#and there’s the satisfaction Adrien has always wanted: ladybug saying/knowing his name

[asukiess]

I also think the difference between Ladrien and Ladywalker is that like.... the repression goes from implicit to explicit (but still unspoken). Adrien is repressed, yes, but he stops with the repression and he still goes by the same name, he still wears the same face. Catwalker stops and he no longer is. He must cling to that repression for the sake of the relationship.

There's something about the stunted state of growth for Ladybug and Catwalker - Catwalker can't change for the better because if he does, he no longer exists. And maybe that traps Ladybug a little bit, too. Maybe she can't be pushed in the right direction by a partner who can't step a toe out of line in fear of changing the status quo. Maybe they'd both be so afraid of the way they can't seem to break the pattern that they both realize something has to give.

anon you have my whole heart. you GET it.

[huge-enthusiast]

Miraculous fic recomendations!!

This is just an excuse to show all my bookmarks? Yes. Yes, it is. I'm pretty sure most of this fics are really popular, but try see if you find something you didn't knew about!

All of the fics will be rated Teen and up audiences or lower. Also if I don't put the author's tumblr is because they didn't put it in the fic or/and I couldn't find it.

Pairing: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug

knowing you by emsylcatac (they are not really the author of the fic but that's the account that says in the fic, the actual author doesn't have an account).

After dropping their transformations months ago, Marinette and Adrien see each other for the first time after being apart. They've both left too much unsaid and have to work to pick up the pieces of their confused hearts.

Chapters: 1/1

Post-reveal but mostly ladynoir, light angst with happy ending.

the last day on earth by Reiaji

The first time Marinette sees Chat Blanc, she's fourteen years old. The second time, fifteen—the third time, seventeen.

The closer she grows to Adrien, the harder it is to save him.

Chapters: 1/1

Post-reveal lovesquare, kinda heavy angst, hopeful ending.

tell me something i don't know by carpisuns (@carpisuns here on tumblr)

Do you think it still means something? To love someone, even if the universe said you had to?

The odds of having a soulmate are about negative one billion (or something like that). But somehow, like they always have, Marinette and Chat Noir find themselves together. They’re ready to finally tell each other everything, but it turns out that even soulmates have to keep secrets, and while their bond draws them together, duty forces them apart.

Chapters: currently 17/28 (WIPs can be exhausting but this one is 100% worth the wait!)

Mostly marichat but almost all of the lovesquare sides make an appearance, soulmates au, mostly fluff but it can get angsty if it wants to.

One Thing After Another by SKayLanphear

Marinette notices that, sometimes, Adrien acts a little out of the ordinary--like the time he stood in a cardboard box for no reason, or when he actually hissed at Nino. It's only when she starts to notice the similarities between Adrien and a certain feline that she begins to get suspicious.

Basically, Adrien acts like a cat when he probably shouldn't.

Chapters: 15/15

Mostly adrienette with one sided reveal by Marinette's side, miraculous side effects (by both sides wich is really cool!), it's fluff with a lil tiny angst for drama.

This would take some getting used to by Codango (@codango here on tumblr!)

Adrien peeked out from behind the chimney even as the magic of his own Chat Noir mask fell away.

She was still visible, her dark hair bobbing under the street lamps a couple blocks away.

“Marinette.”

Adrien blew out a confused breath. His fiery Ladybug… was the quiet little mouse who sat behind him in class?

“What. The.”

This… would take some getting used to.

Chapters: 8/8

Adrienette with one sided reveal by Adrien's part, awkward flirting, just fluff, nothing to worry about.

comfort food also by Reiaji!

In Marinette's house, cooking is a language of love, and Marinette loves Adrien more than most.

Chapters: 1/1

Adrienette with a little of ladynoir, super super fluff, a lot of insight into Marinette's chinese heritage.

The right side of his face by walkingonthestars (@hamsternamedmarinette here on tumblr!)

Marinette and Adrien are able to remain in their new seats in the back of the room at the end of Chameleon.

Chapters: 1/1

Adrienette, fluff with light angst.

it's a long way forward so trust in me by aloneintherain (@captainkirkk here on tumblr!)

“You’re not the only strong one around here, Chat,” Marinette said. She looked a little winded, but she wasn’t struggling to hold him up.

This close up, he could see the freckles on the bridge of her nose. He could see how that smug smile lit up her eyes. He could feel the strain of her arms—and wow, okay, he really wasn’t the only person around here with muscles.

Six times Marinette carried Adrien (plus one time he carried her).

Chapters: 1/1

All the sides of the lovesquare! Fluff with LOTS of mutual pining.

a fight that you were born to lose also by aloneintherain

When the prosecution starts throwing around the word victim in reference to Adrien, he has to stuff his hands under his thighs to keep himself from bolting out of the courtroom.

Adrien had felt unsafe during those last few weeks, but, until he had woken up and seen Father silhouetted in his bedroom doorway, that had only been paranoia. Father was controlling and cold, but he wasn’t hateful. Adrien was isolated. He was often hungry. And some weeks ago, when he had snuck out to visit Nino, sitting thigh-to-thigh on his bed while Adrien cried in that silent, crumbling way of his, he hadn’t argued when Nino put a hand on his shoulder and said, tentatively, That’s abuse.

But Adrien remembers being small and Father touching his hair after he’d aced another test; Father holding his scribbled drawings like they were something precious, and framing them around his office; Father, dressed as Hawkmoth, his eyes wild behind the mask, lashing his sword against Adrien’s baton; Father, collapsed against Mum, crying into her ashy hair.

Adrien finds out Gabriel is Hawkmoth, and Gabriel gets to bring his long-waited plan into action.

Chapters: 1/1

This one doesn't really focus in the ship that much as is an Adrien character study and an exploration of his relationship with his father, but they're still there so I put them here. Really heavy angst (this is one of this fics that haunt me in the middle of the night) with a happy ending. ❗TW: parental abuse, eating disorders❗

Supercut by LNC

Marinette loves her friends and Adrien can't deal.

Chapters: 1/1

Post-reveal lovesquare, again light angst, an exploration of Adrien's insecurities, Marinette Dupain-Cheng deserves the world, happy ending.

Madame Snare by jettiebettie

“Sounds like a lot of work for nothing. She should take this as a sign to have a relaxing weekend with no responsibilities.”

“It's a lot of work she put her whole heart into. It wouldn't be right for it to go to waste,” Adrien whispers to him. The look on Marinette's face is enough to cause Adrien's own heart to ache. If anyone deserves the satisfaction and pride from a job well done, it's her.

“Too bad there isn't anyone else who can walk in those death traps,” Plagg says. Adrien hums in thought, tapping his chin.

“I could.”

Chapters: 1/1

Marichat, episode-based, Chat Noir in a dress!!!, light angst but it's mostly just idiots being idiots and a lot of fun.

in the same sun by peachcitt (@peachcitt here on tumblr!)

"It’s hard to believe that I saw you last at the peak of summer, when the sun was close and warm - and so were you. It should go without saying that I miss you. I miss you something terrible."

//

"It’s been seven months to the day since I’ve seen you. I wish you were here more than anything else."

Two letters, signed with initials instead of names, found in Paris, France.

Chapters: 1/1

Ladynoir, just angst, that's it, written like letters. No ending, just pain.

an uncurtain discovery by Missnoodles (@ladyofthenoodle here on tumblr!)

When he returns from school on Wednesday afternoon, Adrien discovers the darkness in his own home. He struggles to come to terms with it. To his utter mortification and delight, Ladybug is nearby to rescue him.

(He does not discover that his father is supervillain. That will happen on a different Wednesday.)

Chapters: 1/1

Ladrien, it says it's crack, and don't get me wrong, is super funny, but I also found it sad as fuck?

An Open Secret by Kasienda

Adrien whirled around toward Marinette. She smiled at him.

He couldn’t smile back. He stared at her like the dumb blond model that he was often accused of being.

Something shifted in her expression. And her warm open Marinette smile transformed into Ladybug’s grin. He was looking at Ladybug right now.

He knew Ladybug’s name!

Her name was Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

And he couldn’t say anything! Not to Marinette! Not even to Plagg, who had confided two weeks prior that Master Fu was growing increasingly paranoid since the location of his home and hideout had been compromised. Their master had apparently decided that Chat Noir and Ladybug would have to give up their miraculouses if they ever discovered each other’s identities.

It wasn’t fair!

...

A fic where they both know, but can't openly talk about it.

Chapters: 4/4

Post-reveal... but is it? Mostly adrienette and ladynoir, fluff with light angst and them being absolute idiots at hiding their secret identity.

golden (like daylight) by okayanna (@anna-scribbles here on tumblr!)

Friendship, Adrien decided, shaking off the mental image of Marinette’s hurricane eyes and hesitant mouth, parted in a small, careful “o.” He had a very strong friendship with Marinette. That was all.

or

Adrien thinks a lot about words, love, and Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

Chapters: 1 + epilogue

Adrienette but has lots of ladynoir, another Adrien character study because I hate myself, it tries to not be angst but the writing will punch you in the guts and make you cry, it's so good.

Strangers in the Bright Lights by poodles (@ladybeug here on tumblr!)

Adrien is about two drinks in when he sees a girl at the end of the bar wearing black cat ears. It's kind of weird, so he watches her, and although it's crowded he can see her face when she turns around. She’s wearing a Chat Noir mask. He takes a quick look around- nobody else is wearing a mask. Just her.

Adrien finishes his gin martini and heads over to her. He could use some company tonight anyways, he hasn’t told anyone he’s back in Paris and Nathalie won’t arrive in town for another month. And it’s been a rough day, okay? A rough move! He’s not sure he wants to be back yet, and he spent most of the day in the Agreste mansion sorting through some photographs of his father he found in the study. Maybe he wants a drink and some stranger to tell him he’s pretty! That’s not a crime, is it?

Chapters: 1/1

Adrienette but it's also ladrien??? I think??? It's super super angsty but they're both drunk the entirety of the fic so it's also really funny.

Pick-Up and Chase by also SKayLanphear

After she accidentally trips into Adrien and apologizes about "falling for him," Marinette learns that he's no match for cheesy pick-up lines--whether they were unintended or not. And while she finds it flattering that he turns into a flustered mess with only a few words, Marinette comes to regret making him uncomfortable. That is, until she learns he's Chat Noir. At which point the phrase "just deserts" becomes a permanent fixture in her everyday plans.

A story in which Adrien is flustered, Marinette is smooth as glass at dropping lines, and Chat Noir gets the romance he was always asking for--even if he doesn't quite know how to handle it.

Chapters: 10/10

Adrienette with one sided reveal by Marinette's side, it doesn't say it in the tags but I'm pretty sure the characters are much older than they actually are in the show, so much fluff and so much flirting.

Pairing: Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe

Nino Has Done Nothing To Deserve This by GuardianKarenTerrier (@guardiankarenterrier here in tumblr)

It's nothing, really- just an innocent comment, a joke. But when they hear it, Nino and Alya come to a realisation.

There were, in retrospect, dozens upon dozens of hints. Now that they're suddenly aware of all their friend's flimsy excuses and rushed explanations, they're not only sure how they've missed it, they're not sure how anyone else has either. They realise that it had to be magic protecting their friends- and that same magic has ceased to work on the two of them.

Well, this means they'll just have to start watching over their friends themselves.

Chapters: 7/7

This is more a found family fic than anything else, Alya and Nino are the mom friend, has light angst but it's mostly identity shenanigans in the most bizarre way. ❗TW: eating disorders❗

christmas lights by demistories

Nino checks up and down the street, checking to make sure there’s no raging akuma headed his way before he crosses quickly and ducks inside the small café. He closes the door quickly before the icy air can blow inside and tugs his beanie down over his ears. He spots Alya sitting alone in the corner.

Chapters: 1/1

Just fluff!! Really short but really sweet.

hold on, i still want you also by Missnoodles!

Written for the @thedjwifizine ! Wich I also recommend if you wanna binge a lot of djwifi fics while also looking at amazing art!!!

Five times Alya ran into her ex, and the one time he stopped being her ex.

Chapters: 1/1

Light angst with a happy ending! I don't really like the ex-lovers to lovers trope but this one is the only exception.

I will continue to expand the list in the future! But by now I hope I was helpful in the search of new fics!

[starshine583]

When One Thing Leads to Another

(Hey guys! This isn’t a fic, just an idea that I came up with and wanted to write about. Hope you all enjoy anyway!)

Flashing lights and blaring music. The perfect combination to either give someone a good time or a horrendous headache. Unfortunately, Felix was never known for partying; so he found himself suffering the latter. The pounding in his mind matched the beat of the speakers, and occasionally, a round of cheers and clinking glasses would spike the pain. Why did he agree to come here? He could be at home right now, reading a nice book in the quiet of his apartment. But no. He had to be at some ridiculous bar with his ridiculous cousin.

“Come to the club with us,” he’d said. 

“It’ll be fun,” he’d said.

Felix rolled his eyes and tipped his glass up to his lips, letting the bitter taste of his Bourbon Sour slide over his tongue and down his throat. Stupid Adrien. Why did he insist on dragging Felix to places he didn’t want to go? Why did his mother have to coax him to not reject the offer? Couldn’t they let him be a troglodyte in peace?

He set his cup back on the napkin that was acting as a makeshift coaster and thumbed the side of the glass, feeling the cold sweat from the ice drip down. Felix was half tempted to press the drink to his forehead in hopes that it would ease some of the ache from his on-coming migraine. Perhaps he should ask the bartender for headache medicine. Or better yet, just go home. He’s been there for at least an hour or so. That should satisfy whatever itch Adrien needed to scratch by bringing him along, right?

Felix swiveled around in his bar stool, scanning over the dancing crowds. Normally, he could spot his cousin from a mile away due to his raging fans, but tonight, the lights were dim, save for the blinding strobe lights, and everyone there was probably drunk out of their minds already or close to it. No one would be recognizing him any time soon. That was one of the reasons they attended this particular club in the first place.

This plan to blend in, however, worked only too well, because now Felix couldn’t see Adrien either. Too many people were dancing and shuffling around in the unsteady darkness for him to catch a proper glimpse of the facial features or hair colors. If he wanted to find Adrien, he would have to venture into the belly of the beast himself.

Felix swiveled back around in his stool and crossed his arms across the counter with a huff. He’d rather stew in this corner all night than try to navigate amongst those drunken morons. Adrien had to come up for a drink at some point. So he would simply talk to him then. 

Another bump on the counter rattled the stray glasses strewn across it, and Felix glances to the left. He expected to see a drunkard wobbling around or another shameless couple making out, but instead, he was met with the sight of a young woman. She appeared to be in her early twenties, certainly no older than himself, and quite displeased, if the quiet scowls and hissed curses were any indication.  

In a huff, she yanked a handful of napkins out of the nearest dispenser and began furiously dabbing a dark spot on the front of her cocktail, party swing dress. Felix assumed it must have been a spill, which was a pity. The dress had a magnificent pattern. Specks of red that vaguely reminded him of a swarm of Ladybugs curled around the pink fabric from the bottom of the dress to the top, and the white sash that was pinned around her waist with a jeweled butterfly brought out the halo of white that surrounded each of the red specks. The combination gave the enchanting impression that the insects were glowing, which was impressive. Whoever created that intricate piece of clothing certainly had a gift.

After scrubbing the stain for a good five minutes, the woman let out a heavy sigh and set the crumpled napkins back on the counter. She then slid into one of the bar stools, leaving an open seat between them, and let her face drop into her hands with a groan. Her steam from a few minutes ago must have worn off, because the only thing he could see in her slumped posture now was exhaustion.

Felix averted his gaze to take another sip of his drink. At least he wasn’t the only one who saw this club as a place of torment.

“Bartender,” He heard the woman say, her voice almost drowned out completely by the music, “Get me a tequila shot, please. Just one for now.”

The bartender nodded at the request and began shuffling around behind the counter to mix the drink. Felix watched it unfold out of the corner of his eyes- one can only stare for so long before getting caught -and wondered how many shots she planned on taking. Tequila was a decently strong beverage when taken without caution. One too many, and you’ll find yourself passed out on the floor or hurling up something unseemly in the washroom. He hoped for her sake and everyone else’s that she didn’t get drunk and turn into one of those loud-mouthed fools. Because if she started rambling obnoxiously right in his ear, Felix might be inclined to finally snap and go on a murder spree, starting with Adrien. 

The woman wasted no time downing the shot in one gulp, and the effects set it in immediately. A shudder ran over her body from the burning sensation, causing her to shake her head to counter it. Her raven hair twirled with the movement and curled around her shoulders and face, but she paid it little mind, merely brushing the locks back over her shoulder and out of the way.

“Come on, you can do this.” The woman muttered to herself as she fixed her short, slit, bell sleeves. “This is fine. We’re doing this for Adrien.”

Felix rose a brow. Was she talking to herself? How many drinks has she had exactly? 

“Oh, Felix~!” 

Thoughts of the woman were ripped away when he heard the coo of his name cutting through the crowd. Felix suppressed a groan, though he allowed a scowl to slip onto his lips. That would be Lila Rossi, his second headache. She was the one person he hated more than Bourgeois and his uncle combined. Why did Adrien even invite her? Was it pity? Blackmail? Another act of that false kindness of his? 

Whatever the reason, Felix wasn’t going to turn around and acknowledge that lunatic. The people bustling, cheering, and lazily singing around him were bad enough. He did not need some cheap, over-glorified ‘model’ hanging off of him on top of that. 

And yet, despite his efforts, Lila still managed to find him. She wrapped her arms around his neck with a sickly sweet laugh as though they were the best of friends or more, and it made him want to gag. Didn’t she have anything better to do than beg for his attention like some pathetic dog?

“There you are!” Lila sang, nuzzling her face against his. “Where have you been? I need a dancing partner.”

For once, Felix was glad that they were in a club, because there were no stuck-up business partners scrutinizing his every move. No one to chastise him when he shoved Lila off of his shoulders so hard that she almost bumped into another customer.  

“Find your own dance partner.” He hissed. 

Oh, if Lila’s expression didn’t give him the best form of twisted satisfaction. She looked like a deer caught in the headlights. Of course she did. Until now, they’d only interacted at formal events, where Felix was forced to resign himself to social etiquettes. It hadn’t occurred to her that he might be more abrasive in a casual setting. Or, in this case, much more abrasive.

A light snort floated to his ears, and his gaze flicked to the left again. The raven-haired woman had a hand to her mouth, a slight smile peaking out as she stared at Lila. Was she laughing at them?

Lila cleared her throat, finally starting to recover. It took her long enough. He would think that she’d be used to rejection by now considering how often she must throw herself at other men.

“W-Well, I am trying to find one.” She said. “I just figured you might have more fun if you loosened up on the dance floor.”

Felix rolled his eyes. Hiding her gold-digging ways with feigned thoughtfulness. What a classic move. “You figured wrong. Go bother someone else.”

Irritation flickered across her features, but Felix hardly cared. He swiveled around in his bar stool again and ordered another Bourbon Sour, because at this point, he was going to need one. His disinterest in Lila couldn’t have been any clearer, but they both knew that she wasn’t going to let him go that easily. She proved that by sliding into the seat next to him with another plastered smile.

“I also came up to order another martini, but wow,” The brunette drawled, “you must really not like it here.”

Felix scoffed, downing the rest of his bourbon. She really couldn’t take no for an answer, could she? He couldn’t decide if that little trait derived from denial or stupidity. Did she think he was going to flip a switch and suddenly like her nasally voice or her sausage hair that she obviously spent way too much time styling? 

“You know..” A suggestive smile curled onto Lila’s lips as she began walking her fingers down the counter towards him. “If you’re not having a good time, I could call a cab. We can go somewhere a little more.. quiet.”

Felix snatched her hand before it could reach him, ignoring the pained gasp that she let out. He would rather sign his entire company over to Gabriel himself than go anywhere with this hag. 

He opened his mouth to retort- “Are you always this desperate or are you just that intoxicated already?” -when another voice interrupted them.

“Not to be rude, Lila, but I’m pretty sure going out with you would be more nauseating to him than drinking three shots in a row right after drinking two bottles of champagne.” 

The mysterious, raven-haired woman. Felix shot her a glance for the fifth time that evening, a mix of surprised and intrigued as to how she would know enough about Rossi to claim such a thing. (Such an accurate thing)  

The woman faced them with a small, amused smile, her chin resting on the back of her hand. All traces of her anxiety and nervousness were gone, replaced instead with confidence and smugness. It was an interesting change, but if it pulled Lila’s attention from him, he wouldn’t complain.

Lila’s body went rigid, her face flushing a deep scarlet from being called out, and she whirled around to face the woman, hands clenched at her sides. The woman stared back, silently daring the Italian to refute the statement that they both knew to be true. It was a bold gesture that was no doubt fueled by multiple, distasteful encounters. The two must know each other personally. (Her calling Lila by name was also a give-away to that fact) 

“Why don’t you mind your own business?” Lila bit off. “I didn’t ask for your opinion.”

The woman merely hummed, unimpressed. “Yes, I don’t think you ask for anyone’s opinion. That’s why you almost got hit with that restraining order the last time you tried flirting with one of the other models at work.”

So they work together.. that would explain the underlying tension. Felix has had plenty of unbearable coworkers. Did that mean the woman worked for the Gabriel brand, though? Why had he never heard of her before?

Lila bristled at the remark. “I- You- Ugh! Whatever!”

Furious, the brunette stormed off into the dancing crowd once again. Felix imagined she was either going to tattle to Adrien or find some other poor soul to ‘seduce’. Even so, he couldn’t help the smirk that crossed his lips. Lila unraveling like that wasn’t something he got to see often. It was a nice treat considering how his evening had been progressing. 

That said..

“Thank you, but I don’t recall asking for your help.” He told the woman. If she was mingled in with Gabriel’s business, she might know who he is, and Felix didn’t want her thinking that he owed her something simply because she’d decided to meddle in someone else’s affairs. 

Her eyes turned to him for the first time that night, sparkling light blue under the neon lights.

“No,” She mused, a softer, warmer smile playing at her lips, “I know you didn’t, and I’m sure you didn’t need it. That was kind of my own little revenge. We work together, ya know? She’s always such a pain.”

Felix hummed in agreement. That girl was definitely a thorn in anyone’s side. How she still managed to act as though she were the next big hit, he’ll never know. “Do you work for the Gabriel brand, then?”

She nodded, idly reaching up to fix the white, butterfly barrette that pinned up the left side of her bangs and hair. “Yeah, but I’m just one of the fashion designers. Not a model or anything.”

Felix let out a light scoff. She said that as though the fashion designers weren’t critical workers. Anyone can wear clothes, but fashion designers are the people who use their skills and creativity to bring life to the clothes that the models are wearing. They are severely under-appreciated, in his opinion.

And speaking of bringing life to clothes.. “Are you the one who designed that dress?”

A tinge of pink rose to her cheeks, and she smoothed out the skirt of her dress to avoid looking at him as she answered, “Yes, actually. It’s from my ‘Heroes of Paris’ collection. This was one of the dresses that I hand sewed, but Lila decided it would look better with a martini stain. I just hope I can wash it out..”

Felix glared at the crowd, remembering Lila’s comment about ordering another martini. No wonder the woman was so disgruntled about the stain. Buying a dress and ruining it was one thing, but working hard to make a dress and having someone else ruin it on purpose was another thing entirely.

“You could always sue.” He suggested as he took a swig of his freshly made Bourbon Sour. “That stain would easily count as intentional property damage to the company.”

The woman snorted and waved a dismissive hand at him. “Thanks for the idea, but it’s technically a prototype, anyway. I don’t want to cause trouble.”

“It sounds like she’s the one who caused trouble.” Felix pointed out. “If you insist on letting others walk all over you, then you’re not going to go far in the fashion world.”

She pressed her lips together, seeming displeased by the statement, but tilted her head in a nod. “I suppose that’s true..”

Felix nodded as well. Of course it was true. All types of business could be brutal, but the fashion world truly was something else. Every step forward needed to be fought for viciously taken. There was no room for trivial things like mercy or kindness.

“If you don’t mind my asking,” The woman spoke again, regaining his attention, “you’re Adrien’s cousin, right? Felix Culpa?”

Felix rose a brow. Great. So she did know him. Was this where the flirting started? He should have known better than to start small talk with someone associated with Rossi. ‘Sworn Enemies’ or not.

 “That depends on which Adrien you are referring to.” He replied, subtly avoiding a straight answer.

“Adrien Agreste, of course.” She clarified. “He said he was bringing you along, but by the time I got here, I was told that you wandered off.”

Felix tisked. Of course his cousin would say that, but why would he tell her?

“Do you know him personally?”

“Well..” She twirled the tips of her hair, choosing her words carefully. “Yeah. I don’t want to sound like I’m bragging or anything, but we’ve been friends since highschool. I’ve actually been working as his personal stylist for a little under a year now.”

His personal stylist? Felix remembered reading about that somewhere.. Adrien mentioned her name at one point too while blabbing about how ‘excited’ he was for Felix’s visit. What was it again? It started with an M. Madeline? No. Margaret? Certainly not.. But it definitely had an ‘r’ somewhere. Marianne- Marie- Marin- Ah! Marinette. That’s what it was. Marinette Dupain-something.

"You’re Mlle Marinette then.” He said, a satisfied smile slipping onto his lips. Although the entirety of her last name escapes him- it definitely had a Chinese origin -he was at least able to recall her first name. That would save him the awkwardness of her knowing his name but him not knowing hers. 

The woman’s eyes widened, proving that she was, in fact, Marinette. “You know me?”

Felix nodded. “Adrien wouldn’t stop pestering me about meeting you during my visit. He insisted that you were incredible, and that we would get along fetchingly.”

Another blush, this time deeply coating her cheeks and ears. “O-Oh.. I don’t know about incredible..”

He’d expected a coy smile and a swat of the hand to join the statement, giving way to the feigned modest, or at least for her to search out more praise- “Do you think I’m incredible?” -but none of that happened. Marinette simply brushed a strand of hair behind her ear and glanced away, holding a faint, hidden smile. She was genuinely surprised by his words, and genuinely humble about them. It was.. refreshing. He didn’t socialize with people like this often.

“Does that mean you are Adrien’s cousin?” Marinette asked after a moment.

“I am,” He confirmed, seeing no reason to hide it any longer, “but I’m starting to regret it deeply. The places he’s been dragging me to have been, in a word-”

A man ran past them screaming at the top of his lungs, only to crash into something a few seconds later with a weak ‘ow’.

“-tumultuous.”

A giggle tumbled from Marinette’s lips. “I know what you mean. I’m more of a stay-at-home-and-lazily-sketch-on-the-couch kind of gal, but I couldn’t say no to Adrien. He’s been through a lot with his Father, so finally getting enough freedom to go out like this is probably a dream come true for him.”

Felix resisted the urge to scoff. Is that what Adrien’s calling this? Freedom? Because to him, it looked like his cousin was running off to places where he would not be held accountable for his actions. Granted, his misbehaviors towards anyone but his father never tended to have real consequences anyway, but there were other ways to gain freedom than choosing to associate with strangers who were steadily drinking away their inhibitions and discipline. 

“To be honest,” Marinette continued, sparing a fond glance to the crowd, “I think he gets so invested in the dancing and the hype that he sort of forgets about us. It’s like his own, unique quiet place. I’m not sure that he’d even notice if we left until he was leaving the club himself.”

Felix perked up. Oh? “Do you really think that?”

Marinette’s gaze flicked back to him, surprised and a bit embarrassed at the question. “Oh- Well -I mean, no. It was just a joke, but.. He was dancing with Kagami last time I saw him so..”

“Wonderful.” Felix breathed, getting to his feet. If Adrien wasn’t going to remember him being there, he wouldn’t remember him leaving. That meant he didn’t have to wait for Adrien to approach the bar before making his exit.

He never thought Adrien and Tsurugi would make the best match, but if them getting together is what allowed him to leave, then he would accept her into the family whole heartedly.

“Woah- wait,” Marinette stood as well, a frowned tugging at the corner of her lips. “Are you leaving?”

Felix pulled a few bills out of his pocket and placed them on the counter for payment. “I’m here as a common courtesy. If Adrien won’t be bothered to remember my presence until he can hardly walk straight, then I see no reason to stay.”

“But you can’t go!” She insisted, moving in front of him to block his path. “Adrien was so excited about you coming.”

Felix gave her a flat look. “He was excited about partying. If he actually wants to spend quality time with me, he knows my hotel residence.”

He moved to get around her, but she moved with him, this time putting a hand on his forearm to keep him still.

“You at least need to tell him you’re leaving.”

Felix stared down at her, a mix of irritated and astonished by her audacity. This woman knew he was, knew the people he was connected to, and that, should he so choose, he could probably end her career right then and there. Yet there she stood, tall and firm, ordering him to do something without so much as breaking eye contact. That’s quite the risk. 

Nevertheless, he had no intention of seeing Adrien before he left. It didn’t take a genius to realize that Felix was grasping at straws to get out of there. If he went to bid his farewells, his cousin would ask why. When Felix wouldn’t be able to come up with a valid reason other than “I hate it here”, Adrien would insist that he stay. He would probably force him to dance too, just to make sure he was ‘having a good time’. Felix, personally, didn’t want to partake in that, which left the option of fleeing without a word. It might make their upcoming photoshoot a bit difficult, but Felix was willing to push through those types of complications as opposed to these types of complications. Adrien will simply have to get over it. There was no other way out of this.

Unless..

Felix’s gaze shifted back to Marinette, a wonderfully awful idea popping into his mind.

“You said you wanted to leave here too, right?” He asked, lightly grabbing her wrist.

Marinette frowned. “What?”

Felix smirked as he spun on his heel to lead them into the crowd. “You’re going to be my ticket out of here.”

Marinette stuttered a bit while she stumbled behind him, and although he couldn’t see her face, he could hear the confusion in her voice when she asked, “Your ticket? What do you mean?”

Felix weaved through the dancing idiots and searched for golden blonde hair along with the black and red dress that Tsurugi had been wearing. If he knew his cousin- which he did -they would be somewhere near the center of the dance floor.

“You’re going to say that you're sick,” Felix explained as they walked, “and then I’ll say that I’m going to take you home. Once we’re both outside, we can part ways and actually enjoy our evening.”

“What?” Marinette blanched, tugging her wrist out of his grasp. “I’m not going to lie to Adrien!”

Felix turned around to argue when someone behind them bumped into Marinette’s back, accidentally pushing her forward. He grabbed her upper arm and pulled her up to steady her. The action brought her flush against his chest, but he was too focused on persuading her to mind the closeness.

“Don’t think of it as lying,” He said, “think of it as sparing his feelings. This way I can leave with Adrien thinking we had fun together. Would you rather I tell him that I’ve hated every second of being here?”

Marinette sighed. “Well, no-”

“Then it’s settled.” Felix replied, stepping away to bring her further into the crowd.

They found Adrien a few minutes later, and as expected, he was in the middle of the dance floor. Kagami was dancing with him, doing what looked to be a butchered version of the Tango. The two were laughing and snorting together, obviously drunk but having a good time. The sight only confirmed Felix’s belief that his presence wasn’t necessary.

Marinette started twisting her wrist in his hand again, but Felix ignored it as he pressed forward to approach the love-sick couple. If she didn’t want to get wrapped up in this, she shouldn’t have opened her mouth and forced him to come talk to Adrien before leaving.

“Adrien.” Felix called over the music, coming to a stop next to them.  

The two continued dancing, blissfully unaware of their presence.

“Adrien!” Felix tried again.

Finally, Adrien paused, looking up at them from where he’d just dipped Kagami. It took a moment for the blonde to recognize them, but once he did, he flashed them both a sloppy smile and pulled Kagami back up to talk.

“Hey, Felix!” His cousin beamed. “I haven’t seen you all night! Where have you been?”

“Sitting at the bar.” Felix replied shortly. He tugged Marinette forward, who appeared rather uncomfortable at being thrown into the spotlight. “Meeting new friends.”

Adrien lit up. “Marinette! Have you been with Felix this whole time? I knew you guys would get along great!”

Marinette offered a nervous smile, but Felix spoke before she could. No sense in letting her back out by telling Adrien that she’s having a good time or something.

“Yes, she’s a wonderful conversationalist,” He said, letting go of her wrist to put a hand on her shoulder. They needed to look casual. “But I’m afraid she’s feeling a tad out of sorts at the moment. So I’m going to take her home.”

Adrien’s grin dropped immediately, fading into concern. “You’re not feeling well?”

She faltered.  “Uhm- well-”

“It’s nothing serious.” Felix interrupted. “Just a small case of nausea. I’ve already called my driver to pick her up.”

Kagami stepped forward and placed a hand on Marinette’s forehead. “You don’t feel warm.. Are you sure you want to go home with Felix?”

“I assure you she-”

“I didn’t ask you, did I?” Kagami said sharply.

Felix narrowed his eyes. He should have known that Tsurugi would be his main obstacle. She didn’t confine herself to social etiquettes like carefully choosing one’s words in order to stay in the good graces of everyone around you. She wouldn’t hesitate to stop them if she thought Marinette didn’t want to leave with Felix. Therefore, he was going to need Marinette to confirm her desire to go, which meant she had to actively participate in this scheme. 

His gaze flicked to the ravenette, only to find her staring up at him already. She was chewing on her lip and clearly deciding what to do. Felix subtly tilted his head in her direction and raised his eyebrows. He didn’t beg for things often, but he refused to come this close to victory only for it to be ripped out from under him because somebody had a heightened conscience.

Of course, he couldn’t plead with her aloud, since Tsurugi was still burning holes into his head, but the way Marinette squirmed implied that she knew exactly what he was trying to say.

Please.

She let out a small sigh, and Felix crossed his fingers.

“..Yes.” She answered, giving Felix a rush of relief. “Yes, I want him to take me home.”

Tsurugi searched Marinette’s expression for a moment, probably looking for fear or uncertainty, before turning to Felix. She gave him another glare, one that promised death. “You better treat her properly while you have her. If I hear about anything-”

Felix rolled his eyes. He wasn’t some barbarian. “She’ll be fine. We’ll see you at the next photoshoot.”

“Text me when you guys get home!” Adrien called after them. 

Felix only gave a short nod over his shoulder before he started pushing Marinette back through the crowd. He was almost there. A few steps further, and this nightmare of a night would be over.

Felix pushed open the front door of the club and eagerly stepped outside. The cool, night air washed over him, and he drew in a deep, refreshing breath. He hadn’t realized how stuffy it was sitting in that crowd. 

“This is so wrong.” Marinette mumbled behind him. “I should have just told them the truth.”

Aaaand the moment is ruined. Felix thought with a mental sigh. He looked up to the starry skies for patience, since he still needed her to go through with this until his driver arrived. Honestly, how did a young adult such as herself get so twisted up about a little, white lie? Everyone’s done it at least once in their life, even Adrien.

“The less they know, the better.” He said. “Besides, by the time they’re done drinking, they won’t even remember our little fib.”

“But-”

“Look.” Felix cut her off, saving himself from the lecture. “We can either go inside and apologize for something they truly won’t care for.. Or we can start walking before Rossi realizes we’ve left and tries to come after us.”

Marinette’s expression soured at the mention of Lila, just like he knew it would, and she glanced back at the club.

“..Let’s get going.”

Felix followed behind her with a small, triumphant smile. Finally! He escaped that wretched place, and now he got to roam the Parisian streets instead, which was infinitely better, in his opinion. Of course, anything was better than that club- except something involving Rossi -but Parisian streets always held a certain enchantment to them. The roads were never too crowded, save for the occasional groups of tourists, and the lights lining the building casted a soft, golden glow on the pavement. Even the Eiffel Tower was covered in lights. 

Most importantly, though, Paris was quiet. Sure, there were car engines and snorting laughter, but it was faint, distant. Something he could easily ignore if he wanted. 

The setting was quite contrary to the usually dark and dreary city in which he lived, but he enjoyed the change. Strolling through a place like this helped him relax and unwind, which he desperately needed to do. Those interactions with Adrien and Lila had pushed him to his limit. 

“So what brings you to Paris?” Marinette asked curiously. “I heard you don’t visit often.”

Felix stared at the scenery a bit longer, before bringing his gaze back down to her. He didn’t necessarily feel like talking, but his ride would be there soon. He could indulge her for the moment as thanks. 

“I’m here on business for my father. I have to do a photoshoot with Adrien for extra publicity and attend some parties that are being thrown by some of our business partners.”

“Oh, that sounds like fun.” Marinette replied thoughtfully. “I’ve never been to a formal, business party.”

Felix heaved a sigh. “Pray that you never do. They are horribly bland, and anyone there is usually stuck too far up their rear end to have a decent conversation with.”

Marinette snorted at the comment. “They’re really that bad, huh?”

“Let’s just say that I would prefer going back to that bar as an employee than go to these business parties. At least there I can tell women to leave me alone. I swear they’ll latch onto you harder than a leach simply because they know that they can.”

A frown tugged at the corner of her lips, the previous humor of the topic slipping away as quickly as it came. “And you can’t do anything about it?”

Felix shook his head. “Not without being butchered by the press.”

“I think I’d rather be butchered..” Marinette muttered. He completely agreed. Unfortunately, snapping at the esteemed guests or possible daughter of a massive source of income for his father’s company is highly frowned upon, else Felix would have done so long ago.

“Can’t you get a consort?” She inquired. “If you had a date, that should keep the girls away, right?”

Felix almost laughed. “Escorts are normally used for pitiful old men who can’t get dates by themselves. An escort for myself would simply be foolish, and it would hardly deter any of the other women.”

Marinette hummed. She was thinking really hard about this, wasn’t she?

“Why don’t you ask one of your friends to pretend to be your girlfriend?” She suggested. “If they thought you were dating someone, it shouldn’t be nearly as frowned upon to reject the other women openly.”

Felix clicked his tongue. “A tempting thought, but there’s one flaw.”

“Which is?”

“I don’t have any friends.” He informed her. “None that I could ask to perform such a roll, that is.”

The only female friends he had were his mother and Allegra, and Allegra was about to be married to Claude. Any other acquaintances he had were co-workers. One can imagine how that conversation would go. 

“Excuse me, can you pretend to be my significant other because I wouldn’t actually want to date you in real life, but I need oxygen to live?” 

Not ideal. 

Aside from that, pretending to be in a relationship is something that can easily get out of hand. The position of power that his ‘girlfriend’ would be put in is not something Felix is willing to risk. She would be able to say anything about him, true or false, and the press would accept it as fact because they were ‘dating’. No thank you.

“Oh..” Marinette said softly. “I guess that does kind of ruin it, doesn’t it?”

“Indeed it does.” Felix agreed. “But if you get any more bright ideas, please, don’t hesitate to share. I’m all ears.” 

Marinette shot him a look, as though she might smack him for the remark, but instead she glanced back down at the sidewalk. 

Then she said something that forever changed the events of his visit.

“..What if I became your fake girlfriend?”

Felix nearly tripped over himself at the comment. He must have misheard her, right? No sane person would suggest that so casually. They were complete strangers, after all. How was he supposed to know if he could trust her? Better yet, would she be able to play the part if he did?

“I-It was just a thought!” She added hastily, noticing his baffled expression. “You don’t have to agree or anything. I just know how it is to be pushed into uncomfortable positions..”

Felix rose a brow. “While your.. generosity is appreciated, I don’t think you would be a good fit. You couldn’t even lie about being sick tonight without almost collapsing from guilt. What makes you think you can lie to an entire ballroom’s worth of people?”

Marinette pressed her lips into a thin line, her anxiety easily shifting to frustration. She put her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes into a glare as she said, “I did not almost collapse, and that was different. I was lying to a close friend for a personal, selfish reason. This time I’d be lying to help you get away from gold diggers.”

Felix hummed. Yes, that made perfect sense. Forgive him for being ignorant about the fact that lying was somehow morally correct in one situation but condemning in another.

“So what’s in it for you?”

Marinette’s brows knitted together. “Oh.. uhm.. I just thought it would help you out, but.. I guess I could show off my designs? Working with Gabriel has been a good start, but if I wear them at the parties, maybe they’ll get more popular?”

Felix tilted his head back and forth as he assessed her answer. An exchange of peace for an exchange of popularity. He could work with that. “But are you sure you can pull it off? As I said before, the women there aren’t easily swayed. You might have to pull some scandalous stunts to dissuade them.”

Marinette scoffed and crossed her arms. “Please. You think I won’t get my hands dirty if I need to?”

Felix shrugged. “Again. You were the one who couldn’t lie about being sick.”

Marinette rolled her eyes. “You’re never going to let go of that now, are you?”

“Well, it is a bit telling of your nature.”

“I’m taking that as a compliment.” She retorted. “Anyway, how scandalous are we talking? I assumed holding hands was a given, and most likely side hugging too. Did you expect us to do something more intimate than that?”

Felix slowed his pace to a stop and looked at her. “Of course. That’s why I asked if you were prepared.”

Wariness began creeping into her expression. “Okay.. then how intimate do you plan on getting?”

“Well,” Felix began, taking a step towards her, “we need to look deeply in love at best. There might be some extremes that I’ll need you to play along with. Say, for example, the hugging isn’t convincing them.”

Felix stepped forward again, causing Marinette to take a step back. He followed her, step after step, until her back touched the brick wall of a closed flower shop.

“Everyone’s watching,” He continued, setting his arm against the wall next to her, “waiting to see what we’ll do to prove we’re legitimate. Would you be willing to do what it takes?”

A blush bloomed across her freckled cheeks, but she shot him a skeptical look despite. “I doubt they’d be rude enough to insist we kiss in order to prove our ‘relationship’.”

Felix smirked. “No, but it would be implied and whispered of. Those are the same as speaking aloud when it comes to business parties.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“And that’s a ‘no’.” Felix replied, pushing himself back up and away from her. He hadn’t expected her to do anything, but it was a tad disappointing knowing that he couldn’t use her idea. Having the women hovering around him instead of crushing him would have been nice-

Marinette grabbed the collar of his light blue, button-up shirt, stopping Felix in his tracks. She gave him a small glare, and before he could ask what she was doing or what she wanted, the ravenette yanked him downwards, crushing their lips together. 

Felix sucked in a breath, admittedly shocked, but he certainly didn’t pull away. No, he pulled her closer, cupping her cheek and deepening the kiss that she’d started. Marinette hummed slightly at the reciprocation and tilted her head to catch his lips fully. Her arms snaked up from his collar to around his neck, her dainty fingers raking through his hair. 

Felix let out a soft moan, but just as he was about to wrap his arm around her waist, Marinette broke the kiss. She put a hand on his chest, gently pushing him away, and met his gaze with lidded eyes.

Oh, if he thought her eyes were blues before..

“I’m not sure why we’d have to ‘prove ourselves’ like this,” She muttered, “but I think I’ve proven that I’m more than capable of pulling it off if necessary.”

Felix brushed his thumb over his lips, wiping away some of the ruby red lipstick that she’d left on him. 

“Mlle Marinette,”  He said, only just managing to keep from looking at her sweet, soft lips, now swollen slightly from the kiss, “I believe we have ourselves a deal.”

This fake relationship thing might work out, after all.

[celestialtitania]

Quest for the Best

Thank you to DragonGirl8234 for betaing. Written for Day 4: Cafe of Marichat May. Can also read on AO3. @marichatmay

Chat sighed, it had been fifteen minutes of waiting and still no sign of Ladybug. He was beginning to wonder if he should start patrolling on his own when the warm scent of fresh pastries wafted over him.

He followed his nose to find Ladybug swinging onto the rooftop. “I’m sorry I’m late!” She apologized right away. “But I come bearing gifts,” She held up a box of Dupain-Cheng pastries.

Chat narrowed his eyes at her. “Are there any croissants in there?”

In response, she flipped the lid open. “What am I? An amateur?” She scoffed, revealing croissants, pain au chocolats, and rows of chocolate chip cookies.

Chat grabbed a cookie and moaned in pleasure as he ate them. “These are still warm, how do you get them so fresh?”

Ladybug smirked at him. “It’s a secret,” she hummed, taking the chance to bite into a croissant. He stuck out his tongue at her making her snort. Unfortunately, that made Ladybug begin to cough.

Chat reacted quickly, patting her on the back to make her feel better. “You okay, LB?”

“I’m fine,” she coughed before taking in a deep breath. “Croissant went down the wrong pipe, is all.”

Chat Noir shook his head at Ladybug. “You have to be more careful when you eat,” he tutted, wagging his finger at her. Ladybug rolled his eyes, making him put a hand on his hip. “I’m serious, Bugaboo! If you choke, where will Paris be?”

“Don’t tell me you’ve become the responsible one,” Ladybug shuddered in mock horror. “Paris is already doomed.” They took one look at each other before bursting into a fit of giggles.

“Oh, I really needed that,” Ladybug sighed, wiping a tear away. “Thanks, Chaton.” He winked and bowed to her. “Let’s get to patrol?” She asked and he nodded before letting out a yawn.

“Pastries are delicious but what we really need is some coffee to get through these patrols.”

“Hey, I just bring the pastries. You want coffee so bad, you can bring us some coffee next time,” Ladybug shrugged.

Chat blinked at her before brightening. “Hey! That’s not a bad idea, Bug. I’ll bring you coffee from the best coffee shop in Paris!” He declared.

Ladybug rolled her eyes. “I’m going to hold you to that,” she promised. “Now can we please get to our patrol?” Chat made a sweeping gesture indicating for her to go first and he’d follow.

Just before Ladybug readied her yoyo to leave the rooftop, she turned back to say one last thing. “Oh, I take my coffee with a shot of vanilla. Just so you know.” She smiled, before leading them throughout the city.

He grinned as he vaulted after her. Chat loved learning more about his Lady and he couldn’t wait to impress her with his findings.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Adrien paced the floor of his room. “Okay, I have the best coffee shops narrowed down according to about ten.”

“How do you know they’re the best?” Plagg asked snidely, whilst inhaling his cheese. He only stopped to haul more Camembert out of the fridge.

Adrien wrinkled his nose at the smell. “I consulted about fifteen different coffee blogs and they all agree on the top three but I want to check the others just for satisfaction’s sake.”

Plagg rolled his eyes at him. “You don’t understand, Plagg. Ladybug is counting on me to get her the best coffee Paris has to offer. This is my chance to show her I have good taste!”

“And how do you expect to figure out which coffee shop is the best from looking up reviews on the Internet?”

“I don’t,” Adrien grinned. “Obviously, the best way to decide which coffee shop has the best coffee is by tasting them myself.”

“And how do you expect to do that without leaving your room?” Plagg snarked.

At that Adrien chuckled. “Oh, I’m so glad you asked. I’m not. Plagg! Claws Out!” Adrien called for his transformation, ignoring Plagg’s wails of complaint. Chat Noir slipped out of his window, using his baton as a GPS while vaulting away from Agreste Mansion as quickly as possible.

He found himself on an unfamiliar street of Paris and was trying to read the GPS instructions when a pigeon smacked into him, making him lose his balance.

His baton pole teetered downwards and he was crashing towards the ground. Thinking quickly, he just managed to roll into a somersault and ended up crashing into a girl rather than cold, hard cement.

Chat groaned as he pulled himself up only to find Marinette pinned beneath him. He yelped quickly moving off of her and offering a hand to help her up.

“I’m so sorry! Are you okay?” Chat fretted, he didn’t want to have caused Marinette to get hurt. She began brushing herself off but looked relatively fine, so Chat heaved a sigh of relief.

“Chat Noir, what were you doing?” She asked, groaning as she stood up. “Is there an akuma nearby?”

“Marinette! Good to see you!” He greeted hoping to distract her. It didn’t work, instead, Marinette gave him an unimpressed look, silently demanding to hear answers.

He sighed giving in. “You can’t tell Ladybug, okay?” He pleaded and her face softened. When Marinette nodded, Chat Noir launched into his story about how he had to find the absolute best coffee shop in Paris for Ladybug.

“If I can deliver, she’ll be one step closer to falling in love with me!” He concluded happily, completely missing the way Marinette bit her lip anxiously.

“Maybe you shouldn’t get your hopes up?” Marinette said, hesitantly making Chat crash back down to Earth. He sighed.

“You’re right, but sometimes it’s nice to just hold on to hope, you know what I mean?”

“Too well,” Marinette grumbled, making Chat blink in surprise.

“Marinette? Are things alright with you?”

Marinette looked startled as if she had completely forgotten he was there. She waved her hands in front of her face, giving him a forced smile. “Oh, don’t worry about it. I’m totally fine. So, what’s the plan with the coffee shops?”

Chat gave her a look which he hoped said that he knew she was trying to distract him but he was choosing to go with it. “Here, I have a list,” Chat showed Marinette proudly.

Marinette frowned at his list. “The first three are okay but I know for a fact that the last three use extremely bitter beans, number five isn’t the most sanitary, four and six always mess up the amount of sugar, and seven....I don’t even know what to tell you about seven.”

Chat’s jaw dropped. “But I checked with fifteen coffee blogs before making this list!”

“I know which blogs you’re talking about, those people know nothing about good coffee. You might as well just go to the local Starbucks because none of these are the best,” Marinette scoffed.

Chat crossed his arms across his chest defensively, trying his best not to pout. “Then where do I get the best coffee in Paris?”

Marinette gave him a side glance. “Weren’t you supposed to do this yourself?”

“Princess, paw-lease! I’ll do anything but please help me!” Chat dropped to his knees making Marinette jump back in shock. He was not above begging. “Help me!”

“Okay, okay! Just get up and I’ll help you!” Marinette hissed, as the other passers-by gave them strange looks.

“Really?” Chat asked, giving her his best kitten eyes.

“Yes,” Marinette got out through gritted teeth.

Chat leapt back to his feet with a triumphant grin, ignoring the way Marinette was scowling at him. “Then let’s go! You already know where the best coffee is, don’t you? I trust your judgment completely!”

When Marinette looked reluctant, Chat frowned at her. “You promised you would help. No take backs!”

“You’re a child,” she muttered, as she began to walk off. Chat sighed dejectedly when Marinette turned around and gave him a questioning look. “Are you coming?”

He perked up and ran behind her. “Always, Princess!”

He couldn’t wait to see where Marinette claimed to have the best coffee in all of Paris. Chat could privately admit to himself he was a little skeptical, especially when the streets became a little narrower, but he didn’t dare voice his doubt. It could offend Marinette, causing her to change her mind about helping him, and then where would he be?

“We’re here,” Marinette announced. Chat Noir looked at the drab door with a half working sign and then looked back at Marinette. She rolled her eyes. “Don’t look at me like that! You can’t judge until you’ve tasted their coffee.”

“Okay,” he hummed. “But just so you know, I’m a coffee snob.”

“Yeah, me too. And a bigger one than you considering your list was from bad blogs.” Chat Noir flushed at her completely fair assessment, unable to defend himself. “Now let’s go,” she said practically dragging him into the shop. The shop workers knew her by name and greeted her enthusiastically, so it was clear that Marinette visited often.

“I’ll have a vanilla latte and he’ll have a–,” Marinette paused and turned to Chat Noir to ask his order.

“Hazelnut mocha,” Chat ordered, his eyes sweeping the shop. It was actually quite cozy with the warm lighting and the couches. It was quiet, thanks to a lack of customers bustling in and out as well.

“I like to come here and study. Not many people know about this shop so no posting about it,” Marinette warned.

“Mum’s the word,” Chat promised. It definitely did seem like a nice place to finish schoolwork.

He wondered if there was any chance he could get Marinette to tell him about this place as Adrien. It would be nice to study with friends without the threat of fangirls. He was lost in these thoughts when the barista called them to say their drinks were ready.

Marinette paid and grabbed the drinks before Chat Noir could protest. “The moment of truth,” she smiled, pressing his coffee into his hands. Silently promising himself to get her something to thank her for her help, Chat took a small sip.

His eyes widened in awe and he immediately took another sip of the delicious coffee.

“I told you it was the best coffee in Paris,” Marinette said smugly.

“I sincerely apawlogize, Princess. I will never doubt you again and I cannot espresso how grateful I am to you fur bringing me here.”

“You sure Ladybug will like it?” Marinette teased.

Chat nodded solemnly. “She’ll like it a latte. Seriously, thank you, Marinette. If you ever need my help, please don’t hesitate to ask.”

Marinette gave him an assessing look. “I might hold you to that.”

“I want you to,” he confirmed, smiling at her softly. “Would you like a ride home?”

Marinette shook her head. “Thanks, but I’ll head home on my own in a little while.”

Chat took her hand in his and pressed a gentle kiss on it. “I’ll see you around.” Making sure he had the address to the shop inputted in his baton, he gave Marinette a wave before vaulting away. xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Holding a coffee carrier, Chat anxiously waited for Ladybug to show up for patrol. He turned around expectantly when he heard the tell-tale thump signaling her landing.

She grinned at him, a box of pastries in hand. “So, did you find the best coffee shop in Paris?”

“Of course I did, M’Lady! Would I ever break a promise to you?” Chat asked, acting affronted. Ladybug snorted at him, settling down on the rooftop. He sat down next to her and pulled out her, thankfully still hot, coffee from the coffee carrier.

“What did you get me?” She wondered out loud as she accepted the drink from him.

“A vanilla latte,” he announced, missing the way she nearly choked on the drink and turned to stare at him. “So, what do you think?” He stared out at the Paris skyline, too worried about her reaction to look at her.

“It’s wonderful coffee, Chaton. Thank you for finding it,” Ladybug murmured, just loud enough for him to hear.

“I’m glad I was able to mocha you happy, but I’m afraid I can’t take all the credit.” Chat leaned on Ladybug’s shoulder as he spoke. “You see, I didn’t find this coffee on my own. I was out searching and I ran into that girl, Marinette Dupain-Cheng? Do you remember her? She took me to the most amazing coffee shop in Paris. Marinette is such an awesome girl, I’m sorry to say I would have failed without her.”

Chat turned to find Ladybug staring at him, she looked strangely touched. “Ladybug?” He questioned, tilting his head trying to read her expression and make sense of it. Unfortunately, that was when she snapped out of it.

“I’ll have to thank her for helping you then! Come on, let’s eat and get a move on. We still have a patrol to do, after all.”

They clinked their cups together, enjoying each other’s company and the tasty treats.

[nobodyfamousposts]

Miraculous Ladybug Fic: Other Friends

For @lenoreofraven​

Alya hadn’t meant her to find out this way.

She had never meant for Marinette to find out this way.

“So that’s it then.”

“It’s not what you think!”

She had just been trying to keep the peace. Whenever Marinette and Lila were together, there was just so much tension that anyone could feel it. This party was something everyone had been looking forward to. But while those two were at odds, they all knew there was going to be some conflict that would bring the mood down.

Lila had bemoaned the fact she’d missed the previous class picnic. And Marinette was always busy anyway and could use the extra time. So she and the other girls made the choice to tell Marinette they were having it a different day.

It wasn’t a lie. Lila said that sometimes it was necessary to tell a little fib. Little white lies were no big deal, after all. Especially if it was to help others.

It was just a fib. That was okay, right? Just a little fib here and there? Just a little fib to keep the party upbeat?

She hadn’t meant to hurt her.

She just…

Hadn’t expected Marinette to catch them.

The now very hurt, very angry Marinette. Who was glaring at her in a way she’d never seen Marinette glare at anyone save Chloe at her worst. Or Lila on a particularly bad day.

“So you didn’t lie to me that the party was cancelled and everyone just happened to meet up here with the food and supplies they had agreed to bring.”

Alya winced.

“Marinette, we didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“But you didn’t try to not hurt me, either.”

“Mari—”

“Don’t.” She cut her off. “You didn’t care about my feelings before. Don’t try to pretend you do now.”

With that, Marinette walked away. Alya wouldn’t see how it took everything she had to not break into tears right there. But she wouldn’t give Lila the satisfaction. Nor would she try to make anyone pity her.

Alya could only watch. Wanting to speak. Wanting to say something.

But what could she possibly say?

It was strange...seeing Marinette be the one to turn her back on them for once.

Such pain. Such heartache. This betrayal would have made her a perfect target to become an akuma.

It was probably fortunate then that someone else already had.

__________________________

Her name was Sofia.

She was a good person with a good life.

She had a good family.

And the best part was that she had amazing friends.

They were her best friends and she could tell them anything.

Noemi, Marie, and Irene.

And then one day, she added a new name to that number.

Lila.

She was amazing! And so personable and outgoing and sweet!

But personable didn’t mean friend.

Outgoing didn’t mean honest.

And sweet didn’t mean good.

It had been Irene who didn’t trust her from the beginning. But Irene was the brash sort. Stubborn and opinionated. Bossy even. When Lila started coming up with more ideas, Irene was always against them. It stopped being fun having her around and eventually, their invites to her felt less out of any real enjoyment of her company and more out of obligation. It was less stressful the days she didn’t come...or didn’t get the invite. But Irene apparently caught on, too, as one day she’d thrown up her hands in frustration and left, telling them they were on their own. Really, they had been better off.

Or so Lila told them.

It had been Marie who tried to support everyone and mend fences. When Irene and Lila would butt heads, Marie would be the one to step in and mediate. She was positive and friendly, highly well liked by everyone in the school. She was just clumsy. Forgetful. Losing things. And it just kept happening more and more often, no matter how much she tried to protest it.

She was unreliable. And clearly they didn’t mean that much to her if she couldn’t remember their hangouts and was always late for their plans because she had the wrong time despite how many times Lila reminded her. Then it all came to a head when the funds collected for a school fundraiser went missing while she was supposed to be watching it.

The teachers were furious. Why wasn’t she more responsible?

The students were even moreso. She probably spent the money herself.

Nobody trusted her after that.

Eventually, she moved schools.

Really, they were better off.

Or so Lila told them.

Noemi was dependable though. She was smart and funny. She always knew the right things to say to cheer anyone up. She was positive and upbeat. She was strong and always there for her.

Until she wasn’t.

Until she said she couldn’t deal with it anymore.

That their friendship was too much stress. Too much mess. Too much distress. And that she was sorry, but she just had enough.

And she was gone.

And...they were better off, right?

Or so Lila told her.

Then it was just her and Lila.

Until it wasn’t even that anymore.

Lila was gone. Without a word or even so much as a look back.

And suddenly, Sofia was all alone.

Her supports were gone. Her friends were gone. The one friend she had left—the only one who she could count on had left without a trace.

And Sofia found herself having to pick up the tattered pieces of her once good life.

That should have been the end of it.

Except it wasn’t.

Suddenly there was a field trip to Paris France.

Suddenly there were superheroes to learn about.

Suddenly there was a blog about them to check out.

Suddenly there was an interview to see.

And Sofia saw. For the first time, she REALLY SAW.

There was Lila, smiling like nothing had ever happened. Talking to someone she barely knew like she was telling long-hidden secrets. Telling stories about a hero that she never met—couldn’t have met. The dates were wrong. Talking about Ladybug in the same way she had once talked about THEM.

It was only when she was finally seeing it for the first time, on the outside looking in, that she finally realized the truth.

Irene wasn’t unreasonable.

Marie wasn’t unreliable.

Noemi wasn’t cruel.

It was Lila.

It had always been Lila.

And because of her, Sofia has lost all of her closest friends.

They had all lost each other.

When Sofia went to Paris with the rest of her class, it was with a mission.

While other students were chatting, she was searching for every mention or picture or online history.

While they were discussing places they wanted to see, she was working out a location.

And while they talked about hopes and desires for what the trip would bring, she only had a singular goal.

Lila.

She had wanted to see her one last time, to confront her. To ask her “Why?”

She didn’t know if that would satisfy the emptiness inside of her, but it would at least be more than she’d had. She could at least make the next step from there.

But then she saw those two girls arguing. A party in the distance. A party they had intentionally left someone out of.

Two girls. One hurt and betrayed. The other guilty and being played.

And there was Lila. In the background watching it all.

And smiling.

An all too familiar scene.

Sofia was a good person.

She had a good life she hadn’t appreciated enough. A good family more burdened than they should have been. And good friends she should have held on harder to.

She wanted her friends back.

She wanted her life back.

She wanted Lila to know what it was like to be used and thrown away like an old doll. To be manipulated and played with like a puppet.

And when a voice told her she could have that?

How could she say no?

__________________________

“Alya, it’ll be okay.” Rose said, trying to cheer up her friend. “I’m sure you can work it out.”

Mylene rested a hand on her back. “Yeah, we can make it up to her another day. She’s pretty understanding.”

“I don’t know.” Kim said, breaking in. “I don’t feel right about having a party when Marinette was left out like this.”

“Yeah. She didn’t do that to any of us.” Nathaniel agreed.

“I’m sure you had your reasons.” Nino told her, but didn’t look nearly as sure as he said.

“But no good reason to not at least talk to her about it.” Adrien said, sounding so disappointed that Alya wanted to shrink in on herself. “Marinette didn’t deserve to be lied to like that, especially not to leave her out of something. She had put just as much effort into this as all of us.”

“But…” Alya murmured, unable to really argue but feeling obligated to all the same.

And then Lila chimed in. “Alya was only trying to keep the peace, Adrien. It’s not her fault Marinette is trying to force people to pick sides.”

Alya snapped up at that.

Lila sounded like she was trying to make her feel better.

Except...Marinette never really tried to make her choose between them, had she? She’d kept her dislike to herself and never told Alya she couldn’t hang out with Lila. It had been Lila who had expressed feeling uncomfortable with Marinette around.

That had been why Alya had fibbed to her best friend.

Something about this felt wrong.

Alya hesitated.

Adrien frowned at Lila, looking angrier than any of them had ever seen him. He opened his mouth to respond when something slammed into the ground only a few yards away, making everyone spin to see it.

An akuma.

It looked like a china doll with a cracked face. One of its eyes was a bright blue color while the other—the one where the crack covered, was completely closed. Its mask was white while its cheeks were painted rosy, which made the cracks all the more apparent. Her suit was a black bodysuit with white and black stripes on her forearms and lower legs. There were three white buttons on her chest. And her sleeves were long, going past her arms and covering her hands.

“What is that?” Alix asked, sarcastically. “A mime?”

“Alix, maybe you shouldn’t insult the akuma.” Nathaniel hissed.

The akuma simply glanced around at the party participants with a calculating eye.

“Well. Well, well, well, well! Let me get a look at the menagerie!”

Her gaze fell on Adrien.

“You must be Adrien Agreste!”

It turned to Nino, who backed away with Alya in his arms.

“And you must be Nino Lahiffe!”

His attempts did nothing to hide Alya from the akuma’s sight.

“And the Ladyblogger herself! Well, she’s kept you with her, isn’t that just swell?”

Alya gaped at the akuma in horror. “No...girl, what happened to you?”

The other classmates jumped at that, startled at the idea that their everyday Ladybug could be akumatized—or even become such a...terrifying akuma.

“A gift!” The akuma said with a twirl. “I got a new style! And a few new toys that are going to put an END to this party once and for all!”

She grinned.

“The name is Marionette. And I’ll be more than happy to be the one playing with you!”

Before anyone had the chance to run, she threw out her arms and a number of strings emerged from her sleeves. Quicker than expected, they shot out aiming for Alya and Nino. Nino, however, saw them coming and pushed Alya out of the way before being hit himself. Nathaniel was unfortunately nearby and was struck himself. Both were immediately overwhelmed and wrapped up in the strings, the ends of which attached to their very bodies.

Realizing the implications, Nino gasped, jerking and trying to dislodge the damn threads.

“This isn’t cool! I’m not a puppet!”

“You are now!” Marionette chimed, and with a small snip of her nails—which did exist and were actually much sharper than they realized, the strings were no longer connected to her hands. Instead, they floated for a moment, seeming completely listless until a pair of old fashioned marionette bar controllers appeared in the formerly empty space, now attached to the strings.

“What do you think?” She asked, smugly. “You’re all little more than puppets to her anyway. We might as well make it official!”

Alya gasped in horror. “Nino!”

“Alya, RUN!” He shouted back, helpless but to follow the direction the control bar pulled him as it jerked him away.

Cackling, the akuma sent another set of strings at the other members of the class.

“GET OUT OF HERE!” Kim shouted, pushing Adrien forward just before the strings grabbed him, at least sparing the model his fate.

Alix tried to run to get help, but didn’t make it much further herself before the akuma caught up to her, leaving Alix trussed up and cursing in her wake.

Adrien kept going though, promising to himself he would be back with help soon. Help of the “Miraculous” kind. He managed to duck around a corner and out of sight before the threads could get him.

“Darn.” The akuma cursed. “I was hoping to get her little boytoy for the performance.”

“Marinette, please!” Alya cried out, coming out from where she had been ducking for cover with Lila. “This isn’t you!”

The akuma froze at that, eyes wide in...shock? Recognition? The class as a whole held their collective breaths, hoping that maybe Alya had gotten through to her.

Except...

“Ma...ri...?”

The akuma started shaking, head bowed. Alya reached out in concern, an inch away from contact.

But then Marionette snapped up, her eyes alight. Alya jumped back in shock. Other classmates screamed or tried to duck out of sight.

The akuma hadn’t been shaking in pain.

It was unbridled FURY.

She spun on Lila in a rage, tightening the strings on everyone else in the process and making them cry out in pain.

“It wasn’t bad enough you were doing it all again, but the same name no less? After everything? What, wasn’t Marie enough for you?”

Alya blinked in confusion. “Wait, Marie?”

Who was Marie?

Marinette didn’t know a Marie as far as Alya knew.

That meant...

It wasn’t Marinette.

It...it wasn’t…

That shouldn’t have relieved her as much as it did. There was still an akuma that was still right there and clearly targeting them. But Alya couldn’t help but be glad it wasn’t Marinette.

Or because of what she’d done to her.

Lila’s eyes widened at that, finally seeming to realize something.

“You’re...!”

“I thought I’d never see you again. But here you are, claiming to know the biggest names and schmoozing up to another group of broken hearts and tattered friendships waiting to happen!”

“Wait, what is she talking about?” Kim asked, confused.

“It’s an akuma. You know you can’t trust what they say.” Lila quickly replied.

The akuma laughed. “Oh, that’s RICH coming from you! The Lady of Lies! The Queen of Deceit! You haven’t learned a thing, have you?”

Her eye narrowed and features shifted into a glare.

“I have.”

Lila backed away uncertainly, eyes glancing around for the best avenues of escape.

Unaware of this, Alya stepped forward, getting the akuma’s attention.

“In case you haven’t heard, Lila is best friends with Ladybug! She’s gonna let her know what’s going on and she’ll come to save us!” Alya insisted.

The akuma just laughed again.

“Oh, I heard! I’ve had your little interview ON LOOP!”

“Alya, maybe you shouldn’t have mentioned that.” Alix stated flatly from where she floated.

“I just LOVED that part! Where Lila-Lying Rossi lived the rest of her ‘happily ever after’ as a darling of Paris with a bunch of PUPPETS!”

Eyes widened. “Uh oh.”

“That's right I heard the story over and over again!”

Alya dodged back behind cover to avoid another whip of the strings.

“Gee, it's swell to finally meet her other friends!”

Marionette was distracted from her trapped prey when she caught sight of Ivan trying to shield Mylene as they attempted to make a run for it.

“That's right I heard the story, don't really like how it ends!”

They didn’t get very far before they were both tripped up by strings, tied to different controller bars, and pulled into different directions while trying to reach out to each other. The akuma gave a falsely sweet smile and patted a fearful and shaking Mylene on the cheek.

“Gee, it's swell to finally meet her other friends!”

Juleka didn’t see the almost living collection of strings converge on her hiding place until she was dragged out upside down to face the very angry akuma.

“What did she say about me? What did she say?” The akuma demanded. The normally quiet girl cringed in the hold and gave a shout of surprise as a controller bar suddenly appeared, controlling the strings that were now attached to her hands and pulling her along.

Rose gasped in horror, but this only attracted the akuma’s attention to her.

“What did you do without me? What did you do?” Marionette asked in a childish voice as she physically grabbed Rose—showing she did in fact have hands under those sleeves, which she used to spin her around, leaving the poor blonde dizzy and now tied up with strings and a controller above her as well.

She spun around as if alerted to another presence, finding Max, who realized he had been discovered and attempted to duck back out of sight. But she was in front of him before he could make any real distance.

“Did you play games without me? What did you play?” She asked, glaring. Max simpered, but was caught and trussed up as well.

She went back to where Alya and Lila had previously hidden, intent on rounding up the final targets, who also happened to be the main two on her “List”.

“Did you think all this time that I wouldn't find out about you~?”

But they were gone.

“Oh, that's right I heard the story over and over again!”

She looked around in annoyance, strings writhing. She’d find them soon enough.

“Gee, it's swell to finally meet her other friends!”

Both Alya and Lila had taken advantage of the distraction to sneak around, trying to remain as low and out of sight as possible. This was difficult with the akuma and moving around everywhere and the so many strings that were not only hard to see, but gave her a strange sensory ability to be able to detect them if they happened to touch any of them.

“Lila, who is this girl?” Alya demanded.

“Um...” Lila leaned back, nervous.

“And why does she have it out for you?”

Suddenly, Alya was jerked forward—realizing too late the strings had caught her and wound around her wrists, dragging her out to the akuma who further grabbed her by the cuff of her shirt and pulled her closer to the point they were almost nose to nose.

“Who am I! WHO AM I?!” She raged. “What are you even SAYING?”

She shoved Alya away, strings now fully attached to her newest victim.

“I’m the loser of the game you didn’t know you were playing!”

Lila took advantage of this opportunity to duck and scamper away from the akuma.

She grinned sinisterly as she righted the strings on the classmates and the control bars attached to each student began to rise into the air, pulling their individual victims with them.

“Let’s play another game! This time I get to win~!”

Holding her hand out, a weapon formed. It initially looked like a scythe, but the blade was much more reminiscent of cutting shears. And with a blade just as sharp.

“Lives on the line!”

Adrien kept running.

“Winner takes all!”

Marinette stopped and looked back, feeling something wasn’t right.

“Ready or not, LET’S BEGIN!”

She slammed the butt of her scythe onto the ground.

“Oh, that's right I heard the story over and over again!”

At her command, the control bars floated towards the akuma, arranging themselves and their respective students in a circle around her.

“Gee, it’s swell to finally beat her other friends!”

Several of the students cried out in shock and fear, trying to pull back or fight against the control as they were forcibly flown or dragged over to the akuma. But there was nothing they could do but flail helplessly.

“Oh, that's right I heard the story, don't really like how it ends!”

Looking around frantically, Alya saw Lila merely standing to the side, watching from the safety of her new hiding place but making no move to respond to their plight. Not to get help. Not even to try and call Ladybug.

“Gee, it's swell to finally beat her other~”

Marionette twisted her body, holding the blade out. Alya realized she was going to slice all of them at once.

“Lila!”

“Other~!”

The rest of the captives realized this as well and struggled to try and get free, shouting and crying out for help.

“LILA!”

“O~ther~!”

She swung the blade in a wide circle around her, cutting through each and every one of the classmates held in place by the strings. Each of them barely had time to scream when they were hit before they were suddenly silenced.

Strings loosened, now holding nothing.

“Friends!”

And ten little dolls fell lifelessly to the ground around her.

[edorazzi]

It’s the post everyone’s been waiting for! 

It’s taken a little while for me to get around to this, but it’s worth it for being able to make a full reaction post. This is really long so I’ll put it under a cut, but check it out for my complete scene-by-scene reaction of Miraculous’ “Felix” episode! (´∀｀)♡

Okay, I’ve been putting this off for days now so it’s time to finally get to it. I’m comfy and undisturbed and have my supplies ready to go.

I know next to nothing about what I’m going into. I’ve seen a little bit here and there because some people haven’t tagged their content properly, but I haven’t watched either of the trailers. I haven’t even looked directly at the images of Felix which have been going around. I’ve tried to stay as blind as possible, so as a result I’m pretty excited but also very anxious. I’ve taken two beta blockers today and I’m considering taking a third.

I usually liveblog episodes on our Ladybug PV Discord server (message me for an invite!) but this time I’m making a proper post out of it. I’ll be typing up my reactions as I go then cleaning everything up a little bit afterwards. I think it’s the first time I’ve done something like this on my blog so here goes!

- “Script: Thomas Astruc” NO. HE REALLY COULDN’T JUST STEP AWAY FROM THIS EPISODE GRACEFULLY, COULD HE. HE HAD TO GET HIS HANDS DIRTY. I’m not going to say “fuck this man” but, you know, identical sentiments. I’m opening my chocolate bar.

- God, Emilie looks more like ET every time I see her. Such an awkward model.

- Oh but wait, Sébastien Thibaudeau was on the script? That does actually give me some hope! Next to Zag himself he’s the only writer on this mess of a show I trust. HE FIXED WAYHEM, CAN HE DO FELIX A SOLID TOO? PLEASE. PLEASE SÉBASTIEN OL BUDDY OL PAL OL FRIENDA MINE

- Does Gabe have anything else to say to his wife other than monologuing his Miraculous plan over and over? They say people in comas can still hear things but Emilie’s probably double unconscious from how boring her husband is.

- DON’T LIKE THAT KNIFE SOUND EFFECT FROM THOSE RINGS. Am I supposed to find it sweet that Gabe’s taking such good care of their wedding bands or is he about to use them for evil? Also where’s Felix.

- ADRIEN SWEETHEART. I maintain that it’s weird to have a statue of your wife/mother/self in your own garden but it kills me that he’s just sitting there in front of it like a lost kitten.

- “Of course, someone will get you right away.” IS THAT FELIX. WAS SHE ON THE PHONE TO FELIX. WHERE’S MY SON, NATHALIE HAVE YOU SEEN MY SON

- That wide-eyed look Adrien turns up towards the window is killing me even more. I’M SO SAD. I see he also hasn’t noticed he’s sitting in the middle of a giant butterfly circle, unless he’s so used to it being Gabe’s logo that he’s just not paying it any mind. When was this all built? Has Gabe always used a butterfly motif even before he got his Miraculous and it was just a great coincidence, or did he commission this whole garden area after Emilie went missing? I guess you could pass it off as eccentricity but in the real world that would be a HUGE red flag that Gabe murdered her. I dunno man.

- DON’T WAVE AT HIM LIKE THAT, NATHALIE. YOU RATTED HIM OUT IN 5 SECONDS IN THAT THEORETICAL FUTURE WHERE YOU DISCOVERED HE WAS CHAT NOIR. YOU DON’T CARE ABOUT THIS BOY. >:V

- “It’s been one year.” HAS IT? Hasn’t Adrien been at school for at least a year now? Didn’t his mom vanish two years prior to that?! Maybe she’s talking about how long Gabe has been fighting Ladybug and Chat Noir but knowing this show’s messy timeline it could be anything. WHERE’S FELIX.

- That’s the song from Chat Blanc! Was that something his mom taught him? OH NO, I’M EVEN SADDER NOW. This is what I mean about Sébastien’s writing, we’d never get this kind of focus on Adrien from Garbage Man Astruc. This kind of character exploration does wonders for ML whenever it’s brought up so I hope this is consistent.

- SHIT, GABRIEL’S OUT OF THE HOUSE. SOMETHING’S WRONG. THOSE EXPENSIVE LEATHER SHOES HAVEN’T TOUCHED ACTUAL GROUND IN YEARS. ADRIEN GET OUT OF THERE.

- I do like that Adrien doesn’t get up when his dad comes to stand right next to him like that. It’s just informal enough. He’s waiting for Gabe to make the first move this time and that’s nice development considering how stiff and cold their relationship was in S1.

- OOOOH GABE THAT’S AN AWKWARD CROUCH. Any lower down and his back is going to go. He’ll be stuck there. I do LOVE that he’s trying though, I don’t even know what he’s going to say to Adrien but this is already SO good.

- “There’s something important I have to talk to you about.” Finally time for The Talk, huh.

- GABE PLEASE. ADRIEN’S WAY TOO CHIRPY TO HAVE ACTUALLY CAUGHT ON TO WHAT YOU WERE GOING TO SAY. HE THINKS YOU’RE TRYING TO SAY YOU LOVE HIM OR SOMETHING ELSE RIDICULOUS

- “I’ve noticed how close you and Nathalie have become!” CLOSE ENOUGH. Still in the ballpark of Adrien thinking his dad has real human feelings! 

- “HOW COULD YOU POSSIBLY THINK SUCH A THING??” I GENUINELY LAUGHED OUT LOUD AT HOW ANGRY GABE WAS ABOUT THAT. I’m not sure what to think of the “Nathalie replacing Emilie when Emilie’s technically still alive” plot either but GABE’S DECIDED FOR ME. Also good job yelling in your son’s face when you were JUST having a moment, good luck getting back up off your knees in order to storm away, old man.

- Oh alright, he did get up, but it was with a strange angry bow-legged prance. I think he still had trouble.

- I love the way Adrien just kinda wide-eye-blinks at him, like Gabe’s emotional outburst is going totally over his head. He’s been dealing with akuma FAR too long to be bothered by this.

- Guests, plural? I’m guessing Felix is one of them but is he with someone else? That makes sense given he’s (as far as I’ve gathered) the same age as Adrien so he wouldn’t be running around far from home unchaperoned, but OHHH this is so interesting.

- So they ARE claiming it’s been one year since Emilie vanished! This just doesn’t work as a Season 3 episode, especially with Nathalie and Gabe’s romantic development being as far along as it is. Emilie’s been gone for at LEAST three years by this point! Read your show bible once in a while you horrible garbage man!!! Also ADRIEN SWEETHEART THAT’S A LITTLE PREMATURE. You can say “went away forever” when you’re three years into her disappearance, the anniversary of one year really isn’t long enough to claim she’s never coming back!

- OH NO, IT’S THE GIRLS. I’m already bored. Unless Luka is here I really just do not care what they’re all up to. I haven’t missed Marinette at ALL in the first two-and-a-half minutes and I don’t want to see her now. WHERE’S FELIX.

- I’m sorry, how are Lila, Chloé AND Kagami all on a video call together without any blood being drawn? Also for god’s sake PLEASE leave Adrien alone, you want to ask first if he’d LIKE some company or if he’d prefer a quiet personal day to think about his mom? OF COURSE NOT MARINETTE, YOU WOULDN’T WOULD YOU. 

- Okay, a video message is definitely a better idea than trying to break into his house AGAIN. At least then he can watch it whenever he feels up to it. The first good, safe, noninvasive idea Mari’s had for SEVERAL episodes when it comes to Adrien.

- I’M REALLY TORN WHEN IT COMES TO THE ENGLISH DUB. On one hand I hate how little screentime Nino has when he’s not just being Alya’s fashion accessory, but on the other hand I’m so glad they switched scenes the moment Nino started his video because I CANNOT handle his dub voice. Nino just deserves better in general really.

- HE WAS CRYING. MY BOY WAS CRYING AGAIN. I’M NOT COOL WITH THIS. IT’S NOT ABOVE YOUR PAYGRADE TO GIVE HIM A HUG, NATHALIE.

- ALRIGHT HI ELSA. IS THIS HIS AUNT? THAT’S SPOOKY. 

- Her name is Amelie? So their parents had twins and named them Amelie and Emilie, and they turned out the same right down to the over-the-shoulder Dead Anime Mom hairstyles? That’s lazy parenting down to a tee, can’t mix your twins up if you never have to learn the difference between them in the first place! But that’s INTERESTING that Felix is (I assume, still haven’t seen him yet) from Emilie’s side of the family, I’ve always had the impression he was a petit Gabriel.

- OHHH THAT’S MY BOY! I CAN SEE MY BOY IN THE DOORWAY!!! OH MY GOD GIVE HIM TO ME. GIVE ME FELIX. GIVE ME MY SON.

- ADRIEN IMMEDIATELY JUMPING ON HIM IN A HUG IS ABSOLUTELY PERFECT. WHILE FELIX’S HAND IS STILL OUTSTRETCHED FOR A HANDSHAKE. I know this episode is going to go downhill because there’s no way it won’t, but this one single moment is EVERYTHING I WANTED. I should just close the tab now and leave it at this, I really should.

- “Do you remember when they used to have so much fun pretending to be each other? Once they had you and Emilie fooled for a whole weekend!” WHERE HAS THIS BEEN FOR MY ENTIRE ORDEAL GETTING THROUGH THIS SERIES. I don’t even care if this Felix is a stone cold bitch, it’s enough to know he and Adrien were besties when they were kids and Adrien still wanted to hug him the second he walked through the door. AMAZING.

- “I WON’T BE FOOLED A SECOND TIME.” WHAT DOES THAT MEAN, GABE. THEY WERE PROBABLY TODDLERS. ARE YOU JUST SO USED TO GETTING YOUR ASS HANDED TO YOU BY CHILDREN THAT YOU’RE SUSPICIOUS OF EVERY SINGLE ONE NOW

- Aww, Felix is American (dubbed, anyway). I was really hoping he’d be British with all the references to London over the last season. He does have a nice voice though! I can tell he shares Adrien’s actor but he’s got the softness I’d have expected from his character. There’s kind of an interesting look about his face though, I wish they’d tweaked it a bit to give him a sharper look but I guess he IS like 14, he can afford to still have a bit of baby-cheeked roundness. I’m going to find the positives in every part of this because I will NOT give Garbage Man Astruc the satisfaction of being disappointed like I know he wants me to be. It’s been a fucking war from the moment I saw his name in the writing credits and my best weapon is being pleased about everything in this episode.

- Okay, he looks a little better in the following closeup where his eyes are slightly narrowed. I think it’s the slightly-below-the-chin angle which doesn’t really work for his character model with his soft cheeks and high collar. FELIX IS A BABY.

- WHY WILL NOBODY SHAKE HIS HAND. Adrien hugged him instead and Gabe is ignoring him completely, Felix is clearly so perplexed and I love it. He’s fourteen! He’s fourteen and doing his best with social graces but NOBODY WILL HELP HIM.

- “Felix, you know your uncle’s never been the physical sort!” HE KICKED HIS OWN SON RIGHT ACROSS PARIS IN THE LAST EPISODE BUT SURE, IF YOU SAY SO.

- “Oh, how sweet! You’re still wearing your wedding band!” YEAH? IT’S BEEN LIKE A YEAR?? Again this would make more sense if it had been around three years like we KNOW Emilie’s been gone for, but picking someone out for still wearing their ring after 12 months?! And why isn’t Amelie more emotional about this anyway, isn’t it her sister who’s missing? I wouldn’t be poking fun at MY sister’s husband for keeping his ring if SHE went missing. No wonder Felix seems like he turned out weird.

- I CAN’T MAKE OUT THE NAME OF HER BRANCH OF THE FAMILY AND IT’S KILLING ME. SOMEONE LET ME KNOW WHAT THAT WAS. Graham de Vanily? I can’t place the words. I mean I’m going to keep calling Felix “Agreste” no matter what but I’d like to know what canon is trying to get at.

- “It’s been a long journey from London” I KNEW IT, I FFFFFFFFFUCKING KNEW IT. SO THEY ARE BRITISH?! BUT THEY HAVE AMERICAN ACCENTS?! I mean I guess they’re French first and foremost, but what the fuck is with the American accents if you’re making a POINT about them being from London?! I can’t wait for the French audio to be released, I really want to know what Felix sounds like there. Regardless AAAH MY SON IS FROM MY CITY, I’M SO PLEASED.

- “TakeFelixtoyourbedroom.” EASY GABE THEY JUST MET, ALSO THEY’RE COUSINS

- Poor Felix looks so depressed being saddled with Adrien. Sweetie it’s okay, think positive! You could be stuck with Marinette and THAT would be a true nightmare.

- Now why does Felix keep glancing at Gabe? Is there something going on there? Is he suspicious about what happened to his aunt? I can’t imagine he knows anything about the Miraculous so what’s the deal here?

- UuuuuUUUUGH we’re back with the rest of the gang. I’M NOT INTERESTED, SHOW ME MORE FELIX.

- “Help me Tikki! What would you tell a Kwami friend who’s lost their mom?!” You’re talking to a 5000-year-old demigoddess, Mari, I don’t think she’s gonna relate.

- MARI YOU CAN’T CONFESS TO ADRIEN. NOT AFTER CHAT BLANC. GABE WILL LOSE ALL HIS CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT TO WRECK THE LOVE SQUARE AND ALSO THE MOON’S GOING TO EXPLODE. WHY ISN’T BUNNIX HERE TO SLAP THE TABLET OUT OF YOUR HANDS

- Should Tikki really be encouraging this?! I have no idea where in the timeline this is supposed to be. Maybe this is at a stage where she doesn’t know Adrien is Plagg’s chosen so there’s no reason to steer Marinette away from bonding with him. Or maybe every episode just plays by its own rules and there’s really no such thing as continuity in this series. I want to see Felix again.

- YANKING AT AN ELECTRONIC DEVICE ON THE OUTER EDGE OF A BOAT ISN’T GOING TO END WELL. DON’T. I do love how :D Alya is about it though, if nothing else I love what a supportive friend she is.

- Oh, the tablet didn’t go into the water! I’m genuinely surprised by that. Though I imagine Felix is going to fuck things up in some way so he’ll probably be the one to destroy the video somehow. We all know the relationship development isn’t allowed to move forward so SOMETHING’S going to happen to it.

- Thank god we’re back to the mansion. I’m surprised and pleased that (for now at least) we’re only getting the girls in small doses and the plot is mainly focused around the Agrestes. Gorizilla is my favourite episode to date and it did a similar thing with allowing Marinette to be a side character for once along an Adrien-centric plotline, so hopefully this episode will be similar. I’m liking its odds so far but who knows what Horrible Garbage Man Astruc has up his sleeve.

- “I’m really sorry I didn’t come to your dad’s funeral.” I’M SORRY WHAT? PARDON ME? THAT’S AN ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM I DIDN’T EXPECT. As a side note I love Felix being killer at basketball for some reason, he doesn’t look like the athletic type at ALL but he still made that net over his shoulder without even LOOKING. Goddamn. Can everyone please appreciate how cool my son is!!!

- “My father thought it would be too hard on me, considering everything that’s happened this year.” So Felix lost his dad VERY RECENTLY. OUCH. DON’T LIKE THAT. Or I DO like that because it’s already giving his character some extra depth when we’re still only just getting to know him, but on an emotional level I don’t like that. 

- “He’s very... protective of me.” CHAT BLANC REALLY WAS A HOT MESS OF AN EPISODE WASN’T IT. 

- Now Felix is giving Adrien a hug?! I didn’t see that one coming. My canon Felix would mean it but I don’t quite trust this new Felix yet, he’s probably up to something.

- WHAT A JARRING PIANO TRANSITION. Also why?! What does he have to gain from swiping Adrien’s phone? He’s probably got a terrible roaming plan on his own mobile, that’s always my problem when I go to France. If you truly loved your cousin you’d let him browse Reddit on your phone, Adrien. This is worse than not coming to his dad’s funeral.

- PLAGG KNOWS SOMETHING’S UP. He ought to, in another life he and Felix are STILL dealing with each other.

- Okay I take back what I said about Felix’s voice. Bryce Whatshisface isn’t doing a very good job separating the tones. I can buy that Adrien and Felix sound very similar but their delivery should be completely different! I really do want to watch this in French, I get the feeling it’ll sound much better.

- AH YES, HERE WE GO. I’m getting the feeling this is Garbage Man’s part of the episode. Squished cheese aside, I do like the implication Felix does (or did) card magic and karate. I’m thinking of that Mickey Mouse episode where he vanishes Donald’s car keys with a hand trick except it’s Felix vanishing Marinette’s phone when she’s about to text Adrien or something. I’ve got to draw that.

- “Mind if I take a shower?” WHY, FELIX. I mean I’d probably want to shower too after the London-Paris commute (and I’m sure he’s only going in there to wreak havoc, put food colouring in Adrien’s shampoo bottles or something) but what a weird time to ask!

- I mean Plagg has a point about difficult home situations not justifying bad behaviour (and I feel like that’s not what’s going on, with how he was glaring at Gabe I think he’s behaving like this for some other reason), but Felix’s dad LITERALLY DIED. Like they had a funeral and everything. Emilie is just “missing”. They’re SIMILAR but that’s still a false equivalence because Adrien’s got hope to hold on to and Felix doesn’t.

- So we’re not going to talk about how Felix got into Adrien’s passcode-protected phone? I guess he could have done the fogging-up-the-screen trick from Oblivio. Standing around in a steamy bathroom in three layers of clothing is a great way to sweat yourself out and ruin your hair though, way to get even more gross than a five-hour commute between countries.

- “Of course that idiot has a crush on a superhero!” EASY THERE, MR HOWLING-ON-A-ROOFTOP-BECAUSE-HE-SAW-THE-GIRL-HE-LIKED. WE’VE ALL SEEN THE PV.

- I’ve just noticed Felix has a ring too! I don’t know how I missed that before this scene! That’s NICE. He’s still not allowed to have it on his middle finger (LET HIM SWEAR) but that’s a nod back to Chat Noir which I really appreciate!

- ROSE HAS BEEN ON THE HELIUM. SOMETHING’S NOT RIGHT THERE.

- FELIX KNOWS CHLOÉ! THAT’S NICE, THAT’S GOOD. I LIKE THAT. That’s also a really nice little video from her, I love the few small moments we’ve had that affirm she and Adrien really ARE friends, whether she wants to date him or not. 

- OOOH HE DELETED THE VIDEOS. I’m curious about him borrowing Adrien’s clothes too, are they going to dress the same? You’d think Adrien wouldn’t give someone an exact copy of the outfit he’s currently wearing but I genuinely don’t know if he owns anything different. I hope they don’t just use two Adrien models for the rest of the episode, please let me see Felix properly :/

- WHY. HONESTLY, WHY. CAN I PLEASE GET AN EXPLANATION FOR WHY FELIX IS DOING THIS.

- OOOH MARI YOU’RE NOT GONNA LIKE THIS. I can imagine Felix is going to say something nasty and that’ll set the girls off and bring about the akuma of the week. I’m mildly entertained but I’m still not engaged with this idea without any proper explanation. We’d better get something by the end of the episode which justifies what’s made Felix do this, because “he’s just evil lol” would be a reeeeally low move from Garbage Man Astruc. 

- MARI SWEETIE. YOU’VE GOTTA LEARN TO CHECK A ROOM IS EMPTY BEFORE YOU RUN INSIDE AND START FREAKING OUT VERY LOUDLY. LUKA’S HEARD ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING. 

- Luka is such a nice character. Why does he get to be so high quality when Felix has been turned into a cheese-smashing phone-stealing gremlin? I mean I KNOW why, but I’d like to think the showwriters are better than this. They’re not, but I’d like to think they are.

- WHAT A VIDEO MESSAGE. I love how Luka’s just sitting there grimacing while Mari speeds off into battle, he doesn’t know what she’s about to do but he knows better than to try stopping her.

- Back with Gabe and Nathalie. Is this what was being foreshadowed when Gabe claimed he wouldn’t be fooled by the boys’ identity switch twice? Is he GOING to be fooled again or will he be the one person who can tell immediately that this isn’t his son? 

- “FELIX.” WOW, HE REALLY WASN’T FOOLED TWICE. RESPECT. He may have trouble getting up off the ground if he sits down too low but he can at least identify his child in a difficult situation like this, props to Gabe this week.

- “All this disappointment might just help us get rid of our unwanted guests!” SHUT YOUR MOUTH, FELIX IS A DELIGHT. The only unwanted guest here is Astruc on the writing team.

- “Felix... I told you that you couldn’t fool me twice.” Way to blow your identity in five seconds Gabe. I guess he hasn’t sent out the akuma yet so this might just be a personal monologue, but he starts addressing his victims directly so often at this stage that I’m really not sure what they can or can’t hear. SHIT’S RISKY.

- OH OKAY, SO HE’S SENDING THIS TRIPLE AKUMA AFTER FELIX? AND/OR ADRIEN, DEPENDING ON HOW HARD IT IS TO TELL THEM APART? I guess that’s what he means by getting rid of their guests, if the house is attacked by a monster (or monsters?) they aren’t going to want to stick around, but I REALLY HOPE YOU’RE TAKING ADRIEN’S WELLBEING INTO ACCOUNT HERE GABE OL BUDDY :/

- “TIKKI, SPOTS ON! MNUURGH” ME TOO MARINETTE. I’M REALLY ONLY 12 MINUTES INTO THIS.

- I’m gonna be honest, I’m not really interested in the girls. I was hoping for a real triple akuma (like Oblivio was apparently Alya and Nino together) but they’re all just villains we’ve seen before. There’s stuff I could comment on here but I just want to see more of Felix, that’s what I’m here for.

- “Nathalie, get Adrien to a safe place far from his cousin!” YOU’RE REALLY JUST GONNA SACRIFICE FELIX LIKE THIS. I guess that makes sense, I WAS complaining during Chat Blanc that Adrien is Gabriel’s weak point, so all things considered I’m not surprised that he’ll protect Adrien but just flat-out wants Felix dead. Fair enough.

- WOW. I THOUGHT ADRIEN WAS GOING TO BE HEROIC AND DEFEND FELIX BUT HE WANTS HIM DEAD TOO. Or was that a double bluff to make the akuma think he MUST be Felix so he can lead them away and keep his cousin safe? He’s just run off with a wild cackle so I’m thinking it’s the latter. HE’S A GOOD BOY AND A TRUE HERO.

- I also find it kind of funny how Nathalie will jump in harm’s way to defend him when there have been INNUMERABLE other episodes of Gabe just setting an akuma directly on Adrien for the hell of it. Maybe because there isn’t really any ‘harm’ here to start with; the three girls’ powers are probably the least violent of all the akuma we’ve seen so far.

- AM I REALLY ABOUT TO SEE FELIX DRESSED AS ADRIEN DOING KARATE. I HOPE HE’S GOOD AT IT.

- OH MY GOD HE IS GOOD AT IT. That’s cool! I was expecting him to totally flop considering how badly his imposter trick went down a few minutes ago, but it’s nice to see he’s as capable at fighting as he is at basketball. When do I get to see his magic card tricks?

- YEAH I FEEL THE SAME PLAGG. WHAT’S EVEN HAPPENING. Not that I think Adrien shouldn’t save Felix, I just want to know WHY Felix felt like he had to do this in the first place! I feel like “can I PLEASE get a waffle” except instead of watching the employees fight I’m watching this episode careening away with no pauses to explain what’s going on.

- FELIX C’MON. STOP CAUSING PROBLEMS ON PURPOSE. I can tell Garbage Man Astruc still has the reins here because causing even MORE trouble even AFTER Adrien saved his ass is a completely illogical course of action. PUT SÉBASTIEN BACK IN THE WRITERS CHAIR.

- “WHICH PART OF THE WORD ‘NO’ DID YOU NOT UNDERSTAND?!” Oh perfect, great, can’t let this episode end without accusing Felix of not respecting consent! That’s a hot button issue and if Garbage Man Astruc can get him on that bandwagon then fans HAVE to hate this character! Great move! Fucking pillock!

- WOW CHAT THAT’S MEAN. I guess accusing Felix of having no friends is justified in the context of the episode but yikes :(

- Was that a flash of humiliation from Felix there? God will one of the writers PLEASE save this character, PLEASE don’t let this episode end without someone getting him out of the Garbage Man’s big meaty claws.

- Excuse me WHAT? Felix is talking directly to Papillon?! So he knows about all the Miraculous stuff?! Oh NO, is this about getting his dad back? I don’t know whether the One Wish is common knowledge (I don’t think it is?) but maybe Felix put the pieces together on his own back home, so all his behaviour here has been trying to incite an akuma that he can take advantage of to appeal to Papillon?! Or he could just be a bitch all on his own, which is probably what the Garbage Man would prefer, but this makes a lot of sense all of a sudden.

- BRO HE NEARLY DIED. BRO. BROOO.

- “I hope you’ve learned your lesson!” YOU’RE NOT EVEN GONNA ASK ABOUT THE PAPILLON THING? YOU CAN’T JUST TREAT THIS AS A REGULAR DISTURBANCE, FELIX KNOWS SHIT ABOUT THE MIRACULOUS YOU GUYS--

- FELIX’S MOM IS REALLY GOING TO BLAME HIS DEAD DAD FOR THIS? HARD YIKES. NO WONDER FELIX IS WEIRD.

- I’m expecting this isn’t over, because Felix still clearly wants something specific that he didn’t get, but I’ll take this cute hug for what it is. He didn’t have an evil expression behind Adrien’s back this time either and the music is all soft and nice, plus he FINALLY got a handshake from Gabe, but I absolutely do NOT imagine this episode will end without getting an extra shot in at the PV fans somehow. We’re not getting off this easy.

- Why doesn’t Gabriel want Adrien to go after Felix? Is he scared he’ll try to run off, or ask them to stay longer when he really wants to get rid of them?

- AHAHA FELIX STOLE GABE’S RING. WHAT A BRAT. Was that the “jewelry” he mentioned wanting in return for helping Papillon? I figured it was a Miraculous thing but maybe not.

- OHHH, look how much Felix loves his mom! This is such a sweet scene. I particularly like the idea that Amelie was trying to get the rings back to give one to Felix because the way she was speaking to Gabe made it sound like she wanted them Just Because. But you can’t mention some wild story connected to the rings and then not explain it! I want to know what that is, I want to know why Felix is so fascinated with it!!!

- ALSO, FELIX GETTING A BIG KISS RIGHT ON THE FOREHEAD. EXCELLENT. I’ll fucking BET this is another scene Sébastien sneaked in because it’s such an emotional quality shift from the whole clone mess. Like what the fuck even WAS that.

- Yep, Felix is still evil! WHY THOUGH. WHAT’S GOING ON. CAN I PLEASE GET A WAFFLE

- I was expecting a worse ending, but “Felix can’t ever come back to Paris because Gabriel will kill him with his bare hands if he does” is decent enough. If there’s no further confirmation (and NO, anything Garbage Man Astruc tweets later on does NOT fucking count so don’t try me) I’m going to take it that he WAS actually sorry for what he did to Adrien. That’s better than nothing.

.

.

WELL THAT WAS AN EPISODE. That actually wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be - it could have been a lot better but it could have been a lot worse too. The beginning and end were nice enough even if the middle part was Garbage Man Astruc’s usual atrocious mess of self-service, though I do particularly despise the hamfisted consent issue shoved in there just to generate extra reasons to hate the character. WE GET IT, YOU DON’T LIKE FELIX. OFF YOU FUCK. 

I’ve slept on this next paragraph to give myself time to formulate some concrete thoughts about the plot, so... Well, it was a mess, that’s for sure. They spent way too much time establishing how oH sO eViL Felix was and not nearly enough time actually explaining his character. 

Why is he acting out like this? What has he got against Adrien in particular? Is he really sore about Adrien not supporting him at his dad’s funeral or is that just what Adrien thinks is his problem? What was his relationship with his dad before he died? Was his troublemaking all about trying to provoke an akuma and ask Papillon to help him get his family rings back (which he was clearly trying to steal from the moment he walked through the door, only Gabe wouldn’t shake his hand the first time), or was that just a side effect of causing shit for no reason? Did he mean his apology to Adrien at the end? WHAT was the deal with the rings and the story attached to them? There’s a whole interesting story buried in here which just got completely overlooked by the emphasis on how terrible he was and that’s really disappointing. 

I did like his damaged-but-still-good relationship with Adrien though, there’s still hope there and maybe Felix (if he ever shows up again, which I only hope he does if it’s NOT another excuse for Garbage Man Astruc to shit on the PV fandom again, for the love of FUCK don’t give this guy multiple opportunities) will start coming around and making the effort to be a better cousin since Adrien’s given him a second chance. I don’t know. What I liked just as much was Marinette actually barely being in this episode at all, for the first time since Gorizilla she’s ALLOWED to be the supporting character again and that’s GREAT.

I don’t really know what else to say. I’m exhausted. Adrien’s a darling and I think I prefer my Twin AU, though canon Felix being a delightful little gremlin who causes problems-on-purpose is something I can work with in the future too. 

Thanks for coming on this... interesting journey with me! I posted a set of tweets last night which I’ll leave here to finish up:

[rosesgonerogue]

Just a Friend

Daminette December Day 1

It wasn’t often that Damian had to deal with the Agreste child, but with both their fathers being such big names, it was inevitable. Agreste was preferable to the Bourgeois brat, but he still reeked of a sheltered life. And now Damian was going to have to put up with him for the next several days while Father discussed business with the elder Agreste. 

“Remind me why Drake couldn’t come instead?” Damian demanded once again. 

“You know the reason,” Bruce sighed. “I was specifically asked to come with one of my sons. But if I come, Tim had to stay behind to keep the company running.” 

“Grayson?”

“He’s standing in as Batman.” 

“Why couldn’t Todd do that? Or come here?” 

Bruce fixed him with a flat stare. “We would either have a slew of corpses, or an international incident on our hands.” 

Damian growled, knowing that his father was right. That didn’t mean that he liked this cursed city. 

They came to the Agreste mansion all too soon, and Damian already dreaded the awkward conversations that awaited. It had been a few years since he’d been forced to associate with the boy, and Damian could only hope he was somehow less sheltered.

The mansion was more ostentatious than ever. It had a way of looming over people that felt cold. He never would have admitted it, but he almost wished his brothers were here to cause chaos and bring some life into the dead house.

To complete the aura, the door was opened by Agreste’s stoic assistant, the one with glasses and a harsh bun. Gabriel was standing staunchly inside with Adrien at his side, green eyes dull.

“Thank you for travelling all this way, Bruce,” Gabriel said in perfect English. “We welcome you and your son.”

“It was our pleasure,” Bruce said with a cordial smile. “Damian was curious why you wanted one of my sons to come, though.”

“We’ve found a rather interesting young designer, and if things work out in our deals, we were hoping your son might consider modelling her designs, potentially taking the brand over to America.”

Translation: Gabriel thought his son was too good for this, so Damian was stuck modelling for an amateur.

Bruce’s smile tightened ever so slightly, knowing that this would be a hard sell to Damian. “We’ll see how these negotiations go first.”

“Very well. Adrien, why don’t you entertain young Damian in your room?”

Damian bristled at being dismissed in such a manner, but before he could do anything, Adrien actually spoke up.

“Actually, Father, I was wondering if I could show Damian around Paris, maybe introduce him to a friend or two?”

Wow, the boy had a backbone now, as well as friends. Interesting. His friends were probably just as rich and sheltered as Agreste, but maybe they would distract one another until they forgot about Damian entirely. One could hope, anyway.

At least Agreste had a seemingly competent bodyguard, Damian noted as he followed the blond out to the shiny car. The whole way Adrian yammered on about his friends, but in particular some girl named Marinette. With all the praise he was giving her, it was a wonder that this Marinette hadn’t cured cancer yet.

Adrien paused in his praises of her long enough that, despite himself, Damian found himself asking, “Is this Marinette your girlfriend? You certainly have plenty to say about her.”

The boy laughed. “Oh no, Marinette if just a friend, my first friend, really. You’ll love her, just wait.”

“Tt.” Damian couldn’t help the noise of disbelief as he gazed out the car window. He was expecting and dreading being taken to some tourist attraction, but it appeared that they had arrived at… a bakery?

“Marinette is actually the designer you might be working with. She’s amazing, and this is her family’s bakery.”

Ah, Agreste was likely trying to sell the virtues of the girl so Damian would look more kindly on whatever shoddy designs the girl had come up with. It was a more underhanded tactic than he thought Agreste capable of, and kind of impressive.

The bakery was small, but clearly good quality. Damian had to admit that the food appeared to be comparable with Pennyworth’s cooking. At the counter, they were greeted by a petite Asian woman.

“Oh, Adrien, it’s nice to see you again. Are you and your friend here to see Marinette? She warned us you two might be coming. She’s in her room, you know the way up.”

“Thanks, Mrs. Cheng. We’ll head up there now,” Adrien said, leading Damien deeper into the bakery. Before they made it to the hallway, however, they were intercepted by a hulking bear of a man.

Damian tensed -- he was even carrying a weapon, one of those wooden paddle things that were used to get things out of traditional ovens. This man would be formidable because of his size alone, but--

“It’s nice to see more of Marinette’s friends here. Take this up with you,” he said, setting the paddle down to hand Adrien an entire quiche. “You boys are welcome to have some as well, but make sure Marinette eats a slice. She got a commission, and we’re not sure when she last ate or slept.”

Damian sighed as he accepted a pile of plates and forks. So, she was obsessive like Time as well. This girl already sounded exhausting, but breakfast had been a while ago, and the quiche smelled amazing.

Agreste led them through the bakery and up the stairs as Damian attempted to mentally reconcile what could have resulted in the union of the slight Asian woman and the hulking baker. What he expected, however, was not at all what he got.

“We’re here with food, Marinette,” Adrien called as he stepped into the room.

“I’ll eat in a minute, Mom, I just need to finish this applique,” the girl mumbled. She wasn’t visible yet, hidden behind a massive ball gown.

“Marinette, you have a guest,” Adrien said gently.

“Yes, papa, I’m getting plenty of sleep,” she mumbled.

The dress the girl was working on was quite possibly the most intricate thing Damian had ever seen. The dress appeared to be scarlet silk, the skirt resting on layer upon layer of tulle and crinoline, The body of the dress was patterned with hand-appliqued black lace. Normally the color combination would have been garish, but it was vaguely reminiscent of a ladybug, and definitely worthy of the red carpet.

Suddenly Damian was filled with the need to know more about this girl. He heard her humming to herself before making a noise of satisfaction. “There, I’m officially done, now what did you--”

The girl cut off when she peeked from around the gown, eyes wide as she squeaked, “Adrien, what are you doing here? And who is that?”

He had never had such an absurdly intense reaction before to merely seeing someone’s face and hearing their voice. Her eyes were wide in shock, and they were the bluest eyes Damian had ever seen, complimenting her blue-black hair that looked unbelievably soft. As he contemplated taking that hair out of its pigtails and -- holy infatuation, Batman, Damian was beginning to sound like Grayson. Besides, this girl looked more like a Wayne than Damian himself did.

“Marinette, meet Damian Wayne, one of your potential models,” Adrien said in English, most likely for Damian’s benefit.

“That was today!” the girl exclaimed, in adorably accented English as she scrambled to get off of the ground where she had been kneeling to finish the dress. “I’m so sorry, I got so wrapped up in this commission and lost track of time. I’m Marinette Dupain-Cheng, it’s nice to meet you, Damian.” She finally emerged from behind the dress and held out a hand. It was warm and unexpectedly calloused, but tiny, just like her. She was almost pixie-like, obviously taking more after her mother  than her father.

“It’s a pleasure,” Damian said, shaking her hand longer than was strictly necessary. “This dress is truly a work of art.”

“Oh, you speak French!” Marinette said delightedly. Honestly, he hadn’t noticed he’d switched languages. “My English is okay, but your French sounds amazing!”

“Well clearly your sewing ability surpasses almost anything I’ve ever seen before. Now I can’t wait to see what your fashion line has to offer.” Why was he saying this? Why was Damian smiling in an imitation of Grayson whenever he was near a female?

“Flattery will get you nowhere,” Marinette said, ducking her head to hide her slight blush. “But if you’re going to be my model then I’m going to have to tailor a lot of things to you, so you’re going to have to put up with me for a while.”

“I think I can handle that.”

As Marinette stammered a reply, Adrien awkwardly stood to the side, still holding the quiche. Had… Had Marinette forgotten him? Marinette never forgot him! He was always oddly the center of attention when Marinette was around because they were such good friends! Adrien felt slightly unsettled. He had hoped that Marinette would soften Damian, but he didn’t expect him to smile at her like that.

Throughout the rest of their stay in Paris, Damian found any and every excuse to spend any moment with Marinette. Bruce was curious and slightly suspicious about this turn of events. He expected this kind of thing from Dick, but it was entirely baffling from Damian.

One night when Damian had been out particularly late with Marinette, Bruce decided to wait up. He heard the door opening followed by Damian murmuring lowly in French, and… was that a chuckle? Yes, his son was softly laughing into his phone. The slight smile dropped off of the boy’s face when he met Bruce’s eyes and he murmured, “I’ll talk to you later, Angel.”

Raising an eyebrow, Bruce asked, “Angel?”

He regretted the way Damian instantly snapped into his rigid, emotionless persona. “Is something wrong, Father?”

Bruce was quick to say, “You’re not in trouble, Damian. I’m just worried, you’ve never been in a relationship before, and this all seems--”

“You’re mistaken, Father,” Damian interrupted. “Marinette and I are just friends.”

Bruce nodded and was going to leave the subject there before a small smirk crawled across the boy’s face. “For now, at least.”

Hi! I’m kind of new to this community, but you can call me Rose! Or Rogue, whichever you prefer! I found this pairing just a while ago, and when I saw the prompts for Daminette December, I got so freaking excited! I don’t do a lot of romance writing, so this is kind of an experiment. I want to get better at it, so please, let me know how I’m doing! Unfortunately, not all of the prompts will be this long, I’ve got finals coming up. I’ll try to keep up posting daily, though! 

Taglist: 

@ozmav @daminette-december2019 @maribat-archive

[angelofthequeers]

Happy Holmium

Disclaimer: I don’t own ML.

My @mlsecretsanta gift for @wedontdeservenino! I hope you enjoy! ❤️💚

AO3 link

“Happy Holmium, Marinette!”

The mere sight of Adrien doesn’t make Marinette want to die now after months of shifting her focus to being his friend over asking him out, but he can’t just look over his shoulder and wave like that and expect her to be okay with –

Wait. What?

“Happy what?” Marinette says.

“Don’t encourage him,” Nino groans. “He’s so proud of it, like he thinks he deserves a freaking award for it.”

“Happy Holmium!” Adrien grins like the cat that got the cream. “Get it? Ho? For holmium? Ho, ho, ho? I could go with Merry Chromium if you prefer!” he adds when Marinette and Alya join Nino in groaning and thumping their heads on the desk.

“I can’t believe I want to marry you,” Marinette mumbles into the desktop.

“Huh?” Adrien says. Marinette lets out a small shriek and whips her head up.

“Nothing!” she cries, waving her hands around and praying to whoever might be listening that her face isn’t turning as scarlet as her alter-ego’s suit.

“Smooth,” Alya snickers, also lifting her head.

“Attention, class!” Ms Bustier calls. “I know it's the final class of the day and your attention may be drifting elsewhere, but I'd like it if you could at least listen to this. Then you can go back to pretending to listen while I pretend to believe you.”

Snickers are heard all around the room, especially when Ms Bustier looks at Kim and Nathaniel. Nathaniel laughs sheepishly, while Kim just gives an impish grin and crosses his arms.

“I thought that since this is your last Christmas with me before you all go to lycée, we could do something a little fun,” Ms Bustier says. “A Secret Santa!”

Excited murmuring breaks out across the room. Except for Adrien, who raises his hand and says, “Um, what’s a Secret Santa?”

“Oh, you poor, sheltered boy,” Chloé drawls, and Sabrina snickers. It’s really been quite astonishing to watch Chloé’s slow, heel-dragging progress from a horrific jerk into a jerk with a heart of gold since being given a second chance with the Bee Miraculous. Marinette suspects that it’s mostly to do with Pollen’s influence pushing her to be a better person outside the mask as well as behind it, but if a kwami’s guidance means continued respite from Chloé’s bullying, Marinette’s not exactly going to complain.

“Now, now, Chloé,” Ms Bustier chides. “Adrien, a Secret Santa is where you draw a random name and must give a gift to that person. I’m giving you all until the last day of term to finalise your gifts, in case anyone wants to get creative, but you must participate. I thought it would be a nice reminder of the bonds you’ve all forged before you leave for lycée.”

“Can we give gifts to people other than our Secret Santa?” Lila pipes up. “Even if I don’t get Adrien, I still have the perfect gift for him. I’m sure you’ll love it, Adrien!”

“Aww!” Rose coos. “That’s so thoughtful of you, Lila!”

Marinette meets Adrien’s gaze and rolls her eyes. Her cheeks grow warm when he immediately hides his mouth behind his hand, no doubt concealing the grin he can’t hold back. Meanwhile, Alya mutters something that sounds vaguely like, “Can’t believe I ever fell for her bull.”

“Of course you can, Lila,” Ms Bustier says. “But your focus must be on the recipient that you draw, otherwise it wouldn’t be fair to them.”

“Oh, of course!” Lila says. “I promise!”

“Right.” Ms Bustier picks up the small box on her desk and shakes it. The sound of rustling fills the air. “When I call on you, come and draw a name from the box. And no re-drawing! That’s not in the spirit of Christmas. Chloé, you first.”

It’s impossible to tell who Chloé had gotten, since she gives no visible reaction, so Marinette can only conclude that she hadn’t gotten Lila or Adrien, since she’d be utterly disgusted or utterly delighted respectively. Next up is Sabrina, then Adrien, and Marinette’s stomach jolts because what if Adrien draws her name? What kind of present would he get her? Oh, she’d die if she got a gift from Adrien –

“Marinette!” Ms Bustier says loudly. Marinette jumps and squeaks and stumbles to the front of the class, ignoring the way Alya’s very pointed look is scorching the back of her neck. She dips her hand into the box, rummages for a second, pulls out a neatly-folded piece of paper, and unfolds it to reveal…Adrien Agreste.

No. Way. She gets to be Adrien’s Secret Santa! Oh, this is perfect! She’ll give him the perfect gift, and he’ll declare his undying love for her, and they’ll run away to an island and get married and have three kids and a hamster –

“Is there a problem, Marinette?” Ms Bustier says.

“N-No! Sorry!” Marinette babbles and rushes back to her seat. Why is she getting so carried away? She hasn’t been like this around Adrien for ages!

“Nice!” Alya hisses with a wide grin when she returns from picking her name and they show each other who they’d drawn. Alya had gotten Rose, which should be easy enough, considering that Rose likes anything pink and flowery and nice-smelling. “What are you gonna get him?”

“I don’t know!” Marinette says. “And after that Christmas disaster last year, I don’t wanna mess this up!”

Alya pats her on the back. “You’ll think of something, girl. You always do.”

Finding the perfect gift for Adrien is all Marinette can think about for the whole afternoon, to the point where Alya eventually shakes her head in disgust and gives up on trying to engage Marinette in conversation at all. It’s not until she’s home and scribbling ideas down in one of her notebooks that she finally speaks for the first time since learning that Adrien is her recipient.

“Rubbish! Rubbish, rubbish, rubbish!” She tears the page out of her notebook and scrunches it up, then throws it across the room. “None of this is good enough for him!”

“You’re overthinking things, Marinette,” Tikki says. “Your gift doesn’t have to be perfect. It just has to have love poured into it. Like the scarf you made for him!”

“Yeah and look how well that turned out.” Marinette drops her notebook and buries her face in her hands with a groan.

“It did turn out well,” Tikki says patiently. Well, if one happens to be a god of however many thousands of years, patience is probably a necessity for one’s mental survival. “Adrien loved it because it was handmade and full of love. The only reason he didn’t know it was from you was because your signature somehow got lost. But this time, you’re giving the gift to him in person, so he’ll know it’s from you!”

“True. True. Okay…” Marinette takes a deep breath and looks back down at her notebook. “I can do this. I can – no, I can’t! I’m gonna screw this up and he’ll never want to be my friend again!”

“Would you be freaking out like this if it was anyone else?” Tikki says.

“No!” Marinette says. “But Adrien is…how many good gifts does he get, Tikki? Remember last year? His father only let us go to his house after he ran away. I have to make this gift perfect for him!”

“Marinette!” Tikki rests her tiny hands on Marinette’s cheeks. “Adrien would be happy if you gave him a sock, so long as there was love put into it! Maybe you should take a break from this.”

“But I can’t! I have –”

“– three weeks to design and create your gift. One night won’t be disastrous. If you take a step back and clear your head, you can come back with fresh eyes and maybe think of something extraordinary!”

Marinette takes a deep breath and pinches the bridge of her nose. “Right. You’re right. It’s just like artist’s block when I’m designing. Tikki, if we headed for patrol a little earlier, would you mind –?”

“Not at all, Marinette! Ready when you are!”

“Tikki, spots on!”

Although it’s not snowing, the Parisian night air is freezing enough to bite as Ladybug leaps and hops across the rooftops towards the Eiffel Tower. By the time she arrives and swings up to the top, her face is chilly and stinging and her breath billows out in front of her as though she’s a ladybug-scaled dragon.

“Well, look what the cat dragged in,” Chat Noir grins from his perch on the edge of the Tower’s tip. Ladybug just rolls her eyes and plops down next to him, ignoring the heat radiating from his damn cat body because there’s no way she’s going to give him the satisfaction of cuddling up to him for warmth.

“Ha, ha,” Ladybug drawls.

“Don’t you mean Happy Holmium?” Chat Noir says, and Ladybug freezes. “Get it? Holmium?”

“Ho, ho,” she breathes as Ladybug.exe starts to crash. Chat Noir beams – no, it’s Adrien, it’s Adrien behind that mask, how did she never see it before…but what are the chances of Adrien being Chat? Then again, what are the chances that both are spouting the exact same joke?

And it’s not like they don’t look similar. Blond hair, green eyes…she’d just always assumed that they were green because of the Miraculous, like hers had been as Lady Noire, but if they’re naturally green…

“Milady?” Chat Noir says. Ladybug jumps and squeaks.

“Fine! I’m fine!” she babbles. “I guess all I want for Christmas is yttrium, oxygen, and uranium!”

Oh my god. Did I really just say that to Adrien?

Chat Noir blinks and frowns, then snorts and slaps a hand over his mouth to muffle his laughter. “Why, bugaboo, if you wanted me for Christmas, all you had to do was ask,” he says. “We have real chemistree, don’t you think?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Ladybug says. It’s Chat Noir. Adrien, yes, but it’s Chat Noir, her dorky partner. And besides, she hasn’t been a disaster around Adrien for a while now, so she’s not going to slide right back into turning into one in his presence, thank you very much. Or his presents, as he would say. “You’ll have to try harder than that to make me helium.”

“He, he. Really?” Chat Noir raises an eyebrow. “Gotta step up your game.”

Ladybug sniffs and tosses her hair. “Na. Don’t be sodium salty.”

“But milady, you make my heart undergo an exothermic reaction!” Chat Noir clasps at his heart and leans against Ladybug, who pushes him away out of sheer habit rather than because she wants to. Since he’s super warm. That’s it.

“Your heart is nothing but nitrogen, oxygen, and iridium,” Ladybug says. Chat Noir pouts.

“Don’t we have patrol, milady?” he says.

“Oh, so you can start it, but you can’t take the reaction?” Ladybug smirks, climbing to her feet. She helps Chat Noir up, winks, and says, “Well, at least I’m well-prepared for the Chemistry test on Friday.”

“If you ever need my tutoring services in future, all you have to do is ask,” Chat Noir says with his usual roguish grin. Hmm. Nice recovery.

“I’ll be sure to pass that on to the five-year-olds,” Ladybug says and reaches out to flick his bell. Then she’s off, swinging away from the Eiffel Tower before Chat Noir can recover his wits, trying not to think about the fact that she’d just done that to Adrien because if she lets her brain think about that little fact, she’ll splat on the streets below.

But hey, at least now she knows exactly what gift to give to Adrien for the Secret Santa!

.

“Alright, class!” Ms Bustier claps her hands, and everyone quiets down and turns to face the front. “I hope you’ve all got your gifts prepared, because today is Secret Santa day!”

Adrien’s classmates start to cheer, but Adrien’s too busy bouncing in his seat with anticipation to find out who his Secret Santa is. Is it Nino? Or Marinette? Or, heck, even Chloé? Just so long as it’s not Lila. Thank god she hadn’t been his Secret Santa recipient because after all the crap she’s pulled, no way could he make himself put good effort into getting her a gift.

“When I draw out your name, come to the front of the class,” Ms Bustier says, shaking her little box of names from when their recipients had been announced. “Then your Secret Santa will step forward and give their gift.” She reaches into the box, pulls out a slip of paper, unfolds it, and says, “Kim!”

“Aw, yeah!” Kim bursts out of his seat and skids to a halt next to Ms Bustier, who looks like she’s trying her best to be Teacherly Strict and not laugh at his antics. “C’mon, who got me?”

“Thankfully, not me!” Alix calls, and the class snickers at her quip. Kim beams and flips her off.

“I’m going to pretend I didn’t see that,” Ms Bustier says. “Who was Kim’s Secret Santa?”

After a moment, there’s the sound of someone sliding out of their seat from the back of the class. Adrien tries his very hardest not to slump in relief when he turns and sees that it’s Lila making her way to the front of the class with a neatly-wrapped red present. He tries. But he’s not sure how successful he is, especially at the plastic quality of her smile when she passes him.

“Buon Natale, Kim!” Lila chirps, handing over her gift. Kim whoops and tears the paper off to reveal a shoebox. “I’m so sorry, I would’ve loved to get you an autograph from –”

“Are you kidding?” Kim crows as he yanks the lid off the box. “New sneakers! Thanks, Lila, you’re the best!”

Adrien bites down on his lip to smother his laughter when Kim pulls Lila in for what looks like a super tight one-armed hug and she’s forced to smile brightly and grit out something about it being no trouble at all. Soon enough, Kim and Lila are returning to their seats, and Adrien carefully doesn’t look at Lila so that he doesn’t lose the battle against his laughter.

“Time for our next recipient!” Ms Bustier pulls out another name. “Nathaniel!”

Nathaniel’s Secret Santa turns out to be Juleka, who gifts him a small framed painting in dark colours. Although her artistry isn’t the best, Nathaniel’s bouncing on the spot as he throws his arms around Juleka, and Adrien can’t help but smile at the sight. Both Nathaniel and Juleka understand what it means to be creative from the heart, after all, even if their mediums differ.

Nino’s up next, and his gift from Max is a track of songs that Markov had helped Max create “based on the statistics of your music preferences”. Mylène’s gift from Rose is a pretty, handmade yellow rose pin (“because yellow roses mean friendship!”), and she beams and immediately clips it to her sweater next to her Ladybug pin. Then it’s Marinette’s turn to receive her Secret Santa gift from Ivan, which turns out to be a little black cat plushie with bright green eyes, green paw pads, and a bell attached to its neck.

“I know you like Chat Noir,” Ivan mumbles, scratching the back of his head. “So, I thought…well, I’ve got a friend who makes plushies, and she agreed to make that one for you…”

“It’s perfect!” Marinette stands on her tiptoes to kiss Ivan on the cheek. “Thank you so much, Ivan! I can’t believe it’s handmade!”

Marinette…likes Chat Noir? Enough to receive a handmade plushie based on him? Well, obviously, considering the whole Weredad incident, but…Adrien wasn’t aware that she still felt so strongly about him. He swallows and looks away, otherwise the pure joy on Marinette’s face will do leave him with some very unwelcome thoughts, considering that he’s supposed to be in love with Ladybug.

Wait. Supposed to be? He is in love with Ladybug!

“Adrien!” Ms Bustier says.

“Present!” Adrien blurts out. Everyone else snickers.

“Yes, Adrien, come and receive your present,” says a clearly-amused Ms Bustier. Adrien undertakes the walk of shame with warm cheeks, but the spring is back in his step in no time because now he gets to find out who his Secret Santa is! And what they’re going to give him! Every gift except for Lila’s has been handmade so far, and his gift for Chloé is a friendship bracelet in the colours of Queen Bee, so he can only imagine what his gift will be! “Okay, who was Adrien’s Secret Santa?”

Adrien’s eyes, attuned to the slightest of movements, jump to the dark-haired girl slipping out of her seat with a lumpy red package in her hands. Marinette! His Secret Santa is Marinette! How did he get so lucky? She’s so sweet and talented and amazing, so any gift from her is going to have love poured into it to the seams!

“Happy Christmas, Adrien,” Marinette says with pink cheeks as she hands over her gift, which is soft and squishy. Adrien tries not to look too eager as he runs his finger along the tape and tears the paper off to reveal…a red jacket with black spots? A Ladybug jacket?

“How did you know I liked Ladybug?” Adrien blurts out. Marinette’s pink cheeks darken to crimson.

“Just a lucky guess!” she says. “There’s more if you unfold it!”

There’s a card nestled in the jacket, so Adrien carefully sets it on Ms Bustier’s desk and then unfolds the jacket, and his breath catches in his throat. On the back, in black lettering, is stitched Happy Holmium! with a sprig of holly berries, except that the red berries have black ladybug spots and little black cat paws have been embroidered through the green holly leaves.

“Seriously?” Nino groans when Adrien holds the jacket up. “You’re encouraging that joke?”

“It wasn’t bad,” Marinette argues.

“Finally, someone who appreciates my dashing wit!” Adrien says. He shrugs off his black designer jacket and slips on Marinette’s jacket as fast as he physically can, running his hands over the fleecy material with an undoubtedly goofy grin on his face. “You made me a jacket!”

“Yeah!” Marinette nods rapidly. “Um…you should probably read your card.”

Inside the envelope Adrien had set on Ms Bustier’s desk is a Christmas card with a photo of Ladybug on the front, no doubt from Alya’s extensive stash. But it’s what’s inside the card that makes Adrien’s breath catch in his throat:

Dear Adrien,

Happy Holmium! You’re one of my dearest friends and I’m so lucky to have you in my life, especially since I’d say we have real chemistree. You make my heart undergo an exothermic reaction and all I want for Christmas is yttrium, oxygen, and uranium, even if your heart is nitrogen, oxygen, and iridium. At least I’m not sodium salty over puns. You’ll have to try harder to make me helium next time.

Love,

Marinette

Exothermic reaction? Chemistree? Y-O-U and N-O-Ir? Sodium salty and helium? But…how? There’s only one person who knows that all those specific jokes had passed between him and…Ladybug.

“No way,” he breathes. Her cheeks now dark scarlet, Marinette looks down at the ground, twisting the toe of her boot against the wooden floor. Dark pigtails, bright blue eyes…kind, sweet, warm, amazing…she’s been in front of him the whole time! “You – I don’t –”

“Can we hurry this up?” Alix complains. “Some of us have gifts to get, y’know! And give,” she hastily adds when Ms Bustier looks at her.

Adrien reaches out, almost in a daze, and runs his fingers along Marinette’s cheek and down to her chin, giving her just enough of a nudge to raise her head. Those bluebell eyes punch him in the gut, leaving him breathless and unable to breathe, and before he knows what he’s doing, he’s cupping her face and leaning in and the class is audibly holding their breaths.

“Milady?” he murmurs against her mouth, so quiet that only the two of them can hear. Marinette gives him a soft little smile and at that moment, Adrien wonders how the hell he’s never realised that she’s Ladybug, because she’s just as radiant.

“You should be careful who you joke with, kitty,” Marinette replies. “Hearing the same joke again is old.”

Adrien huffs out a laugh, which Marinette mirrors, her eyes crinkling and lighting up as she laughs too. His eyes dart to her lips, a movement that doesn’t go unnoticed as she also chances a peek at his mouth. But just as Adrien’s leaning in –

“Excuse me, Ms Bustier, but Alix is right!” Lila’s sickly-sweet voice rings clear in the classroom, and Adrien jumps away from Marinette and scratches the back of his head with a little laugh. “We really should get through the rest of the Secret Santas!”

“Aww, come on, Lila!” Rose says. “We’ve been waiting so long for this to happen!”

“It’s okay,” Adrien says. He reaches out to take Marinette’s hand, and she flushes as red as her alter-ego’s suit and looks away while biting her lip. “We can finish this later. Right, princess?”

“Aww!” all the girls coo, apart from Lila.

“Y-Yeah,” Marinette stammers. “Sorry, we’re just holding the whole class up.”

“Don’t apologise,” Ms Bustier says with a wide grin and another name in her hand. “It’s wonderful to see such love at Christmas! Rose, you’re up next! Although I doubt anyone can outdo Adrien and Marinette here.”

Christmas card and original jacket in hand, Adrien heads back to his seat with Marinette behind him, squeezing past Rose on her way to the front. As Rose squeals over the miniature notebook of pressed flowers from Alya, Adrien turns in his seat and catches Marinette’s eye, winking when she finally looks at him. She blushes and looks down, and although Adrien wishes he could pull out the old Chat Noir charm and delight in the fact that his lady really does love him back, they can do that later. After all, they’ve got all the time in the world now.

“Happy Holmium, Adrien!” Marinette says with a little giggle that lights up his world. Adrien beams back.

“Happy Holmium, Marinette,” he says.

[bevvydraws]

Why Stay? (Post-Ladybug Fic)

NOTE: This takes place after the episode “Ladybug”!!! 

Marinette could not believe what she was hearing. Here Lila was, telling lies that were even more outlandish than the ones she had concocted to get Marinette expelled in the first place. And Principle Damocles, her mother, and her father were all falling for it! Really? How could you believe that she had a medical condition that caused her to act out the way she did? The real question though, was why she was backtracking? What reason could Lila possibly have for wanting Marinette to stay at the school? 

All of this was getting to be too much, and Marinette really wasn’t sure how much longer she could handle the constant drama. She had enough on her plate as Ladybug, class representative, and everyone’s favorite go-to helper when they had a problem. The last thing she needed was to continue to constantly look over her shoulder. Besides, no one here seemed to believe her anyway, so how much could they possibly care? 

So when Principle Damocles tells Marinette she would be free to come back to the school the next day, Marinette only hesitates briefly before saying, “I’m not so sure that I want to come back, sir.”

Everyone in the room looked shocked, and Damocles couldn’t help but sputter as he asks her why she felt that way. Marinette looks down at her feet, calming her nerves, before looking him back in the eyes and saying, “I’m not sure I’m comfortable being in the same environment as someone who’s supposed medical condition lead to me being expelled. No one allowed me to explain myself, and a large group of people were almost akumatized for it.” Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Lila make a move to begin a dramatic display of apologizing for being a problem. However, Marinette wasn’t going to let her have the satisfaction. “I would never dream of asking Lila to ostracize herself from the others for her medical condition. So maybe the best solution is for me to simply go elsewhere.” 

“Marinette, honey, are you sure?” Her mother places a hand on her shoulder, looking at her with searching eyes, but Marinette couldn’t help but feel a little betrayed. Even her own family had fallen for Lila’s lies. It just seemed so unbelievable. Her parents were the wisest people she knew, it was almost ridiculous how easy it was for Lila to convince them of her obviously fake illness. 

“I think I’ll need a few days to decide, if that’s alright with everyone,” Marinette says, sounding ever so slightly defeated. There was a lot of thinking to be done after all, and she was scared that the right decision was going to be the one that was the hardest for her to make. 

The little meeting came to an end and Marinette asks her parents if it was okay if she could get her things out of her locker, just in case she did decide to change schools. With her parent’s permission, she rushes to the bakery to grab a box to put her things in. Walking back, her mind was racing as thoughts on what to do flooded her mind. Marinette had even politely asked Tikki to refrain from giving her advice, knowing that this was a decision that she needed to make without being swayed by anyone. How was she ever going to make decisions for herself if she was constantly being pushed to do what everyone else wanted her to do? 

Marinette was just starting to clean out her locker when the bell rang and students began flooding the locker room. Upon seeing Marinette, a lot of students came over to give her a big hug. There were various versions of, “welcome back” chorusing around her. Alya’s arm was thrown over her shoulder while she rambled on about how awesome it was that she was going to be back in class tomorrow, and how she just knew that everything was gonna work out. 

“Actually,” Marinette whispers, eyes downcast, “I’m packing up my locker right now. I don’t know if I’m coming back.” 

There was a round of gasps before people began jumping into questioning her. It got to be too much and Marinette couldn’t stop the tears that were forming in her eyes. This wasn’t right. None of it was right. It shouldn’t have come to this. She shouldn’t be the one who had to decide. 

“Just stop it, everyone,” Marinette looked up while tears streamed down her face. “I love all of you so much. But I can’t be in the same school as Lila. Not while she’s still sick with whatever disease caused her to frame me for all of this in the first place.” Marinette was steadily putting things in her box as everyone looks on in disbelief. “And all of you love Lila so much, and I refuse to be the one who makes someone choose who has to stay or who has to go.” 

Marinette began sobbing harder, her vision becoming so blurry that she couldn’t even bring herself to finish packing the last of her things up. So instead she just turned away from her open locker and clutched her box close to her chest. “I may be transferring schools,” she says, voice trembling and lip quivering, “So I just want all of you to know that I hope you enjoy the rest of your school year.” 

And with that, she was fleeing from the locker room, everyone too dumbstruck by what had happened to even say anything for a while. The class just stood there, looking at each other as everything settled in. To everyone’s surprise, though, it was Adrien who was the first to move. He punched his locker, the loud noise reverberating in the locker room and causing everyone to snap out of their daze. “Dammit!” he shouts. 

“What just happened…?” Alya asks, eyes fixated on her best friends now almost-empty locker that was still hanging open. 

“Is Marinette really leaving?” Rose whispers softly to Juleka, who mumbles her own uncertainties back to her girlfriend. 

“Dude, I thought Lila fixed everything?” Nino sat on one of the benches, unsure of what to do. 

Suddenly everyone was trying to talk over each other, searching for answers even though they had no idea where they should begin. It was hard for anyone to wrap their minds around the fact that Marinette would be leaving them of her own free will. 

“This is all my fault!” came a dramatic cry, “I should just leave instead.” It was Lila, who grew frustrated as everyone was focusing on Marinette. Everyone quickly rushed to comfort Lila, except for Adrien. No, Adrien was busy staring into the open locker that belonged--belongs-- to Marinette. The only things left in the locker were the pictures that she had taped up all over the locker walls and inside of the door, and a little planner at the bottom. He tentatively picks up the book, opening up the cover to see yet another picture taped to the inside. It was their class photo, and in the title spot of the book, she had written ‘Classmate’s Schedules’ in her looped handwriting. 

Adrien began flipping through the pages and realized that Marinette had everyone’s schedules--including his own--written down. Along the margins were notes of potential dates that they could hold class events. It was amazing how detailed and accurate the schedules were, and Adrien wondered briefly why she had the planner. Then he realized it was just Marinette’s way of making sure everyone would be included in their activities. She had gone above and beyond as a class rep. His gaze began moving around to the pictures that were plastered in her locker. 

Some were from class events, some were of random locations in Paris, and almost every single one of them had her friends in them. Marinette loved her classmates so much that she wanted the memories they shared to be the first thing she saw when she got to school. A surge of emotions rushed through Adrien all at once, and he wasn’t sure what to do. But he knew for a fact that he wasn’t going to let Lila keep running her mouth. He had warned her. 

“So, Lila,” Adrien speaks up, not looking away from the inside of Marinette’s locker. “What exactly is the name of your disease? It sounds serious, and I’d like to discuss with my father looking into funding research for a cure.” 

Lila is obviously caught off guard, not prepared for Adrien to begin working against her again so early, “Oh you don’t have to do that Adrien!” she placed a hand on her cheek, “I’m so flattered though. You’re always so nice to me.” 

“But Lila,” Adrien looks at her, a smile on his face and honey dripping in his voice, with eyes that held so much malice that Lila felt his gaze might actually cut her, “this disease sounds really serious. If it causes you to act out and lie uncontrollably like this, who knows what else you’ve lied about? I just don’t want you to feel like a problem, that’s all.” 

Murmurs begin to spark between the classmates, as they begin to realize the truth in Adrien’s words. If she claimed to have a disease that causes her to lie uncontrollably, had anything she said been truthful? Before Lila had the chance to weasel herself out of the situation, Adrien began addressing the rest of the class. 

“Everyone… are we really going to risk losing Marinette?” he gestures to her locker, to the pictures and her planner, “Our everyday Ladybug, who has done so much for all of us with ever asking for anything in return?” 

“Do you really think she’s going to leave us?” Nathaniel speaks up, eyes downcast. 

“There’s a high probability that she will,” Max pushes his glasses up, “Due to the unfortunate way we have all treated her, I don’t think any of us could blame her for wanting to leave.” 

“There is no way Mari would just leave us like that!!” Alya spoke up, tapping hurriedly on her phone before placing it to her ear, “I’m going to talk some sense into her.” 

To no one’s surprise, Marinette didn’t answer. So Alya made as if she were going to head to Marinette’s place, but Adrien and Nino stop her. “Al, the last thing she needs right now is you trying to persuade her to come back,” Nino says softly to her. 

“She’s my best friend Nino! She can’t just leave!” 

“None of us have been very good friends to her,” Adrien frowns, “Me especially.” 

Everyone turns to him, surprised he would say that. The whole school basically knew that Marinette was head over heels for Adrien, so there was no way Marinette could have any sort of grudge against him. Adrien bites his lip, looking back at the pictures in her locker. His gaze fell on one photo in particular: a picture of him and Marinette dancing at Chloe’s party. Apparently, Alya had snapped a photo while they were dancing. Marinette had always been so kind to him and brought him a sense of comfort he really couldn’t find with many other people. She needed him to speak up for her right now, to do something he should have done a long time ago. 

“Me and Marinette both knew about Lila being a liar,” Adrien says, “She’s lied countless times. And it’s not because of a disease, it’s because she is an awful person.” 

Lila gasps, fake tears already in her eyes, “Adrien how could you say that after that photoshoot we had together? I thought… I thought we had something special…” 

“Save it, Lila,” Adrien snaps, “The only thing I have for you is contempt. Let’s not forget that you broke into my home, and continue to harass me even though it’s obvious that I’m uncomfortable. You just don’t like taking no for an answer!” 

Alya steps between Adrien and Lila, “Adrien what are you talking about? You sound about as crazy as Marinette right now.” 

“And THIS is exactly why she doesn’t want to come back!” Adrien shouts, “No one believes her! And it’s all my fault! I told her to stay quiet about Lila being a compulsive liar. Because I thought the two of us knowing would be enough, and that it was better to just leave it be than let Lila get akumatized again!” 

“Lila did say she had a disease that causes her to lie…” Alya tries to defend, “So she can’t help it if--” 

“Alya a disease like that doesn’t exist! And if it does, do you really think she looks guilty for lying all the time?” 

The two begin bickering back and forth, and in the confusion, Lila hastily makes an escape. She would have to take time and regroup before coming back to class. Or, if it was entirely a lost cause, figure out another plan of action. 

“Dudes!” Nino finally interrupted, “We need to focus on Marinette right now. Besides, Lila’s already bailed.” 

“Figures,” Adrien grumbles. Then he addresses the rest of his classmates, “Marinette has done so much for all of us. She’s never let us down. And what is the thanks we give her? We turned our backs on her and didn’t believe her when she said she was being framed. She would have never left any of us alone like that.” 

“What can we do to make her come back?” Rose asks with tears in her eyes. 

“We’ll have to brainstorm some ideas to show her just how much she means to us.” 

“Well, when I was going to leave, all of you decided to celebrate,” Chloe speaks up while looking at her nails, “It was Dupain-Cheng who decided to throw a party for Queen Bee.” 

“That’s it!” Kim shouts, “We can throw Marinette a party!” 

“Would she even come, though?” Alix asks, “I don’t think we could get her to come back to the school.” 

“Then we won’t have it at the school?” Sabrina hesitantly suggests, “We could have it somewhere else. Like maybe the park?” 

“Ew no,” Chloe scoffs, “We’ll have it at Daddy’s hotel.”

“That’s so sweet of you, Chloe,” Rose cheers happily. 

“Yeah well, I totally owe her for that party,” Chloe scoffs, “The last thing I want is to stay in debt with her. After this, we’ll be even.” She indignantly looks to the side, but she couldn’t stop the smile that crossed her face. 

“We’ll need to plan everything soon. I doubt we have much time,” Adrien grins, “Do you think we can do it?” He holds his hand out. One by one his classmates put their hands on top of his, and they were all in agreement. 

They were going to bring back their everyday Ladybug.

[miraculouscontent]

The "Adrien COVID" story is a story posted a few days ago by a saltfic writer who dislikes Adrien. The premise was that the Mayor/elites of Paris want to reopen schools, Ladybug objects because it's not safe to have school before COVID is addressed, and then Adrien sides with the rich people because... well, it's a salt fic, so Adrien is a rich privileged jerk who doesn't care if everyone else dies of COVD as long as he can go to school and thus get out of the house and away from his father.

I mean, I already wasn’t interested based on just the “title” since fiction that brings in real-world issues so bluntly like that doesn’t interest me. Not saying that people can’t (it might even be how they cope so yeah) but it’s not my thing.

So Adrien’s basically the villain then (don’t actually answer this question; the less I know about the AU, the better)? I mean, once a character goes into “being okay with people potentially dying” (hi, Chloe) and stuff like that, I feel like they upgrade past “antagonist.”

And people can do that if they want. I’m fully aware about all the salt fics that come about with characters turning outright violent/being arrested/so on and so forth. It’s not for me but maybe that’s how they cope and honestly it’s ultimately my fault for looking at it in the first place (so long as it’s properly tagged; if it’s not then it’s the author’s fault when people come after them). I know people say that fics like that “give salt fics a bad name,” but honestly, if any person is going to look at salt fics like that and start generalizing and just say that “salt is bad” (y’know, while being super salty about it), then quite frankly I think they’re being overly dramatic and unfair to the people who write legitimately good salt fics.

I think what happens is that people don’t like to blacklist or wait too long to do so, which ends with them constantly exposing themselves to content they don’t like and getting more and more sour about it. They blacklist at that point of course, but it’s too late because they’ve already got this negative perception that’s been heightened due to how long they’ve been exposed to it.

Me? I don’t play those games. I see stuff and I roll my eyes (at most) before blacklisting (sometimes the user, sometimes the tag, it depends on the situation). It’s a waste of my time to get angry about people who do such things when, most of the time, they’re just flat-out wrong/misinformed and nothing I say is going to get through their delusions. That’s why you guys only see me talk about fandom stuff when people bring it up to me directly; I literally don’t know about such things existing outside of what I’ve seen briefly.

Another thing people don’t seem to fully understand is that salt fics aren’t always meant to be totally in-character from the author’s perspective. Sometimes it’s an escalation fic (which is like an in-character fic but exaggerated for various reasons), sometimes it’s just a call-out, and sometimes it’s slightly/mostly out-of-character because someone just had a really good idea and wanted to bring it to life (or they’re just really angry; could be that too).

Yes, it’s all salt, but the idea behind it is typically not, “I have this super-realistic and totally legitimate idea where everyone is in-character and justice is served--” No. The idea behind it is catharsis.

It’s why not all fics stay within the realms of canon: because the show is the established canon, achieving the catharsis that the author intends sometimes means pendulum swinging in the other direction and then going further with it. Just doing the exact opposite of canon isn’t always enough because canon is on a “higher plane of existence,” so to speak, and thus requires more than a call-out for some people.

And the author isn’t always doing it just for them; they’re also doing it for other people who can’t put their frustration in the words and are looking for ways to cope. Fix-it fics aren’t always enough because all it’s doing is the opposite of what canon did. Fanon is not on the same level as canon, so it’s not balanced. That’s why there aren’t always redemptions in salt fics; that’s not the point of the fic itself (and it sometimes negates the feeling of justice by going on after the satisfaction has already been served; authors can do it but it can come off as damage control when they’ve already taken things “too far”).

I’ve said this before, but just because I have a couple of salt AUs that got popular doesn’t mean I always give Adrien a bad role or “go so far” in every single AU that I do (and it could be the same for anyone else). In the literal hundreds (yes, I counted) of ideas I have, I have taken the cat miraculous from Adrien thrice (technically four, but he gave it up himself in that one), and that’s including LadyBugOut and Leave for Mendeleiev. It’s literally less than 1% of all my ideas in which I’ve taken the cat from him.

I have AUs with no salt aimed towards him whatsoever. In fact, I have one that takes place post-canon (yes, canon), where he and Marinette are best friends. He still has the cat miraculous, he’s in a loving and healthy relationship with Kagami (because, contrary to popular belief, people who like Luka can also like Kagami, though people who don’t like Kagami/Adrimi as much as Luka/Lukanette can have reasons for it that make perfect sense and anyone who thinks they can’t is stupid and wrong), and he’s the intentional driving force for getting Marinette together with Luka because he cares about Marinette’s happiness.

If I wanted to, I could do an AU where Adrien was outright the villain, or make him the villain in LadyBugOut by having him choose to work with Gabriel after losing the cat miraculous.

But I don’t. Why? Because changing Adrien’s character or twisting things around to make him out to be a villain is where I draw the line in salt. It doesn’t matter how interesting the ideas I had were because, for me, it’s going too far. It’s the ultimate level of salt to villainize a character because I don’t like how they’re portrayed and I’m not going to do it.

[akimmito]

Heroes are made by the path they choose

First | Prev | AO3 | Next

Master List

Chapter 18

Marinette was waiting for the moment when the Gotham vigilantes would show up, they ended up making the decision after she and Felix had a little chat with Silent Hill, she even spoke to John to ask what he knew about the two of them (of course, they had already met Robin, but their meeting was under other circumstances). John was very clear about his opinions, so she was able to have a better point of view when deciding.

They, sadly, would be the first to be recruited knowing the entire team. Unlike other members, they were recruited by two or three incumbents of the miraculous. The Aurore case, which was recommended by Chloe, Marc and Nathaniel; Silent Hill was recruited by her, Felix, and Max; Not in Hell was brought into the organization by Marc and Nathaniel (with approval from Alix and Luka). The others were led by other circumstances, such as John (who was led by her alone), Adrien (who only retired from the team due to circumstances that were out of his control), Jean (Chloe's butler ended up involved after it was done difficult to explain strange behaviors, becoming a great ally), Kim (he was initially recruited to be part of the team, but ended up only an affiliate) and Gina (how could she not realize that her granddaughter was the one who made contact with her? Maybe he couldn't discover her as Ladybug by magic, but there was nothing of the kind involved here anymore. It was easy).

So yes, Nightwing and Robin will be their first victims. The only one who completely opposed the idea was Damian, but she couldn't get any information out of him. Until minutes before meeting them.

"My father is Batman."

Marinette stayed still in those moments, but her son kept moving forward. She saw him draw one of his swords, but she was still processing his words. However, she slides it down and makes sure she doesn't forget to talk to him later. She can't go crazy in those moments.

Damian doesn't know who possessed him to say it in those moments, his mother had been asking the night before when they were alone, but he refused to say a word. And minutes, seconds, before meeting his brothers, it was not the right time. Well, the damage is done.

"You're not welcome." He's not feeling satisfaction in threatening his brothers, not at all, it's simply to maintain an image and let them know that they will not accept his games. It's just that.

Afterward, he just kept watching, watching the interaction, focusing his attention on Nightwing, who keeps his gaze fixed on his mother. He frowns, it doesn't matter if it's inside or outside the mask, Richard Grayson keeps looking at his mother; doesn't like. But his mother wouldn't notice him, would she?

No she wouldn't. She doesn't even give him a glance, she's more focused on Robin, so no, and his mother wouldn't notice Grayson. Even so, he must mark territory, he doesn't want one of his brothers as a father, although them is better than his father. No, he cannot submit to such thoughts, the man who marries his mother must be worthy of it.

When they go through the portal, the little glamor placed on him fades and he heads to the common room, where the others must be.

Marinette watches him leave, curious about her son's visible bad mood.

"Make yourself comfortable." She smiles kindly, in stark contrast to the intimidating image she was giving earlier.

"Suzaku…" She directs her gaze towards Robin, she finds it amusing that the youngest is the one who takes the reins because the responsible adult seems too lost watching her. Oh yeah, she realized, it's not subtle at all.

"Yes?"

"You mentioned that they already knew about us, how did they find out?"

"We have a contact." She doesn't remove her smile and proceeds to settle in front of Nightwing, her place would normally be at the head of the table, but she finds the attention he's giving her endearing. Oh well, what will their expression be when they see who is under the mask? It's not that she knows who they are, but she could guess, however, she will not be wandering in those directions.

“So you have a network of contacts?” Robin seems very excited by the information and seems to want to know more, much more. His curiosity is well received, especially since there is no malice, at least she cannot perceive it. "How do you open those portals? Is it related to heroes?"

"Quiet. All those questions will be clear at the meeting… so Nightwing, you didn't say anything, did a bird tear your tongue out?" This time, her smile changes to a cheekier one. John taught her to smile like that, it's a fun flirting game they have.

"I'm giving myself time to process everything, you really caught us off guard. We wanted to talk to one or two of you, I wasn't expecting us to have a meeting scheduled. ”He smiles humorously, he doesn't lie, sure, but it's not the whole reason.

"Oh, understandable. Although I could swear that the cause of your distraction was me. "Marinette is having fun, the years when she could barely talk to someone she liked, even a little, are long gone and buried, now it's much easier.

He doesn't respond to what was said because they see the others enter, being surprised to see several of them without a mask. Tim quickly recognizes Chloe Bourgeois, how not to do it, she is a MP and they have seen her several times in the news, she has very good press on her part. They also see Felix Graham of Vanily, Dick remembers him from that red carpet that Stephanie insisted on seeing months ago, in addition to the photos that Tim showed her from the newspapers of when Gabriel Agreste was arrested. The others, they don't recognize at all, although there are a couple of faces that they are sure they should recognize.

"Nice to meet you" Luka takes the initiative to say hello, sitting next to Marinette and taking his partner by the hand to take a seat next to him, Damian immediately claims the seat on the other side of his mother, refusing to take off his mask, even though everyone has put it aside.

"The pleasure is ours." Dick is the one who responds, more alert for the presence of everyone else.

"Do you have any specific questions or do you prefer to wait for us to finish explaining?" Felix asks, settling in next to Damian, the center of the table will always be where Marinette is sitting, so he will always be close to her. The Great Guardian is the main focus in any gathering, even if others don't know her importance.

"Just one." Tim responds, driven by his curiosity because he suddenly has these people who take care of his identity coming to use magic for that purpose, showing his face to them too easily. "Why are you showing us your identities?"

"We'll get to that, Robin. We'll start by introducing ourselves. ”Marinette smiles more kindly, taking a more professional approach now that everyone is settled in and the meeting has begun. Only Max is missing, but they know that he is busier with something more important. "It's hard not to recognize myself, people pay more attention to me than I'm comfortable receiving. Everyone knows me as Marie Lenoir, but my friends know my name is Marinette. ”She takes off her mask and Dick chokes on his own breath. Tim is very surprised, but doesn't show it. "He's my son, Damian.”The boy just frowns in his direction and thinks long and hard before lowering his mask.

Dick doesn't know how to feel about the Damian thing, he's a boy, a boy who surely has a lot of training or she wouldn't let him run around, right? In addition, he carries two swords with him, these being his main weapons, from what he could see of his suit, in addition to some other tools that he surely keeps in the thick belt that looks like cloth, the boy is covered in green, black and gray tones; He has even pulled his hood down revealing his tousled dark hair, very different from when he was seen at country house.

"Felix Graham of Vanily, although if you did a little research on the situation from seven years ago, you know who I am."

"Chloe Bourgeois, impossible not to know about me. I go out unnecessarily on television..."

"And I thought you loved the attention, Chloe." Nathaniel scoffs and she in response shakes her head the other way, hitting him lightly with her hair, drawing a little laugh from Alix at their childish fights that never change. "Nathaniel Kurtzberg, I'm not well known.”He shrugs, but smiles at the two guards. "And he's Marc Anciel.”

Marc just greets them with a little shyness, althoug he keeps moving forward and has made great progress by himself, plus he got his own confidence gain in his work and that's something about it that he will always be safe, no matter how uncomfortable he's in social situations.

"Alix Kudbel." She's simple with her presentation, doesn't see the need to focus too much on assuming something they might or might not know about them.

"Kagami Tsurugi, he's my boyfriend, Luka Couffaine." Simple and clear, Kagami wants to move fast to make the rules of the game clear. Having more allies was always a plan that was discussed when the MT started, but it's still a matter that puts everyone on edge. "Ideally, you should show your identities, the information that we will share with you is not something that is said to any random stranger. Mari-hime doesn't trust just anyone and her instincts are rarely wrong, but we need a guarantee."

Can the people they choose be trusted?

------

It's a Nara: We already made contact with Nightwing and Robin

Silent Hill: Oh perfect

Kiss my ass: So everything ready for the reunion on the weekend?

It’s aNara: Yes, hopefully, they will join too

Not in Hell: It will be entertaining

Kiss my ass: Of course it will! It will be so chaotic

It’s a Nara: I hope not, we will deal with serious matters

Oscar de la Rosa: I already booked the tickets for my trip to London

Divine gift: Everything perfectly calculated, excellent, Jean

Oscar de la Rosa: We must ensure that nothing gets out of control

Silent Hill: You guys are very efficient, they remind me of Alfred

Divine gift: No one can beat Alfred

Oscar de la Rosa: But it is an honor that you mention it

It’s a Nara: Who is Alfred?

Divine gift: A butler

Oscar de la Rosa: A Butler

[chronicallylatetotheparty]

Fractured Foundation: Scorned Soul Ch.5 Spark

The smallest embers can lead to raging wildfires if left unattended.

”Ladybug…" Adrien looked down as the guilt opened a pit in his stomach. "I'm sorry-”

Carapace interrupted Adrien by tackling him. Arms wrapping around him in a tight embrace. "You're okay!" The Turtle's voice broke. "You're okay."

Confusion clouded Adrien's eyes but, slowly, he wrapped his own arms around Carapace. "I didn't... hurt anyone, did I?"

Feeling Carapace stiffen under his hands was all the response Adrien needed. Pulling away from the hero Adrien curled in on himself. "I see."

"It wasn't your fault you were akumatized!" Queen Bee pointed out. Coming off harsher than she meant to, Chloe softened her voice. "Everyone has bad days. It doesn't mean you're a bad person."

Adrien bit his lip. Chloe's words seemed to have the opposite effect of her intention. If the growing void in his gut was any indication.

Rena Rouge stepped forward to add her voice to Chloe's. "She's right, Adrien. You two aren't the only ones here who were akumatized."

Eyes widening, Adrien's head whipped towards Rena. Her? Akumatized? And Ladybug still trusted her with a Miraculous? Maybe he-

Suddenly, four near simultaneous beeps rang out. Announcing the heroes' imminent detransformation.

"...Go. I'll collect your Miraculous later," Ladybug decided.

Carapace shot his Miraculous an accusing look as Rena Rouge grabbed his arm and pulled him away. Casting worried glances at Adrien over his shoulder. Queen Bee stood still, struggling with what to say, before she too left. Eyes locking with Ladybug for a too brief moment.

Coming closer, Ladybug held out Adrien's previously akumatized item. The lucky charm she gave him.

Letting it drop into his hand Adrien stared at it. Slowly, he brought it to his chest.

Placing a hand on his shoulder Ladybug pretended not to feel him tense at her touch. She opened her mouth... And nothing came out. Fire and smoke danced behind her eyes as Scorned Soul's heartbreak echoed in her mind. No words seemed solid enough, strong enough, to pierce the spell. Not even to ask why Adrien was akumatized in the first place.

"Have you ever had something you loved ripped away from you?"

No. Ladybug couldn't say that she had. So, instead she said. "I can take you home?"

That seemed to be the wrong thing to say as Adrien's shoulders hunched slightly. And Ladybug was about to force words out of her mouth to fix it. Even if they didn't come out right, even if they wouldn't obey her, when Adrien answered. "... O-okay."

He trembled in her arms as his own wrapped tightly around her neck. Burying his face in her shoulder to avoid looking at her. Ladybug swinging quickly across the city. Relief at the lack of fires bloomed in her chest. Adrien's grip shifted as he focused on keeping his breath even.

At the sight of the Agreste manor her eyes watered. There was no sign at all of Scorned Soul's unbridled rage. Adrien seemed to sense her shift in mood and opened his eyes.

A vise gripped his heart as he saw their destination. Tears streamed in the wind, disappearing into his hair. When he searched himself for the reason why his eyes stung at the sight there was nothing. Nothing but fire and ash.

Before leaving him in his empty room Ladybug glanced back. Eyes setting in determination. But for what he didn't know. Then she was gone.

The door to his room slammed open. Adrien jumping at the sound. Gabriel strode in, his expression thunderous. Nathalie hurrying behind.

"F-Father?"

"What have you done!?" Gabriel snapped and Adrien flinched at the steel in his voice. "What have you done!?"

Adrien backed away. "I- I don't-"

"Gabriel," Nathalie soothed, though there was a tremor to her words. "Ladybug put everything back as it should be. Everything is fine."

Taking a deep breath Gabriel adjusted his tie. The eruption he was about to loose on his son quelled. For now. Fixing Adrien with his usual look of unimpressed dismissiveness, Gabriel turned on his heel and left. Nathalie glanced at Adrien sympathetically before closing the door.

Adrien collapsed to the floor as his breath came in sobbing gasps. Tears burning from his eyes. His phone rang. He tossed it away without looking. There was no more strength for speaking to others. Gabriel sapped it out and left without even saying why he was so angry.

His phone rang again. Adrien stood, stumbling, and muted it. He felt... drained... Empty... Alone.

----------

Marinette waited quietly, if not quite patiently, across from Master Fu. Her desire to speak was superseded by the persistent guilt that weighed down her tongue. Their kwamis whispered to each other beside the Miracle Box.

First losing Chat Noir then almost losing Adrien, it was too much. She shuddered at the way Scorned Soul had somehow manifested her guilt. Using her own emotions to add fuel to his fire. Turning her own weaknesses against her...

Finally, Master Fu spoke. "I am sorry."

Marinette stared, uncomprehending.

“I created this hatred in him. I could have simply addressed it with him. He was not beyond hope…”

"Wait... Chat Noir is going through the same thing as Adrien!? We have to help him! We have to-"

"Sit down, Marinette. I have already decided to return Chat Noir's Miraculous to him."

Her legs suddenly unable to hold her weight, Marinette collapsed back onto her seat. "I- Really?"

Master Fu nodded, glancing from the Miracle Box to giving her a knowing look. "Recent events have shown me that it is better he remain by your side."

A thought came to the forefront of Marinette's mind. It solved a problem she actively prevented herself from solving. But it wasn't the first time she dismissed it. So, with practiced ease she sent the unwanted answer back where it came from. "Thank you, Master Fu."

He waved away her thanks. "I acted rashly. It is only fitting I correct my mistake."

"Stll-" Marinette's phone rang and she saw her maman's face smiling from the screen. "I have to go Master Fu." Marinette stood and this time her legs held. "Tikki, transforme-moi!"

Ladybug stood for a moment at Master Fu's window. Glancing back at her mentor, Ladybug smiled. A genuine smile at the thought of seeing her partner again. "Thank you." And then she swung away.

Master Fu stood slowly. Although the Miraculous Cure healed his burns the memory of them had not faded.

Wayzz hovered closely to his wielder. "Master?"

"I am alright, Wayzz," he walked toward the Box and pressed the proper code to open it, "Simply thinking."

The ring of the Black Cat seemed to wink at him in the light. Casting his mind back to that day.

Master Fu remembered a call from his memory-less protege suddenly being cut off. A great sphere of amnesia magic ready to wipe every mind in Paris clean. But mostly he remembered Ladybug getting hit while covering Chat Noir. His last mistake, which convinced Master Fu to take his Miraculous.

Picking up the ring, Master Fu placed it in one of the smaller octagonal boxes. He would keep a closer eye on Chat Noir. Obviously, he was too susceptible to akumatization to be let in more than he already had. But this time Master Fu would be there. Watching and assessing from the side. This time Chat Noir would have a guiding hand to set him on the proper path.

----------

Adrien stared disbelievingly at the box in his hand. The same one he'd found the ring in over a year ago. It was even in the same place.

Why? That thought echoed in his head. Sweat beading along his brow, hand trembling and mouth dry.

Why? It was only a day since his akumatization. And suddenly his Miraculous reappeared in his room without explanation or warning.

Why? It was the question itself that made him hesitate to open the box. Or was it the answer?

Why? Gut clenching Adrien snapped it open.

Before he even finished materializing Plagg crashed into Adrien. Calling out his name. Purring into Adrien's chest.

The last shred of his disbelief faded as Adrien slowly hugged Plagg to himself. Tears brimming as Adrien asked for answers he knew would bring no satisfaction. "Why?"

Plagg stopped purring. "Well, Master Fu changed his mind."

"Why?"

Floating at eye level, Plagg gazed at Adrien. "He realized taking me away was a mistake."

"Why?"

Ears drooping, Plagg's tail fidgeted anxiously. "Is that all you're going to say?"

"I was akumatized," Adrien stated, a question in his voice.

Plagg forced his tail to still. "He... Fu's sorry he took Chat Noir away from you."

"I see... And he couldn't even tell me that himself." Adrien turned towards his bed.

Zooming after him, Plagg tried to elicit some reaction besides this unsettling monotone. "Adrien-"

"I'm sorry."

Plagg blinked.

Adrien stared at his friend. "It's good to see you again." He smiled sadly. "I... I missed you."

"Of- Of course!" Plagg tried to downplay the sudden lump in his throat. "I missed you too."

Adrien's smile became a touch brighter.

"Why don't we take a little rooftop stroll? That's always fun."

Abruptly, Adrien's fledgling smile fell and he looked down. Normally he'd jump at the chance to transform, to fly across Paris. But transforming meant seeing Ladybug again. And he didn't want to face her. Not yet.

"Thanks, Plagg." He started for his bed again. "But I'm tired. Maybe later..."

Stunned into silence, Plagg slowly floated into the boy's hair while Adrien settled in. Adrien never turned down an opportunity to transform... Plagg purred for his kid. And if Adrien's tears stained his pillow, well, Plagg wouldn't tell anyone.

----------

Ladybug didn't find Chat Noir until the third night.

He wasn't transformed when she checked her yo-yo contacts and couldn't bring herself to leave a message. She didn't know what to say. Still, Ladybug searched his favorite spots and double checked his patrol routes. All in vain.

Until she spotted a dark shadow purely by chance. Turning sharply, Ladybug angled herself towards the rooftop. "Chat Noir!"

The shadow stiffened at her voice and turned in her direction.

Landing, Ladybug all but tackled him into a huge hug. "I'm glad you're back!" Pulling back to get a better look at him, her enthusiasm faded.

Chat Noir was smiling but... it didn't reach his eyes. His ears were flat against his head and his tail hung limply from his waist. As he pushed her to a respectable distance Ladybug realized he never hugged her back. Merely let his arms hang limply and let her do what she wanted.

"Chat?"

"Hello, Ladybug."

"Wh- What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong." His smile widened but his ears didn't move. "Everything's fine."

Ladybug didn't believe him. "I... I'm sorry I didn't try harder to convince Master Fu."

That did get a reaction. Eyes widening slightly and ears twitching, Chat Noir's smile tightened. "It's fine. You were just obeying your Master."

Before Ladybug could linger on how he'd called Master Fu her Master instead of their Master, Chat Noir jumped to the roof's edge.

"Well, we should get started on patrol don't you think?"

"What? Chat wait-" Ladybug reached for him but he was already leaping away from her. Fading into the shadows.

This whole mess started because he couldn't act professionally. Because he burdened Ladybug with his feelings when she needed to focus. Distracted her with his irrelevant emotions. Chat Noir knew that the only reason Master Fu gave him the ring back was for Ladybug's sake. It was... something. For him to lie and say he regretted taking Plagg away.

But it wasn't true.

Master Fu only regretted that Adrien's emotions hurt Ladybug. So, he would keep them buried like he always does. Chat Noir would smile and do what he was told and not ask questions. That's what everyone expected of Adrien anyway, it was foolish to think anyone would want differently from Chat Noir. He had practice, after all.

Pressure built up in his chest and pushed into his throat. But he swallowed it down. Adrien wouldn't make the mistake of baring his heart again.

That never gave him anything but pain.

----------------------

Inspired by @gale-of-the-nomads Scorned Soul AU.

To Be Continued in Fractured Foundation: Chat Blanc

[arolla-pine]

I, Marinette - p.9

(9) – The winner takes it all

While I was running alongside the Seine, I could compare traveling by Cat Noir’s staff and by Ladybug’s yo-yo. The latter was much more suitable for me, yet the Cat’s costume was better in absorbing jolts. I landed quietly nearby the Eiffel Tower. I hoped that Ladybug would find me before Juggler appeared.

“So, how did it go, Bugaboo?” I heard a whisper next to me.

“How are you feeling, Cat?” I asked instead, trying to read some emotions in Ladybug’s eyes.

“I still can’t believe in what I learned! Wow, it’s really…”

“Just in case…” I began in a serious tone. “Adrien… In case you still remember Ladybug’s identity after the ‘Miraculous Ladybug’ spell, never reveal your identity in public. Even if you want to protect Marinette.”

That was all I could do to prevent ‘Cat Blanc’ storyline.

“You’ve started talking about yourself in the third person…” Ladybug smiled.

“Don’t you have a feeling that you’re talking to yourself when you’re talking to me?” I asked instead to avoid answering.

“I’m sure I won’t confess any of my feelings to you right now. That would haunt me till the end of my life…”Adrien-Ladybug joked.

“If only Plagg could see that… I think that would kill him…”

“By the way! Was he nice for you?”

“Of course! He was so cute!”

“Er… Plagg?”

“Sure. You know, he’s a very sensitive little cat… If you can see through all those layers of sarcasm… And I think he’s very attached to you…” I admitted. “OK, Cat! Let’s go back to work. I’m going to sleep in my bed tonight, so let’s get Juggler! Here you are!” I handed two miraculouses to Ladybug.

“What’s that?”

“We need Alya and Nino.”

“But… Hawkmoth knows their identities… Maybe we’ll try to combine our miraculouses with…”

“No. I need them here. If my plan works, we’ll defeat Juggler. Besides, Hawkmoth won’t expect that we’ll ask our friends for help. Please, take those miraculouses to them and hurry back here.”

“But… Why me?”

‘Because I don’t know the address…’ came across my mind.

“It was always Ladybug who was giving them miraculouses. Let it be as it used to be. Oh, just tell them to focus on their costumes to be different than before. To mislead Hawkmoth.”

“Do you think it’ll work?”

I was sure it would work. I had checked that on myself when I had to recreate Ladybug’s costume as it was originally designed by Marinette. That should work when someone wanted to create a new one too.

“The costume is what you really want to, isn’t it? If Alya and Nino take care of new outfits, we’ll have a new Rena Rouge and a new Carapace… Meanwhile, I’ll work on details of the plan…”

“I’ll be right back, M’Lady!” Ladybug saluted and disappeared in the darkness.

I found a safe shelter and waited. After a quarter or so Ladybug came back accompanied by two new superheroes. Alya had loose hair that partly covered her face. Her outfit was different – it looked rather like a short flamenco dress than like an overcoat. Nino looked like a real Ninja killer – hooded and masked.

“Great!” I said satisfied. “Now, listen to the plan…”

“Wait a sec… What?” Alya interrupted. “Since when Cat Noir is the strategy guy? You’ve finally grown up to let him do this?” she asked Ladybug.

“Let’s call it a compromise…” Adrien laughed.

“You haven’t told them, Cat?” I was surprised.

“What should she…” Alya began. “No, wait… Why is Cat Noir calling you ‘Cat’?” she asked Ladybug.

“I didn’t know I should tell them…”

“It’s crucial to succeed… OK, listen up… Juggler can move souls between bodies. He exchanged me with Cat Noir.”

Alya gasped, and Nino half-grunted half-chuckled. I winked at Ladybug.

“We need you here not only for the mission, but also to mislead Hawkmoth about your identities. He must start thinking that I’ve found new holders for the Miraculous of Fox and of Turtle. Have you worked out your new names?”

“I’ll be Jade Defender.” Nino suggested. “I wanted to pay tribute to Jade Turtle.”

I was moved hearing that. It was kind of symbolic gesture but so meaningful.

“I wanted to be Flame Dancer, but someone made fun of this name…” Alya said, narrowing her eyes ominously when she glanced at her boyfriend. “So, it seems that I’ll be Flame Enchantress. But… I really miss Rena Rouge…”

“Let’s keep it temporary…” I smiled trying to give her some comfort. “Now, focus! Flame Enchantress has to hide. You’ll create an illusion where Ladybug and Cat Noir regained their bodies. Ladybug must convince Juggler that she broke his spell. Jade Defender will create a shield to protect the illusion from a new spell, because that will reveal the trick. I hope Juggler will take the bait and will focus on the fight with the illusion. Then Cat and I may try to take over his wand, baton or whatever it is… Ladybug, you have to call your ‘Lucky charm’. Without it the ‘Miraculous Ladybug’ spell won’t work and we won’t be able to go back to our bodies. I’ll try to destroy the akuma object.”

“You think it’s the wand?” Ladybug asked.

I remembered ‘Cat Blanc’ episode again where Ladybug couldn’t find the object where the akuma was hiding. This time we didn’t have a second chance. Not with Juggler… He was too clever.

“Honestly? I have no idea what else it could be…” I admitted. “So, let’s get to work! Good luck, you all!” I said and then I added under my breath. “And… See you in the other life, Cat…”

We took our positions. I felt like a spectator. It wasn’t anything weird for me, Lena, but for Adrien it had to be tough observing Ladybug and Cat Noir playing their roles. For the last half an hour he’d been calling Cat Noir by a name ‘Bugaboo’. Now, he saw both of us doubled.

We didn’t wait too long for Juggler. He appeared surrounded by dust, laughing at superheroes.

“Oh, my poor super-kids! You’ve recharged?” he scoffed at superheroes.

“Better! We’ve regained our bodies!” Ladybug shouted with satisfaction.

“What? No! It’s impossible!” supervillain yelled. “I exchanged your bodies! You have no power to revert my spell!”

He swung with his wand  but this time smoky spheres vanished when they reached a green dome created by Jade Defender. Juggler swore and tried to turned around to transfer himself under the dome. But he failed. His right hand was captured by Ladybug’s yo-yo, and a second later his wand was caught by a red black-dotted lasso. I was watching, speechless, Ladybug keeping supervillain tied with her yo-yo while her left hand swayed the lasso to snatch the wand out of Juggler’s palm and to passed it in my direction. Where that boy had learned that?!

Defeating Juggler was a mere formality. I summoned the Cataclysm and the wand turned into dust revealing the akuma. Ladybug captured the black butterfly and cleansed it. Seconds later we could see Thomas Astruc sitting on the ground, totally confused.

“You’ve saved me again…” he muttered. “Thank you!”

“You’re welcome…” Ladybug grinned.

“I see you have new superhero-mates.” Thomas noticed. “I don’t remember those…”

“These are new holders of miraculouses…” I explained.

I didn’t want to ask him if he liked the way I messed up his universe. He’d probably get upset and was akumatised again. But I could congratulate myself – my theory of a supervillain was correct. But Tikki would say that it was magic. All in all, I wasn’t sure of anything anymore…

“Could you tell us, what happened?” Ladybug asked.

No, better not!

“The last thing I remember was a story… My assistant gave me that to read…” Thomas said, and I felt faint. So, now I knew why it was me… Thomas had to read one of my fanfics. Great… “That was the story about your fight against Oblivio… Re-written…”

Let me guess… ‘Not so oblivious anymore’?

“But none of us remembers what happened that day…” Ladybug blurted out. Damn you, Cat! Neither of us! Not ‘none of us’! We should keep Alya and Nino’s identities secret!

“Er…” I cleared my throat and kneeled down next to Thomas. “Did you like that rewritten story?” I couldn’t miss the opportunity to ask.

“Yeah. And that made me angry…”

So, I could die happy now. What a shame I couldn’t put those words in a frame…

“Next time, please hire the author instead of sending her for a trip…” I whispered and winked at him. “OK, Cat!” I stood up and looked at Ladybug. “It’s time for going home…”

My partner nodded and gripped the red lasso. She threw it in the air with the spell ‘Miraculous Ladybug’. At the last moment, I saluted like Cat Noir had done so many times before and whispered:

“It’s been an honour…”

* * *

I knew it worked, even before I opened my eyes. I just felt my own body. My face was hidden in my palms and I felt my husband’s hand on my arms.

“Lena?” he asked me, and I could hear a tension in his voice.

I was so moved that I couldn’t say a word. Instead, I fell into his arms.

“You got me. I have no clue what’s going on here…” he murmured.

“I’m back…” I whispered happy. “I assume you had a little end of the world today?”

“You spent half a day in the bathroom, and then you were talking about Marinette, Tikki and Master Fu. All day long. I think you need a break from your fanfics…”

“Yeah… I think that too. But at first, I have to write the last one. You won’t believe what happened to me…”

 THE END 😉

---

I, Marinette - p.8  <-  Previous part 

Read the story from the beginning

[zerotosiki]

Give Me A Second Chance - Maribat Ideas

Inspired by many reincarnation (isekai) stories. Since I love them, lol.

I am sorry, I was supposed to post a bonus story of A Little Too Much, right? But here I am posting another new one. But heyyy don't worry because the bonus is still in progress ;D. And I don't know if this one is interesting or not haha.

Maribat inspired by @ozmav

[Please check here for the update Ideas on this AU]

Before reincarnation, there's a lot of angst in this timeline :)

Marinette and her friends' age are around 20 - 21. They were adults. Hawkmoth still hasn't beaten. And Lila is never stopping making a problem to Marinette. The class already brainwashed by Lila's lies, and since no one ever pointing out the lies, Lila's kingdom is getting bigger, bigger, and bigger.

Adrien has tried to defend Marinette as best as he can but being too softy, his words don't have any impact on the class. Poor Adrien. Adrien as chat is tried to help Marinette too, in any way he can, every night he visits Marinette to comfort her as often as he can.

Gabriel got more strict as time passed, he gives Adrien more schedule, and always forced Adrien to befriend with Lila. He decided to include her as his partner's model, much to Adrien's distress. This put a lot of stress for Adrien, and because of this, he rarely got free time, which made him rarely can change into Chat Noir to help Ladybug when they're patrolling or whenever there's Akuma. This make him change, from the sunshine boy to a cold boy. No, he's not evil or anything like that, he'll still kind to Marinette but because he's already tired with his father and Lila's problem, he rarely smiles, and his eyes look so tired. At this point, they already know their identity because at that time, Chat Noir is so tired and he just blubbering out his problem about his father and Lila without he realized it.

Marinette always tried to help Adrien too. But she can't do anything. Since she doesn't have any friends (except Luka, Kagami, Adrien, and maybe Chloe) to be asked for help. Alya? She's already become Lila's right hand. Nino? Well, she doesn't know what Nino's thinking really. It's clearly he's worried for his best friend too, but when Marinette asks his help to ask Gabriel together about Adrien's schedules, he refused to help because it's Marinette. And Marinette is hated by his girlfriend, which was her best friend in the past, and now is her enemy, apparently. He doesn't want to break up with Alya because he's helping Marinette. This made Marinette very disappointed to Nino.

While other classmates aren't that close to Adrien so of course they don't want to included with this problem. And they don't even realize, the fact that Adrien is having a problem with his father and Lila. Moreover they hate Marinette, there's no way they will help her.

So Marinette tried to confront Gabriel with Luka. Kagami wants to help but she can't because her strict parent said to not interfere with Agreste's problem. While Chloe had transferred to another school in New York with her mother because of that incident. That incident involving the pesky girl ---Lila---.

But of course, her attempt to confront Gabriel was failed miserably. Gabriel continued to insist on his point. And before Marinette can counter his words, he kicked out Marinette and Luka, saying that if Marinette kept pushing him like this, he threatened he would break off her chance to work on Agreste's fashion industries.

Let's just skip to a final battle, shall we?

Since Adrien is very busy, he arrived on time, at that time. On the last battle, Ladybug with help from Viperion and Ryuko were battling Hawkmoth, Mayura, and Akumatized Lila. Somehow in this battle, Lila manages to turn all of the class into an Akumatized one, with their hatred to one girl, Marinette. This makes Ladybug, Viperion, and Ryuko having difficult on defeating them. Until Master Fu decided to get help from Chloe with horse kwami's ability to transport. With Queen Bee and Jade Turtle decided to drop in, their chances of winning increase.

The battle is really intense, it takes many lives. Including her family. Her friends. Her peoples. Many innocent people died. Marinette hope, after the battle, she can return all of this mess to before this battle begins. But the real question is... Will they win this battle? Chat Noir finally comes, although his appearance really makes you think twice. His eyes aren't holding any light anymore, his movement is rather sluggish. He really tired, but he forced himself to comes help Ladybug, his best friend, his partner. There's no way he leaves her dealing Hawkmoth all alone.

But Hawkmoth of course notice this. He grins, thinking that his chance to get the miraculous is finally come. When ladybug and her friends are battling with the remaining akumatized people, Mayura with Hawkmoth's command sends Monster to strike Ladybug. Ladybug almost got hurt before she was pushed to the side in the last minute of the attack. The one who pushed her is the one who got attacked. Which is... Chat Noir.

Chat Noir was grabbed by the monster after he got attacked. Ladybug tried to help him as quick as she can but the monster was quicker than her, and take off his ring then toss him aside like a rag doll. Ladybug of course catches him before he touches the ground. She tried to stop his blood, but it was useless, Chat Noir, no, Adrien, already knows this was his limit. He said "...Thank you for being my friend, thank you for considering me as a partner, thank you for helping me... I am sorry I can't help much... Goodbye, Marinette..." before he leaves, for good.

Ladybug then resumes her battle, this time with her tears on her face, and devastated feeling ---for losing a best friend, best partner--- on her heart. In the end, it's just Ladybug, Hawkmoth and Mayura. Lila disappeared somewhere, nobody knows. Viperion, Ryuko, Queen Bee, Jade Turtle, and all akumatized people have been defeated.

Ladybug feeling so tired, her body already reached her limit. Hawkmoth is approaching her, and she should stand up right now, but with her broken legs, and not only that, her transformation is already worn off not a long time ago, she can't do anything besides laying useless on the rubble. She tried to stay away as best as she can though.

Hawkmoth then takes off her earring, much to her horror. He laughing because finally! Finally, after many years of battling, he got the miraculous and now he can---

Hawkmoth suddenly collapsed and transform back to Gabriel, Marinette surprised but she quickly shook it off. She tried to get the earring back but someone else beat her. And that is.. Lila. Lila got the earring. And on her left hand, there is the cat miraculous. On the background, you can see Mayura as Nathalie is collapsed too.

Marinette felt shiver at the smile on Lila's face. This is the first time, she shows her fear of Lila. Which brought satisfaction for Lila. Marinette tried to persuade Lila but does she ever listen? Nope. Lila is telling her that she really despises Marinette from the very beginning. She really wants to ruin her life. And whenever she success to manipulate the class to bully Marinette, Marinette always shows her brave face, Marinette always ignored her class, Marinette isn't even glancing at her whenever she starts to tell her lies.

That's why she wishes that Marinette is gone. forever. Never born in this world. Before Marinette can stop her, Lila already used the miraculous power to realize her wishes. And white light envelops everything.

After reincarnation, this is the part where everything really starts ;)

Marinette is born in Gotham's city. At the very beginning, when she was born, she still has her memories of the past (Her life as Ladybug and all of the battle until her last moment with Lila). She thought she was born in a different place, different world. So she tried to forget the past or not thinking it too much. And she tried to live her life in this Gotham. But of course, the past still haunting her.

At 5 maybe? She begins to learn martial arts from her mother. She trains her speed, her strength, and her brain. Because this is Gotham. Criminal's city. Although she's not a Superhero anymore, she still has to defend herself, right?

When she's teen, she begins to study in Gotham's academy. There, she meets Damian Wayne. And they got close because of the project school.

She of course already knows Gotham's vigilantes, which is Batman and his robins. But she tried to avoid them because she doesn't want any trouble..? Not really, it's just because she, Marinette this world, is just a normal girl, so there's no way the batfam would take any interest of her, right?

She was wrong. Because she got close to Damian, to the point she is his best friend. Of course one of the vigilantes, which is Robin, would take an interest of her. She wonders why though. Yeah, go figure it out.

At 15 or 16, Marinette was walking with Damian to Wayne Enterprises. Damian was appointed by his father to helping his brother in translating between the foreign class for their trip to Gotham's city, while Marinette just accompanying him (at his request of course ;)).

At first, Marinette isn't really care with this foreign class. But after they got there. After they were introduced by Damian's brother to this foreign class. Marinette surprised. Really surprised, to see familiar people. Her classmate, Her best friend, and... Lila. She just froze while Damian introduced his name to the class with a perfect french's language.

Apparently, there's no one who recognizes her. Which is she realized until she saw someone who's not supposed to be in that class. The one who replaces Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

She realized she lives in the same world as the past but she just moved. When she supposed to born in Paris, she was born on Gotham. When she's supposed to attend Collège Françoise Dupont, she attends Gotham's academy. When she's supposed to befriend with Adrien, Luka, Kagami, and other people, here, she befriends with Damian and other people.

And she realized too, that in this world, there's still Hawkmoth terrorizing Paris, from the way the class talk.

At this point, I'm planning to make Marinette helping their old friends in defeating Hawkmoth, now that she knows his real identity. But of course, she has to befriend them first before she can help. Because I don't think they'll accept stranger helps? She is avoiding Lila as best as she can, though. And she's not alone of course! There's no way Damian would let it! She's too precious for him, anyway :D. She'll get help from the Batfam and probably from Justice too? Dunno.

That's all. I don't know if there's already the same idea with this though... And I still haven't figured out if :

I should put Tom and Sabine as Marinette's parent or they still live in Paris with different daughter/son (just for more angst) in After reincarnation.

I should put another original character or already existing character as Marinette and Ladybug's replacement in After reincarnation.

Any feedback is welcome ^^!

[Please check here for the update Ideas on this AU]

[mango-forest]

i see your name everyday

Marinette knows that she should love her soulmate mark. And she does! It’s just that she doesn’t want to show it off, or have anybody looking, or knowing. So that means if something doesn’t go to her mid calf, she has to wear leggings or high socks.

She tried wearing synthetic skin over her mark but there was just something. . . wrong about it. So she makes do. It’s not like she’s the only one with the problem. Lots of people have negative feelings about soulmates in general. Marinette just feels like her soulmate mark is something private.

When Marinette is seven, she tried looking up the name. Damian Wayne. All she finds are articles about Bruce Wayne. No Damian in sight.

Over the years she sees her classmates find their soulmates. Rose finds Juleka, and later Ali. Nathaniel is one of the few that don’t have any markings and he stays quiet until Marinette introduces him to Marc and the two boys, they later announce, decide to be queer platonic partners.

When she becomes Ladybug, there’s the problem of Chat Noir. Who is . . . fine. Or at least, he was until a few months in when he decides to say that they’re soulmates. He claims that the name Ladybug is on his forearm.

Marinette knows that’s not how it works.

But there are no other partners she can work with and despite what she thinks, she knows she can’t do the akuma battles alone. And Chat Noir seems to know it too. So when he amps up the flirting and unwanted attention and claims, Ladybug endures. She endures even when it’s revealed she can give out other miraculi.

Until one day she snaps. Chat has been arriving late more and more often and a civilian nearly gets killed when he decides that he can flirt whenever he wants to. Ladybug casts the cure and faces him on a rooftop. “Chat, you can’t keep doing this,” she says quietly.

“M’Lady—“ he starts casually.

“No, Chat!” she snaps. “You can’t keep doing this!”

“What I can’t flirt with my soulmate?” he taunts.

“No, you can’t,” Ladybug says forcefully. “Because I’m not your soulmate!”

“Yes, you are!” he insists. “I’ve told you; Ladybug is right across my wrist!”

Ladybug wants to scream. Because no matter how many times she explains, he never listens. He’s always the same every fight, always trying to play the victim, always being a liability. And she’s sick and tired about it! “A civilian almost died, Chat Noir!”

“So what?” he yells back. “The miraculous cure would have brought them back!”

“That's not the point!” she screams. A flicker of surprise crosses Chat Noir’s face. “What if that won't happen? What if they had died for good?”

He scoffs. “You're crazy if you think no one has died from akuma attacks before. And they've all been brought back! You're worrying for nothing!”

“I'm not worrying for nothing, Chat. But they wouldn't have died from the akuma, they would've died from you,” she forces out. “If you hadn’t flirted then I wouldn't have been distracted by keeping you safe. And then you could've gotten her out of the way instead of me doing a clumsy pull with my yoyo.”

“Ladybug, c’mon. Think about what your doing, you're yelling at your soulmate, for God's sake,” Chat tries to say.

“Urgh! I just--you don't get it, Chat Noir. I'm leaving. Goodbye.” She leaves before he can get a word in otherwise.

When she detransforms in her room, Marinette looks at Tikki helplessly. "What am I gonna do, Tikki? I can't get rid of him."

"Why can't you?" Tikki asks.

"Because he's my partner. Because if he's not here then I don't have any backup! The people in my class don't really deserve it, the people who do have such busy schedules, Luka is planning on going on tour in a week or two, and Kagami's leaving for a trip a few days from now," Marinette cries.

She collapses on her bed and throws an arm over her face. Tikki rests gently in her stomach. "Us kwamis are thinking about replacing the black cat. The only problem is that you're the one that needs to collect it."

Marinette freezes. "That means. . . that means I'll know who Chat Noir is."

"It's the only way," Tikki says gently. "The black cat hasn't been acting the way he should be. Just collect it in his sleep."

Marinette tries not to think about a morning when she'll wake up and not have the earrings on.

When she goes the next night, Tikki whispers his name in her ears. Ladybug doesn't want to think about how stupid she was a few years ago. She thinks how glad she is she got rid of her celebrity crush.

When she opens the wind and drops down, neon green eyes watch her silently. She tries to express her regret on her face as she lifts the model's hand. Plagg only nods once before she slips the ring off and he disappears. She places Adrien's hand down and tries not to think about how negatively he can react. Ladybug closes the window and sets off, with Adrien never even stirring.

Marinette wears it as a necklace. A way to make sure she doesn't lose it. Lila asks, sickly sweet, "Aw, Adrien, what happened to your ring?"

"I must have lost it," Adrien replies with a blank smile. Lila hums and hugs his arm closer.

Marinette only places a hand over her chest, above where the ring rests under her shirt.

Marinette guesses because of all that happened, she sort of forgot about her soulmate mark. Until one day she wakes up and it's burning. She stifles a scream and grabs her laptop. Sure her mark has throbbed before, or gone numb. But now it feels like it's on fire.

All the search results say that she should be calling the hospital for her soulmate and Marinette feels a spike of dread. She doesn't know where her soulmate is. In an act of desperation, she does something she hasn't done since she was seven. She types Damian Wayne into the search bar and presses Enter.

This time, there are search results. Much more than last time. She scans the recent articles, but none of them say anything about why her mark is burning like it's drenched in lava. Marinette distantly wonders if she'll be able to use her leg in the future at all.

All of the articles say the same thing. Damian, from what they say, is a cold, emotionless boy, who many speculate is markless. Marinette knows that's not true. And she hopes, through the pain, that he's okay.

She loses track of time and when she looks at the lower hand clock, she swears. She gets dressed in a hurry, shoving on a T-shirt, skirt, and nearly tripping on the stairs as she pulls up her knee high socks. Thankfully the burning sensation has lowered to a throbbing level of pain but Marinette still yells in her head as she runs towards the school.

The noirnette is right next to the classroom door when the bell rings and she bursts into the classroom. Marinette takes deep breaths as she smiles at the teacher. "Hello," she greets.

Ms. Bustier levels a look at her. "That's the third time this week, Marinette." The class snickers.

"I know," Marinette admits, starting to walk to the back of the classroom. "I'll just, uh, take my seat."

When she's situated, Ms. Bustier gives a satisfied nod and says to the class, "Well. I'm happy to announce that we are going to take a field trip to Gotham as a foreign language program."

Of course, when she leaves, Lila says, "Oh, I'm so happy we'll be able to go there! My soulmate lives there, did you all know?"

The girls gush over Lila. Marinette doesn't pay any attention, sketching some new designs on spare paper. It's only when a name gets mentioned that her head shoots up. "Yeah, Damian will love to see me! He probably won't meet any of you though, he doesn't like being public, you know because of paparazzi. He is a Wayne after all." All the girls squeal and the guys look with smiles.

Damian Wayne? Marinette spends the rest of the class with a sense of sick satisfaction. No matter how much Lila lies, she'll never have Damian Wayne as a soulmate. At least that's one thing Lila won't ever get.

The initial anticipation and excitement for the trip leaves Marinette as she sits on the steps of the hotel. Tikki presses against her in the purse and Marinette runs a hand through her loose hair. She hears steps walking towards her and keeps staring at the ground in front of her shoes, not wanting to socialise. "Hey," the person says, "what are you doing out here?"

Marinette shrugs and glances at him. And she freezes. Because the face staring at her is a face she's seen in many articles. "My class left me behind," she says faintly. "We're supposed to be touring Wayne Enterprises."

"Well, I can take you there," Damian Wayne offers. Marinette observes past the haze in her mind that he holds himself stiffly, favoring his right side.

"Sure," she says, maybe a bit too quickly. She stands up and offers a hand. "My name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng."

Marinette can see him freeze. He shakes her hand with a smile on his face. "Damian Wayne. And you're my soulmate."

She laughs and since she's wearing a pink dress with leggings, she lets go of his hand and pulls up the dark fabric to reveal his name, running down the side of her calf. "I know," she says, and she pulls the leggings down.

"Maybe we can skip going to WE and grab a coffee, Marinette?" her soulmate proposes, offering his arm.

Marinette grins at him and loops their arms together. "I'd love that, Damian."

[kasienda]

Restorative Justice - Chapter 3 - Circle Checkin

Summary: Chloé has never been a fan of Ms. Bustier’s community building activities. In fact, she detests them. She doesn’t want to learn about the drab boring lives of her peers. And she absolutely can’t stand it when their confessions make her feel things. Feelings that she doesn’t even have names for. But when Adrien unknowingly shares his struggles with his double life, Chloé vows she will do anything to get Ladybug set things right. Even if it means pissing off the heroine. Chloé was already mad at her anyway.

Chapter 1 - Community Circle

Chapter 2 - Preparation

Chapter 3 - Circle Checkin

Chloé’s sat cross legged with her right foot swinging back and forth rapidly. So fast, the white flat fell off her foot into the empty space in the circle of the six chairs Ms. Bustier had set up for their restorative circle. She hadn’t made a centerpiece this time, and Chloé found herself missing the visual anchor point the collection of knick knacks usually provided, and the posters ordaining the back wall from their last research progress was not cutting it. And Chloé was desperate for any distraction as her gut felt like a ship trapped at sea during a monsoon. She was trying to ignore the sensation, as she instead glared at the four remaining empty seats anxiously waiting for the others to show up. Ms. Bustier put a hand on her shoulder from the seat to her right. “It’s okay to be nervous, Chloé,” she said gently. “This is a big step you’re taking. However it goes, I’m proud of you for trying.” Chloé scoffed. She would never admit that the words calmed her if only a smidge. Surely, even if Marinette never forgave her, never let Chloé see Pollen again, this would still help the heroine, and by extension, Adrien. And maybe all of Paris. But Chloé could care less about that. As if summoned by her thoughts, her childhood friend walked in at that moment. He was a solid ten minutes early, and the knot in her stomach loosened slightly. This was going to happen. She was going to do this. “Good afternoon, Adrien,” Ms. Bustier greeted warmly. “Thank you for coming today. Feel free to take a seat anywhere in the circle.” “Good afternoon, Ms. Bustier. You asked me to come, so I came,” he said with a polite smile. Then he turned to Chloé and his face softened. “Hey Chlo. I told Nathalie to give your butler a call to set something up for us.” He was smiling at her genuinely. And it wasn’t a fake model smile! And that made warmth burst in her chest. He wasn’t mad at her the way he was mad at the others. “That’s great, Adri-kins! I can’t wait!” Of course, he wasn’t mad at her. She never kept secrets from him. He moved to take the seat next to her until she threw her arms across the wooden seat to block him. “No!” she objected. “You can’t sit here!” Adrien took a startled step back. “I can’t?” he asked, completely perplexed. Even Ms. Bustier raised her eyebrows in surprise. “Césaire needs to sit here,” Chloé announced haughtily, as if her arrogance alone would make her desires a reality. It always seemed to work for her mother. “Alya?” Ms. Bustier repeated. “Why?” “Our circle will go better if Alya sits next to me,” the blonde declared and snapped her lips closed without a word of explanation. Her teacher sighed, but didn’t comment, her attention on a purple clipboard in her lap. “Umm… okay?” Adrien agreed, but his brows were furrowed together in complete confusion. “What’s our circle about?” he asked. “Betrayal,” Chloé told him. He laughed. She didn’t. Neither did Ms. Bustier.

Keep Reading on Ao3

“Oh, you’re serious,” he quickly concluded, his face turning serious. He rubbed the back of his neck like he always did when he felt awkward. “I… I’m uh… I’m ready to listen?” “Thank you, Adrien,” the teacher said. “That’s all we can ask.” He plodded over to the seat on the other side of the teacher. “So, is it okay if I sit over here?” “Certainly!” Chloé beamed, the choppy storm in her stomach calming a bit. Marinette entered that at that moment. Or rather, she tripped over the threshold and fell face first onto the classroom floor. She managed to mostly catch herself, but at the cost of dropping her back which hit the ground with a loud thud before sending her notes and pencils scattering across the room. Chloé rolled her eyes at the scene. Marinette was so clumsy. To think, this was the defender of Paris. The part time hero just laid there for a second. Adrien was already across the room at her side. “Marinette!” Ms Bustier called. “Are you alright? “Yeah,” she groaned. “I’m fine. Nothing I haven’t experienced ten times before,” she said, her voice flat even as Adrien hauled her to her feet. “Uh! Th-thank you!” she stammered, pink blooming across her cheeks as Adrien hauled her to her feet. “Think nothing of it,” he told her, his voice calm and polite. But he still wasn’t looking at her. Chloé couldn’t help the burst of sadistic satisfaction that burst in her chest that Adrien was mad at his friends and not at her. Nino showed up before Marinette had finished collecting her things off the floor. Marinette sat next to Adrien without prompting. Nino tried to sit next to Chloé, no doubt to allow his girlfriend to sit next to her best friend. Chloé was about to say something, but Ms. Bustier beat her to it. “Nino, would you please sit next to Marinette? That is apparently Alya’s seat.” And Chloé was inordinately pleased that Ms. Bustier was just going along with her plan. “Oh…” Nino said, dropping his bag onto the seat, and tugging with one arm on his own shoulder. “Umm… I’m not sure she’s coming,” he shared, settling into his seat and adjusting the brim of his red hat. “What?” Chloé bit out. Nino threw a startled glance in her direction. “Yeah, she said something came up with the twins?” “But she has to be here! This won’t work without her!” Chloé objected, storming to her feet with her hands thrown to either side in balled fists. Marinette frowned at her. Ms. Bustier put a hand on Chloé’s shoulder to gently urge her to sit back down, which she did. But it didn’t help her calm down. Ms. Bustier turned her head towards the opposite side of the circle. “Nino, Marinette, can you both please text Alya and tell her that this is really important? And that we would be honored if she was willing to participate?” They both whipped out their phones. Chloé did too. Please!!!!!! I know we’re not friends, but this won’t work without you. I need your help!!! The moments ticked by. “Did she respond?” Ms Bustier asked. The others shook their heads. Chloé gripped the side of her chair. She was going to kill Césaire. She should have known the other girl wouldn’t trust her. She should have come up with a contingency plan. Then her phone buzzed. She glanced at it. I don’t want to betray her. You’ll be helping her! I might not ever play the flute again. Chloé bit her lip in aggravation. Of all the stupid selfish way-to-miss-the-point objections. But… insulting Alya wouldn’t get her to show up. The girl who gave you your flute is here. There was no response. Her phone said that the message had been delivered. The doorway remained empty. Ms Bustier cleared her throat. “Chloé, would you like to continue with just the four of us? Or would you like us to reschedule for a day all five of you can attend?” Chloé held up one finger. “Give me just a minute. She’ll be here. I swear!” “Is Alya texting you back?” Marinette demanded, her furious blue eyes glaring holes into Chloé’s blouse. Chloé ignored her in favor of tapping out her text. She doesn’t know it, but she needs you. Alya’s form filled up the doorway a few seconds later. She had to have been standing outside the whole time. She didn’t step in. Just stood in the open door, her eyes flitting to each person in the circle in turn before landing on Chloé with a dark glare. “Alya!” Ms. Bustier greeted. “I’m so glad you could make it after all. Would you please close the door and take a seat?” The brunette hesitated for another instant, but then stalked to her seat. “What about the twins?” Nino asked her, as she dropped her bag unceremoniously to the floor. Only then did her hazel eyes leave Chloé’s form. She smiled brightly at her boyfriend. “Nora said she could make it after all. Sorry to have kept you all waiting.” “That’s okay,” Ms. Bustier smiled warmly. “We’ll begin now. Chloé has asked you all here today because she wants to make amends with all of you.” Marinette’s bright blue eyes whipped to Chloé and her jaw fell open in shock. “Chloé?” she echoed as if the words could not compute. “Wants to make amends?” Marinette’s eyebrows rose into her hairline in shock. Nino just shrugged, and Adrien nodded to her with a small smile. He believed that she could do this. Chloé’s cheeks warmed, and she had to look back down into her lap. “She could start by dropping the lies,” Alya bit out sarcastically, slumping backwards into her chair. Chloé winced. Alya hadn’t figured it out. Some reporter, Chloé thought scathingly. “Which brings us to our usual agreements,” Ms. Bustier cut in before the back and forth could take over. She held up the usual list. “I know tensions may get high in this room before this circle is over. That only makes these norms more important. I want to remind you all specifically to speak and listen with respect. Do you think you can manage that, Alya?” The brunette hung her head. “Yes, Ms. Bustier.” “I encourage you all to also pay special attention to the “Speak your truth” norm. It is difficult to come to a place of healing if you don’t get everything off your chest first. Are there any questions about that?” They all looked at each other as if to see if anyone else would speak. No one did. “And last, a reminder that every single one of you needs to respect the talking piece. It will always make a full circle so that after every revelation each of you will have a chance to share your thoughts and feelings. It can make things a bit awkward to wait for the piece to come to you to respond, and we may need a bit of practice if emotions get high. But try to remember to use it and to respect it. Can you all agree to these norms?” Chloé was the first to throw her thumb up, but all the others quickly followed suit. “So, to begin…” “Actually, Ms. Bustier,” Chloé interjected. She could barely hear the words leave her mouth over the roaring in her own ears. Her heart was threatening to stain her black and white striped shirt with red with it’s valiant effort to leap out of her chest. “I was hoping we could start with a circle check-in? I prepared one myself.” The others stared at her in disbelief. Chloé never said anything during circles. Not ever. Even Nino had raised an eyebrow at her. Chloé felt the heat rise to her cheeks. She glanced away and her gaze landed on Adrien who was smiling at her in gentle encouragement. She lifted her chin proudly to look at Ms. Bustier straight on. “Of course, Chloé. This is our talking piece for the day.” She held up a little stuffed grey tabby kitten. It had black marbles for eyes and a little pink button for a nose. It was rather adorable. “It was a gift from a student last year. She specifically said she wanted it to be as a talking piece because she said it always made her calm. I call her Dottie.” Adrien chuckled. Marinette shook her head in disapproval of the silly joke. Chloé shaking with too many nerves to think about silly names. She instead clutched the soft striped kitten to her thudding chest. “My prompt is simple. Your name and other…  nicknames or alter egos you go by!” Chloé faced Alya’s glare head on. “I’ll go first.” “My name is Chloé, but others know me as Queen Bee.” Adrien laughed again. Marinette rolled her eyes. Nino was still a wall that Chloé had never learned to interpret. Alya bit her lip. Chloé held out the fake kitten to Alya, but she didn’t let go even when the other girl accepted it into her hand. “I didn’t lie,” Chloé told her. “What?” “You said I needed to drop the lies. I didn’t lie,” Chloé said one more time, and let go of the fuzzy talking piece. Alya’s dark eyebrows furrowed together as she considered Chloé’s words. She pet the fake kitten as her hazel eyes turned back to the group, and it only took a second when her eyes blew open as wide as the Seine. She turned back to Chloé in shock. Chloé nodded. She had won this battle. But that fact did nothing to assuage her nerves. This was actually happening. And her stomach continued to churn. Chloé ignored it. “Alya?” Bustier prompted. “Are you alright?” “Uh... yes... I’m fine. I just...” she took a deep breath. “My name is Alya. And some people call me… Rena Rouge.” Chloé wanted croon victoriously, but that would have ruined the dead silence that followed that pronouncement. Adrien’s face went blank - white as a ghost. Marinette turned pink, her fists clenched and shaking on her knees, and her eyes flashed, hot with anger. How many times had Chloé seen that look on Marinette’s face? How many times had Chloé been the one to cause it? Alya passed the piece to Nino. He held it dumbly for a second, his dark eyes searching his girlfriend’s intently. “You sure?” Nino asked her softly. It was good he didn’t look at Marinette who was shaking her head in agitation. Alya nodded once. Nino turned back to the group with a megawatt smile. Chloé could almost see what Adrien saw in him at that moment. He was so trusting. That’s all it took for him. No arguments. No reasons. Alya’s word was all he needed. What would it be like to have a friend like that? “My name is Nino. I’m also Carapace.” He passed the piece to Marinette who was now shaking with the violence of an active volcano. But for once, Chloé was not on the receiving end of the do-gooder’s rage. Marinette was shooting metaphorical daggers at her best friend. “You planned this?” Marinette screeched. Her hands shook so hard it was amazing she hadn’t dropped the talking piece. “With Chloé?!” “Marinette, I-” Alya started. “She didn’t-” Chloé said simultaneously. “Ladies,” Ms Bustier interrupted smoothly. “Marinette has the talking piece. You will have a chance to share your piece, but now it’s your turn to listen.” Chloé had to hand it to her. Ms. Bustier was taking the revelations in stride. She sat with one leg crossed over the other, her hands carefully placed on her knee, and all her attention was on Marinette. Her posture gave off only calm. “Marinette, you do not have to share. You’re always allowed to pass the piece,” Ms. Bustier told her. Chloé held her breath, praying and hoping with every muscle in her body that Marinette wouldn’t derail this whole thing before it even began. Marinette said nothing. Her eyes frantically shifted from one corner of the group even as she strangled the stuffed animal in her lap, causing it’s black marble eyes to protrude out. “Marinette?” Adrien prompted, turning to her in concern. “Are you okay?” Her panicked blue eyes seized on his even as she gulped for air. She opened her mouth but no words came out. “Guys, I think she’s having a panic attack!” Adrien exclaimed, jerking his chair back. He kneeled down next to Marinette, but she didn’t look at him. She didn’t seem to be looking at anything. Her eyes bugged out, seemingly sightless at the group around her, her face was ghostly pale, and her mouth worked soundlessly like it was searching for air when there was none to be found.   Chloé’s chest constricted painfully at the sight, her hands tightened around her chair. She had heard the phrase, ‘’panic attack” so many times in her life, but she hadn’t ever thought it would be like this. Not so physically awful. She had never been so frightened. Not when her parents fought, often throwing things at one another in the heat of their arguments - things that broke and shattered. Not when she had been taken hostage by akumas, or had to face Hawkmoth as Queen Bee. Because this was Ladybug. Reduced to this helpless state through words. Chloé’s words. Chloé had done this to her. To the heroine of Paris. Ms. Bustier stood up and kneeled down in front of Marinette. “Marinette, listen to me. Take my hand.” Marinette seized on it. “Tell me one thing that you can see.” “Y-your earrings,” she stuttered out, her blue eyes still overblown and wild. “That’s good. What color are they?” Ms. Bustier asked calmly. Chloé had no idea why Ms. Bustier was asking these pointless questions, but she was calm, and Chloé took comfort from that. “W-w-w…” Marinetted couldn’t get the word out. “Shhh…” Ms. Bustier soothed. “It’s okay. Take a deep breath. Try again.” “White!” she said fiercely. And Chloé breathed more easily. That determination. That was what Chloé expected from Ladybug. And at that point, Chloé risked a glance at the others in the room. Adrien was biting his own knuckle, his eyes glued to Marinette. Alya and Nino had their hands clasped firmly together, but they were also watching Marinette, their eyes glistening in concern. Ms. Bustier kept asking stupid questions about the room and about what Marinette could feel, and gradually, her eyes cleared and she started breathing normally. “There you are,” Ms. Bustier said calmly with a gentle smile. “Are you okay, now?” Marinette clutched the stuffed animal into her chest, her eyes still misty, and slowly nodded. “Sorry, I…” “None of that,” Ms. Bustier interrupted. “You have nothing to apologize for, Marinette. I think I’m the one that owes you an apology.” Startled blue eyes flew upwards. “What for?” “When Chloé requested this meeting, she asked me not to interview you beforehand for your side of the story. She said that you would never attend if you knew what it was about.” Marinette’s gaze fell to her feet once again. “She’s not wrong,” Marinette admitted in a whisper. Ms. Bustier nodded. “Be that as it may, it was still wrong of me to blindside you. I knew better. My training even emphasized to never enter into a restorative circle without talking to each of the affected parties first. So, I definitely knew better, and I allowed myself to be convinced otherwise. That was wrong of me.” “Th-thank you,” Marinette stuttered, her gaze glancing downwards. “For saying that. I don’t think a teacher has ever apologized to me before.” “I also want you to know that you’re safe. No one here is going to hurt you. No one here is going to make you share anything you don’t want to share.” Marinette sighed before glancing up at the teacher who was still kneeling in front of her. “But you already know,” she accused. Ms. Bustier nodded in understanding. “I think I do have a guess at this point, yes. But I don’t know anything. Not for sure. Not until you tell me, and only if you want to. Do you understand?” Marinette nodded. “I think we should adjourn,” Ms. Bustier announced as she rose to her feet. “And reconvene if you all want to on another day... after we’ve all had some sleep, when you feel more prepared to talk about things? Or we don’t have to meet again if you don’t want to. Your participation here is one hundred percent voluntary.” Chloé wanted to object. They were so close. But she knew Marinette. Anything Chloé said was likely to make her less willing to talk. Marinette hesitated and looked around. “I… actually think we should continue if… if you have time?” “Are you sure, Marinette?” Ms. Bustier asked. “I just… I can’t go to my next class right now. And if I go home, I’m going to just obsess over this. And I’m going to panic. And I don’t want to be akumatized,” and she broke off into sobs. Every muscle in Chloé’s body was tight as the weight of Marinette’s words registered. It had never occurred to the blonde when she orchestrated this that Marinette could be akumatized. Angry beyond comprehension? Absolutely! But scared? Ladybug was never scared! And akumatized? Certainly, Ladybug couldn’t be akumatized! Chloé had assumed that her miraculous protected her somehow. Sure, the Bee Miraculous didn’t seem to protect her, but… Ladybug was special. Wasn’t she? But turns out, Marinette was just a normal girl. A girl with feelings and fears and incredibly difficult struggles. Nino and Adrien both had reassuring hands on either side of her shoulders, but neither said anything. Marinette’s cries slowly ebbed. “If you want us to continue, why don’t you start by telling us how you’re feeling right now?” Ms. Bustier suggested kindly, backing away and moving to her seat within the small circle. “Again, only if you want to.” Marinette wiped her eyes, took a breath, and stared at the ceiling for a moment. “I feel... betrayed,” she finally said, turning toward Alya. “You’re supposed to be my best friend. I can’t believe you would conspire with Chloé! The person you know has bullied me for years.” Chloé flicked a piece of lint off her shoulder, careful to not to look at Marinette and not to let anything show on her face. “I mean, it was bad enough when you didn’t believe me about Lila…” Alya sucked in a breath at the mention of Lila Rossi, her chin trembling, and her hazel eyes flooding with tears. Marinette continued. “But you knew about Chloé and how she’s treated me. And now you’re working with her to corner me?” Chloé shook her head in agitation. Marinette was getting it all wrong. Alya hadn’t wanted anything to do with her. “Calm down, Dupain-Cheng,” she interjected impatiently. “It wasn’t like that. Trust me, you’ll-” “Chloé, please respect the talking piece,” Ms. Bustier cut in harshly. The blonde pressed her lips together. And when Marinette’s icy blue gaze swung to her and pinned her in place, Chloé realized she really shouldn’t have spoken yet. “You want me to trust you?” Marinette started, her voice was cold and her eyes flashed, all trace of her shakiness from panic attack had evaporated. Even the redness in her eyes from crying seemed to have vanished. This was Ladybug’s game face when she was ready to squash an akuma. And her gaze was locked onto Chloé. “When have you ever deserved my trust?” Marinette demanded. “When you bullied me for years after I tried so hard to be your friend? When you stole a miraculous? When you put an entire train of people in jeopardy so that you could pretend to be a hero?” Chloé squared her shoulders. This was no different than all the other times Marinette had laid into her. Wasn’t it though? This time, Chloé was trying to help. “And when you were akumatized because Ladybug didn’t bring you back into the team, I felt frustrated that you felt betrayed. Ladybug has to consider the whole well-being of Paris! Not just the feelings of one person. It makes me feel like you can’t see beyond yourself to the greater need. It makes me feel like you don’t understand the responsibility of wielding a miraculous.” And now, Chloé could not even pretend to herself that this wasn’t different than every other time Marinette had called her out or challenged her. But Chloé held herself calm and stoic. If there was one thing she had endless practice at, it was taking a verbal beating. “And you pulling us into a circle and pressuring miraculous holders to reveal themselves? I again, don’t feel like I can trust you!” The rest of it Chloé knew she deserved, but this?! This pissed her off. “May I have the talking piece?” Chloé requested, her voice too high and threatening to break beneath her.   For a second, Marinette hesitated, but then she passed the piece to Adrien. Chloé watched carefully as the striped kitten exchanged hands from Adrien to Ms. Bustier to Chloé. “For the record,” Chloé ground out the second Dottie was in her hand. “I hate circles. This was not my idea. I tried to get you to talk to me just you and me. I tried for weeks! I tried here at school, and I left you private messages and public messages.” Or bee signals. Whatever. Marinette would know what she was talking about. “You chose to ignore me.” “Typical Chloé,” Marinette bit out scathingly. “You don’t get your way, and you throw a tantrum.” “Marinette,” Bustier interceded. “Speak with respect and respect the talking piece.” The girl sighed. “May I have the talking piece?” Chloé hesitated. She wasn’t done, but she let it go, passing it to Alya again. The second Marinette’s hands were around it, words poured from her. “I just don’t understand why you’re doing this? Are you just trying to torture me? All of this is hard enough without you making it harder!” Chloé’s squirmed in her seat, her whole body shook with the effort of having to restrain the words that wanted to burst from her mouth. But she had to hold herself back. It was one of the hardest things Chloé had ever done. “And not just now! You’ve singled me out over and over, to the point where no one wanted to be my friend, not because of anything to do with me, but because they didn’t want to be targeted by you!” Marinette raged, her hands literally shaking in front of her. Her eyes were ice, and would have drilled holes through Chloé’s chest had they been able. “You’ve mocked me, you’ve dismissed my voice, and you’ve bullied me for years until I doubted myself and my value. Until I didn’t believe that I had anything worthwhile to say or that anyone should like me. To the point where I dreaded coming to school. And I never understood why! I mean, what did I ever do to you?!" "You wouldn't stop bringing me macarons!" Chloé exploded. And everyone was so startled by this admission. All eyes turned to her. Ms. Bustier didn’t even remind her to respect the talking piece. "What?" Marinette screeched back in cold disbelief. "You bullied me because I brought you cookies?!" Chloé’s whole form quivered in agitation. "I needed you to stop,” she admitted. “And you wouldn't! So I had to get you to hate me." "Why did you need me to stop?" Marinette asked, her voice quiet and her dark eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. Chloé hunched her shoulders wishing she could hide in a corner. "My own mother doesn't love me. Why would anyone else?" she whispered, her gaze locked on her own pearl white flats. To her horror, her throat closed off and her eyes burned. Before she could cut it off, she was crying. She wiped at the tears angrily. She hated crying. It ruined her makeup. "E-everyone leaves eventually. My mom left. Adele left…” Chloé glanced up across the circle. “Adrien left,” she added softly. A hiss of displeasure erupted from the blond boy two seats away. “No one ever stays,” Chloé continued. “I'm not worth it. It’s better if I never let myself hope that they will." Shocked silence flooded the room, only broken by Chloé’s sniffs. Some small part of Chloé felt free with the admission. These were words she had never before said out loud. The larger part of her felt embarrassed that she had let Marinette, of all people, goad her into admitting any vulnerability. And then another part that hated that she was crying in front of anyone. Tears were a weakness. If they saw her tears, they would know they could destroy her. Ms. Bustier cleared her throat before speaking. "That was very brave of you to share, Chloé." Chloé cried harder. Adrien broke the circle at that point, leaping across the circle. His arms wrapped around her like a warm blanket. “I’m so sorry, Chlo,” he whispered into her hair. “I didn’t understand.” “It’s fine, Adri-kins,” she mumbled into his shoulder. “I didn’t understand it either.” Then, she pulled away and stubbornly wiped the tears from her face. “We haven’t even started yet. Go sit back down.” He didn’t move immediately, instead staring at her in concern. “Please?” He nodded, and moved back to his seat.   Chloé turned her attention back to the circle, back to Marinette. They stared at each other for a second before Marinette handed the kitten once again to Adrien, nodding toward Chloé as she did so. And Chloé couldn’t fight the warmth she felt at the gesture. Marinette wanted to hear what she had to say. Ladybug wanted to hear what she had to say. When Ms. Bustier handed her the stuffed animal, Chloé didn’t immediately speak. She instead fiddled with the soft toy in her hands, hoping the kitten would give her some inspiration. But at the end of the day, only Chloé could tell her own story. “Maybe I didn’t handle a miraculous falling into my lap very well,” Chloé admitted, “but it was the first time in my whole life I realized that I could be something more. Something meaningful. And yeah, I was an idiot. Too impatient for an opportunity to prove myself, I created one. Not my finest moment. “As for not being disappointed that Ladybug benched me? I’m sorry. I don’t know how to make myself not feel that way. I feel like Ladybug dangled a way forward for me and then she took it away.” Marinette inhaled sharply, but Chloé couldn’t look at her. She stared at her own feet. “And I know it’s not her responsibility to save my soul or whatever,” Chloé continued rapidly, “but I looked up to her. And the idea that she might see some small speck of potential in me, that she let me fight beside her as her partner when Chat Noir was incapacitated, that she trusted me with a miraculous even after I had already proven I did not deserve it… it meant a lot.” And honestly, it meant even more when Chloé had realized who Ladybug was. Because Marinette had more reasons than most anyone to hate her. “As for bringing you all here and pressuring you to come clean?” Chloé looked up then and stared at Marinette unflinchingly. “I do not apologize for that. When I figured you all out, I wasn’t going to say anything. My family was targeted! I was manipulated so easily. I understand the importance of keeping identities secret in a way that I absolutely didn’t in the beginning of all this.” They were all staring at her in rapt attention, but Chloé found herself unfazed. She had momentum now. It would be harder to stop than it would be to just keep going. “But two weeks ago, in our circle you were whining about breaking under too much responsibility. That you felt alone. That you were scared someone else would pay the price if you slipped. Since then, you have fallen asleep during class multiple times and you’ve woken up screaming. Separately, you have broken down in class several times. You are drowning. You need support.” Then Chloé pointed dramatically at her childhood friend, but her blue gaze never left the Marinette’s face. “Adrien is also drowning.” “I’m fine,” Adrien interjected with a frown. Chloé’s blue eyes flashed to him. “Shut up, Adri-kins. You are not fine. I’ve watched you withdraw. I’ve watched you paste on that stupid model smile. I’ve watched you absorb hurt after hurt when your friends don’t trust you, or don’t see you.” Nino’s head snapped up at this. “W-what?” he gasped. Even Marinette threw a startled look in his direction. He shrank under Chloé’s impatient glare before turning to the rest of the group with a shrug. “She’s kinda right,” he admitted with a hand to his neck. “You’re withdrawing from… us?” Nino asked with a slight tremor, gesturing to himself, Alya and Marinette. Adrien grimaced. “Sorry,” he offered. Chloé rolled her eyes. Of course, Adrien would feel guilty for hurting his friends by admitting they were hurting him. “There’s clearly a lot for us all to talk about here,” Ms. Bustier interjected. “Let’s focus on one thing at a time, and we’ll come back to this, okay Nino?” Nino adjusted his hat, and then nodded. Ms. Bustier turned back to her. “Chloé, you were saying?” ”Umm… right,” Chloé slipped a blonde strand of hair behind her ear, and looked up again at the girl across the circle. At the girl she had been terrified to befriend, at the girl she had tortured for years instead, and at the girl who had made Chloé believe that maybe… just maybe, Chloé could do something good. “Marinette, when I tried to talk to you over and over this last week, I was trying to help. And I’m clearly rubbish at helping, but Ms. Bustier suggested that maybe I was the one that needed help. “I know that you don’t trust me,” Chloé said, surprised at the pressure building in her throat at the admission. She waved dramatically to the rest of the circle. “But everyone here besides me is someone you trust and have trusted. I already know and I haven’t said anything! I didn’t even tell Alya when I asked her to do this. She didn’t want to. She said she would never betray Ladybug. I think she changed her mind when she figured it out only a few minutes ago. I’m forcing your hand, yes. But whether you believe me or not, I’m trying to help you.” Blue eyes from the other side of the circle pierced through her. Marinette looked like she was going to cry again, but maybe it was a different kind of cry than the one before. “I’m asking you to be brave, Dupain-Cheng. Like you are like all of the fucking time. So that you, and all of us can support each other through the crazy things we have experienced.” She passed the piece to Alya again. And now that Chloé wasn’t talking, she could feel how badly she was shaking. Ms. Bustier put a hand on her knee and squeezed. Chloé looked up into the eyes of her teacher who was smiling at her. And was she crying, too? Why was she crying? “M-Marinette,” Alya interrupted her thoughts. “I’m so sorry. I never meant to corner you. I just wanted you to know you’re not alone. That I always want to have your back. I’m sorry that I have clearly already failed in that in more than one way. And I hope you can forgive me.” Alya’s voice cracked on the final word, and she immediately shoved the talking piece into Nino’s hands. He rubbed his girlfriend’s back even as he passed the stuffed kitten to Marinette with a gentle smile and a wink. Marinette flipped the piece in her hands over and over again. “Alya, you’re already forgiven on both counts. Our friendship is stronger than all that,” she said with a bright smile. Then she turned towards Chloé. “Chloé, I didn’t realize how much I was hurting. I didn’t think anyone had noticed. I feel so invisible so much of the time. I… am surprised that you were the one to see through me. I feel like there’s so much more I should say to you after everything you shared, but I guess I should start with the one thing you want me to say.” She turned to everyone at the group and smiled nervously. “I suspect like all of you already know, but my name is Marinette, but most of Paris knows me as Ladybug.” She held the piece to Adrien, but he didn’t take it. His green eyes had blown as wide as the Seine, staring at her like he’d just been hit by a bus. “I... What?!” he spluttered. “I thought you were Multimouse!" Marinette frowned at him. "Umm... how would you know that? Only one person knows that." He looked sheepish, and plucked the still offered talking piece from her hands. "My name is Adrien, but I’m also... Chat Noir.” Chloé rolled her eyes. Had they seriously not realized where this was going before Marinette had freaked out?! Sheesh! Marinette shook her head furiously. “No, no, no, no! You’re Aspik,” she told him. Adrien rubbed the back of his neck even as he smiled sadly at her. “Yeah, that didn’t work out so well, did it?” Marinette’s blue eyes flooded with tears once again and she immediately threw her arms around his shoulders. “Chaton! I’m so sorry!” she cried. His arms wrapped around her narrow waist. “What for?” he asked softly. “You were trapped in that loop for months because of me!” He clutched her to him harder. “It wasn’t your fault. You didn’t have all the information. I was the idiot that accepted the miraculous. I should have said no immediately. I… I just wanted a chance to impress you. As me.” She jerked back and looked up into his face. “I was already impressed. With both of you!” “Were you?” he asked, the pain clear in his voice.

She threw herself at him again. “Yes!” she insisted into his neck. “I’m so sorry you ever felt otherwise. I’ll make it up to you.” He smiled and let his head fall onto hers. “I can’t believe you’ve been right in front of me this whole time,” he admitted, grinning like an idiot. Chloé wouldn’t say it out loud. Not for a long time anyway, but they were rather cute all blushing and smiling in each other’s arms. But they were also getting distracted. Because this stupid fucking circle wasn’t finished yet. There was still so much more to talk about. She cleared her throat dramatically. Marinette shot out of Adrien’s arms, her flushed cheeks turning as red as her alterego’s suit. “Chloé!” Alya hissed, her phone out filming the exchange. “You’re ruining it!” Chloé harrumphed. She had ruined nothing! She should get all the credit for this.

...

Chapter 4: Acknowledging Harm