#fame is going to marinette's head

[drtwit]

Miraculous Ladybug - Miraculous Menaces AU: Feelin' Good

Miraculous Menaces AU

Chapter Summary:

Volpina and Ladybug are dangerously close to being friends. This can only end well.

A collection of vignettes covering an AU where Chat becomes Hawkmoth's partner in crime. At first, Adrien thought that the day he found out that his father was the supervillain terrorizing the people of Paris was the worst day of his life, but in retrospect, it might have been the one change needed to save his family. Because it was also the day that both of them realized that, when they don't need to be Adrien and Gabriel Agreste, they're both fucking goobers. Follow the adventures of Hawkmoth, Chat Noir, and their reluctant assistant who doesn't get paid enough, Nathalie, as they try to navigate life as a supervillain family. And pray for Ladybug's sanity as she suffers their antics.

[ggomos-maribat]

1 | a perfect day

Part 1 of Marinette Dupain-Cheng is Dead | Masterlist

The place they reserved was beautiful: the greenhouse-type of dining with ferns and orchids hanging from the glass ceiling and walls, a lush green against the pristine white of their chairs and table napkins. The day was blessed with fair weather so just the right amount of sunlight was cascading down on them which fit the light hum of the festive music from the speakers. Even the hostess herself was a sight to behold—a flowery off-shoulder dress, curled brown hair, and pastel manicured nails.

Sabrina truly felt she was in another world.

Their hostess stood up, holding her wine glass in one hand. "I'd like to make a toast." She beamed. "To everyone here, who accepted my invitation for a humble reunion."

She looked at them on by one, first at Alya who seemed to cling at her every word, then moved down the table to Nino, Rose, Juleka, Max, Kim, and so on. These were faces of now acclaimed people, successful in their respective fields. "It seems it was just yesterday when we were only students in Ms. Bustier's class," she continued, "But in reality, we've been through a lot. Ups and downs, pains and losses. But I'm proud of us for sticking together, for keeping in touch after all these years."

A star in the social media field, and a proud founder and CEO of her brand. Lilia Ross. That was the alias she had been using when she was stepping into fame. But to Sabrina, she'll always be Lila, the charming girl who once was a transfer student in their class.

"To us!" Lila cheered, raising her glass up in the air. They all followed suit, some laughing a little and others bursting into lively conversation.

Sabrina took a sip of her drink, turning to her left. "It really has been so long, hasn't it, Chloe?"

The blonde appeared to be in some kind of stupor, but her friend's words shook her out of it. "Huh?"

"I said it's been so long."

Chloe rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Uh, yeah, you're right."

"Are you okay?"

She gave a smile of reassurance. "Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry, it's just . . . stress from work."

Sabrina was about to suggest she get some rest first when the wooden doors opened, revealing another familiar face from their teen years. Large sweater over a collared piece. A priceless watch. Golden hair fixed to look stylishly unkempt.

The man greeted them, "Hey, I hope I'm not too late?"

At the head of the table, Lila's jaw dropped open. "A—Adrien?"

"That's me," he chuckled lowly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Long time no see, everyone."

The others, too, couldn't mask their shock—understandably so. Adrien Agreste had been out of the public eye for the past seven months, halting his modeling career and laying low in god knows where. Even Sabrina couldn't remember when she had last seen him.

It was Alya who stood up, grabbing a seat for their new guest. "It's been so long!" She said. "Come here, sit. Where have you been and why were you so unreachable?"

"Yeah, man, I even tried visiting your old house in Paris. They said you weren't there." Kim, meanwhile, passed a plate to him.

"I'm really sorry for that." Adrien gave a sheepish look. "I was too focused on taking time for myself. I'm on hiatus from modeling—I didn't mean to cut everyone off. But I wanted to make it to this reunion!"

At that second, Sabrina's phone began to buzz a notification.

"It's alright to take a break sometimes," Mylene consoled. "Are you going back to modeling soon?"

Adrien shrugged. "I'm not sure yet; I might try out other things and see what works for me."

The phone vibrated again, a few times in succession this time.

"What about working with me?" Alix offered. "I need some extra hands around the museum. Minimal experience needed! I'll teach you everything I know."

The nth buzz sounded and Sabrina pulled out her phone from her purse to completely silence it but then she caught a glimpse of Chloe. She looked pale as a sheet, staring down at her unfinished plate.

Sabrina leaned. "Chlo���"

Buzz. Buzz.

Frowning, Sabrina unlocked her phone to check what the incessant ringing was all about. There were tweets, articles, posts, and messages filling up the screen like something had blown up. And something might as well have.

Her eyes widened when she tapped on an article.

Alya's voice rang out. She, too, was looking at her phone. "Hey, Lila, what's this all about?"

"Hm? Is it about my magazine feature?"

"No, it's not," Sabrina whispered.

There in bold letters the words were summoning up a storm: 'The Truth About Lilia Ross: She's Not Who You Think She Is' .

***

Saturday morning saw Jason Todd at the Wayne manor's dining table, munching on a piece of toast with jam. He stayed the night after patrol upon Alfred's insistence, and then remained for breakfast after some more badgering.

The second eldest raised an eyebrow when Bruce strolled into room wearing office clothes.

"Event at WE today," Bruce explained, making a coffee for himself. "Tim, feet off the table please."

Tim, who was stuck to his phone, let out an incoherent mumble before putting his feet down.

"Lilia Ross," uttered Bruce. "Does that name ring a bell?"

"French-Italian, founder and CEO of Lilia Designs, sells clothing and cosmetics," Tim supplied in a monotonous voice. "She's more famous as an influencer though. In the past few days, there have been a lot of rumors popping up about her. Why do you ask?"

"PR at WE asked me. They wondered if I knew her."

"What does she have to do with Wayne Enterprises?" Damian chimed in.

Celebrities and trends never piqued Jason's interest—he focused on eating, debating internally if he should purchase more handguns to replace a couple that he lost.

"She's been promoting our products even if she's not legally affiliated with WE," Tim explained whilst gulping down his daily dose of caffeine. "She's just trying to fish for a real sponsorship or partnership. Her brand's getting famous in Gotham, you know."

"It's not much of a concern for the company then. Our lawyers will be able to handle it if her so-called scandals affect WE," said Bruce.

"True, but it's still weird. This is her first major backlash on the internet and there's a lot of—" Tim did air quotes with his fingers, "—'anonymous witnesses' coming forward to show her 'true colors'."

"How is that different from the usual celebrity rumors?" asked Damian.

Okay, maybe Jason was a little curious.

He discreetly pulled his phone out to check the articles popping out online. And there were many, as if testimonies were spewing from a never-ending fountain.

'eiffelparis12: don't fall for it. she bought all those views and likes. fake *****'

'coffeecake: I worked as a stylist in a studio once. She was at our show...I didn't expect her to be so two-faced! She was so rude to the producer's assistant and kept bossing her around. The poor guy didn't even get to eat.'

'seaasss: her products arent even that good. lol.'

'venusred: she bought her way to be in our blog's feature. i'm pretty sure she has an anonymous sponsor.'

'harpyre: OMG! does she even pay her employees enough?'

'silverberry640: no way, lilia doesn't deserve this! there's no proof.'

'ngc5195: this is what fame does to all of them......sad.'

Jason looked up again when Bruce spoke. "For now, WE isn't obligated to proceed with legal action and we're not actually involved anyway. I'm sure this will pass on its own."

He wasn't wrong. Scandals came and went; people liked to throw stones at one person then move on to the next after the damage was done.

"Or not," Tim suddenly said, staring at something on his phone "Shit."

"What is it?" asked Bruce.

Tim read the words aloud. "Influencer Lilia Ross, accused of murdering former classmate." 

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

Do you think Lila had real feelings for Adrien (even if based on shallow reasons) or she only wanted to date him to bolster her fame and reputation ? Some people pointed out that in Oni-Chan Lila told the akumatized Kagami that she can't give up on pursuing Adrien cause she's in love with him and her lying detector horn didn't grow after saying that, implying that she was saying the truth about her feelings for him. In Protection she implied again to Kagami that Adrien choosing Marinette over her also hurt her deeply cause she was in love with him, but that could've been just a trick to keep manipulating Kagami by relating to her situation.

In any way this doesn't seem to go in hand with Lila's S5 portrayal where she's presented as a literal psychopath who switches identities and whole families whenever it's convenient to her, which obviously implies that Lila can't feel real emotions to other people if she can so easily jump from a "mom" to another one. So I'm feeling a bit confused if Adrien was also meant to be another pawn in Lila's schemes (whatever they are) or was a genuine connection on her end (even if a twisted one).

I looked at the Oni-Chan transcript because I didn't remember Lila ever saying that and:

Oni-Chan: I forbid you to go anywhere near Adrien. (slices car with bokken) Give up on him and I will spare you. Lila: Adrien? I don't know anyone named Adrien. Oni-Chan: Don't lie to me! Lila: I'm really sorry, but I always get what I want. It's not my fault.

Unless this exchange is wildly different in French or one of the other translations, I think it's a stretch to call this a love confession. Wanting Adrien and being in love with Adrien are not necessarily the same thing. In the context of this episode, I'd actually go so far as to call them wildly different things.

Nothing about this episode makes it feel like Lila is in love with Adrien. She doesn't care about him at all. She cares about what she can get from him. She manipulates her way into his house, kisses him without his consent, and never once tries to score a date. It's all about hurting others (thus her forcing a kiss and sending it out to all of her contacts*), gaining access to Adrien's father, and gaining information on Adrien, thus her invading his privacy by snooping around his room via moments like this:

Lila: Ah, is this your mom? You look so much like her. I look a lot like my mom too you know. Isn't it just crazy how much you and I have in common? (opens one of Adrien's drawers and is disgusted to find Plagg's stash of Camembert)

Seriously, what was she looking for here? Why did she sneak into Adrien's house? This episode is so weird.

So, no, I would not say that Lila was in love with Adrien. There's really not a scrap of evidence that points to that read. She's just the kind of person who will do or say whatever she needs to in order to gain power and/or social clout. The exchange with Kagami in Protection was absolutely supposed to read like manipulation and not a true confession:

Lila: It's not your fault that Marinette hates me for no reason. Just go. (Kagami nods and stands up from the bench) I admire you so much, you know? I don't know how you do it. (giggles) I, too, was in love with the boy once. When he didn't want to see me anymore, I was in pain for so long I couldn't get him out of my head. But you managed to turn your love for Adrien into a friendship. You even helped Marinette get closer to him. If it hadn't been for your big heart, none of what's happening today would be happening today.

One of the many problems with Lila's character is that she never gives us a single true emotion other than rage when her plans fail. She lies left and right, making it impossible to believe a single thing that she says whenever anyone else is on screen.

Because of that, you really can't look at any bit of dialogue and say, "She was being honest here!" because there's nothing in the text to actually back that read. It could turn out that some of her "lies" weren't actually lies - for example, maybe she does look like her mom? - but that wouldn't be a clever twist. It would just be a moment of, "Wait, what, that one was real?"

The reason all of this is a problem is that Lila is now our big bad, but we know absolutely nothing about her even though she's been here since season one. What is her motivation? Outside of her anger that Ladybug outed one of her lies, who knows! Why did she come to Paris? Who knows! How did she trick all these women into thinking that they're her mother? Not a clue and that's a problem.

Generally speaking, the point of introducing a character multiple seasons before they assume their big role is so that you can set them up for that role. Instead, Lila was set up to be nothing more than a petty school bully. You can see this by reading fanfics that feature her. No one looked at canon and said, "Yeah, this is a master manipulator who has multiple moms." There are multiple fics where Lila loses just because someone goes and talks to her mom! And if no one is looking at canon and seeing the potential for Lila to be the master manipulator that the show is now painting her as? Then the potential probably wasn't there. The writers are just shoehorning it in at the last second, completely changing who Lila was written to be.

*The kiss from Oni-Chan is a perfect example of this. Lila steals a kiss and then sends it to all of her contacts in the same episode where she tells Nino:

Lila: He might think I've got a crush on him, just like all those other girls who are constantly hanging all over him.

She's so lucky that the show just forgot about this episode once it was over. In a show where the events of one episode are allowed to effect another, this would absolutely lead to Nino finding out about the photo and asking questions. I think everyone who got that photo would be asking questions, actually. Like wtf was that about Lila? Are you and Adrien dating? And if she claims it's a secret relationship, then anyone with a brain would ask why she sent the photo to so many people. This is just not the way that you write a manipulative character. A true manipulator would take the photo and hide it away for a later date.

EDIT: I apparently didn't read far enough into this script and the ask was about a different moment! Doesn't change my general opinion of Lila's feelings, but my logic is different, so here you go! Sorry about that!

[halfagone]

Here’s a relatively simple prompt, Danny meets Adrien and Marinette while he’s visiting Paris, and they see him easily resist akumatization. Naturally, shenanigans ends. What do you think?

Now that would be funny!! The angsty route is always well and good and all but the idea that Danny just doesn't have time or can't be bothered with Hawkmoth's (or Shadowmoth's. Or Monarch's [Dang, for a fashion designer you are not the most creative guy out there are you, Gabriel?]) akumatization attempts on him so he just swats the butterflies away. Oh~ Now there's an idea:

---

Marinette had seen many tourists come and go. Her family patisserie had slowly grown in fame over the years, and having Jagged Stone himself come over on live television had certainly helped with profits. (Although she could have gone without the man in her room and showing off all her Adrien pictures.) She was well aware that the shop was now on some travel agency websites and a number of foodie digest lists, so an influx of tourists were to be expected.

She had, however, been pleasantly surprised to meet a visiting American family. Marinette swore her father could have been related to the other man, if only for the sheer size and body structure. The auburn hair had suited the mother more, a Mrs. Dr. Fenton, and it had given them all a good laugh to see how well the two married couples mirrored each other.

Unlike Marinette's family, there were two children, a older girl that always treated Marinette kindly- often trying to speak in butchered French but hey, she could appreciate the effort. The younger boy, who was around Marinette's age actually, easily could have been Marinette's brother. There were some notable differences, obviously, but if you didn't look hard enough they could have been twins. The boy, Danny, had taken great amusement to this.

And so had Adrien.

That part had Marinette a little anxious. She hadn't been expecting Adrien to come over today, now of all times! She had been so sure he was busy with another photo shoot, but as it turned out Lila had made a big fuss and Adrien was free to roam, using it as an excuse to flee the scene. Marinette had worried he would get in trouble for it, but then he'd smiled at her in that way he always did and oh alright, Marinette was a goner.

Adrien and Danny got along well. Almost too well, in Marinette's opinion. She didn't mind that Adrien had other friends; honestly, he deserved all the friends and love in the world! But the moment those two started punning at each other, mixing in physics facts just because they could, Marinette began to regret some life choices.

But even despite her exasperation, she'd enjoyed herself! After some debate she had taken the two boys up into her room with some treats to snack on while they hung out. It wasn't often that Marinette brought relative strangers to her room, her private space and her haven, but her parents had been sharing awfully personal information with the Fenton parents as well, so she figured it would be alright.

Danny was nice and clever, a tricky teen with a silver tongue, and a heart of gold. Marinette would have invited Jazz- Danny's sister- to join them had she not caught the eye of an older boy Marinette had seen around sometimes. She seemed busy with that, so Marinette let her be.

Everything had been going well, beautifully even, until there was a sudden shout of "Ghost!" from downstairs and Danny flinched. Marinette had startled at the sight of it. She'd been more frightened by Danny's reaction than the sudden shout, actually. That would have been fine, a passing thought even, had it not been for the butterfly flapping through the window at the exact moment.

She and Adrien were instantly to their feet, jumping back and away from the innocent-but-cruel butterfly. Danny didn't seem to notice it at all, and just when she and Adrien went to say something- Danny turned his head, stared the akuma head-on, and waved it away. She watched, dumbfounded, as Danny veered his head from side to side, looking annoyed of all things as the akuma persisted after him.

"I am busy right now, begone!" Danny remarked, half-joking by the sound of it. She gaped at him in confusion for a while, her hunches lowering when she realized the akuma wasn't doing anything? It was clearly attracted to Danny's negative emotions, so why couldn't it possess an object? "How do I get rid of this thing?"

"Usually you need to release your negative emotions," Adrien commented with a frown, looking just as lost despite his reply. "But I've only seen that happen after the akuma has settled."

"Wow, so all those pamphlets hadn't been kidding, huh?" Danny remarked ruefully. He gave the butterfly a rude side-eye. "Well, if that's what it takes-" Danny reached out a hand, letting the akuma catch onto his watch and possess it.

"NO!" She and Adrien shouted at once, horrified.

But Danny continued to surprise them both by commenting, "Woah, you talk too much. And that's saying something from blabbermouth extraordinaire over here." The butterfly mask over Danny's eyes flashed a little brighter, much to their surprise. "Excuse moi ? That's awfully rude and I- Okay, but what if I don't care about Ladybug and Chat Noir? This sounds a lot like free child labor and I'm on vacation here. So what do I care about special powers, they're temporary? Oh, big deal! You can threaten me once you've showed your ugly ass to my face. Yeah, that's what I thought."

The akuma lifted from Danny's watch and innocently fluttered away. Marinette would have to catch that before someone else got akumatized. And yet she could do nothing more than stare at Danny in complete shock and confusion.

Danny stared back at them, before snatching some pain du chocolat from the plate. "So you were saying?"

[baenyth]

Bethany's Bizarre Miraculous Reviews Episode 5-19: The Rooster Miraculous: Felix Stalks and Kidnaps Kagami

I'm reading the synopsis of this episode on TVtropes and dear God. So soon?

Adrien's real dad

🖕

Pod chair that heals you

Wait a minute, Kagami was totally done with Adrien in season 4. Why is she still having feelings for hi-oh right.

?????

Dad's Shitty-Ass Pancakes

So were Adrien's other stalkers. This is the closest we've gotten to Marinette admitting she stalked Adrien and he doesn't seem to gaf. That's not good.

Nice to the waiter

Suspiciously nice

There it is.

Dad's Shitty-Ass Pancakes

Fame and Fortune

Ironically, this is how in-universe Adrienette shippers sound.

Really good fits!

Capitalism

Villainy

Get his ass! I can't believe I'm rooting for Adrienette. Just shows how evil Gabriel has become.

Roasted Dad and his Shitty-Ass Pancakes

And then she panics when out of sight.

Wait, you want Kagami to be a slave to you, not a master! Your allegory sucks!

Is he trying to make himself the ultimate criminal?

Honestly a really cool akuma design! I like the dog head!

Hit him! Hit him!

Stalker

Also wait, is Kagami just okay with Marinette's stalking? She really is OOC. Don't trust a word she says, for she would not fucking say that. Mostly.

I think the enemy mine could work, actually.

Flip him! He has it coming!

Tomoe wtf you're making them bond

Kagami, he tricked Ladybug into losing all her lesser Miraculous, making you unable to help Ladybug out as Ryuko, and then proceeded to kill everyone in Paris. Was he always planning to kill off that red moon as well? Why are you saying that?

Thinking about how at the start of the season Ladybug and Chat Noir said they were going to take the Miraculouses back from Monarch. They only got one back. They couldn't even get the Peacock back either.

This doesn't add up. A rich blonde girl with parental issues that bullies people, getting them akumatized, was kinda clingy towards her 'crush,' and was groomed by Hawkmoth into supporting him is apparently an irredemable villain, but a rich blonde boy with parental issues that impersonates his cousin to get people akumatized, creeps on Ladybug despite her saving him, uses Ladybug to give Hawkmoth all her auxillary Miraculous, stalks a girl, and commits genocide gets a redemption arc? This just sounds like Misogyny. In a girl show. Either that or my more complicated theory. But I'll save that for another time.

[msweebyness]

MiracOlympus- Extras!!!

Here’s a special bonus, with some extra characters of importance! @artzychic27 @imsparky2002

Gabriel: Cronos

The god of time and the former king of the titans, and father of Adrien (Zeus), Kim (Poseidon), and Nathaniel (Hades). He locked his sons away in Tartarus as children to secure his power, but was defeated and imprisoned by them. Nath makes time every week to go down and troll him.

Emilie: Rhea

The former queen of the titans, ex-wife of Gabriel. She despised him for imprisoning her sons and helped overthrow him. Still mothers the heck out of her boys (and the new gods in general), regardless of how powerful they are.

Anarka: Leto

Goddess of motherhood and mother to Juleka (Artemis) and Luka (Apollo). Will eff you up if you mess with her kids, and vice versa. Still a chaotic free spirit.

Jagged: Aeolus

God of the winds and father of Luka and Juleka. Serves as mentor and teacher to the four young wind deities, telling them where the winds are needed that day. Still loves music.

Clara: Euterpe

Muse of Music, and eldest of the nine. Her younger siblings all adore her and she helped them all to embrace and master their special talent.

Vivica: Calliope

Second eldest muse, muse of poetry and epics. A bit shy, but loves to perform with her siblings.

Lucien: Zelus

God of envy and jealousy. In love with obsessed with Marc (Persephone), and couldn't handle it when he chose to be with Nathaniel. (Mylene (Demeter) feckin' HATES him, and has threatened him with a pitchfork more than once.)

Emani: Dolos

God of manipulation and control. Former lover of Nathaniel who would do anything to have him back.

Duusu: Argus

Marinette's (Hera) sacred peacock, and beloved companion.

Liiri: Aetos Dios

Adrien's sacred eagle, who carries messages for him and serves as a companion.

Xuppu: Delphinius

Immortal Dolphin, and Kim's best friend. Was his wingman and helped him get together with Ondine (Amphitrite).

Kaalki: Pegasus

Immortal winged horse, famed mount of heroes. Found as a foal and reared by Max (Athena).

Socqueline: Heracles

Greatest mortal hero who ever lived, had the strength of a god. Wore a lion pelt.

Aeon: Helen of Troy

Most beautiful mortal woman who ever lived, kidnapped as a teen by the Trojans for their prince. The Gods sided with the Greeks in the war to bring her back.

Jess: Atalanta

Mortal hero who could run as fast as the wind. A renowned hunter who killed a monstrous boar terrorizing her kingdom, and she refuses to marry unless you can beat her in a race.

Fei: Hippolyta

Queen of the Amazons, and total badass. Has never lost a battle with any mortal that dared challenge her.

Master Fu: Chiron

Immortal centaur, the wise and kind teacher of the greatest heroes.

Bustier, Mendeliev, and Winters: The Moirai (aka the Fates)

Winters- Clotho, Bustier- Lachesis, Mendeliev- Atropos

Three incredibly powerful goddesses who decide the fates and lifespans of all mortals.

Baark: Cerberus

Three-headed, enormous guard dog of the Underworld. Nathaniel and Marc's fluffy baby girl child.

Leave your thoughts in the comments and reblogs!

[ilikekidsshows]

It just boggles the mind how petty someone can be over a fictional character that they created being popular. Thomas Astruc is ruining his own show and screwing over abuse victims all for a grudge against fans who prefer a character he doesn't. I don't condone hate-mobbing him like some people do on Twitter, but he really can't take any sort of criticism huh. How do you claim to have conferred with a child psychologist (I think) and still produce this literal abuse apologia. I genuinely don't understand.

I'm gonna say that Astruc taking any chance to use the narrative to dunk on Chloé and Adrien being evidence of him holding a grudge against their popularity is my personal interpretation of possible influences for their writing. I have inferred it from Astruc's very curt way of speaking to fans of these characters on twitter and the show's abysmal writing of them in ways that prop Marinette up on their backs. None of it has been proven true, but, when the coincidences keep piling up, at some point you're gonna stop believing it's a coincidence. At this point, he is most likely at least subconsciously bitter over Chloé and Adrien, if not consciously so.

Just like how the show's biases concerning abuse might be subconscious stuff going on in the crew's heads. I remember when @infinitysgrace and I used to have to reiterate again and again that Gabriel does love Adrien even if he abuses him, that's often the tragedy of parental abuse, when the fandom kept insisting that Gabriel abusing Adrien was evidence that he didn't really love him. The crew also seems to have a very limited view of what "counts" as child abuse. Apparently isolation, neglect, abandonment and consistently referring to your child by the wrong name don't count as abuse, because all the kids involved got to eat, didn't get beaten and are loved by the people harming them.

I agree that it's very obvious that Astruc can't handle criticism and that mobbing him or harassing him isn't the solution. Astruc has a right to act like an entitled jackass even publically online, just like any other creator or random person. I instantly side eye anyone trying to turn me against someone based on only the accusations that they're deleting negative comments and blocking people giving negative feedback. The fans might be entitled to their opinion, but they are not entitled to a creator's time and attention.

I'm also going to say that, just like I don't read highly personal vent fics, I'm not going to watch vent shows. I stopped paying any attention to Teen Titans Go after they started dedicating several episodes to mocking fans of the original TT cartoon (after their show piggybacked on the fame of said show by mimicking the character designs and using the same voice cast no less). I'm very much done with paying Thomas Astruc's increasingly inane ramblings any attention. It's pretty obvious that social media is influencing his creative process negatively but it's his right to engage with a space that affects him like that. None of us are his friends, family or doctor. It's none of our business what he does.

I haven't heard of the writers consulting any experts on anything dealing with the show, but I do know for a fact that Astruc tweeted a link to a fan's essay on Adrien that was written by someone claiming to be a child psychologist. Said fan praised Adrien's writing and then went on to praise the Sentipeople concept. Since I make it a habit to never actually be the one that starts shit, I never really engaged with their content and blocked them instead, so I can't remember the details of what they said about the psychological perspective on Sentipeople.

Still, I'm 80% sure this is the supposed expert. Regardless, even if this fan wrote essays with 100% accurate real life psychology, child psychology has no one size fits all approach. I, an ECEC professional, sure as hell didn't agree with anything they had to say about SentiAdrien before I blocked them, and that was before canon confirmed the theory in the worst possible way and screwed over abuse victims.

[mysticraven20]

@adrinetteapril

Chapter Three: Truth or Dare?

Excerpt:

You know when people say there are moments in your life that you’ll never forget? Marinette was almost certain this was one, and not because of the broken phone, or the fact Adrien’s sneeze could have broken the all-time record for the loudest sneeze ever heard, but because she was certain he had seen her screen. He had seen her admitting she was in love with him – to him. Well, not exactly to him, but…oh, who was she kidding! He’d so seen it, and now she would need to crawl into a hole and bury herself alive.

She’d taken her phone from him with the most cringeworthy smile and wondered why the famed Adrien Agreste still hung around with her. She really was pitiful.

They walked side by side to the metro station in silence, then rode side by side to the La Défense train station before heading into the shopping centre, also in silence. It was like a game of truth or dare where neither were willing to speak in case they lost. She would look at him, he would look back. Her cheeks would fluster and she couldn’t help but wonder if there was any excuse she could think of which would make her look less like a weirdo. She didn’t need to think though, as Adrien spoke first.

“I’m sorry for breaking your phone. I really didn’t mean to frighten you with the sneeze. I didn’t even know I was going to sneeze. It just happened, and then you threw the phone… I swear I wasn’t sneaking up on you. I learnt my lesson years ago about doing that.”

Oh, sweet cherry pie! He thought she was angry at him for the phone! Maybe he hadn’t seen the love declaration. Heaven knew he’d never seen any of the real ones in their past, so who was to say he’d seen the obvious one right in front of his nose?

“Sorry,” she said with a smile. “I was in a world of my own. It’s this date tonight. I’m just stressing out. It’s not you, I promise.”

He pulled his cap further down as they headed into the shopping centre and straight for the phone store. “Maybe you need to go out and meet people the real way, rather than through a dating app.”

Find it on AO3

[diamaker-moon]

Saving What's Left — Chapter Four

First | Previous | Next || Masterlist

Marinette flinched at the sound of destruction, rearing her out of her trance. She looked to where the sound came from and could see a part of the Akuma. She lept to her feet and starting running back.

Before reaching the main battlefield she quickly ducked in an alleyway and transformed with the ladybug miraculous.

"WHERE IS SHE?!" The Akuma screamed.

Just as the Ladybug heroine landed on a nearby rooftop near the Akuma, she heard lithe footsteps behind her. She didn't dare to look back but kept aware of the person behind her, and is preparing her body to battle in any case.

But before she can throw her yo-yo to trap whoever is behind, the person passed her like a shadow, breezing right past her. Her eyes followed their footsteps only to see a cloaked figure easily jumping from one building to another towards the Akuma.

After one swift move around the Akuma, it appeared in front of her. As she look at the figure, she couldn't see a way to know a part of their identity. A black hooded cloak covers their whole body from head to toe and a black faceless mask in their face.

The figure was extending their hand towards her and saw the Akumatized objectb in their hands.

She cautiously reached it, the moment her fingers grasped the object, the person moved once again but this time disappearing from her sight.

Looking down at the object, she couldn't help but feel a tinge of sadness in her heart. She did her job of de-akumatizing the object, and releasing her cure to the sky and have the ladybugs fix and heal the destruction that occured.

Marinette looked at the object once again and back to the de-akumatized villain, before leaving the object on the ground near the victim and disappeared from the crowd.

——— •• ◆ •• ———

Going back a few moments during the fight with the Akuma, Adrien Agreste was busy turning his school bag upside down to see if he had placed the ring of destruction inside it. Much to his dismay, it wasn't there. He was growing anxious as he continuously heard the raging Akuma outside of the school and could not find the miraculous.

"Where is it?!" He growled inside the empty classroom.

Thousands of scenarios have been running around his mind; most of them are about his freedom and his lady.

Being the hero, Chat Noir is a way for him to escape the forced reality given to him by his father. He wanted to please his father and have him be proud of me, that's why he accepts to be a model despite his awkward personality in dealing with a mob of fans.

Alongside the fame of being a popular model, is the social clingers. Those who value reputation and wealth above all else.

Suddenly he felt his surroundings stop shaking and when he looked outside the window, he saw a cloaked person infront of his bewildered lady.

'Who is that person?!' He thought angrily.

He then saw Ladybug do her thing and clean up the mess left by the Akuma. He deemed it safe enough to go out and saw his classmates around the 'Akuma of the day'. Juleka Couffaine.

He stepped closer to them in order to hear the conversation.

"Juleka, what happened? Why were you suddenly akumatized?" Rose gently asked her.

While the others were silent and waited for her answer.

"We, I, messed up. She was right. Everything was a lie…" Juleka mumbled.

Her response was silent enough but loud enough for them to hear.

Adrien suddenly felt a bubbling pit of anxiousness inside his stomach for whatever reason. The moment he heard the young Couffaine's answer, he knew it will not end well.

Juleka looked up and her gaze immediately landed on Alya's pair of eyes before continuing.

"Marinette was right, Alya. Everything about your new 'best friend' is a lie. A big fat lie. And you are not a journalist, you're nothing but a paparazzi." She said coldly.

Adrien heard a lot of gasps around him and saw the amount of disbelief in Alya's eyes.

'Oh, boy.' He thought.

——— •• ◆ •• ———

Unaware of their surroundings, the cloaked person returned to the scene and observe the class from a distance. Their intentions were unclear to the mass, but they have their goals. And no one will be stopping them from reaching it.

Their gaze was as hard as steel.

If a person looks in their eyes at the moment, they will feel fear and terror. As if they are facing death himself.

Looking to the side, the person saw another point of their goal. They had seen two points of the goal as of now, the bug and the guy. There is only one left.

When they arrived in Paris, France, they were shocked at the amount of power that was covering the whole city. And facing the bug face-to-face, was a different experience.

They looked back at the group of students that are now in a current staring match.

They sighed deeply before turning around and leaving.

For them, no amount of ancient power will get in the way of their goal. Not even the power of the miraculous.

——— •• ◆ •• ———

Beyond the world of reality. There are three beings that were watching the world move as if the three watchers are security guards and were only watching a feed from different cameras.

But it was far from it.

Their slightest interference can change everything. Now that a new variable had caught their attention as it tries to get closer to their points.

"Are we sure about this? Involving her means taking everything from her. Even the smallest item will be taken."

"Yes. We have no choice. Our decision does not matter. If it is for the better of the world, then we should not have any objections or doubts."

They looked back to the person they were talking about. And at that moment they knew, they could only do so much, and thus everything left will be upon her.

——— •• ◆ •• ———

continuing…

T A G L I S T:

@demonicbusiness @imtallerthanyou @vixen-uchiha @chocolatecatstheron @arcticfox847 @autisticamerican @lady-bee-fechin @trippingovermyfeet @dancinglifeboat @celestethegoddess @eventhedarkestlightshines @fandom-trapped-03 @hikari55ttva @lovelyautumnsunflower @iglowinggemma28 @ravennightingaleandavatempus @robyalix @kanamexzeroyaoifangirl @doglover82 @a-star-with-a-human-name @pasteile @celestial-slytherin-blog @mewwitch @kanamexzeroyaoifangirl @its-maemain @artisticarson @fantasylover-92 @ravennightingaleandavatempus @seraphica @naruwitch @coolspidermanmusicflower

p.s: Haii, this is a gift for both the 200 followers and a Christmas gift to all! It's been quite a journey, especially after a few of my hiatus. So hope everyone has a happy holiday! I think the next chapter will be up next year XD

[dramatic-squirrel]

Daminette December Day 25- Demon/Angel

@maribat-calendar-events

“Demon Spawn! I’m going to actually kill you this time!” Damian raced down the street, away from Jason, not because he was actually afraid of him, but because his father had expressly forbidden him from fighting in public. Jason was under no such constraints as he actively rebelled against anything Bruce said. Behind him, Jason was holding the smoking wreckage of his motorcycle’s handlebar, as he chased him. In all honesty, he knew himself that his revenge was a bit extreme, but then again revenge always was. Flying around a corner, he ducked into the first business he saw. Then, in order to blend in, he quickly sat down at the first table with another person at it, facing away from the windows in order to hide his face. 

“Pardon me, but can I help you with something?” His sudden table partner was a young girl about his age, black hair, freckled, with Chinese ancestry clearly in her lineage but she also had a French accent. On the table she had a sketchbook out where various clothing designs were drawn out. 

“Yes. I’d like you to pretend like you're an acquaintance of mine but otherwise, you can go back to what you were doing.”

A sudden shout from outside caught her attention. “Demon Spawn! Where the hell are you!” Jason stopped by the window and looked around. The girl, meanwhile, glanced at Jason, then at him, and back again before understanding lit up on her face. 

Shrugging, she went back to her sketchbook and drinking her coffee. Jason passed on and Damian breathed a silent sigh of relief, just as he was about to get up, the girl stopped him. “I hope you know he’s going to be back. Once he checks the alley ways he’ll know that went inside a store and this is the only place open at this time.” He sank back into the chair and narrowed his eyes at her. 

“What do you know?”

She didn’t even bother looking up during her explanation. “That no one could possibly run down a street fast enough without being caught turning a corner. And that if you leave now, you run the risk of getting seen leaving. I would suggest hiding in the toilets, but he seems persistent enough to check there too once he figures out this is the only place you could be at this moment.” 

His gut told him she was right but that also left him trapped, and there was no way he was getting caught by Jason.

“If you’d like, I can help out.” This time, she looked up from her drawing, and tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear, she looked him directly in the eyes. 

The skepticism was practically dripping from his face. “What’s the price?” 

She looked confused by his question “A cup of coffee? I mean, I’ll need a cup in order for this plan to work but I could buy it myself.” His skepticism didn’t disappear, if anything, his suspicions only grew. Most ordinary people rarely help others with little benefit to themselves. The only exceptions he had seen were heroes, and even then, some of them did the job for glory and fame. 

But without evidence, he couldn’t prove otherwise. He held out his hand. “Deal.” She shook his hand.

“I’m Marinette by the way. Figured we should at least share names before becoming accomplices, Demon Spawn.” The nickname never bothered Damian before but when it came from her he felt an ache in his chest.

Frowning, he corrected her, “It’s Damian actually.”

Marinette stood up from the table. “Well, Damian, it was nice to meet you.” She grabbed her cup of coffee. “If the fates allow, we may meet again.” Jason opened the door just then, and Marinette moved into action, walking right towards Jason.

With her head down, not seeing where she was going, she bumped right into Jason, spilling the lukewarm coffee all over his shirt. “Ack! Mon Dieu, Je suis très désolé Monsieur. Est-ce que vous allez bien? Sorry, sorry.” she waved her hands around a bit more, spilling more coffee. “I tend to revert back to French when I’m nervous. Are you alright? I didn’t burn you or anything, did I? Can I get you a napkin, or a new shirt or a cup of coffee as an apology?”

Damian had to admit that her performance was convincing. At the very least Jason seemed to buy it. “It’s fine, Pixie. Now if you excuse me I’m looking for someone I need to murder.”

“Non! I can’t accept that. My mother always said to fix my mistakes so I insist you let me apologize properly. Maybe you’ll allow me to make you a new shirt. You see, I am an aspiring designer.” She opened her notebook and shoved it into Jason’s face. Damian took his cue and stood up to leave, before he made it far, he placed five dollars at her table for the coffee. It was the least he could do for the girl with the disposition of an angel. 

“Lady, it’s fine. I’m not having the best day, so I would appreciate it if you would just let it go.” he gently shoved Marinette’s sketchbook out of the way.

“That’s all the more reason I should make it up to you. Let me treat you to a cup of tea or coffee or hot chocolate, and then maybe you can tell me what’s troubling you. Perhaps I can help.” Jason couldn’t get a word in edgewise before Marinette dragged him to the counter to order and while his back was turned Damian slipped out of the building. 

“Have you ever heard of aggressive hospitality, Pixie? You might want to look into it.” Those were the last words Damian heard before the door shut behind him. As he casually walked down the street, he wondered if he’d ever meet that Angel again.

[bat-in-the-machine]

In the new chapter of Miraculous World Tour: Gotham, Wayne Enterprises opens its new fashion division, headed by MDC, and a columnist for Style Queen magazine manages to catch Marinette on her first day on the job! Interview below the cut!

[snip]

STYLE QUEEN BEE Living the Dream: MDC Unmasked

Chloe Bourgeois

Word travels fast in fashion, technology, and big business, so when your Queen Bee got word of Wayne Enterprises' new fashion division, to be headed by none other than elusive fashion newcomer MDC, well, loyal subjects will know I had to get to Gotham as soon as I got the word. One might say I made a beeline, if one were Parisian Hero Chat Noir (or Bludhaven vigilante Nightwing). Once I arrived, all I had to do was check in with the front desk clerk at Wayne Enterprises, a charming young woman who absolutely rocks the executive look and deserves a better position than front desk clerk, and she put me in touch with the up-and-coming fashion mogul almost immediately.

MDC has led something of a charmed life, subjects, as your Queen Bee can attest. I've told you about all the brushes with fame and glory I've had throughout my childhood, but none of those compare to the absolutely meteoric rise of fellow Parisienne Marinette Dupain-Cheng, otherwise known as MDC and, if rumor is to be believed, the newest Wayne. If you've been reading Style Queen Bee since my debut, you'll remember that I haven't always been the shining paragon of magnanimity that I am today, and I am ashamed to say that my relationship with MDC was antagonistic, and that it was entirely due to my own ego that it was. As soon as I walked into her massive office in the executive suites of Wayne Enterprises, to be greeted not only by the elusive fashionista but also the head of Wayne Enterprises' security division as well as two members of his elite team, acting as personal bodyguards, I knew that the chickens had come home to roost.

To her enormous credit, when MDC recognized me, she actually smiled, and your Queen Bee knew she had an interview.

Miss Dupain-Cheng, thank you very much for seeing me on such short notice. On your first day in the office, if I hear correctly.

Not at all, Chloe. I see life in America has been treating you well. And yes, this is my first day in the office. I confess to a bit of confusion as to how you knew I was here.

Well, any Parisian, fashionista, or Jagged Stone fan knew that MDC was in Gotham and was caught up in that nastiness during Jagged's concert. Can you tell us about that?

(awkward chuckle) Kwami, that was a nightmare. Literally. Everything was going brilliantly, and then suddenly it wasn't. I was back in Paris and surrounded by akuma, fighting them off - I sincerely hope I didn't severely hurt any of the rockers who rushed the stage under the influence of the Fear Toxin.

I suppose that your brief stint as the Parisian heroine Multimouse influenced your hallucination, then?

Oui, it did.

Queen Bee's Proclamation: Marinette Dupain-Cheng, much like yours truly, was a temporary wielder of a Miraculous, who was unfortunately unmasked due to my own indiscretions that caused me to have my Miraculous revoked.

I apologize if I'm bringing up painful memories. If it makes you feel any better, I do regret getting you pulled from the team over what I did.

Not at all. Ladybug made it clear that my time as a heroine was to be temporary, and I was very grateful for that - between MDC, normal schoolwork, assisting at the Boulangerie, my duties as Mme. Bustier's class representative... Let's just say that even with the powers of the Mouse Miraculous, there was only so much of me to go around.

Let's talk about MDC. Anyone who knew you in collége (middle school for you Americans) knew you had design talent. How did you get your professional start?

Oh, you were there for that, actually. If you'll recall, there was a class project day where we were assigned to work at Le Grand Paris and your father assigned me a position as Uncle J's gopher?

You're kidding. Did he know you were related at the time?

Oh, Uncle J isn't my biological uncle. At the time he was M. Stone. In any case, he assigned me to find him a pair of Dame de Fer sunglasses, and-

Oh, Jagged's signature French Flag Eiffel Tower sunglasses!

Yes! He wasn't at all happy with the original, understated glasses I found for him, so I set out to make some sunglasses for him. I made the tower design much larger, patterned it after the French flag, and he fell in love.

I seem to recall that at his next show, he performed a song dedicated to Ladybug herself. I don't suppose Lady Luck ever told you what that was about?

In fact, I was there for part of that whole thing. Uncle J had a stalker at the hotel, a self-styled superfan who was akumatized after Jagged declined to pose with him. Uncle J is usually so accommodating, but I suppose the young man simply got in the way at the worst time. In any case, he was akumatized and became the villain Pixelator, and Ladybug and Chat Noir saved Jagged from him.

How does it feel to have your first professional design associated with Ladybug?

Miraculous! (laughter) Honestly, it's an honor to be associated with the heroine of Paris, and as much as she loves the City of Light, having her song associated with the Eiffel Tower and the French flag like that? I like to think she's proud of that, as well.

After the sunglasses, Jagged next turned to you for the album art for his Rock Giant album. Was it a very drastic change for you to switch media from accessories to painting?

Not as much as you'd think. While at heart, I am a designer, sometimes I feel compelled to do design outside of fashion. I have designed furniture, clothing, accessories, two-dimensional art, three-dimensional art... When a creative impulse takes me, I find I can do almost anything to make that vision a reality.

From there, you went on to design tour outfits for Jagged, and later for Clara Nightingale. Did "Uncle Jagged" put you in touch with her?

No, actually, Clara and I met when she came to Paris to film the video for her song "Miraculous."

Oh no. Dupain-Cheng, I am begging you not to tell the rest of this story.

(laughter) Okay, fine, if you don't want me to talk about it, I won't.

Unfortunately, my editor will never forgive me if I let it go at that. So please, do go on and don't spare us the details.

Clara had the brilliant idea that instead of casting based on appearance or skill, she would cast the role of Ladybug based on a test of character.

Ah, so that's how you got the part! Adrien (ed. note: Agreste, former child fashion model) always called you our "Everyday Ladybug."

Indeed he did. He still does, in fact. But yes, Clara "accidentally tripped" when walking past the candidates, and because I rushed out of line to stop her from falling, she chose me to play the part of Ladybug in her video, alongside Adrien as Chat Noir. Anyway, the shoot almost got cancelled and Clara was akumatized because of it, but in the end, we did finish the shoot and I had my brief stint in the limelight.

I should mention that "the shoot almost got canceled" should be rephrased as "Chloe Bourgeois went whining to daddy to get the shoot canceled" because I was a terrible child.

Don't beat yourself up for what you did as a child, Chloe. I'm not sure that "humble" suits you, regardless. Humble Chloe? Ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous!

You shall be hearing from my lawyers regarding the unauthorized use of my trademarked catchphrase.

(laughter)

It was about then that MDC started wearing the mask, right?

Indeed it was. I started doing more and more work that put me adjacent to the public eye, and I was really uncomfortable with that. Not to mention, I was still underage at the time, and it seemed like a good way to protect my identity.

How did your parents take your secret meteoric rise?

Maman et Papa have been nothing but supportive, even when my design work took me away from the Boulangerie. They always said they were so proud of me no matter what I did, and the fact I was chasing my dreams made them even prouder.

And now we get to the juicy bit. Family relations.

Oh, the juicy bit! (laughter) Please, do go on, I'm curious what the rumors have been.

There are a number of rumors surrounding yourself and billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne: That you're a secret love child, another adoptee, a legitimate heir raised in secret away from the Wayne family name... In addition to those rumors, there are the rumors that followed your childhood, that Bruce Wayne was a regular visitor to your parents' home every summer.

Up until Papillon started his attacks, yes. He and my parents were old friends, so I would see Uncle Bruce once or twice a year. Apparently, when they met, he was backpacking across Europe anonymously, not touching his bank accounts or anything, and they were just opening up the Boulangerie, so they let him stay with them while he was in France. There was nothing untoward about the relationship they had, and I genuinely hope to quash any rumors to the contrary.

So the rumors that Wayne had a paternity test performed in secret...?

Actually true, and the results were extremely weird, because Uncle Bruce's insistence on not touching any Wayne money during his travels actually led to a positive test result. He had taken to donating sperm to finance one leg of his trip, and my parents had ended up using donor sperm when they were having problems conceiving.

You're kidding.

What are the odds, n'est pas?

Only you, Dupain-Cheng.

What is that supposed to mean?

You dated Adrien Agreste. You dated Luka Couffaine. You traipsed your way by pure accident into being celebrity adjacent every day of your life since you turned thirteen, and now you've stumbled into being the next Wayne. Is that how you ended up becoming head of Wayne Enterprises' newly christened fashion division?

Yes and no. I'm not going to lie and say that Uncle Bruce doesn't occasionally stack the deck in favor of his children - whether or not they're legally his. Everyone in Gotham knows he does. However, the relationship between WE and MDC was actually initiated by Lucius Fox at the behest of Timothy Drake-Wayne, prior to anyone learning about my relationship with Uncle Bruce. Originally, there wasn't going to be a fashion division, but MDC was going to be acknowledged as an affiliate of Wayne Enterprises roughly equivalent to a division of the company, but more autonomous - Uncle Bruce is big on autonomy. Once he learned of the genetic relationship, Uncle Bruce decided that wasn't sufficient and that instead of being his honorary niece, I was going to be his daughter by hook or by crook.

If Wayne wasn't going to have a Fashion Division prior to your joining the family, what was the nature of your relationship with the company as MDC?

Tim (Drake-Wayne, co-CEO of Wayne Enterprises) was a fan, first of all. Secondly, I had been looking at WE for a while and had contacted M. (Lucius) Fox (head of R&D) about MDC providing custom designs to demonstrate the practicality of some of the company's experimental fabrics as a sort of covert body armor for celebrities and bodyguards. The material was incredible. Lightweight, adaptable. I was fascinated with the possibilities, and M. Fox and I came to an agreement that I would provide some demonstration pieces. I'm afraid that I can't get into any greater detail about the nature of the project or the materials used without violating some rather airtight NDAs, however, so you'll have to wait for the press release from WE.

Are you suggesting that Wayne Enterprises would sue the newest Wayne for violating an NDA?

On the plus side, I suspect that if they did, the Wayne Enterprises legal department would argue both sides of the case, just for fun. This company is a delight to work for but it is also a logistical nightmare.

Apart from the (apparently classified) project, what's next for MDC?

Honestly, I'm hoping to get some one-on-one time with Gotham's vigilantes, see if we can't bring their aesthetic into the twenty-first century before it ends.

Oh? Are we about to hear a classic Dupain-Cheng takedown of the vigilantes' costumes?

Not a piece-by-piece breakdown. This is an interview, not a Twitter thread. However...

Please go on. Do you have a favorite and a least favorite design?

Ironically, both are Nightwing. His latest costume is a delight. Streamlined design, incorporating his logo into the design so seamlessly it almost doesn't appear to be a logo. Black and cobalt blue go well together, and no Parisian can fault a domino mask without incurring the wrath of the entire city. His first costume, on the other hand, was an affront on the senses. I have heard it referred to as the "Discowing" suit and I can see why - it looks like someone decided to combine a leisure suit with a gymnastics unitard, with a plunging neckline so drastic I wonder that he didn't accidentally flash half of Gotham.

What do you think of the newest?

Signal? His suit looks like it was designed by Palmer Technologies and I wouldn't be surprised if it was. Has anyone seen him and the Atom in the same room before?

What about Gotham's Rogues? Better or worse design than Papillon's Akumas?

That's a loaded question. Since Papillon designed all of the Akumas prior to his defeat, one has to take them all as a single fashion line, whereas the Rogues don't all go to the same designer. They don't, right? There isn't some Gotham Rogue fashionista making all of these garish outfits for them, right? I swear if there is, then I would beg the Bat Clan to focus their efforts on that individual first and foremost, and spare the citizens of Gotham from a psychological assault the likes of which have never been seen outside of Paris.

Any favorite Rogues?

I'm not sure they count, but the Sirens have impeccable fashion sense. Doctor Isley's living dresses are absolutely to die for even when they're not made of lethally poisonous plants, and Doctor Quinzel has the punk aesthetic down to an art form - which, done properly, it is. Catwoman's catsuits are a classic, and the woman knows how to accessorize.

Miss Dupain-Cheng, it has been fantastic speaking to you, and I cannot express how grateful I am that you've taken time out of your undoubtedly busy workday to speak with me.

It is no bother at all, Chloe. It's been wonderful to see you again.

And with that, your Queen Bee took her leave of the up-and-coming fashion superstar, grateful and humble as always for the opportunity to interview the Queen of Second Chances. MDC has been a rising star, and while there are those who would claim that she is doing so riding the coattails of her famous biological father, it could just as easily be said that Wayne Enterprises has hitched their wagon to the star that is MDC to give their nascent fashion line a much-needed boost. Either way, look forward to great things from MDC and Wayne in the future. Any thought that they won't be on the cutting edge of both fashion and technology moving forward is ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous.

[ggomos-maribat]

8 | bearing another mask

Part 8 of Marinette Dupain-Cheng is Dead | Masterlist

TW: a bit of SH, noncon touching

Lila sat in her dimly lit apartment with a souring mood on her face. One hand tapped against the side of her hot mug while the other held a fingernail wedged between her teeth. She stared at the email from her PR and legal team, which promised that they would put out the flames and advised that she kept quiet for the meantime so as to not worsen the situation. But it's not enough, she bitterly thought. No matter how much cleanup they do, those rumors were scars that would forever mar the face of her company.

She let out a slow breath. My sales will be affected, the employees, our suppliers. Why, why does this have to happen now? She switched to another window that showed an article detailing the designs she 'stole' from the deceased girl. I was taking inspiration, she seethed. Aren't those designs better off seeing the light of fame than being stuck in a piece of paper? If Marinette were alive, she should be thanking her.

Sharp trills from her doorbell snapped her out of her stupor. Quickly, she told herself to calm down and let the issues pass—people move on from one intriguing gossip to another in no time anyway. She glided over to her door and opened it up, expecting to see her assistant to greet her.

But instead, a tall blonde man was on the other side of the door.

"Adrien!" The smile froze on her face, albeit also showing slight surprise. "When I said I wanted to meet you, I was expecting to go to your place or something."

"I thought I should come to you instead, so I don't need to see your face ever again." His voice was devoid of any warmth, eyes lacking their usual shine. In fact, it was the coldest Adrien had ever been in front of her, as he clearly didn't bother to hide his disdain.

Lila snorted. "How nice of you. Won't you come in?"

Adrien actually stepped into the place, but only by the living room. Out of obligation, Lila headed into the kitchenette to open up the cupboards and look for something to serve him. "Want anything to drink? Eat?" She hummed. "I think I still have cheesecake cups from an influencer friend of mine . . . or oolong tea?"

"I don't want anything. I'm not planning on staying long."

"You look well." She tilted her head. "We didn't even get to talk much in the reunion. It feels like you were avoiding me."

"I was, in fact."

Lila paused, and looked at him with narrowed eyes. Can't we play pleasantries just for a while, Agreste? "Fine." Her lip curled as she neared him. "You don't want to talk like mature adults, I get it. I'll go straight to the point. Are you behind all those rumors?"

"No," Adrien replied coolly. "If it were me, if I were trying to protect Marinette's designs, don't you think I would've done that a long time ago?" A ghost smile flickered on his lips. "But I do think it's well-deserved for you. Your current silence means you've been put into your place."

"'Put into my place'?" Lila echoed. Maybe it isn't you, or maybe it is and you've just been waiting for the right time to strike. "Those posts are ruining the reputation of my brand! They're baseless rumors trying to make me look bad!"

"How are they baseless when you've clearly tried to rip off Marinette's creations and even designs from small businesses?" Adrien asked.

She scoffed, "Now you're insulting me just because you're back from that hiatus of yours? Look, I've built my company with my own hard work and talent. I get that you're hurt about Marinette's death but I don't deserve this for my petty lies in collège and lycée. They were white lies! I was trying to make friends. Why do you think our class ended up being so close after these years?"

Lila could see the enclosed rage in Adrien's eyes, one with a fire that burned as strong as the one setting off inside her, but he didn't act on it. His tone was calm and unwavering, albeit holding a silent venomous undertone. "You can't call your lies petty if they've hurt someone badly. You didn't make the class so enamored with you—you trapped them and manipulated them that they have no choice but to play along if they didn't want to be dragged to hell with you."

She put herself closer to him, looking him in the eye. Why did Gabriel have to go so soon? Why couldn't you have stayed obedient like you had all those years?

"That's bold coming from you," she whispered, breath touching his skin. He flinched a little. "You and I both know Gabriel would've entrusted his company to me, if you weren't already written out in his will."

She slid a hand up his chest, then to his shoulder, and down his arm. "I don't think the company is even holding up right now. When's the last time it had a show? What was the last design you released—"

"—Don't touch me—"

Her hand cupped his cheek lightly, but when he moved away, she grasped his forearms instead. "If you're smart, you'll realize you can't handle it alone. You need me, you need his protégé. My company can partner up with yours and you'll be back on your feet in no time."

But Adrien pulled away again, more forcefully this time, and glowered at her. "I think it's the other way around—it's you who needs me. If you can get me on your side, you have another celebrity backing you up, or you can divert attention from the scandals with another partnership."

Lila clenched her jaw, clasping her hands behind her back and leaning in to give him a saccharine smile. "Unfortunately, I don't stoop that low. If you don't want us to help each other, that's your loss." She ran a hand through her long hair. "Your father's company will go bankrupt, and Lilia Designs will be the new top fashion brand."

Calm down, she told herself. Although Adrien wasn't an option to be a pawn anymore, it wasn't that big of a deal. She just wanted to feel a little bit of satisfaction if she could put him under her thumb, see him helpless and compliant. But I can't lose my nerve here. If I lash out, I lose. I just need to be the bigger person.

"That's quite confident of you, Lila," Adrien said forebodingly. "We'll see, I suppose."

***

"There's one more thing we want to ask. Felix Fathom—was he related in any way to the case?"

"My cousin? What makes you think so?"

He saw some hint of hesitance on Tim's face. "He had trips back and forth from London to Paris at that time."

"He was helping take care of me after Marinette died while juggling his responsibilities at home." He shrugged. "Technically, I had no family anymore, aside from him and my aunt."

"Is there any way we can talk to him?"

He paused for a few beats, thinking it over. Then he replied: "I can put in a word for you, but I can't guarantee that he'll be available. His schedule's pretty tight nowadays."

He slammed the car door shut as soon as he got onto the seat. That woman's touch was still ghosting on his arms, making his skin crawl. His stomach was a gurgling pit of nausea and his jaw was clenched tight. Was that how Lila acted this whole time?

He kept himself from shivering while starting up the car. It had been a while since he adopted an alter ego, and still, he was yet to fully understand his cousin. Even as he donned Adrien's clothes, and messed up his hair to match the unkempt style, he felt like an impostor in his own skin. Ever since he appeared in the class reunion a couple weeks ago, a voice would nag at him telling him that he was a fake.

Adrien wore many masks, more than what Felix could bear to put on.

And now, Felix finally knew how much Lila had tormented Adrien. Disgusting. She's disgusting. His hands tightened around the steering wheel as he drove. He went through all of that, under the clutches of that vile woman.

But he knew he was the one who chose to be put in that situation. The job is done . . . the recorder is working and the camera was in place. He took a deep breath. Everyone will finally know her true colors.

Everything was slowly coming into fruition, but it wasn't over until Lila met her downfall.

Felix drove around for a few minutes just to make sure no one was tailing him. Then, he sped up and headed for the outskirts of Paris, in an isolated apartment building. He shrugged off his jacket after parking the car, and reached the top floor just as the first drizzle drops of an incoming storm pattered on the windows.

When he opened the door, he found an occupant inside already.

"How was it?"

Felix ran a hand through his hair, idly shutting the door. "Don't give me that look. It went fine."

"It's a live feed, Felix, I saw you." Marinette spun on her chair, following his figure with a disapproving stare. "I saw everything."

Felix tugged at his collar. "It was fine, it was my idea and my decision." Even if I hated her hands on me. "We got the video and it'll smear her reputation if the accusations on her haven't already."

He peeked at the computer where she had just been working, looking to change the subject. "What's that?"

Marinette sighed as she turned back to the screen. "Other testimonies popping up about Lila copying other designs. Turns out it's not only clothes—even accessories and jewelry too."

Figures, he thought. She can never be original. "Well, she got awfully greedy."

"I don't understand her sometimes," the bluenette murmured, "I saw her cry real tears at my funeral, and yet here she is, stealing from the deceased on purpose."

Felix poured himself a glass of water to dispel the sour taste in his tongue. "It's because she thinks she's not doing anything wrong."

He watched as she switched to the second screen, one displaying a high-security website with a sleek modern design. Big letters spelled out the brand: Mira Designs. A few months back, he had argued with her that a new branding could give her away because of the similarity to her former designs. But Marinette had firmly promised that that wouldn't be the case.

And that became the truth: 'Mira's' designs were different, better even, mirroring a rebirth in Marinette's creativity following the new life she'd made for herself. Lila's company paled in comparison, and Mira Designs had gained traction in such a short span of time. Although Felix wasn't an expert in fashion, he could see that Marinette was on her way to become a celebrity in the fashion world. But the appeal point in her company was that the designer herself remained mysteriously anonymous.

"We'll be hitting our quota by the end of the week." Marinette showed him the current numbers. "And you said you didn't believe in my designing abilities."

"I didn't say that." Felix rolled his eyes.

"You implied it." An amused smile tugged at her lips.

"You wouldn't be making these sales without my business expertise."

"Oh, right, yes I'm sorry Mr. Fathom, I must get on my knees and thank you for your help."

Felix snorted and grabbed his things again. He was reaching for the doorknob when Marinette stopped him.

"Where are you going?"

"Out. I need some air," he lied.

Of course she wouldn't buy that. She raised an eyebrow.

"I'm going out to visit Adrien," he finally said truthfully. "Just fix up dinner for yourself. I might come back late." 

Taglist: @hammalammadamdam @toodaloo-kangaroo@missmadwoman@afanofmanyships@atomicherringpersonjudge-blog@wheredostarsgowhenyoudie

[hamsteriffic]

Misheard Lyrics for Be Our Guest for @trying414

Story behind it:

I misheard my husband and I thought he was singing “Be Agreste!” to the tune of “Be Our Guest” from Beauty and the Beast and inspired this to happen… (Also Gabriel’s new outfit makes him look like a candle)

This was sitting in my WIPs basket never to see the light of day, but it was my crack prediction for Hawkmoth’s showdown. It’s fitting to his penchant for being dramatic!

Without further ado, here what my brain came up with, imagining this scene as the Final showdown between Hawkmoth and Ladybug.

Be Agreste

Sung by Gabriel as Lumiere

Marinette Dupain-Cheng as Ladybug in the role of Belle

And Chat Noir as Himself

Picture this:

Adrien and Marinette just got engaged, and Gabriel looks at his phone to see the photo of them on Instagram with an engagement ring on her finger. The rock was huge and garish, Gabriel obviously had no part in it because it was too common.

The problem was, Gabriel already knew that Marinette was Ladybug. He, of course, doesn’t know about his son’s secret identity, but that may be a story for later. So he says to himself or Nooroo, or for the sake of villains explaining themselves in monologue form.

“My son is engaged to Ladybug? Why this is the perfect opportunity for a trap of epic proportions!”

Then he invites Marinette to dinner, and she’s expecting Adrien there, it was apparently to celebrate their engagement afterall, but as she walks towards large ominous dining table in the mansion she meets an image of her future father in law, in his white-ass suit, looking like a fucking candle.

“Ma chère Mademoiselle, it is with deepest pride and greatest pleasure that we welcome you tonight,” and Gabriel now tips his top hat. “And now we invite you to relax. Let us pull up a chair as the dining room proudly presents… Your dinner!”

Marinette sees Nooroo flying above her and she gasps, transforming into Ladybug as she sees Gabriel surprisingly break out into a song and dance.

Be our guest! Be our guest!

Put your courage to the test

Tie your yo-yo 'round your waist, cherie

And we'll provide the rest.

Want couture, Fame or more?

Why, I’ll throw in my first-born too!

Try this ring stuff, it's suspicious…

Don't believe me? Make some wishes!

By now, the forks have been assembled into the Eiffel Tower with the help of all his captured kwamis.

Kwamis sing, they can dance,

After all, Miss, this is France,

And akumas here are never second best!

Go on, let me akumatise you.

Take a chance, and then you'll be our guest

Oui, our guest, be our guest.

Zombizou, Simon Says,

Ice cream man "en flambe",

We'll prepare villains in an akuma cabaret.

At this point, Ladybug has had enough of Hawkmoth’s stupid song and leaps at him while he runs away, and she chases him to the study.

She presses the buttons that open up the door from Emelie’s portrait. For some reason, the music is still playing, as Gabe sings:

You're alone and you're scared

But the pancakes all prepared

No one's gloomy or complaining

While the kwami’s entertaining

They tell jokes! I do tricks

With your internal conflicts

And it's all in perfect taste that you can bet!

Come on and lift your glass

You've won your own free pass

To be a success!

If you're stressed, it's akumatising we suggest

Be our guest! Be our guest! Be our guest!

Ladybug stops and looks at all the kwamis trapped in his giant hamster wheel.

Life is so unnerving

For a kwami who's not serving

I’m not whole without a soul to prey upon

Ah, those good old days when they were useful

Suddenly those good old days are gone.

She turns to see Emelie’s coffin and next to her, Hawkmoth.

For years I’ve been trusting

That your defeat will be crushing

Needing exercise, a chance to use their skills

Most days they just lay around the mansion

Flabby, fat and lazy

You walked in and oops-a-daisy!

Ladybug has had enough as the glowing purple mask hovers over her eyes as she grasps her head. The Kwamis break out in fear and whisper to her, pleadingly. “Marinette! Marinette!”

[Sass]

Snakes alive, she'll be possessed!

[Duusu]

I’ve been restored, I’ve been bored

I've had the amoks freshly pressed!

Hawkmoth holds his hand out to Ladybug who is still fighting the akuma.

Which kwami will it be?

Leave your earrings with me!

There’s no time for frou-frouing,

It’s troubling, who you’ll be using.

You’ll conform, ring or not?

Kwamis sakes! That’s not a lot?

He puts five alliance rings on her as she falls to her knees.

The guardian needs us for the final test!

We've got a lot to do! Is it one power up two?

For you, our guest! She's our guest! She's our guest! Be our guest! Be our guest!

Your miraculous is my request!

It's been years since we've had success here

And I’m obsessed, with the jewels, on your ears

Yes, indeed, I aim to please

While the akumas are still flowing

Let us help you, we'll keep going

Course by course, one by one

'Til you shout, "Enough! I'm done!"

Then you can accept my son’s request

Tonight you'll stop and meet up

But for now, let's tee up

Be Agreste! Be Agreste! Be Agreste!

Please, be Agresteeeeee-

He is cut off at this point because Ladybug breaks the Akuma mask just as Chat Noir breaks through the rose window and knocks out Gabriel.

“About time!” Ladybug sighs with relief.

Chat Noir is taking Gabriel away, and Ladybug narrows her eyes as she realised that he’s humming along

“Be Agreste! Be Agreste! Be Agreste!”

This arouses Ladybug’s suspicions.

“How long have you been here?”

Chat blushes and grins sheepishly. “Long enough,” he shrugs.

Ladybug is now angry as she jabs a finger at him. “You made me listen to the whole song?!”

Chat rubs his neck nervously and grins at his fiancée. “It was kinda catchy?”

[whenimgoodandready]

When you wanna put a stop to something, you take action. Like how the Bee Miraculous does it’s job by paralyzing the person they sting. Chloe had that job and then Zoe. Both sisters did well, but only one earned it by using their intended purpose for it wisely and for the greater good. Chloe sought fame and recognition as a super (“Queen’s Battle Part 2:Queen Wasp”), but Zoe was the one with the moral compass to only look out for the people and lend a hand (“Queen Banana”). Perhaps maybe Chloe would’ve eventually grown to do the same had she not been so selfish and listened to Ladybug (or Marinette/Ladybug giving her a chance more instead of a personal grudge), but alas it did not happen and we got a huge mess of a character from Chloe. That’s exactly what will also happen to the world if we don’t give it a chance and it causes a huge mess! We need to take action! How!? Read and learn:

*Action-This here special takes place in the middle of Season 5 and it turns out, Monarch was re-creating the world before the finale! How? Well, there’s a heat wave in Paris and Gabe was “solving the problem” by using 3-D Adrien and Kagami to promote these decorative (yet single use) plastic fans, that Mayor Andre had installed in vending machines all throughout Paris, which get discarded into the Seine river which pollutes it re-creating the city (and eventually the world) into a planet of trash!

None of the adults would help or understand the dangers of plastic pollution:Nadja with her news network (but for ethical reasons cuz she’d lose her job and not support her child), Gabe with the fan advertisements and even Mayor Andre on removing the vending machines selling said fans. Not even when Marinette and the gang decide to get to the root of the problem by going over to the head of the plastic industry and confronting Bertrand King, “The King of Plastic” (think Colonel Sanders, but “bubblegum flavored”), about their issue helped cuz Bertrand refuses to listen to the kids on reducing plastic, so they hijack the news station and point out (along with their Miraculous World friends) how over endorsing plastic can be harmful. These kids play hardball, let me tell ya, when they want to get a point across, they do it! Go big or go home!

This causes Gabe and Andre to save face by claiming to be “unaware” of the negative effects plastic can do for the environment and humiliating Bertrand to be akumatized, with the Bee Miraculous, as King of Plastic. An all plastic looking villain with the power to turn anyone he touches with his staff into colorful paralyzed plastic. When I first saw his look, he looked a bit too colorful to be a “plastic” themed villain. He looked more like a King Candy type of villain, but after seeing the ep, I realized that the reason why he was so vibrant was because all plastic is like that and he was like the human version of his multi-color changing pen that you see tween girls carrying in their trapper keepers! (Shhh! I have one too! It’s scented!), so it was fitting. The dynamic duo struggled with him at first, but it turned out his strength, was also his weakness! Whomp! Whomp! Whooooooop!

First ep to not be written/directed by Thomas Astruc and instead by the Breteau Foundation and despite the ep seeming “bland” and “Captain Planet” esque theme, kids shows tend to have episodes focused on environmental care so they can get their attention and take part in saving the world (in small doses that is) and having a little something for elementary school classrooms to learn from in a “Bill Nye:The Science Guy” type of way. Part of what motivates the kids to take action and not be so careless for the Earth. Which is why Zoe was more worthy of the Bee Miraculous as she was taking part in helping to minimize plastic use and Chloe was just there watching the interrupted news special (perhaps maybe this’ll come back to her and she’ll finally get that redemption arc we’ve all been dying for). Like before, this ep stands on its own being set in the middle of Season 5 possibly between “Confrontation” and “Collusion” which is why the more eco-friendly atmosphere isn’t established yet cuz of our new mayor, Bustier, and why Gabe/Monarch isn’t rotting in the dirt in his wife’s place (“The Last Day Part 2:Re-creation”). Not much else to go by since this whole special was pretty self explanatory and alls I can say is that we should do what we can to stop pollution and that I’m just waiting for the next special with Shadybug and Claw Noir!😉. I will still be back with that and the Season 6 premiere with new frames and thoughts on the show. Good-bye fellow Miraculars, the power is yours!

[natedogx15]

Miraculous Descendent Chapter 39: Troubles of Fame

Previous Chapter

Marinette exits the elevator on Jagged Stone's floor and rushes toward his room. She knocks on the door to see Penny open it again.

"Ah, Marinette. Did you find what Jagged was looking for?" Penny asks her curiously.

"Yes. They're right here." Marinette nods while showing Penny the glasses she made.

Penny smiles when she sees the design.

"These are perfect, Marinette. Great job finding them." Penny compliments her.

"Actually, I-" Marinette starts before getting cut off by a shout.

"Penny! What's taking you so long? Who's at the door?" Jagged Stone asks.

"It's Marinette, Jagged. She's brought the glasses you were looking for." Penny tells Jagged.

"Then bring her in, and let me see what she got! I still have to give her an autograph anyway!" Jagged shouts toward her excitedly as he rubs Fang's belly.

"Come in, Marinette." Penny smiles at the girl while letting her in.

Back in the hotel lobby, Nate is showing Adrien and Chloe how to use the front desk computer while the employees help any guests showing up.

"And by typing in a person's name, we can see their reservation, if they're already checked in, and how long they've stayed." Nate shows them as he types Jagged Stone to show he's already checked in in his room.

"Cool," Adrien says with a smile.

"Yep. Also, remember to keep a positive and friendly attitude toward guests and answer their questions. It may be annoying sometimes, but it's something you have to do." Nate tells the two.

"Duh, that's basic retail stuff." Chloe rolls her eyes at his advice.

"Adrien's been locked in his house for years, Chloe. I'm talking to him over you. I figured you know how to do this since your father runs a bakery." Nate tells her with a shrug before focusing back on helping Adrien.

"Now, if the guests ask you questions you don't know how to answer, come to me or one of the other employees. Okay?" Nate asks him.

"Yeah. Thanks." Adrien thanks Nate with a smile.

"No problem. I'll teach you the ropes on everything here with the staff." Nate tells him with a smile.

Chloe scoffs at his words.

"What are you going to do? Teach him how to order the staff to do everything for you?" Chloe sarcastically asks him.

That gets a reaction out of Nate and causes him to glare at her.

"I will have you know that my dad has me work for an allowance by helping the staff around the hotel. I know at least the basics of everything involving hotel service." Nate snaps at her while glaring at her.

"Yeah, right." Chloe scoffs at him.

The two are about to argue before they hear Kim's panicked scream.

The trio turns to see Kim running into the hotel lobby toward them.

"What's wrong? Did another celebrity with a weird pet show up?" Nate asks Kim as he runs toward them.

"Akuma!" Kim shouts while pointing towards the door.

That causes three pairs of eyes to widen as they immediately look toward the door to see Pixelator walking inside with a smirk. Nate reaches under the front desk and presses a hidden button. As he is, Adrien says.

"Run!"

The four teens and whoever else is unlucky enough to be in the lobby quickly rush out of Pixelator's way to try and escape him. Unfortunately, Pixelator isn't making it easy for them.

"Now, now. There's no need to be so shy. Just look into the lens and let me take your picture." Pixelator says as he puts a hand on the button on the side of his head and fires a laser toward the retreating Kim.

Kim screams when the laser hits him, causing the other teens to turn toward him, and disappears in a burst of pink pixels.

The next thing Kim knows, he wakes up in an area with nothing but white. There is nothing but white around him for what seems like miles.

"Where am I? Help! Ladybug! Cat Noir! Someone, please help me!" Kim screams into the vastness of white.

Back at the hotel, the three remaining teens look shocked at what happened to Kim.

"What a perfect shot of him running. Now, who will have the honor of having their picture taken by me before I go and meet my best friend upstairs?" Pixelator asks with a grin.

That causes Nate to realize who the villain is.

"You're that paparazzi guy from earlier!" He shouts his discovery by accident, the stress of the situation taking a slight toll on him.

Apparently, that is the wrong thing to say; Because Pixelator looks at him angrily.

"Paparazzi! How dare you! I am not someone who chases after celebrities to take photos of them! I'm simply trying to get a picture with my best friend to prove our friendship!" Pixelator snaps at him.

That causes Nate to look at him with a scared and inquisitive expression.

"You do realize that, and this; makes you sound like a stalker, right?" Nate asks as he motions toward Pixelator's form.

"I am not a stalker!" Pixelator shouts as he's about to fire off another shot.

"Wait, wait, wait! Can you hear me out?" Nate begs the man while raising his hands in the air in panic.

Pixelator pauses his movement and looks at Nate with an expression that signals he's reaching his limit of patience.

Adrien and Chloe watch this happen. After recovering from the shock of the situation, the two decide to continue running for different reasons.

"Let the idiot's big mouth get him in trouble. It'll mean I have more time to hide." Chloe thinks as she runs, despite being worried for him deep in her heart.

"I better find somewhere to transform while Nate is distracting the Akuma. Please be okay by the end of this." Adrien pleads in his head while running.

As the two are running, Pixelator says.

"Go on." He says this in a restrained hostile tone.

"Okay, hear me out here. You said you followed him throughout his whole tour, had to hide behind a desk to try and snap a picture of him, and it's pretty clear Jagged Stone is uncomfortable around you. That doesn't sound like a friendship. And this is coming from a teen that doesn't have a lot of friends." Nate lists off his reasons for calling Pixelator a stalker.

Unfortunately, his words only make Pixelator even angrier as he's about to fire on Nate. However, before he can, the two hear what sounds like police sirens outside.

"Oh, sweet lord, thank you," Nate mutters when he sees Pixelator distracted by the sound and runs toward the nearest stairwell.

"Great, the police, again," Pixelator mutters in annoyance.

Pixelator quickly turns back toward Nate, only to see him not in the same spot. When he looks around, he sees Nate right as he opens the door to a stairwell.

"Look into the lens!" Pixelator shouts toward him before firing another beam toward him.

Fortuitously, Nate closes the door before the beam can hit him. When the blast hits the door, it becomes pixelated and intangible.

"Not going to lie, that is cool," Nate mutters as he looks at the door before running up the stairs.

Pixelator is about to run up the stairs before Hawkmoth creates a link between them.

"Pixelator, forget about him for now. Why don't you go to your best friend's room and get that picture." Hawkmoth tells him, causing Pixelator to grin.

"You're right, Hawkmoth." Pixelator agrees with his benefactor's words. He walks towards the hotel as Roger and other police officers enter the lobby with net guns and tasers.

"Freeze!" Roger shouts toward the Akuma when he sees him walking toward the elevator.

Pixelator turns around and gives the police a bored look before raising an eyebrow at the net guns.

"Net guns?" Pixelator questions.

"We were given funding for anti-superpower equipment," Roger states before motioning for his officers to fire upon the man.

Three different nets were fired at the man. However, Pixelator quickly subdues the danger by firing three pixel beams at the nets. When they hit, they become like the door he shot earlier.

"Looks like you need more funding. Now, look into the lens." Pixelator states while aiming his camera eye at Roger and the other officers.

Roger panics and quickly reaches for the radio on his chest while shouting.

"This is Officer Roger at Le Grande Paris! We need backup! It's an Akuma!" He shouts as Pixelator fires upon them and sends them to the same place as Kim, albeit somewhere different since Kim isn't around.

"Now that that's over, it's time to get my picture of Jagged." Pixelator grins as he prepares to head to the hotel.

"Don't you know it's a serious crime to pixelate a Paris officer?" Cat Noir's joking voice says as he hangs from the walls above the elevator.

"Nailed that one." He thinks to himself about his one-liner.

Pixelator looks frustrated at being interrupted before he can reach the elevators again. He looks toward Cat Noir with a glare before smirking.

"Then tell me, is there a law about kidnapping a superhero?" Pixelator asks.

"I'm pretty sure there are laws about kidnapping in general." Cat Noir tells him before having to dodge a pixel beam.

"Then I guess I'm committing another crime!" Pixelator shouts at him as he releases a rapid amount of shots toward the hero to try and hit him.

Cat Noir uses his enhanced agility to dodge the shots. The hero quickly moves out of the area he cornered himself in towards the more open lobby, sticking to relatively high places as he does so. He then pulls out his staff and aims it toward Pixelator as the villain chases after him. He lengthens it, and the tip slams into Pixelator's knee, causing the Akuma to hit the ground. Cat Noir capitalizes on this by jumping on his back and pinning him.

"Gotcha; looks like this cat managed to catch his mouse." Cat Noir grins.

"But just to be sure you stay there until I find your object. Black Hole!" Cat Noir announces as he places a hand covered in dark energy on the ground next to them and creates a black hole to pin Pixelator to the ground.

"Hey! Let me go!" Pixelator exclaims as he tries to move his arm but can't because of the gravitational pull from the black hole.

"Oh, I wish Ladybug could see me now. I just took down an Akuma on my own again." Cat Noir happily says to himself as his fake ears perk up to match his excitement.

His excitement will be short-lived since Hawkmoth has had enough of both heroes despite his earlier words during the Fashionista aftermath.

"I will not allow this mockery to go on any longer. It's time to use my trump card." Hawkmoth says as he raises his staff and hovers a hand over the glass bulb where the specks of magic are in and grins.

"It's fortunate my son's class is having a field trip in that hotel. I have plenty of options on how to use this." Hawkmoth says.

For a few seconds, Hawkmoth debates with himself about what to do before grinning.

"Fashionista would probably like a second chance at revenge for her defeat. She'll be able to create an army to help Pixelator easily." Hawkmoth says as the speck of magic that appeared after Fashionista's defeat comes out of the glass bulb and forms another butterfly.

"Fly away, my butterfly, and return to your host," Hawkmoth says as the butterfly flies off.

Not knowing about the oncoming threat, Cat Noir crouches to get closer to eye level with the pinned Pixelator and asks.

"So, could you tell me where you're butterfly is so I can give it to Ladybug when she shows up? Please, I'd like to wrap this up quickly if possible." Cat Noir begs with his hands placed together, wanting to wrap this up and enjoy his field trip at the hotel.

"Never! Not until I get my picture of Jagged Stone!" Pixelator exclaims as he struggles like a rabid animal to escape.

Cat Noir sighs in disappointment and accepts that he has to do this the hard way.

"I really wanted to wrap this up quickly and go back to having fun on the field trip." He moans in his mind before moving toward the struggling Akuma.

As Cat Noir tries to figure out where Pixelator's butterfly is, the second butterfly heads toward Chloe as she walks down a hall.

"I better find somewhere to hide until Miraculous Ladybug happens," Chloe mutters as she looks for somewhere to hide until this whole thing blows over.

As for Marinette, she and the other occupants of Jagged's room know nothing about what's happening. They're still going over Marinette's work.

Jagged Stone is giving Marinette his autograph.

"Here you go; for a job well done." Jagged tells her with a grin.

"Thank you so much, Mr. Stone." Marinette thanks him as she holds the autograph.

"No problem. It's the least I can do for you giving me these rocking shades. You single-handedly saved my concert." Jagged compliments her, causing her to look at him in confusion.

Penny sees the girl's confusion and smiles at her.

"Don't think too hard about it. Jagged's just being dramatic. Still, you did a good job finding these." Penny compliments her again, causing the girl to blush.

"Well, I didn't actually find them," Marinette tells them.

"Oh, did you go to a shop and have someone custom-make them for me? If so, I can pay you back if you want." Jagged says with a smile as he looks toward Penny, who nods.

"No, no, no. I didn't get them from a shop. I made them myself." Marinette quickly tells him while waving her arm to stop him from doing anything.

However, that answer causes the two adults' eyes to widen as they stare at her while shouting.

"You made them yourself!"

Marinette squeaks and takes a step back at the volume they shout this at.

"Y-yes. I love designing and have made a lot of my own clothes. I even won a design contest recently." Marinette tells them nervously.

"Well, that's impressive. You did a good job with these. I'm impressed." Jagged tells her with a grin after getting over his initial shock.

"Thank you. I'm honored to hear that." Marinette tells him with a smile.

Before the conversation can go anywhere else, the three humans and a crocodile hear banging on the door with shouting.

"Hey, Marinette! Are you still in there!" Nate's muffled voice shouts through the door.

Hearing the panic in his tone, Marinette raises toward the door to be greeted with the sight of a panicked and tired-looking Nate.

"Nate? What's the matter? Did something happen?" Marinette asks him, Jagged and Penny looking at the teen in confusion and slight worry when they see his exhausted appearance.

"Akuma. Downstairs. In the lobby." Nate breathes out.

Marinette's eyes widen at Nate's words, while Jagged and Penny look shocked.

"What!" Marinette shouts in shock before running out of the room.

Nate looks toward Jagged and Penny and says.

"You may want to stay in your room and lock the door until a bunch of ladybugs run through it. That'll signal the heroes defeating the villain. Until then, stay in your room and hide." Nate tells them before closing the door and following after his cousin.

Jagged and Penny look at each other in uncertainty before Jagged stands up and heads toward the door.

"Jagged? Where are you going?" Penny asks him.

"To check out what's happening." Jagged tells her with a grin, causing Penny to glare at him.

"Did you not hear what the boy said? He said we should stay in the room and lock the door." Penny tells him.

"And said boy ran out with Marinette. They're obviously not that scared by that. So, we shouldn't be either." Jagged tells her as he walks out, Fang following after him.

Penny looks at him leaving before sighing and following after him.

"You said the Akuma is in the lobby, right?" Marinette asks him.

"Yeah. The police should be distracting him. He's that stalker guy that was kicked out earlier." Nate tells her as the two reach a stairway and head down the stairs.

"Hopefully, Cat Noir is already here. He usually manages to show up before me. You should find somewhere to hide." Marinette tells him as they head down the stairs.

"Right." Nate nods as he gets off the stairs and is about to head somewhere on that floor before suddenly stopping while shouting.

"Marinette!"

Marinette stops heading down and looks up at her cousin in confusion and worry.

"What? Is the Akuma up there?" Marinette asks him.

"Not the one I was talking about," Nate tells her as Marinette runs back toward him.

When she looks down the hall, she gains a look of shock and horror because down the hallway is Fashionista, without her hat, with an army of entourage members.

"Ah, Cheng-Dupain. It's about time I paid you back for stealing my victory. Entourage, get her." Fashionista orders as she motions for her followers to capture the two.

Next Chapter

[ponytailzuko]

writing down some of my other thoughts for now until i get the time to draw lol:

i guess this is actually a lok au more than an atla au? i have been thinking of it with lok level technology.

most of everyone is based in the united republic/republic city. want to keep the vibe of miraculous ladybug still, which is based mostly in very urban paris.

gabriel is still a fashion designer and adrien is famous for modeling with little advertisements in the papers around the city. i think he's still republic city's sweetheart or something along those lines. maybe he or his mom are in one of the first 'movers'. so still keeping his same level of fame lol.

gabriel does a collaboration with the tsurugi company which are based in the fn to make what in lok are those electricified gloves, etc. so kagami is fire nation in my head :) and adrien and kagami have known each other for awhile.

emilie is in some sort of spiritual coma bc she made a deal to have adrien. gabriel has done a crazy amount of research to try and heal emilie - which is where the bloodbending comes from. it... doesn't work. he's desperate, until he finds evidence suggesting that if you combined the power of raava and vaatu you have the power to shape reality...

in my head, marinette and adrien both discover being the avatar a little younger than 16. marinette doesn't plan to keep it a secret forever, but she's insecure and wants to get a handle on what being the avatar means for her free of judgment before it encroaches on her daily life. she's unsure why she's even the avatar - but words from alya when they first meet echo in her mind. she can't sit by and do nothing just because she's scared. meanwhile, adrien knows if his dad figures out he's the avatar, he really WILL never be able to leave the house - and he'll probably become some sort of ceremonial figurehead than any true avatar. i don't think adrien ever plans going public with his identity, though he really wants to tell ladybug.

they slowly discover many of the weird things about the city they've been uncovering have ties to a bloodbender searching for them... and they have to be really careful! i imagine the vibe being a mystery for avatar ladybug and cat noir to slowly solve.

meanwhile, ladybug and cat noir both need teachers. they can teach each other their respective elements, but they don't have air or earth. i think they ask their friends to teach them in the mask, and if alya and nino want to participate in any vigilantism, they take up the identity of rena rouge and carapace. they ultimately become team avatar.

[ID copied from alt text: Digital drawing of the characters Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Adrien Agreste drawn in both their civilian and superhero forms to fit in the Avatar universe. The text labels Marinette as "Avatar Ladybug; Raava" and Adrien as "Avatar Cat Noir; Vaatu." The rest of the text is in a list that says, "Avatars are meant to be partners that balance each other as well as bring balance to the world. Both live in Republic City. Keep being the Avatar a secret in their civilian lives - becomes necessary as the prolific bloodbender Hawkmoth makes his way thru the city trying to capture both Avatars. Marinette's originally fire, Adrien is originally water. Alya teaches Marinette airbending, Nino teaches Adrien earth. Marinette's prev. reincarnation in the cycle was Master Fu, Adrien's was Marianne Lenoir." End ID]

made an au where the avatar chars were in the miraculous universe. now i have done the opposite. o7