#marinette gets a hug

[lily-drake]

Unexpected Discoveries Lead to Unexpected Consequences

In which Marinette is homeless and breaks into people’s apartments and steals to survive.  Jason wasn’t expecting to see a small blue eyed black haired child in his Paris, France safe house.  And he definitely didn’t intend to basically adopt her, but what can you do?

Chapter 1

Jason had a plan, and even Talia seemed to approve of his plan which meant it had to be good.  But first, she said that he had to train with different handlers all around the world to learn different skills that would help him reach his end goal.  And what was this plan exactly?  He was going to take over and run the drug trade in Crime Alley, kill Joker, mess with the Bat and his replacement, and finally he’ll end the big Bat with his own hands.  His plan changed a bit every so often, currently he was toying with the idea of letting Batman decide to kill the Joker himself; see how much he really loved Jason.  

He was currently waiting for reassignment in Paris, France as his last handler said his training with them was complete.  His body was cooling on the floor only a few moments after the words left their mouth.  

He was currently squatting in a run down apartment building that he felt he had sufficiently boobytraped.  That was until he entered his apartment through the fire escape window one night and saw a small person rifling through the duffel bag he had left sitting on the crappy coffee table.  He cleared his throat loudly and watched as the small person froze and stiffened in their spot.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

He watched as the figure slowly raised their hands into the air, lifted their head, and turned towards him. His eyes widened slightly at what he saw, he….hadn’t been expecting this.  The person was a small girl with wide bluebell eyes who couldn’t be older than maybe 12.  Her clothes were torn, dirty, and ragged; hair pulled back into neat twin tails but was obviously matted and dirty from being unable to find a proper place to bathe.

Memories of his past, before he has been abducted by Batman, resurfaced from some place deep within the recesses of his pit crazed mind.  Memories of being in the same predicament.  The feeling of never being safe no matter where you are or what you do.  The horrid hunger that would make anyone desperate enough to do anything for even the hope of a scrap.  Fearing that one day you’ll go missing and no one will ever know or care where you are or what happened to you ever again.  He could see fear in the small girl’s eyes, and what appeared to be tears brimming in them.  Normally he would cherish and feast on that fear, but this wasn’t a normal circumstance.

“I-I’m sorry sir!  I’ll leave right now and never come back!  I swear I haven’t taken anything yet, nor will I again.”

“Maybe not from me, but from someone else, yea?”

He said calmly, softly.  Slowly he raises his hands up in front of him, exaggerating and telegraphing every movement so the kid would know he was no threat or danger.  When he was a few feet away from the girl he squatted down, still keeping his hands in front of him, but away from her.  The girl took a small step away, moving into more of a defensive stance, a glare forming on her face. He gave her a small smile, letting her keep her distance.

“Hey, it’s ok.  I’m not going to hurt you, I’ve been in the same spot as you.”

He started with a tender note in his voice.  His French was a bit rusty, but it was still understandable, and that’s all that mattered at the moment.

“And what spot is that?”

She asked skeptically, eyes darting around the room as she looked for anything she could use to help her escape.

“On the run, homeless, stealing to survive, doing whatever is necessary to just live another day.  I know exactly what that was like.”

The girl's eyes widened in shock, her shoulders and stance loosening ever so slightly.  She stared at him for a long time, but he never moved as he let her evaluate him.  When she seemed satisfied she discouragingly asked,

“So what are you gonna do?  Call CPS?”

“F* those guys.  They never helped anyone in the system, and there’s no way I’m gonna let you go through that.”

Silence hung in the air, but it wasn’t an uncomfortable one, more unsure and inquisitive.

“How would you like to go get some food?  I’m hungry, and I have no doubt that you are too.  If you’d rather just leave, then I won’t stop you.  No catch, you don’t even have to talk to me.  I get it.  I’m Jason by the way.”

The girl bit her lip as if she were contemplating his offer.  She looked all around the dark room one last time before she muttered.

“Mary.”

Jason smiled gently,

“Nice to meet you, Mary.  I’ll go ahead and lead us to a diner.  Again, you don’t have to follow, but I was going to head there for food anyways so you don’t have to worry about a trap or anything.”

Jason slowly stood up, keeping his hands in front of his palms facing forward the entire time.  Cautiously, he walked towards the front door, and walked out.  He never turned back to see if Mary followed him as it would probably send the wrong message.  He was honestly a bit surprised when she sat across from him at the booth. 

She pressed herself as far into the bench as she could with all her limbs curled up in front of her, letting her eyes focus solely on the table.  He was grateful when the waiter dropped off the menus as it lessened the tension around them, letting both of them focus on something other than each other.

“Would you like anything to drink while you look for what you want?”

The waitress asked with a polite smile.

“I’ll have some white milk.”

Jason replied smoothly, nodding his appreciation before turning to look at the menu. 

“Alright, and what would the young lady like?”

“Ummm,”

Mary hesitantly glanced up at Jason, but all he did was shrug in reply.

“Chocolate milk, please?”

“Alrighty then, I’ll have that out for you in just a moment.”

Jason turned his head slightly and watched the other patrons in the diner.  It was odd to him that none of them seemed to know any of the great terrors this world held, and if they did they were good at ignoring them.  They were so carefree and happy, and it just felt …off to him with everything he knows and has been through.  He glanced at the kid and noticed her drawing on her paper kids menu with the provided crayons.  She seemed to be making some kind of dress, and she was really good at it.  If the crayons were better quality, or maybe just a pencil, he bet that it would look even better.

“You’re really good at that.”

He praised.  Mary’s head shot up in surprise, and she quickly held the paper close to her chest.  Jason raised his hands up in surrender.

“Hey, hey, it’s ok.  I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you.  I’m not going to stop you, I’m not going to take it from you, and if you’re not comfortable with it, I won’t even look at you or your work anymore.”

Mary bit her lip, her eyes never leaving his hands, suspicion never leaving her eyes for a second.

“I promise Mary.”

He whispered, making direct eye contact to show her the seriousness—and hopefully honesty—he was trying to convey through his body-language and voice.  After another minute of silent staring at the other she nodded.  Hesitantly, she cautiously set the paper back down and continued working while occasionally glancing up to make sure he hadn’t moved closer or started staring.  Slowly, Mary felt herself to relax just a little for the first time in years.  He wasn’t staring at her or her work and always kept his distance.  He kept his part of the deal as he just stared out of the booth and watched the people around them.

“Alright, here are your drinks.  Are you ready to order?”

“Yes, I’ll have a Croque Monsieur, French Onion soup, French ratatouille, two slices of your Traditional Quiche, and two slices of Hazelnut Dacquoise please.”

He said politely as he handed his menu back to the server.

“Alright, and for the young miss?”

Mary stared at the page, refusing to make any eye contact.

“Ummm, I-I’ll have Croque Monsieur.”

She said nervously before quickly sipping from her drink to avoid saying anything else.  She hoped that what she ordered wouldn’t cost much.  But if he was ordering that must mean he isn’t afraid of spending money, right?  But he may not want to spend much on her.  Even if this is him being nice and not wanting anything in return, it’s best not to test him.

“Alright, will that be all then?”

“Yes please, thank you.”

“Of course, we’ll have it out for you soon.”

And with that the waitress turned and left back towards the counter.  Jason turned back to his people watching, taking small sips from his drink.

“Thank you.”

Mary whispered.  Jason smiled, but didn’t look at her as he replied,

“Yea, no problem kid.  I’d be a hypocrite and a g*d* a*hole to not help you out when I’ve been where you are too.”

Once the food came Jason took all of the plates, including hers, much to her dismay.  Instead of eating it all like she had thought, he started to split everything in half.  He put some of the food onto his plate that held  Croque Monsieur before pushing the rest of the food onto her own.

“Don’t worry kid, I’m not gonna steal your food.  In fact you’re going to need more than what you ordered, and I know this place uses good and fresh ingredients to make their food.  You’re gonna need the nutrients, so eat as much as you can.  And if you want more, I honestly don’t mind giving you mine or ordering more.  Okay?”

He asked, making eye contact with her once more as he slowly scooted her dish toward her.  She nodded slowly, still trying to process what had just happened.  Jason nodded, giving her a small encouraging smile before he started to eat his own food.  Marinette watched him take a bite of a little of everything on his dish, once he had done that, and showed no sign of anything she tucked in.

It was obvious that she was born into a good family.  He observed the way she ate, because while she was eating it fairly quickly, it was obvious that she was taught proper table manners.  But while he couldn’t see signs of parental abuse, that didn’t mean there wasn’t any.  He had her glass refilled a few times, much to her horror the first time, but he just smiled and waved off her attempts of “you don’t have too, I’m fine”, with “just drink your milk kid.  You’re gonna need it if you don’t want to stay that size forever”.  She had scowled at him for that comment, but sipped her milk in silence, a small smile creeping into her lips.  He pretended that he didn’t notice it.

He had given Marinette both slices of the small cake, and was surprised when she scooted the last piece toward him.  She didn’t look at him, didn’t even say a word.  Just let the cake sit in the middle of the table, it was a silent offering of sorts.  A show of trust that made Jason’s heart swell a little in a way he hadn’t felt in a long time.  Slowly Jason reached out and pulled the slice closer to him.

________

“I’ve got another place you can stay the night at if you’d like.  You could have a nice shower, I could find you some new clothes or something.  If that isn’t for you, I’ve got some money that you can use.  It should keep you off the streets and keep you fed for a little while.”

Jason said calmly as they stood outside the diner with his hands stuffed in the pockets of his leather jacket.  He desperately wanted to help the kid (more desperately than he wanted anything, and that was frightening), but he knew there was only so much he could do.  He would have to leave soon to his next instructor wherever Talia thought he should be shipped off to next.  He can’t, in good conscience, take the kid with him.  He would only do more harm than good, and she doesn’t deserve that.  She has so much potential, an entire future ahead of her!  He would never forgive himself if he ruined that for her.

Mary twiddled her thumbs and bit her lip, a nervous tick he noticed, as she thought through the options.

“Can I stay the night with you?”

That wasn’t really one of the options, and it showed that she really hadn’t been on the streets for as long as he had originally thought.  No street kid with longtime experience would be this trusting, not even in Paris.

“That’s not the best idea, kid.  I’m not a good person, you really don’t want to be near me.”

He said coolly, staring at some far off point in the distance.

“But you helped me today, and are still offering to help me.  Doesn’t that make you a good person?”

She asked curiously.  Goodness this kid was so innocent, and he knew that if he looked at her he would see her doe-like eyes silently begging him.  How has she survived this long, how did she even end up in this predicament?

“This could all be a trap kid.  I could just be putting you into a false sense of security before I kidnap or sell you.”

He said gruffly, rolling his eyes.  Kid was going to get herself into some deep sh* if she wasn’t more paranoid and aware.

“Then why reveal your plan now?  Why wait so long to do anything?”

Jason sighed in annoyance and rubbed his eyes.

“It’s called the long game kid.  Ever hear of it?”

“I have, but you aren’t doing that.  If you were doing that you’d look more smug and triumphant.  You’d probably be thinking that “you’ve won now”,”

She rambled, using her fingers as air quotes.

 “But you're not.  You’re more annoyed and seemingly worried about me than anything else.  You said you’ve been through what I have, far too sincerely to be fake.  And-“

“Fine!”

Jason said with exaggerated frustrated annoyance,

“Just follow me kid, and keep up.  I’m not gonna slow down for some curious little pixie.”

He ended gruffly as he began to walk towards one of his nicer safe houses that Talia had provided.

“Hey!  I’m not little, and you offered!”

Mary said indignantly as she ran to keep up with his long strides.

“Sure Pix, let’s go with that.”

He said briskly, but smirked as he saw her trying to keep up with him.  Sighing, mostly annoyed with himself, he slowed down and let her keep up with him, never removing his hands from his pockets and stared at the city of lights around them.  The burning in his heart never really faded, it felt almost tangible, and that made him pause.  He focused on the strange new feeling in his chest, and almost stopped breathing when he subconsciously was able to actually interact with this strange feeling.  Mary froze, fear and uncertainty bleeding through her eyes.  It was as if she felt the interaction, the small strange sensation, the burning that was occurring in his own heart. 

“Not again.”

She whispered to herself.  The feeling now attached to his heart felt like someone had a sharp vice grip on it.  Like they were trying to yank Jason’s heart out.

“I’m so sorry Jason, I’ll get rid of it.  I never meant for this to happen!”

She said panickedly.  Her rates were shut like she was trying to focus on something, and while she focused the sharp tugging became excruciating.  So he did what felt right and tugged back, relieving only a bit of the pain.  Mary gasped.

“What is going on Mary?  What on Earth are you trying to “get rid of”?”

She was silent and there was finally a reprieve from the painful yanking.

“I-I’m a meta.”

She whispered.  Her face was pale and her eyes glassy and distended as she spoke.

“I can create physical and tangible bonds with others that I feel close to or safe with.  I can also take those bonds away though it can be painful for both parties involved.  It depends on how strong the bond is on both sides.  I can’t control it, and now I’ve gone and bonded with you without your permission.  I’m so sorry.”

A small tear fell down her cheek as she slowly shrunk into herself throughout her story.  Jason could feel the l pain and fear, he didn’t know how she held all this in?  Slowly Jason breathed in the chill Autumn evening air, before kneeling before the small child.  

“Hey, it’s okay.  I’m not going to be mad at you okay.  It makes sense to me why you bonded with me.  I doubt you’ve had a lot of people caring about or helping you out.  You’ve been on your own for a while now, huh?”

Mary nodded stiffly, holding back more tears but unable to hold back a sniffle.

“How about we head to the apartment I was telling you about earlier and we can settle this out more there.  Okay?”

Another nod.  Jason gave her a small smile and slowly stood up.  Hesitantly he offered her his hand, but to his surprise she took it while wiping at her eyes with her free arm.  Jason smiled again, when was the last time he smiled like this so much?  He honestly had no idea if he ever had, except he did.  His first day out as-Jason shook his head.  He couldn’t focus on that, right now he had a little kid to take care of.

________

“So just to make sure I’ve got everything straight.”

Jason began once Mary had finished explaining how her power worked after he had made sure she was able to take a hot shower and change clothes.  He had given her one of his hoodies and a pair of sweatpants—she was absolutely drowning in his clothes.  

“So both of us can interact with the other through this bond as it transfers one’s feelings and emotions.  Is that about right?”

“That about sums it up, yea.”

She replied meekly, wrapping the blanket he had also given her more tightly around herself.

“I also learned a way to shield my bond, which means I can block it so no one I’m bonded to can feel what I’m feeling through the bond.  But it’s been so long since I’ve had one that I don’t fully remember how to do it again.”

Jason hummed, tapping his fingers against his knee in thought.  He had been around magic and metas before sure, but nothing quite like this had ever happened to him before.  It was strange, intimate, and seemingly out of his control.  But strangely enough, he didn’t really seem to mind like he thought he would.  The connection actually made him feel…calm, grounded even.  It seemed that it even helped to lessen the corrupted voice of the Lazarus Pit in his mind.

Jason carefully focused his thoughts on this strange new connection, letting his mind and heart take hold of the bond as gently as he could.  He hesitated, but only for a second before he let a gentle tug of joy and calm flow through the bond.  He watched as she stilled, looking at him with wide hopeful eyes before she replied with her own happy little ripples.  The feelings almost overwhelmed him with how genuine they were, but he knew that he was doing the right thing.  He knew at that moment that he would do anything to protect this kid.

Next

Taglist:

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[anna-scribbles]

honestly idk why luka needed witness protection he seemed like he was doing great

[literaphobe]

marinette doesn’t understand why adrien won’t hold her waist when she drives him through town on her scooter. she thinks maybe he could learn by example so she tries to drive a bunch of friends who All hold her By The Waist so he takes the hint that its okay instead of telling him ‘hey you can just grab onto me :)’ because they are the unstoppable force vs immovable object of making situations unnecessarily complicated. it ends in tears

[vintage-retro-queen]

Paris Reacts to Watch Us Work

Akuma Class

Another weekend, another week without any way to watch a new episode of Total Drama.

They all were at the park, sitting there, bored out of their minds. That was until they heard a crash far away behind them. They turned to see an akuma attack from Copycat happening.

Even though Alya was excited and wanted to get great material for her blog and get Ladybug's trust to have her endorse the blog again. But when she realized and remembered that her phone was still confiscated by her parents, her excitement and happiness both went down the drain.

That was until a lava red portal appeared, and there came out Ladybug, and now seeing her new look, it looked like she combined two miraculous, one which was obviously the Ladybug earrings and the black cat ring. And along with Ladybug, was an unfamiliar girl that is dressed in a very odd outfit. They then hear the unfamiliar girl talk aloud in a deep-strong British accent. "Oy! Are you talking about us?" "And who are you?" "Your worst bloody nightmare."

The girl then throws something at Copycat that wraps around the Copycat's waist and holds him tightly. "GET OVER HERE!" the girl yelled, pulling Copycat over to her. She then aimed her hands at Copycat, which froze him into ice. The class looked shocked, surprised, and amazed at the scene they were watching.

However, the whole class was not as shocked as Adrien was when he saw Ladybug using both hers and his miraculous at the same time. And if that wasn't shocking enough, she has a new, different heroine fighting along with her and not having him have his miraculous back and save the day with her and not with some stranger.

After returning everything to normal and Theo returns to a normal Parisian citizen, Ladybug, and the unfamiliar girl does a fist pound, saying something that the class couldn't hear. They tried to head over to Ladybug, but a lot of people beat them to the punch.

"Ladybug! Who is this with you?" "All you mates, can call me Anarchia." The unknown girl, Anarchia, said, introducing herself. "How did you meet Anarchia?" "She was there for me when I was on patrol." "An armed picket-pocketer was spotted, and I quickly caught 'im 'round the same time she showed up." "She was very useful for a lot of other things aside from akuma attacks." Adrien couldn't believe that Ladybug trusted a heroine who might not be from Paris without even telling him and ever getting his consent first. "Is it true that you stopped endorsing the Ladyblog?" "Sadly, yes. Only because of various reasons. One of them is one person claiming that she is my 'best friend', which is not true because I never have any time hanging out with civilians." Alya's eyes widened after hearing that. After hearing those words come out of Ladybug's mouth, it felt like her whole world started to fall apart. However, Alya was not as shocked as Adrien was when Ladybug exposed Lila's lies. 'I thought she was going to let that go. Why can't people see that it doesn't hurt anyone?" He thought. That was until they heard Anarchia talk, "Some cottonheads never understand what the real world works and never fact checks like they are supposed to." hearing that felt like a stab to the gut to both Adrien and Alya. "Not to mention, some bloody cottonheads always lose their minds over what wanker tells them what they want to hear. That, and they never got to wake up and smell the real scent of tea to face reality." A couple of eyes widened in shock hearing that. However, before they can say anything, Anarchia continued, "However, speaking of facing reality, I do recommend this brilliant site and app I have endorsed back in London. It is called Face Reality. Because I have heard they are having some of their best reporters start here in about the next week." Alya's eyes widened upon hearing that. Face Reality was one of the world-known news blog-media industries for children, teens, and young adults. Not to mention her competition for the title of Best Blog-Media in the news world. "Are you kidding me?!" she gawked in disbelief. They all tried to get to Ladybug to see what she was doing with a different heroine. But as soon as they got to the two, the sun was already setting, and Ladybug's earrings started beeping. "Well, I say it is time for us to leave. Good day." Anarchia said, grabbing some keys, pressing one button that summons a black motorcycle, automatically driving to her, and stopping and staying by her side. As Anarchia gets on, she drives off along with Ladybug, as she uses her yo-yo, saying a quick 'Bug out', and the two leave. "Ladybug, wait!"

Unfortunately, it was too late, and the two were gone.

When Monday came around once again, they all heard the rest of the students chattering about the new episode of Total Drama.

"I'm so happy for Marinette!"

"I know, she's now one of them. That's amazing!"

"Her mom and dad must be very proud of her right now."

"Yeah, and her diary box was such a blessing in disguise."

"Yeah, and thank goodness too. Who knows what would've happened if it didn't trap Heather's hand."

"And Harold's music playing was awesome. Sure beats you know who's."

"And the MetaBetas performing there? They were amazing."

"Yeah, especially their hoodies. They look so cool!"

"More like epic if you ask me."

"You should've seen Duncan's face when he saw Marinette onstage."

"Yeah, the guy looked like one of those guys who has his eyes on the girl of his dreams."

"Not to mention the drooling he was doing."

"Honestly, I think Trent would be a perfect match for her."

"Yeah, he snagged an extra muffin for her."

"And he sang a song all about her. And it was actually for her too! So romantic!"

The class groaned and whined about how it was unfair that they got to watch the new episode and they couldn't. Even Adrien thinks it is unfair. Not to mention that Ladybug has his miraculous and has a new partner siding with her. And if that wasn't bad enough, Ladybug exposed Lila in the worst possible way. He knows that when the time comes, he will have his miraculous back and try to make Ladybug see the light and ditch that wannabe partner, Anarchia.

Celebrities + Friends and Family

It was another special weekend for all of the celebrities, friends, and families in Paris, France.

They're all getting together at the hotel, getting ready to watch the new episode of Total Drama. As they were all getting together, they were not even unaware of a familiar blonde ponytail girl getting ready to watch the new episode herself.

Two weeks ago, she noticed a lot of people coming to the hotel very often. At first, both she and her father thought that the people needed a place to stay, but when Chloe started to hear that Marinette was sent to a camp in Muskoka against her will by their classmates, that was where she drew the line. She even gives Adrien a friendship suspension until he learns to grow up and face the real world after demanding the whole truth from him, which causes him to fess up everything to her and Sabrina. Sabrina couldn't even believe it herself after hearing the whole truth from Adrien. And since Chloe was still mad at Adrien for letting Lila get off scot-free without any consequences, she decided to give Sabrina a break from everything and deal with things her way. Sabrina was surprised since this was the first time she saw this new side of Chloe, but Sabrina knew that it was only because of Lila's tactics she took it. However, Sabrina was still surprised about this new side of Chloe. Chloe told her father everything, and he couldn't believe it himself. As a result, he sent out the board of governors and education to investigate College Francois Dupont and sent the students of the school to another school that has the highest security and staff members that will have students full-on under surveillance until then. The mayor and Chloe herself were surprised to know that they were not the only ones who had called the board since a bunch of other concerned students and families were aware of it all as well. And since Sabrina once told the mayor about most of their classmates talking down about some people and some things both in person and online via social media, he not only sent temporary transfer notices to the families, he also sent another notice to all the families about checking on their kids and their electronic devices to see if they're doing anything bad without any of them knowing. 'I can't believe I'm going to say this, but Dupain-Cheng definitely deserves better than all of this. Besides, nobody messes with Dupain-Cheng's life but me! What those losers did was ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous!' she thought to herself with a huff while changing channels to the one that shows Total Drama.

Meanwhile, with everyone else, as they are getting ready to watch the new episode, Luka is talking to Zoe, Mirelle, Aurore, Kagami, Marc, Soqueline, Jessica, Aeon, and Fei about their call with Marinette and her friends in Muskoka. They all talked about how amazing Marinette was doing there and how the campers there were really good friends for her. All except Heather since they now know her true colors. However, they were glad that Lucy was officially the one to put Heather in her place, even if it was with her anger getting the best of her. After their talk, the show finally starts.

"Last time on Total Drama Island, the Killer Bass finally dodged their pathetic losing streak against the Screaming Gophers. There were bruises, tears, risky moves, and dangerous alliances. And in the end, it was Noah, the Know-it-All, who didn't see it coming." "Well, I can understand that he's not a sports person, but he could've shown some spirit or something at least." one of the fame-rising football (soccer) players said, shrugging their shoulders. "Well, everyone has their own opinion and choice of things." another one said. "This week, another challenge will send one more camper on a cruise to Loserville, population...four. Who will sink and who will stay afloat? Find out right now on Total Drama Island."

After watching its usual theme, they watched as they now see Lucy and Marinette on the steps of the Killer Bass cabin, reading, scribbling away on a sketchpad, and listening to music. "There she is! There's my favorite little lady!" Jagged cheered. They then hear someone speak on the radio. "Alright! That was Start Again by Alayah. This next one was from 1995. A love song for the late lucky girl and New Rustale's beloved sweetheart, Luci Grassette. This is Our Perfect Love by Perfection Division in 198.5 EPIC!" "Oh! I love that song!" "I hear it's good." "I haven't heard that in a long time." "Man, I miss hearing Perfection Division." a lot of the celebrities, parents, grandparents, and other adults explained, remembering the song and band. Hearing all of that from the adults got all of the children and teenagers now intrigued about the song and band. They then quiet down as the song starts on the show.

This one's for you, Miss Grassette!

Our love for you is like the most perfect,

Your face reminds us of your gorgeous self,

Together, we are like Vicki and J.D.

Oh darling Luci,

Our beautiful,

Our glamorous,

Our perfect companion to our longing-yearning souls.

Roses are red,

Violets are blue,

We love our perfect times,

But not as much as we love being with you!

Oh darling Luci,

Your eyes are like our favorite candy that will never fail, You're like the most beautiful princess to ever walk New Rustvale

Your loving pretty face,

Your breathtaking soul,

Your gorgeous eyes,

Your glamorous princess being...

How can we look at another when our perfect love is so strong?

We love you Miss Grassette!

"Man, it feels good to hear Perfection Division, their singing, and Our Perfect Love again." "I know, right? It's been years since I heard their songs." "Years? For me, it feels like centuries." "Luci was so lucky to have a song about her." "She was." "That was pretty catchy." "It was, wasn't it?" "I can see why our families love it." "Yeah." Socqueline smiles as they all complimented about the song and band she and her family listened to back at the family store.

"Alright! That was Perfection Division! Can you feel the love? Because I certainly can."

"Yeah, that was a great song," Marinette commented. "Yeah. That Luci girl must've been so lucky to be featured in a song like that." "Yeah...she was." all of the teenagers and children in the room then turn to notice their families and other adults' faces looking down and sad. Some with sad smiles and some with a single tear or two falling from their face and onto the floor. Before any of them ask what happened to Luci Grassette, they hear the guy on the radio talking still. However, the guy talked in a heartbroken, melancholy, and grieving tone. "You know, it's hard to believe that it's been twenty-something years since we lost all the five members of Perfection Division in a horrific hit and run." The teenagers and the children were shocked to hear that. "That's awful." one of the girls said, putting her hand to her heart in a heartbreaking way. "It was," Nadja said mournfully, holding her daughter Manon tightly. Manon felt sorry for the people losing a great boy band and a girl who was a respected member of the community and loved by all, even people from all over the world, along with her (Luci Grassette) older brother. After a moment of silence for the late girl and the late boy band, they all hear Chris McLean talking on the loudspeakers. "All right, campers, enough beauty sleep. Time to show us what you're made of." "Welp, time to get going, Nettie," Lucy said, getting up and closing her book with a 50s diner-themed bookmark in the pages she was in. Marinette nods and gets up from her spot as well. They all then watch as the scene changes from the girls getting up from the steps of the Killer Bass cabin to a stage. "Are we gonna see a musical? I love musicals. Especially, the ones with singing and dancing." Lindsay said, feeling excited. "Um, that's exactly what musicals are, Lindsay." "Marinette, saved you a seat." Trent said, making Marinette and Lucy walk to him and Gwen. "Oh, thank you, Trent," Marinette said happily. Marinette sat down next to him while Lucy sat down next to Gwen, and the two girls started having a conversation about their favorite horror films. The four of them were not even aware of Cody trying to impress the girls but ended up falling on his seat, yet still trying to look cool.

Chris then got everyone's attention and talked to them: "Welcome to our brand-new, deluxe, state-of-the-art outdoor amphitheater. Okay, this week's challenge is a summer camp favorite: a talent contest." "Yes! Awesome," said Owen. They all then see Lucy's eyes widen in surprise. They all looked confused about why she looked surprised until they then watched her confessional. "Well, that was unexpected. I haven't performed in a while since the last tour incident when the MetaBetas and I were performing in a small town. We were finished with our performance and when my friends and I were ready to head into the bus, some people were talking while we were walking. They were talking about, I don't know what, but frankly, I don't even want to know. At least, and as long as it doesn't involve me in any more dramatic situations than it did back in freshman year. But anyway, it sure has been a while performing. I honestly can't remember the last time I performed, really." "Huh, that is weird." "Yeah, I wonder what those people were talking about." "I guess we'll never know." "Yeah, but I do know that it's true that it sure is a while since Lucy and the other MetaBetas performed." "That's right. I think the last concert the girls did was last summer, I believe." Penny said, trying to remember when the last time the MetaBetas performed. After that, they continued watching the show.

"Each team has eight hours to pick their three most talented campers. These three will represent them in the show tonight. Sing, dance, juggle. Anything goes as long as it's legal." Chris explain, signing a 'Got my eyes on you' to Duncan, causing him to snap his fingers with a frown. "I wonder what Duncan was thinking about doing?" "I don't know. I just hope it's nothing bad." "Hope not." Chris continued, "You will be judged by our resident talent scout, former D.J., V.J., and rap legend, grand...Master Chef who will show his approval via the Chef-o-Meter. The team that loses will send one camper home tonight. Good luck." with that, Chris headed off the stage.

After that, they watched as Heather blew a whistle. "Okay, I'm the team captain, so here's how it's going to work," she said until Gwen cut her off. "Wait, who said you were team captain?" "She did. Just now," said Lindsay. "Lindsay, Beth, and I took a vote, and I won." "Threatening them to vote for you isn't exactly democratic." "I'm with the bambina on that," Lucy said, agreeing with Gwen. "You said it, girls." one of the celebrity girls said, crossing her arms. That was until they saw Trent walk over to Marinette, holding a muffin in his hand. "Hey, snagged you an extra muffin." "Oh, thank you," Marinette said. They all smile at that scene until Beth then walks over to them, talking to Marinette and Lucy. "Hey, Lucy, Marinette. Chris was hoping to talk to you about something. He's saying that there's an urgent call from someone." "Oh, jeez. It better not be about Slick and Brutus trying to get all the action figures in stores to find another legendary collectible again. I swear those two just won't knock it off." Lucy said, unamused, as she and Marinette headed over to the location Beth gave them. After they leave, Heather starts talking to Trent. "Trent, you're cool with me leading this project, aren't you?" "Right on. Go for it." Trent said with sarcasm. "Good. Beth, Lindsay, and I will be the judges."

After watching some of them do their special talents, the celebrities, families, and Marinette's friends suddenly heard a crash coming from outside; they all looked to see that it was another Akuma attack happening from none other than Copycat. Again. As they all watch as the akumatized person attacks the city, demanding Ladybug and Chat Noir's arrival and surrender, they notice a lava-red portal appearing. There, they see Ladybug come out of it. They looked surprised to see her come out of a portal that they had never seen before. Not to mention that she has a different look because, from the looks of it, they see that she is using both her miraculous and the black cat miraculous.

They understand that she's using both of them only because she announced once that Chat Noir is permanently retired due to various personal reasons. Of course, a lot of people respect that since someone shared video proof of Chat Noir being incompetent and not saving others in the past akuma attacks, such as the Syren debacle, the second Gigantitan incident where Gigantitan threw Ladybug's Lucky Charm at a room in the Dupain-Cheng bakery, which turned out to be Marinette's bedroom, and the last one where the akumatized person shot some bullets that stopped people and make them freeze like statues, unlike him, Ladybug saved some from getting shot and getting them into safety while he just did nothing but pout and sulk about Ladybug not accepting his love. Looking back, some felt disgusted about themselves for thinking that the two were a cute couple and they were an item. After all of that, Ladybug got the cat miraculous back from Chat Noir and has used it along with her miraculous ever since.

However, the only thing they don't understand is how the portal appeared and why Ladybug was using it. That was until they saw an unfamiliar girl walking out of the portal after Ladybug.

"Who is that?"

"I have never seen this one before?"

"Is she a new partner of Ladybug's?"

"I don't think she has a miraculous on her."

They then quiet down their chatter when they hear the new girl calling out aloud in a deep-toned, strong-British accent. "Oy! Are you talking about us?" "And who are you?" "Your worst bloody nightmare."

The girl then throws something at Copycat that wraps around Copycat's waist and holds him tightly. "GET OVER HERE!" the girl yelled, pulling the Copycat over to her. She then aims her hands at Copycat, which froze him into ice.

Everyone looked shocked, surprised, and amazed at what they were seeing with their very eyes. "Whoa! Did you see that?!" "She stopped the akumatized villain easily and faster than ever!" "That's a new record right there!"

After Ladybug turned everything back to normal, all of the celebrity newscasts, media, and press quickly ran out of the hotel for a quick interview of Ladybug and her new partner. When they got to her, they asked the two a lot of questions. "Ladybug! Who is this with you?" "All you mates, can call me Anarchia." The unknown girl, Anarchia, said, introducing herself to them all. "How did you meet Anarchia?" "She was there for me when I was on patrol." "An armed picket-pocketer was spotted, and I quickly caught 'im 'round the same time she showed up."

"She was very useful for a lot of other things aside from Akuma attacks." they were all very impressed with this new heroine, even when she seemed to be from another country, and whether it was an Akuma attack or not, Anarchia was very useful to stop it. "Is it true that you stopped endorsing the Ladyblog?" "Sadly, yes. Only because of various reasons. One of them is one person claiming that she is my 'best friend', which is not true because I never have any time hanging out with civilians." hearing that was very understandable. Knowing that Ladybug would never have time for anything else. Mr. Ramier and others who were having their troubles, maybe, but a civilian saying that they are best friends, which is not even true, and possibly putting a target on themselves without even knowing, that was another story that was a whole other bad level. Anarchia then tsks, saying, "Some cottonheads never understand what the real world works and never fact checks like they are supposed to." 'Ain't that the truth.' one of the news interns thought. "Not to mention, some bloody cottonheads always lose their minds over what wanker tells them what they want to hear. That, and they never got to wake up and smell the real scent of tea to face reality." 'You said it, Anarchia.' another one thought to himself. 'Tell it, girl.' the third one thought to herself. "However, speaking of facing reality, I do recommend this brilliant site and app I have endorsed back in London. It is called Face Reality. Because I have heard they are having some of their best reporters start here in about the next week." they were all intrigued with the recommendation Anarchia told them. They continued with the questioning with Ladybug and Anarchia until sunset, and Ladybug's earrings started beeping. "Well, I say it is time for us to leave. Good day." Anarchia said, grabbing some keys, pressing one button that summons a black motorcycle, automatically driving to her, and stopping and staying by her side. As Anarchia gets on, she drives off along with Ladybug, as she uses her yo-yo, saying a quick 'Bug out', and the two leave. The newscasts, media, and press also left, happy that they had an interview with Ladybug and her new partner Anarchia, not even aware of some people running and stopping behind them.

As they all head back into the room, satisfied with their interview with the two heroines, the show was still on. However, they missed almost half of the show. "What did we miss?" one of the intern reporters asked. "Not much, really. Although I think the Killer Bass are going to lose this one for sure." one of the wunderkind rappers said, crossing their arms. They then see that Trent is next. "This one goes out to someone special here at camp. Last name initials, D and C." everyone's eyes widened in surprise hearing that. Even though they can tell that most of the campers on the show are more focused on winning the challenge, the celebrities, families, and Marinette's friends know who Trent is talking about. Luka and Kagami could tell that Gwen knew about it as well after seeing her smile proudly at him while crossing her arms. After hearing the song, they were all amazed. They were so amazed that they even applauded Trent along with the other campers. They all then decided to take a quick snack break and continue watching the show later. As they snack down, they talk about Trent's song for Marinette.

"That song was amazing."

"Yeah, Trent did wonderful there."

"That was so sweet of him singing a song for Marinette."

"Marinette must be really lucky by now."

"Yeah, and I wonder what's taking her and Lucy so long though."

"I don't know. They're sure taking a while with that phone call."

"Maybe it is about those two Slick and Brutus guys and the action figures."

"Oh boy. I can't imagine what that phone call is like right about now."

"It's probably for the best we don't wanna know."

"Agreed."

After their opinion and the snack break, they continued watching the show.

"Welcome back! Okay, so in a strange turn of events, Bridgette's chunk-blowing test registered two thumbs up by Grandmaster Chef." "Bridgette's what blowing?" "I think it's best to leave that unquestionable." "But it's not enough to pull ahead of the Screaming Gophers who hold the lead with Trent's love song. So without further delay, here she is for the leaders...Heather." when Heather appears, she explains that she's going to read something. And then, reveals a box that is holding a book. Tom and Sabine's eyes widened when they realized what that book really was... "THAT'S MARINETTE'S DIARY!" they all gasped in shock and fear, worried that Heather might read something humiliating from Marinette's diary. However, as Heather places her hand on the diary, the box quickly closed in a milisecond, trapping her hand inside along with the said diary. And when it did, Heather started screaming. Even though they should wince from Heather's hand getting stuck, Gwen, the celebrities, families, and Marinette's friends all sigh in relief, knowing that Marinette's secrets are safe from Heather's scheming grasp. They all then watch Marinette's and Lucy's confessionals.

"Probably should've warned the girls that I have a box for my diary. But in this case, I'm glad I brought the box with me." "Glad you did, Marinette," Socqueline said, with Luka, Fei, Zoe, Kagami, and Tomoe nodding in agreement. "I guess one of them must've told her what happened while she and Lucy were having that phone call." one of the gaming celebrities guessed. "See, that's exactly why I don't bring a diary around me anymore. What Heather did, that's the reason." "I can't imagine what happened."

"Alright, it's down to the final act of the night," Chris announced. "Can Geoff and his rad stunts turn it around?...I seriously doubt it. Let's find out." "Why would he think that?" Just then, they see Geoff jump and break his skateboard. "Oh, that's why." "Now what? We have to send someone out there, or we're going to lose this." Bridgette said. They then watch as Marinette walks in. "There she is!" "Boy, that must've been a really long phone call." "Hey, guys." "Marinette! Thank goodness you're here. You and Lucy got to help us!" Bridgette said. "Katie and Sadie are covered in barf." "That only leaves Tyler, Duncan, or Harold. We already know Tyler stinks. What can Duncan do again?" "Carve a picture of his own skull into a tree?" "Oh, that's what Chris was talking about." a famous nature activist said, now understanding. "How the heck is going to do so in a stage when the trees are planted to the ground?" one of the wunderkinder questioned, looking not surprised. "What are we going to do?" Courtney asked, panicking. Geoff then noticed. "Wait, where's Marinette?" Bridgette and Courtney now noticed that he was right that Marinette wasn't there anymore. "Where did she go?" Just then, they all hear music playing. They watched Bridgette and Courtney look to see Harold start playing some music with his keyboard. The spotlights then shine on four girls, which turn out to be Marinette, Lucy, and the two girls of the MetaBetas, Angie and Malviña. Who are otherwise known as Miss Maleficent and Queen Red Hood. Everyone looked shocked and surprised to see them onstage. That was when the girls started singing.

Lucy: Never gets old no matter how much I'm told I'm amazing

Angie: You're amazing

Lucy: It's hard to get tired when I'm always on fire I'm blazing

Angie: Ooh, you're blazing

Malviña: All my greatness. It doesn't come for free. All my talent. It doesn't grow on trees. Take a breather. They'll take it all away.

Marinette: If the top is where you wanna stay

All Four: You gotta work hard. To make it look easy. You gotta live fast. To keep making that money. If you want to be as famous as me. You gotta work, gotta work, gotta work. Watch me work.

Everyone looked surprised and amazed, seeing Marinette perform with the MetaBetas, while the campers, too, looked surprised. Their singing and dancing were all in sync. They were even surprised with their outfits. They were wearing hoodies in their colors. Angie in purple, Malviña in black, Lucy in navy blue, and Marinette in pink. On the back of their hoodies have their logos in silver, and their stage names in rhinestones.

Angie: Haters want to be me or be with me yeah, they're fr-fr-fr-freaking

Lucy: Yeah, they're freaking

Angie: I just keep on working, lurking, smirking when they think that I'm peaking

Lucy: Never peaking, yeah

Malviña: All my greatness. It doesn't come for free. All my talent. It doesn't grow on trees. Take a breather. They'll take it all away.

Marinette: If the top is where you wanna stay

All four: You gotta work hard. To make it look easy. You gotta live fast. To keep making that money. If you want to be as famous as me. You gotta work, gotta work, gotta work. Watch me work.

After they ended their performance with a pose of their choice, there was a quick pause in the audience in front of them until the campers all started to cheer for their performance. Everyone else also cheered and applauded the five for their outstanding performance.

Chris then walks up to them, clapping. "Wicked music playing, dude. And MetaBetas, a very outstanding performance." "Hey, it's what we do." Malviña said, "And a perfect way to help endorse Total Drama." Angie added. "Especially with our newest member of the MetaBetas. Our very own Knitting Fairy." Lucy happily announced, wrapping an arm around Marinette. Marinette giggles as she waves to the others, causing them to cheer more about Marinette now being a new member of the idol group. Everyone cheered as well. "Alright, Marinette!" "Our little girl, a new member of an idol group!" "That's my Marinetta!" Marinette's friends cheered, feeling very happy for her. "And we would like to thank Harold for taking part in aiding our performance." Harold smiled and nodded to the girls as thanks and a way of saying 'happy to help.' "Congratulations, Marinette, for now being in their group. And check it out. Grandmaster Chef has declared his winner. Even though they held the lead, the Screaming Gophers have been trampled by the Killer Bass."

After a while of cheering, they all headed home for the night, still feeling happy for the girl for both winning the challenge for the team and being a new member of the MetaBetas. Meanwhile, in her bedroom, Chloe still watches the show, not surprised to know that Heather got some of the campers to vote off Justin. But she then watches Gwen's confessional. "If that evil little cow thinks she's getting away with this scot-free, she has another thing coming." Chloe then watches as Gwen knocks on the guys' side of the Killer Bass door. Harold answers, and Gwen asks him, "Did you say you brought a red ant farm with you?" "Yes." After that, while everyone was asleep, Heather ran out of the Screaming Gophers cabin, covered in red ants, screaming and trying to get them off of her. Chloe then laughs at Heather while she trips and falls. "Serves you right, Heather! Nobody messes with Dupain-Cheng but me!" she said.

??? & ???

The two of them watch as Lucy squints her eyes, trying to sleep while Heather is still screaming. "Man, I thought I was done with this when I was at that sleepover with Kit, Mills, Jade-Jade, and Sonya." she whisper-mumbled while putting her pillow over her head in order to drown the noise. "I can never forget the time she ranted on about what they did." one of them said, remembering the times she ranted. The second one nodded as they looked at the tablet that showed the account of Lucy and the rest of the MetaBetas. "At least we now know how to get in touch with her. Call the number. With this, we will finally get to her." "Of course."

Desc Prologue Get to Know My OC Chpt 1 Reactions Pt 1 Chpt 2 Reactions Pt 2 Chpt 3 Reactions Pt 3 Chpt 4 Chpt 5 Reactions Pt 5

[graaythekwami]

I was rereading CN and realized that Lady Noire might have a bit of an inferiority complex towards Crimson? Like, I might be seeing things that aren't there, but sometimes before the Gorizilla chapter it seemed to me that she just accepted that Paris loves Crimson and that will never be the same for her? Apart from the Protector's chapter where she asks Adrien if he didn't feel comfortable with her carrying him out of the fortress and all the mess with Style Queen, as if she didn't feel worthy or capable of doing that

She definitely does. It isn't necessarily that she thinks Crimson Beetle's superior or anything, but she definitely feels that he is the one best suited to be the hero, that he's the natural leader.

If we look at Origins!Marinette in canon, she was far from a confident character at first. She always had a strong sense of justice and to do good, and being Ladybug really allowed her to step into that element. Other influences like Alya and Tikki probably play a role in helping her build her confidence as well. But in this story while she is still a hero, she never got the hero's welcome she gets as Ladybug. And while Plagg would do anything for her he was pretty distant at first, and Lila has been carefully having her cut ties with those around her.

Marinette is still just as great as a hero as she is in canon. She's a strong fighter, has her incredible brain, and wants to protect this city. But she herself has yet to truly recognize that. A fourteen year old girl who basically went a half a year with the entire city fearing her and basically ignoring the fact that she's putting her life on the line to protect them? Her self confidence and also her self worth has been hit very hard by the environment she's found herself in, especially with her not quite having the same support system as in canon.

And even if you do look at opportunities where she has acted on her own, its been overshadowed by other circumstances. With Gorizilla there was an illusion that made her think Crimson was there with her. Against Reverser she basically was on her own, but probably only focused on the fact that she got hit by the akuma. With Style Queen her victory has been overshadowed by the fact that there's a missing Miraculous. Then add on the fact that every battle is finished with Miraculous Ladybug putting everything right. Undoing everything, including her own powers.

...That was a bit longer than I intended it to be. But in short: Marinette definitely does feel that Crimson Beetle is the better hero out of the two of them.

[drtwit]

Miraculous Ladybug: No More Heroes - Chapter 35

A Matter of Trust - Summary:

Chloe and Nino struggle with their training in the past, whilst Gabriel makes a new friend in the present.

"Gabriel, be honest. It wasn't Emilie's death that made you a villain, it wasn't the world, and it wasn't the miraculous. It was always you - You were a villain long before you created Hawkmoth." Three years after his death, Gabriel Agreste awakens to a Paris ruled by akumas. He has no idea how he's alive, he has no idea what happened to Paris, all he knows it that he was the one who allowed this to happen. Hunted by the ghosts of his past, with no miraculous to protect him, and his greatest enemy now his only ally, Gabriel must brave this nightmare with Marinette Dupain-Cheng and make a choice: To become the villain he knows he is, or to find a way to become the father he failed to be.

Fandom:

Miraculous Ladybug

Relationships:

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

Gabriel Agreste/Nathalie Sancoeur

Characters:

Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug

Gabriel Agreste

Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir

Nathalie Sancoeur

Colt Fathom

Lila Rossi

Nino Lahiffe

Chloé Bourgeois

Félix Fathom

Luka Couffaine

Alya Césaire

Max Kanté

Additional Tags:

Gabriel Agreste Redemption

Has a long way to go

Chloé Bourgeois Redemption

Retcons

Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir Needs a Hug

Identity Reveal

Ladybug/Hawkmoth team-up

Gabriel Backstory

Gabriel being an asshole

Protective Nathalie Sancoeur

Félix Fathom Is Bad at Feelings

Lila Rossi Being Lila Rossi

Hurt Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir

Story switches between two major points in time

Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug Needs a Break

[yolowritter]

A Case of Ladybug Luck Chapter 4

Hello there everyone, and welcome back to Hell! Holy Nooroo it's been so long since I posted abt this AU. Mostly because I'm busy actually writing it and 300k words are apparently nowhere near enough to finish what I started a year ago! Anyway, I'm just going to do a speedrun of posting these early chapters because I want to get to the good stuff already! Believe me, it's worth! So, from now on I won't have a note at the beggining of this, just the snippet and chapter link, kay? Cool! Asks are open btw if anyone wants to chat about ACOLL! Enjoy my suffering!

Nathalie was curled up on the couch, definitely asleep. She looked pale, the same way Marinette would pale when she was worried about him. Like she’d literally been worried sick. His father was sitting in an armchair beside her, reading a book. Gabriel didn’t notice his approach. One of them had wheeled out a TV from the guest rooms down the hall, and it was tuned in on…the news? TVI, it looked like, and they were on an add break. Adrien took a deep breath to steady himself, to throw the image of his seething father almost breaking the dinner table with his fist, right out of his mind.

Gabriel glanced at the screen, stared at the advertisement, something about a new hair product, and went back to his book. It had a full black cover, Adrien noted as he approached. Gabriel heard his footsteps, used a bookmark to not lose the page he was on, and shut the book, placing it next to him on the chair. For a moment, Adrien saw the title. “The Illusion of Living.” Wow. Macabre, much?

“G-good morning father.”, Adrien tried as a greeting. This…was weird. He wasn’t used to seeing his father relax…or at all, to be honest. He looked uninterested, indifferent. Gabriel glanced at the TV, saw the news hadn’t come on yet, and turned to face his son.

“Ah, Adrien. Did you sleep well?”, he asked, seeming genuinely curious. Oddly, Adrien noticed his father wasn’t wearing his tie clip. The empty white spot where it should be drew his eye, but Adrien reigned himself in and nodded an affirmative.

“Yes. But…father, I don’t mean to disrespect you but…don’t I have a photoshoot today? Two hours ago?”, he asked, hesitant.

Gabriel’s expression shifted from his calm. Like a porcelain mask, the façade cracked, and for a single second Adrien thought he saw guilt and sadness in his father’s eyes. He looked so…forlorn. Defeated, even. Guilty.

He nodded, seeing that his father wasn’t going to say anything else. Adrien glanced at Nathalie, concerned. His father’s assistant, always a stern but constant presence…looked so frail. She looked like mom- like she desperately needed the rest. Gabriel sighed when he caught him staring.

“Nathalie is fine, son. She’s just tired. We had an…interesting morning.” A morning that nearly cost Gabriel his sanity, and some pocket change to top things off. Some 50.000 thousand euros to ensure the silence of the hospital staff and discharge him as soon as he was stable. He was fine, really. The problem wasn’t physical. Dizziness overcame him, suddenly. Emilie had said the same thing, once.

Adrien nodded again, not knowing what else to do. “I…Am I free for the day, then?”, he asked his father.

Gabriel didn’t even pretend to consider it. “Yes, free for the week. I’ve cancelled all your lessons and photoshoots. You’re…welcome to stay home, if you’d like. I’ve delegated my own duties for today, so if you require anything…please come talk to me.”, he said, sounding like the words struggled to leave his mouth.

“Adrien, remember. You are my son. I am your father. It’s my responsibility to make sure you are well. I will be there when you need me.”, Gabriel tried, testing the words. They sounded…right, this time. An odd sense of numbness washed over him again, and he turned back to the television. “You should go to your room, sleep some more. It’s been a long week for you, I’m sure.”, he added as an afterthought, his tone monotonous and dry. Almost robotic.

“…Right. I- I’ll go and lay down, then. Good morning, father.”

Gabriel blinked, as if the time was news to him. Right, the night was over. It was a new day, now. He didn’t feel like it. He barely felt like anything at all. “Of course, son. Now go.”, he insisted, eyes glued to the final, fading advertisement, before the screen switched to Nadja Chamack. Adrien obeyed and began to ascend the stairs again, and Gabriel unmuted the broadcast.

“Welcome back, Paris. As I said before, there have been no further news on the case. Poor weather conditions lasted all throughout the night, and police have had no luck finding any trace of…”

Adrien stopped in his tracks, midway up the staircase. He breathed deeply. “Father…did something happen?”, he asked hesitantly. Something had to have happened. This…couldn’t all be because of Lila, could it?

Gabriel’s eyes seemed to glance back at him, even though his head didn’t move an inch.

“We’re standing by for news on any new developments, and are hoping for the best. Please wait for more information.”

“Not to me. I’m fine.”, he said coldly, the air of indifference returning to his tone.

Adrien hoped it wouldn’t be followed by another outburst. He hung his head, and obeyed his father’s order, going back to his room. Maybe he could mess around with his piano? Last they’d met, Luka had given him some inspiration for a song. Hadn’t he said something about…masks? Adrien would have to text him, see if he remembered.

Plagg was there when Adrien opened the door, hovering over his unlocked phone. He looked…sad. Making a face of realization the same way Adrien would do when he could guess that more photoshoots would be added to his schedule. Like an inevitability had just come true. The kwami spun to face him when he came in, but Plagg’s face betrayed nothing of what Adrien had just seen.

“Hey kit! Morning! Wow, good thing your pops let us sleep in today huh? Say, I’m full of energy! How about we go for a run, huh? Get your muscles going?”, Plagg said, looking frantic and desperately pretending to be happy and excited. Adrien knew a thing or two about playing pretend.

Plagg never lied to him. Not unless something was very wrong, not after the Sandman incident. He’d promised. Plagg hadn’t lied to him since. Adrien let the worry he felt for Plagg show on his face. Words weren’t needed between them sometimes, and he didn’t think he should say what he could show. Plagg tried to keep his smile up. Adrien saw him strain himself, the widening of his eyes to look restless, the same expression he’d make when he got bored of flying around his room.

Adrien stared at him. Plagg stared back, a pleading look to please pretend he was oblivious, go along with it. After a moment, the Kwami faltered, and his mask broke.

“K-kid.”, he tried to speak, voice cracking as if his throat had been hit by a Cataclysm. “Do me a favor.”, Plagg begged him. Adrien had already opened his mouth to agree when his phone rang. “Don’t answer that. Please.”, Plagg insisted.

Adrien checked the caller ID. It was Nino. He shot Plagg a look. The cell rang again. Adrien ignored it to swipe down on the screen and check his notifications. 37 missed calls from Nino. 2096 unread messages. Half of those from Alya. What the fuck? The ringing seemed to get louder. Plagg’s whiskers dropped, his face fell.

Adrien reached out a hand to pet him, to offer comfort for whatever was wrong, but Plagg retracted. “Kit…I’m so sorry.”, he offered meekly, and flew up to his spot, curling up in a ball. Adrien thought he heard him sobbing. He picked up the phone, worried and confused. Why was his father acting like that? Why was Plagg acting like that?

Nino’s voice sounded horrible. Like he’d been crying. “A-Adrien?”, he asked, stuttering in near disbelief. “Thank fuck, are you okay? No, sorry, stupid question. How are you…holding up, dude?”

Okay, now Adrien knew something was very, very wrong. He tried to mask his fears with confusion. “Nino? What happened? I just woke up, are you okay?”, Adrien asked with genuine concern, trying not to panic. He’d kept himself together while fighting supervillains, he could get through one conversation without letting his worries eat him up.

Nino sobbed on the other end. Went silent. Adrien heard Alya’s voice, just barely, as if they’d moved the phone away from them.

“Nino…do we tell him?”, she asked, sounding frightened.

Nino failed to hold back a sob. “Babe…we have to.”

Nino moved the phone closer. “Uh…dude. You might want to check the news…”, he said awkwardly. Adrien was downright panicked now. He didn’t respond to Nino, he rushed back downstairs to his father, to the broadcast. What was happening? Why were his friends walking on eggshells around him? Had he done something? Did Lila do something?

“Please hold on, we’ve just received a statement from Officer Raincomprix. Stand by for-”

Gabriel had the book in his lap, reading calmly. Miss Chamack’s voice didn’t seem to bother him. She paused mid-sentence, and moved off screen.   

She came back into frame, looking like she was about to cry. Her professionalism was in shambles, Adrien saw the way her face twitched with silent tears, holding back the urge to sob.

“I- I regret to inform everyone that we’ve received official word from the Parisian Police Department. Marinette Dupain Cheng has been confirmed dead. It was ruled a suicide.”

[lea-panthera]

The celebrations after Monarch's defeat:

[autistic-daydreamer]

Season 5 episodes are more on the civilian drama than super fighting, which wouldn't be a problem if it wasn't so aggravating to watch 😭

[sylvanfreckles]

Yeah, I'm giving Comfortember a shot again lol.

(This is the sequel to Desperation, which was a bit short on the comfort lol)

Summary: After surviving his father's ruthless assault, Adrien is free to heal and grow surrounded by those who love him.

Day One: Safety

Adrien arrives at the Dupain-Cheng house and finds and unexpected (but appreciated) welcome.

[ninadove]

Adrien Agreste and his evil (?) clones

Original here!

Alt text and bonus below:

Text: People always talk about evil clones like…

Text: “Oooh, a dark mirror!” Picture: Claw Noir forcing Chat Noir to cataclysm him.

Text: “Oooh, what if you saw what a cruel person you are capable of becoming?” Picture: Nightormentor whispering in Antichat’s ear.

Text: But what if you were the evil clone?

Text: What if you looked in the mirror Picture: Felix confronting Adrien in Risk

Text: And what you saw was so bright it blinded you? Pictures: Felix reclaiming his amok // Strikeback falling into the sun // Felix holding the camouflaged Peacock brooch for the first time

Text: What if you had to know Pictures: Felix’s sewer speech // Felix handing Kagami her amok // Argos drawing a heart on Kagami’s window

Text: exactly how good Picture: Felix standing up to Gabriel’s gigantic silhouette

Text: you could have been? Pictures: Adrien crying upon learning his father’s death // Adrien feeling the absence of his Miraculous on his finger

Text: Imagine thinking you have achieved your happy ending Picture: Adrien waking up in the new world

Text: that you’ve finally managed to claw it from the hands of fate itself Pictures: Adrien getting his Miraculous // Marinette sliding the twin rings back on his finger // Adrien holding the lucky charm Marinette made him

Text: only to discover a mirror of yourself who lives in a happiness you hadn’t even been able to imagine! Picture: Kagami sketching Felix by the pool

Text: Imagine meeting a version of yourself who considers you to be evil Picture: Cat Walker standing in front of the full moon

Text: and your happy ending Pictures: Close-up on Adrinette’s hands as they kiss in Chat Blanc // Post-reveal hug in Ephemeral // Adrinette kiss in Recreation

Text: to be a horror story. Pictures: Ephemeral using his powers on Marinette // Chat Blanc preparing a cataclysm // Gabriel’s statue

Nota bene: the pictures are vignetted in white, and the effect gets stronger with each new row.

Please also take this gem from @dragongutsixofficial and I’s texts:

[clingyduoapologist]

Funniest thing about miraculous ladybug is that Marinettes problem for the episode will be something like “OMG I have to give this important presentation at school AND talk to a pretty boy WHILE fighting a super villain this is gonna be tough 😅” meanwhile adrien is just in the corner like “this morning I woke up at 6:08 instead of 6:00 and so my father withheld his monthly hug :(, hopefully my day as cat noir will go better” and then he gets like turned into like a sentient Lego brick or something

[coffeebanana]

having thoughts about the marinette and nathalie hug because like.

my god.

marinette's just had her world turned inside out

she's just a kid and how's she supposed to carry all this alone and what is she supposed to do and what does she tell adrien?

and then, suddenly, there's someone there to share the burden. an adult. someone who has a reputation for getting things done

so maybe, just this once, everything doesn't have to balance on marinette's shoulders alone

but it's nathalie--who, sure, adrien obviously cares about. but not someone marinette's at all close to. certainly not someone she probably thinks of as warm or parental or even very trustworthy. maybe marinette's even started to put the pieces together--if gabriel was monarch, then mayura must have been...??

those doubts seem insignificant when she actually sees nathalie

the last time marinette saw her, she was dying. and now marinette knows what gabriel wished for--at least some of it. she knows he did one good thing in the end. that he finally, to some degree, put adrien first

then another horrible truth dawns on marinette: nathalie doesn't know--of course she was aware gabriel was dying, but she still doesn't know he's dead

marinette's probably already thought up a hundred different ways she might break the news to adrien--even if she discarded them all just as quickly. she hasn't thought at all about breaking the news to nathalie

what's she supposed to say? however complicated things were in the end, gabriel was obviously someone nathalie cared about

marinette struggles to find the words, but nathalie just knows. she already suspected, because how would she be here if gabriel was as well? and now the truth's written all over marinette's face

it's not just marinette who needs that hug--though nathalie would probably never admit it, which is why it's marinette who's running to her

how many weeks has adrien been gushing to nathalie about marinette? about how she's so creative and strong and compassionate and full of love

and in that moment, nathalie understands

[nobodyfamousposts]

Scarlet Lady Essay: Frightningale

Yet another essay for @zoe-oneesama. Because you deserve it.

I’m not going to bother with a compare/contrast of canon vs Scarlet Lady Frightningale because Frightningale in canon was a pretty forgettable episode. Akuma was lame. Setup was wasted. And it’s removal from the series would lose nothing of value.

So instead, I'm going to focus primarily on the Scarlet Lady version of Frightningale and what it does that makes it memorable.

I guess to start with, I should make it clear that I’m not a fan of shows being lazy, especially when they display a lack of planning or consideration of their story and characters. And perhaps one of the greater indicators of this issue is when a series suddenly realizes they they neglected multiple plot points until it’s too late to give them all the focus they warrant so they end up shoving all of those points into one episode and try to present it like it’s supposed to be an adequate resolution of all that buildup or in any way intentional.

Penalteam was that episode for Miraculous. They had the “temporary heroes” setup going for them but then wasted so much time on filler like Frightningale that it seems like they honestly forgot about it until they were reaching a designated end point and they realized they still had four more heroes they were supposed to introduce. Whoops? Ah well, just introduce them all at once. Not like anyone will care!

And when you treat most of the cast like they’re all as shallow as a puddle, I guess that’s true.

The thing is, when you have a setup where there is a running theme of every person in a specific group getting their own episode/chapter to detail their issues and how they get a power up, it’s going to stand out whenever one of them doesn’t. Especially when that one or more are forced to share their limelight episode. 

That’s not to say you can’t do it, but it’s bound to get attention if you do. It reflects poorly on the writing. It shows whom the “favored” and “unfavored” characters are. And it displays the issue with pacing—namely that it’s next to nonexistent until it hits you with the force of a freight train.

But can it be done and be done well? Is it possible to pull off such a thing and have it make sense and fit in lines with the characters?

Well, yes. Off the top of my head, I can think of two different ways to do it to make it work.

And Zoe did both of them.

If you look at Scarlet Lady as a whole, you’ll see a conglomeration of characters—each with stories and arcs attached. They have personalities. They have goals and problems and their own highs and lows. One sign of good writing is that some focus is given to highlight these other characters as people. Individuals in their own right with lives outside of the main characters or situation.

Miraculous doesn't really do this.

Scarlet Lady, however, does. Because contrary to the title, Scarlet Lady isn’t just about Chloe.

It isn’t even just about the heroes.

It isn’t just about Chloe being horrible. Or Marinette being in love. Or Adrien being in desperate need of a hug and a nap. Because while the story is centered around them, it isn’t solely about them. Other characters get focus and growth and their own arcs throughout the comics.

But the big two—the BIGGEST two with arguably the most depth and most growth and quite frankly the best storylines out of everyone in the entire series?

It’s Sabrina and Lila. And their individual stories have led up to this.

As such, this episode—which was mostly filler and all around forgettable in canon, matters here.

It’s where Sabrina and Lila reach the culmination of their respective character arcs. 

Yes, it’s when they both get to become Miraculous Heroes and meet their own kwamis, but it’s more than just that! They both hang out with the girls group as full members of the crew, getting to take part in a music video together. It’s also where they both get to stand up for themselves and the city at large while calling out Chloe and Scarlet Lady. This is what their storylines have been building up to and where their growth really shows.

Sabrina started out as Chloe’s minion same as canon—albeit with more attention to her feelings and her responses, no matter how seemingly small, allowing her to feel more like her own person. And through this focus, we got to see her open up more, pull and eventually break away from Chloe and her influence, and over time stand up for herself and try to establish herself both with the class and as an individual.

Lila started off as a liar and manipulator, selfish and self centered, much like canon. Unlike canon, her lies are tied to her issues, noted to be poorly thought through, and give her more introspection as a person. After the lies are revealed, she’s not “redeemed” so much as she is “accountable”, and it doesn’t change who she is. She remains selfish and certainly far from being considered “good”, but she’s letting people in past her walls and masks in a way she hadn’t been able to before.

Both of these things? Figuring out who you are and letting people know you for who you are? They’re incredibly hard. And a lot of time was devoted to both of their journeys along the course of the comic.

Sabrina’s arc was about her figuring out who she is on her own. Outside of Chloe and her previous role of being a follower and lackey. And sometimes it feels less scary to stay with someone toxic than to be alone and facing the unknown. We see it in the way she tries to put herself out there afterwards, reaching out and risking rejection and just figuring herself out. Even or perhaps especially with those she already knows and has a less than positive history with.

And we still see the struggle of her view of herself in this episode. It was in the way she was upset that she legitimately tried to help and it still resulted in bad things happening. And it was also clear when she calls herself a “sidekick” to Marigold after the day was saved, as if it’s a role she still sees herself as and one she struggles not to fall in to. Over time, we’re seeing Sabrina learning that she doesn’t have to be attached or subservient to someone else to have an identity or be accepted. 

Lila’s arc involved her figuring out who she is with people. Outside of the lies and manipulations she creates, the masks she wears, and the identities she crafts to make people like her. The “real Lila” is far from the best person and arguably not even a good person, but she also doesn’t have to be for the others to accept her as the still somewhat bad influence she is. She’s still very much selfish and flawed, but she’s less inclined to hide it or treat it like something that needs to be hidden. And isn’t that a common lesson? That it’s better to be liked for who you are than to force yourself to be someone else to be liked?

And at the same time, even with being less than a fully good person, she’s showing that she can still find better ways of acting that allow her to help others rather than hurt them or serve herself. She still hates Scar, but rather than working with Hawk Moth to kill her and risk dooming Paris and the world, she’s instead working with Alya through more legitimate (and legal) means…and hitting Scar where it hurts most. She and Adrien may not be friends, but rather than try to punish him for not going along with her, she’s instead rescued him, putting herself on the line—something that the former Lila wouldn’t have considered doing and one that canon Lila wouldn’t be capable of. Even if she’s motivated by pettiness or self-interest, what would have been straight up revenge on someone who upset her has grown to be something that is working in everyone’s better interests.

Both Lila and Sabrina hid themselves in different ways and for different reasons. So having them both assert themselves and call out both Chloe and Scarlet Lady is a show of their growth and overall a huge deal. It’s not something either of them would have done at the start of the series. Sabrina, because she was a “yes man” who wouldn’t dare to argue with Chloe and Lila because she wouldn’t risk openly doing something to make herself a target. 

And now boom! Look at them both! Lila stepped up to openly and publicly denounce Scarlet Lady as not being a hero for real reasons that aren’t just about herself or her feelings—complete with receipts! The girl did her research, noting incidents from before she even came into the picture. Then follow up with Sabrina standing up against Chloe’s machinations and dismantling Chloe’s main source of power: her father. Even better, she’s using logic and knowledge she would have as a former ally of Chloe’s who would know her tricks, taking her former friendship with Chloe and using it against her.

And on top of that, each of them are given the Miraculous by the person they wronged in the past. Marinette to Sabrina and Adrien to Lila. Especially in Lila’s case, it says a lot that they’re trusted. That shows narratively that even with their mistakes and bad choices and continued struggles, they still can move forward—not necessarily to find redemption, but to find themselves and be their best selves.

This is why it makes sense for them to share this episode. It’s also why both of them speaking up matters. They are both publicly confronting their greatest foe, and the fact that their foes are really two faces of the same person further highlights this. 

So they both have issues with the same person, are dealing with forming their identities without catering to others, are working out how to have/be friends, were formerly not the best of people, and have a fear of rejection. As such, this isn’t just their obligatory hero episode, this is what their individual stories have been leading up to. Almost like they’re two sides of the same coin. And the comparison between the two helps them both shine.

And speaking of shining, does anyone remember how the all girls team up didn’t get a chance to shine in canon? Zoe sure did.

I have a whole list of problems I have regarding Party Crasher, but perhaps number seven on that list is that the boys got to have an all male temp hero team up episode while the girls didn’t.

In fact, by this episode in canon, only Alya, Chloe, and Kagami actually got to be temp heroes.

To be fair, only four of the guys out of seven in canon got to be part of their particular event in Party Crasher, leaving out Ivan (who often tends to get overlooked) and Nathaniel (who has had a precedent of just literally disappearing from the episode). But originally, part of the appeal of Party Crasher was that the focus was supposed to be on the male classmates and getting to see at least some of them being part of a team against the akuma.

Why then didn’t we get an episode like this with the girls? Or at least something LIKE this?

Frightningale became that episode. And if any of the episodes were to do it, it makes the most sense for Frightningale to be the one.

All of the girls were together to take part in this event. So Zag would have had the perfect excuse to include them all in the fight or just have the girls do something to help even as civilians. I mean, we’ve had episodes do this before. Max in Robustus. Nathaniel and Alix in Reverser. Luka in Captain Hardrock. Let the civilians show their heroic traits even before they become heroes. It’s not a Miraculous, but it’s still giving them focus and expanding on them as individuals.

Instead, canon Frightningale was a filler episode. And not even a good one. For an akuma who forces people to sing or dance, it’s a waste that they just had the heroes spend the whole time rhyming. A waste of writing and talent. I mean, have you heard Christina Vee sing? If there needed to be a musical episode, I would think that the akuma who forces people to sing would certainly warrant it! At least more than it’s Christmas and they sing just cuz.

So this is yet another thing that Zoe improves with the Scarlet Lady version of this episode. Giving us the all girl team up episode so many of us have long wanted and getting to see all the female heroes together at last. 

And with this, we get the full roster of friends-turned heroes.

Except for Alix. Poor, poor Alix.  ;_;

Your day will come.

In this way, the end where Clara goes a different direction with her music video feels less like a half-assed fix to a half-forgotten plot point and more like something that was built by everyone involved. I don’t know about the rest of you, but given Clara’s excitement over the all girl band playing and Pigella’s gift showing Clara an idea for her video, it highlights the focus on EVERYONE being part of this—both the video and the episode itself. It kind of comes off as a lesson of its own about teamwork and giving everyone a shot rather than focusing specifically only on one or two specific individuals.

And isn’t that what separates the heroes from Scarlet Lady?

But there’s a third important aspect of this episode.

This is the episode where Chloe is smacked in the face with Scarlet Lady’s falling popularity. 

Let’s remember that at the start of the comic, Scarlet Lady was fully and widely considered THE Hero of Paris. She was beloved for doing nothing and it was a point of frustration for Chat, who actually was having to pick up her slack. Initially, there was nothing he could do because him being the only real hero among the duo meant he often couldn't stick around after akuma fights to prevent Scar from telling "our story". In addition, he didn’t know who she was or who chose her and why. Then even when it was clear her getting the Earrings was a mistake, for a lot of the first couple seasons, she was so popular that they couldn’t just take the Earrings away from her lest they risk backlash from the rest of the city. It’s a backlash that seems increasingly unlikely as more and more people get to see her behavior and callousness firsthand.

We’ve seen hints of it in other episodes, but none of them were so blatant to Chloe that she couldn’t ignore it or shrug it off or otherwise make excuses to protect her ego.

Prime Queen wanted to focus on Marigold and Chat Noir for their “romance” to try and boost ratings. Alya and Lila made some snarky comments, but Chloe could easily dismiss them both. Nadja also made a comment that nobody cared about Scarlet’s love life, but a lack of interest in her love life isn’t a lack of interest in herself and Chloe despises both of her “sidekicks” and wouldn’t want anyone trying to pair her with them anyway. And Nadja reassures her that they’ll focus on her after they’re done with Chat and Marigold. So yes, she can dismiss that as well.

Reverser has Chloe faced with both of her identities are made as villains in art and a story. However, she clearly looks down on Nathaniel and Marc barely registers to her. So she can dismiss them.

Look at Despair Bear, the Intermission, the interactions with the various other heroes, and the fact that only Chat Noir and Marigold are privy to the Guardian’s secret existence and allowed to pass out other Miraculous. Much has been shown of the other characters being less than impressed with her, snarky towards her, or showing the process of how they discover the truth about her and how she actually handles akuma attacks…namely in that she doesn’t. And Chloe can dismiss all of that because to her, none of them really matter to her.

But Chloe can’t dismiss the fact that a renown celebrity dedicating a music video to the “Heroes of Paris” isn’t including her. Bad enough her sidekicks are taking center stage but she’s not even in the music video at all?

And when someone she despises calls out the reasons why she’s not a hero in an openly public setting surrounded by a multitude of people who all agree with her? You could say it’s insult to injury. But some would say it was a long time coming.

Some Rando: Scarlet Lady sucks! Alya: Marigold and Chat Noir do all the work, not her! Kagami: She’s barely even necessary at this point. Clara: This video and song are to celebrate hope and love. And Scarlet Lady lacks both when push comes to shove. Chloe: ARGHHH! WHATEVER!

It further shows the turning tide of public opinion against Scar. What was once a trickle has grown into a wave, and now Chloe is forced to acknowledge her image and status aren’t as ironclad as she thought. Sure, she could denounce Lila as a liar like she’s done before, but Lila is bringing up instances that Chloe can’t deny: being late (as she’s just plain been a no show to several fights), endangering civilians, and being caught live on camera being willing to let someone die in a particularly horrible way because it’s easier.

This is the episode where it’s not just people seeing Scar is horrible, but acting on it and letting Chloe know they know she’s horrible. It’s reached the point where Chloe can’t just disregard the claims or discount and ignore her critics. And we’re seeing Chloe starting to lose control as a result. To the point she has to force her dad to ruin a previously sanctioned event in what has to be one of his most flagrant displays of abuse of power to date just to shut down her detractors.

And even that would come with more consequences for Chloe if it had been allowed to continue. Sabrina herself points it out that Clara is very popular with a lot of fans—people who would be aware she’s making a music video and whom would be very disappointed if word got out that it was cancelled due to an issue with the Mayor. And given all the very unhappy people we see in the comic in question where she points that out, it stands to reason that the word would get out. Heck, I’d be surprised if someone wasn’t recording it.

Then there’s the love square/hero shenanigans.

Remember how in canon, the whole “playing themselves/risking identities” bit kinda just dropped out halfway in? The kwamis were the only authority figures involved to call out on the risk and of the two, Plagg didn’t care and Tikki gave one knowing stare at Marinette before turning around to gush about the suit. Even though Marinette offers the alternative idea to the music video by the end, there’s no further comment or notice of how she and Adrien nearly blew their identities….or alternatively a comedic take where nobody recognizes them regardless and they worried for nothing. Honestly, I would have taken either setup.

Having Fu present to call them both out shows there is a responsible authority figure watching, makes it clear there are rules they are expected to follow, and reinforces that this was, in fact, a horrible idea. Sure, Marinette and Adrien worried enough to hide their masks, but it should have been obvious that wouldn’t work long term. They are risking their identities, not just to Paris but to each other. And he calls them out for doing it on purpose.

Then there’s the beautiful crescendo of the love square dance in that the two both pretty much have figured out the other’s identity and just want an identity reveal to make it official—which Fu won’t allow. We see it in their playful banter that gets mistaken for “getting into character” and in Adrien in particular pushing Marinette to take part.

This is a point where we are seeing them be teenagers. Foolish of them? Yes. Should they have known better and not done it? Yes. But is it in character and the sort of teenage shenanigans we would expect of teenage superheroes? Definitely. And that’s part of the point. Because they are teenagers. Teenagers in love, no less. Teenagers in love with secret identities to dance around. Which is half the fun of secret identities!

It’s just another aspect to this episode that makes it enjoyable.

So overall, the episode matters in ways that the canon version didn’t and was fun in ways that the canon version wasn’t, making it stand out not just as an episode or a remake of the canon episode, but as its own standalone episode AND a noteworthy point in the overall story.

[wolflover2426]

Right? I love reading fics of Marinette screaming, begging and flinging her head into the wall to refuse getting akumatized because it shows just how desperate she is to break away from HM’s control.

Like, her akumatization will be messy, chaotic and quite frankly not what HM would expect. Plus, seeing Marinette absolutely dominate Paris and how the heroes will have the battle of their lives trying to free her is a treat.

Definitely agreed on Marinette getting a hug after deakumatization.

Marinette should be akumatized and rage in the most inelegant way possible then immediately be hugged forever. As a treat.

[mochinek0]

Family Secrets

Damian couldn't believe his eyes. He had seen pieces of that costume when he lived in the League, but never did he expect to see his mother, disguised, in Paris! He carefully kept an eye on her as she walked into a bakery. He felt his own breath hitch as a young girl came and hugged her.

"Nonna!" she cried.

'Grandmother?'

"Hello, My Leetle Fairy." his mother replied, hugging her back.

"Are you having fun on your travels?" the girl questioned, "Where did you go this time?"

"Egypt." his mother declared.

The girl smiled, "Did you see the pyramids?"

His mother brought out a keychain of a pyramid and handed it to the girl.

"It's great!" the girl smiled, "I'll keep it on my desk so when I see it, I can think of you."

"I wish you could come with me." the disguised Talia declared.

"Maybe when I'm older?" the young girl answered.

Talia tapped the young girl's nose, "Possibly, but we know very well how hard you work."

"Mom!" announced a man, who seemed the size of Bane, "How are you?"

Damian watched on in shock. He was aware that his mother was much older than she appeared. Hearing someone around his father's age, refer to his mother as a maternal figure was unsettling.

"I'm fine, Tom." she answered.

"Would you like to put your bag down and rest?" he asked.

"Nonsense." his mother replied, "I may look older, but I'm fine. I wanted to see if Marinetta would like to take a ride around the city with me."

"Yes!" the girl cried.

Damian watched as they both got on a motorcycle and drove off.

It took awhile, but Damian finally spotted them near the Seine, eating ice cream. The girl was looking down at something, in her lap. His mother's eyes connected with his and he knew he had made her.

"I'll be right back." Gina spoke, kissing Marinette on the head.

Gina walked in Damian's direction.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded.

"Do you plan to kidnap her, Mother?" Damian questioned.

"Of course not!" Gina snapped.

"Who is she?" he asked.

Talia sighed, "Your niece; she's your age."

"So the man who called you mother-"Damian began.

"Your grandfather wanted me out of the way. He was looking for a male successor to take over." Talia began to explain, "He kicked me out of the League, briefly, and I had some semblance of a normal life. I fell in love with a baker. Tom is our son, before I ever met your father. Essentially, he is your older brother."

She sighed, "Everyhting was fine and I was happy, until he sent someone to exterminate us. Before I killed him, I learned my death was a test. Kill me and become successor to the League. I returned with his head and threw it at your grandfather's feet. He looked at me and said he would allow me back on one condition."

"What was it?" Damian asked.

"I had to leave my family." she admitted, "I said I understood and would be back in three months. I knew he would never stop coming after us."

"Why three months?" her son questioned, "You were already there. Did they not know of the League?"

"Tom was getting married and no, my family knew nothing about the League. I returned and told my family I would be 'traveling in my old age'. A few years after he got married, I came back to a three year old granddaughter. Your grandfather found out and forbid my return."

"Grandfather is dead." Damian spoke.-changing subject

"I've been stopping in more." she declared, "They aren't like us. They're not like your father. They know nothing about my past, aside from divorcing a man, who made me happy. I tell them I'm traveling around the word. I wear a wig and makeup. At some point, I will have to stop visiting all together since anyone else will grow old and pass on. The League........you lose sense of time when there. Two years ago, I thought she was still three. She was turning fourteen."

"What about the man?" her son asked.

Talia smiled, "Reminds me of your grandfather, actually. He's all about 'traditions', so perhaps it was for the best."

"Nonna!" Marinette cried out.

"Please, Damian, leave them alone." his mother whispered.

Damian watched as his mother walked away. He had never known her to beg for something.

"My Leetle Fairy, are you ready to go back home?" Gina asked, "Do you have new inspiration for your designs? I can't wait to see the clothes you create this time."

Damian watched as the girl put her sketchbook away.

'Clothes? Designs?'

He smiled softly. She was an artist, like him. He watched as his mother got on the motorcycle with his niece. What surprised him was seeing his niece glare at him. Damian chuckled.

'Mother may not see it, but she is a lot like them. A little fairy.'

"Damian, a Fairy is someone who helps people who are lost in the dark. It's not always in a literal sense; it can be figurative."

The young Al-Ghul turned and walked in the opposite direction.

'Fairy is a suitable name for my niece. I wonder how Mother would feel learning her true nature? A Fae who lures in her prey.'

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