#gina agreste

[cardiac-agreste]

I am filled with excitement, nerves, dread, and pride to announce that I am taking part in the @mlbigbang this year. Starting January 8, I will be posting my Sabine fic, A Small but Stubborn Fire! AHHHHHH!

First, the team! The incomparable @uptoolateart beta read my fic, and helped shepherd it along. I've also got @naz-artz and @izanogi helping me bring visuals to Sabine's story. So many others have helped in great and small ways, and I'm overwhelmed with the support the community has given me since I decided to write my lil story. Which became a big story.

Synopsis: What if you were the parent of a teenage superhero, but didn't know they were? All you know is the nightmares, the panic attacks, and the bruises. She's missing school, she's disappearing on you, and she's not telling you anything.

So you assume the worst: Assault. Depression. She doesn't trust you anymore.

And what do you do when you realize you weren't thinking dark enough? That your fourteen-year old daughter is the hero who flirts with death on the nightly news.

More below the fold:

AO3-Style Tags: Marinette & Sabine; Tom/Sabine; minor Adrienette; Marinette Dupain Cheng; Sabine Cheng; Tom Dupain; Adrien Agreste; Rolland Dupain; Gina Dupain; Good Mother Nathalie Sancoeur; Sabine's mother!; Sabine's sister!; angst; hurt/comfort; Chinese culture; happy ending; inter-generational trauma; Sabine's mom, Gabriel, and Tomoe should start a Bad Parents Club; SABINE KNOWS KUNG FU; IDENTITY REVEAL; IDENTITY SHENANIGANS; SO MUCH DRAMATIC IRONY; Nobody better forget Marinette is half-Chinese; etc.

Excerpt:

She was surprised at how easy she found it to invade Marinette’s privacy this morning, and how quick she was to turn critical. It was Marinette’s diary, after all—she could write as sloppy as she wanted. Trust her.

“I’ll be back down in a sec, Alya. I can’t believe I forgot my backpack!” shouted Marinette from a few feet away. Sabine startled, but couldn’t see any way to avoid getting caught.

“Maman! What are you doing?!”

She spun around, schooling her face not to betray her guilt. “I thought I had left my ring up here last night after your latest nightmare. I was hoping you’d found it but forgotten it on your desk.”

Marinette ran over and scooped her diary up from her desk, closed it, and hugged it to her chest. ”The ring…on your finger?”

“What?” Caught. Sabine looked down at her trembling fingers. “Yes! Oh, haha! Silly me, it was right there the whole time! Oh, please don’t tell your father, he’ll tease me for days.”

“...right.” Marinette shifted from one foot to the other, seemingly unable to stay still. Sabine wondered if it was just the invasion of privacy that had Marinette anxious.

Marinette gulped loudly. She slapped her free hand over her mouth and laughed nervously. Then she spun around and rushed to her backpack, sliding the diary inside.

Sabine was proud of herself that in the end she hadn’t peeked, but at the same time she wished her eyes had accidentally scanned a few pages. She wanted the knowledge, but knew she shouldn’t get it this way.

She walked to the attic door and stepped through to the ladder. As she took the rungs one at a time, she ran her hand along the trim of the door, feeling the wood grain beneath her fingers, and she paused. “Marinette? You know I love you very much, right?”

“Of course!”

“And you don’t think I’m too hard on you?”

Marinette tilted her head and looked at her, her eyes revealing confusion and concern. “No, not at all! Maman, is there something wrong?“

Sabine angled her face down when she realized she was straining to smile. She inspected the ladder like she needed to pay attention while she descended, as if she hadn’t been doing this every day for years.

“No, nothing’s wrong. Sometimes parents want what’s best for their kids but don’t know if they’re doing the right thing.”

She heard Marinette shuffle toward the hatch and felt a hand slide over hers . There was Marinette, crouched low, moving her forehead in to touch hers, smiling broadly.

“I’m so happy you’re my mother. Don’t worry about a thing; I’m not going anywhere.” Her phone tolled with incoming messages, probably from Alya. “Ahhh!!! Except to school! Because I’m late! And grounded! Move, Maman!”

[aldrendaux]

Chapters: 71/71 Fandom: Miraculous Ladybug Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Alya Césaire & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, onesided Ninette, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Nino Lahiffe Characters: Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Roland Dupain, Gina Dupain, Wang Cheng, Chloé Bourgeois, Alya Césaire, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Bridgette (Miraculous Ladybug), Nino Lahiffe, Lila Rossi Additional Tags: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bee!Rose, snake!Chloé, Kwami Swap Summary:

Marinette's parents have died, leaving her all alone in the world at five. And with limited options, she has no choice but to live with her grandfather.

Roland Dupain never got to make amends with his son, but perhaps he can do right by him by raising his daughter. And Roland does love Marinette. But that doesn't mean he lets go of his traditional ways of thinking.

AU created by chibiphoebe https://chibiphoebe.tumblr.com/

[sylvanfreckles]

Day Seventeen: Heirloom

“…yes, he seems like a nice enough boy. But, Tom, why didn’t you tell me you were adopting? I would have brought him a gift.”

[kaileedraws]

Adrien’s Career Choice

Hey guys! I was working last night and it just occurred to me that I think I found the best career option for our Adrien Agreste — when he figures out who he is, at least.

First responder (specifically EMS or Police)

Why?

He likes helping people

His humor would be appreciated (knowing from experience)

He’s smart, good at math, and likes adventure

It’s literally like being Chat Noir but, a career

But of course, our boy couldn’t be a first responder as Adrien Agreste, considering Chat Noir is also technically a first responder, leaving his job would be difficult in the middle of a shift, and Gabriel would never approve. The solution?

Chat Noir takes the job instead and works overnight when he can (I get that most shifts are 24 hours on call, but considering he’s leading a double life and a superhero I’m sure some agreement can be made - especially if he decides just to volunteer as needed).

I can also imagine the scenario where he’s applying for the job as Chat Noir and:

Supervisor: I know you’re a superhero and all and you want to help, but you’re a vigilante, so I doubt you have the right certification

Chat Noir: *whips out an EMT and BLS certification with his face plastered on the front* You were saying?

And like, the catch is that he actually stumbled in on a BLS class, liked it, and decided to — as his superhero alter ego — take legitimate EMT classes so that he is qualified to perform basic lifesaving care on an ambulance when he didn’t need to be catching akumas.

Either that, or he just really likes police/first responder shows

But like, he just wants to volunteer — he’s not even in it for the money. It’s just fun to him and fulfilling to help others.

And when Ladybug finds out, it plays out like:

Ladybug: Dude how the hell did you find time to get an actual EMT license as Chat Noir?

Chat Noir: Easy — I actually have time for lots of things — Oh! Which reminds me *takes out a painted vase* I made this for you. I tried to win headphones for you on Bingo Night but Gina won. She’s such a bitch.

Ladybug: what the fuck, Cat. *secretly jealous that she didn’t think of the EMT idea first - if she had time at least*

Art is coming for this, but I think I’m leaning toward the EMT side of things for our boy. I’ll have some EMT!Chat noir art soon!

Thoughts?

[toxinellebug]

Shadybug/ClawNoir supporting character Headcanons

Jagged Stone? More like Jared Smith. He wanted to be a rockin musician, but his type of music is banned by the Supreme so his career never took off. Instead, he ended up marrying his girlfriend, Nannette Couffaine, after accidentally knocking her up with twins, released his pet crocodile into the Seine, got an apartment, and works a regular job that he HATES. But, he secretly still tries to record music and sells it on the black market where it has become somewhat popular in the indie underground, but if he were caught he would go to prison for sure. It’s not a happy marriage but he does what he has to. His kids last names are hyphenated Couffaine-Smith.

No houseboat, and without Royalties from music labels, neither Juleka or Luka could afford to go to Francois Dupont

Penny works as an assistant for Bob Roth and HATES IT. The man is a sexist slave driver, but this business is brutal.

Nadja Chamack is not a news anchor. You can’t be a single mother AND have a career that takes up so much of your time. As a result, Marinette has never had to babysit Manon.

Lila wants to challenge Chloe’s position as queen of the school, but there are no lies about charity work, only lies of what powerful and famous connections she has.

Adrien is not interested in being friendly with Lila, and definitely not going to help her with schoolwork. But he is still the ultimate trophy and key to winning popularity in Lila’s eyes, so she is determined to “win him over”, even though he finds her almost as annoying as Chloe, but Chloe he is stuck with due to her mom’s working relationship with his dad.

Gabriel doesn’t trust Lila one bit.

The sad and negative emotions he is forced to sense due to the power of the Butterfly brooch cause him distress, and he often has to excuse himself due to “headaches” from overworking, as a creative’s work is never done… But he is always listening for the emotions of people crying out for justice, for help, for people who wish they had the power to help.

Andre Glacier is still the Sweetheart’s ice-cream maker, but Sweetheart’s ice-cream is just a special menu item that you can request. Otherwise he has a scheduled route and serves the ice-cream that customers ask for.

Alya’s dad wishes the zoo could focus more on animal enrichment and larger enclosures but they don’t have the budget for such “unnecessary extravagences”.

Mr. Haprel hopes to make it as a famous Mime one day so he can be rich enough to afford to send his daughter, Mylene, to the school he works at as a janitor.

Everyone avoids Ivan.

Thomas Astruc never made it as a famous director, rather, the Supreme favored his University Rival, Andre Bourgeois, who also owns the Le Grande Paris Hotel.

Gina and Roland Dupain are not divorced/separated per say… Gina was sent to prison for civil disobedience. That’s why Tom is a doormat and just goes along with whatever discipline Sabine decides on because he doesn’t want his precious little girl to end up a criminal like her grandmother.

Sabine does not teach an inkpainting class on the weekend or practice tai chi or feng shui.

The walls of Marinette’s home are not pink, they are a boring beige that she hates.

The Agreste Manor is not a sterile, black and white modern decor dungeon. It is a prism of color, function, form, beauty and nature with nods to antiquity and the whimsical. Adrien HATES it. All color and light left this world when his mother died. The art in his house mocks his pain.

There is no school blog for Nathaniel to post his art on… But Marc ended up in that class instead of Marinette. (So did Mireille) He’s still too shy to admit he’s a writer. And even more shy to admit he has a crush on Nathaniel, so all he can do is watch the boy quietly. Rose thinks it’s a romantic tragedy and wants to play matchmaker. Alex thinks it’d be a disaster waiting to happen.

There is no Prince Ali who gives toys to sick kids in hospitals.

There is nothing as frivolous as videogame tournaments, so Max devotes all his spare time to his hobby of robotics and developing an AI… but developing an artificial intelligence is frowned upon. Luckily, Alya can keep a secret… that is, if Max is willing to spare some of his time to helping her havkninto the dark web to research conspiracy theories.

Wayhem is obseesed with Adrien, who can’t stand crazy fanatics and won’t lose any sleep if the Gorilla tackles the scrawny boy to the ground.

After much convincing, bullsh**ing, and bribes, Gabriel is able to host his derby hat design competition at Francois Dupont, (and hopefully, modelling his classmate’s creations will be a bonding point for Adrien to make a new friend) Rose sees it as an opportunity to tries to get Marc and Nathaniel to work with her to create a hat, hoping sparks will fly between them.

Even if Marinette WANTED to enter a stupid contest involving that spoiled, stuck-up Agreste boy, which she DOESN’T, her mother won’t allow it because sewing and doodling outfits is a distraction from her schoolwork.

Chloe still cheats.

But Shadybug discreetly sabotages the fashion show the winning hat is supposed to feature in.

Nathalie never became Gabriel’s assistant or even acquaintance. Instead, she is in charge of the department of the Louvre that archives and locks away all “banned” art and artifacts (aka anything related to Miraculous holders)

Alex thinks she’s creepy and hates how she coldly bosses around her dad.

Audrey is the same as ever, with the exception that she recognizes that her younger daughter Zoe has some talent, and wants Andre to find a movie part for her to play, and ignores Chloe’s bitter jealousy which causes her to lash out at others even nastier than in Ladybug and Cat Noir’s universe.

Nino is treated rudely and ignored by Adrien. Adrien would never agree to play a role in Nino’s movie and even accuses Nino of trying to use Adrien’s celebrity status to give himself an unfair advantage in the student movie competition.

Adrien doesn’t have time for stupid group projects or after school activities. But not because he has a full schedule since this Universe’s Gabriel is a decent father who does not demand perfection and give a 14 year old a burdensome schedule… It’s because outside of fencing and modeling, Adrien plans to spend his time planning out which sections of the city he’s going to take his anger out on that night.

Gabriel never forgot his roots as the son of a fry-cook, and occasionally tries to cook comfort food (NOT PANCAKES) for Adrien, who insists he’s not hungry or that junk is bad for his skin/weight, which has Gavriel worried about Adrien developing body dysphoria and eating disorders… These worries are put to rest when he finds out Adrien has suddenly developed a sweet tooth for baked goods. Therefore he has no qualms about his son frequenting the local bakery so often because a growing boy needs to eat and a treat is good for the spirit.

He wishes he could be more honest with Adrien, but he knows that it would destroy his son if he ever found out that the sickness that took his mother’s life was caused by his creation… He’s also not sure what kind of trauma Adrien would have to the fact he’s not human.

Gabriel also doesn’t want Adrien in danger. Gabriel wants to create a better world for his son to live in, a world where he and everyone else can be free! Where people can throve without stepping over others, and the poor don’t have to suffer. Where people have rights to love freely and express opinions without fear. A world where people help one another.

Gabriel would never use the rings to control Adrien, instead, he keeps them locked away in a safe, and plans to give them to Adrien someday when he is an adult and less likrly to misplace them because if they were to fall into the wrong hands, Gabriel shudders to think of what would become of Adrien.

Audrey still has a low key crush on Gabriel which makes him cringe but he still acts polite to keep up working relations, and he also pities his friend Andre, trapped in a one-sided marriage and bullied by his daughter and his wife.

[starsfic]

Imagine when Lilia comes to the boiling isles, it's cause she's running from a bus supposed to correct her while Marinette and Adrien are trying to get her on there

(Vee will still pose as Luz, Camilia's finance are stable again but she's deeply troubled by Lilia's self-centered personality

The battle against Shadowmoth had been long and hard.

But, at the end, good triumphed over evil.

Gabriel Agreste was arrested with his accomplices Nathalie Sancoeur, Chloé Bourgeois, and Lila Rossi. The latter was why Ladybug and Chat Noir found themselves in the police station with Gina Rossi, an Italian diplomat, and Alya. (Ladybug wasn’t sure how the latter got in here (based on her face, neither did she) but she was willing to let Alya get a look.)

“Based on her records, this seems…” Roger hissed through his teeth as he flipped through the file. “Not a surprise.” he finally settled on.

Gina looked ready to faint. “This isn’t new behavior?”

Roger looked up from the file with a raised brow. “Ma’am, did you not look at the record of the girl you were adopting?” Ladybug opened her mouth, only barely managing to get ahold of herself to clap her hands over Chat and Alya’s mouths before the questions could come out. She had no idea Lila had even been adopted. Poor Mrs. Rossi looked ready to faint already. “According to her file, starting at a young age, Lila has shown a history of lying.”

“That can’t- I didn’t-” Gina snatched the file and started scanning it, her face slowly getting more and more pale. “...this can’t…” Ladybug released her partner and her best friend’s mouths so they could step closer and peek over. Alya whistled.

Lila’s file was long.

The first recorded incident was when Lila was five. She accused a daycare worker of giving her food she was allergic to. The new manager had fired the poor girl on the spot, not even giving her a chance to explain until Lila’s bio mom, one Ms. Camila Noceda, had come to pick the twins up from daycare.

“Lila doesn’t have allergies.”

The daycare worker, as it turned out, had said no to Lila taking a doll from Luz. She had been restated with much higher pay soon after. The Nocedas had given her money for the lost wages.

The second had been aimed at a family friend of the Nocedas. Six-year-old Lila, with a new black eye, had accused the boy of hitting her at a party. The entire family had been outraged until they learned the boy wasn’t there…by him returning from his part time job. As it turned out, Lila had just tripped.

The pattern continued. Lila would lie, only to have her lie revealed. As time continued, the lies grew bigger and closer together. Soon, Lila was lying all the time. In the notes that Gina flipped through, Ladybug made a note.

Most of the lies were revealed by Lila’s twin, Luz, or the girl’s bio parents. Distance began to appear. The last incident happened…

Her blood ran cold.

There had been an accident on a family boating trip. Luz Noceda had fallen overboard while apparently not wearing her life vest. Lila had never been solidly accused, but it was noted that she was the last one to see Luz alive. The little girl’s body had never been found.

Now, Marinette knew Lila was bad. Who got a kick out of lying to people? But she was starting to learn, more and more, how evil she was.

Luz had been like her. A weird girl who still spoke the truth and disrupted Lila’s lies. Unlike her, she had been listened to. And for that, Lila had possibly killed her.

(For a second, she felt smug. Adrien could take the high road and shove it.)

“We actually called Camila Noceda in to ask her questions,” Roger said, wreaking the silence. “She’s on her way in now.”

“Does she need someone to pick her up?” Chat Noir asked.

Roger shook his head. “You misunderstand. She’s walking into the building now.”

The door opened. “Right this way, madame,” an officer said in English. “Camila Noceda is here, sir.”

Camila Noceda was a woman with dark bags under her eyes and a soft frown. She wore a yellow sweater that seemed to have been hastily pulled over a medical uniform. She was a pretty older woman with grey starting to soften the dark curls in her hair. Ladybug couldn’t see any resemblance to Lila from just one look.

“What did she do?”

Roger blinked. “What?”

“Lila. What did she do this time?” Chat and Alya both winced at the harshness. Camila sighed and rubbed her eyes. “Sorry. It’s a surprise to get a call about your biological daughter so late in the evening.”

“It’s nothing to be offended about, madame,” Ladybug couldn’t help but take a step forward and grip Camila’s hand. Exhaustion lined the poor woman’s voice, and this whole experience, based on the last incident, must’ve been making her flashback. “I’m sorry to have to drag you in like this. We just have some questions about Lila Rossi’s lying habit.”

A warm smile bloomed to life. “Thank you, sweetheart,” Camila reached up and patted her cheek. Maternal warmth seemed to seep off her now. Ladybug couldn’t help but lean into the warm touch, suddenly reminded of her own mother. “I’m happy to answer any questions, but what did Lila do?”

Oh boy. Ladybug glanced around. Roger, Chat, and Alya didn’t meet her eyes. It seemed like-

“It was my fault.” Gina stood up straight, shoulders clenched. “I’m Gina Rossi, Lila’s m…” She paused and shook her head. “Lila’s adoptive mother. I think we spoke on the phone when I adopted her.”

Camila nodded. “We did. You were so excited to welcome Lila into your family.” Her smile turned sadder. “I hated giving up on Lila, but I couldn’t…” She sighed. “I couldn’t give her the help she needed.”

Gina nodded. “Neither could I,” she whispered. Camila cocked her head. “I didn’t look at her file closely. I didn’t read about all the incidents, the lying, everything. I let her manipulate me.” Gina reached up and rubbed her forehead. “She helped a terrorist attack Paris because I enabled her.”

Camila’s eyes went wide. “She did what?!”

“She also skipped over a year of school!” Gina’s voice choked into a sob. “She’s getting me in trouble with the embassy because she made up stories about traveling everywhere, she’s getting into legal trouble, and she almost ruined one poor girl’s life!”

Camila clearly flinched. “She did?”

“Yes!” Alya stepped forward. “My best friend, Marinette Dupain-Cheng.” Ladybug blinked. “I…I also helped enable her. Without knowing! But I still helped her.” She presented the phone to Camila, who looked ready to faint. “I’m really sorry, Mrs. Noceda.”

Camila took the phone, allowing Ladybug to see that Alya had pulled up the Ladyblog. Specifically, on the video of Volpina helping Shadowmoth.

The woman was eerily quiet, staring at the screen. Her eyes were wide as the video first played. They narrowed as the video replayed a second time. A third time.

“...I…I can’t believe this.” Camila passed the phone back to Alya. Her hands were shaking, as though she was ready to throw the phone. “No. You know what? I can believe Lila would do that.”

Roger stepped forward. “Your answers will help us make sure, madame.”

“Ask away,” Camila said, taking a deep breath in and letting it out. “And then I want to talk to her. Luz has some questions of her own.” 

The door opened, revealing a girl. She was pretty, with golden hairclips pushing back hair to reveal golden eyes.

“Where’s my sister?”

[princess-of-the-corner]

That AU where Adrien and Mari have to kiss to transform has one of my fav Lila’s:

Adrien Agreste?

 The child of the globally famous fashion designer Gabriel Agreste and the even more famous, worldwide superstar actress Emilie Graham de Vanily. Once a power couple that rocked the world with their brightness until the beautiful woman's tragic disappearance changed the family's life forever.

 The blond boy was an international model, his face unmissable considering the number of billboards it's plastered on and he was the proclaimed hottest teen in Europe according to all the magazine ratings and rabid fan clubs. Not to mention that he's a talented fencer, awarded with many medals and trophies and just as incredibly accomplished on the piano. He was a boy of such high intelligence and profile.

 A perfect boyfriend material for lil' ol' Rossi.

 And Marinette Dupain-Cheng? 

 The child of the best bakers of France, Sabine Cheng and Tom Dupain, where people all around the world practically zoom in just for a taste of their delicious concoctions; said delectable recipes an amalgamation of European cuisine and East Asian cuisine. Her eccentric grandmother, Gina Dupain, is quite popular too in Italy with her travel vlogs and daredevil adventures! And her great-uncle, Wang Cheng, is a world-renowned chef, currently the holder of eighteen Michelin stars and has collaborated with the likes of Gordon Ramsey, Chan Yan-Tak and even Alaine Ducasse.

 As for the girl herself; not only was she an incredible designer and engineer with a talent that has made professionals froth with her designs at Gabriel's contest and the glasses she created for the Jagged Stone, she was just as gifted with the food she creates and just so exceptionally smart. Not to mention that she's the class president, equipped with brilliant leadership skills, confidence, resilience and just so endearingly clumsy. She was so pretty and good-looking too.  A perfect girlfriend material for cute ol' Rossi as well.

Honestly if Lila had targeted both of them for a polycule I think things would've worked out a lot better

[pandaofsecrets]

What's in a Name? — Miraculous Ladybug

1. DUPAIN-CHENG, AGRESTE & GRAHAM DE VANILY

1.1. Dupain-Cheng

Dupain: "of bread", in French.

Cheng: most likely from 程 (chéng) meaning "schedule", "journey", or "procedure". It is the surname of Chinese-born French academician and writer François Cheng.

Marinette: a diminutive of "Marie" and sometimes used as a form of "Marine", it is ultimately derived from an Egyptian name meaning "love, beloved", which was later associated with the Hebrew words for "bitter" and "rebellion". It is etymologically connected to the name of the Ladybug Miraculous: in languages like English and German, the ladybug is named after the Virgin Mary.

"Marinette" is also a noun in French, namely the feminine form of "marin", meaning "sailor", and was thus most likely also chosen in reference to Sailor Moon. In Middle French, it also meant "compass"—a tidbit to keep in mind when watching Captain Hardrock.

The name is very old-fashioned. It was most frequently used from 1927 to 1957, owing to the popularity of the book series "Contes du chat perché", whose main characters were named Delphine and Marinette.

Tom: short form of "Thomas", which comes from an Aramaic word meaning "twin". References series creator Thomas Astruc.

Sabine: from the name of an Italic tribe that inhabited what is now Lazio. Is a reference to the woman who initially inspired Thomas Astruc to create Miraculous Ladybug.

Gina: short form of several Italian names that end with "-gina", such as Regina or Georgina. Was popularized by Italian actress Gina Lollobrigida, whose birth name was Luigina.

Rolland: English variant of "Roland", which is in turn derived from two Germanic elements meaning "fame" and either "land" or "brave". Roland was the name of a semi-legendary Frankish military leader, whose story is told in the epic poem "La Chanson de Roland". Aside from the historical associations, it was probably chosen as a pun on "rolling pin".

Wang: "king", in Mandarin.

1.2. Agreste

Agreste: meaning "rustic" in French, it's also used in the figurative sense of "rude, uncivilized". Is also the French word for the greyling butterfly (Hipparchia semele).

Adrien: ultimately derived from the name of an Etruscan city, which in turn might have been derived from a word meaning "water". Was probably chosen in reference to the Adriatic Sea, since Marinette, Luka, and Félix's names also have a nautical theme.

Athanase: from "Athanasios", a Greek name meaning "immortal".

Gabriel: "God is my strongman", in Hebrew. This is the name of an archangel associated with carrying messages from God. Was most likely chosen in reference to fashion designer Coco Chanel, whose real name was Gabrielle.

Émilie: of Latin origin, it is probably derived from the word "aemulus", which means "rival" or "envious, jealous", and is etymologically related to the word "emulate". Is also most likely a reference to Emily Lyman, mother of Harry Osborn.

1.3. Graham de Vanily

Graham: from two Old English words meaning "gravel" and "homestead".

de Vanily: from the word "vanilla". Together with Emilie and Amelie's first names and their other surname, it forms a pun: in French, "Emilie/Amelie Graham de Vanily" sounds kind of like "un milligramme de vanille", meaning "a milligram of vanilla".

Fathom: from a unit of length equal to about 1.8 meters (6 feet, for the Americans), chiefly used in nautical measurements. As a verb, it means "to measure the depth of something", and is also used figuratively to mean "to comprehend, understand".

Félix: from a Latin word meaning "happy, lucky". Used to be Adrien's name in previous drafts of the story, and was thus most probably a reference to both Felix the Cat and Felicia Hardy.

Amélie: from a Germanic word meaning "work, activity".

Colt: from an English word meaning "young male horse", it was most famously the surname of American industrialist Samuel Colt, owner of the Colt firearms company.

[coq-courage]

If you needed to be told, here it is, the following Miraculous Ladybug characters are queer:

Marc Anciel

Luka Couffaine

Juleka Couffaine

Anarka Couffaine

Jagged Stone

Penny Rolling

Lila Rossi

Kagami Tsurugi

Tomoe Tsurugi

Rose Lavillant

Nathaniel Kurtzberg

Chloe Bourgeois

Andre Bourgeois

Audrey Bourgeois

Zoe Lee

Butler Jean

Sabrina Raincomprix

Roger Raincomprix

Barbara Keynes

Olympia Hill

Jessica Keynes

Aeon

Harry Clown

Gabriel Agreste

Emilie Agreste nee Graham de Vanily

Nathalie Sancoeur

Amelie Graham de Vanily

Felix Fathom-Graham de Vanily

Adrien Agreste

Colt Fathom

The Gorilla

Fei Wu

Ivan Bruel

Mylene Haprele

Fred Haprele

Max Kante

Claudia Kante

Kim Le Chien-Ature

Nino Lahiffe

Theo Barbot

Aurore Beaureal

Mireille Caquet

Jean Duparc

Jessica Keynes

Alec Cataldi

Alim Kubdel

Alix Kubdel

Jalil Kubdel

Armand D'Argencourt

Anne-Jeanne Theoxanne du Bocquale (Dino lady)

Bob Roth

Xavier-Yves Roth (XY)

Caline Bustier

Camilla Hombee

Clara Contard (reporter)

Clara Nightingale (musician)

Denis Damocles

Didier Roustan

Wang Fu

Jean-Pierre Monlataing (art teacher)

Marianne Lenoir

Socqueline Wang

Alya Cesaire

Marlene Cesaire

Otis Cesaire

Alya Cesaire

Nora Cesaire

Penny Rolling

Sabine Cheng

Tom Dupain

Gina Dupain

Rolland Dupain

Shu Yin Cheng (sister to Sabine)

Yan Cheng

Mei Cheng

Marinette Dupain-Cheng

Uncle Wang Cheng

Simon Grimault (Simon Says)

Nadja Chamack

Thomas Astruc (the OC)

Xavier Ramier

Vincent Aza (stalker photographer)

Vincent (good photographer, mama's spaghetti)

Veronique (wax museum)

Andre Ice Cream Man

Jiao (Shanghai special)

Kang (shanghai)

Lian (shanghai)

Ms Mendeleiev

Ondine

Vivica (desperada)

Wayhem

Cash the guy that tricks Fei

Dean Gate (New York special)

Bustier’s Partner Seen Only In Season 5 Episode Collusion

Hot Dog Dan

Nora's Partner Seen Only In Season 5 Episode Transmission

Lila's Parents

Delmar (new York special)

Su-Han

Prince Ali

Mr. Banana

All unnamed characters

All characters with a name who I forgot

All named characters I straight up forgot to mention

---

A note: I have purposefully excluded the children but not the characters based on IRL people.

The children are excluded because as in real life, they are constantly changing and are more prone to feeling judged by society if we try to bog them down with answering a question with a straight answer versus letting them vibe however they are.

The characters based on IRL people were included because the people they were based on may be queer, we just don't know, we also wont assume. Also because once a character is created, they belong to the public and the public will assign any headcanons to them regardless of what was intended or what is true.

---

Further note: if the point of this post flew past you, its that anyone can be queer, there are no signs, someone may be in closet.

You never know who around is queer, even if they seem to scream "I am not queer" there's always a chance they are, whether they know it or not

And if you as a person, decide to spout off your hatred of anything queer, because you think, "there's no way someone near me is queer", I want you to think again

Because there are many flavors of being queer

And all you're doing by being hateful, is ensuring that when you need help, no one will be around and no one will want to be around

[msweebyness]

CLASS OF HEROES AU: CAST LIST

This is a list of all the characters currently assigned in my AU, it will be updated as I go along. As always, credit to @imsparky2002 and @artzychic27 for their support and help with this AU!

Marinette Dupain-Cheng- Fa Mulan

Adrien Agreste- Rapunzel

Alya Cesaire- Tiana

Nino Lahiffe- Fairy Godmother(brother)

Rose Lavillant- Belle

Juleka Couffaine- Beast/Prince Adam

Max Kante- Hiro Hamada

Le Chien Kim- Hercules

Alix Kubdel- Aladdin

Ivan Bruel- Quasimodo

Mylene Haprele- Snow White

Chloé Bourgeois- Anastasia Tremaine

Zoe Lee- Cinderella

Sabrina Raincomprix- Pinocchio

Nathaniel Kurtzberg- Aurora/Sleeping Beauty

Marc Anciel- Elsa

Ondine- Ariel

Kagami Tsurugi- Merida

Aurore Beaureal- The Blue Fairy

Mireille Caquet- Simba

Jean Duparc- Kuzco

Cosette Bellamy- Robaire

Denise Cabello- Wreck-It Ralph

Simon O’Connor- Peter Pan

Ismael Prisk- Genie

Reshma Leghari- Isabela Madrigal

Lacey Greene- Tinker Bell

Austin Tomassian- Jasmine

Lila Rossi- Ernesto de la Cruz

Felix Fathom- Cassandra Gothel

Markov- Baymax

Caline Bustier- Flora

Ms. Mendeliev- Yen Sid

Principal Damocles- Prince John

Sabine Cheng- Fa Zhou

Tom Dupain- Fa Li

Gina Dupain- Grandmother Fa

Gabriel Agreste- Mother Gothel

Nathalie Sancoeur & Emilie Agreste- Rulers of Corona

Marlena Cesaire- Eudora

Otis Cesaire- James (Tiana’s father)

Luka Couffaine- Julebeast’s brother, a Grand Piano due to the curse

Anarka Couffaine- Mrs. Potts/Julebeast’s Mother

Penny Rolling- Cogsworth/Julebeast’s stepmom

Jagged Stone- Lumiere/Julebeast’s father

Roger Raincomprix- Gepetto

Aya Kurtzberg- Queen Leah

Kiran Anciel- Anna

Penny & Alyssa Anciel- Rulers of Arendelle

Tomoe Tsurugi- King Fergus/Queen Eleanor of Dunbroch

Jessica Keynes- Pocahontas

Aeon Hill- WALL-E/EVE (Composite Character)

Austin Armbruster- Charlotte LaBeuff

Austin Quinlan- Moana

Austin Boulet- Winston Deavor

Audrey Bourgeois- Lady Tremaine

Sarah(Fred’s Producer)- Evil Queen

Manon Chamack- Vanellope Von Schweetz

Bob Roth- Hades

Alec Cataldi- Timon

Theo Barbot- Pumbaa

Jalil Kubdel- Abu

Clara Nightingale- Lead Muse

Amelie Graham De Vanily- Ursula

Grand Master Su Han- Arendelle Royal Advisor

Mr. XY- Gaston

Chung, Kang, and Jiao- Yao, Ling and Chien-Po

Fei Wu- Li Shang

Plagg- Mushu

Tikki- Cri Kee

Kaalki- Khan

Sass- Pascal

Xuppu- Pegasus

Nooroo- Jiminy Cricket

Duusu- Scuttle

Stompp- Hugo

Pollen- Victor

Wayzz- Laverne

Mullo- Jaq

Fluff- Gus

Longg- Angus

Roaar- Rajah

[ao3feed-brucewayne]

Nobody's son nobody's daughter

by Sparrowlmao MARINETTE WISHES TO DIE, who wouldn’t after what she has been through? The day her parents died in her arms she became a shell of herself, they had defeated Hawkmoth, yes. But the price had been too much for Marinette. Her life was in shambles and her mental state was at an all time low, so what does she do? She finds Hippolyta and tries to find the peace she so desperately deserves. But that peace has yet to find her as she realizes that her mission didn’t end in Paris, it was just the beginning. Only this time she won’t have a team at her side, this time she’ll have to do it all alone. How typical. Words: 1084, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English Series: Part 2 of What I wrote instead of studying Fandoms: Miraculous Ladybug, Batman - All Media Types Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply, Rape/Non-Con Categories: Gen Characters: Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Gina Dupain, Wang Cheng (Miraculous Ladybug), Bruce Wayne, Bruce Wayne's Parents, Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake, Damian Wayne, Titus | Damian Wayne's Dog, Damian Wayne's Pets, Stephanie Brown, Duke Thomas, Cassandra Cain, Barbara Gordon, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Lila Rossi, Ra's al Ghul, Talia al Ghul, Sabine Cheng, Tom Dupain, Jonathan "Jon" Kent (Superman & Lois TV 2021), Conner Kent, Diana (Wonder Woman), Hippolyta (Miraculous Ladybug), Arthur Curry (DCU), Hal Jordan (Green Lantern), Justice League (DCU) Relationships: Batfamily Members (DCU) & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & Justice League (DCU), Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Tim Drake & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & Dick Grayson, Cassandra Cain & Damian Wayne, Stephanie Brown & Cassandra Cain & Tim Drake & Dick Grayson & Jason Todd & Damian Wayne, Cassandra Cain & Tim Drake & Dick Grayson & Duke Thomas & Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne & Damian Wayne, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & Damian Wayne Additional Tags: Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug is a Wayne, Bruce Wayne is Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug's Biological Parent, Bruce Wayne is a Little Shit, Bruce Wayne Tries to Be a Good Parent, Good Sibling Dick Grayson, Good Sibling Jason Todd, Good Sibling Tim Drake, Good Sibling Damian Wayne, Good Older Sibling Cassandra Cain, Good Sibling Barbara Gordon, Everyone Loves Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Tim Drake & Damian Wayne Get Along, Protective Batfamily (DCU), Batfamily Angst (DCU), Dark Batfamily (DCU), but not really?, Lila Rossi's Lies Are Exposed, Lila Rossi Bashing, Depressed Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Suicidal Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Protective Damian Wayne, Good Parents Sabine Cheng & Tom Dupain, Protective Kon-El | Conner Kent, Justice League as Family (DCU), Angst, Fluff and Angst, Slow To Update, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug Has No Chill, Badass Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, will I add more tags later? probs, Protective Siblings via https://ift.tt/nabHYsF

[wolflover2426]

I’m just merely on some delulu juice but I just wanna say some of my predictions for S6. We know the Agreste Arc has mostly concluded and there’s probably more stories that we have yet to find out about them.

What if for the next season/s, we would get a glimpse into Marinette’s side or at least we get a Dupain-Cheng arc.

At most, we got that Marinette had a grandmother who is an avid traveler, a baker grandfather who holds quite traditional views of baking and is struggling to cope with how modern time has changed vastly to what he’s accustomed to and then we have Tom and Sabine, both who care so much about her. And finally, Uncle Shifu who’s a world renowned chef and currently lives in Shanghai with Fei.

We have yet to learn anything other from what we have seen and considering that for 5 seasons, the Agreste family has had its spotlight, alongside the Fathom and how much they are tied closely with the miraculous.

I think it’s time for Marinette’s family history to take the stage. Think about it, we haven’t uncovered a lot from the past of Tom and Sabine and how Tom had been raised by Roland and Gina considering the clashing personalities and views they held which would mold him to what he is today and the complicated relationship between them.

It would also be interesting to see if Marinette’s family also held some connection with the Miraculous. Marinette being able to withstand the strain of wearing almost all the miraculous during her time as Multimouse could be an indication to delve deeper into her family’s history.

A deleted short of Movie Marinette’s background at how she was raised in a village which would cement her upbringing is somewhere in China given how the show shows us that her mother has roots in Shanghai and how she got into Paris and Collège Françoise Dupont probably because of a scholarship. (I still think it stands even when it’s not added to the movie)

Plus, we’ve yet to see more of Sabine’s side of the family other than Cheng Shifu and what’s going on with her sister. Plus, I wanna know the upbringing of Marinette and how she came to be and her relationship with Socqueline and how deep it went. (Apparently in the MLWiki, they became friends due to their respective mothers friendship and is the closest thing to Marinette having an older sister)

(While I loved some parts of the Shanghai Special, it felt so lackluster to me but we did get Fei which is pretty great and I loved how she can be part of a family again | To be fair, I feel like the special glossed over Fei’s connection to the Prodigous but the same could be said in the New York Special)

The show has a great chance at getting the audience to see just how deep the connection of the miraculous the main holders of the black cat and ladybug truly runs. Fully cementing why they’re the perfect candidates to hold the most powerful miraculous because of their family’s history with them.

(I just searched the distance of Tibet from Shanghai and shockingly, it’s not that far away and I’m in utter disbelief and vindicated to my Dupain-Cheng family arc pipeline)

(I’m enjoying the theory that Lila is actually a future Manon and how that can tie well with another prediction of Alya getting to be in Marinette’s shoes just like how she was with Lila and getting to fully understand how much she failed her as a best friend but striving to become better in the end which leads to their friendship getting stronger. To put it simply, Alya being the only one who knows Lila is lying and Marinette being the one who doesn’t know)

[mae-dwrites]

Rue - Chapter 5

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| Ao3 | Wattpad |

“No Madame, I understand,” Marinette said, exhaustion slipping through her usually cheery persona.

“You and M. Agreste were supposed to meet us last week and you had us reschedule for this Monday. It’s Wednesday and I don’t have the time to dance to your every whim! I don’t care about the praises Audrey sings, that does not give you the leisure to leave good patrons like me hanging,” The older woman on the other end of the phone huffed at Marinette.

Yes, the woman had a point. And yes, Marinette had made them reschedule and didn’t think the woman would be willing to again. The first time was because she hadn’t been able to find Adrien for over a week, there had been sightings of him that the good people of France exploded over—all of these under #RepérageAgreste or AgresteSpotting. Despite chilling over the years of course Adrien’s fans hadn’t stopped their chasing-like behavior.

The second time was today, Emma got sick and neither of the girls liked to be without one of them the first day they were sick. It was just a tradition from her dad’s side, one of the few things that had stuck between Gina and Rolland when raising Tom. Adrien was MIA, Marinette didn’t want to just dump the girls on anyone, and she couldn’t stand to break her baby’s heart if she were to say she couldn’t stay with her.

Marinette took a deep breath before responding, “How about we reschedule for next Wednesday? 11:30 am on the dot? No excuses, no more rescheduling, no nothing. If I’m not there M. Agreste will be, I’ll ensure it.”

The silence on the other end made Marinette uneasy. Of course, she might have muted to discuss with her colleagues, but she could be doing this as some sort of intimidation effect. It wasn’t necessarily uncommon but Marinette never expected the fashion industry to be as hostile as it had in the past years.

Then again with Audrey “the harsh critic” Bourgious and Gabriel “the cold, distant, and bland” Agreste had slowly derailed into these grim personalities—Gabriel also had the raw grief that came with the loss of his wife that certainly didn't help. Marinette held in a sigh at the thought of that rabbit of thought.

“-ello? Are you even there!”

Marinette squeaked with a little jump, “Oui, oui. My apologies, you were saying?”

“I was saying, that we agree to those terms, and we will by no means give you another chance after this Mlle. Dupain-Cheng,” Marinette stiffened at the use of Mademoiselle. Whether it was about her marital status or her youth it didn’t matter, it got the point across. While the use wasn’t necessarily wrong it was a simple statement, she was young, inexperienced, and could be unreliable. Marinette fought to keep the venom out of her voice, “Thank you, you’re corroboration is appreciated.”

“Do not disappoint me again Mlle. Dupain-Cheng, you may have big names to back you but you have yet to show me anything worth your mountain of praises.” The snobby woman hissed from the other side of the line before ending the call.

Marinette almost chucked her phone across the room when Hugo ran in. Marinette let the anger fade away from her with a simple breath out as Hugo made her way to Marinette. The young woman smiled down at Hugo, the girl grabbed her mom’s hand and gave a slight tug.

Hugo never really found a reason to speak when actions seemed so much simpler. Hugo was a wonderful speaker, even with her young, short vocabulary she got her point across, but the girl found it easier to use actions and gestures to convey her intent. Her little pigtails had a subtle bounce as she lead her mother out of her office into the living room.

Hugo frowned at the book on the table before she opened it up, the dumb book didn’t stay open. She turned until she found the page she was looking at before. Her maman had taken to sitting on the couch as she waited patiently. The book had an illustration of a city in the distance, a sign reading “EDGE KEEP OFF!”, a dog falling through a hole in the ground, a fire hydrant, and a girl looking over the edge. A soft smile came upon the woman as she looked at the page.

Marinette and Adrien had been trying to decide whether to teach English or Mandrian full-time as the girl’s second language, it wouldn’t be the easiest but they never really could decide. Adrien had been leaning more toward Mandrian while Marinette leaned into English; English being a dominant language but Mandrian-as Adrien argued-being that of cultural significance to the girls, but even Marinette didn’t know it as well as Adrien. She hadn’t been raised actively learning and using Mandarin in her household. Marinette thought it would be just more reasonable, with English being taught in the schools in France already, they spoke it fairly often around the girls, and it does come in handy.

Hugo had taken to actively trying to read in English, she struggled but she was consistently trying to learn the language. Emma on the other hand didn’t try to learn either, not that Marinette had noticed, but she seemed to pick it up both fairly well. It helped that their brains were still developing, so as long as they were consistent it shouldn’t be too hard. But then again English was one of the hardest languages to learn due to all its strange rules and such. But there were plenty of languages that were especially hard to learn due to these exact same reasons.

Hugo jumped onto the couch and nestled the book on her lap. Marinette put an arm around her daughter for a side hug and rested her cheek on the girl’s head. Hugo started to recite the poem on the page, struggling in a few spots but after Hugo huffed at it Marinette quietly said to her. When she finished she turned to look up at her mother, “Do you think Emma will like this one?”

“I think she’ll love it,” Marinette kissed the top of her girl’s head. Hugo beamed her dark eyes having the subtle shine the twins always seemed to have. It was very surprising that both the girl's eyes were dark blue and green, but then again Adrien’s dad's and Marinette’s parent’s eyes had been darker than Adrien's and Marinette’s in comparison.

Hugo jumped off the couch and ran to her shared bedroom and pulled a chair next to Emma’s bed. She swung her little feet smiling at her sister before giving a little shove on her twin’s leg. Emma finally looked away from her game to her sister.

“Yeah?”

Hugo held up the book to her sister before opening it back up where she had fingers keep hold of the page.

“The Edge Of The World by Shel Siverstain,” Hugo said in French before repeating it in English. She read the poem as best she could. And the very end Hugo says the last line a little loud before shouting the last word as it was written.

“The world is flat?” Emma exclaimed with a fit of giggles.

Marinette pushed herself from the doorframe, as she had been leaning against it while Hugo read the poem, and made her way to the girls. She shook her head with a smile, “No it’s not. The world is round, it’s just a poem. A form of storytelling or giving a message.”

“This one is a story?” Hugo asked her green eyes boring into their mother.

“Yes, it is, not a true one,” Marinette explained before grabbing the book and setting it to where both girls could see the cover of the book. “You did great Hugo but you said the author’s name a bit wrong.”

Hugo frowned and her shoulders slumped a little in her seat.

“That’s okay,” Marinette said quickly. “Let’s sound it out. Okay?”

Hugo nodded and Emma moved so she could see the name better. Marinette pointed at each part and they repeated after her. They did it a few more times before she had them say it by themselves. Marinette gave them small claps and praised them until she heard her phone ring from the office. Hugo and Emma flipped through the book of poetry as Marinette left the bedroom and grabbed her phone from her desk.

“Hello Marinette,” a honey voice greeted before Marinette could say anything. Marinette immediately tensed and out of habit held herself higher, as if the voice on the other end was right in her vicinity. Closer to her than just her phone, the threat was within reach.

“Lila.” The name came off her tongue like acid. Without seeing the green-eyed Italian Marinette’s gaze became murderous. She could practically see her narrow eyes and devilish smile, one that had always looked down upon her. Watched her as if she were the master on a larger stage than just their class, which had become the case over time.

“No hellos for dear ole me?” Lila asked in a fake whine. Marinette could picture Lila slightly tilting her head to the side and sticking her bottom lip out in a pout. Her short hair giving a gentle swoop, an action Lila had stuck to for every move. One Marinette doubted she would abandon with a simple haircut.

“What game are you playing?”

Lila had a quiet huff on the other end, the only sign of her annoyance no doubt.

“You never did enjoy my way. I always made it fun,” Lila’s voice had a matter-a-fact undertone. Having dealt with Lila for so long Marinette could easily imagine the woman looking at her nails with disinterest, as if searching for a flaw or inspecting something in front of her.

“But if you insist,” Lila making her sound bored.

“Just say what you have to say,” Marinette held back a hiss in her voice. She had taken to signing back into her computer, and opening her email. Her leg shook as she typed up the short message.

“I want you to get Ladybug out,” the sentence came out thickly, and full of so much emotion. Hungry, hateful, and just barely audible, desperation.

“And why would I do that?” Marinette countered as she refreshed her email over and over. Come on, please. I know he notifies you.

“Because if you don’t I couldn’t imagine what would happen if someone got your girls or Adrien,” false concern came slithering. Marinette stopped pressing refresh, her heart twisted, the beats suddenly loud in her ears. A rushing, like a waterfall just a few meters in her sted. “After all, time and time again, Ladybug had always been the key to ensuring peace in Paris.

“And you wouldn’t want anything to happen to your happy family,” Lila continued. “Do you?”

Marinette pressed the refresh again to see she had gotten a reply.

Tracking now.

- Markov

Marinette held in her relief, she couldn’t let Lila become suspicious. Become aware of her doing anything, especially if she of all people knew.

“I know even with Adrien’s betrayal you wouldn’t want anything to happen to him.” Lila’s voice continuing on, which was good. She’s dumb enough to do the oldest cliché in the book. Keep talking bitch.

“You’re too good of heart for that,” Annoyance slowly made its way into her voice. Through her persona of sweet innocence. “Adrien’s said you have a very close relationship with the bug. I need her out, and according to him you’re my ticket to her.”

Marinette’s body relaxed barely a fraction, her body still tense as she waited for another response. She doesn’t know she’s Ladybug, but Adrien might. Her stomach felt as though she was falling down a cavern with no stop. He didn’t need to know what had been her reasoning for keeping it to herself all these years, but how did he find out?

“What do you need from her?” Keeping her talking was the main thing going on in her head. Marinette lit up when a small window opened on her screen.

Hello Marinette. We can’t pinpoint a direct location but our best is she is in the UK, Northern Wales to specify. We will try to get an exact location but we can’t promise we can.

This isn’t mediocre, she has help.

- Markov

“Funny,” a bored tone woven into the simple word. “I am not as dumb as you think I am. That’s a surprise for Ladybug, not you. So get me Ladybug or your happy little family won’t be one when I’m done.”

Lila ended the call, her words left her feeling cold. The feeling almost the exact same as when she had threatened her in the bathroom. Then she hadn’t thought that much of Lila’s threat, she had shown that she wasn’t someone to brush aside. She had almost succeeded, but now it wasn’t as simple. This was beyond simple, this wasn’t the chessboard of two overconfident and underestimated girls. These two were far more dangerous with far more on the line.

This had become a battlefield.

Marinette’s computer dinged and she looked up to a new message on the foreign window.

We have lost the connection. Our deepest apologies.

- Markov

“No,” the woman whispered. Marinette’s elbows rested on the desk and she let her hand fall into her hands. She looked back at the previous message.

This isn’t mediocre, she has help.

There were billions of people on Earth, hundreds if not a few thousands of magic users, and those from other planets scattered around the globe. Lila’s arsenal was near infinite in measure. They could have been old from a time before Paris, or someone new. Someone who was either drawn in by pretty words or just as hungry for power as Lila.

“I couldn’t imagine what would happen if someone got your girls or Adrien.”

Lila knew people, people Marinette might not even be able to plan right for. But she could plan enough, she thought as she reopened her phone.

“Marinette, I’m sorry,” Max said immediately upon answering.

“It’s fine Max, you tried your best.” Marinette took a deep breath before continuing, “We need to meet as soon as possible. The main court for sure.”

“But Marinette with her demands there is a likely hood of her figuring it out by 46.8%. Even with the magic, sometimes people have a little more than just common sense.” Max explained with worry.

“Good for us common sense isn’t so common.” Marinette opened the closet of the office pushing aside the work clothes. Having them away in here ensured they didn’t get ruined. “Those odds are mainly in our favor still. I’ll send Markov the list of who needs to be there so you know who to coordinate with.”

“You doubt I already know?” Marinette could almost hear the genius raise his eyebrow at her. She rolled her eyes with a small smile as she pulled the carpet corner aggressively.

“Of course not,” Marinette put her foot on the carpet to keep it from flapping back down. “I just have a different idea for this. No Alixs of any shape or form have popped in yet so I’m sure we’re going in the right direction. For our timestream at least.”

Seeing Alix put her into a fight or flight, despite being their friend anyone who knew got anxious when Alix came out of nowhere. Sometimes even when she laughed at something they said or raised an eyebrow at something. She had inside knowledge so everything appeared to be a joke at some point or another.

“Should Alix be there?” Max asked.

“She’ll probably already be there,” Marinette said with a groan as she pulled the wooden panel up. “Just plan for her to be there. Call Chloé first to let her know to be prepared to arrange for a meeting. And remember, the sooner the better.”

“Of course,” Max said before ending the call.

Marinette placed the board behind her and reached down pulling the egg-like shaped sphere out of the hidden space. The feeling of pulling it out of the ward was cold and sent a shiver down the woman’s spine. An inaudible ‘pop’ happen when she finally pulled it all the way out. Marinette had taken time to learn some magic that was more experienced magic users that worked to keep the balance, some being from other guardians and monks at the temple in Tibet.

Tikki for the first time in a long time zipped out, not caring if the girls ran in.

“Are you sure about whatever you’re about to do?” Tikki asked. She floated over Marinette’s shoulder, she followed her old friend as she made her way to the home office door. Marinette shut the door, it was her sign of she really couldn’t have anyone bother her at the moment. Unless it was an emergency.

“Yes.” Marinette set the sphere on her desk. “I can’t take risks with Lila. I can’t allow her to ruin more lives, I should have been trying to take care of after her victim song during the trial.”

Marinette sighed, “I need to do something.”

And she opened the box.

[full-moon-rising]

Miraculous: Memorial

Summary:

We are finally in the present day, and now we can catch-up with Adrien. Where is he, and what is he doing One Year Later?

Notes:

Thanks for the Kudos. Comments or questions are always welcome.

Chapter Text

Five: Ghosts and Shadows (Present Day)

“This is very good, Adrien. One of the best you’ve made. You are becoming quite the baker.” Tom’s father smiled and he hung his apron on a hook in the bakery’s kitchen.

“Papa Rolland, will you join us for dinner?” Sabine and I were closing up and it was our habit to cook a meal together. Rolland Dupain and Sabine had a rough start from what I gathered.

He was not very happy with Tom’s choice of a wife. They hadn’t spoken for over fourteen years when Marinette had brought father and son together. Like she did with almost everyone, Marinette had charmed her grandfather and helped him to realize that such a lovely young woman must have had very good parents. It wasn’t songbirds and happy endings after that, but it was the beginning of a much-needed healing process.

After Tom and Marinette’s deaths, Papa Rolland, as Sabine calls him came in one day and offered to help. I was just coming out of the kitchen when he made the offer, and I could see a flash of indecision on Sabine's part. I walked up and shook his hand.

“Adrien Agreste. I am Marinette’s friend. I am helping in the shop, but I have so much to learn. Could you teach me to become a baker?” That’s how Rolland came to help in the shop three days a week. We had another baker who helped daily, but he wasn’t a Dupain.

“I would love to Sabine, but I am going to dinner with Gina tonight.” Marinette’s grandmother had come to visit right after the attack. She helped Sabine with the housekeeping so Sabine could focus on what to do with the business and their home. Gina got an apartment nearby and stayed close, and when Rolland came to help, they started talking. Something they hadn’t done in years.

“Next time, then. And feel free to ask Gina to come too.” Sabine should have a little bow and arrow the way she was playing Cupid with those two.

I went inside the residence and started pulling the pans and such that we would need to make dinner. I had been living in the spare room, just below Marinette’s room. I couldn’t stand spending more than an hour in my old house. Especially after what I was shown in the lair beneath it.

Our house had been Hawk Moth’s lair. A large cavern was below the house, and there was a room at the very top where he launched his akuma into the city. Of course, it couldn’t be just that simple. I had demanded that Nathalie show me where father would go to become Hawk Moth, and she showed me. That was when I found out what had happened to my mother. To this day, I do not understand how I didn’t have a complete mental breakdown.

I had talked to the kwami and Nathalie to see if anything could be done. “Wayzz, is there a way to bring her back without the Ladybug and Cat Miraculous?”

“No, Adrien. Your father had tried several ways to bring her back. None worked. I’ve talked to the other kwami, and we have all agreed that without the wish, or at least without Tikki, there is nothing to be done.”

We figured out a way to explain mother’s death, and given the condition father kept her in, the medical examiner had no reason to believe she hadn’t died recently. I had her body cremated.

We were in the long days of summer, and I discovered that I liked walking around the city once or twice a week after dinner. Sometimes I would run down by the Seine, though rarely near the Eiffel Tower. It is totally irrational, but I felt betrayed by the Monument that My Lady and I spent so much time on.

I looked around as I left the bakery and decided to walk toward the east. There were some businesses and shops in the area, and I would walk through them, sometimes seeing some of the clothing stores that carried one of the COCCINELLE lines. There was a shop not too far away that had a large open front, and inside they displayed some of the Marinette line of women’s wear. I would sometimes walk in and talk to the employees, and occasionally, I would catch the owner. The result was that I would almost always look into the shop as I passed by to see who was working and wave if they saw me.

Tonight, as I walked past on the other side of the street, I looked in and saw that one of the young women who almost always wore something from the line, was working tonight. She didn’t see me, but I figured I would stop in next time. As I turned away, I caught a glimpse of a flash of red ribbon. A red ribbon tied around a pigtail of the darkest blue-black hair. That by itself wouldn’t necessarily have stopped me, but the pink pants that I also caught a brief flash of brought me to a halt.

I almost ran into traffic. I had to stop as several cars and a truck passed by. The light changed and I bolted into the street and raced to the store. Running in, I came to a stop near the center of the store and spun around looking in every direction. When I saw nothing of blue-black hair or red ribbons, I stopped moving. Oh God, I haven’t had this happen in almost 7 months, and it rattled my cage.

For about five months after the battle, I would see Marinette everywhere. Most of the time she would talk to me, but sometimes it would just be flashes of her. Eventually, the visits stopped, and shortly after that, the sightings came to a halt. After my friends realized that some of the conversations I was having with no one visible were visits from Marinette, they pressed to get me into therapy. It didn’t work at first, because I didn’t want to stop seeing her. I would go to the park and sit on an otherwise empty bench and sometimes she would show up. The conversations were never long, but I always felt that she seemed so real and…I didn’t want them to stop. If they did, I would never see her again, and I couldn’t face that.

One day I was walking past the Tower and stopped to look at the monument that had been erected there for those who died that day.

“Do you think it’s fair that I am listed on it twice?”

“I don’t think your name is listed enough times, My Lady.” I turned to see Marinette smiling at me. The blue in her eyes would pull me in and I could get lost in there. “I miss you.” I closed my eyes as I listened to her voice.

“I know, Chaton. I miss you too. Don’t forget me, okay?”

“What?” My eyes opened and she was gone. I looked around and couldn’t see her anywhere. It was the last talk we had, and the last time I saw her.

Until tonight.

End Chapter 5

Next: Rescue