Lukaniel

Lukaniel is the slash ship between Luka Couffaine and Nathaniel Kurtzberg from the Miraculous Ladybug fandom.

Canon
Luka and Nathaniel don't know each other very well, but their paths have crossed at the boys-only party that Nino threw for Adrien in "Party Crasher", where they were briefly seen standing not too far from each other when the titled villain attacked; and when the party "ended" they stayed behind to help Adrien and a few of his friends to clear up his room. Because Luka's younger sister, Juleka, is in the same class and art club as Nathaniel, there is a chance that they might have heard about each other from her, while their brief on screen "moment" in "Party Crasher" subjects that they might have been talking to each other in passing. Before the boys only party was crashed, and after the titled villain was defeated the two helped their friends to clean up Adrien's room. Like Nathaniel is with both Ladybug and Cat Noir, he has no idea that Luka is the off and on snake-themed superhero, Viperion.

In "Miracle Queen", Luka and Nathaniel are seen spending the rest of the day with Nathaniel's friends and classmates, as Luka and Marinette sit right next to Nathaniel and Marc. There is a chance that Nathaniel one of the many mind control victims of the title villain's wasps, like Luka was, until Ladybug and Cat Noir defeated Miracle Queen and freed them all from her control.

Fanon
While the exact origins of the ship is a mystery, as the two don't know each very well or at all, but there is a possible chance that it might have began when fans decided to ship them through their similar traits, as both Luka and Nathaniel have their own ways of expressing themselves, music and art, respect Ladybug and are friends with Marinette, as well as having a romantic interest in her; without knowing that Ladybug and Marinette are in fact the same person. Even though Nathaniel's romantic feelings for Marinette died down after he was de-akumatized and had began to develop a crush on Ladybug, before he meets and "befriends" Marc. Because Luka has also been fanon shipped with Marc, fans sometimes have Lukaniel rival with Lumarc or ship all three boys together in a poly ship.

When Miraculous Ladybug fans briefly saw Luka and Nathaniel standing "beside" each other in "Party Crasher", a few began to see Lukaniel as a fanon "canon" ship. As they believe that before the party was crashed by the said villain, Luka and Nathaniel were properly having a conversation with one another or were dancing beside each other. While some feature this theory in their fan art and written work.

Since "Timetagger" reveals that during the time of their future adulthood, Ladybug and Cat Noir have assembled a team of Miraculous holders that have her as one of its members, there is a chance that Luka and Nathanael might end up being two of its member. Since Luka has been entrusted with the Snake Miraculous and Nathaniel being a friend of both Marinette and Adrien fits with the pattern of the other current Miraculous holders in the series being people who are from their class or part of their circle of friends, it what had got a few fans to theorize what Nathaniel's possible Miraculous might end up being. The Peacock Miraculous being a popular choice, once it is retrieved from Mayra, or the Rooster Miraculous because of his red hair.

On AO3, the ship has about 22 fanfics. The ship also has a reasonable size fanbase on Tumblr, where some of its fanart has the two showing each other their music and art creations, as well as doing what they love to do together and even has Nath drawing Luka (as either his civilian or superhero self); since he has a habit of drawing the people in his life. That he is every close with and makes sure to references them in his art in any way.

Fandom
FAN FICTION
 * Luka/Nathaniel tag on FanFiction.Net
 * Luka/Nathaniel tag on FanFiction.Net

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