superhero related, i’m sure he’d tell me

read the rest on ao3 because this one is a long boi

[mlcorefour]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

by therealjanebingley

Words: 830  Rated: General

"Sunshine!"

Adrien grinned as he stepped into Alya's backyard. He loved that she always called him that - he'd never had a nickname before (no, Adrikins did not count). "Hey guys!" He started towards the firepit, where Alya and Nino were roasting marshmallows, saying hi to Nathaniel and Marc as he passed them carving pumpkins.

Alya had invited everyone from their class to her family's apartment for a bonfire night to celebrate the beginning of Autumn. Adrien had never been to a party before, unless you counted the shareholder dinners his father sometimes made him go to (which he didn't). There were lights strung up in the trees, a handful of people playing cornhole, and it looked like Kim was dunking Max's face in the apple-bobbing barrel.

The light was fading fast, but between the fire and the full moon, everything was clear enough.

Read more on AO3

[ Please note that the ficlet isn’t by any of the organizers but is shared here by the request of the writer. ]

[mlcorefour]

Hi there! A kind reader encouraged me to submit the first chapter of my Fictober drable collection to Core Four week! Unfortunately I don't have a Tumblr, and this ask won't let me submit a link 🙃 I'm therealjanebingley on AO3, the work is Fictober 2021, and it's the first chapter - I'm sorry for the inconvenience!

hello anon! We are glad you want to submit your fic for the event (thank you kind reader!). We do not mind linking the fic on your behalf, no problem!

[bring-the-storm]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Rated: T

Word Count: 1833

written for @mlcorefour appreciation week

After accidentally panicking and telling basically the whole world that she’s dating a member of the hero team, Ladybug must someone to fake-date her, and fast. Of course Carapace suggests the obvious solution: she can just date his girlfriend for a few weeks. As the plan dissolves into chaos, the four learn what it means to be the heart of a team, while also getting into more shenanigans than humanly possible along the way.

—

Keep reading

[beyoursilverlining]

[ladyofthenoodle]

okay soooo for anyone following my @mlcorefour fic i am very sorry i am officially late now, it was bound to happen but i’m still working on it! i already have like 3k written for today’s prompt, messages, though, so i am going to share a snippet in the meantime.

———————————

Saturday night, 21:17

Marinette:

sorry for snapping at you earlier

i don’t mind you teasing me about adrien, i know u mnea it (affectionate) not (derogatory)

but pls don’t do it in front of 😽okay? he laughs it off but he does have real feelings for me

Sunday morning, 08:11

Alya:

sorry, marinette, i wasn’t thinking

trust me, i know better than anyone that ladynoir is real

Marinette:

😒

Alya:

[oblivio_14.png]

Marinette:

i thought i told u to delete that

Alya:

the internet is forever, marinette

Marinette:

😤 i suppose i will have to forgive you

Alya:

ah, you are a truly magnanimous lady indeed!

[passionfruitbowls]

Core Four Appreciation Day 1 - Pranks

@mlcorefour

Rated: T  Word count: 1,129

Read on AO3

—————————

The school bus was full of lively chatter as it neared the city centre, and Marinette smiled to herself when she saw some of her classmates crowding by the windows, eager to get a glimpse of their destination once it was within eyeshot.

“How much longer do you think we have left?” She asked Alya as she turned back round in her seat.

“Hmm, just a couple more minutes,” Alya said, holding her phone up to display a digital map that she must’ve already had open. “You excited? Apparently they teach jazz and contemporary there! I really hope we’ll get to play some of the instruments, or try out a bit of dancing.”

Marinette giggled and placed a hand on her friend’s shoulder. “That sounds awesome, Alya! I’m sure there’ll be lots of fun things to do.”

The decision to have a day trip to the Conservatoire de Paris had been rather sudden, announced randomly by Mr Damocles under the guise that it would help make the class ‘more aware of their options’ for after they left lycée. It was a welcome surprise for pretty much everyone, with exception of Chloé, who never seemed to enjoy any organised school events.

Personally, Marinette was just glad to get a break from regular class work and spend time with her friends - the immense amount of stress she’d under the past few months made it hard to remember what it felt like to truly unwind and forget about her problems, even if it was only for a bit.

Keep reading

[kagamitsu]

@mlcorefour / day 3: secrets 🔐

i'm sure they will be able to laugh about this when they're older 😅