#I don’t hate Adrien. I don’t hate any of these literal high school children

[dicedot]

I haven’t interacted with the MLB fandom in years. I never watched past the third season. This being said, it was technically the fandom that got me into fandoms, so I have an attachment to it. And you know what? I need fics where Marinette is having fun being challenged. Like, all of Lila’s canon bs is just so easy to unravel with a few phone calls. I need a fic of these two girls playing 5d chess with extra ethos while every single other character is at least mostly lost. Because yk what? I grew up with this baby and I need her to grow up with me. I would like blood and mind games please. If Marinette is interested romantically in anyone it better not be Adrien because he needs to sort his shit out. Anyway this got away from me and it’s a silly thing, but my point remains. I need Marinette to fuck shit up IMMEDIATELY. And you know she’s gonna be good at it. I’m not asking for a Mary Sue type Marinette (even though she already fits that character type but that’s a different conversation), I’m asking for a Marinette that lives up to what she could be. Yeah.

[immaturityofthomasastruc]

Lila Rossi: I’d Say She’s a Good Villain, but Then I’d Be Lying (300 Follower Special)

Deception and cunning are easily two of the most important traits an antagonist could have. It shows that even if they don't have the strength to overcome obstacles, their wit is more than enough. This kind of trait is why characters like Lex Luthor, David Xanatos, and Princess Azula are so beloved, simply because of how intelligent they can be as villains and pose a real threat to the heroes.

It's clear that the Miraculous Ladybug writers want Lila to be seen as this, but the writing seriously fails to back that claim up.

Easily one of the most controversial characters in Miraculous Ladybug is Lila, mainly for the writing surrounding her. But there was a time where she was actually more of an ambiguous character, mainly for the lack of screentime she had until Season 3. But unfortunately, the more appearances she's had have painted a very poor portrait of an antagonist.

Lila's Tragic and Sympathetic Motivation for Hating Ladybug

Lila's first appearance was at the tail end of Season 1, “Volpina”. She was a new transfer student from Italy, and quickly made friends with a lot of her classmates for the lies she told, including being friends with Ladybug (which Alya blindly believed without doing any research like any excellent journalist). But because of how close she was getting to Adrien, Marinette, in a rare act of selfishness, transforms into Ladybug just to chew out Lila for lying about knowing her, humiliating her in front of Adrien. And this is the only motivation we get for what Lila does afterwards.

I'm not saying that it's wrong for Lila to get upset at Ladybug for doing this, and I like the moment of weakness Marinette has, but this is literally the only explanation we get for Lila deciding to side with Hawkmoth, a literal terrorist. As much as I hated the way the arc turned out, I could still understand Chloe siding with Hawkmoth, as it was clear that Hawkmoth was manipulating her and taking advantage of her ego. Lila? Ladybug's mean to her one time, and that inspires her to conspire with a complete stranger who brainwashes people to attack the city, which endangers innocent people and causes God knows how much in collateral damage if not for Miraculous Ladybug fixing everything.

I just don't get how a single negative interaction with someone is enough to conspire with a literal supervillain. Even in Season 3, when Marinette and Lila truly became enemies, it was because she risked exposing all the lies she told, which could damage her reputation. Sure, it's petty, but it makes sense for Lila to want to keep up the illusion. If she was simply an antagonist to Marinette in her civilian life like Chloe was before “Miracle Queen” , I'd be fine with that, but the writers clearly want her to be seen as on the same level of evil as Hawkmoth. I'll get into why that doesn't work later on.

Why Lila is an Excellent Liar

In my Master Fu analysis, I had pointed out that despite all the flaws he had, the narrative insisted on portraying him as an incredibly wise mentor. The same problem applies for Lila as well. We're supposed to see Lila as an expert manipulator and liar, but her lies are insultingly obvious. She always claims to be friends with celebrities and does all these awesome things, and in an age where we can have almost any question answered thanks to the internet, nobody ever stops to question her.

It's even more frustrating when you hear Lila talk about saving Jagged Stone's cat, when Jagged Stone is established to be very fond of Marinette (evidentially more than his own daughter), and nobody ever points that out. I think if Lila's lies were more stories about her travels around the world than outright lies about real people, it could have worked. It'd still be hard to believe, but it's something.

But this is a problem with writing shows aimed at children. As much as we hate writers who need to spell out things to kids, sometimes, they just don't understand some of the media they consume. Seriously, I never got this joke in SpongeBob as a kid, and I can't believe Nickelodeon actually approved this.

So the dilemma when writing a show with children in mind is finding that sweet spot between assuming your audience can figure it out, but not being too vague in your details. It's even harder when you need to find a way to convey the fact that someone is lying without being too obvious. Unfortunately, the show clearly fails to do that

Okay, this is going to sound like an incredibly weird thing to cite, and I only know about it because I used to know someone who was a huge fan of the franchise, but the movie Monster High: Friday Night Frights does a better job of subtly explaining to the audience that a character is lying. Please, just hear me out.

The movie follows the main characters competing in their high school's roller derby for the season after everyone on the usual team gets injured, and the championship match is against another school whose team tends to cheat to win matches. How they manage to do this without getting caught is anyone's guess. While the main characters are practicing, their coach, Clawd, notices a spy for the enemy team taking video of them to study their moves. In response, he calls over one of the athletes, Operetta, to chew her out for her showboating attitude. In reality, he's alerting her to the spy. Only using facial expressions, he clues her, and by extension, the audience, in on the fact that they know what the opposing team is trying to do.

This soon leads to Operetta pretending to tell the enemy team about their secret plan for the championship match, which was really an attempt to outsmart them to gain the advantage in the final stretch. The brilliance of this is how the audience is informed of this with no dialogue, and there's no scene afterwards spelling it out for those who don't get it. It manages to convey deception without being too obvious that Clawd and Operetta are being deceitful.

I think if there were more subtle hints to show the audience Lila was lying, she would be seen in a better light. As it is, Lila's lies are just pathetic, and it's ridiculous that everyone believes her. Which leads me to...

Lila, the Master Manipulator

I once read a Star Trek: Voyager fanfic that poked fun at the series by claiming that the reason a lot of the dumber episodes like “Threshold” and “Twisted” happened was because one of the crew members was an alien who unintentionally produced mood altering pheromones, with Captain Janeway actually realizing they were all high because of said pheromones, while two of the unaffected crew members were wondering what the hell they were doing before they found out the cause. Why do I bring this up? Sometimes, it feels like Lila is an unintentional parallel to the alien in that story.

Like so many characters, it's clear the show desperately wants the audience to view Lila in a certain way, but her actions do very little to actually back up that claim. When she's not using lies to tell stories about so many famous people she knows like her uncle who works for Nintendo, Lila is using strategies to manipulate everyone that are so obviously deceptive, the Thermians could pick up on them. Everyone and their mother knows how ridiculous a lot of what Lila does in episodes like “Chameleon” and “Ladybug” are, and I've talked about them before, so I'll try to be quick.

First off, as someone who had access to accommodations through high school and has had assistance in college so far, there is no way in hell that Ms. Bustier should take Lila's tinnitus at face value in “Chameleon”. If a student has a disability that could interfere with the education process, physical or developmental, not only does the school have to evaluate their performance, and determine if they're eligible for an Individualized Education Program, or IEP, but her teachers would have to be notified in the first place. As her primary educator, Ms. Bustier would be part of the team to oversee Lila's IEP and determine what accommodations she needs to help her learn better with her tinnitus and arthritis. But because the writers don't know what Google is, they just ignore it,  assume that Lila can just say she has a disability, and have everyone believe it. Even when Eric Cartman pretended to be disabled to compete in the Special Olympics, he put in more effort to look the part, even if he looked like a caricature.

Then there's the fact that that in “Chameleon”, everyone just believes Lila when she says Marinette stole her grandmother's necklace when not only is said necklace from the Agreste line of jewelry, but Alya, who is Rena Rouge, can't pick up on the fact that it's a fake. All she does to justify these lies is come up with a sob story about how nobody believes her, yet nobody ever tries to defend Marinette except Alya one time, and it was after she got expelled.

Or what about in “Oni-Chan”, where Lila thinks having Kagami kill Ladybug while claiming she'll back away from Adrien is a good idea? Let's say Oni-Chan does kill Ladybug or at least take away her Miraculous, what then? We know Lila wouldn't go through with this promise, and as soon as Kagami sees her harassing Adrien, she'll be ripe for akumatization again. Overall, not a great plan.

And yet somehow, this last example is what made her worthy enough to become one of Hawkmoth's most trusted agents. I'm just going to say it: Lila is not a good fit for the power of illusion. Whenever she's Volpina or Chameleon, she always goes out of her way to make a big show instead of being subtle with her deceptions. “Chameleon” is the worst offender, as even though Lila gets the power to shapeshift into someone else, instead of being discreet and cornering people into kissing them and gaining their appearance, she just runs around to get Ladybug's attention instead of being subtle. Even Felix had the bright idea to pretend to be Adrien to catch Ladybug off guard. How do you lose to something that happened in “Felix”?

Despite all of these screw-ups, we're still supposed to see her as this master of deception worthy of allying with Hawkmoth in both his supervillain and civilian form, when really, she's a terrible liar on the schoolyard and on the battlefield.

Why Lila is an Important Character

In the grand scheme of things, Lila just isn't as important of a character that the show loves to parade her around as. She's nothing more than a plot device used to raise the stakes in an episode, given how much reality seems to bend over just to accommodate for her lies. Even when the show alludes to her being part of bigger things, like her deal with Adrien, or her rivalry with Marinette, they don't even go anywhere.

She just feels pointless when you remember Astruc's brilliant idea to force Chloe into being the final Akuma for the season while Lila isn't even mentioned once. She only really makes appearances whenever the writers feel like it, which is why it’s hard to take her seriously. Why should I take this character seriously as a threat if the writers refuse to take her seriously as a threat? Why build Lila up as a big threat and not give her a major role in the finale? Why even include her in the show in the first place when you could show Chloe being more manipulative to fill in the plots Lila plays a big part in?

As of the time I am writing this analysis, four episodes of Season 4 have aired, three of them have been about lies or deception, and Lila hasn't been mentioned at all. It honestly seems like she won't appear unless the writers need a easy way to drive up the conflict, so they can justify it by saying that Lila's “superpower” of lying is more powerful than the common sense of everyone else.

I'm sorry this post was shorter than the last one, but compared to Master Fu, there's not that much to say about Lila that I haven't already said. Even the show barely gives her any attention, so it's hard for me to really find a lot to talk about.

[justcourttee]

If you take request how about Class, Bustier, Lila, Adrien salt! Lila had a cousin back in Italy who is a master in manipulations but contrary to Lila with her lies, he use his manipulation skills to help others and he REALLY despite Lila. Back when Marinette was in high school junior she got a pen pal from Italy and this pen pal is Lila's cousin, through their letters the two become friends and even stay in contact for years and Lila's cousin got a crush for Marinette. (part 1)

One day Lila's cousin goes to Paris to finally meet Marinette who is very happy to finally meet her pen pal. Later he learn that Lila is in the same class than her(he know that Lila goes to a school in France but didn't know it was the same school than Mari's)and is worried since he know Lila's antics. And when he learn about the bullying Mari is victim at school because of Lila's lies and he is like "OH HECK NO!". (Part 2)

He use his manipulation skills to protect Marinette and to take down Lila. Not even Adrien or Bustier's BS can stop him. Him and Mari become closer day by day and become a couple. After Lila is exposed for everything, even for being Hawkmoth's minion, and is arrested, the class try to confront Lila's cousin and to talk to Mari but Lila's cousin shut them down and give them a good big "the reason why you suck speech". BONUS: Lila's cousin join the miraculous team. (Part 3)

(I couldn’t figure out how to combine the three asks so I copy and paste them)

Ooo, I love a good salt fic. I hope this is kind of what you had in mind :) @sayuricorner

The PenPal

Marinette knew two things when the day started.

1, She was beyond ecstatic to finally meet her PenPal, Mateo, face to face 2, She was beyond worried that somehow, someway Lila Rossi would mess it up

Mateo had been assigned as her PenPal from Italy as a part of their foreign language class to help improve her Italian and his french. They only had to write back and forth until the semester ended, but as it came and went, she found herself intrigued by the Italian boy. Today was their three-year friendaversary and to mark the special occasion, Mateo was coming to Paris.

Marinette bounced on the balls of her feet outside her parent's bakery, her eyes darting up and down the street, trying to find anyone that could be heading in her direction. Pulling out her phone, she checked the time.

3:00p.m.

His plane landed at 2:15p.m. He said he was leaving the airport at 2:50p.m. The airport was approximately ten minutes from her parent's bakery. Any minute now he should be here.

“Marinette!” Sabine poked her head out of the bakery, her eyes landing on her daughter, a knowing smile plastered across her face.

“Marinette, I know your boyfriend will be here any minute, but you still need to get ready for your school dance tonight. It starts at 6 and you still haven’t decided if you want me to do your hair or not.”

“Maman,” she couldn’t help the whine that entered her voice. Her parents were literally the worst when it came to boys. “He’s not my boyfriend, he’s-”

“Just a friend. Yes, I’m well aware of the drill. Well, I’m just letting you know, if he’s not here in the next ten minutes, maybe you should come inside and let me get started.”

Marinette nodded before returning to her search of the streets.

“Did you lose someone signora?”

“Oh no, monsieur. I’m just looking for my Italian friend. He’s supposed to be coming in today, hey wait a moment-”

Her eyes widened slightly as she whipped her head around to come face to face with him.

“Mateo?”

“Pleased to finally meet you Marinette.”

Marinette’s face broke into a grin as she flung her arms around his neck. Pulling back, she brushed a few stray hairs out of her face, completely oblivious to the shade of red the boy’s face had turned.

“I can’t believe you’re actually here! Did you remember to pack a suit? I mean I had your dimensions and made you one just in case but I just can’t believe you’re here. How was your flight? How’d you get here? Taxi? Uber?”

Marinette bit her lip trying to stop the word vomit that was falling out of her mouth.

“I’m sorry. I’m just so excited to finally meet you.”

“It’s fine, really. I’m overwhelmed as well. I mean I knew you were beautiful, but seeing you in person?” Mateo reached down to pick up her hand, bringing it to his lips softly.

“Marinette? Oh! Well, hello.”

Mateo dropped her hand quickly, both of their faces flushed red. Sabine leaned against the doorframe, that same knowing look from before creeping onto her face much to Marinette’s distress.

“Maman, this is Mateo. Mateo this is my Maman.” Her voice was strained as she tried to beg Sabine not to embarrass her.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you signora.” Mateo smoothly lifted Sabine’s hand to his lips, placing a gentle kiss on her knuckles.

“Oh, Italian! Well, young man, the pleasure is all mine. Now let’s get you kids inside, we have so much to do in such little time.”

Without thinking twice, Marinette grabbed Mateo’s hand, dragging the blushing boy behind her. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

“Don’t forget to call me when it’s over! I don’t want you kids walking home in the dark!”

Marinette waved as she pulled away, her eyes rolling at her mother’s invasive tactics.

“She does know we’re 17 right?”

Marinette shook her head before threading her arm through his.

“Don’t mind her, she can be overbearing and invasive, but it’s all with love. Especially with Papa away at the moment visiting his mother.”

“Oh I don’t mind, it’s best to get on your future in law's good side now. It’ll make things so much smoother in the future.”

He sent a wink in her direction earning him an elbow in the side and the most precious laughter he had ever heard.

“You’re such a flirt! C’mon, let’s get inside before you-know-who shows up.”

Mateo did in fact know who. Some girl that moved here while Marinette was 14 and had been making her life a living hell since. He couldn’t imagine what kind of person could hate a  kind-hearted person like his friend, but he was determined to put an end to it tonight.

As soon as they entered the courtyard, Marinette was swept away by two intense-looking girls, both cutting him a glare in the process. Mateo soon found himself by the punch table, taking in the sights of the dance. He was just about to step away to look for Marinette when a loud crash caught his attention.

“How DARE you ruin Lila’s dress?”

Lila? No, God, it couldn’t be.

As Mateo stepped forward, his eyes landed on a small girl with dark hair and glasses, an empty cup in her hand, and much to his horror, his cousin Lila Rossi standing behind her, crocodile tears pouring down her face.

“Marinette would never! She doesn’t even know where Lila got that utterly ridiculous dress from.”

The intimidating blonde from before stood in between the girl with the glasses and his poor friend, now soaked from the punch poured on her head.

Just as Mateo took a step forward to intervene, a blonde boy and an older woman stepped in between the girls, pulling them apart before anything further ensured.

“Marinette, you have to be the bigger person here. I can’t have you starting fights with your classmates. You know Lila has a lying disease, you can’t get angry with what she might spread.”

The teacher placed a fake supportive arm over Marinette’s shoulder, handing her napkins to help soak up some of the punch.

“Yeah, Marinette. We know how she is, we just have to take the higher road.”

“Yeah, I’m sorry girl. I just get so angry sometimes cause I can never tell when you’re just acting out of jealousy or if it’s her disease flaring up.”

Mateo felt his anger rising as he watched the scene unfold in front of him. Lila had no disease, she was just a good liar. He watched as the two girls escorted Marinette toward what he assumed were the bathrooms, leaving Lila to fake cry in the arms of the blonde boy.

It was one thing to take down her bully while he was here for the week, but Lila Rossi was a different story. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Mateo sat up near the DJ, eyeing his first target. A small blonde girl and her goth friend. They looked easy enough to sway, not quite swarming Lila like the rest of the class, but not exactly rushing to Marinette’s defense either. Placing his phone against his ear, he walked toward them, a smirk plastered across his face.

“-I’m sorry Prince Ali. I know Lila promised to help you with your rounds at the Children’s Hospital tonight but she’s just too busy at this school dance. I understand your disappointment, I too am disappointed. Well, what can I say except that call me next time. I’ll be there friend.”

He slipped his phone into his back pocket letting out a long sigh. He turned to face the blonde, her interest piqued as her eyebrows furrowed.

“Were you just on the phone with Prince Ali? Talking about Lila Rossi? How do you know them?” “Me?” Mateo dramatically looked behind him before leaning into where the blonde stood, her hand intertwined with the girl beside her. “Can I trust you with a secret?”

She nodded carefully, her eyes darting left and right as if someone was watching her.

Mateo slipped his phone out again pretending to search for a particular picture before turning it in Rose’s direction. On the screen stood an edited picture of him with his arm thrown around Prince Ali’s shoulders in front of a hospital, both wearing grand smiles. He swiped to the right showing a less ecstatic picture of him and Lila posing together as children.

“I’m Lila’s cousin, Mateo Rossi. Prince Ali is my best friend and has been for the past three years. I introduced him to Lila last year and she made a whole bunch of empty promises to him, you know, with her disease and all. It’s really tearing him up because he knows with her star power, she could really help the poor children, but alas, she never shows.”

The blonde seemed to doubt him for a moment, but as she scrolled through a couple more carefully edited pictures, her face dropped into one of sadness and anger.

“I can’t believe Lila lied to me about helping Prince Ali! She only met him two years ago?”

Mateo nodded sadly as if he couldn’t believe it either.

“Didn’t Lila say she knew him when she first got here? That was like three years ago.” The goth girl had spoken for the first time. It was quiet and difficult to make out, but the blonde understood and it only seemed to fuel her rage.

“I can’t believe I fell for it!”

“Hey, it’s okay. We’ve all been there before, sometimes you just have to take the higher road.”

Mateo smirked as he walked away, leaving the words Marinette’s classmates told her all these years to sink in with the girls as he looked for his next target. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The rest of the night continued on in the same manner. Mateo would listen in on group conversations, figure out what Lila had promised them, and moments later crush their dreams with a few carefully placed lies.

Pretty soon, all that was left was the girl with the glasses, the blonde boy, and Lila herself. Straightening his collar, Mateo shoved his hands in his pockets walking as calmly as he could to the group, his ever-present smirk widening at the sight of Lila’s panicked eyes.

As loudly as he could, Mateo shouted “Cousin!”, gaining the attention of everyone on the dance floor.

Lila seemed to pale quickly as she completed the embrace, her lips close to his ears as her panicked voice trembled.

“What are you doing Mateo?”

“Watch and learn.”

He pulled back, offering his hand to the girl with glasses who hesitantly reached out to shake it.

“Mateo Rossi, how are you doing tonight?”

“I’m fine.” The girl pulled back, her hesitancy and curiosity mixing.

“And you sir?” He reached his hand toward the blonde boy who gladly accepted it.

“Pretty great! I’m Adrien and this is Alya!”

Adrien and Alya. He should’ve guessed from Marinette’s letters that these two were the ones constantly egging on Lila, letting her get away with bullying his friend. His smirk faltered for a moment, but not a second later it was back in a more sinister way.

“Now Lila, I’ve heard you’ve been promising some people things you can’t deliver.”

“That’s- That’s not true. I always deliver.”

A murmur of doubt waved through the crowd behind him, building his confidence in his plan.

“Lila, please. I know your disease is worsening, but you’re really hurting some people here! You’ve got to stop.”

He placed his hand on her shoulder, a fake sincerity monopolizing his face. Her panicked eyes darted between him and the growing crowd behind him. She seemed like a caged animal, ready to pounce when there was an opening with no idea if it would help or hurt it.

“Mateo,” Adrien frowned as he placed a hand on his shoulder, trying to gently pull his arm from Lila’s. “You shouldn’t tear people down for their errors, it won’t put them on the right path.”

Mateo simply shrugged his hand off, not bothering to even glance at the boy.

“Neither will indulging their lying when it’s not only hurting your friend's feelings but their futures as well. What would’ve happened when she lied about getting Nathaniel in to meet a huge Magna artist to publish his comic doesn’t come true? Well, he already turned down other amazing opportunities so oh well, guess he’s never getting published.”

Another wave of agreement and anger washed over the crowd. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the only person who mattered, still in between the overprotective girls, all three smiling brightly in his direction.

“You can’t dO THIS!”

Lila pushed him as hard as he could, causing him to stumble backward. She was honestly making it too easy to play the concerned cousin card, it was making it hard for him not to burst out laughing.

“Lila, please. Your reign has to come to an end. I mean, you threatened your little designer friend that if she outed your lies, you would destroy her life!”

Alya’s mouth gaped as her eyes turned in horror to stare at Lila.

“You did what to Marinette?”

“No! You’re misunderstanding!” Lila’s panic seeped into her voice as she searched for a way out of the growing crowd.

“Mateo watch out!” Before he could turn to look, Marinette tackled him to the floor as a purple butterfly swooped over his head.

Screams echoed through the room as everyone backed up, trying to avoid the butterfly who made a straight beeline for Lila.

“About time Hawkmoth!” Lila jumped, her outstretched arm reaching for the flying butterfly. Just as her fingertips almost made contact, Adrien tackled her to the floor while the teacher from before trapped the butterfly in a small glass container.

The room was silent as everyone stared in horror at Lila.

“She just attempted to purposely be akumatized. She just called Hawkmoth by name, praising him for showing up!”

Alya zoomed in on her phone, her eyes tearing up as she ended the video, posting it straight to her blog.

“Alright kids, let’s just calm down,” the teacher tried to stop the panic from spreading but she didn’t even sound sure herself as she stared in a mixture of fear and pain at her student.

“I already called my dad, he’ll be on his way soon to arrest you, Lila!”

Cheers erupted from the room as they tried to rush forward, all apologizing in various different ways to Marinette. The two girls beside her did their best to hold them back but it was proving too much.

“Everybody back off!”

Surprisingly, everyone moved to the side, allowing a clear path for Mateo to make his way toward his friend.

“You all don’t deserve her forgiveness, not now, not ever.”

He reached back, intertwining his fingers with Marinette's as the crowd burst into anger. Alya and Adrien pushed their ways to the front, both of their eyes zeroing in on their hands.

“You don’t even know Marinette Mateo. She’s my best friend!”

Alya attempted a step forward but was stopped abruptly by what Mateo deemed as Marinette’s bodyguards.

“You haven’t been her best friend in years Alya, get over yourself. In fact, I’ve heard her gush on about this Italian kid more than I’ve heard her mention your name in the past three years.”

Marinette’s face flushed as she felt Mateo’s eyes searching her face for any denial.

“But-”

“But nothing. The Marinette I have grown to care for over the years wrote to me about you people. She tried to say you were redeemable, that you were under some fantasy spell and that one day you would wake up and come back to her, but you never did. If i hadn’t stepped in tonight, you all would have continued treating her like garbage.”

Marinette tightened her grip on his hand giving him the strength to continue.

“Marinette is kind, intelligent, courageous, and extremely talented. She has this bright personality that you just can’t help being drawn to. She did so much for you and your class, but you all overlooked it the instant something shiner came in. Alya, right? You do realize that Marinette got you your first interview with Ladybug? If she said that Lila didn’t know Ladybug, what other proof did you need?”

Alya stood there, her mouth gaping like a fish out of water.

“And you Adrien. Marinette took the fall with your father for the book you stole from him knowing that it could risk her chance in the fashion empire by pissing off Gabriel Agreste. She made sure that you could come back to school to be with all your so-called friends.”

Adrien’s face mimicked Alya’s as they tried to come up with a counter-argument, failing to do so. Mateo turned to face Marinette, his free hand rising up to cup her cheek.

“Do you want to leave this dance Marinette? You, your two bodyguards here and I could go grab some coffee if you’d like.”

Marinette nodded as if lost in a trance, seeing her penpal in a completely new light. The blonde raised two middle fingers to the class as the four of them headed toward the exit.

“Marinette wait!”

The group paused as Alya ran over, her face contorted in distress.

“Who is this guy Marinette?”

Mateo looked down, his eyes meeting hers as if silently coming to an agreement. They both broke into smiles as he brought their intertwined hands up to his lips.

“My boyfriend, Mateo Rossi.”

And without another word, the four left, basking in the victory that one night brought.

[p-artsypants]

I’ll Handle This (7)

I really just want to say thanks. I love this fandom, and I love this story…just the overwhelming excitement for this fic makes me so so happy. Everything that happens is really just me saying ‘whatever, I want to see this’. Does it make sense? Not always. Is everyone completely in character? Maybe. Am I having a blast? Absolutely! 

Thank you for all the comments and kudos! 

And sorry for the wait. Wedding planning! 

In Which Gabriel is Serenaded

(Ao3 | FF.net)

—

Day three, Adrien awoke on the pillow. He was used to it now, officially. How scary a thought! 

Plagg had laid out his outfit, thankfully so Adrien could approve, or at least warm up to the idea. 

It was one of the shirts that Marinette had Frankensteined together from the pieces they had found. Absolutely gaudy, atrocious, and a pain to look at. Stripes, polka dots, plaid, little patterns of flowers, all saturated as far top right of the Hue/Sat scale as possible. 

It would make his father cry. It would set the media into a frenzy. It was glorious, and that scared Adrien. 

It scared him that he was starting to come around. He was starting to enjoy this reckless abandon. It was cathartic to watch his world shift and change into something more chaotic, and yet somehow pleasant. Organized Chaos. 

Plagg came out of the bathroom, devoid of mohawks or any other bizarre hairstyle he could have done. His hair was just swept to the side, combed, but not gelled, into place. 

The perfect amount of wild. 

“You don’t have to wake up when I do.” Plagg stated. “I’ll just drop you in my pocket.” 

“It’s alright,” Adrien assured, yawning. “I’m used to waking up this early.”

Plagg dressed quickly, and just as he slid into his moccasins, the room glowed red, and heavy bars slammed shut over the windows. 

Both Adrien and Plagg jolted in surprise, Adrien falling into panic.

Plagg just scooped him up, and held him to his chest. “Hey kid, it’s alright. You can phase through things. You can escape if you need too.” 

This helped calm him down slightly, if ever so minutely. Plagg tucked him into his pocket, and confidently walked downstairs. 

Gabriel and Nathalie were waiting for him in the foyer. 

“What's the deal, old man?” Plagg asked, bluntly. “Akuma attack?”

“No,” replied Gabriel, his head held high. “You’re grounded. No school. No friends. Nothing.” 

Plagg scoffed. “I’m under literal house arrest?! Come on! I have a sleepover at Nino’s tonight!”

“Did you ask if you could attend this sleepover?” 

“No. You were going to say no anyways. Better to beg forgiveness then ask permission and all that.”

“Well, that really solidifies my decision to ground you then. You clearly show a clear lack of critical and mature thinking.” 

“Ah, a pompous way of calling me stupid, hmm?”

Gabriel frowned harder, a line forming at the corner of his mouth. “I am not calling you stupid. I just don’t see you making good decisions.” 

“Gabriel, before this, I wasn’t making any decisions. Everything I did was according to your will. How can you be mad at me at being bad at something I have no practice doing?” 

Gabriel’s eye twitched. “First, do not call me by my first name. Second, I have already made up my mind. If I say you’re grounded, then you’re grounded. Deal with it.” 

Oh that was not a good answer. He may have well just said, ‘because I say so.’ 

And Plagg would not stand for it. He wasn’t standing for it anyway, but he’d at least be willing to bargain with Gabriel if he was offering some excuse about safety for his well being or something.

This was just a power trip.

“Fine,” Plagg smiled maliciously. “Lock me in. But you’re locked in with me. And you’re going to hate it.” 

“I don’t have time to entertain you, Adrien, go to your room.” 

As a kwami who spent most days in Adrien’s bag, Plagg consumed a lot of media. A pair of headphones, an external battery, and a phone that connected to the school’s wifi, Plagg had days to binge all the things that Adrien was interested in. 

And some things that Adrien didn’t care about, like historical dramas, documentaries, and recently, musicals. Especially for time periods that he had witnessed and experienced. He wasn’t omnipotent, so seeing what the humans had thought was important during these periods was fascinating.

But I digress.

The point was that Plagg had a song stuck in his head from a musical and the perfect opportunity to use it had just presented itself.

Gabriel had deemed the conversation over and started to walk back to his office.

“Close every door to me,” Plagg sang, in Adrien’s sweet voice.

Gabriel halted, but did not turn around.

“Hide all the world from me.” Plagg took a step towards him, still singing softly. “Bar all the windows and shut out the light.”

Gabriel turned, raising an eyebrow. “If you think serenading me is going to make me change my—“ 

But Plagg cut him off, raising his voice slightly, “Do what you want with me, hate me and laugh at me.”

Gabriel just stared, and listened.

“Darken my daytime and torture my night…” Plagg came closer, singing with feeling, trying to convey, even for an instance, a flicker of the emotions that Adrien had.

“If my life were important I would ask ‘will I live or die?’ but I know the answers lie far from this world.”

This was horrifying to Gabriel, apparently, as he protested. “Of course your life is important! Why do you think I—“

“Close every door to me, keep those I love from me. Children of Israel are never alone.”

“Children of—what? We’re not even Jewish. What are you singing about?”

“For I know I shall find my own peace of mind. For I have been promised a land of my own.”

Confused, Gabriel just scoffed and started back to his office. Plagg stayed hot on his heels.

“Close every door to me, hide all the world from me.”

Even Gabriel saw the irony of slamming the office door in Adrien’s face, so he resisted, and let his son continue to serenade him into his office. 

“Bar all the windows and shut out the light.”

Gabriel stood at his workstation, determined to ignore his son’s weird emotional outburst, and opened his recent project. 

“Just give me a number instead of my name. Forget all about me and let me decay.”

Plagg fought the smile of victory when Gabriel hunched his shoulders. Was that guilt on his face? Perhaps Gabriel wasn’t as shallow as Plagg had thought and lyrics like this would get through to him. 

“I do not matter, I'm only one person. Destroy me completely, then throw me away.”

And Gabriel sat, staring with his wide gray eyes. His full attention on his son. 

“If my life were important I would ask ‘will I live or die?’ But I know the answers lie far from this world.”

Plagg pounded his fists on the workspace, crying out the words with passion, actually making Gabriel jump. 

“Close every door to me! Keep those I love from me!” He leapt up on a coffee table, putting his entire body, his very soul into this performance. “Children of Israel are never alone!”

Gabriel couldn’t move. Why couldn’t he move?

“For we know we shall find our own peace of mind! For we have been promised a land of our own!” He held out that final note, letting it hang in the air, as Gabriel continued to stare, mouth slightly open. 

Truth me told, Plagg was just intending to annoy him to freedom, but had the song choice done more? Did Gabriel finally understand? 

“Well,” Gabriel adjusted his glasses. “That was...certainly something. If I knew you could sing like that, I would have tried to find a use for it. Never mind, I’ll add it to your resume now.” 

No. It seemed that Gabriel was as stubborn and obtuse as ever. 

“Close every door to me,” Plagg began again. 

“No no no,” Gabriel spoke over him. “One performance is more than enough.” 

“Hide all the world from me.” 

“Adrien!” 

“Darken my daytime, and torture my night.” 

Gabriel groaned, and made an effort to ignore Plagg again. A real effort this time, with no eye contact and no facial expression. When that didn’t work, he moved from his workstation and went to grab Adrien. But Plagg evaded him, continuing to sing, with every grasp.

How many times did he cycle through the song? His throat hurt, as every time he reached the climax, he belted out the notes with passion. 

It would be surprising if no one outside could hear him. 

He climbed up on a table. “If my life were important I would ask will I live or die—“ 

“Enough! Shut up! Shut up shut up shut up!” Gabriel shouted. “I can’t take this anymore!” He bolted over to the security control panel, and shut off the lock down. The bars on the windows disappeared. 

“Go...please, just go.” Gabriel said desperately. 

“Cool, thanks dad!” Plagg said cheerfully, skipping out of the room. 

Gabriel collapsed onto his workstation. 

Whatever tricks Adrien had learned, whatever manipulation guru he had visited, he was good. Very very good. It would take a while to get him back under his thumb. And he might need to resort to more drastic measures. 

What was more drastic than putting the house into lockdown? He’d need a little while to contemplate that.

—

Plagg had missed several morning classes thanks to Gabriel’s stunt, but his friends heaved a relaxed sigh when he arrived.  

“Hey hey hey!” He sang, coming in the door. “What’s happening, party people?” 

“Mr. Agreste!” Miss Mendeleev barked. “You better have a good excuse for being tardy!” 

“A great excuse! My dad shut the house down to ground me, and I had to annoy him with Broadway until he opened up. He was a lot more patient than I expected.” 

“Are you serious?” Miss Mendeleev asked. 

“Madam, do you really think that my father, fashion mogul, would allow me to leave the house like this?” He gestured to his mismatched outfit.

“Point taken. You may take your seat.” 

Plagg shot a thumbs up to his friends. 

—

After school, the group of four piled into Nino’s family car and headed over to his house. 

“I’m so excited! My first sleepover!” The excitement was genuine, as this truly was Plagg’s first sleepover. Of course, his whole life had consisted in sleeping in different places that weren’t his home (the Miracle Box) but the concept of going to a friends house to eat food and gossip all night long was novel and exciting. 

“What curfew do you girls have?” Mrs. Lahiffe asked. 

“I have until 11,” beamed Alya. 

“I have to leave at 9,” Marinette pouted. “I have to help my parents in the bakery tomorrow.” 

It was also Ladybug’s solo patrol tonight, Plagg noted to himself. Kind of a saving grace, since Chat certainly wasn’t going to be on it. 

“I’ll be sure to count you both for dinner then!” Mrs. Lahiffe chirped. 

Adrien had been to Nino’s house a handful of times, all under the pretense of working on homework of course. And it wasn’t a house either, it was an apartment, like most residences in Paris. It was warm, not always clean, and the smell of their cat’s litter was just a hint in the air. 

Major Tom was a right good cat. An old gray tabby, who was far too wise for his own good. Plagg had met this family member in person, since the cat was still pretty curious in his age. 

As soon as the group of friends entered the apartment, Major Tom stretched and trotted toward them, toward Plagg, and rubbed against his leg. 

“Hi Tommy,” Plagg smiled, an inside joke passing between them. 

“I swear,” said Nino with defeat. “Major Tom likes you more than anyone else in this house...and you’ve barely met him.” 

Plagg just shrugged. “What can I say? I’m a pussy magnet.” 

“DUDE! My mom is right there!” 

Mrs. Lahiffe was not amused, but the furious giggling from behind him made it all worth it, he supposed.

“Sorry mom, Adrien’s going through a rebellious streak. He doesn’t usually make jokes like that.” 

“Yeah, sorry, Uh...I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity.” 

Mrs. Lahiffe shook her head. “I noticed your outfit was rather...daring. Is that from your father’s new collection?” 

“Nope! This is a Marinette original!” 

Marinette smacked him in the arm. “I told you not to associate me with that abomination!” She turned to Mrs. Lahiffe and quickly clarified, “He designed it and I carried out the deed.” 

“Oh you kids are so funny!” She laughed. “Well, you didn’t come over to entertain me! Go have fun, I’ll get pizza around 6?” 

“Thanks mom!” 

“Thanks Mrs. Lahiffe!” 

On the way to Nino’s room, he asked. “What movie do you guys want to watch tonight?”

Plagg grinned, “Have you ever seen Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat?” 

—

Chapter is kind of short, but I have delayed it long enough, and sleepover shenanigans need their own chapter.

The song Plagg sang was ‘Close Every Door’ from Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat.

[thr-333]

Could you possibly do one where Mari/Mari and marine is/are the daughter/son of the joker?

I actually planned quite a lot for this after you asked but could never get my thoughts to make something comprehensive so I give up here's what I got!:

-Twins are Joker and Harleys kids born before the two split up(and so help me they will split up this story needs gay aunt Ivy)

-As you might know, these two clowns have another kid; Lucy. Harley left Lucy with her sister when she was born. In canon, she thinks Harley is her aunt but I would say in this fic she learned the truth when the twins were also dropped off.

-So the twins grew up in Gotham with their aunt and big sister knowing full well who their parents are; as such they make the responsible choice to suppress every part of themselves that resembles them and constantly dye their hair in an effort to avoid looking like them. You know healthy coping mechanisms. -

-Naturally, Marinette has brown hair with blue eyes and Marion blonde with brown eyes.

-Their personalities are a bit different from Mismatch. 

-Marion is still a trickster and a trouble maker but this time around has Marinette fully involved and responsible for his shenanigans. He has a bit of a habit of talking to himself(or singing random phrases), sometimes in the third person; he hates when he does, so Marinette always tells him off. He’s always gets the impulse of dying his hair outlandish colors and will vehemently deny his favorite color is green.

- Marinette is crafty, both figuratively and literally. She’s smart, her mother is a doctor after all she can be manipulative to people that arent her(close) family to protect the ones she cares about. She has a deep-seated fear of becoming a trophy, an object to be put on display like her mother and so dresses the opposite and pushes away her love for fashion.

-They will always call each other Mari but if someone else tries they both answer its a nickname they strictly use for each other.

-In a world where Gotham exists it makes absolutely no sense that Gabriel wouldn't start his reign as Hawkmoth in Gotham(the place with the most negative emotions like geez) so that works out perfectly for the twins becoming heroes(Adrien can move to Gotham or be left in Paris to be kept safe your choice)

-Instead of the twins proving themselves by helping an old man up off the street they go a step further is beating up the thugs that try to rob him(all Fu’s set up of course). When they come home to find two mysterious boxes on their beds they make the only rational conclusion children of the joker would; it’s a bomb!

-Not wanting to get the police involved for obvious reasons they find the security footage(which gets the police involved in a different way) and start tracking down fu to see why he’s trying to kill him.

-And as you may recall at this point in canon Ladybug and Chat Noir are defeating an Akuma, well they're not here they’re off to beat up an old man so thats Batman’s job for the time being.

-The twins get caught up in the fight as civilians and are saved by Batman who immediately recognizes them(you don't think Batman has case files on all of Jokers hellspawn?) so that’s gonna be a problem later but never mind that for now~

-The twins track down Fu, who is wondering why they aren’t out fighting the Akuma. Long story short Fu comes back to the house with them and proves they aren't bombs giving them the miraculous.

-I’m a bit indecisive on the names. I thought Marinette would be Red Bug and Marion Black Cat(yes I know that names already taken I don’t care). But I thought Crimson Bug would work better because then their names would start with the same letters. Then I wanted alliteration like Black Bug and Crimson Cat but that obviously doesn't make any sense since Chats color is green not red-- then I realized it would be completely in character for them to call themselves that confusing everyone in the process so no one quite sure whos name is who(if you wanna write it go with whatever I just thought it could be funny)

-As for costumes Marinette's probably wouldn't be skin tight because deep down she really doesn't want to look like that but more practical armor or less form-fitting at least. Marion's hair turns green when he transforms something he freaks out about and Marinette's turns red(glowing or not either would look cool)

-So anyway they go off to defeat the akuma blah blah blah Batman seeing these two young untrained superheroes can only think of one thing: I have to adopt them. So that’s gonna be fun!

-Anyway they go back home trying to be sneaky and immediately get caught by Lucy: ”Don’t tell Aunty!”-- ”Oh I already know” (her names Delia by the way)

- So now the twins get a support system and a family that will look out for them unbelievable right? This support system immediately threatens Fu making sure he actually trains them and doesn't just set them loose on Gotham.

Anyway that's the end of my semi-cohesive plan and here's a vague outline for the fic:

1. Becoming ladybug and chat noir setting up adoption, and school(Bruce invites them to Gotham academy to keep an eye on the jokers children)

2. First day at school setting up Artemis(and by extension young justice), and own passions, Adrien is also at this school now so Marinette falls, Jason finds out falling in love with Marion

3. Becoming friends with Artemis, convinces them to give their passions a try, Marion runs from hood, some let me adopt you stuff also Jason's spite for Cat Noir

4. Skip a bit of time a few months or so, young justice need help Artemis suggest mari and mari, Marinette has a smackdown with batman about their heritage, at odds with young justice Artemis comes to their defense. Young Justice have an ‘oh’ realization on the job when Marion sings a lullaby to a scared child, now the young justice form the mari and mari protection squad

5. Doing ladybug and cat stuff batman approaches them again this time luring them into adoption with a partnership on finding hawkmoth, Red Hood and cat fight. Marion comes back all huffy and there's a scene with Lucy this time comforting them, Marion goes out to get air runs into hood marion bristles stirring Jason to meet him as a civilian, class come to visit, at odds with lila

6. Doing well at school even made a few friends when the Paris class come to visit completely under lila’s control, lila tries to slander the twins for not worshiping her only to out herself when she tells everyone they laughed at her(the twins never laugh), Jason also drops by further discrediting her, lila tries to throw their heritage in their face but they get support openly working with heroes as civilians, this little section ends quite happily with them being sort of accepted at school and batman tolerating their existence for not attacking the person who tried to make their life miserable

7. Time skip few years out of high school now, ladybug and cat are working well with gothams vigilantes widely considered part of the batfam even if no one knows each other's identities. As mari and mari they are doing good work mainly outside of gotham. Marinette is starting a fashion boutique with a little financial help from Wayne enterprises she also does costume design for heroes and villains, villains mainly because she can't stand their current outfits. Marion quite likes his music but isn't sure how he will feel in the public eye is great friends with Jason and the skip picks up with them officially starting to go out identities unknown. They are still hesitant about their identities in civilian life Marinette starting her business under a false name and Marion cant start his because of his heritage. Jason officially has to admit they are going out to the family is met with grilling by aunt and sister, joy by harley once she tries giving them sex advice they leave, his brothers tease and both are tense about Bruces reaction but he begrudgingly accepts. Are out as ladybug and Cat still snippy with hood but it’s not as bad they are closing in on hawkmoth. Go to hang out with young justice as well they aren't well-liked in Gotham but they’re fine with that(not really)

8. NOW things can go to shit joker finally has enough of them deciding to get a hold of them but I think it should be as ladybug and chat revealing their identities to the world. The twins are terrified rightfully so. Get saved now it’s weird between hood and marion, marion feeling betrayed Jason knew who he was and knew who his father was but still decided to date him and he just can't understand why. Adrien was so scared for Marinette and now they both have to work out why. Gotham is at odds the heroes they admire are born from a villain they fear. Bats are a bit weird feeling like they were tricked while also kind of acknowledging the twins are good people

9. Harassed in their everyday life now the twins go to young justice where they get met with awe for being established independent heros, bats there are acting weird but the twins say something to shift perspective leaving to let them mull on it. Jason tries to apologise saying he doesn't see Marion like that blah blah Marion has a breakdown asking how he can be anything but a villain. Marinette's having whiplash going from loved to hated and still dealing with the trauma of seeing her father. They snap. In public a big ol scene and they get akumatised everyone sees it, it’s on tv. Hawkmoth comes out to get their miraculous the batfam can’t beat him. He’s monolouging probing at their deepest fears when they snap back to reality realizing none of it’s true every part of them has worked to be good people and they are they don't hand over their miraculous beating the akumatizaton and beating hawkmoth while akumatised.

10. They are released from the hospital a few days later, getting hesitant recognition on the streets. It's not thunderous applause but it is something. Their family comes to pick them up, Adrien is crying to Marinette about not scaring him like that(her family took him in when Gabriel was revealed). Marion gets picked up by Jason they patch things over. They get accepted into the batfam and work as ladybug and cat for everything. Marion decides to start playing music and Marinette reveals her face to her fashion brand.

[necer0s]

So I’m catching up on Miraculous Ladybug at long last (I finished season one when it was out and never got around to watching later episodes when they came out) and I thought I’d just put all my reactions in one post so as not to go overboard.  

So first off, I really like that they opened the season with the Gabriel=Hawkmoth reveal?  Obviously it wasn’t much of a reveal at that point, but it’s good that they didn’t waste any time.  And they immediately set us up for future speculation by revealing that Nathalie knows about Hawkmoth at the same time-- also good!  Plus, I like how GabeMoth deceived our heroes about his identity.  The conclusion they reached about “he was akumatized so he can’t be Hawkmoth” seems a little shaky to me (how do they know that’s not just another application of his power-granting powers?) but the deception was well-crafted and well-acted, and I can absolutely see how it would fool two children who desperately want to believe the best of him.  

Despair Bear:  I like seeing Chloe’s softer side (one-dimensional bullies bore me) but I love seeing Hawkmoth literally go “ah yes, people in close proximity to Chloe Bourgeois, the perfect opportunity to akumatize someone.”  

Riposte:  God, Ladrien is my favorite dynamic in the love square.  They’re both with the person they like… but they don’t want to act like they’re interested in that person in their current form… how terrible!  

I also like the “akuma alert” that shows up in this episode.  Paris has gotten really used to this, huh?  (I guess it’s not surprising, since there’s literally never any lasting damage.)  

I have to say, I really prefer these episodes that spend most of their time on fighting the villain rather than on the high school drama.  

Also… there are people who ship Ladybug/Kagami, right?  Because Kagami staring at Ladybug when she tells her everything is alright is just… *chef kiss* perfection.  That’s the kind of wonder-filled stare that crushes are built around.  (Of course, as a big fan of poly resolutions to love triangles, I’m hoping that Luka will have a similar moment with Adrien so I can build a proper shipping tesseract.)

Befana:  I haven’t actually started watching the episode yet as I write this, but seeing the blurb say that Marinette’s grandma gets akumatized is giving me Thoughts about Paris’s culture and society in the wake of the whole akumatization thing.  Like, insulting someone or being overly cruel to them is just actively dumb, obviously-- you might not suffer permanent harm, but the next couple hours probably won’t be pleasant for you if Hawkmoth is paying attention.  In a non-kid’s-show universe, anyone with common sense would be unusually concerned about hurting people’s feelings at all times.  There’s a lot of “utopia-looking dystopia” potential in something like that....  (Of course, as I watch the episode and it transpires that Grandma is deeply out of touch with current Paris, this seems oddly prophetic.  Kagami was from out of town as well… hmmm….)

  Also: Marinette’s parents fistbumping is Super Cute and I love it.  

Random thought while watching:  Do you think one of the reasons people always run away from Akumas is to give Ladybug and Cat Noir plausible deniability?  

Another aside:  It’s always kind of weird when the dub is Really Obvious about having changed something.  They really think we can’t recognize that the “fairies” here are supposed to be angels?  

My new favorite part of this episode:  Befana making Hawkmoth say “please”.  God, I love her.

Tangent:  I wish they would do more with the purified butterflies.  If they can’t follow them back to Hawkmoth, is it at least possible that they could destroy them?  Hawkmoth seems to have a limited number of them.  Maybe normal damage wouldn’t do anything, but if Cataclysm happens to have not been used yet in the fight, surely that would be enough to destroy the butterfly?  If that became a thing, it would add two interesting new elements to every fight:  a slow countdown to Hawkmoth eventually becoming powerless, and a struggle for Cat Noir to not have to use his power.  

Robostus:  ...The technology level in this is kind of weird.  Not super weird, given how recently this was made, but at least a little weird.  

I really like this akuma?  He’s asking questions of Hawkmoth, unlike most people.  And his tech-control may be the most powerful akuma we’ve ever seen. 

And he’s the first akuma to betray Hawkmoth!  Damn, I love this little guy.  I wonder if this is why Hawkmoth usually hands out relatively weak powers?

Glaciator:  I hate episodes where Marinette is the cause for someone’s akumatization.  I mean, it’s good to have flawed heroes and all, but it’s just so awkward to watch.  Though I do like that she immediately recognized that she was cruel and felt bad about it, instead of needing a hamfisted moral.

I know I said before that Ladrien was my favorite dynamic, but Marichat is pretty great too.  Removing the pressure of the crush from both sides gives us a great chance to see how they work as friends.

Sapotis:  Random thought:  What does Hawkmoth do with his cane when he’s using both hands to infuse a butterfly?  Does it just stand on its own?

Here’s another akuma that I really like.  Multiplying powers are perfect for overwhelming the heroes and for protecting the core object.  “When they eat” is a decent limitation to make it possible for them to eventually be defeated, too.

I like that handing out the Fox Miraculous wasn’t an easy choice.  It’s kind of a big deal!  I do think that it’s kind of a weird choice, though-- why should Marinette particularly think that illusions will be helpful in dealing with this?  (For that matter, what makes Fox Illusions important enough to be one of the five central Miraculouses?  The Butterfly makes sense-- handing powers out to other people is a huge power-- but illusions just don’t seem to measure up against stuff like the Rabbit’s time travel.  I have to think that the Fox has more powers to unlock, just like the Ladybug and the Cat.)

Huh, Alya detransformed faster than Marinette even though she had spent less time transformed and used her power later.  That seems to suggest that practice extends how long they can use their powers…  Which makes sense, given Hawkmoth’s ability relative to theirs.  That’s probably why his powers (and Fluff’s, later in the series) are so much stronger, as well… it’s just that it’s hard to judge the strength of most of the powers we’ve seen so far.

Gorizilla:  Hey, Gabriel Agreste?  Do me a favor and DIE HORRIBLY.

Captain Hardrock:  ...So, is Luka being written as autistic-coded?  It seems like he can communicate more easily through music, which (while I’m not entirely sure if that’s a real way autism can manifest) is definitely a way it gets written in some stories.  

Alya: “Some of us are still chained up here, could you stop flirting for one second?”  (I love her so much)

Okay, I’m not a musician, but can Adrien and Gabriel just… play a solo piece as a duet?  Don’t you need a song written for that purpose?

Everyone already knows that Adrien and Luka had just as much a meet-cute as Luka and Marinette did, right?  Good, good.  The Ship Tesseract is a go.

Frightningale:  Marinette is very cute when she gets excited about her idols.

Tikki explicitly and casually saying that she’s proud of Marinette is A+, very excellent.

Plagg: “That costume is what you really wanted deep down, isn’t it?”  What.  WHAT???  So… Miraculous costumes are shaped by the desires of their holders?  I love it.  I love it!  That opens such a delightful future opportunity for showcasing character growth, it’s perfect.

Adrien shows up dressed as Cat Noir:  Marinette.exe has stopped working.

...I really wish they would take this episode as a chance to explicitly say that Miraculous Magic helps protect their identities.  That really needs to be canonized if people are going to stop looking like morons.

Syren:  Wow, we’re jumping right into this akuma.  Very promising for my enjoyment of the episode!  And a delightfully interesting akuma, too-- I’m a big fan of terrain control as a power.

New transformation sequence!  New powers!  I love this whole episode.

And Adrien getting to meet Master Fu is also Very Good.  He deserves it.

Zombizou: Another excellent episode.  I love this Akuma’s power… all the cute of a romance with all the horror of zombies.  A delightfully unusual combination that could only occur in Miraculous Ladybug.

And some delightful character growth for Chloe, which I love. 

 Frozer:  Okay, Cat Noir grabbing a rose to give to Ladybug is cute and all, but… roses are expensive, you know?  It’s like he just swiped a few dollars out of this guys hand.

Kagami, who ships Marinette/Adrien as much as anyone else in the school:  Change targets, Adrien.  Adrien:  *hands her a rose*  Kagami:  Wrong target!

...Yeah, Adrien does not have a lot of good options for love advice around him.  But wow, going to Marinette is hands-down the cruelest and dumbest thing he could do.  

God, I love Marinette’s friends.  They have their own personal fandom going on here, don’t they?

Aaaww, Gorilla Bodyguard is nice.  It’s a shame that he never talks, honestly.

You know, I’m really trying to ship this poly quartet, but it just isn’t doing much for me tbh.

I do like the different forms (and the different transformation sequences) but I have to wonder what the rest of them do.  Surely they can’t all be for dealing with different kinds of environments? There just aren’t that many environments that need magical assistance to deal with.  Underwater, on ice… I can imagine flight, fire resistance, and maybe digging, but that only gets us to five out of seven potions.  It’s hard to think of two more environment adaptations that wouldn’t be covered by the first five.  There must be at least one that has a different kind of power.

Remember how I really enjoy episodes that spend a lot of time with the akuma?  That goes in reverse for episodes that spend a lot of time on stalling relationship drama.  If anyone was actually making any kind of progress, that would be one thing, but as it is…

Style Queen:  Tikki playing Marinette’s crush on Adrien against her crippling insecurity is just hilarious to me.  I don’t know why.

...I really hope this interview isn’t going out live.  Poor Chloe.  She doesn’t deserve that.

Tikki:  *encourages Marinette in every possible way when she’s anxious*  Plagg:  You feel awkward?  It’s because you look dumb.  

How the heck did all of Marinette’s classmates and family get seats in this highly prestigious fashion show?  Front-row seats, no less?  (I could understand a couple tickets for close family and friends, but this is a little excessive.)

Wow, Nathalie is really good at this “accidental” infuriation thing.  

(Side note:  I really like the touch of having Chloe so thoroughly imitate her mother as to even walk like her.  It serves a delightful dual narrative purpose of both explaining much of Chloe’s cruelty and of making Audrey’s cruelty to her daughter even more heartbreaking.)

Okay, again:  How did Nino get the gig of doing music for this highly prestigious fashion show?  Like, did Adrien cash in every favor he had with his father?  And why are all the other rows of the audience still empty?  I normally don’t notice or care about animation shortcuts, but this is all very glaring.

...God, Chloe wants to please her mother so much she’ll even help her akumatized self.  That’s just depressing.

Plaggaclysm is an absolute goddamn delight.  (And, you know, utterly terrifying.)  It makes me wonder what Tikki’s unrestrained power looks like.

Okay, as someone who’s been spoilered a lot, I always wondered how Marinette managed to lose a Miraculous so badly that it ended up in Chloe’s hands, but this is actually a really good explanation-- she thought that the magic clean-up of Miraculous Ladybug would have sent it back.  Which makes sense!  That’s the kind of put-things-back-where-they-were that we might often see from a Miraculous Ladybug.  It’s not great that she just assumed that without checking, but it’s not unreasonable either.

Troublemaker:  ...So, is this out of order or something?  Or is there a deliberate gap between the two Queen episodes?

You know, it’s hard not to wonder sometimes why Hawkmoth keeps trying all these useless-seeming akumas all the time, but Troublemaker does a pretty good job stating their case-- sometimes you just get exactly the right circumstances for victory, even with a power that wouldn’t do much good anywhere else.  Intangibility wouldn’t be impressive outdoors or even in the Agreste mansion... but in a cramped Parisian apartment, she’s one of the most successful akumas ever created.

It’s nice that they’re actually showing us some emotional aftermath of an akumatization for once.  You can just feel that shame radiating off of Penny-- that sense of “how could I do that?  What will they think of me?”  It’s a nice thing to address.

You know what I just realized I desperately want?  I want post-reveal shenanigans where Tikki hangs out with Marinette’s other female friends.  They have such a great girl group, and Tikki would be so much fun hanging out with them.

Queen Wasp:  It’s interesting that Gabriel mentions a “promise” between him and Emilie.  That certainly seems to imply more than just him wanting to resurrect her.  I’m starting to see where the “maybe Emilie was evil too” headcanons come from.

Yay, Marinette’s getting what she deserves!  Boo, Chloe doesn’t deserve to have this happen in front of her!  Very mixed feelings.

...But wow, Chloe did not choose a great way to react to that.  I can’t blame her at all, but still…

I wish they’d given more time to the Queen Wasp fight.  I mean, I get that obviously they couldn’t do much since a single strike on her part would defeat them, but such a powerful akuma deserves more attention.

Chloe saying sorry is just… That’s Growth!

Reverser:  I’m enjoying this episode, but the number of people who seem honestly confused about the fact that Marc is an akuma is baffling.  It feels like this really ought to be a Season 1 episode.

This really seems like an episode where they should be handing out other Miraculouses to get some help?  I mean, Alix said it pretty explicitly.  I can imagine a lot of ways that Rena Rouge could help out here, for instance.  

Random thought:  How come Ladybug can capture and purify the akumas anyway?  It doesn’t really seem to fit Tikki’s theme of Creation.  Is it because she’s one of the top two Miraculouses, and therefore has some amount of power over the lesser Miraculous?  That would make sense, I suppose.  And I... guess it sort of counterbalances Plagg’s ability to destroy the Miraculouses.

Anansi:  Adrien excusing his father’s behavior as being “overprotective” is physically painful to me.  

Honestly, Nora has a point.  How are the people of Paris supposed to tell the difference between akumatized people and people in costumes?  (Well, presumably it’s easier to tell the difference in a non-animated world…)

Marinette being a Chaotic Good trickster is my everything.  Almost as much as Alya being all dramatic as she walks out is.

The irony of this ordinary, non-magical fighter saying that Alya, Marinette, Adrien, and Nino are clueless about the dangers of akumas is smothering.  

Is it just me, or does Marinette look unusually worried in this transformation sequence?  I thought they just reused the same thing multiple times, but this definitely isn’t her usual cheery transformation.

I’ve been waiting a long time for Cat Noir to use Cataclysm as a way to protect his Miraculous.  It’s a fairly obvious application of the power, and it’s nice to see that finally happen.

Ladybug:  This Cat empty, YEET!

God, Nino is a terrible liar.  Which puts him in good company in this show…

Malediktator:  Obviously we can’t have Chloe maintaining her positive character development.  Clearly, we need to backtrack that immediately!  /sigh…  I suppose it makes some sense in that she’s spending more time with her mother and learning from her.

I feel bad for the Mayor.  Audrey is too cruel to deal with, and Chloe follows her example.

I saw the “everyone celebrates Chloe leaving” bit coming a mile away, and I still laughed for a solid minute.  Of course, then Adrien has to come along and spoil it with her being his “childhood friend” and “the only person his age he knew for years”, but whatever.

God, I can’t believe the Lucky Charm in this episode.  Can we have more of that, please?  Massive laser gun weapons for the win.

The one thing I can’t stop thinking about is how Cat Noir’s Miraculous is clearly only saved by narrative convenience.  It’s frankly very jarring.

Sandboy:  Some interesting worldbuilding going on here.  Too bad it comes at the cost of Nooroo having to deal with Gabriel “Evil Bitch” Agreste.

Anyway, worldbuilding.  Miraculous holders can apparently control their kwamis!  That’s… awful.

And, as I’ve wondered for a while, it appears that the Miracle Box is in fact magical in and of itself, and not just a spiffy container for the Miraculouses-- it apparently has a kwami pocket dimension.  

Kwamis can’t say their owners’ names, which makes sense.

Nightmare!Adrien is horrifying.  

I’m a little disappointed with the singing kwamis.  That could have been a lot more mystical.

Adrien’s nightmare is… incredibly depressing and disturbing.  Yeesh.

Hawkmoth reverse-tracking the kwamis is hugely dangerous.  I hope Fu moves to a different apartment after this.  (And speaking of Fu, I’m a little disappointed by his nightmare.  I hoped for something a little more revealing.)

Have I told Gabriel Agreste to die in a fire recently?  Just in case… die in a fire, Gabriel Agreste.

Catalyst:  I’ve been looking forward to this one, yes I have…

God, there’s a statue of Adrien’s dead mom right outside his room?  Was his life not awful enough somehow?

Yeesh, Lila.  I probably should have rewatched Volpina at some point so I had a better sense of what’s going on with her, but there’s only so much Lila nonsense I want to deal with.  And apparently she’s lying to both her parents and to the school?  Honestly, why?

Ugh, Marinette lying.  Honestly, I just straight-up skipped past this.  Among my many personal problems with this, I also feel that having everyone say in front of the entire class what they’re doing for Heroes Day is… really weird?  I mean, that would be an unfair way to force children to compare themselves to each other even in a world without akumatizations-- and in this world, it’s an actively dumb thing to do.

Volpina(/Lila) is such an interesting character because she so entirely embraces the power Hawkmoth grants her, and is so willing to help him even when she loses that power.

Catalyst is a fascinating akuma choice.  I don’t think it would work for anyone but Nathalie, and for her it fits perfectly.  And from the very instant she appears, it’s obvious that she may well be the most valuable akuma ever created.

Watching people stare down the akumas is awesome, I have to say.  

I love these Miraculous handing-outs.  Alya once again proves herself the queen of everything.

Mayura:  Ohhhh yes. I’ve really been waiting for this one.

Dark Cupid + Scarlet Moth is a particularly inspired combination.  Honestly, at this end of the episode I can’t possibly imagine what would lead to Hawkmoth never doing this again.

Plagg sharing his cheese may be the most heartwarming moment this series has ever seen.

The Peacock Miraculous is fascinating in oh-so-many ways.  It creates (or maybe summons) creatures from strong emotions with a material focus, just like the Butterfly Miraculous.  What makes those two so different from seemingly every other Miraculous?  Is it something about the way they’re used?  And how was it damaged?  My initial guess is that some of the feathers were destroyed by a Cataclysm for some reason.

...It just occurred to me that Adrien probably thinks that Marinette is stammering and clumsy around lots of people.  (I feel like that’s been addressed in a previous episode, though…)

Having reached the end of the episode, I’m still not sure why they wouldn’t repeat the Catalyst -> Scarlet Moth -> Dark Cupid combo in the future.  As far as I can tell, there’s no downsides to this-- it seems to cost them no more than normal, and even if they can’t get Dark Cupid, the rest of the combo still works.  Why would Gabriel and Nathalie bring back Mayura and not Catalyst?  

Chameleon:  Ugh, Lila.  I honestly just skipped the first third of this episode and read a summary.  Her lying is painful in almost every way.

Fortunately, what she lacks in believability, she makes up in pure willing evil.  Grabbing an akuma and demanding to be akumatized?  That’s how you make a petty villain look dangerous.

(Also, “Oops!  I lied” is a fantastic line.  Slightly funny, dangerously unrepentant… delightful.)

Chameleon’s powers are an interesting twist on Lila’s usual Volpina powers.  They’re clearly weaker, but also more personal, and they allow the possibility of an actual attack with her kiss-- a capability that Volpina lacked.  On the whole, I find myself less impressed with these powers than with Volpina’s (not least thanks to Lila’s less-subtle actions this time around), but it at least opens up some future possibilities.  Still, I think for Lila to be a real threat in the future, she’s going to need to steal the Fox Miraculous.

Sigh… another disobedient akuma making things harder for Hawkmoth.  At this point, it’s less relieving than it is predictable.

Honestly, I really like the idea of Lila?  Marinette and Ladybug having the same dedicated enemy is something that the show otherwise lacks, and her use of lies morally opposes her to Marinette in an interesting way that could be used to explore the moral complications of the secret identity.  It just sucks that she’s so very poorly implemented.

(Side note:  I’m reading the Miraculous wiki of this episode, and it points out that Hawkmoth has tried to akumatize Marinette and gotten someone else twice now, and both times the new person has had kiss-based powers.  I wonder if that might be foreshadowing for what an eventual akumatized Marinette’s powers might look like?)

Backwarder:  Again, I’m skipping the first part and reading a summary.  I’m just… so tired of love square shenanigans.  There’s a reason I shouldn’t binge watch this show…

Hawkmoth in a train bathroom should be funny to me, but I just can’t comprehend that negative emotions are really so rare in Paris that he absolutely can’t miss this opportunity.

Hawkmoth is getting a dangerous amount of information about Fu from Backwarder here.  I’m increasingly starting to think that the first eventual Big Plot Development will be Hawkmoth finding Fu and either controlling him or taking some of the Miraculous or power-up potions from him.  

Really, Gabriel?  You couldn’t even skip your monologue on a public train?

I love that literally everyone who likes Marinette ships her and Adrien.  It’s adorable.

Weredad:  Listen.  Gigantitan was a cute gimmick once, when it was an accident.  And when Scarlet Moth showed up, there wasn’t any particular reason why he shouldn’t be re-akumatized.  But what could possibly possess Gabriel Agreste to repeat the event?  Gigantitan is almost completely incapable of stealing the Miraculous.

Anyway, skipping past the love square stalling nonsense…

Finally, an akuma who can grab the Miraculous when ordered.  

Eh.  I know it’s because I’m just so tired of the love square right now, but this episode did nothing for me.

Skipping Animaestro altogether.  I’ve heard nothing good and the summary looks to back that up.

Bakerix:  This really feels like it was supposed to come before Backwarder.  Is the train they’re unveiling somehow not the one the Agrestes rode in that episode?

You know, normally any plot that involves the words “get them back together again” worries me, but I find I have unusually high hopes for this one.  (Although the lying is not a great start…)

Marinette, you live in a bakery and you don’t tote bags of flour daily?  Pfft.  (Though with how huge her dad is…)

Granpda Dupain is seriously traditional.  They’re really playing that up.  Probably to distract from the otherwise-blatant racism metaphor of him disliking rice flour in the family bread.

Very cute ending!  And see, we can have a nice emotional episode without using the love square!

Silencer:  I debated whether or not to actually watch this, because Lukanette really doesn’t do much for me, but what the hell.

Wow, Bob Roth and XY are the scum of the earth.  

I love the Kitty Section visuals.  Armored death kitties is a flawless concept, without a doubt.

God, I love that Marinette sees this problem and her solution is just to go right to the top.  I feel like being Ladybug has altered her sense of scale.

It’s astonishing that Bob Roth can look at his son’s costume and unironically call Kitty Section an inferior garage band.

I am not thrilled with the way that Luka gets more coherent and talks less about music when he gets angry.  I don’t know why, but I don’t like it.

Huh.  I didn’t think Silencer could be an effective villain with his powers, but cancelling her active powers isn’t a bad move.

Cat Noir’s reaction to Ladybug’s loss of speech is priceless.  But boy, is he bad at charades.

...Shit, they really did make Silencer a scary villain.  Nicely done.

Aww, Lukanette is cute.  It’s too bad it’ll probably never get a fair shake.

Oblivio:  Another one I’ve heard a lot about.  Hell of a way to start the episode, that’s for sure.  

Adrien and Marinette “introducing” themselves is goddamn adorable.  Now this is my kind of love square content.

Ooooh, I love Oblivio’s design.  Super blank and creepy.  

Okay, question:  Is the highlight sight thing magical or not?  (Upon looking it up, it is apparently not.  I think we can all be forgiven for the mistake, given how it always shows up.)

“SuPeR PeNgUiNo”

Worldbuilding-wise, I think the most interesting part of this episode is the fact that two people can be akumatized into one villain.  There’s room for a particularly terrifying villain to be created in the future by combining Hawkmoth and Mayure...

Stormy Weather 2:  I’ve heard a lot of shit about this episode, but I like the start so far?  Let’s see where it goes.

Oh wait shit, is this a clip show?  Yuck.

Did Stormy Weather just summon a God Damn Volcano?  Holy shit.

This is frankly disappointing.  It’s not the worst clip show episode I’ve ever seen, but I wish they’d chosen a different villain to make a reappearance.

Locker Stalker Adrien will never not be funny to me.

Oni-Chan:  UGH, LILA.  Alright, let’s do this.  (Me, two minutes later:  UGH, LILA.)

Is the skylight above Emilie Agreste’s coffin new?  I don’t remember that being there.  It’s weird that they have two separate underground lairs with skylights.  How does no one notice that?

Adrien:  “I don’t have any girlfriend.  Plagg, claws out!”  Plagg:  Noooo there were so many things I wanted to say in response to that!

Huh.  Oni-chan’s powers are a little underwhelming, but very interesting.  And a reasonably interesting solution to fighting her, as well.

This is easily the cutest Adrigami has ever been.  If they were always like this, I would ship them a lot more.

Lila and Gabriel teaming up is honestly fascinating.  Each one of them thinks that they’re using the other, but Gabriel currently has the clear upper hand because he’s the only one who knows about Hawkmoth, which means he can play Lila from two different positions.  But Lila has an advantage of her own in that she doesn’t care whether Gabriel or Hawkmoth is manipulating her, because she’s already getting what she wants out of the bargain-- power and influence.  

Honestly, if it weren’t for the scenes where people inexplicably believe Lila’s more ridiculous lies, I would love her as a villain.

Miraculer:  Yet another episode I’ve been looking forward to!  I do love Chloe development.

Wooow.  That’s a dark scheming side of Nathalie we haven’t seen before.  I like it, but as always happens with Nathalie, I’m left wondering where her commitment to this plan comes from.  

Ah, Marinette.  So savage.  So delightful.

Remember me talking in the last ep about people believing the most ridiculous things from Lila?  Here we go again.

Mayura is using her power surprisingly freely all of a sudden.  I thought the Miraculous was broken and it damaged Nathalie to use it?  Hmm….

Okay, I hate to blame the victim, but for a professional lackey, Sabrina is terrible at figuring out what Chloe would want her to do, and worse at not saying the wrong thing at the wrong time.

Chloe fighting off Hawkmoth is super badass, I love it.  Only she could have the absolute HBIC confidence needed for something like that.

...Wow, I’m actually kind of starting to ship Sabrina/Chloe.  Or possibly wanting Sabrina to get out of the relationship she’s in with Chloe…

Hawkmoth being the one to tell an akuma not to take a hero’s Miraculous?  That’s new.

Dang, Miraculer is powerful.  It’s almost hard to imagine a stronger akuma.

And Mayura vs. Queen Bee is everything it’s been chalked up to be, of course.  I love it.

Damn, the sheer confidence in “I will always be Queen Bee”.  Magnificent, utterly magnificent.

Timetagger:  Poor Mr. Pigeon.  Constantly transformed by Hawkmoth and equally often getting the stuffing beat out of him by Ladybug and Cat Noir.

Aaaw yeah Bunnix!  Honestly I’ve already seen this episode, but there’s nothing about it I don’t want to watch again.

I really thought that “what if today’s the day we grow up” was going to be a lead-in to Ladybug using her powers twice in one transformation as a sign of growth.  On a second watch, it’s really very disappointing to know that’s not the case.  This episode would have been the perfect opportunity to showcase Ladybug and Cat Noir’s growth and give a visible, power-related symbol of that growth.  Maybe it will serve as foreshadowing for their ability to do that by the end of the season…?  We can only hope.

[miraculously-fangirling]

Springtime Connection - Chapter 4

Nathalie stepped into Mr. Agreste’s office, clipboard firmly pressed to her chest. “Sir,” she stated, “Won’t you please reconsider?”

Mr. Agreste looked up from his work and groaned, “Nathalie, please don’t disturb me while I work.”

“But sir, Adrien is really looking forward to this festival, won’t you ple-“

“Nathalie,” he growled, “please leave me for now. I have a new line to design.” His animosity resonated in his sharp words. Irritation bubbled in his gut as the secretary continued to clutch her clipboard. He didn’t want to face the school, not yet and not without her. His wife’s disappearance only made Adrien’s entry into public school all the more troublesome. He would be alone with all the other parents and their undisciplined children. He couldn’t face it; he didn’t want to face any of it alone.

“Yes, sir.” Nathalie turned into the hallway and briskly walked to her office where she slammed her clipboard onto her desk. The board falling to the floor didn’t stop her from putting her head onto her desk. She was tired of this, all the subdued drama between father and son.

Hawk Moth smiled at his vast window as he tainted a pure butterfly. He sent the newborn akuma to the unsuspecting Nathalie. It fluttered to the clipboard, enveloping it in a violet glow. Nathalie huffed as she picked up the fallen board. Hawk Moth’s signature purple mask appeared as his voice rang in Nathalie’s ears.

“I am Hawk Moth and you are now Mistress Mind,” he mused, “I’m sure you can convince your boss to tend to his son, but you must do something for me. Find Ladybug and Chat Noir’s Miraculouses and bring them to me.”

Nathalie smiled. “Of course, Hawk Moth.” Purple mist surrounded the secretary, turning her baby blue eyes to violet and turning her clipboard black. Her work attire stayed relatively the same except for the addition of a black pendant around her neck, the new dark violet turtleneck, and her signature red hair streak turning the same shade. Mistress Mind smirked as she returned to Mr. Agreste’s office and stood before his desk. The designer grumbled as he took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Nathalie, please leave me alone, I’m very busy.”

Mistress Mind bit her tongue. She couldn’t have her cover blown, not yet anyways. She pasted on a smile, “Sir, there’s an email I’d like you to look at something. I think it has to do with next season’s possible trends.” Mr. Agreste sighed as he looked up and locked eyes with Mistress Mind. Her violet irises glowed as a list appeared on her clipboard.

She read Mr. Agreste’s list of priorities:

Wife 

Adrien

Work

Mistress Mind’s  brows quirked as she read the list. Adrien was higher than she thought but that didn’t deter her from rewriting the list and putting Adrien at the top. She locked eyes with her boss once again, sealing her changes. Mr. Agreste’s eyes glowed violet around his icy blue as he stood and walked over to his son’s room. Mistress Mind’s smile was unmistakable as she watched her boss walk down the grand halls.

Adrien sat before his computer, viewing the Ladyblog. That was  what he did when he was down: view his confident alter ego and his stunning partner. He wondered if she was nearly as lonely as he was. Probably not, she was so bright and happy and, well, her. His dumb grin did little against the growing pit in his gut. He wished that his father would take his school activities seriously. He knew that he was busy, designing the next wave of high fashion and managing a successful magazine. He knew that none of that was a small feat. But he also knew that Mr. Agreste was his father.

Three knocks resounded from his door. He closed the browser and saw his mother’s portrait. A new wave of loneliness washed over him as he faced the door.

“Come in.” Mr. Agreste opened the door and approached his son. Adrien’s eyes widened in surprise as he stood. “Father?”

A wide smile spread on Mr. Agreste’s face. Adrien tried to stay composed as he felt butterflies in his stomach. What could his father possibly be happy about? Was there a break in his schedule? Either of their schedules? Was there a lead on his mother? Was there a favorable trend coming their way? What was it? Adrien’s mind buzzed as Mr. Agreste slowly approached his boy. Adrien’s surprise kept him from registering the minute purple ring around his father’s blue eyes.

Mr. Agreste knelt to Adrien’s level, keeping strong eye contact with his son. “What was that about a festival earlier?”

Adrien took a moment to blink at his father. He pushed himself further into his office chair, gripping the armrests. What was with the sudden surge of compassion? “Umm well, my class and I are doing a costume cafe, and I just wanted to know if you’d go.” Adrien felt weird to be repeating the request but his father’s endearing eyes made his discomfort dissipate. His father was actually looking at him, not his report card or his schedule.

Mr. Agreste closed his eyes, his smile softening. “Of course,” he murmured. He leaned in towards his son and wrapped his arms around him. Adrien froze beneath his father, mind racing. What the literal hell was going on? The last time his father had hugged him was when Simon Says attacked. That made sense, they were all put in danger for an afternoon. A hug made sense then. But now? There was nothing to hug about. They had just sort of fought for Christ’s sake.

Mr. Agreste stood, leaving Adrien with a blank expression. He didn’t know if he should give in to elation for fall into complete shock. Both were viable options. Mr. Agreste met his boy’s eyes. “I’ll be there, don’t worry. Even if I have to clear every one of my appointments, I’ll be there.”

Adrien smiled, “Thank you, father!”

Mr. Agreste held out his hand, “Call me Dad, please.”

“R-right, thanks Dad!”

Mr. Agreste chuckled and gave Adrien a friendly wave as he left the room. Adrien sat in his chair, shocked, as Plagg zipped out of his hiding placing.

“What’s up with him?” Plagg said as he flew in front of Adrien’s unfocused eyes. Adrien shrugged. “You don’t think that he’s acting a bit weird?” He shrugged again. Plagg sighed, “Alright, whatever daddy’s boy. But can’t you just feed me already? I’m absolutely starving!”

“Sure,” Adrien mumbled as he stared at the closed door. What was going on with his father? Plagg sighed as he went to get his cheese himself.

Morning rays drifted into Adrien’s room as the young boy stirred out of light sleep. The hug and his father’s promise kept creeping into his thoughts as he tried to sleep. The thoughts won. Adrien got up and dressed as Plagg laid about whining for more cheese. Adrien huffed as he brought out a fresh wedge for the gluttonous kwami. He couldn’t be bothered with Plagg’s whining. He had bigger things to think about, like his father’s change of heart. Was his dad’s heart of ice finally melting?

He stepped into the dining room with his messenger bag over his shoulder. Adrien fully expected an empty dining room with only Nathalie standing by the table with his food ready. He didn’t see his expectations. Mr. Agreste sat by his son’s head seat with a cup of coffee and the morning paper. Mr. Agreste smiled as he noticed Adrien in the doorway.

“Oh Adrien! You’re finally up!” he said with a smile.

Adrien was taken aback but returns the smile after a moment. “R-right, fa- dad.”

Mr. Agreste patted Adrien’s usual seat and the boy obliged, setting his bag on the opposite side in case Plagg decided to take a little peek at the situation. (It was an inevitability. The little feline never knew when to just stay put. Curiosity truly did get to this cat). A piping hot croissant, Adrien’s favorite, sat before him. What was with the special treat? Where was the meticulously balanced, nutrient rich meal he was used to? The model diet didn’t usually allow pastries. The cook usually had some kind of extravagant, if slightly small, meal ready to go. But that day it was just fruit, a croissant, and coffee. Almost like a normal person’s breakfast.

Nathalie was nowhere to be found. Adrien inconspicuously looked around the room for the secretary but only his father occupied the grand space. His endearing eyes and small smile burned through Adrien. How long had it been since he had seen that expression on his father’s face? Adrien thought back to his parents’ old wedding photos. Yes, that was  the last time he saw that smile on his father’s face. He thought at least. Memories were weird.

He glanced between the meal and his father several times before picking up the croissant. Adrien took a bite and immediately fell in love with the buttery flavor. It wasn’t from the Dupain - Cheng bakery but it sure competed with all of its scrumptious layers. Mr. Agreste smiled as he sipped on his coffee. Sparse conversations was exchanged but Adrien enjoyed his breakfast with his father. It was a welcome change from the usually silence and solitude he felt in the morning.

Adrien finished his breakfast too soon for his liking, but school was going to start. He had to go now. He thanked his father for the meal before heading towards the door. Mr. Agreste followed his son to the door and even to the garage, eventually reaching the right side door of the luxury vehicle. Adrien quirked an eyebrow as his father climbed into the driver’s seat. What the hell was the only thing flashing through Adrien’s mind as his father waved him into the car.

“What’re you waiting for, Adrien? Do you want to be late to school?”

Firstly, his father was taking him to school. Secondly, his father was taking him to the school that he hated Adrien attending in the first place. Adrien pinched his wrist, but he wasn’t dreaming. He knew something was up, but should he have stopped it? Maybe his dad had a change of heart.

Adrien climbed into the passenger seat, not even the Gorilla was coming. It was just the two Agrestes heading to school as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

They arrived at the school, and to say that Nino was shocked would be an understatement. The wannabe DJ’s jaw practically hit the pavement as Adrien rolled up to the school. Mr. Agreste gave Adrien a final side hug before the boy exited the car. Adrien barely reached his school’s front steps before Nino had his arms around the model’s shoulders.

“Dude, what’s up with your dad? It’s as if he grew a heart all of a sudden.” Nino said.

Adrien just shrugged as the school bell rang. The duo ran to their first class where Ms. Bustier already had ‘Work Time’ written across the board in swooping handwriting. Nino went off to meet with the other marketing and design people as Adrien walked over to his usual seat in front of Marinette. His eyes were cast off in the distance as he set his bag down.

Marinette’s heart jumped as Adrien took his seat but she managed to notice the out of this world happy vibe his bright green eyes gave. What could be making the boy so happy? She wanted to know but she also wanted to get some work done. With her luck, Hawk Moth would have an attack very soon. Sooner than she expected in this case. With clammy hands she tapped Adrien’s shoulder. Adrien shook himself out of his cloud of thought.

“Umm, A-Adrien, what should we t-tell the other teams? We should probably have d-design together for them to work with and all., I mean I’m not saying that you’re too slow or anything, just I don’t know. Like you know, umm hi?”

Adrien nodded and pulled out Nathaniel’s drawing from his bag while Marinette gathered up her newly filled out sketchbook. As the various teams got to know their coworkers and work out their schedules, Marinette and Adrien approached Ms. Bustier’s desk. The French literature teacher smiled as the teens approached her desk with the sketches in hand.

“Ms. Bustier, we’ve come up with a concept. Can you take a look?”

Ms. Bustier nodded as Adrien slid Nathaniel’s sketch onto the table and Marinette set her sketchbook down.

“We were thinking of doing a heroes’ cafe, but with them at home. Like where superheroes can relax and have a latte between akuma attacks.” Adrien explained with a scratch to the back of head. Was he explaining this right? Maybe? He hoped.

Ms. Bustier looked at Adrien’s sketch on the back before moving onto the sketchbook. Her grin only grew as she examined the various designs. Adrien’s bright green eyes widened as he caught glimpses at Marinette’s detailed designs. He knew that the girl was talented but he had no idea that she was this gifted. Ms. Bustier nodded along as she reviewed more of the superhero characters. She finally collected all of the designs into a neat pile.

“Good, good!” she exclaimed, “This will be perfect. Go on ahead.”

Marinette and Adrien barely held in their excitement as they stepped to the front of the class. Ms. Bustier called for the class’ attention with a couple of quick claps. A majority of the class looked to the front with varying degrees of attention paid towards the organizers. Marinette went to the board and quickly began sketching with the chalk. This caught their classmates’ attention. Adrien looked over his shoulder as his partner sketched out Ladybug and Chat Noir enjoying lattes in front of a picturesque windowsill. He thought about what it would be like to actually do that with his bugaboo. Butterflies invaded his gut just thinking about it. He turned around before he could delve deeper into the innocent fantasy.

He smiled while saying, “So, for our theme, we’re thinking of doing superheroes,” He shot a glance at Nathaniel’s whose grin was unmistakable, “Except we don’t want to see their crime fighting side. We want to show the world what they’re like on a Sunday afternoon. So what do you all think?”

The class gave overwhelming approval with thumbs up and wide grins. Chloe still stuck her nose up at the whole idea even though Sabrina clapped along with the class. Adrien nodded over to his blushing partner who was just finishing the drawing. They were going to do this and win this year. Ms. Bustier quieted the class again before returning everyone to their groups, leaving Adrien and Marinette alone in their seats to hammer out the details.

Marinette’s eyes returned to her lap as Adrien turned to her seat with a notepad in front of him. What did they have left? Right, the food. That was important. Also the designs, Marinette had to share them with the design and costume teams.

Marinette clutched her notebook. She didn’t want to step away from Adrien, but at the same time how could she talk to him? Adrien tapped onto the notepad.

“Well I’m going to see what we can make,” he said, grabbing a pencil from his bag.

Marinette nodded. “Right,” she squeaked while pushing a strand of hair behind her ear, “I’ll talk to the teams and show them the drawings then.”

Adrien smiled, “Nice drawings by the way. They’re amazing.”

“Really? I mean, thanks, I mean not as amazing as you, but yes thanks, I guess they’re pretty good.”

Adrien snorted. Sure, the stuttering girl in front of him was weird, but somehow endearing. She was cute, not quite adorable. Quirky but not quite nerdy. She was a bright and zany spot in his overly structured life. He wouldn’t mind getting close to the aspiring designer. He stood, grabbing his notepad. “I’ll see you in a bit, then.”

“R-right.”

Marinette stood as well and headed to the design teams that had congregated in the back of the classroom. Adrien watched her before rushing to the school’s kitchen he didn’t want to run out of time. Physics was his favorite class and he’d hate to be late.

In his rush though, he forgot his pen.