#this was supposed to be about what marinette did with gabriels company

[saturnrin]

When Gabriel Agreste died, it wasn't pretty.

It was the desperate final attempt of a mad man. Lunging at Chat Noir, whose hand oozed with pure destruction, in hopes of retrieving the butterfly miraculous once more.

Chat Noir had tried to pull away, but he was already distraught. Knowing your father was a terrorist doesn't prepare you for seeing it yourself.

Knowing didn't prepare Adrien for the utter betrayal and shock that completely wrecked his very being to the core when he saw it for himself.

Before Adrien knew what had happened, Hawkmoth, his father - magicless, powerless, pathetic - was writhing on the floor. His eyes clouded and mouth carved into a silent scream as he tore at his chest.

When Gabriel Agreste died, it was agonizing.

He decayed slowly, feeling as every particle of his being disintegrated away to be left as nothing but a pile of dust.

Chat Noir cried out, tried to stop it - to slow it - to do something. It didn't work.

Ladybug tried to fix it, fumbling to create one more lucky charm after Hawkmoth destroyed the previous one. She tried to bring him back. It didn't work.

When Gabriel Agreste died, it was traumatizing.

The two heroes (children. They were children. Sixteen years old with the weight of the world on their shoulders, only able to lean on each other to bear it.) were left clinging to one another; trembling and sobbing and absolutely broken.

It was over. It was finally over.

But they'd never get back what they had lost. Their childhoods were in the past. Their innocence went with the first death they'd witnessed when they were thirteen. Their hands would never be clean of Gabriel Agrestes blood.

When Gabriel Agreste died, Paris' Heroes retired.

They had shown up long enough to tell Paris that they were safe, Hawkmoth was no more. As such, Ladybug and Chat Noir were as well.

Paris had always been protective of their heroes. The support Ladybug and Chat Noir received in favor of their retirement as heroes was unsurprising.

When Gabriel Agreste died, Adrien got everything.

As the sole beneficiary, Adrien Agreste received the company, the stocks, the homes, and the fortune.

The company was the first to go, gifted from Adrien to Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Chloe Bourgeois, who had already been running MDC together.

The homes went next, all being turned into shelters for abused, orphaned, and homeless children.

The fortune went next, almost all of it being donated to help Paris recover from Hawkmoths Reign.

When Gabriel Agreste died, the world got a little brighter.

People in Paris moved on, aided by free therapy and the ever-increasing healthy enviroments, funded by one Adrien Agreste.

Gabriel the Brand went through a complete upheaval. Gaining completely new standards, new policies, new benefits, new aesthetics, and a new name: Miraculous Designs & Co.

The first line was inspired entirely by Paris' superhero team, and Marinette couldn't have been prouder. (She did feel rather vain, making clothes based on her alter-ego.)

When Gabriel Agreste died, the world kept spinning.

The Sun rose, and it set. Flowers continued to bloom and wilt. Snow fell, and snow melted. Rain came and went.

When Gabriel Agreste died, Paris' heroes thought they would never recover.

They were wrong.

[immaturityofthomasastruc]

IOTA Reviews: Revelation and Confrontation

Well, here we are. The final seven episodes of the season. For the most part, Season 5's episodes have been boring at worst and passable at best, with only about four episodes I'd consider to be outright bad. That pretty much disappears starting here. It's like the writers held back for most of the season, and just as the final arc was about to begin, right when most of the audience was led into a false sense of security, they were like:

Let's get into the twentieth and twenty-first episodes of Miraculous Ladybug's fifth season: Revelation and Confrontation

So, for an episode titled “Revelation”, you'd assume it would focus on Marinette and Adrien finally learning the other's secret after all these years, right? Nope, it's a Lila episode, as in Lila is the character we follow. How does it open? By revealing that Lila has different moms she's conning into believing she's their daughter.

I believe Linkara best captures my reaction to this.

YEP. Right out of the gate, we get arguably one of the dumbest plot twists in TV history. For an episode that's supposed to help us learn more about Lila's life, it's only raising more questions than it's answering, and it feels like it was there just for the sake of shocking the audience.

First off, why is she doing this? What does she possibly have to gain living with three random women who, as far as I can tell, have no political, social, or financial power whatsoever? Her entire motivation is lying to make herself look good so she can kiss up to famous people and ride the coattails of their success. Who the hell are these three people and why did Lila chose to pretend to be their daughter? In fact, are any of them even her biological mother?

Second, how did she even pull this off? I can somewhat buy her tricking her peers into believing her lies, but three grown women all believe this person is their daughter? Did she fake a DNA test or something? Did she frame some other kids for murder? Is one of them the kid in Omelas? Did the other moms adopt Lila? They must have, because I'm pretty sure any of them would know they were pregnant, but how did she fake being an orphan? How has she not been caught? The scene establishing this shows her ending a call with one of her mothers right as another one enters her room. You're telling me nobody has ever walked in on Lila talking with one of her mothers?

Third, just how long has she been doing this for? Has she been doing this her entire life? Did she frame her real mother for tax fraud at the age of five so she could explore the world? When the hell did she start doing this, and how did she even get the resources to do it? Does she have more than three moms?

Finally, what the hell does any of this tell us about Lila? We already know she's a liar and a villain, but what does learning she lies about who her mother is accomplish for the narrative. Outside of a single line to Sabine later on that heavily implies she wants to make her her next mother, this scene is entirely pointless. Sure, it shows how effective of a liar she is, but that's what the episode is already setting out to show us! We already know she's manipulative, so what's the point of any of this?!

Jesus Christ, we're only on the first scene, and I'm already pissed off. You see what I mean about these last seven episodes?

After lying some more, Lila learns an update to the Alliance rings has Kagami replace her as the female avatar. When she goes to ask Gabriel why he's cutting off ties with her, we learn just why Gabriel is such a tactical genius.

Gabriel: You were only the face of my brand in exchange for a mission: to monitor my son's relationships and keep him away from bad company. You failed. My son got close to this Marinette Dupain-Cheng who's been nothing but a terrible influence on him. But you did give me one excellent idea: to create a new media-friendly pairing for my son, which is why Kagami Tsurugi will be the new female face of the Gabriel brand. Perfection itself! All that remains to do is perpetuate this facade until it becomes truth in everyone's eyes. And until jealousy eats away at Marinette Dupain-Cheng...

Lila: But... What's to become of me?

Gabriel: You just remain what you are. Nothing.

Because it's not like Lila is easily your most competent ally (at least, by comparison), and is the only one who doesn't hate your guts, right? Seriously, Lila's biggest motivation other than fame is to ruin Marinette's life, and for the most part, as bad as the writing has been, she has been mostly effective in damaging her reputation (Chameleon, Ladybug, Adoration). For God's sake, if it wasn't for her, you would have been exposed as Monarch earlier this season in “Illusion”! Say what you will about Lila as a character and how stupid everyone acts when she's on-screen, but at least she's good at her job.

Lila walks off fuming, and Gabriel considers akumatizing her, but doesn't want to risk it because of how much she hates him... even though multiple Akumas over the course of the show were people who hated Gabriel or wanted revenge on him (The Bubbler, Simon Says, Style Queen, Heart Hunter, Passion, Action). It also doesn't stop him from akumatizing Lila later on in the episode, because her hatred is now directed at Marinette. And as we all know, it's physically impossible to hate more than one person at a time.

After a quick scene showing Marinette and Adrien's relationship is now public knowledge, we cut to class, where Ms. Bustier is handing back tests.

Also, despite being in the second trimester of her pregnancy (which hasn't been mentioned since the New York Special, over two years before this episode premiered), Ms. Bustier is wearing no maternity clothes to speak of, just her usual outfit with a noticeable baby bump.

I'm obviously not an expert, but I don't think that's good for the baby. If anyone reading this has experience with being pregnant, feel free to correct me.

Ms. Bustier points out that Sabrina put her name on both hers and Chloe's. Ms. Bustier naturally wants to know what the hell is going on.

Ms. Bustier: How long has this been going on?

Chloe: Oh, since we learned to write-- I mean, since Sabrina did.

Yep, after almost five seasons, the writers are now officially resorting to making dumb blonde jokes, the only kind of humor rivaled by fart jokes and racist jokes in terms of being overused and unfunny.

Ms. Bustier lets Sabrina off with a warning and decides to help Chloe make up for the lost work and salvage her academic career. For some reason, even though this is a reasonable response to discovering one of your students has been cheating for years, Marintte has a problem with this.

Marinette: Everybody knows that Chloe been cheating, taking advantage of Sabrina and not making any efforts compared to the others... for years! And the only consequence is that she's going to get help?! Of course, we need to support students who have problems, but not when they're the problem!

If you had a problem with Chloe mistreating Sabrina, THEN WHY THE HELL DIDN'T YOU TELL MS. BUSTIER YOURSELF? Even Lila points out that Marinette should have pointed this out to the teachers as class representative (I'm not sure if that's a thing in French schools, but let's assume it is for this episode's sake), but Marinette herself says she chose not to.

Marinette: Why would I have? She doesn't have difficulties! Only privileges! And if you need proof to see how the teachers will let her get away with anything!

What was it Alya said in “Origins”? Something about evil triumphing if good people do nothing? Eh, I'll think about it later.

Also, who's to say this isn't a punishment? Chloe is still going to have to make up her work, she'll need more attention from the faculty as a result, summer school is most likely on the table now, and who's to say her dad won't have problems with this? Yeah, we know he's a spineless coward, but let's assume he'll actually act like a parent for once, for the sake of argument.

Despite outright saying that she neglected her duties as class representative, Marinette is shocked Lila takes the chance to suggest she replace her for the job. Later at lunch, like what's happened in every other Lila episode, Marinette tries to tell Alya that Lila is a liar, Alya doesn't believe her for a second, and nothing changes. Oh wait, I forgot to mention that this time, Adrien and Nino are there too! That makes it different!

Seriously, why are we still doing this? It's almost the end of Season 5, and even though Alya is one of Marinette's trusted confidants, the show still needs to have this drama with her not believing her. It honestly feels like a lot of the Lila episodes this season were originally written before Season 4 aired, but something changed, so they just threw them here when it makes no sense for Alya to still doubt Marinette after all this time. It's also why they randomly threw this line in to remind us that Alya knows.

Alya: You know, even Ladybug accepts help from Scarabella every once in a while.

Yeah, mind telling me what happened the last time Alya transformed into Scarabella?

OH RIGHT.

It's during this little conversation where we get the first hint of the episode's moral, and believe me, I'll get to that. Alya tries to reason with Marinette that maybe it's possible for Lila to help Chloe change for the better, which Marinette vehemently refuses to believe. We're clearly supposed to see Alya as being too naive and is oblivious to Lila's true nature, but neither of them know just how bad she really is. We, the audience, know that Lila has worked with Gabriel and Monarch willingly in the past (Heroes' Day, Chameleon, Miraculer, Illusion, Adoration) and that she's living under several fake identities. Yeah, we know Lila hates Marinette and tried to get her expelled in “Ladybug”, but nobody else knows just how bad she is. It doesn't help that Marinette's reasons for Lila only amount to “She's a liar!”, and not “She tried to get me expelled!”, intentionally making her come across as petty so it's easier for Alya to doubt her.

Another thing that makes the whole “Alya thinks Lila can help Chloe change” deal is that we already know Marinette has done nothing to really stop her behavior as class representative or as Ladybug, so it's hard to really act like Marinette contributes a lot to the job, especially when, once again, she willingly admitted to not even trying to reach out to the other teachers about Chloe's grades or how she's using Sabrina to get by in class. Even though Alya doesn't know about Lila's true nature, she's not wrong when it comes to believing someone else could bring something new to the position of class representative.

And this only gets worse, as we see Lila's latest plan to win over the class.

Lila: My dear classmates, I am convinced that even the worst person can change if you reach out to them. And to prove it to you, Chloe, will you be my deputy?

(The whole class gasps in shock)

Chloe: (sighs and walks to the front, putting on a fake smile)

Nino: Wow, is Chloe actually going to be a mere deputy?

Alya: That is so not Chloe!

Rose: Does this mean it's already working?

Mylene: Can Lila actually get her to change?

Marinette: (slams her fists on her table) This is so crazy! It's all lies!

Lila: Poor Marinette... couldn't succeed because she was too busy with her love life, as well as being reminded of her disdain for Chloe. But you know me. You know all about my humanitarian work. I'm used to going into conflict zones. I can do this. There are two weeks left. What do you have to lose? Help me, help Chloe change. Vote for me!

OH, YOU NO GOOD MOTHERFU---

Sorry, sorry. Had a little... episode there. Where were we?

Okay, first off, wow. Are you trying to seriously piss off your fanbase? The whole argument of being able to appeal to the humanity in the worst person is one of the biggest arguments people in favor of Chloe redemption make, so you know damn well this scene was targeted towards them. What was the original draft for this? A still image of Thomas Astruc flipping off the audience?

Second, once again, Lila isn't wrong. As far as we know, Marinette did nothing to really help or stop Chloe over the school year other than foiling the occasional scheme. While we know it's a lie, can you really blame the rest of the class for believing Lila will actually make things better for them by finding a way to stop Chloe from bullying them? It doesn't help that the case Marinette makes for her class representative campaign is that she's giving up on helping Chloe, saying she sucks, and that she's going to help the rest of the class instead. Because we all know showing blatant bias against one of your classmates is a surefire way to win the favor of your peers, right?

As for the speech itself? Well...

Marinette: My dear friends, of course, you should always do everything in your power to help people. And we all hoped that Chloe would become a better person. Ladybug reached out to her. Ms. Bustier reached out to her. So did Adrien and so did I. You all reached out to her. This proves how big your hearts are. And yet, Chloe remained the same. Why? Because as far as she's concerned, having a big heart is a weakness to be exploited. Chloe already believes she's better than all of us. So... don't be fooled. I, for one, am done wasting my energy in vain. As class representative, I'd much rather help all of you because you deserve it a thousand times more.

So here's the main moral of the episode, kids: If you ever decide to be the bigger person and show kindness to someone who is mean to you, it's going to bite you in the ass sooner or later, so never try helping other people change. I just... what the fuck, Astruc?

Yeah, the show tries to point out that being kind to others is still important, but the context of the episode itself doesn't show any examples. You could have used Kim as an example of someone who has changed his ways, but “Derision” retconned him into not being a bully, and Felix isn't even in this episode, so he can't be used as an example. The episode never really provides an argument showing the difference between people who can change their ways and people who choose not to, which is why the lesson doesn't work. How exactly is a child watching this supposed to tell when they're being taken advantage of for their kindness? For a show with an opening that has the lyrics, “The power of love always so strong”, this episode really isn't doing a lot to encourage its audience to show compassion to others.

And we're not done yet. Lila makes up a sob story relating to getting fired, and tearfully says there's no hope for Chloe. Once again, the writers think by having a villain say stuff certain fans believe in, it's meant to automatically invalidate the argument. What are you going to have Lila say next? “Felix should face consequences for his actions”? “Gabriel is far worse than Chloe will ever be”? “Somehow, Chloe is worse than either of her terrible parents”? I'm all ears here.

The entire story was a gambit by Lila so she'd have a cover story, as she plans to attract an Akuma with her sheer hatred for Marinette. Like I said earlier, Monarch assumes that since Lila hates Marinette at the moment, it's impossible for her to harbor any negative feelings towards his civilian identity, choosing to akumatize her into Hoaxer.

Ignoring the fact that the name sounds like it belongs to an antidepressant, Hoaxer is an okay recolor of Volpina. There's not much else to say visually. Her powers involve brainwashing anyone who hears her lies through the Alliance rings... even though she was already able to manipulate others through lying, so this seems like a redundant power to give her. Sure, she can also teleport through the Alliance rings, but that's just something Lady Wifi could already do. Monarch also gives her the Fox Miraculous' Mirage to use so she can create fake footage to back up her lies... even though she already has the power to make everyone believe her lies. Yeah, this upgrade is kind of pointless, isn't it?

Hoaxer's first lie is to say that Marinette is really Monarch. With the exception of Adrien, Ivan, and Mylene (who don't wear Alliance rings), the entire class is brainwashed into hunting Marinette, believing they'll save Paris if they stop her. After Adrien points out how it wouldn't make sense for Marinette to be Monarch if she wants Lila to expose her secrets, he ducks out to transform into Cat Noir, soon meeting up with Ladybug.

Ladybug and Cat Noir steal an Alliance ring from Officer Roger to learn how this power works, only to learn the brainwashing is only effective as long as the victim is wearing an Alliance ring. Hoaxer senses that one of her victims lost their ring, so she turns the rest of Paris against the two heroes by saying that they're from the planet Saturn and fart bubbles that destroy the ozone layer. Believe me, I wish I was able to come up with a line that stupid.

Ladybug summons her Lucky Charm, and gets a sewing machine. She goes back to her house, only to be ambushed by Alya. Ladybug takes off the ring and detransforms, lending the Ladybug Miraculous to Alya so she can transform into Scarabella as part of her plan. Because even though Alya has already been exposed three times in the past two seasons, the animators paid for the Scarabella model, and goddamn it, they're going to get their money's worth out of it. While Cat Noir fends off some brainwashed civilians, Hoaxer uses her powers on Nathalie to get her to send all of Gabriel's private secrets to her. How Monarch doesn't sense this is anyone's guess. Marinette pretends to appeal to Lila's conscience as part of a plan involving her, Scarabella, and Cat Noir, but Lila then rejects the Akuma with ease.

The Akuma somehow de-evilizes itself, Scarabella makes her only contribution to the fight by using Miraculous Scarabella to fix the damage, Monarch still doesn't know Lila now has intel on his civilian identity when he should have a telepathic link with her, and instead blames Marinette for all of his problems.

Back at school, Adrien apologizes to Marinette for not telling her to act against Lila, something that should be huge. It's just that both of them make it about how bad he feels, not about Marinette.

Adrien: I'm sorry, Marinette. I was wrong. I shouldn't have told you to act against Lila. If you give the slightest opportunity to people like her, they'll grasp at it and cause disasters in no time. And now, you're the one who looks like a bad person.

Marinette: You thought you were doing the right thing. Just like with Chloe. That's another reason why I love you, Adrien. You always want to see the good in other people. But sometimes, the good we think we see in some people is just a reflection of our own, and we end up being fooled by our own kindness. But we'll find a way to expose Lila eventually.

Nevermind the fact that Lila's lies haven't done anything to negatively affect Adrien at school, only Marinette, so his little pity doesn't feel earned. There's a difference between feeling bad about something and making it all about you. Also, once again, the episode's moral still comes across less like “mean people can take advantage of your kindness” and more like “never trust anyone, as your attempts to show kindness can backfire horribly on you”.

Lila is elected class representative, and Alya still believes her over Marinette. How does Marinette respond?

Marinette: I decided to let her have her way so I can finally prove to you all who she really is.

Spoiler alert, next episode, someone other than Marinette does the heavy lifting to expose Lila, and I doubt it was ever part of Marinette's plan.

The episode ends with Lila learning all of Gabriel's secrets, which would have been a much better opportunity for her to learn he's Monarch instead of learning about it off-screen as far back as “Emotion”.

THE BIGGEST IDIOT OF THE EPISODE IS... MARINETTE

Once again, Gabriel was very close to earning the Biggest Idiot Award for the third time for ditching Lila for no reason and later giving her the tools needed to learn his deepest and darkest secrets, but Marinette edged him out here. Not only did Marinette outright admit to neglecting her responsibilities as class representative, blamed Ms. Bustier for not doing anything about Chloe when she hasn't done anything to stop her either, and made a very poor argument for her reelection campaign by saying that being nice is bad. But hey, maybe her genius plan next episode will make up for it.

“Confrontation” starts off with Adrien struggling to fill out an orientation form for what kind of school he wants to go to next year and what he'll study. I'm not really an expert in French schools, but I'll assume this is how things are done there. Either way, Adrien isn't willing to fill out the form because as we saw in “Pretension”, Gabriel is planning on sending him to a private school in London next year. Why Adrien wasn't excused from this assignment is beyond me.

Adrien: If Marinette finds out that my father's decided to send me to a private school in London next year, it will break her heart and mine, too.

Again, it's really funny how a huge portion of his screentime in Season 4 involved being angry at Ladybug for keeping secrets from him, yet now, Adrien sees nothing wrong with keeping secrets from Marinette, even when it's inevitable that she'll find out. Then again, Plagg's response isn't any better.

Plagg: I know how I would feel if I had to be separated from you, Adrien, and there is nothing funny about that at all.

Then why did you force Adrien to give up his Miraculous in “The Kwamis' Choice”?! I'm pretty sure that was all your idea, as was what happened afterwards with Monarch almost winning.

As Marinette worries about the career stuff, but through some flashbacks showing just how selfish and one-dimensional Chloe and Lila are, she's not exactly confident they have her best interests in mind. Also, remember how Marinette said she supposedly let Lila win at the end of the last episode in order to make progress on finding a way to stop her?

Marinette: I feel like I'm betraying our friends by entrusting their forms to such awful girls.

As we'll later learn, while she does come up with a plan to expose Lila, it was after this scene that it happened, so this doesn't really make it look like Marinette has any ideas to stop Lila after she won at the end of the last episode. After the rest of the class fills out their forms, Lila destroys them all so Sabrina can forge their handwriting. Of course, not before we get another “funny” scene where Chloe struggles to understand their own plan.

Lila: After you destroy the forms, you'll fill out new ones using your talent for forging student's handwriting. I'll tell you what to write.

Chloe: Not so fast! You're using too many words to explain your plan!

GET IT? DO YOU GET IT?! SHE'S RICH AND BLONDE, SO THAT MEANS SHE'S STUPID! WHY AREN'T YOU LAUGHING AT THIS COMEDY GOLD?!

Meanwhile, Nino calls for another meeting of the totally useful and not at all irrelevant Resistance, citing an issue. Because they're all planning to go to different schools next year, they're not sure how they can help Ladybug and Cat Noir... other than, oh, I don't know, meeting outside of school? It doesn't matter, because everyone unanimously volunteers to go to the same high school next year. Well, everyone except Nathaniel, but that's not important.

After Marinette gets a call from someone, Mylene suggests that the class go on strike against being forced to decide their careers so early in life. This would have made a lot more sense if you chose to do this before submitting your forms, but hey, whatever floats your boat. Adrien finally figures out what he wants to do, so he hands his form over to Lila. What did he write down?

Lila: (reading the letter) “I've been thinking a lot, and still not know what I would like to do later in life. The only thing I know for sure is that I love Marinette Dupain-Cheng. But I guess that doesn't really help you. I'm sorry. Adrien Agreste.”

Minimum wage at Wendy's it is. Good choice, Adrien.

Yeah, I think now's as good a time as any to talk about how flat Adrien's character has been this season. Even though Adrien has gotten more character focus thanks to not being hampered by loads of other side characters and temp heroes, he hasn't really had a lot of strong moments overall. Scenes that should feel like a big deal, like him accidentally Cataclysming Monarch or realizing he has feelings for Marinette are usually downplayed or brushed off so we can see how those events affect other characters. We don't get any scenes with Adrien feeling guild for possibly condemning a man to death because more focus is given to Gabriel dealing with his impending demise. We don't get any scenes that show how Adrien has come to see Marinette in a romantic light because more focus is given to Marinette struggling to deal with his sudden confession. And here's this scene. Rather than showing Adrien developing an interest in something he wants to do for a career, a huge sign of his growing independence, what do we get? Adrien saying he loves Marinette and admitting he has no goddamn idea what he wants to do with his life. Such a defining moment for one of the two main characters in the show. I'm just saying, if the last season made a big deal about Adrien wanting to be treated more importantly, why is he still getting shafted by the narrative?

And for the umpteenth time this season, because Chloe is the one saying that Adrien's form is “pathetic”, we're supposed to not agree with her, even though this is supposed to be a serious form that your teachers will see. Just what is this show's obsession with using strawmen to try and invalidate criticism? I've seen more nuanced takes from political cartoons.

Lila and Chloe present the forged forms to the teachers, assigning all kinds of inaccurate assignments for careers that the students don't want. Lila manages to get one student in particular held back, Marin—Juleka. Yeah, Juleka, Lila's most hated enemy is being forced to repeat a year. Why didn't Lila try to keep Marinette held back?

To be fair, Lila's plan is to slander Marinette specifically, but screwing over the entire class feels like a bit of a reach. I don't even know if part of Lila's plan was to attract an Akuma or not. Speaking of, Monarch senses Juleka's negative emotions and sends a Megakuma her way. Because it's a day that ends with a “Y”, the Magical Charm does nothing, so for the sixth time in the series (not counting her brief appearance in “Ladybug”), Juleka is akumatized into Reflekta. I swear, at this point you could make a drinking game for every time an old character model is reused this season.

Reflekta's design is pretty alright. I like the idea of the shy and quiet Juleka getting a brightly colored form that's impossible to ignore, and her power to make everyone else look like her fits her character. Unlike other returning Akumas this season, Reflekta gets a noticeable upgrade to her powers, as now she can essentially create a hive mind with all of her victims on top of getting the Tiger Miraculous' Clout to do some extra damage. Wow, it's almost like the Miraculous powers should actually serve as upgrades to established powers instead of being the only thing that gives the Akuma their powers.

Reflekta goes to town assimilating more victims, Marinette does nothing to get the still pregnant Ms. Bustier to safety so she can dart off and transform into Ladybug. By the time Ladybug and Cat Noir meet up, the city is crawling with Reflektas.

Ladybug summons her Lucky Charm, getting a plastic tape dispenser. Using Cat Noir's staff and the tape, the two put up a fake brick wall poster in an alleyway. The two heroes split up and draw a Reflekta's attention respectively, pretending to be helpless once they reach a “dead end” at the fake brick wall. When the two Reflektas try to use Clout, Ladybug and Cat Noir duck out of the way, letting the two attacks collide.

Ladybug de-evilizes the Megakuma, uses Miraculous Ladybug to fix the damage, and gives Juleka yet another useless Magical Charm.

And while you'd think this is where the episode ends, unfortunately, we're only halfway done. Id anything, this entire fight was pointless, and it's going to lead to a lot of problems with the pacing later on.

Back at school, Lila takes the opportunity to pin the blame on Marinette, though when Marinette points out how good Sabrina is at forging handwriting, Sabrina admits to helping them out. While the blame is still on Marinette, Chloe and Lila follow Sabrina when she runs out of the classroom. In the bathroom, Sabrina is still upset about what she had to do, and when Chloe and Lila confront her and try to keep her in line, only for Sabrina to reveal it was a trap for Chloe and Lila to confess their plan in front of the rest of the class, and one that had been set up a few days ago by Sabrina and Marinette.

So after an episode that went out of its way to show how apologetically irredeemable Chloe and Lila are, Sabrina is the one to ultimately turn a new leaf and is the key player in stopping Chloe and Lila's tyranny. Let's go into all the reasons as to why this failed to be a triumphant moment.

First off, why is Sabrina the key player who helps finally expose Lila? Why not Adrien, or Alya, or anyone else in Marinette's class? Rather than work together with her friends to show she wasn't lying, Marinette only works with Sabrina, and they act like they're the close friends working together. What, you thought Adrien or maybe Alya would help Marinette expose Lila like the end of the last episode hinted at? HA! Of course not.

Second, Sabrina's redemption is forced as hell. I'm not saying Sabrina turning a new leaf is entirely impossible, but the show just expects us to forget all the times she's gone along with Chloe's bullying antics (Origins, Mr. Pigeon, Lady Wifi, Dark Cupid, Horrificator, Darkblade, Reflekta, Zombizou, Stormy Weather 2, Lies, Sole Crusher, Gabriel Agreste, Derision, Adoration), and even in this episode, she still helped forge the new forms for Chloe and Lila. Remember how “Derision” said Chloe's actions couldn't be excused by how poorly she was treated by her mother? Funny how Sabrina's actions can be excused by how poorly she was treated by Chloe. The redemption honestly could have worked if it was Marinette who reached out to Sabrina and saw the good in her, teaching the lesson that while some people refuse to change, that doesn't mean other people can't change either. But instead, Sabrina's just a good guy because the plot said so, a deus ex Sabrina if you will.

Third, this was Marinette's plan to stop Lila? Like I said, while the previous episode made it seem like Marinette had an idea on how to expose Lila, this episode showed that Marinette had absolutely no plans prior Sabrina's call, and she handed over the sheets to Chloe and Lila earlier. What was Marinette even going to do if Sabrina didn't call? This only makes Sabrina's redemption feel even more forced, because that was what led to Chloe and Lila being exposed.

And finally, we don't even get a lot of resolution with Marinette's classmates believing Lila over her once she's exposed.

Yes, there was a deleted scene where Alya and the others apologize to Marinette instead of just Ms. Bustier which was supposedly cut for time constraints, but why would you leave that out when Marinette's friends believing Lila over her has always been a sore spot among viewers? If only there was another scene that could have been cut out of the episode that added nothing to the plot over an important character moment showing how guilty Marinette's friends feel.

Chloe and Lila are expelled by Mr. Damocles, but then he gets a call from Andre ordering him to keep them in and do nothing to change the forged forms. Normally, this would be something to make Andre out to be a bad guy, but like Sabrina, because he's being belittled and ordered around by someone else (in this case, Audrey), we're meant to sympathize with him. Trust me, it gets even worse next episode.

Mr. Damocles is upset enough to attract another Megakuma from Monarch. You would think Marinette would transform into Ladybug and save him,but the episode does something different. Somehow, because of the other students telling him to believe in himself, all of their Magical Charms resonate with Mr. Damocles' Magical Charm. And then, his Magical Charm transforms into a shield which de-evilizes the Akuma as soon as it touches it?

I'm sorry, WHAT!?

Yeah... that just happened. I'm happy the Magical Charm actually did something for once, but I don't get why this was the climax of the episode. Why did this episode spend more time focusing on Juleka, Sabrina, and Mr. Damocles instead of Marinette's final battle of wits with Lila? Forget it, it's almost over anyway.

Mr. Damocles sends in the correct forms for the students before he resigns as principal, and we then cut to Ms. Bustier realizing that Chloe is pure evil and needs to face consequences for her actions. What does Chloe say that causes her to come to this revelation?

Ms. Bustier: Where's Lila?

Chloe: How should I know? I'm not the betrayer's mother.

Yep. A somewhat rude answer to a question Chloe doesn't even know the answer to is the last straw for Ms. Bustier. Maybe it's the hormones? Ms. Bustier decides to give extra attention to Chloe going forward, and somehow, that's different from Ms. Bustier wanting to help Chloe make up her schoolwork at the beginning of the last episode. But what happened to Lila, you may ask?

Oh my God, she's cosplaying as T'pol from Star Trek: Enterprise! The fiend!

Yep, Lila abandoned her old school and moved onto one of her other lives, now calling herself Cerise. Okay, a few questions.

First, was she wearing makeup as Lila or something? I'm not sure if it's the lighting in this one scene, but I swear, her skin looks lighter than Cerise here.

Second, how is Lila going to blend in under her new identity when for a while, she was the face of the Gabriel brand? What, is she going to claim that “Lila” is her twin sister or something?

Third, if Lila's trying to blend in as Cerise, why did she throw her old wig in the trash, in broad daylight?

Fourth, why wasn't this scene the one used to establish Lila has multiple lives? It actually feels plot-relevant, unlike the revelation of her having three different mothers last episode.

Finally, we're really going to brush over Lila facing any setback to her vague goals? She got expelled, and we don't even get to see her face consequences for her actions after all these years? What a load...

THE BIGGEST IDIOT OF THE EPISODE IS...MARINETTE

Yep, Marinette got the award twice in the same two-parter, and this is her third one at that. Adrien was sort of close to winning it with his stupid application form and not doing anything to stop Lila himself, and even though Marinette's plan to expose Lila worked, I still had to give it to her. She willingly gave her and her friends application forms to Chloe and Lila without any plans in case they tried something bad, had absolutely no plan to stop Lila in general until Sabrina came alone, and didn't think to simply de-evilize a Megakuma targeting her principal when Lila was able to sneak out with no problem.

Anyway, these episodes SUCK. I know it might not seem as noticeable compared to my reviews last season, as I've been trying to not get too angry, but I still couldn't stand these episodes.

As always, Lila's lies are incredibly stupid and don't work under the suspension of disbelief, especially with what we learn about her here. What I don't get is that we still don't know why Lila does what she does. I still don't know why she is so obsessed with getting the better of Marinette and Gabriel outside of being petty, and given what happens by the end of the season, it makes her unclear motivation even less excusable. In a pair of episodes meant to give more focus to Lila as she tries to ruin Marinette's reputation right before the school year ends, we really needed more depth for her character.

Marinette wasn't any better. What should have been a standout moment for her this season, she spent most of these two episodes complaining about Chloe and Lila when she did nothing to really stop them, and only made progress when Sabrina had a change of heart out of nowhere. Hell, even then, Chloe and Lila barely faced any setbacks for their actions. Marinette honestly felt very underutilized in what should have been an important set of episodes for the season.

Adrien didn't fare any better. He barely got to do anything and unlike Marinette, he wasn't even involved with the final plan, despite the ending of “Revelation” hinting that he and Marinette were going to work together to stop Lila. And then there's the form he filled out where he pretty much confirmed that he has no goals in life and that the writers just have no idea what the hell they want to do with him now that he's Marinette's boyfriend.

But let's talk about what I think really killed these two episodes, specifically “Confrontation”: The unnecessary focus on side characters. I can understand why Ms. Bustier needed more focus in these episodes, considering it was focused on the school environment, but I can't give that kind of lenience to “Confrontation”. That episode decided rather than focusing on Marinette finally outsmarting Lila, we needed more focus on Sabrina, Juleka, and Mr. Damocles. Why did we need to give Sabrina a change of heart over Marinette's friends working together to help her expose Lila? Why did we need Juleka to be targeted by Lila and subsequently akumatized by Monarch in a gambit to slander Marinette when all Lila had to do was have it look like Marinette tampered with Chloe's form? Why did we need an extended sequence of Mr. Damocles fending off an Akuma with the help of his class when he had no real presence in this arc, and if anything, took Chloe and Lila's side more often than not (Ladybug, Derision)? I don't get why the writers chose the tail end of the season to actually develop some of its side characters at the expense of major players like Marinette, Adrien, and Lila.

Look, these episodes were just awful, okay? And somehow, things manage to get worse as we get closer and closer to the end of the season.

[aidanchaser]

Happy holidays and happy new year @van1shiro! I was your secret santa for the ashville exchange. I am sorry I could not get your pokemon blorbo into it; I did read his wiki page but I did not feel I would do him justice in my ignorance. But I did do some digging and see you mention that you enjoyed a soft Kagami, so I hope you like this tender Feligami fic with a side of LadyNoir

Beta'd by @samsimisauser Title: Steady Word Count: 2219 Relationships: Feligami, background LadyNoir/Adrinette Additional Tags: Ice Skating, Felix & Chat Noir rivalry, Soft Kagami, post-s5, Romance

Félix would prefer to skip this part of the day. He watches Ladybug and Chat Noir glide across the ice, a picture of perfection in their magically enhanced costumes like a matching pair of snow angels. Félix wonders if he would feel better or worse to be present as Argos at the moment.

He glances over his shoulder to where Adrien is supposed to be, but Adrien’s seat is empty. Félix understands, but he is bitterly envious that Adrien has somehow managed to slip away.

“Ready?” Kagami asks.

Félix nods and tries to ignore the way his stomach churns with uncertainty.

Walking feels like moving with weights tied to his ankles, and his knees bend warily, terrified that the tip of the blade is going to nick the floor and he will go sprawling flat on his face. As Kagami pulls him onto the ice, Félix suddenly recalls every video he has ever seen of newborn fawns trying to walk. His legs slip to the left and right like magnets repelled at his ankles.

“Is this why you didn’t want to come?” Kagami asks with a small laugh and pulls him upright.

There are a number of reasons Félix did not want to come. This was one of them.

In fact, he did not need to be here. This event is a celebration of Ladybug and Chat Noir, to thank them for all that they have done for Paris. Adrien was invited in honor of what his father had done for the city—the irony of the invite still grates against Félix—and Kagami was invited as well, since Mrs. Tsurugi seemed to get lumped into these events as if she were riding on the coattails of Gabriel’s “sacrifice.”

Félix has managed to escape all of that sort of notoriety, thankfully, though he makes an appearance whenever Kagami asks for his company.

Like today. She asked him to be her ice skating partner. He asked her if it was important to her. She said it wasn’t, exactly, but that since Adrien had sprained his ankle fencing yesterday, she would have no one to skate with. She said that if Félix said no, perhaps she would ask Luka.

Félix immediately agreed to attend.

“I’m not particularly… experienced in this sort of thing,” Félix says, still trying to figure out how someone is meant to keep their feet beneath them as they move on the ice. The ice seems determined to force him into the splits, one way or another.

But the ice itself is just one reason he was afraid to come. As Ladybug and Chat Noir glide past him and Kagami—and as Chat Noir has the audacity to laugh at his uneasiness—the real reason for his hesitation curls around his stomach like a vice.

He pulls his legs together out of sheer force of will and manages to move forward with Kagami. He finds that moving faster is far easier than moving slower, like riding a bicycle.

“Oh, did—did Adrien leave?” he hears Ladybug’s voice as they glide past.

“I’m sure he’s fine,” Chat Noir’s reply comes distantly. “He said he had an injury, didn’t he? Maybe he just wanted to step away for a minute.”

But Ladybug chews on her lower lip nervously and Félix can’t blame her.

If anyone should be on the ice with Adrien today, it should be Marinette. He wonders what it’s been like for her, who has watched Adrien disappear at these types of events. He arrives, waves, smiles, and vanishes just as the celebrations begin—usually not long after Ladybug arrives. 

Félix can’t help but wonder what it’s like to worry if your partner secretly hates you. But he can’t exactly ask Marinette how she feels about it, how she manages the careful balancing act she’s constructed for herself.

“You’re getting the hang of it,” Kagami says, and Félix gives her a wry smile.

The rest of the guests have now taken to the ice and at least Ladybug and Chat Noir have to stop lapping him and Kagami to hold the hands of the small children who clamor for their attention. 

“What’s really on your mind?” she asks.

“Marinette,” he says, which is true, but not the whole truth.

Kagami glances to where Ladybug is tying the laces of a child’s skates and Chat Noir has been mobbed by four other children, who are pulling him down to the ice as deftly as any akuma Hawk Moth could have dreamed up.

“She seems to be handling herself well. I imagine she is upset she cannot be with Adrien at the moment.”

“But would he want to be with Ladybug?” Félix asks, and bites his tongue too late to stop the question from falling from his tongue.

Kagami takes both of Félix’s hands and pulls him along. She has no trouble sliding backwards across the ice, comfortable in the small space at this end of the rink, away from Ladybug, Chat Noir, and the crowd of children.

Now that she’s facing him he can see the way her worry draws her eyebrows in and her lips pucker ever so slightly. “Why are you worried about Adrien and Ladybug?”

“I just—you know, I wondered if… if he blamed her.”

“But that is not the sort of thing you care about. You’ve never brought it up before.”

Because they had discussed Adrien and Ladybug a dozen times before. They had even discussed Adrien with Ladybug a dozen times before. And Kagami is right, Félix has never brought this new thought to the discussion. Because it’s not really the thought on his mind. 

But as direct as he is with his own intentions, he struggles to be so open with his own motivations.

He envies and admires Kagami’s certainty. He knows she has her insecurities; she’s bared them to him before, but she is so good at presenting them as facts to be analyzed. He finds it easier to bury his than lay them bare.

“I suppose,” he says slowly, allowing his words to move with the careful pace of his skates as he tries to maintain control over his body, “I am thinking about what it is to see someone as a hero. And what it is to see them as a villain. And what it is to see a hero as a villain. Or perhaps the reverse.”

Kagami’s slight pucker turns into a full frown. He can practically see it on her face, the way she pulls what she knows against this new information. He imagines the way she must turn it over in her head until the pieces fit together appropriately.

He is so in love with the way her mind works. If Félix believed in a higher power, he might feel grateful. Instead, he just feels lucky.

“You are thinking about yourself,” she finally says. “You are thinking about Argos.”

He nods once.

She lets his hands go to put her hand to her chin thoughtfully and he flounders without her support. He drifts into the wall of the ice rink before his feet can fully go out from under him and he pulls himself as upright and dignified as he can manage.

But Kagami is now lost in her own thoughts and drifting out of his reach. He takes a deep breath and pushes off of the wall, allows the momentum to carry him faster than he is comfortable with, and trusts that she will stabilize him when he reaches her.

The gap between them vanishes. He reaches for her arm as he passes her. She instinctively grabs his wrist and they spin for a moment before she steadies them, just as he had hoped.

Her face is still pensive, but there’s a glint in her eyes that suggests she feels she has stumbled on an answer. “Those that you trust also trust you, do they not? What should it matter what others think?”

She is talking about herself, of course, and Ladybug to an extent. But those aren’t the only people who matter. “And the rest of the team?” he asks. <i>Chat Noir</i>, he thinks, though he doesn’t dare say it. He thinks Ladybug’s partner will die hating him, and that’s fine with Félix. He’ll even gladly be the one to put the incompetent idiot in an early grave. 

“They’re your friends,” she says.

But they weren’t always. Ladybug’s friends get to save Paris at their leisure because Félix once thought it was a good idea to steal the miraculous jewels out from under her. They’re only lately heroes because Félix is the one who made sure that there was a time when they couldn’t be heroes. Surely they know that.

“They’re… colleagues,” he says, which is a generous statement. “And they—they get to take their masks off.”

Kagami hums and looks up at the glass ceiling overhead and the grey skies above. Félix realizes suddenly that somewhere in this conversation she began drifting and he has been the one leading them. He hadn’t even noticed.

He flails again as he becomes aware of his feet, but her grip on his forearms is steady, and she keeps him from falling.

“Don’t overthink it,” she says.

He swallows and tries not to. Though if overthinking were an Olympic sport, Félix thinks he would take the gold without challenge. Well, maybe Marinette would be a close contender.

“If you don’t have a mask,” she says, “then everyone knows you. To be known is not so terrible a thing.”

<i>But it is</i>, he thinks, because to be known is to be predictable. And to be predictable is to risk being trapped. He has lived his life on his toes, acting in advance because to react is danger. He will not let himself be cornered, and if that means reinventing himself so that no one else can identify the boundaries he lives in, then he will do it without hesitation.

She pulls him close, defying the draw of the ice that threatens to drag him down, and slots one skate between his so that they move in a perfect two-step rhythm across the glass beneath their feet. 

“I will always be proud,” she whispers, “to be the one who knew you first. The one who truly saw you as you are. And you are the one who saw me, more of me than I even knew. And is that so terrible a thing?”

And it’s not, not when it’s her.

He kisses her, there on the ice where any onlooker can see. It is the softest part of his heart, but he bares it despite his fear because this moment isn’t about him, not really. It’s about her. It’s about letting her know that he sees her. It’s about making sure that she knows how much he loves what he sees in her.

And it’s a little bit about him, about letting her know that it’s okay that she sees him, that this part of who they are is loved, that what they are and who they are is loveable.

Somewhere behind them, Chat Noir blows a loud raspberry. Ladybug’s gentle scolding is lost amongst the giggles of children. Behind his back, Félix flashes a patriotic two-fingered salute at Chat Noir. He does not expect the idiot to understand what it means, and he is surprised when he hears a strangled, pearl-clutching sort of gasp. It’s more worldly knowledge than he ever expected from a hero that Félix considers little more than a comedian who holds the potential to accidentally burn the world.

“Leave them be, mon minou,” Ladybug’s soft voice carries across the ice, touched more with amusement than exasperation.

Chat Noir sighs, dramatic and bursting with exasperation. “Anything for you, my lady.”

Félix and Kagami part, just in time to see Chat Noir yank Ladybug into his arms. Her startled yelp turns into a giggle as the two of them glide in perfect unison across the ice. It’s a seamless partnership, and a new worry settles into Félix’s gut as he catches a glimpse of the gentle smile on Chat Noir’s face. What drastic actions might he be forced to take if Chat Noir were to steal Marinette from his cousin?

Kagami’s hand meets his cheek, a gentle reminder of where his attention ought to be. He presses his forehead to hers, an action as intimate as he can have without losing sight of her smile. It’s still restrained, the way all of her is restrained—something he knows as well as she does—but it is warm and comfortable in its familiarity. He knows her, and she knows him.

With her, he does not need to worry about the dangers of being predictable. He can be comfortable with being known, relish it even. 

He kisses her again, and he feels her hesitant laugh against his lips more than he hears it. Her hands meet at the back of his neck and his at her waist. He’s no longer thinking about the ice beneath them, or Chat Noir somewhere behind them, nor even the crowd of Parisians around them. He has what he needs to be stable. The rest of it may fall away, come and go, but he’ll always have this. She trusts him, and her trust is all that matters.

[coffeebanana]

angsty ladrien 👀👀👀👀

ok, to be honest i doubt i'll ever finish this one. it was supposed to be partially an exercise in writing present tense, which 1. i hate doing, and 2. i've actually done since i started this doc ahaha. this is an oooold WIP

But basically the idea is that during the "final fight" there's some sort of accident as Hawk Moth's transformation drops, and Gabriel ends up in the hospital in critical condition. So, Ladybug's keeping Adrien company in the waiting room while he waits to see if his father's going to make it (she knows his identity but he doesn't know hers) and it's sort of him sorting through his feelings about?

“Am I supposed to want him to live?” “He’s still your dad. It normal to want him to be okay.”  “And if I don’t know if I do?” Adrien whispers, so quiet Ladybug almost misses it. And that question…she doesn’t know how to answer. Oh, she knows how she feels. She hates Gabriel Agreste with the power of a thousand burning suns for what he’s done to his son. To Paris. To her, even. So if he dies…she won’t grieve. And if it was her life or his, Adrien’s life or his, pretty much anyone’s life or his, Ladybug wouldn’t hesitate to drive the knife in herself. But is she supposed to feel that way? Shouldn’t she have more compassion? What’s the appropriate punishment for a man who's killed millions of people when they were all resuscitated at the end of the day, so there was no lasting damage. Is his life a fitting way to pay that price? Marinette doesn’t know. She can’t remember if she wanted Hawk Moth dead before today, only that the thought of ever seeing his face again makes her want to punch something. Because he did this. He hurt Adrien. And even though his death will almost certainly hurt Adrien more, he can’t just get away with all he’s done. And now Adrien, who before today probably would have been the first to say that nobody deserved to die for their mistakes, is asking her this. If his father should die. If some part of him is allowed to want that. And Ladybug is too young for that kind of question. She’s sixteen, and five hours ago her biggest worry was tomorrow’s History test that she probably won’t write now. She’s sixteen, and she’s supposed to be asking her crush out to the movies, not holding his hand as his father lays dying. She’s sixteen, and she doesn’t have all the answers no matter how much Paris looks up to her. Ladybug saves the day. She repairs the damage. She doesn’t stay to see what happens afterwards. She doesn’t know how to heal the invisible scars she and all of Paris have sustained. She’s never dealt with the aftermath before. Not like this. And she shouldn’t have to. She can’t. Suddenly this is all too much. She’s saved Paris a thousand times, but she can’t help the boy that means the world to her. So she croaks out some lame excuse about needing to use the washroom, and she runs. Because that’s what Ladybug does. Once the dust settles and the immediate crisis has passed? She runs away when things are tough. And if Paris knew that, they wouldn’t love her half as much.

Thanks for the ask!! 💜

[aerysian]

how was qualified? barely supposed to go? well, it was supposed to be called quaint queries, for one. secondly:

synopsis: Marinette wonders if exceptions are made for House of Agreste submissions that are late because Gabriel Agreste himself keeps bothering potential applicants with questions about his son. Her phone rings. Speak of the devil.

general plot: Marinette is putting together her portfolio for a junior designer position at House of Agreste since she's graduating soon. She was planning on applying to other places as well, considering her personal ties to the company, but she found a middle school diary about this being her dream and she wants to fulfill her childhood dreams, if only until her current dream brand has an open position. Gabriel keeps bothering her until one day she tells him she's really busy preparing for something. He asks her for what and she said a job at his company. He blinks, wondering why she has to apply when she can just say the word and have any position she wants; he knows she's more than capable. While she's flattered at the praise, she doesn't want any nepotism, so she demands anonymous screenings.

how did it actually turn out? read it on ffn / ao3 to find out.

[marauderundercover]

How We Fell: Ch. 18

Day 18: Video Games/Mended

AO3

Prev

Honestly, Marinette should have guessed that the dinner would just end up being her, Dick, and Damian. After all, Bruce Wayne was a busy man. Not only was he Batman (not that she was supposed to know that), but he was also co-CEO of one of the biggest companies in the world. The fact that Tim got dragged into that entire mess (as the other CEO) was not surprising. Nor was it surprising that Jason didn’t show up to the dinner. Damian had explained before how he kind of stayed on the edge of a lot of things when it came to the family. Knowing that he was the Red Hood (and most likely the second Robin, who was murdered by the Joker) it didn’t surprise Marinette that he avoided the family at times. What did surprise Marinette, was how good Alfred was at Ultimate Mecha Strike IV.

“I honestly don’t know how you’re doing this.” She laughs, the word ‘loser’ flashing across her screen for the third time. She’d already beaten both Damian and Dick, when Damian had disappeared and brought Alfred back with him. She’d expected a fairly easy match, but had instead been taken by surprise at his undeniable skill.

“I aim to surprise, Miss Marinette.” Alfred says. Marinette laughs again, Dick joining her. She was relieved to see that he looked lighter than he had when their evening had begun. He seemed less tense, less like the entire world rested on his shoulders. It was a relief. She glances at Damian, his smile sending butterflies exploding in her stomach. She honestly loved- whoa. No. Nope. She really liked Damian. Really, really liked.

“Well, what’s going on in here?” A voice asks from the doorway. Marinette turns, smiling and waving at Damian’s dad.

“Hey Mr. Wayne!” She says with a grin. He nods at her.

“Hello Marinette. You know you can call me Bruce, right? The rest of the kids’ friends do.” He says. Marinette laughs awkwardly, glancing at Damian and raising an eyebrow. Had he not told his dad that they were dating?

“Uh, B? You do know that Dames and Marinette are dating, right?” Dick asks, speaking what she’d just been thinking. Bruce blinks.

“Um-” He starts to say, but Damian cuts him off.

“Father, I did tell you. I have told everyone in the family, including Drake.” Damian counters, standing and crossing his arms.

“Told me what? Oh hey, I didn’t realize your girlfriend would still be here. What’s up Marinette?” Tim asks, walking in with a granola bar in his hand.

“Master Tim, there is leftover dinner in the fridge. I would rather you eat something substantial.” Alfred says with a sigh.

“Okay, okay. See you later Marinette!” Tim calls, shoveling in the rest of his granola bar as he leaves. Alfred stands.

“I will go to make sure that Master Tim actually finds his dinner. Do make sure you come and find me before you leave, Miss Marinette.” Alfred says with a soft smile. Marinette grins.

“Of course!” She chirps, waving at the man as he walks out. She glances at Damian and the frustrated look on his face. She frowns, standing and lightly touching his arm. He relaxes slightly, his jaw unclenching.

“It’s getting late. Are you ready to go home, Angel?” He asks softly. Marinette nods, turning back to Dick and Bruce.

“This was a fun evening, Dick. Thanks for everything.” She says with a grin. A wide smile spreads across Dick’s face before he wraps her up in a big hug. Marinette yelps in surprise, but lets it happen.

“I’m always down to hang out with you and Dames. You guys are great together.” He says, setting her down and ruffling her hair. Marinette blushes, grinning.

“It was nice seeing you again, Mr. Wayne.” She says, her voice a little less cheery. It’s not that she blamed him, but if Damian had even told Tim, who he didn’t get along with most days, then that meant Bruce just hadn’t listened to him. She’d had to watch silently while Gabriel Agreste was an awful father. She wasn’t about to let a situation like that happen again. Not if she could help it.

“And you. Damian, can we talk when you-”

“I will see you later, Father.” Damian says stiffly. He gently grabs her hand and pulls her along out of the room. The second they’re in the hall, Marinette stops, making Damian stop with her.

“Are you okay?” She asks softly. He nods.

“I’m fine, Angel. Let’s get to Alfred so that you can say bye. I know you were trying to finish that suit tonight.” He says. Her eyes widen. She’d completely forgotten about that. Damian smirks, shaking his head before tugging her along. Time to finish a commission.

---

It was 5am. And her stupid akuma alarm woke her up. She stumbles out of bed, rubbing her eyes tiredly as she calls her transformation. Briefly, she remembers that she still needs to talk to Tikki. Stretching, she calls a portal, landing softly on top of the Arc de Triomphe. Just as she lands, her yoyo rings.

“Hey LB, got sight of the akumatized individual on their way to the Eiffel tower.” Chat says. She blinks.

“Chat? You’re here?” She asks, slightly shocked. She suddenly felt awful for ever doubting her partner. She knew how hard it was to balance hero and civilian stuff sometimes.

“Of course I am. I told work that I needed to stay in Paris for a while. They’re giving me until January, and then they’re insisting that I go on some trip.” He says, staying vague. She grins as she swings towards the last sighting of the akuma.

“That’s amazing! Okay, back on track. Any idea what their power is?” She asks, yelping as she has to dodge a pigeon.

“You good?” He asks.

“Yup!”

“Good. Good news is we’ve fought this particular type of akuma before.” Chat says.

“Bad news?”

“They’re like Sandboy.” He says, and she almost misses the next roof. She swears, adjusting her line as she swings to the top of the tower, trying hard to stay out of sight.

“And it’s not our original Sandboy?” She asks. A soft thud makes her shift into a defensive position, but she relaxes once she sees it’s just Chat.

“No. They’re new.” He says. She huffs. Why couldn’t anything be easy?

“I think the akumatized object is the kids’ teddy bear.” Carapace says, landing next to her. She feels some of the tension in her shoulders melt away. Her whole team was together again, they knew how to defeat the akuma, things were looking up for the Miraculous Team.

“Let’s go save this kid.” She says firmly, swinging away to find the kid. She hears her team behind her, following her as she flies through the city. Spotting the akumatized kid, Ladybug quietly calls her lucky charm. She scans the area, an idea forming in her mind. Just as she goes to execute it, she’s thrown back by a blast of light. She hits the wall behind her roughly, groaning in pain. Her ribs had finally (mostly) healed from the entire Frightwing situation. She glances down at her yoyo and suit, still intact. So what was her biggest nightmare-

“You are nothing.” Damian- no, Robin, says. Well shit. She glances up, wincing at the disgusted look on his face. “Did you really think I would want anything to do with you after I found out?” He asks with a scoff.

“You’re not real.” She says, gritting her teeth.

“Oh, I think I am, Ladybug. Because you know that I could never care for someone who lied to me. That I could never think of you as anything more than a hindrance again.” Robin drawls. She huffs, trying hard to ignore the pain in her chest. Fake Robin was right. She was terrified that he would hate her when he found out that she knew his identity and never revealed hers.

“Do you mind shutting up or moving so that I can deal with this literal nightmare?” She asks. He chuckles darkly before shifting into a fighting position. She groans. Of course it couldn’t be easy. Her earring beeps and she resists the urge to scream in frustration. This was just not her night. She scans the area, a new idea forming just as quickly as the first.

“Any ideas, LB?” Carapace asks over their comms. She grunts as Robin throws a punch at her.

“Ugh. Yeah. I need you at the akuma’s 3 o’clock with Chat. On my signal, help Chat get to the object so he can Cataclysm it.” She instructs.

“On it.” He says simply. She continues to fight Robin, glancing around as she watches her team get into position. Once she sees everything set, she yells:

“Now!” The rest of the plan goes without a hitch, and she breathes a sigh of relief as the Robin copy disappears. Casting the Miraculous Cure, she’s relieved when the ache in her side disappears. Luckily, not many people were injured tonight.

“We did it guys!” Chat cheers, wrapping her and Carapace in a group hug. Ladybug laughs, shaking her head at him fondly.

“I never had any doubts. Not with my boys by my side.” Ladybug says with a grin. Carapace laughs.

“We do make a pretty good team, dudes.” He says, smiling. Ladybug nods.

“The best.” Her earrings beep again and she sighs. “I’ve gotta run. See you guys later?” She asks. Both boys nod and she smiles, waving at them before portaling back to her apartment. The second she’s in her room, the tiredness hits her again and she collapses onto her bed, slipping into a dreamless sleep.

---

Marinette hums as she moves around her kitchen, making a light breakfast for her and Damian. She’d gotten a text from him as soon as she woke up asking if he could come over. She was trying not to be nervous, and to convince herself that he just wanted to see her. But the intrusive thoughts in her head kept trying to convince her that he’d found out about Ladybug. And that he now hated her and wanted nothing to do with her ever again. It was awful. Steadying her breath, she tries not to freeze as the front door opens. He didn’t hate her. Right?

“Angel?” He calls.

“In the kitchen!” She calls back. She reaches out and turns the stove off, moving the tofu scramble off the burner. She sighs into him as he wraps his arms around her from behind, pressing a kiss to her temple.

“Good morning.” He says softly. She turns, smiling up at him.

“Good morning to you.” She replies, moving to her tiptoes so that she could kiss him. She feels his hands snake around her waist, pulling her closer to him. She grins into the kiss, moving her hands up to play with his hair. Just before she loses her ability to think, he pulls back, giving her another quick peck.

“I wanted to ask you something. Something that I should have asked before, but it honestly slipped my mind until Drake and Grayson brought it up.” He says. Her eyebrows furrow in confusion, but she nods.

“What is it?” She asks, trying hard to ignore the panic threatening to fill her chest. He smiles softly, and she guesses that whatever it is, it isn’t too bad.

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng, will you be my girlfriend?” He asks. Her face brightens, and she nods.

“Yes! I would love to be your girlfriend.” She cheers, jumping up and kissing him again. This time, she’s the first one to pull away. “Breakfast is gonna get cold.” She warns, tugging herself out of his hold so that she could serve the scramble.

“Do you have a lot of homework?” He asks. She sighs, passing him his breakfast.

“I have so much homework. That’s probably how I’ll spend most of today.” She admits. Damian smiles softly at her.

“I brought my work as well. Would you mind if we worked together?” He asks. She grins.

“That sounds perfect.” She says. He kisses her cheek swiftly before moving over to her little table. Marinette follows, overcome with feelings of safety and ….really, really, like.

Next

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[kasienda]

Yin and Yang - Ch 3: Adrien Leads Such An Interesting Life

Table of Contents: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 

Ao3 Link

Chapter 3: Adrien Leads Such An Interesting Life

Despite Adrien’s assurances, things did not get easier. And she wanted to blame the early wake up times, but as much as she still hated the way her brain woke up in a fog morning after morning, the wake up times were the least of her problems.

The biggest issue was that every moment was scheduled. It was school, basketball, Chinese, fencing, piano, solitary dinner, and then mandatory homework time. Rinse and repeat. And any time there was a gap in Adrien’s schedule it was inevitably filled up with a photoshoot, or a fitting, or with a random interview Gabriel said had to be done without delay.

There wasn’t a single moment to breathe. Not a single moment to live her life. Or to live Adrien’s life rather.

So she stayed up late. Way too late, but she needed a moment to just lay about each day. She tried to draw her designs as a way to remember herself, but she was so exhausted she didn’t have ideas, and ended up mindlessly tracing circles onto her paper.

Despite the bone dead fatigue, she felt restless. She made use of Adrien’s zip line and skateboard ramp, but it didn’t help for more than a moment.

She still felt trapped.

She had been in the middle of a fencing lesson gone wrong when an akuma alert went off, and everyone was directed to evacuate.

“Oh thank god!” Marinette exclaimed.

“Are you happy about an akuma?” Kagami had asked, her eyes narrowed in disapproval.

“Umm… no?” Marinette had squeaked. She totally was. “I gotta run!”

“What? Where?” Kagami called after her. “We’re supposed to evacuate!”

“See you later!”

Marinette ran through the halls and quickly found a place to transform. She took to the rooftops as Chat Noir, running and vaulting towards the screams. And she felt no anxiousness about the attack. It just felt so good to run, to be free.

She wasn’t being watched. She could do anything. She could be crazy, she realized, as she threw herself into a cartwheel for absolutely no reason other than she could.  

It was like a revelation.

This was why Chat Noir cracked stupid jokes all the time. Why he loved being Chat Noir! Why he couldn’t sit still or be serious for five seconds even in the middle of an akuma battle. Why he coveted every moment in Ladybug’s company. Why he would transform in the middle of the night and just run.

When she saw Ladybug arrive on the scene, she ignored the akuma entirely and instead tackled him in a hug. “It’s so good to see you!” she exclaimed.

He caught her wild embrace, and laughed. “You too. But maybe we should handle the akuma first?”

“Right, of course,” she nodded, attempting to adopt a serious face, but she couldn’t kill the grin that had taken over her face.

She was actually disappointed when they managed to take care of the akuma in just a few minutes.

When there wasn't an akuma to rescue her from Adrien’s monotonous schedule, talking to him helped. Anytime he was there, she felt at ease, and almost normal despite being in the wrong body, that was quickly becoming more and more familiar.

She saw him during the day, and he often gave helpful hints in conversations with their mutual friends and she did the same for him. And they talked every night. Both to compare notes and to give each other more context and insight. But the second he hung up, the anxiety would begin to smother her all over again. She needed to get out of this room. She needed to be free.

“Are you okay?” Adrien had asked one evening after she had ranted about the daily frustrations over a video call.

And she wanted to cry at the question, but she didn’t want him to see her crying. Not over this. He lived this every day. She had only managed four weeks. She needed to be stronger and more resilient.

So she swallowed her tears and offered him a bright smile. Or, what she hoped was a bright smile.

“Yes. I’m just feeling restless and cooped up,” she said. And it was true even if it was only the tip of the iceberg.

“Transform and go for a run,” he told her. “I can meet you.”

She squeezed her eyes shut. That sounded amazing.

“I can’t,” she told him, her eyes burning on the edges. She blinked back the tears. “If I’m going to keep you in school I need to study Chinese tonight.”

He smiled sadly at her. “I understand.”

Of course he did.

All of it was made worse by the fact that she was terrible at, like, every single one of Adrien’s extracurriculars.

She spoke only six words of Mandarin before the swap. And three of them were “I love you.” Adrien’s tutor was a stern impatient man who had chastised her for her lack of practice. He had delivered a poor performance review to Nathalie and her Chinese sessions had doubled in frequency.

Like that would help her when she was three years behind in lessons.

“Your father would like to hear your rendition of Desbussy’s Arabesque No. 1 on Friday,” Nathalie had informed her that morning at breakfast after listing out Adrien’s schedule.

Marinette’s heart fell into her gut in a panic. She had only had one real interaction with Gabriel since the swap. He had joined her for breakfast one Saturday. He had been stiff and quiet and Marinette hadn’t known how to fill the awkward silence with more than a “Good morning, Father.”

Which had been a mistake apparently because the second his attention was on her, he had proceeded to correct the way she was holding her fork, the way she was sitting in the chair, and chide her for the abysmal performance she demonstrated in fencing practice.

“If you are to remain in school, you need to maintain a certain standard of excellence in all of your activities. If you are unable to do so, it will be in your best interest to return to one on one instruction.”

Marinette’s hand fisted around her fork. Was he seriously threatening to take Adrien out of school? Over one fencing practice session?

“I’m sorry, Father.”

“Don’t be sorry,” he corrected coldly. “Be better.”

She swallowed an angry retort, and didn’t risk saying anything else. She wanted to argue and scream at the injustice of it all. But she knew that’s not what Adrien would do. But she had no idea what Adrien would do. So she did nothing.

But God, she was angry.

Luckily, Gabriel had wiped his mouth with an expensive cloth napkin and left her there without another word.

She had retreated to Adrien’s room after that.

“Is he always like that?” she had asked the second Plagg had flown from her overshirt.

Plagg laughed. “For Gabriel, that was positively sweet.”

Marinette’s gut twisted unpleasantly at that revelation.

And so she had not uttered a peep at Gabriel’s continued absence. She didn’t want to see him.

And she certainly didn’t want to fail at piano completely as he sat listening in judgment.

“It was one of your mother’s favorites,” Nathalie added.

Crap. She was so screwed.

“Plagg!” she whined. “What am I going to do?”

The kwami shrugged as if it didn’t matter. “You’re creative. You’ll come up with something!”

She had with Chinese. Adrien had given her the idea. She confessed to the tutor that she had been wanting to start over. He had looked at her suspiciously. “To focus on authentic pronunciation!” she rapidly explained. And then she told him the tale of being in Shanghai and no one there really being able to understand him with such a thick accent. And he had a hard time understanding native Mandarin speakers as well.

Whatever Adrien’s tutor thought of the matter, he had capitulated, and they were starting from the beginning. But man, he was cranky and impatient, and since she had said she wanted to learn the language without an accent, he had become an absolute asshole demanding perfection at all times.

But she was getting through the lessons, and even learning some Mandarin at the same time. Maybe she’d be able to use it when she was back in her own body to talk to her mother and uncle.

“I can fake a lot of things, Plagg! I can’t fake ten years of piano lessons and thousands of hours of practice!”

“Sure you can!” Plagg said, floating along lazily through the air. Marinette wanted to swat him!

“How?” she growled out.

“First, you don’t need to fake ten years. You just need to master one song.”

Her hands shot out in agitation. “Not just any song! A really advanced difficult song that apparently Adrien’s mother used to play!”

“Well, you could pretend that you’re going through a defiant phase. When he comes in, play him Mary had a little lamb or something!”

Her eyebrows arched. “And what am I being defiant about, exactly?”

“The man is cold and emotionally neglectful if not outright abusive. He dictates every moment of how Adrien spends his time minus the times we literally use superpowers to escape! Pick something!”

She wilted. Maybe Plagg had a point.

“Or you could injure your hand at fencing practice!” he brainstormed.

“Won’t they send a doctor who will say my hand is fine?”

“Not if you actually injure it,” Plagg sing-songed back.

“Plagg! I need my hands in working order to fight akumas! It’s hard enough to have a different body and a different power set! You want me to fight injured as well?”

He spun in a rapid circle, stopping right when he was facing her. “Or!” he exclaimed, like her had just thought of it. “We could stage a break in and destroy the piano!”

“Wasn’t that Adrien’s mother’s piano?”

Plagg shrugged. “Gabriel would probably have it replaced within two days anyway.”

“Do all your ideas involve destroying something?”

“You know who you’re talking to, right?”

But thankfully, Adrien’s phone chose that moment to ring, and she didn’t have to answer Plagg. It was Adrien. She answered the call immediately.

“Marinette!” he shrieked. Marinette didn’t know if he was excited or freaking out. It was harder to read him when he used her own voice. “Penny Rolling just called! She wants to know the status of a commission for Jagged Stone! What am I going to do?”

Marinette yanked at her hair. She didn’t have time for this!

“Nathalie just told me I have to play a recital for your father this Friday! What am I going to do?” she countered.

Adrien had been giving her piano lessons, and it was fun and he was patient, and she would have loved it under any other circumstances. But there was just this growing ball of unease every time they sat next to one another on his mother’s piano bench. He taught her chords on the left hand and scales on the right. She learned to read notes on the treble clef, and learned to decipher the strange script of key signatures far more quickly than she thought possible.

But playing actual songs?! She was nowhere near Adrien’s level. She understood whole notes, half notes, and quarter notes and could even play them. Eighth notes and sixteenths she understood in concept if not execution. But triplets?! Arabesque No. 1 was full of them! She could not play them with the proper temp.

And there was no way in hell she could play triplets and eighth notes at the same fucking time!

Adrien laughed, and pulled her hands back from the keyboard. “Don’t think about the notes for a second. Let’s just worry about the rhythm.”

She shivered, feeling his gentle hands brushing the back of hers. It was becoming less weird to look at her own face every day. Because it wasn’t hers anymore. It was his. And his smile, his eyes could bring her peace and comfort the way nothing else could.

“Okay, we’re going to tap eighth notes on your left, and triplets on your right.”

She nodded.

“We’re kind’ve cutting each beat into fours. Clap both hands onto your lap,” he directed. “Then it’s right, left, right. Then both again,” he explained, as he demonstrated clapping out the rhythm repeatedly on his lap. She was soon following suit.

After a month of practice, she could play the first ten measures of Debussy’s Arabesque No. 1. Insanely slowly.

“The speed doesn’t matter,” Adrien said. “Just get the timing between notes right and practice it. You’ll pick up on the tempo as you practice.”

And god she loved him more. For his patience and his optimism, but it was never going to be enough.

Because it didn’t sound like magical waterfalls cascading down when she played the notes, the way it did when Adrien played them. And that ignored the fact that the song had another 97 measures for her to learn.

She broke down crying.

His arms were around her immediately.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I feel like you’re not just playing my life. You’re playing it on hard mode.”

She scrubbed the tears from her face. “What do you mean?” she asked, not being able to look up at him.

“You have to meet all the expectations but you don’t have any of the preparation. Meanwhile, when I need help with a project, you can literally do it for me if you absolutely have to.”

“You’re assuming I have a spare moment to help you,” she whispered.

He brushed the tears from her cheeks with the pad of this thumb. “We’ll get through this,” he promised.

She nodded. She didn’t always believe that herself.

“Why do all your extracurriculars have to be performance based?” she had whined.

He barked a laugh. “I don’t know. I didn’t really pick most of them.”

“Do you at least enjoy them?” she asked.

He pressed his lips together, his eyebrows scrunched in thought. “I really like fencing,” he told her. “And piano has become really important to me as a way to remember my maman. It was always something she and I did together.”

Marinette smiled softly. Maybe his attempts at teaching her to play, might remind him of lessons with his mother. She hoped so.

“And I don’t mind the others,” he said, and then shrugged. “I just wish… I just wish there weren’t so many of them, you know?”

“Oh my god, I know!” she exclaimed.

And he laughed. She loved making him laugh.

Of all his extracurriculars, modeling was the easiest for Marinette to pull off. But she wasn’t great at it either. She was stiff and self conscious in front of a camera, and was constantly being told she needed to loosen up and be natural.

“You just need to get out of your head,” he had told her.

Yeah, Marinette was terrible at getting out of her head unless she was in crisis mode.

He had made flash cards for her to translate Vincent’s nonsense directions and she had printed out a bunch of his photos, and taped them to Adrien’s bathroom mirror, and she was practicing reproducing each expression.

Plagg had caught her in the middle of her first practice session and burst out laughing.

She hadn’t bothered to defend herself. It had been worth it. The next photoshoot was her smoothest yet.

But she had failed the piano recital.

“You’re clearly sabotaging on purpose,” Gabriel concluded coldly.

Marinette didn’t say anything, her gaze remaining locked on her fingers that rested on the black and white keys of this baby grand piano. Of course, it wasn’t actually on purpose, but that was as good an explanation as any.

“Why?” he demanded, his voice cold as ice.

She froze in panic. She needed to make a demand. But it needed to be big enough that he wouldn’t deliver, so she’d have a continued excuse to perform horribly.

Her eyes landed on the portrait on Adrien’s desk.

“Will you tell me what happened to maman?” she gambled, holding her breath the moment the words were out of her mouth.

He stared at her in silence. And then he walked out of the room.

She let out a breath, relieved he hadn’t said anything. How horrible would it have been if she had learned more about Adrien’s mother than he himself knew? Hopefully, Adrien wouldn’t be furious that she played that card.

Plagg came out whistling. “Bold move. I’m impressed.”

But she didn’t feel impressive. She felt completely inadequate. She pulled out Adrien’s phone, and swiped to her own contact and called him immediately.

“Hey Adrien! What’s up?” he answered. And that he was calling her Adrien meant he wasn’t alone.

“Can you come over?” she asked softly, not bothering to tell him he should at least make a show of stuttering when talking to “him”.

“Are you okay?"

She forced down the tears that wanted to burst forth. “Not really.”

“I’ll be right there.”

“Thank you,” she whispered hoarsely, hanging up the phone.

Ladybug landed in a crouch not ten minutes later. He immediately took a seat on the piano bench beside her.

“Today was the recital?” he asked.

She nodded. “I’m sorry,” she told him, her chin trembling.  

“You’ve nothing to be sorry for,” he insisted, his red spotted gloves cradling either side of her face, pulling her gaze up.

“You’re amazing,” she told him, and was rewarded with an immediate blush blooming from under his Ladybug mask.

“So are you,” he said.

But she ignored him. “You don’t have a lot of choices, and everyone expects so much of you. You’re cooped up all the time. And you could be so angry, but you’re not. You’re patient and you work hard. And you’re just so so resilient. And I had no idea. I had no idea as Ladybug and I had no idea as Marinette. I feel like I’ve been such a bad friend.”

He pulled her into a hug. “You’re the best friend I’ve ever had,” he countered.

“I want to be better,” she insisted, clutching him to her.

She would be better, she promised herself. Now that she understood that his life wasn’t all glamorous and fun. Now, that she understood the pressure he was always under, and how lonely his struggle often was. She loved him.

She loved him more. More than she had before. And more than she ever thought possible.

[jasmine-the-fox]

Her sweet bunny villain

I thought about it for a while and decided that I wanted to do a fic where Mari is dating Izuku Midoriya who is a villain... Hope you all like it!

Mari always wondered why her boyfriend decided to do crime, she never really asked him but she does wonder about it at times, Izuku Midoriya entered her life when she went to Japan for a week to destress from what her class was doing by believing Lila to this very day, she was only walking around when she found him in an alley injured, from the way he dressed it was obvious he had a terrible taste in style and it was all bad quality so after taking care of his injuries she helped him get back close to his home before making him promise to contact her for clothes.

Since that day she had been designing his clothes and then it began there long distance relationship, Izuku who decided to go by the name Usagi when he’s working was happy to have her call him Deku... And while she knows it means useless and worthless, the way she says it makes him happy and not mind it at all, she also did meet through video calls the rest of his team, like Dabi who has a blue flame quirk, Himiko Toga who when she drinks someone’s blood can look like them... And many more after that, she does worry about him at times but he always calls once a mission is done with so she knows he’s alive.

One day, Mari came to school to overhear Lila claiming that she’s dating Katsuki Bakugo, son of fashion designers Mitsuki and Masaru Bakugo, she talks about how she used to model with him and all kinds of things but Mari simply ignored it and headed to class... This was the new normal for her now, no longer was she greeting her classmates, no longer was she invited to things, no longer was she making them free things... It didn’t really matter to her that they were mad at the fact she wasn’t making them free things anymore, she had a website where she sells her designs and is happy to having good paying customers.

Lila claimed that her designs were cheap looking and claimed that Mari was being a brat by demanding money, miss Bustier even tried to make Mari bake and design for free again and when she refused she and her parents were called to the principals office where he was chewed out by her parents for trying to drain her by forcing her to spend her well earned money to buy fabric, threads, buttons and baking ingredients to make free things for a class who doesn’t even help or thank her anymore.

Needless to say... He and Caline were threatened with being put to court if they made such a demand on Mari again...

After that, the class simply glares at her whenever they bring up wanting baked goods or new clothes... And she would ignore them the whole time, it made them angry because they would then need to spend money on new clothes that even though they show it off she doesn’t react, they also need to spend money to buy baked goods and then complain at school because it was expensive and Mari doesn’t say anything, instead she focuses on her homework and designs for her paying customers to get there approval... And prepare to message her boyfriend about some clothes she was sending his way.

Alya was just about to stomp over towards Mari to demand free stuff but Caline had just walked in to reveal to everyone that the trip that Mari had prepared for them to go to Japan for two weeks was approved “Now I just need everyone to get there parents signature for this try by tomorrow so I can confirm who will be coming” she explained as she handed out the paper for the signature of a parent, Alya squealed and pointed out how Lila would see her boyfriend while the liar internally winced as she would need to have the class avoid anything connected to Katsuki.

Mari smiled as she packed the paper and then began to listen and take notes in class like Adrien and Max were doing... While the others were either on there phones or doing something else then listening to the lesson, when the day ended Mari walked into the bakery and handed the paper to her mother who quickly signed it for Mari to hand it to her teacher tomorrow, she then took back the paper and went straight to her room to get to work on sending pictures of the designs to her clients, then as she waited for there replies she took the box of clothes to mail while sending a message to Izuku about how she was sending the clothes now, then once she was told how long it might take she estimated the delivery date for him.

All the while she was seen by Lila sending the box...

By the time Mari got to the bakery, the delivery company she dropped off the box at called her, they said that a girl with tanned skin, green eyes and hair tied in three sausage style came claiming there was an error with the box she dropped off and asked for her to explain “I don’t know why she’s lying to you, I brought the box over because I wanted to get it delivered so she’s lying to you simple as that” she replied making the man claim he would take care of Lila and then hung up making Mari smile as she went up to her room... To find Alya there rummaging through her things “What are you doing in my things!?” she demanded loudly making her parents hear and dial for the police.

Alya glared at Mari as she focused on her task, Lila had claimed that she had gotten a dress from Katsuki and brought it at school to show... But Mari had taken it, she described it as a lightly ruffled white dress with light blue flowers flowing on the dress, Alya promised to get it back so after picking the look of the house door she snuck into Mari’s room to look for the dress, after a while the police arrived and forced her outside with questions while waiting for her parents to arrive, but Alya refused to answer the whole time when her parents arrived as they promised to bring her down to the police station for questions... And claimed she wouldn’t be going to the Japan trip in the end.

Alya went pale and the revealed what Lila claimed, her mother lost it and asked if she ever asked Mari about it, the pigtailed girl then said she had made a dress of that style for Manon... The girl she would babysit, Alya was shocked at those words as Mari then pulled out her phone to reveal a picture of the little girl wearing the exact dress Lila claimed was her’s, her parents took her home for a bit to make sure that Nora could watch the twins before taking Alya to the station to answer further questions, Mari with her parents then walked back inside and up to her room to clean up the mess Alya had made of her clothes, she also checked on the responses of her clients and reply from her boyfriend making her smile in excitement.

The next day, Mari arrives at school to be glared by her classmates, turns out Lila was told by Alya what happened and Lila decided to hide the fact that she lied about the dress and claimed Mari got the police on Alya for no good reason, so when in class and class was surrounding her in anger she revealed the lie about the dress Lila claimed with a picture of Manon that her mother Nadja sent her... It made them all turn to look at Lila in shock, Caline then walked in and asked for the paper signed... Everyone but Adrien and Alya handed there’s, it turns out that Gabriel had a few things set up for Adrien to do so he refused to let him go to Japan while Alya was banned from going on the trip by her parents... This angered Lila as she called the man during class break to get him to sign the paper and have it brought at lunch.

He just had to make sure that Lila is happy during the trip...

A week later they arrived in Japan, they quickly got to the hotel to rest but the class decided to listen to Lila and walk around while Mari being smart decided to stay in her room to sleep a bit... Adrien decided to do the same and ignored Lila, she woke up a while later from a text from her boyfriend asking if she was awake so she replied that his message woke her up, he felt bad which he wrote but asked her to come outside of the hotel making her smile and walk out, Adrien had been awake for a while and heard her room door open and close so he decided to follow her outside to see her talking to a guy wearing a hoodie with green eyes, curly green hair and freckles.

Adrien wasn’t sure what to do at the sight, as he watched them walk away... All he could was stay at the hotel and hope nothing bad happens to her while she’s out there...

Mari smiled towards her loving evil boyfriend, Izuku smiled as they walked around before slowly entering a coffee shop and heading to the back... Where the LOV team was living, to hide who they really were the team opened a coffee shop and used Mari’s work to hide and look different and to blend in like it was nothing, right now Himiko and Dabi were working at the front while the other’s were in the back “It’s great to see you all again” Mari smiled making them smile in return, they prepared her a cup of coffee making her smile and thank Kurogiri who was happy of the praise he gained as they spoke together until Himiko and Dabi walked in as they closed just now... Meaning Mari would need to head back.

By the time the class came back, it was with the police, turns out that the hotel had not been informed that the class would leave all of a sudden to go around unlike Marinette who did before leaving so they called the police to get the class found, the police found them after a while and gave a stern talking to miss Bustier about how she needed to be an actual adult and have the class follow the plans... And not allow them to leave the hotel all of a sudden outside of there plans, because of that it was decided that another teacher will come to assist on watching over the class... While Adrien watched in shock from the hall.

The next day a lady named Nemuri Kayama arrived to assist in watching over the class, she was supposed to be teaching at the prestigious school called UA but instead was asked to help with a class who decided that leaving the hotel without telling someone was a good idea, so with that they got going, Adrien did watch Mari as he was worried on where she went yesterday but with Lila keeping close to him... He wasn’t able to ask her about it, Nemuri began showing them around and correcting things each time Lila tries to spin a tall tale about something... And then glares at Caline for allowing the girl to lie like that and does nothing to make her stop.

Slowly they walked over to UA making the class get excited to see the place as then class 1-A comes to view as there training, Mari then noticed a certain blonde named Katsuki Bakugo... Her boyfriends bully who told him to take a swan dive off of a roof and pray that he get’s a quirk in the next life, because of that she hated him but acted like she knew nothing about him at all... But she was planning something, she and her classmates got to meet them and then watched as Katsuki yelled at Lila for lying about them dating and swore he would sue her for that... Which led to all of her lies being uncovered making Mari smile at the sight as none of her classmates or even her teacher thought about there actions towards her and went to apologize.

She also didn’t notice Katsuki watching her with a faint blush...

The day continued like that, her classmates angry at Lila for lying, forgetting about the fact that they bullied Mari because Lila claimed she did something to her, nor did they remember that they would get mad at Mari because she wasn’t making them free things anymore, there was also the fact that Katsuki was keeping close to her... She didn’t like it and decided to ignore him, her plans couldn’t start just yet of course so instead she was going to relax and enjoy her time in Japan, she did have a few things planned with her boyfriend already during there free days so that was a good thing of course, when lunch came she sat alone at a table away from everyone while texting Izuku with a smile.

No one from her class tried to go over to talk to her, she did faintly notice Adrien looking at her but she decided to ignore the look as Katsuki walked over and sat at her table “Can I help you with something?” she asked while not looking at him, instead focused on her phone, Katsuki didn’t say anything and simply began to eat his spicy curry making her then begin to eat while texting Izuku before she had to join the class once more to look around the school before they would need to head back to the hotel to either relax or to enjoy the rest of there free day walking around or shopping... Mari couldn’t wait to go on a date with Izuku for the afternoon.

Katsuki still followed until they got to the hotel, Mari never spoke to the blonde and instead focused on the tour of the school and going to her hotel room without a word to get cleaned up before waiting for Izuku outside the hotel for there date, Katsuki waited for a while before sighing and heading back to school... He could tell he didn’t do something right with Marinette so all he could do was wait until tomorrow to try again, once Mari was ready, she walked down to the lobby and then informed the lady at the counter that she was going to walk around before heading outside to wait for her amazing boyfriend.

Without knowing that Lila was watching her from afar with a glare...

Even though she worked so hard to destroy Marinette's life, that everything she told them wasn’t true but she worked to make them believe everything... She still believed she should win somehow against Marinette, because of that she decided to try and confront the girl once they get back to the hotel about it but the pigtailed girl was to fast for her and she was gone to her room before she even noticed, now she watched as the girl walked out of the hotel alone making her angry as she rushed of to tell there teacher about it, Caline was a little angry and the two went to the counter to get the police involved but the worker refused.

“Your student informed me of her using her free day to tour around Japan, she has the right as I was informed” she explained and then went back to work while ignoring them, Lila was furious about that as Mari smiled while holding hands with her boyfriend as they enjoyed there date together, Izuku was actually claimed dead, after Katsuki told him to kill himself and All Might telling him that a quirkless person can’t be a hero... He jumped to end his life, it was then that he was found by Tomura who promised him a better life, so he was claimed dead, even though his coffin had no body, Izuku was trained to be the best in combat even though he didn’t have a quirk.

Then he became friends with Himiko and Dabi... He also met Mari and then slowly fell for her and ended up dating her, the girl didn’t even care about the fact he was a villain, instead she helped when she could by making them clothes, she did however did something different, clothes Izuku would wear will have her signature, but the clothes he and the league wore didn’t and instead looked different enough from her usual work that no one would notice unless they saw her working on clothes and were with knowledge in fashion designing, so with that she was safe, Izuku also needs to be careful since even though he is claimed dead... Someone might figure it all out at some point.

Slowly there trip to Japan got to the last few day of there second week, some complained that time went by too quickly while Katsuki felt anger because he failed with Mari every time he had a chance to talk to her, so he decided to try and simply ask her out on a date, but he failed horribly, when they got to pick up the class from the hotel to go to the mall, he tried asking Mari out and she flat out rejected him and then walked away from him to do some shopping alone, his friends were a little surprised at that but still believed that things would get better so they helped him by encouraging him to try again at a later time.

And it still failed... But it was worse because he felt like he was going through déjà-vous all of a sudden...

She was alone heading back to the hotel early so he walked her back, once at the door he asked her out once more until she spoke “Why don’t you take a swan dive off of a roof and pray in the next life that i’m single when you ask me out... Or even interested in a bully like you” then walked back into the hotel while leaving him outside frozen in place... Those words... To kill himself... Were the same last words he told Deku before he killed himself, it made Katsuki slightly sick as he ran back home and into his room while ignoring his parents to curl up in his bed, his mother walked in to try and get gently some answers but all he said was “She said the same words I did” and it made no sense to Mitsuki so she simply left the room.

After that, he kept away from her because of the pain he felt in his chest when her words echoed in his head, she then went back to Paris without another word from him for two months before he and his class came to visit for two weeks... And Katsuki saw a living and breathing Deku holding her hand and being happy with her as they walked around Paris... She was dating him, he faked his death to escape him and now he was living the life he wanted but away from his bully.

All the while not knowing that Deku is Usagi... The same villain he has a hard time in capturing.

So there you go guys! Another BNHA crossover to miraculous ladybug! I’m hoping you all enjoy it and are excited for my next fic with these two universes!

[charlietheepicwriter7]

Hey, Little Songbird

Chapter 16 - Ao3

Felix could only hope his mother would pardon him for thinking such harsh words, but he felt as though the situation merited it. Because this? Was bullshit.

He could understand, to a degree, where Marinette was coming from. Felix wasn’t a good person; ergo, put Felix in situations where he would be forced to do good to make him confront the benefits of kindness and charity and hugging snot-nosed orphans or whatnot. He could understand becoming a force for good; his family had the money and the influence to improve the live of the less fortunate, and he’d understood that ever since his mother enlisted his help with choosing Graham Films annual donations. He could stand losing some of his own money just to hear Marinette gush about the charity he chose, and how that money would be used (all information he knew, of course; you don’t donate without knowing exactly where your money is going).

What he could not stand is having all his time with Marinette interrupted by Cesaire.

Marinette’s reasoning was that she wanted her two friends to get along, but Felix suspected she just liked to see him suffer. Sure, he did Cesaire a favor once, that doesn’t mean they like each other! In fact, he would go out on a limb and say that Cesaire definitely hated him. Why? …He wasn’t sure. If it had been a few weeks ago, he would have said she was jealous he had been Marinette’s friend while she had been led astray, but now that he’d gotten to—bleck—know Cesaire, he was certain it wasn’t in the girl’s character.

He took the opportunity to ask Cesaire the next time Marinette forced them to work together on a project—this time, cleaning up the content of the Ladyblog. Apparently Felix’s demeanor would help push the blog in a more professional direction.

Cesaire’s fingers paused on the keyboard at his question. Even Marinette, who had been working on a separate project, stopped to listen in. “I don’t hate you,” she lied.

“Yes, you do,” Felix corrected. “I’ve seen the way you look at me, before your near suspension and after. You hate me, and I’d like to know why.”

“Felix, she doesn’t hate you—” Marinette tried, but Cesaire stopped her.

“Marinette, I appreciate you trying to mediate, but you don’t have to right now”—She flashed a smile at Marinette—“Felix, I don’t hate you. I just don’t like you.”

“Okay. Why?”

She drew back, shock crossing her face before she shut the emotion down. “Felix, the first time we met, I was an akuma. An akuma you caused. I still don’t know why you impersonated Adrien, but since you supported Marinette when I didn’t, I’m willing to tolerate you despite that.”

Oh. “I had forgotten that,” he admitted, looking away.

“You… forgot?” She didn’t believe him, it was clear in her voice.

“Yes. I was having quite the bad day myself.”

Cesaire looked ready to say something, but Marinette placed a hand on her shoulder. “Felix, I’ve been meaning to ask you… Why did you impersonate Adrien that day? Knowing you now… it doesn’t seem like something you would do without a reason.”

Felix pursed his lips. True, what he did that day had been… poorly thought out. He would even say that he’d acted rashly, but to be honest, he had planned it from the beginning. The entire time his father was on his death bed, the entire time Felix watched him die, Adrien was calling and emailing him, talking about his friends and modeling and school like Felix hadn’t begged him and Uncle Gabriel to come over and visit, to support them in their time of need like his family had done when Aunt Emilie went missing. Perhaps it was cruel that he and Mother tried to take back their family rings on the anniversary of Aunt Emilie’s disappearance, but it was cruel that they didn’t come to his father’s funeral because… because of a fashion show!

So Felix told them. Despite himself, he told the girls about his father and how much he loved him, and how it broke his heart to see the strongest man he’d ever met waste away in front of his eyes. How his mother cried for months as she sat at his bedside. How their company suffered with the CEO dying and his mother beside herself with grief, how Felix was forced to delegate power to those loyal to his father and their family, trying to keep their business afloat and still in their name.

“Adrien… is very cruel in his ignorance,” Felix said. “He’s more than happy to ignore other people’s problems until they affect him, then he’ll do whatever he can to solve the problem. And I… wanted him to be affected.” He shook his head, picking at Marinette’s bedspread. “I thought that if I caused him to lose all his friends… Well, that plan backfired, so there’s no need to go into detail. I should feel lucky that I got at least one of the rings back.”

“Rings?”

Felix showed off the one he’d stolen from Gabriel, the silver band glinting in the sunlight. The metal seemed to hum against the warmth of his fingers. “The wedding bands of Gabriel and Emilie Agreste were originally family heirlooms of the Graham de Vanily estate. Originally, they were supposed to be used when the eldest child, my mother, got married. Unfortunately, that was impossible.”

“Wait, your mom is a Graham de Vanily?” Cesaire asked. “So, your dad married into the family?”

“That’s correct; Grandfather arranged it back when Father was a mere director in our company.” Felix shook his head. “Mother and Father were supposed to wear these on their wedding day. But Aunt Emilie stole them for her own marriage.”

Marinette gasped. “No! Why would she do that!?”

“I have no idea; if Aunt Emilie ever said why, Mother certainly has never mentioned it. My grandparents disowned her for the theft—though, to be honest, they were already on the edge because Aunt Emilie was marrying someone they didn’t approve of—and it was only Mother’s intervention that kept them from reporting her to the police.” He twisted the ring around his finger. “These rings mean a lot to my family, to my mother… I know it hurt her that she and Father never wore them, even if Father created near replicas for their 3rd anniversary. She never wore hers though… I think she thought that if she did, it would be acknowledging that the rings would never come home.”

“What’s so special about these rings, anyway?” Cesaire asked, moving closer to look at, but thankfully not touch, his ring. “It’s plain silver.”

“Honestly, I have no idea. They’ve been in the family for centuries, and Mother said that you could only understand how precious they are until you and your love both wear them, but…”

“It’s not the value of the rings,” Marinette finished. “It’s what they represent.”

“Precisely. Aunt Emilie stole them to begin with. Now that she’s gone—and honestly, I’m not entirely convinced she didn’t just leave Uncle Gabriel—the rings should come home, no matter how sentimental Uncle is about them. He has made it very clear that he doesn’t consider us family, so there’s no need to keep family heirlooms.” Felix clenched his fist. “I already stole one of the rings; I can steal the other one too.”

Marinette was shaken, but Cesaire immediately nodded her head in agreement. “Go for it.”

“Alya!”

“What? If they were stolen to begin with, then there’s no problem with him stealing them back. Besides, it’s not like Gabriel can report him to the police. There is evidence that the rings were originally your family’s, right? Like, pictures of your grandparents wearing them, or even official documentation?”

Huh. It seems Cesaire is more than she first appeared. “That’s correct, we have both.”

“Then he can’t do much. At worst, he can try to pass them off as a different set of jewelry since the ring is so generic, but that would just draw out the investigation and bring more evidence against him to light. Even claiming that you were the one to steal the ring could be difficult to prove unless he got it on camera.” She frowned. “Getting to the other ring will be difficult though, since Gabriel will likely protect it.”

“Plus, if he knows you stole it, he’s not going to let you into the house,” agreed Marinette. Both he and Cesaire exchanged at look at her abetting. “What? You act like I’ve never stolen anything before!”

“But you… haven’t?”

A cat-like grin stretched across Cesaire’s face. “Oh? She hasn’t told you that story yet?”

A groan. “Alya, no!”

A smirk twitched across his lips despite himself. Perhaps working with Cesaire wouldn’t be so bad after all…

Taglist: @graduatedmelon @novicevoice @dur55 @kris-pines04 @18-fandoms-unite-08 @moonlightstar64 @bee-a-garbage-shipper @sol-o-shade @kittyotakunoir666 @tinyterror333 @allieoftheenemy @marichat00 @xgxmxtx @two-faced-biatch @feliciakainzofspades @evil-cricket @emilytopaz @spicybelladonna @chocolateherringtacofan @user00000003 @wannajointhecrabcult @happymonster-pants @duquesapincarrasca @throneoffirebreathingbitchqueen  @sxltinette @kittydemon9000 @thetrashypanda423

[e-milieeee]

the enemy of my enemy (must be my ally)

Summary: When one of his akumas attacks Adrien and one of his classmates, Gabriel Agreste discovers that Marinette Dupain-Cheng would prove a very useful ally against Ladybug and Chat Noir. 

How had he not discovered sooner? But oh well—better late than never. Ladybug will never know what’s coming. 

Notes: from this post because everyone wanted me to write it. i warned y’all. feat. gabriel’s 2 functional brain cells. 

AO3 | Kofi

Gabriel Agreste isn’t past admitting his mistakes.

Most of them have involved Adrien, so he supposes that it’s time to pay attention to the trend. And all of those mistakes have involved his growing career as Hawkmoth—and, more specifically, the choices he makes for whom he akumatizes.

Lila Rossi, now known as Princess Perfect—seriously, what the hell was wrong with this girl? He’d given her the liberty of choosing her akuma name, but such a godawful name is a bad reflection on him as well—kicks down the door of the classroom.

He sees it all through Lila’s eyes, like he does with all the akumas. Doesn’t mean he’s particularly happy about the turnout of this particular akumatization.

“What are you doing?” Gabriel demands to her. “I want Ladybug and Chat Noir’s Miraculous! You’re going the wrong way.”

Relax. Lila’s voice drifts into his head. I need to take a little detour.

“What detour—” Oh. Oh, shit.

In the classroom, packing their bags, is his son and that Chinese girl with pigtails—Marinette. The one that Gabriel knows Lila Rossi intensely hates. The one that he doesn’t like either, because for some reason, his son is infatuated with her. It’s Marinette-this, Marinette-that these days, and Adrien just won’t stop gushing about her. Father, look at these designs! They’re Marinette’s. Father, look who’s on the news—it’s Marinette! Father, can you hire Marinette to work at Gabriel Brand?

Marinette, a real headache. Gabriel rubs his temples. Maybe it’s a good thing that Lila’s after her. Better to nip it in the bud before Adrien’s attachment becomes a real problem.

“Fine,” he grounds out to Lila. “But leave Ad—leave the blonde boy alone.”

Already ahead of you, Hawkie.

“Don’t call me that!”

She ignores him in favour of turning to the two victims. Adrien is standing in front of Marinette, arms spread in a protective stance, glaring at the akuma. For a couple moments, nobody speaks.

Then, Marinette, eyebrows furrowing, says, “You’re Lila, aren’t you. Seriously? What is this—your third akumatization? Fourth?”

“My name is Princess Perfect now,” Lila growls back. “Get out of my way, Adrien.”

Marinette literally gags. “Did Hawkmoth choose that name for you?”

“No, I didn’t,” Gabriel seethes. Unfortunately, none of them can hear him.

“Yes, he did,” Lila lies breezily. “But that’s not important. You think you’re such a hot shot, Marinette? You think you can take the spotlight from me without repercussions? I’m going to make sure everyone hates you and loves me, and you’ll learn your lesson for trying to cross me. After all, who can say no to Princess Perfect?”

Gabriel sighs through his nose. Are all teens this dramatic?

Apparently, they are. Betrayal comes from those closest to home, because it’s Adrien that holds up his arms even higher, still staring Lila down. “You’re going to have to go through me if you want to hurt her,” he promises. “Marinette, get out of here! Run!”

Oh, for heaven’s sake—

Two things happen at once. Lila darts towards them, her whip lashing out directly at Adrien. Gabriel swears under his breath—why isn’t Adrien moving out of the way? Why is he so intent on protecting that useless girl? “Lila!” he barks through the bond, but the akumatized girl is too far gone. “Touch him and I’ll make sure—”

Gabriel trails into dumbfounded silence when Marinette shoves Adrien aside, grabs the end of Lila’s whip, and tugs the weapon straight out of the girl’s hands.

“You’ve gone too far,” she growls in a tone so chilly that it even reaches him. “Adrien, get out of here! I can handle her.”

Lila’s own shock lasts for a couple of times before she regains some of her composure. “You?” she sneers. “Handle me? Why, you pathetic—”

Adrien chucks a pencil case at Lila. It hits her cheek, and she whirls on him, enraged. At the same time, Marinette darts away from the window and slides behind the large wooden desk at the front. Gabriel, still watching the scene unfold, scoffs. So for all her big talk, she’s still nothing but a coward.

“Stand down,” he commands Lila once more. “Don’t you dare touch Adrien—what the hell?”

Lila seems to have noticed the source of his bewilderment as well, but it’s far too late. From underneath the desk, Marinette has lifted the thing—the giant, wooden desk—onto her shoulders.

Gabriel’s positive he stops breathing.

“Wait—” Lila begins. He sees it all through her eyes: Marinette braces herself for a moment and then throws it—throws the desk that a grown man shouldn’t be able to lift—right at Lila.

She doesn’t stand a chance. Lila goes down in a crash, pinned under the weight of Ms. Bustier’s desk that this small, petite girl had somehow bench-pressed and then chucked.

As much as Lila struggles, she is unable to remove the desk from on top of her. Given that his akumas have enhanced strength and she’s still incapable of lifting it, just how strong is Marinette?

Said girl in question stalks over to Lila. She plants a foot firmly against the overturned side of the desk and looks down at the girl trapped underneath.

Gabriel is certain that somehow, impossible as it sounds, Marinette is staring right through Lila’s eyes, through their connection, and into his own. His body freezes. His jaw locks. And for the first time in a very, very long time, Gabriel Agreste is absolutely terrified.

“Next time you try something like this,” Marinette growls, leaning in, “I won’t let you off so easily.”

With that ominous note, she snatches the necklace off Lila’s neck and marches right out of the classroom.

Gabriel remains frozen for a couple more moments. He isn’t certain if he still remembers how to breathe.

It wasn’t Ladybug nor Chat Noir that had foiled this plan. No, it was Adrien Agreste’s classmate, a girl who had previously annoyed him, that had single handedly defeated an akuma and scared him absolutely shitless.

What. The. Fuck.

***

“Adrien,” Gabriel says over dinner. “You know that girl you always talk about? Marinette Dupain-Cheng?”

His son looks up from his meal with a bright look on his face. Once upon a time, Gabriel would’ve been annoyed. Now, after reevaluating the girl, he comes to the conclusion that it’s best Adrien stays on Marinette’s good side. She’s probably more than capable of beating his son up.

“Yeah, Marinette?” Adrien echoes. “You know how there was an akuma attack today? Well, Marinette was actually there in the classroom with me when the akuma came for us.”

Gabriel is forced to play ignorant. “Oh? What happened?”

“Well, the akuma tried to attack us, and Marinette picked up a desk—you might find it hard to believe, and honestly I would’ve too if I hadn’t seen her do it—and threw it at the akuma. When Ladybug and Chat Noir finally showed up, there wasn’t even anything for them to do.”

Gabriel shifts in his seat. “That is… rather unbelievable."

Except he swears he can still feel the heat of Marinette’s glare, and is forced to accept that this is the reality he’s living in.

“Why did you ask about her, though, father?”

He snaps back into the present. “Huh?”

“Marinette—why did you ask about her? Wait, father, are you reconsidering hiring her? Did you finally look at the designs I sent you? This is amazing. I’m sure she’ll do amazing. Your stocks will rise. You’ll get more customers. Marinette’s basically a walking lucky charm—this will be the best decision you’ve ever made, father. I promise.”

He frowns at Adrien. “Don’t make preposterous suggestions. But yes— I am considering giving Marinette Dupain-Cheng a job at the company, perhaps an internship one of the senior designers. She’s very… talented.”

He thinks of the way she’d lifted the desk and flung it at Lila. Talented, indeed.

Perhaps talented enough to finally give him an edge against Ladybug and Chat Noir.

***

Marinette Dupain-Cheng is more than eager to come in for a so-called interview. Nathalie has done her digging on the girl: she’s made it pretty big quite a couple times already, in the fashion industry and has quite a few connections. Even if Gabriel’s motivations aren’t technically for the company, he has to admit that she has much future potential to tap into in the future. But for now, that’s not his goal.

She’s impeccably dressed when Nathalie leads her inside his study. Her eyes are positively shining when she beams at Gabriel. “Mr. Agreste!” Marinette chirps. “I’m so happy to be here. When Adrien told me you wanted to interview me for the job…this is such an amazing opportunity to be presented with, and I am so honoured.”

Gabriel exchanges a glance with Nathalie. She nods subtly.

“It’s my pleasure to meet you, Ms. Dupain-Cheng.” He rises from his desk and holds out his hand for her to shake. She does so.

It takes all of Gabriel’s self-control not to show the pain on his face when she grips his hand.

How the fuck is this girl so strong?

Thankfully, Marinette doesn’t seem to notice anything wrong. Gabriel draws back his hand and tucks it behind his back. It’s throbbing.

“So, Marinette.” He sits back down at his desk. Marinette is practically bouncing on the balls of her feet. If she were any normal person, Gabriel might’ve snapped at her to settle down, but after that show with Lila yesterday, he decides that it’s for his own good not to get on her bad side. He’ll just have to channel all his patience—for self-preservation, really. “I understand that you’re interested in interning at my company?”

She nods excitedly. “I’ve been designing for years, Mr. Agreste—I’m aware that I have a lot to improve on—”

“What I have in mind for you—” Gabriel pauses, realizing that he’d interrupted her. Hurriedly, he gulps. “Never mind. Continue.”

“I’m aware that I have a lot to improve on but I’m a very quick learner! I promise I’ll do my very best to help you and your company.”

He nods. “That’s good to hear. For now, I’ll… I’ll arrange with Nathalie what we can assign you to do in the company. And I have another favour to ask of you, if it’s not too much.”

Marinette smiles. “Whatever it is, I’ll do my best to help you!”

Nathalie had warned him to be careful with Marinette—one wrong move and he could be ousted as Hawkmoth. He takes a deep breath. “I have become aware that there are some bad influences around my son in school. You are friends with Adrien, yes?”

“Yes, and… bad influences?” Marinette frowns, shifting her weight. “Oh, yeah, there’s one in particular. Actually, I’m not sure if you’re aware, Mr. Agreste, but I’m glad you brought it up. You know that akuma yesterday? That girl’s name was Lila Rossi. She’s been hanging around Adrien quite a bit these days, and ‘bad influence’ barely covers what she does. And—oh! When I confronted her once about making Adrien uncomfortable, she told me she had a ‘friend in a high place’ that was backing her up. I think you might want to look into that too, Mr. Agreste. It was pretty worrisome, to be honest.”

Gabriel’s mouth has gone dry. “I… yes. Yes, I shall look into that too.”

Marinette rolls her shoulders. “God, if I knew who they were, I’d throw them into the Seine. How dare they.” Then her eyes widen. “Sorry, Mr. Agreste! I was just… um, I was just talking to myself. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s perfectly alright,” Gabriel reassures immediately, although it doesn’t do much to ease the chill that is travelling up his spine. “Then it’s decided? Nathalie will give you her contact information—you can send her your resume just for formalities, and she will organize the rest. And… be sure to keep an eye on my son at school.”

“I will!” Marinette chirps, ever so chipper. Behind that attitude lies the strength to lift the desk he’s currently sitting and crush him. And much, much more.

Nathalie guides the girl away. Gabriel is unable to breathe fully until she leaves.

He has to calculate this well, because he can’t afford to lose a potential ally like Marinette Dupain-Cheng. He’s already thinking—perhaps she would do well with the Peacock Miraculous, or the Bee Miraculous, if he can get his hands on it again. If—if he can somehow convince Marinette to help him with his cause, all of his other plans don’t even need to go into action. Ladybug and Chat Noir will never see this coming.

Nathalie returns. “Sir, your face is rather pale,” she notes. “But may I ask what that was about? You were… unusually lenient today.”

Gabriel clears his throat and straightens in his seat. “Never mind me,” he dismisses. “But first, I need to contact Lila Rossi as soon as possible to cut off all ties. Let her know she’s fired.”

“Is this because…?”

He allows himself a small smile. “You’ll see soon, Nathalie,” he reassures. “We’ve finally got the upperhand in this fight.”

Notes: i lost brain cells writing it, and i’m sure y’all have lost brain cells reading it. 

Fics masterlist here! 

[mcheang]

Lila poisons the opinion against Marinette to an important individual or company. Adds a grain of truth to the lies to make it more believable. (ex. embellish stuff to make it seem worse like Marinette's crush, clumsiness, unbelievable lies to ditch events, etc.) Over time, their perception of Marinette is changed for the better.

Warnings

This is a draft

Siena Solace is a very famous fashion designer, on par with Gabriel Agreste. Having heard of MDC, she visits Paris under the claim of a joint collaboration with Gabriel to promote Lila. Aka, Gabriel promised Lila a shot at modelling but doesn’t want to give her a full-time contract in case her lies backfire.

While working with Lila, Siena asks if she knows MDC, because Adrien had nothing but praise for her.

Fuming, Lila then tells Siena that Marinette has an obsessive crush on Adrien to the point of stalking him, trying to sabotage the competition, and even stealing his phone or trying to steal a wax model hairstrand.

To be fair, that is true. But here come the lies.

So of course Marinette is nice to Adrien and anyone important. But she is just awful to all the other girls.

Siena hums thoughtfully. “But why didn’t you tell Adrien?”

Lila: he’s good friends with Chloe, the biggest bully of the school. He is really passive about this sort of thing and tries to be friends with everybody.

Good job giving Siena a bad impression of Adrien, too.

Siena was still doubtful but decided to test her suspicions.

She held a gala and invited Adrien and Chloé. True to form, Chloé insulted many people and Adrien noticed but did nothing.

Ugh.

Next, Siena ordered one of her models to go up to Adrien and invite him for a meal while she was in town. Adrien agreed and didn’t notice Marinette glaring at the model girl dragging her crush away.

Hmm, seems like Lila was telling the truth. What a shame. Siena had been looking forward to making Marinette her protege.

Anyway, Lila’s career was moving forward. But Siena was receiving feedback from exasperated staff. Lila was pretty but she just didn’t have that model quality. She was just so...fake.

It didn’t help that she liked to brag and never shut up, trying to tell professionals how to do their jobs.

Photographer: I feel like I just met Gilderoy Lockhart’s daughter.

Sighing, Siena decided to let Lila go. Lila sure put up a tantrum and did her best to slander the company. Though leaked video footage revealed Lila’s insufferable behavior on set. Fellow models happily eliminated their competition by telling reporters how horrible she was.

Commenters also did their research on the lies Lila was video recorded saying. In addition to an obnoxious and vain attitude, she was also a compulsive liar.

Well, Paris was a bust. Siena was getting ready to head back to America.

She was surprised to see certain people at the airport.

Marinette was happily greeting two girls and their mothers from America.

Siena briefly paused. Since Lila herself turned out to be a nasty liar, maybe she had also lied about Adrien and Marinette. Mixing truth with lies always makes a lie stronger.

If that’s the case, then Siena supposed Adrien had his reasons for being friends with Chloé. And as for Marinette’s jealousy...well, love blinds...

Siena just hoped they would grow out of these flaws as they grew up. Maybe control their jealousy and take a stronger stand against bullies.

[aidanchaser]

Boulangérella: A Miraculous Fairy Tale AU - Chapter Twenty-Six

Table of Contents Read on Ao3 Prologue

The first thing she saw when she opened her eyes were the white flowers beside her bed, bound in red thread. She brushed her fingers along the pale petals before she quite understood what she was looking at.

And when she did realize what they were, she knew, suddenly, who had left them.

Marinette sat up and looked wildly around her room, as if she might find him still lounging in the corner, but her only company was the late morning sunlight streaming through her window. She could not remember ever sleeping so late in her life.

As she threw on a dress over her shift, her panic pressed out the self-doubt of last night. She didn’t have time to be concerned with a year of failing to catch Hawk Moth and a night of being unable to help her friends when she had no idea what time it was, where she was supposed to be, and how much of her day she had missed.

Tikki had been right: things did look different after a good night’s sleep. But the difference was that she just had other, more pressing things to be worried about.

Marinette crashed into the kitchen quite literally, but the shelves were used to her and only wobbled slightly. They coated her in a dusting of flour for her trouble. The pain itself did not last, either, but her panic only increased as she realized that the bustle of the kitchen had already waned. Her parents were tying ribbons on the last of the delivery boxes for the palace and Alya and Nino were lounging against the shop counter, resting after the morning’s hard work.

“There’s Sleeping Beauty,” Alya laughed. “We were just saying we might have to send for one of the princes to wake you.”

Marinette’s cheeks burned, and she did not dare mention that there had already been a young man in her room. She wondered once again if her thief might be a prince, but she could not reason how or why. It had to be a coincidence that he and the two princes all sported matching injuries. “What time is it? What have I missed?”

“It’s just before lunch,” Sabine said. “You must be hungry. You didn’t even eat when you came home last night.”

Her father piled a tray high with biscuits and cookies and winter fruits, not unlike the tray she had put together for Chat Noir just two nights ago and carried it to a table near the door.

“Sit and eat before you go.”

Marinette shook her head. “Papa, I can’t. I have to get to Master Fu’s and fit the princes and—”

Marinette was cut off by the sound of a carriage and heavy boots outside the shop door. Alya and Nino’s lazy leans shifted into stiff shoulders and hard glares. A tension built up in their spines unlike any Marinette had known from them before. She supposed she couldn’t blame them after what King Gabriel had done to them yesterday, but there was no reason to think that the Crown had any further interest in them nor any further interest in this shop.

As four soldiers dressed in the white and red uniforms of the palace pushed their way inside, Marinette wondered if someone had perhaps seen a thief entering her room to leave flowers. Or, perhaps there was more to Nino and Alya’s grim expressions. Perhaps her thief had left more than one gift behind last night.

Anxiety pooled in Marinette’s gut. She had planned to discuss Trixx’s capture with Chat Noir and make a plan to get Trixx back, but she had never thought that he might run off and rob the palace on his own. Then again, he had never consulted her about Volpina, either.

But as the castle soldiers flanked either side of the door, it was not a captain nor officer with arrest papers in hand who entered next. It was Duchess Amelie Graham de Vanily who swept in, dressed in a black gown decorated with white pearls. Her sleeves were edged with silver-white vines, trailing from shoulder to wrist along the outside seam, where ribbons fastened the sleeves closed. She smiled pleasantly at the group, and her dark green eyes even lit up when she saw Alya and Nino behind the counter.

Alya resisted the urge to press her hand to her chest, resisted the instinct to shield Trixx from whatever was about to happen. Nino had warned her that continuing to wear the pendant would put her in danger, but she could not bear the thought of leaving Trixx alone and unprotected. A part of her began to regret her decision not to return Trixx to the Forest of Fay.

Last night, after Tikki had left her and Nino, Alya had done as she had promised. She had let Trixx go.

But Trixx had perched on her shoulder. “Technically, I owe you.”

Alya had shaken her head. “You don’t owe me anything. I didn’t rescue you for a favor.”

“Yeah, but even before that, I promised you another turn with the magic of illusion in exchange for head scritches. I never made good on that promise.”

“But I promised Tikki that I would return you to the Forest of Fay.”

The trickster had wrinkled his small, snout-like nose. “Did you tell her when?”

“Aren’t fay really concerned with manners and things?” Nino had asked. “I don��t think we should anger the Fay of Creation.”

“But bargains are the my thing,” Trixx had replied. “If Tikki wasn’t specific, that’s on her. She should know better.”

Alya, flattered as she was by Trixx’s loyalty, knew that she would never be able to become Rena Rouge again anymore than she could become Scarabella again. King Gabriel must already be calling for Scarabella’s head; if he knew that Alya had become Rena Rouge once again, she imagined she’d quick become his target.

But if Trixx truly wanted to stay with her, she would let him. Even if she never got a turn at the magic of illusion again, that was all right by her. All she wanted was to be certain that Trixx did not feel trapped again.

Now, standing before the duchess, she worried that his freedom was not going to last much longer, and neither was hers, especially not after the wanted posters that had appeared last night.

The duchess, however, did not look anything like King Gabriel had yesterday when he had questioned her and Nino. There was no hard line set in her jaw, no coldness in her eyes. In fact, her smile looked warm and inviting, which startled Alya.

Sabine Cheng curtsied first, and the others followed suit suddenly, as if they had all forgotten their manners in the shock of the Duchess’s arrival, and only Sabine reminded them of their decorum.

“Your Grace,” Sabine said, “it is an honor to have you here. Is everything all right? We were only just preparing to take the last delivery up to the palace.”

“Everything is well, Madame Cheng,” the duchess smiled. “In fact, if you would like to give your delivery to my soldiers, they’ll see it safely to the palace.”

“We appreciate the assistance,” Tom Dupain said with another bow, but he exchanged a worried glance with Sabine.

“You didn’t come all this way to pick up desserts, though, did you?” Alya asked.

Nino tightened a hand on Alya’s wrist. He may have promised to try and be better about understanding her reckless drive, but he still thought it unwise to speak to a duchess in that tone. He prepared to grab Alya and run if the duchess ordered the guards to search Alya.

The duchess, however, was unperturbed and gave no such order. “I came to extend an invitation and an apology.”

Nino and Alya’s eyes met. Suspicion lingered in their expressions and worry creased their brows.

“The palace’s decisions yestereve,” the duchess continued, “were of a manner unbecoming to that of our station. We are, all of us, regardless of position, subject to the whims of the villain Hawk Moth, and it would be remiss to claim that what happened to Mademoiselle Césaire was in any way her fault. I would like to personally invite Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng, Mademoiselle Césaire, and Monsieur Lahiffe to attend my son’s birthday celebration this evening as my guests.”

None of them moved. Nino’s hand tightened on Alya’s wrist and she shifted a bit closer to him, as if she was just as likely to step between him and the soldiers as he was to protect her.

“It is a high honor,” Tom finally said. His gaze flicked over the tension in Nino and Alya’s shoulders and, despite his and Sabine’s original decision to allow the two to take the evening off and enjoy themselves, he said, “I’m afraid the bakery cannot spare these two this evening. We have a lot of work to be done in the wake of the ball.”

Sabine cleared her throat uncertainly. Direct invitations from royalty were not something lightly turned down. She would do anything she could to spare Nino and Alya further indignity—for everyone had heard what had happened to the two yesterday afternoon—but she was afraid that by denying the duchess’s invitation, they may be putting Nino and Alya in the path of worse harm.

Duchess Amelie pursed her lips, but the warmth in her dark green eyes was unchanged. “I suppose after my brother’s decisions, I cannot blame you for being wary. I shall entertain you at your pleasure. But it would be a great honor to have all three of you in attendance.”

“Respectfully, Your Grace,” Nino said, careful to keep his tone as unchallenging as possible, “Alya and I aren’t even a part of the ball’s celebrations, are we? If the invitations went out to eligible brides for the princes, I don’t see how we ought to attend at all.”

The duchess’s eyes flicked over Monsieur Lahiffe and Mademoiselle Césaire’s tense shoulders and the way they practically leaned against one another. Then she looked behind them, to the shelves of flour where Mademoiselle Dupain-Chang still stood, frozen in half of a curtsy as she stared at the duchess.

She had been unsure what to expect of the girl her nephew might be in love with. She only knew the seamstress through the notes and designs she had sent to the palace as she put together Félix’s outfits for the ball. Amelie had found her talented and capable, but that did not necessarily speak to her character. She certainly had not been prepared to see the girl in a wrinkled chemise and a poorly tied dress, all covered in flour. It was not what she had come to expect from the very professional seamstress.

But all of that could be cleaned up. If anything, Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng had shown the most courtesy so far by being silent and letting the duchess speak without challenge.

“You are correct, Monsieur Lahiffe, that neither you nor Mademoiselle Césaire are eligible brides for my son or my nephew, however I was given reason to believe that a certain eligible bride would only attend if the two of you were in attendance.”

All eyes cut to Marinette and her cheeks burned hot suddenly. The implication hung in the bakery, heavy as the scent of freshly baked bread. One of the princes wanted Marinette at the ball desperately enough that the Duchess was willing to come across the city to invite her in person and to invite two persons that King Gabriel had explicitly banished from the palace.

Marinette could not stammer out so much as a “thank you.”

The wariness in Alya’s eyes flickered with mischief. “Well, we certainly couldn’t let Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng attend alone.”

“It’s settled then,” the Duchess said. “I’ve already alerted my staff that you’ll be returning to the palace with me, and they will assist you in getting ready for this evening. I’ve prepared everything for you.”

“W-wait—” Marinette finally managed. “I can’t—I have to—the princes—the dress—their suits—my Master still—I couldn’t—”

“I think what my daughter means to say,” Sabine interrupted, “is that she still needs to visit Master Fu’s shop to pick up the outfits for the princes for this evening.”

Marinette nodded.

“Of course,” Duchess Amelie smiled. “I’ll have two of my soldiers escort you, and they’ll bring you right to me when you’re finished. Monsieur Lahiffe and Mademoiselle Césaire can join me now.”

And she swept out of the bakery without another word, leaving only her soldiers behind to ensure that her commands were followed.

Tom put a protective hand on Marinette’s shoulder and said, low enough to avoid the ears of the soldiers at the door, “You don’t have to go if you don’t want to.”

But that was the trouble. Marinette did want to go. Last night, Chat Noir had tried to come and see her, but she’d been too exhausted to see him. And if his deadline was as he had promised, that at the end of the ball he would be giving up his miraculous gift, what other choice did she have?

Nino whispered to Alya, “Are you sure about this?” He glanced at her chest, where he imagined the necklace was hidden. When Alya had put it on this morning, the orange topaz pendant had turned into a simple gold loop, masking its magic in a look painfully reminiscent of the rings he and Alya had lost yesterday.

“We can’t let Marinette go alone. Going with the Duchess might even give us some protection.”

“And if it’s a trap?” Nino and Alya both had seen the wanted posters for Scarabella on their way to the bakery this morning. There was no way King Gabriel could know that Alya was the one who had stolen the pendant from him, but surely she would be the first person he ought to interrogate.

“I have at least one last turn at Trixx’s magic,” she whispered, “and I won’t hesitate to use it this time.”

Nino didn’t like any of this, but he had promised Alya that he would allow her to make her own choices. It was all he could do to try to protect her from some of the consequences.

He glanced from Alya to Marinette and saw the same resolve in her eyes as well.

“Then we go together,” he said, and slid his hand from Alya’s wrist so they were palm to palm, fingers interlaced, and he squeezed. She squeezed back.

“You still haven’t eaten, Marinette,” Sabine said worriedly as Tom began to hand the boxes of sweets and breads to the soldiers.

Marinette stuffed her purse and sewing apron pockets with food from the tray her father had put together. “I’ll eat and walk, Maman,” she promised.

Her parents exchanged a worried look, but had little else to add. Tom kissed her forehead and said, “Be safe.”

Sabine gave her a hug and said, “Could you be home by midnight tonight?”

Marinette promised that she would try.

The duchess ushered Alya and Nino into her carriage and told Marinette to come and see her as soon as she had finished fitting the princes.

The carriage was not the same as the brilliant white and gold carriage that Prince Adrien had arrived in to have his measurements taken at Master Fu’s shop a month ago. This one was plainer, with a circle of silver-white vines twisting around the carriage windows. As the duchess drew the shades to keep out the harsh glare of the winter sun, Marinette saw the vine-like crest of the Graham de Vanily family. She wondered if it was for better or worse that the duchess had come in her own rank as a duchess, and not as sister to the king.

Two of the guards escorted Marinette on her journey to Master Fu’s shop. Both were tall, though one was lanky with a loping gait, and the other thick with heavy steps. Despite their stiff uniforms, they smiled easily and the lanky one chatted freely. The other one reminded Marinette fondly of Juleka as he mumbled through his end of the conversation.

Out of habit, Marinette’s eyes drifted to the town square noticeboard as they passed it. She was used to checking for news of Chat Noir’s thievery or updates about Hawk Moth’s monsters. She was used to seeing Chat Noir’s wanted poster, but she wasn’t used to see Ladybug’s face next to it nor the label “TREASON” beneath each of their portraits.

She also did not recognize the face of the third wanted poster, but she knew what the black spots on the girl’s scarf and mask indicated. Instinctively, her hands went to her earrings, which were firmly in place. Had someone borrowed Ladybug’s notoriety to commit a crime?

“Did… Ladybug do something yesterday?” Marinette asked carefully as she approached the notice board.

“I wasn’t on duty last night,” the thinner one said, “but I heard that the girl that took down Hawk Moth’s curse last night also helped Chat Noir steal from the king. The crown wants Ladybug to answer for it, too.”

The other guard mumbled, “My wife says it’s just a conspiracy from the King, that he can’t stand someone else having power that he doesn’t.”

Marinette glanced through the notice about Hawk Moth’s latest curse: an unidentified young man who was able to bubble numerous people in the city and several palace guards. Some guards reported that the woman who defeated him was not Ladybug, but had used similar magic to restore the damage that Hawk Moth’s curse had done.

All this time Chat Noir had been telling her to find a new partner, and it sounded like he had somehow found one for himself.

Marinette nibbled on a cookie as she walked, half-listening to her talkative guard gush excitedly about the ball that evening and asking his fellow guard if he thought that Mademoiselle Chloé Bourgeois would dance with him. She didn’t think it was possible for another fay to have similar powers to Tikki, but she could ask Tikki while she was gathering the princes’ clothes. She was more nervous about seeing her face on a wanted poster. She had done nothing but help the people of the city and protected them from Hawk Moth. Apparently King Gabriel didn’t appreciate that as much as his people did.

She turned over her conversation with the king from last night. He’d told Ladybug that he didn’t want her in his city any more than he wanted Hawk Moth. She supposed she shouldn’t be surprised to see her face on a wanted poster. Suddenly, Chat Noir quitting didn’t seem like so terrible an idea. She might even quit being Ladybug if King Gabriel came after her.

Maybe If their time as heroes was coming to an end, she should just tell him who she was. Maybe she could make him stay.

And maybe, if he really was a prince, he’d ask her to stay, too.

Her feet felt heavy as she climbed the steps to Master Fu’s shop. “I’ll be out shortly,” she promised her guards.

Given the late hour, she half-expected Master Fu to have gone to the palace himself, but he was still in his shop, seated at the low table in the foyer with a steaming pot of tea ready and an empty cup set for a guest.

The creases in the corners of his eyes deepened as he smiled at Marinette. “You have been late before, but not quite like this.”

“I’m sorry, Master Fu. I didn’t mean to oversleep. I can grab the princes’ things and be on my way.”

“Please, join me,” he said, as if there was nothing more pressing than an early afternoon tea.

“But the ball—”

“There is time for tea.”

Reluctantly, Marinette took a seat at the table. She noticed a stack of papers at her master’s elbow, not unlike the stack from a month ago, when they had sat at this very table and he had given her all his notes on the Graham de Vanily twins and their dresses. Her commencement project for her apprenticeship had come to an end.

Her apprenticeship had come to an end.

Marinette gasped and her eyes darted to the seal on the end of one of the pieces of parchment at Master Fu’s elbow. She had not seen the seal since she was thirteen, since she had first signed her apprenticeship contract.

The smile on Master Fu’s face widened ever so slightly. “So you have realized what today is?”

“I didn’t think… It never occurred to me…”

“You never noticed that the princes’ birthdays fell on the last day of the year? It never occurred to you that your commencement assignment was in fact the last work you would do as an apprentice?”

Marinette had never had a head for dates. Deadlines, yes, because she was constantly aware of when things had to be done. But dates that recurred, cycles and anniversaries, were difficult to remember. She knew, of course, that the longest night of the year was the last night of the year. But it hadn’t occurred to her yet that the last night of the year was tonight.

“Your apprenticeship ends today.” Master Fu pulled the contract from the stack of papers and laid it in front of her. “Tomorrow morning, you will officially be a journeyman.”

Marinette blinked slowly, unsure how to process this information. She wanted to be excited. She had waited for this moment for so long. She had worked so hard to get to this point. Why wasn’t she happier?

Master Fu also pulled five folded letters from the stack of paper and set them down on top of the contract. Each was sealed in wax, marked with a circular crest Marinette did not recognize, and addressed in five different languages.

“There is much to discuss at the end of your apprenticeship,” Master Fu said. “And perhaps if the end had not come timed with a royal ball, we may have had this conversation much sooner. And perhaps if this past year had not been plagued by Hawk Moth, we would have discussed much more.”

Marinette’s brow furrowed, unsure what Hawk Moth had to do with her apprenticeship, and Master Fu struggled to find the words to explain to Marinette all that he had to tell her.

When Master Fu had finished his apprenticeship, he had traveled the world before settling in the City of Bright Lights. He’d studied under masters in a dozen countries—but he had not only studied tailoring and dressmaking. He had studied magic, too. He had meant to share that knowledge with Marinette as her apprenticeship waned, but Hawk Moth had changed things. Ladybug had changed things.

“You do not have to choose where you will begin your studies as a journeyman right away,” Master Fu said. “But I saw the wanted posters that appeared last night and thought you might like to know all of your options.”

Marinette tore her eyes from the letters and blinked at Master Fu. “What do the wanted posters have to do with me?”

Master Fu had expected it would be hard to get his apprentice to share the truth with him after a year of secrets, but with King Gabriel’s latest proclamation, and her apprenticeship coming to its end, their only hope was to help each other as fully as they could.

“I had planned to bring this up with you a year ago, Marinette, and perhaps I should have. Perhaps we would not be so pressed for time as we are now if I had been more forward last year.”

Marinette’s brow furrowed. “‘More forward’?”

“When I was about your age, I, too, was finishing up an apprenticeship. My master presented me with my journeyman papers, my letters of recommendation to other masters, and this bracelet.”

Master Fu unclasped the small jade bracelet that he had worn for as long as Marinette had known him. But when he set it on the table it transformed into a brilliant cuff of solid green stone, smoothly polished, with thin cuts crisscrossing the band like plated armor.

“A fay gift?” Marinette asked, not even pausing to wonder if letting on that she had knowledge of such gifts and their glamor revealed too much.

A small green creature poked its head out from the collar of Master Fu’s tunic. Its bright yellow eyes were wide and nervous, but it floated forward and bowed to her, displaying its turtle-shell-like body.

“This is Wayzz,” said Master Fu, “the Fay of Protection.”

“It is a pleasure,” Wayzz said. “I have heard much about you, Marinette.”

Marinette looked up from Wayzz to Master Fu. “All this time? You’ve had a miraculous gift since… since you finished your apprenticeship?”

“I have been its keeper and bondsman since I was about your age, when my master presented it to me upon completion of my apprenticeship. Together, Wayzz and I have carried on the work of my master and his master before him. We have fought to ensure that the fay creatures of the world are protected from the greed and control of humans. When I first accepted you as my apprentice all those years ago, Marinette, I had expectations that you would one day be able to succeed me in this role, if you were willing.”

Marinette searched for her words and found them buried deep beneath her shock and anxiety. Her voice was thin as she asked, “Why are you telling me this now?”

Master Fu stroked his chin and considered his answer for a moment. “I was preparing to teach you the secrets of the fay and the magic that my master had passed to me. The seventh year of your apprenticeship, when I was confident that you were capable and trustworthy of such knowledge, seemed the opportune time to begin your instruction. However, the Fay of Time and Evolution, the fastest of the fay, arrived suddenly, and told me that a human had sacrificed another human life in exchange for a miraculous gift. Fluff also told me that this human had been in pursuit of both the Fay of Luck and Creation and the Fay of Chaos and Destruction, but Nooroo, the Fay of Transmission, had convinced this human that those fay were already bound, and the man would have to take them from their bondsmen to attain the power that he sought. In order to truly protect Tikki and Plagg, the fay would need to find bondsmen worthy of their power and capable of standing against Hawk Moth.”

Marinette’s lips went numb as she stared at her teacher who had guided her for the last seven years and replayed every flimsy excuse and terrible lie she had ever given him for being late in the mornings or having to leave suddenly or being late on a deadline.

Marinette bit down on her lip. “So when you sent me into the Forest of Fay a year ago…”

“I had hoped that your passion and creativity would be recognized. I believe I was right, was I not?”

Marinette could see no sense sense in lying any longer. Though she chewed on her lip indecisively, she unfastened the sterling silver earrings and set them on the table, watching as the glamor dissolved and they became the brilliant ruby earrings that Ladybug wore.

She opened her purse and carefully lifted Tikki from inside.

“Master Fu, meet Tikki, the Fay of Luck and Creation.”

Tikki fluttered her small red wings and looked up at Master Fu with her brilliant violet eyes. She inclined her head respectfully, as he did for her.

“It is a pleasure to see you again, Guardian,” she said.

Marinette could not help but choke on her own voice. “But—How—”

“When I chose this city as my home,” Master Fu said, “I made introductions to the Fay of the Forest. There are other places with other forms of magic, but I thought I would settle here, where creativity thrived so beautifully.”

“But why you didn’t say anything to me before?” Marinette asked in a weak voice. Why didn’t they have this conversation a year ago? Why hadn’t he been honest with her about why he had sent her into the Forest of Fay after the Queen had fallen asleep?

“I did not tell you the truth a year ago because even though I knew you would someday make a wonderful Guardian of the Fay, I did not believe that you had the same understanding of yourself. I tell you all this now because you will have to make a choice very soon. And whether you choose to be the Guardian of the Fay or not, that choice will impact both the fay and the humans of this world.”

Marinette buried her face in her hands. “I can’t believe I never knew… I should have told you…”

“Marinette, I believe you were right to keep this gift secret. We have seen what happens when someone’s identity as a bondsman becomes public knowledge in the kingdom. Imagine if King Gabriel had put up those wanted posters and rumors about Marinette had followed.”

Her throat went dry. In the wake of Master Fu’s story, she had practically forgotten about the wanted posters.

“Speaking of the wanted posters…” Marinette turned one of the ruby earrings between her fingers. “Is there another fay with magic like Tikki’s?”

“Tikki is one of a kind,” Master Fu said. He glanced down at the small fay. “If Scarabella was not a disguise that you and Tikki put together to conceal your thievery from King Gabriel, then perhaps Tikki has something she would like to tell you.”

Tikki’s small hands clung to Marinette’s finger. “I would have told you this morning,” Tikki assured her, “you just went downstairs in such a hurry!”

Marinette blinked down at her true partner and closest confidante for the last year. “I don’t understand.”

“You were so tired last night, and you’ve already risked so much. So I… I let you sleep and I made a deal with your friend Alya to rescue Trixx.”

If Marinete had been standing, her knees might have given out. Tikki had left her. Well, that wasn’t fair. Tikki had come back. If anything, Alya had borrowed Tikki from her—though surely Alya didn’t know the gift had come from Marinette.

Marinette wrinkled her nose as she tried to sort through her thoughts. She picked up one of the letters addressed to a master in one of the eastern countries, addressed in a script familiar to her from her mother’s personal notes. She had always expected to go abroad to study her craft, but she had also hoped that Hawk Moth would have been stopped by that time. She did not think she could abandon the city and these people to his curses.

“Marinette,” Master Fu said slowly, drawing her attention away from the letter, “I would like to make one thing as plain as I can. You cannot be both Guardian of the Fay and Ladybug.”

Marinette looked down at Tikki and Wayzz, as if expecting them to contradict Master Fu, but Tikki’s normally bright eyes looked so mournful. It was a heartbreak not unlike Chat Noir’s.

“Why not?”

“To take on Wayzz is a lifetime bond, much like the bond forged when a life is sacrificed. It cannot be paired with any other bond, unless the bondsman intends to go mad.”

“But why is it so much? Tikki has never asked for more than a sweet.”

Master Fu twisted the jade cuff between his fingers. “To be Guardian of the Fay is an enormous responsibility. It cannot be bought with trinkets or favors. It requires a hefty sacrifice of power and knowledge, for the power and knowledge received are great.” With a heavy sigh, he set the jade bracelet back down on the low table. “If I believed there was a right choice then I would advise you, but I believe there is only a right choice for you.”

Marinette stared at the miraculous gifts resting on the table and the fay that linked their power to them. If Ladybug was wanted for treason now, maybe disappearing was for the best. Maybe she and Chat Noir could runaway together. They could leave this city, she could continue to study as a seamstress and tailor, and Chat Noir could do whatever day job he claimed to have. She could become the guardian and leave Tikki with Alya, with Scarabella.

But running away didn’t feel right. Marinette had always taken on everything thrown at her. She had continued to help out at the bakery throughout her apprenticeship. She had become Ladybug without question, adding it to her responsibilities to her parents and Master Fu. She had worked on the princes’ outfits for the ball, managing all her duties as well as managing the princes’ needs alongside their parents’ desires. She always did everything asked of her, even when it was too much.

“Could I just defeat Hawk Moth first and then become Guardian of the Fay?” Marinette asked.

“Do you think you can defeat Hawk Moth before King Gabriel catches you?” Master Fu asked.

Marinette picked up the earrings and fastened them back into her ears. “I told Chat Noir I would try to catch Hawk Moth tonight. I told him we would finish this fight so that we can face together whatever deadline he has looming over him in his other life.” Her mind flashed again to the princes’ bruises and the ball tonight but it was so hard to imagine that a prince would choose to become a wanted criminal. “I’ll find Chat Noir tonight, and see if we can’t make a plan. If Ladybug is going to leave the city… that’s not a decision I want to make without my partner. And… I suppose if I fail, and I don’t catch Hawk Moth tonight… well, I’ll have to talk it over with Alya, too.”

Master Fu smiled. For as long as he had known her, she had been fiercely independent. Perhaps not independent in the way some people thought of independence. It did not shun others, nor assert itself loudly in ways that were unasked for. It was a quiet determination and stubbornness, the sort of determination that drove her into a sleepless month as she tried to finish a project that was perhaps more than she should have been given. It was the sort of stubbornness that refused to give up on people she loved.

But to hear her say she wanted to discuss such a large decision with another person, to hear her say she might ask a friend for help… It was a sort of humility that Master Fu had not seen from Marinette yet, and it only made him doubly certain that he had made the right choice by selecting her to be his apprentice in each of his crafts.

He gathered up the last of the papers at his elbow along with the letters of recommendation he had prepared for her. “These are the records from my training, both of my masters and their masters and those that I have added myself. I shall keep them safe for a time, until you have made your decision.”

“Thank you, Master Fu.” Marinette got to her feet. “I really ought to get going, though. The guards outside the door will start to worry I’ve run off on them.”

Master Fu’s eyebrows raised, but he made no move to stand. “Guards?”

Marinette explained the duchess’s sudden visit and insistence that Marinette attend the ball. Her face went red as she mentioned that the duchess seemed to want her there, personally, but she got through the story without stumbling over her words too much.

“It sounds as if you have no need of your gift, then,” Master Fu said.

Marinette frowned as she picked up the packages for the princes. “My gift?”

“The dress that I made for you to wear to the ball this evening.”

It wasn’t that Marinette had forgotten, but, well… There were just so many things for her to worry about right now, what she would wear to the ball had been lost in the chaos. “Master Fu, I’m so sorry—I didn’t even think—”

“It is nothing to be concerned about,” Master Fu said with a small smile. “It will have its time and place. For now, perhaps you should get to work. You have a long night ahead of you.”

Tikki darted into Marinette’s purse just as Marinette opened the door, and then both were gone.

Wayzz looked away from the door and up at Master Fu, who had been his partner for a human lifetime. Most of the fay did not think much of how humans passed time, but Wayzz did. Wayzz spent his life going from human to human, staying with them from youth into old age, and loving each of them fully.

“You didn’t tell her what it will cost,” Wayzz said.

“She has enough to worry about.” Master Fu pushed himself to his feet. He needed to pack Marinette’s dress. He would deliver it to her parents, along with the letters of recommendation. There would be time to tell her everything when the ball was finished. There would have to be.

[legends-live-in-memories]

“How Did All This Happen?”- A Memoire by one Marinette Dupain-Cheng 1

Soooooo I decided to write this. much longer than the other things i posted, also very tonally different. I will definitely continue that other fic tho. I was just brainstorming and now this exists. Yeah.

 without further ado

Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8

People Fucked Up and Now It’s All Marinette’s Mess to Clean Up I

This was not how Marinette planned for her night to go. Granted, she also could not envision it going literally any other way. The woes of making a deal with the hell-raiser himself, John Constantine, she supposes. She truly hoped Adrien was having a much better time than her with his cousin in London. After the circus that was the past three years, he deserved some reprieve, even if it was with his bratty doppelganger. Regardless, Marinette. Was. Not. Pleased. No matter how many times she thinks over her plan, recalculates every step and decision, she could not fathom this night ending well for her, or anyone really, but mostly her. And no amount of old Ladybug or Guardian luck could help her. Now, if one were to wonder what kind of tragedy had befallen Marinette on this disgraceful night, a brief history of the last three months could enlighten such a person. Or better yet, let’s start at the beginning. The Real Beginning.

So, things existed. Obviously. First there was nothing, and then, something. And as more things began to exist, as new schools of knowledge and concepts and ideas began to, well, exist, Kwamis formed as well. Each Kwami was the physical manifestation of these ideas or abstracts. Creation was the first, coupled with Destruction. And as more things began to exist, more things began needing to be protected. Thus, the Kwami of Protection. This went on. For a while. Soon thereafter there were Kwamis of all types. Jubilation, Time, Strength, etc, etc, and etc. Now these Kwamis did not linger in one spot. They roamed across the far stretches of existence and interacted with the life they found.

Some Kwamis decided to form a magical pact which intergalactic historians would later dub the Emotional Electromagnetic Spectrum. Sounds familiar? The Kwamis themselves were completely blissfully unaware of this title, lest they would have explained to these beings, Maltusians they were called, that they were not in fact, electromagnetic but more so a part of the Powers that Be. Kind of. But this side-story involves the formation of a few universally known Lantern Corps, and that is a barrel of monkeys our exasperated narrator does not want to touch with a ten-foot pole. Or ever.

Other Kwamis, who stuck close to what would become known as the Milky Way, were discovered by a mage who granted them the ability to interact with humans. This mage— and Marinette was silently cursing his descendants, herself included, for if it weren’t for this absolute mad lad, none of the subsequent events of this night would have transcribed—had bound the Kwamis to magical jewelry called Miraculouses. An interesting side effect of these Kwamis being bound to the miraculouses was that the wearer could call upon the powers of the Kwamis for their own usage. The mage feared what could become of the world if this kind of power became so easily accessible, so he created the Order of the Guardians. The Order was dedicated to training young mages to protect, wield and harvest the powers of the miraculouses. The Order swore to true neutrality; wishing not to impose their will on one side or the other, to maintain balance and to not upset the natural order of the world. 

This went surprisingly well for a few millennia, that is, of course, if you ignore the sinking of Atlantis, the extinction of the dinosaurs, the Black Plague, the creation of the Lazarus Pits, Pompeii, to name a few completely egregious instances—not necessarily in order of course—and well, the point stands that it could have been astronomically worse. Until it was.  

One young mage and Guardian in training had caused the downfall of almost the entire Order of the Guardians. All the centuries of history, teachings, artifacts and even the people at the head temple, were lost to the calamity. Dozens of Miraculous Boxes were lost, destroyed in the fray. The Kwamis themselves were relatively unaffected, being immortal and all, but the magical jewelry binding them to the earth were broken, thus those Kwamis were lost to mankind once again. Only one singular box, and the young mage himself, survived. The new Guardian of one miraculous box was left to scour the earth in solitude. Well, about as much solitude one could have with 17 pocket gods as company. The fact that the only box that survived was missing two more miraculouses caused the already stressed guardian to grey further. But that tidbit of information would be a problem for later. And for someone else entirely too. Oh joy.

But before that sequence of events, aptly named “Marinette’s Trial by Fire,” however, the young guardian had a couple more life mistakes to make before he reached his internal quota apparently. Rather than travel to another sector of the Order on the other side of the earth, this young mage stumbled upon another organization, one similar in architecture and hierarchy but a pendulum swing in the total moral opposite. Yes, that’s right, the guardian found himself upon the League of Shadows, led by Ra’s Al Ghul in his endeavor of global cleansing; by acts of ecoterrorism, but who sweats the small stuff, right? There, the young guardian, who adopted the name of Wang Fu, met his first love Ming Hong and they had a son. The son had a daughter he named Mei. Now Mei was only a few weeks younger than Ra’s Al Ghul’s grandson, Damian. Now with an appropriate heir, and someone to procreate with said heir, Ra’s Al Ghul gained a special interest in the small Fu family that originally flew under the radar of the League. 

Now this is where things continue to go downhill, but not until much, much later in this story. Ra’s Al Ghul, despite his radical ambitions, was particularly good at playing the long game and understood when he couldn’t accomplish a task directly. This being said, he recognized that, due to prolonged exposure to the Lazarus Pits, his soul could not bear the strain of being a wielder of a miraculous and so he waited. Waited until a suitable heir was sired and could copulate with an heir to the guardian of the miraculous box, desiring to create a bloodline of genetically suitable successors and wielders who were loyal to him and his cause. 

Ra’s ordered for the Fu family to have a place on his court and ordered for Mei Fu to be trained in mastering the secrets of the miraculous. And master she did. By age 6 she was fluent in the coded language of the magical text, or as fluent a 6 year old can be in any language, and she had mastered 7 out the 17 miraculouses. By age 10 she was as skilled as the grandson of the Demon Head in combat and could handle simultaneous wear of 3 miraculouses. Her training, however, had to be put on hold as somebody thought usurping the Demon Head was of the utmost importance that glorious Tuesday and staged a coup. She wished Deathstroke had lost more than an eye that day, but a girl can dream she supposes. Mei and her grandfather were separated from the rest of the League and journeyed west. Somehow they ended up in Paris, France. After one too many run ins with the authorities, Mei was removed from her grandfather, who was deemed too unfit to support her. It was a miracle he wasn’t deported. 

Mei was put into protective custody where she resided until she was 13. Recently adopted, and thoroughly done with the plebeians of her daily encounters, Mei Fu became Marinette Dupain-Cheng, daughter of the best bakers in Paris. All was well and good for the new Dupain-Cheng until the start of the new school year. 

She met her grandfather again. And apparently he had a job for her and her soon to be new partner.

Hawkmoth, that bitch, had somehow acquired the two last surviving miraculouses and the only surviving grimoire and thought domestic terrorism was on the agenda for the next few years. Why? Because investing in a family therapist was too much of an inconvenience for local recluse, Gabriel McFucking Agreste, Marinette would shortly learn. 

After dealing with all of that and juggling between her reignited guardian training, and ‘normal’ girl life—because her parents don’t know that she’s a magical girl in the making—, Marinette was ready to sleep for a thousand years. Or commit murder. Whichever gave her enough serotonin to complete her current passion project. But, alas, no rest for the totally-over-it or however that saying goes. Because after declaring Paris safe once again, sending off her brother-in-arms, Adrien Agreste, to family in London (marginally decent but anything beats the abusive prick of a sperm donor), in waltz one drunken John Constantine.

Ah yes. Him. That absolute bastard who doesn’t deserve nice things in life. That guy.

This unpleasantry approached Master Fu and Marinette, who has been regulated to errand-girl in lieu of training, with a job that he proclaimed that only one blessed with magic, and specifically NOT connected to the Justice League could accomplish. Apparently, a group called the Cult of the Kobra resided on Santa Prisca and was in possession of a dangerous magical artifact that had been the backbone of their organization for years. Constantine came to them asking them for assistance in retrieving it as the Justice League could not interfere in the Caribbean due to new UN legislation. It was a mission of utmost urgency for he feared the cult leader, Kobra himself, was planning on enacting a ritual that could bring calamity to Earth. Which is just what the doctor ordered. Not. In exchange, he agreed to add to her magical training as while master Fu was good, he was still young when he ran away from his problems the first time and thus was limited in his magical knowledge.

That was three months ago. Three months of planning, training, and convincing her parents that letting her go on an extended retreat for an undetermined amount of time with her mostly absent biological grandfather was totally reasonable for the seventeen year old to do. Like, come on. She’s almost old enough to drink, almost ready for university and has been praised for her independence and self-sufficiency for years. She’ll be fine is what she told her parents and she was almost able to convince herself of that too. She would be perfectly fine. Right?

Wrong.

Marinette was anything but fine. She was stressed, she was tired and she was abso-fucking-lutely pissed at anything that even breathed in her direction. Why? Well that brings us back to the beginning of the story when everything on this mission did not go according to plan. So here she was along what was once upon a time the eastern coastline of Santa Prisca. Oh and look. The Junior Justice League has arrived.

Purrrrfect. 

Some one asked for a taglist. Ask and ye shall receive

@deathwishy @neakco  @ virtualreading  @f-rget-lt @your-resident-chicken-nugget

[starshine583]

For the soulmate letter prompts, Felinette with prompt O please.

O: Opportune outfit (soulmates will eternally color coordinate, even if they have not met one another yet, and often times have similar patterns in their clothing)

(Thank you @symwinter and @desiiigirl for this ask! I had a ton of fun writing it, so I hope you enjoy!)

“We’re here live tonight at the Carrousel du Louvre where Audrey Bourgeois is hosting her biggest party yet! Celebrities of all kinds will be invited, including Jagged Stone, Gabriel Agreste, and MDC herself! Stay tuned to catch sight of these incredible fashion icons!”

Marinette drew in a deep breath to calm her nerves as her miniature limo drove up to the front entrance. She’d been to plenty of parties before hosted by celebrities, but none as big as this. There were going to be reporters everywhere who would hold her under a magnifying glass all evening and powerful, influential people that she would have to tip-toe around to make a good first impression. On top of that, this was going to be the night she revealed her exclusive designer’s dress that she’d kept a secret for the last six months! It was an extremely important event for her, and she didn’t want to mess anything up.

The limo pulled to a stop in front of the red carpet, causing Marinette’s breath to catch in her throat. She quickly checked her hair and makeup, then smoothed out the corners of her dress. 

“You can do this.” She muttered to herself. “You’ve already made it this far. Now, you get to show the world why.”

The driver opened her car door, and Marinette offered the reporters a bright smile as she stepped outside. Screams of delight and excitement swept over the crowds of people that were huddled on both sides of the carpet. Cameras were flashing everywhere, almost blinding her, but Marinette kept an elegant stride despite it as she signed a few autographs. 

“Ladies and gentlemen, MDC has just arrived at the gala, and may I say her dress looks absolutely dazzling!” A reporter to her left trilled. “The navy blue mixed with those silver dots and stars makes it look like the night sky! And the way the sheer fabric in sewn to the dress makes it look like the stars are trailing behind her as well! It’s truly a fantastic creation, especially with that diamond, crescent moon necklace to compliment it! Could this be that secret design that MDC’s corporation has been hinting about for so long?”

Marinette tried to contain her grin, but by the time she walked inside the Carrousel du Louvre, she was positively glowing. After spending many sleepless nights working on Starry Night- as her design was called - hearing the multitude of praises from the reporters was immensely satisfying. It made the whole project feel worthwhile.

“Oh, Marinette!” 

Audrey Bourgeois, having heard the commotion, waltzed over to the Louvre entrance to greet her. She seemed to be as fashionable and haughty as ever, and Marinette pulled an extra bright smile in an effort to please the woman. "Bonjour Audrey." She said politely. “It’s wonderful to see you again. Thank you for inviting me to your party.”

“Oh, think nothing of it!” Audrey replied, linking her arm with Marinette’s to guide her into the heart of the party. “I’ve been dying to speak with you about your latest designs, anyway. You’ve certainly made a name for yourself since the first time we met.”

A bit of tension melted from Marinette’s shoulders at the comment, and she felt a more genuine smile settle onto her lips. The last time she saw Audrey was when she’d been offered that job in New York, the same job that she ended up declining. It was good to know that Audrey wasn’t holding a grudge against her for that.

“Yes, these last two years have been quite eventful.” Marinette agreed. She’s managed to build a small company out of her designs that’s only continued to grow. The fact that she’d already designed things for Jagged Stone and Gabriel himself definitely helped her take-off.

“Indeed. Even my customers all the way in America have heard of you, which is why I wanted to propose a collaboration between us.”

“A collaboration?”

“Yes! Imagine how much popularity you’ll gain if we-”

“Audrey! Audrey Bourgeois!”

Audrey’s pleasant expression quickly soured when someone from across the room called out her name, interrupting whatever proposition she was going to make. 

“What is it?” The woman snapped. “I’m busy.”

A man stepped forward from the crowd, his countenance stern and unimpressed. “We were supposed to talk about the location of your next fashion show. Need I remind you that I have other business I need to attend to tonight?”

Audrey huffed and rolled eyes. “Fine, fine, we’ll talk then. Marinette, dear, do me a favor and stay put while I go discuss a few matters with M Laurence.”

Marinette nodded and took to idly surveying the room while the two strolled off to another corner of the Louvre. She wasn’t sure why Audrey would have to leave to talk about fashion show locations, but she supposed it also wasn’t any of her business either. Everyone had their own way of working, right?

The Carrousel du Louvre was an extraordinary place, especially with the gold and silver decorations lining the walls. Lights reflected off of the glass pyramid that dipped into the center of the room, making it shine almost as brightly as it would in the day, and the floors were polished so well that Marinette could actually part of her reflection in it.

The guests were no less remarkable than the setting too. Save for a scarce few, she could recognize every face in the crowd, be it through newspapers, magazines, movies, or heads of rival companies. A part of her almost miniscule in the presence of such greatness. Audrey certainly knew how to throw an enchanting party.

“Yo, Marinette! Is that you?”

A voice that Marinette immediately recognized yelled out to her, and she turned around with an eager smile to greet them. 

“Uncle Jagged! When did you get here?”

Jagged wormed his way out of the crowd with a wide grin. “I should be asking you the same thing! That dress looks great by the way.”

Marinette giggled and offered him a little spin. “Thanks! It took me forever to finish it. How have you been?”

“Oh, the usual. I’ve been rock and rollin’ to my heart’s content. Have you tried the food here yet?”

“Afraid not. Audrey told me to stay put until she came back from a meeting with somebody.”

Jagged scoffed and gently took her by the arm. “Audrey Shm-audrey. You’re an adult now! You can do whatever you want, like coming to try these over-priced cream puffs with me.”

Marinette snorted, but before she could reply, a cacophony of squeals tugged her attention to the front entrance of the Louvre. Someone new was joining the party, and it had the reporters quite excited.

“It appears that Felix Culpa has decided to come to the gala after all! There was speculation of him skipping out, but we’re happy to see him regardless!”

Annoyance swirled in the back of her mind at the mention of the actor, though she tried to hide it for the sake of civility. Ever since she started her small fashion business, Felix Culpa has been indirectly stealing her designs and wearing them without giving her an ounce of credit. She’s not sure how, since she’s jumped through who knows how many hoops to keep her projects a secret, but he does. Magazines, social media, behind-the-scenes pictures from his movies- anything he appears in, he’s wearing something of hers, be it a t-shirt or a tuxedo or a button-up shirt with jeans. It was infuriating, and no matter how hard she tried, she could not figure out where the leaks were coming from. No one was sending out emails, no one was going to visit him in person, and no one was posting any pictures of the working process online. And yet, he still managed to match his outfit with everything she created.

She couldn’t even sue him for copyright! Because, technically, all of the outfits that he’d worn so far had been made from a mix of his own wardrobe, and that, unfortunately, wasn’t a crime. 

Whatever, she thought to herself with a slight shake of the head. At least he can’t copy me tonight.

“What’s this?”  A reporter gasped. “Folks, I’m not sure if I’m actually seeing this, but Felix Culpa has just stepped out in a silver tuxedo with a navy, button-up shirt underneath that matches MDC’s outfit exactly!”

Marinette’s jaw had to have dropped to the floor when she heard those words. How was that possible? There was no way Felix could have coordinated his outfit with hers! No one even knew what she was going to be wearing! Unless this some insane coincidence?

“Oh, Look at that! He even has a small, diamond star clipped to his tie! Could Felix Culpa be dressed as MDC’s moon?!”

Marinette whirled around to face the entrance. This was most certainly not a coincidence. Even if he did decide to wear a silver tux tonight, nothing should have prompted him to wear a diamond star clip. Not unless he was trying to copy her designs again.

“Marinette? Are you alright?” Jagged Stone asked, noticing the sudden shift in her mood.

“I’m fine.” She said, forcing a leveled tone as she eyed the door. “I’m just going to go greet M Culpa, if you don’t mind.”

“ No problem! Come find me by the hors d'oeuvres when you’re done.”

Marinette didn’t bother throwing Jagged a tight smile as she stalked towards the door. Instead, she focused on how, exactly, she was going to call this esteemed actor out on his indirect theft without making a scene. This was a high class party, and she couldn’t afford to make a fool of herself. At the same time, however, she desperately needed to know how he’d been matching her outfits to a fault. 

Felix Culpa strode into Louvre a moment later, wearing the very tuxedo that the reporter had described. The silver jacket and dress pants matched the glittering stars on her dress, while the navy blue, button-up shirt underneath matched the main color of her outfit. Don’t even get her started on the diamond clip! It was like the thing had been bought as a pairing with her necklace! The only way he could have coordinated with her that well was if he looked at a picture of her dress directly, which didn’t make any sense. He couldn’t have seen her dress! It’s been in her personal apartment since she started working on it!

His eyes scanned over the room leisurely, stopping when they landed on her, and for a moment, Marinette felt her anger falter, because my gosh was he a gorgeous man. She’d seen pictures of him plenty of times, but they apparently didn’t do him any justice. His strong jawline and defined cheekbones were perfectly framed by his pale, blond hair in a way she’d never noticed before. Then, there was his slender figure that the tuxedo seemed to cling to..

Marinette shook her head slight. Focus! There was a reason I was walking over here!

She offered the man a smile as she approached him, so as not to alarm him towards her somewhat hostile intentions, and he returned the smile with a slight nod.

“I assume you’re MDC?” He said in greeting.

Marinette nodded, barely holding back a sarcastic tone as she replied, “What gave me away?”

A small smile graced Felix’s lips, and he gestured to her dress. “I believe I’m supposed to be your ‘moon’.”

Marinette swore she felt her eye twitch. Was he being smug about it now?

“Yes, it would seem that way.. If I might ask, what prompted you to dress that way this evening?”

Felix glanced over his outfit thoughtfully, before giving her a little shrug. “Nothing in particular, I suppose. I simply felt like it.”

Marinette bit her tongue to avoid scoffing. He simply felt like it? No one accidentally coordinates their outfit with a specifically crafted dress because they ‘feel like it’. That’s just preposterous!

“I would like to compliment your work, though. It is my understanding that you brought that dress to life yourself?”

“..I did.”

“It’s phenomenal craftsmanship. I’m afraid I’ve only heard of you in name alone, but the praise clearly wasn’t over-exaggerated-”

Marinette furrowed her eyebrows. Did he just say that he’d only heard of her in name alone? Meaning he hadn’t seen any of her other designs yet?

“-I couldn’t imagine stitching that many stars onto a single garment.”

“I’m sorry,” She politely cut him off. Did he expect to get away with lying straight to her face? “But did you just say you’d heard of me in name alone?”

He nodded. “I’ve been rather busy as of late and haven’t had time to check with things in the fashion industry.”

“Then how do you explain your other outfits?” 

A blank expression fell across Felix’s features. “I beg your pardon?”

“Your other outfits.” Marinette repeated, almost through gritted teeth. “I have proof that you’ve been blatantly plagiarizing my designs for the past two years. How do you explain that if you supposedly haven’t seen any of my work until now.”

Felix raised a brow, appearing to be genuinely confused. “Mademoiselle, I can assure you that I haven’t the faintest idea what you’re talking about.”

This time, Marinette did scoff. How could he not know what she was talking about? If it had been once or twice, Marinette could write it off, but consistently matching her designs for two years? That’s no accident. How else would he manage to-

“Oh, there they are!” A reporter gasped. “MDC and Felix Culpa have already found each other! The moon and stars circling around each other as always. I’ve never seen such a fashionable pair of soulmates!”

Marinette froze, and from the looks of it, Felix froze too. 

Soulmates.. Color coordination.. Was that why Felix had been ‘plagiarizing’ her outfits all of this time? Was that why he claimed not to know anything about it even though it was glaringly obvious? Had she been obsessing over a mystery that had had a reasonable answer right in front of her face all along?

Her eyes trailed down to his suit, the suit that matched hers perfectly, and the realization that washed over her nearly caused her to face-palm. 

He hadn’t been copying her designs.

He’d been copying her outfit specifically.

Because they were soulmates.

“..What was that you said about my plagiarizing your designs?” Felix asked after a moment.

Marinette let out a defeated sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Well, I feel ridiculous now.”

A soft chuckle passed Felix’s lips, and she glanced up just in time to catch the spark of amusement dancing in his silver eyes. Gosh, this beautiful human being was supposed to be her soulmate now? How was she going to cope? How was she going to Alya, the person she’d been ranting to for a good year now, about this new development? Actually, did Alya know about this all along? She always did act strange when Marinette brought it up, with her sly smirks and mischievous smiles and-

Felix offered his arm to her. “I, personally, would love to hear about this ridiculousness if you don’t mind sharing.”

Marinette pressed her lips into a thin line, a blush creeping onto her cheeks, but she took his arm with a huff despite it. “I guess I might as well tell you. We’re probably going to be spending a lot more time together after this, anyway.”

“Whatever gave you that idea?” Felix replied lightheartedly, shooting her a smirk that made her heart skip a beat.

Marinette glanced away to regain some composure, but failed miserably as she only felt herself blush harder. Darn Felix Culpa and his stupid, breathtaking face.

She absolutely loved it.

(Send me a letter and I’ll do a thing!)

(The next one I’m going to be working on is J for Daminette!)

[miraculouscontent]

Since you just went through the whole show, I gotta ask, how often was Marinette's Chinese heritage brought up? Was it ever brought up by her parents. In the Shanghai special Marinette's parents were thrilled that Marinette wanted to go to China. They were waiting for that day to come. But they never taught her the language so they would be waiting a long time (Because I'm pretty sure Marinette's anxiety would get in the way). Idk how to word it... something about that scene feels off to me.

FINALLY, SOMEONE ELSE WHO SAYS IT.

I know everyone’s busy bashing Marinette for what she did, but all I could think of was like--her parents had these funds on hold and then didn’t even try to engage Marinette in the heritage they wanted her to learn about??? How was she supposed to get interested in the first place??

Anyway, no, Marinette’s Chinese heritage is like--never brought up, at least from my memory (though the mouse miraculous takes on a Chinese coin disguise when she puts it on which... okay I guess; I’ve also looked at every piece of dialog from both Tom and Sabine and there is absolutely nothing). Even just going by transcripts, if you search for “China/Chinese,” it’s mostly Adrien who gets brought up:

Season 1

Nino: That's messed up. (Adrien enters without anyone noticing.) He never screws up in class, he always does whatever you tell him: photoshoots, fencing, Chinese, piano--

Marinette: They can't be fine, they have to be perfect! My Mom's uncle is a super famous Chinese chef. He's very particular, so things have to be just right. (Doorbell rings.) That's him! Hide, Tikki. (Tikki hides. While going to the door, Marinette trips over the backing of her couch before opening it.)

Marinette: Uh, welcome Mari you're at Nette's. Uh ah, welcome to Marinette's! You're Chinese! No no no no! In Mandarin! (Marinette attempts to greet her Great Uncle in Chinese.) Ugh, no wait. (Marinette reaches for phone and hands Wang Cheng the flowers, who smells them.)

Adrien: Alya called me. She said you needed someone who speaks Chinese? Well, here I am! Translator at your service. (he bows to her)

Wang Cheng:不，我三十年曾经来过这里;你说一口流利的中国话。 (translates. No, I have been here 30 years ago. You can speak Chinese fluently.)

Wang Cheng: Oh, my English very bad. Not like your Chinese.

Adrien: No problem Marinette. It was awesome to be able to practice my Chinese, especially with a Shifu.

Adrien: That means "Master" in Chinese. Your Mom's Uncle is a great master!

Adrien: Japanese people make sushi, Chloé. Cheng Shifu is Chinese!

Adrien: It's horrible to lose fate in China. We'll wait for him downstairs.

Gabriel: Without your bodyguard. He will drop you off and pick you off every day. Nathalie has offered to organize you a new schedule. You'll be continuing your music, Chinese, and fencing classes and your photoshoots.

Wang Fu: Ancient Chinese secret. (Marinette closes the shop's door. Wang smiles) Just like yours.

Season 2

Adrien: I forgot I got Chinese class.

Master Fu: (unseen through the "eye") Over here! (The "eye" view shifts left) Lower. (The "eye" view shifts back to the right, and down, revealing Fu) Hello, I'm Mr. Chan. Adrien's Chinese tutor could not come today. I'll be replacing him.

Gabriel: It will be an excellent promotion for the upcoming opening of our stores in Korea and China. You don't have a choice.

Nathalie: The fencing hall is booked for 6:05 p.m. and the Chinese classroom for 6:35 p.m. just as you wished, and remember that you have to make an appearance in the Agreste Foundation’s Heroes Gala.

Adrien: Today I plan to give my fencing classmates a lesson in Chinese and my Chinese classmates a lesson in fencing.

Season 3

Master Fu: Wait! That's not why I called you here. (reaches to hand Marinette a letter) Go to the address written here down on the river banks at 11am. You'll see a woman there wearing a pretty brooch shaped like a Chinese ideogram. Give her this letter.

Ladybug: I won't bore you with the details, but I'm sure the akumatized object is the brooch with the Chinese ideogram she's wearing.

Nathalie: Adrien, you have twenty-four minutes left to finish your lunch before it's time to review your Chinese lesson.

Adrien: (He picks up his lunch tray and starts to leave) In that case, I think I'll have lunch in my room while studying Chinese. At least talking while I eat will feel like I have some company.

Adrien: Sorry, your game sounds amazing, but I've got fencing right now. Then my Chinese lesson, then a photoshoot...

Nathalie (during a flashback to Season 2's "Catalyst"): The fencing hall is booked for 6:05 p.m. and the Chinese classroom for 6:35 p.m. just as you wished. And remember that you have to make an appearance at the Agreste Foundation’s Heroes Gala tonight.

[snow-leopard-7772point0]

I'll Change My Crown, from Light to Dark

The akuma landed on Marinette's windowsill, the girl not even noticing as she sat in the tattered remnants of her designs. Luckily she had dropped off most of her completed works the day before to be delivered to the appropriate patrons, though everything she had yet to send off was ripped, cut, burned, there wasn't a scrap of cloth that was usable for anything but as a guide for buying more. Her sketchbook was in shreds on the floor, paper scattered like confetti over the remaining slivers of all her hard work. 

The akuma danced in place. It's master was urging it to go forward, to possess the girl, but… there were so many objects to choose from! Should it just possess the entire room? The sewing machine? One little scrap of fabric? A piece of paper? What about her emotions? This butterfly had made some of the strongest akumas to date, though the strength behind her feelings was astromically larger than any other person they had targeted. The little insect itself was slightly afraid to act as a bridge for her. It finally flew forward, choosing the scraps of the dress the girl had been making herself for the Wayne gala.

Marinette froze when her emotions intensified, hearing Hawkmoth cooing in her ear. "Greetings, Mistress Hawthorne. They all accuse you of being the bully, of being a liar, never paying attention to the proof you give them. They destroyed your designs, your livelihood, and expect to get away scott free.  I'm giving you the ability to turn all your ruined dreams into hawthorn bushes that force people to see the truth, whether they can accept it or not. No more hiding behind lies or masks, everyone will have to be honest and pay for their crimes. All I ask in return is for Ladybug and Chat Noir's Miraculous."

"I refuse, Hawkmoth "

The villain froze for a second. Only one other person had ever resisted him so easily, and that was due to her love for Ladybug. Nothing about Marinette Dupain-Cheng screamed that she truly cared for the heroes, so why would she resist? He was giving her the perfect way to get revenge! If he didn't fear that it would give the heroes a clue to his identity, he wouldn't have even asked for the Miraculous for this offence! "Why do you refuse? Imagine how great it will feel, trapping them in their castle with your thorns until the truth comes out!"

"Oh, make no mistake, revenge will be divine. But I'm already looking at little to no sleep for the foreseeable future so that I can press charges against them, email all my patrons whose clothes were destroyed about the delay, buy all the fabric to remake their outfits, and get my own dress together for the Wayne gala. Luckily I'm not starting completely over with it, their mindless destruction gave me an idea for my dress, but there is still much to do. I have no time to become an akuma, I have to get to work immediately, and it will be tomorrow before my classmates are all in the same place again."

"What… what if I didn't ask for the Miraculous in return, and you miss a few days of school to get everything completed?

"While missing school may become a necessity before everything is over and done with, I still have much to do. It would take far too long to force the truth out of Lila Rossi, and I am uncertain if Ladybug's Miracle Cure would erase any progress I made on designing as an akuma. You seem like a reasonable businessman, I'm sure you understand."

"Ah, yes, I do, actually. Cut me some slack here, I've been trying to akumatize you for over a year now! What kind of cloth are you cut from?"

"A different kind from my classmates. I refuse to stoop to their level. Besides, I have pride in the fact that I am not helpless, and the costumes I see akumatized people in are atrocious. Please have a nice day, but I do need to get to work."

"I-very well then. Good luck. Please at least make your classmates suffer."

Marinette's smirk alone was fuel to create a fear-based akuma. "They'll pay. But on my terms." The purple butterfly left her dress, and Marinette caught herself as she slumped to the floor. Resisting Hawkmoth had taken much more out of her than she had anticipated.

⏳

Gabriel rose from the underground room, surprising Nathalie. "Sir, surely she didn't-"

"No, Nathalie, she didn't loose. She didn't even accept my offer. I even offered to not require the Miraculous this time, but she still refused. Her mental strength is highly admirable, especially when her guard is at its lowest. She would be a great asset to us."

"In what manner?"

"Any way I can get her. She is one of the best designers I have seen in a long time, especially at her age. I caught a glimpse of her revenge plan when my akuma possessed her and it was astoundingly terrible, and she is kind and independent enough to make an amazing daughter."

"Sir, kidnapping is illegal."

"I don't have to kidnap her, I'll throw Adrien at her." Gabriel started to wave his hand in dismissal, then noticed the look on Nathalie's face.

"Sir, I think you should watch the rest of this." Nathalie walked forward, bringing up the video from earlier. Gabriel had only watched a second of it before rushing to his butterflies, it was easy to recognize the girl's room by her designs. He'd been gunning for her since she lied to him to help keep Adrien in school and made the feathered hat. Her spirit and dedication let him know that she could be a great ally or terrible enemy. She didn't (yet) have the money or power to come after Gabriel Agreste on her own, but he was certain that the girl was being considered for a Miraculous. He knew she didn't already have one, she hadn't responded to Miracle Queen, after all, but several of her classmates had used one. He actually paid attention to the video this time, watching all the way through. The first people seen on camera were the blogger girl and Lila Rossi, several other classmates cropping up through the video. He didn't notice Timebreaker, Evilillstrator, or the Bourgeois girl, though he did see his own son halfway through the recording, happily cutting at a gown that had been carefully beaded with a hawthorn pattern with a pair of scissors, cutting off the beads and chunks of fabric. 

Gabriel's frown deepened. "Cut all ties to Lila Rossi immediately. We will be making a public apology, telling the public that we did not know of her abhorrent tendencies, nor did we expect her to pull Adrien into her schemes. Adrien will be appropriately punished, and we will offer Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng compensation for the destruction of her property, along with a small team of designers that will know to make every stitch to her preference, no matter their opinion on the piece."

"Of course, sir. How would you like to make your statement to the public?"

"Call that news anchor, Najda Chamack, and ask her to come here. I will speak to her in person as soon as she is available. I also want the apology posted to every social media outlet we use, including our official website."

"Sir, is this not overkill? This isn't Audrey Bourgeois."

Gabriel glared at Nathalie. "No, she is not. She designs for more famous people than Audrey does. She is the main designer for the Wayne gala this year. Jagged Stone, Clara Nightingale, Tsurugi Tomoe, even the Wayne's commissioned her work. All of her designs are paid for in a split payment plan, the money for the materials is required upfront while the rest of the payment can wait until after the person received their design to make sure it is what they want. That means there will very likely be several highly influential individuals and families gunning for us because of Rossi and my son."

Nathalie paled. She hadn't imagined that the small girl who stumbled and stuttered every time she saw her would have that kind of power backing her. Everyone knew that the girl had Jagged Stone backing her, MDC was his main designer for everything and anyone who personally met the girl and the rocker knew who MDC was, especially since they were supposed to have their identity reveal at the Wayne gala. Jagged Stone by himself would be bad and the company would take a hit, though she was positive Marinette would stop him before he went too far. But with so many others working with Jagged… Gabriel (the company) would not survive. 

"I will get everything arranged." Nathalie quickly left the office.

⏳ 

Marinette's first order of business was to email all of the clients affected by her classmates's actions. She informed them that they did not need to worry, as she was suing all the students for the costs of what they destroyed- not just materials, but labor as well, and would be buying new material for their clothes out of her own pocket until she got retribution. She also informed them that their orders would come in slightly later than planned, though not by much. Clara, Jagged, Kagami and her mother, and the Wayne's all responded to her email with assurances that things happened and to take her time. Bruce Wayne offered to delay the gala so that she would have plenty of time to rectify the situation, though she was quick to assure him that it was not necessary.

Her next order of business was cleanup. She collected every scrap of fabric big enough to make so much as a small patch or strip and sat them in a small box next to where her personal dress was. Everything else was collected and thrown in the trash. She dug out her receipts for all the fabrics destroyed, including the fabrics for projects intended for her classmates. She quickly pulled up the video Alya had posted, writing down who destroyed what. She matched the fabrics to the people, then calculated the time she would have spent on each piece. She reviewed the video one more time, noticing that none of the art students, including Chloè, were in the video. Though it was to be expected. The whole class knew how important all art was to the art students; those students would have stopped them if they were in the know. Chloè was not only in the art club, but also still exiled from the class, though her relationship with Marinette had gone from bully to ally. They still weren't friends, but they stuck together against most of the class, only Nathaniel and Alix leaving them alone. The class may have had five braincells in the entire room, Chloè, Marinette, Alix, and Nathaniel each having one all to themselves while the rest of the class, including Madame Bustier, shared the other one, but they used that one braincell to know who could be brought in on a scheme like this.

Marinette had just finished calculating who she would she for what and was on her way to buy fabrics when her phone rang. She grabbed it as she opened her hatch, activating her recording app as she answered. "Hello?"

"Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng, it has come to my attention that Adrien Agreste and Lila Rossi have vandalized your property. Lila Rossi has already been terminated and Adrien will face suitable punishment for his actions. I wish for you to come by the manor at your earliest convenience for us to discuss payment."

"If you're free now, I was just about to head out."

"Of course. I'll send a car for you."

"Merci, Monsieur Agreste." Marinette pocketed her phone and made copies of the expenses each of her classmates would be charged. She had no way of knowing where, exactly, Gabriel Agreste stood, but she refused to leave anything to chance. The original, along with the receipts, was stored in her diary box while one copy was left on her desk and another found its home in her purse. She stopped by the kitchen to inform her parents that she was headed to the Agreste Manor and would explain later before walking out to wait on the car.

⏳

Adrien was smiling after school. He had never realized how freeing it was to tear clothes apart, especially clothes made by someone who refused to listen to him. Marinette deserved everything she got, plus some. He wondered what of hers he could destroy next.

He was surprised when he returned home to see his father glaring at him from in front of the stairwell. "We need to have a talk, son." The designer's voice promised pain. "About your friends and actions today."

Adrien stared at his father, confused. "Why? What happened?"

Gabriel growled. "Nathalie."

"Sir?"

"Show him the video, then leave us to our discussion."

"Yes sir." Nathalie quickly pulled up the video of the class destroying Marinette's designs and held the tablet out to Adrien before taking her leave. 

Adrien watched the video, unable to understand what had angered his father. "Do you understand what you have done?" Gabriel demanded.

Adrien shrugged. "I got payback. She wouldn't listen to me when I told her to lay low, so I decided to help the class teach her a lesson."

Gabriel coldly glared at his son. "You have cost me over a thousand dollars just in the hours that girl put into her work. That does not include the cost of the materials, deformation of private property, or potential unlawful entry and vandalism charges. How do you know that Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng is not currently an akuma gunning for your head? Or that her clients aren't going to press charges? Her clientele could ruin your entire class, your entire school, with a single phone call."

Adrien scoffed. "She doesn't have that many big clients. Just Jagged Stone. And Marinette can't get akumatized. She's too stubborn to listen to anyone."

Gabriel pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. "Adrien, I'll tell you this as your classmate is revealing it in less than a month. Marinette Dupain-Cheng has been taking the world of fashion by storm while using her initials, MDC. Only certain celebrities and rich people know who she is, mainly people she has worked or designed for. Jagged Stone is the first and main one, yes. But Clara Nightingale has been using her more and more. MDC is the main designer for the Wayne gala, not only Monsieur Stone and Mademoiselle Nightingale commissioning her, but the Tsurugi family and the Wayne family, along with several friends and supporters of the four families. Aubrey Bourgeois supports her, perhaps even more than she supports me, and I have admired several of her pieces done for contests."

Blood began to drain from Adrien's face, though Gabriel doubted that the boy fully understood anything yet. "Her mother's best friend is Najda Chamack, and Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng babysits her child. Her uncle is a famous chef who loves his family dearly, especially since his great niece learned Mandarin to be able to talk to him and help him with his French. Alix Kubdel is friends with Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng, and also comes from a respectable family- as well as Chloè Bourgeois becoming her ally after she helped with her mother. Not to mention that the Dupain-Cheng family is not hurting for money, as they are the best and most popular bakery in Paris. They get orders from all over the city, plus serve at almost every party that has edible food. You attacked the livelihood of one of the most powerful children in Paris. Not only that, but you destroyed the property of some of the most prolific people in the world." Adrien's face had lost all traces of blood, though Gabriel did not expect it to be from shame. No, his son was afraid because he had been caught. "You will not return to school until Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng has revealed herself as MDC to the world, nor will you have access to any of your social media, messages, or phone. You may return to being homeschooled. I shall have to reassess the situation at a later date. If I do allow you to return to school, it will not be François-DuPont. You will drop contact with your current classmates. You are dismissed." Gabriel turned from his son, pulling his phone out of his pocket. 

⏳

Marinette was escorted straight to Gabriel's office upon arrival. The man shook her hand before gesturing for her to take a seat. "Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng, my assistant showed me the video of what your classmates did. My sincerest apologies. I assure you that my son is currently being punished and Mademoiselle Rossi's contract has been terminated. I also wanted to offer you compensation for your loss as well as a team of designers that will follow your instructions to the last stitch."

Marinette eyed the elder Agreste. "What do you want in return?"

Gabriel blinked at the girl. He knew she was smart, though he hadn't expected her to ask that. "For this? Nothing. My son deserves every lawsuit you draw up. I remember what it was like when I was first starting my company; something like this would have been devistating."

"Well, Monsieur, covering everything will not be necessary. I have already calculated the damages each student did and how much they owe for it. I am not holding you responsible for the actions of any of my classmates, not even Agreste or Rossi. I'm sure you have paid your son for working for you," Marinette felt viciously victorious when he nodded, "in which case he should be able to pay for damages himself. The same holds true for Rossi; she was a contract model for your company and was paid as such. They should both be able to afford my work- custom or not."

"Might I see what you've drawn up? I heard from Aubrey that you have a tendency to undercharge for your work, and, as you just said, my son and former employee should be able to afford your work. The beaded dress my son ruined, for example, should cost twenty-five hundred dollars, bare minimum. I would charge much more than that, especially with how much work is put behind hand-beading." Marinette could do nothing but gape at her childhood idol. She had been expecting a bribe, a threat, something to try to protect his son.

She pulled the paper out of her purse when he raised an eyebrow, pulling the video up on her phone. "Césaire was stupid enough to put her phone in the corner where I could track everyone's movements, and I can figure everything out if I can get Markov. I figured out who destroyed what and calculated what they owe from there. I don't know who picked the lock to the upper floors, or to my room, though my money's on either Césaire or Rossi. Césaire's obsessed with being a great reporter while Rossi is a liar and a thief. Harleprè, Lavaillant, Bruel, Couffaine, and Lahiffe owe the least, they didn't do much. They just ripped a few pages out of my sketchbook. Raincompx, le Chein, Césaire, Rossi, Agreste, and Kantè did the most damage, and so will face the bigger lawsuits. I have already contacted my clients and informed them of the slight delay. Your team of designers, while most appreciated, will not be necessary. It shouldn't take me more than a few days to recreate the Wayne's suits and send them off, I sent the dresses yesterday. Jagged and Clara will both be in Paris next week and can stop by my house to pick up their outfits and have a final fitting. I can easily deliver the Tsurugi chensogams to their home. That covered everyone that had their outfits for the gala destroyed. I had finished the majority of them yesterday and done the final checks before sending them off. I was supposed to send the Wayne suits off today, though that plan was foiled. I was lucky that I went ahead and finished my commissions rather than more personal projects. Most of what got destroyed were projects my classmates requested of me rather than important works."

"Are you positive you don't want help? At least on your beaded dress?"

Marinette pulled up pictures of what she had. "I have several different scraps of colors, most of them either on the darker end of the spectrum or metalic, from the works they destroyed. I'm going to use those scraps from my other works to make a pair of wings on the back of the dress, the colors getting darker the further down they go and metalic fabrics making the outline of the wings."

Gabriel considered the dress. "You'll look like a fallen angel. I hope you're still planning on charging my son the full amount for the dress."

"Most definitely. There will be some alterations I make besides the wings, putting some pieces back together, cutting or tearing others, partially rebeading sections, I have some work to put in. Your son added to my work load when it was already full, he personally destroyed not only my dress but Jagged and Penny's outfits as well. Might I know what punishment he is suffering?"

"So you can plan revenge accordingly?" Gabriel questioned. He sighed at her innocent expression. "He will no longer attend François-DuPont. He will basically be under house arrest for everything except shoots until after the gala. I am undecided as to whether he shall go to another school or be permanently homeschooled. He is not allowed any contact with his former classmates nor access to social media or his phone. So if you wish to strike, do it right after a photo shoot. You can do it before or during as long as you don't ruin the clothes on display."

Marinette's grin was pure evil. "Don't worry, Monsieur Agreste. I have too much respect for the work designers put into their work to be so crass. Will Agreste still practice fencing with Kagami?"

"I shall allow it on a trial basis."

"Very well. It was nice meeting with you, Monsieur Agreste, but I must take my leave. I have too much to do before I traumatize, I mean get payback, I mean revenge, wait, no, deal with my classmates after the gala. But before I go… You wouldn't happen to know anyone that would be able to teach me how to, how should I phrase this… I guess basically be an Ice Queen?"

Gabriel smirked. "Actually, my nephew, Felix Graham de Vanily, will be at the gala. He's a model from England, and many consider him an Ice King. He'd be a great teacher." And perhaps potential mate to bring you into the family. I wonder how many love akumas it would take to get you two together… perhaps Adrien needs a good influence his age around the Manor…

Marinette slightly felt as though she had signed her future away, though that was ridiculous so she simply thanked Gabriel before leaving.

⏳

The next few days flew by in a rush of designing and lawyers. The lawyers her parents got were more than willing to come to the bakery and talk to Marinette as she sewed, especially since she had eyeballed them and given them all scarves and beanies the next time they were there. Marinette didn't bother to pay attention in Bustier's class, electing to nap instead. She was awake for Mendeleiev's classes, though. She liked her dragon-like teacher as the woman actually taught her students. She managed to finish her clients' clothes with time to spare, having gotten so used to designing for Jagged, Penny, and Clara that very few adjustments needed to be made. A couple Wayne suits had come back with notes on where they needed to be adjusted and how, and those were shipped back out that same day. Her own dress took until the last minute, Marinette completely finishing it, including adjustments, the day before she was set to leave for the gala. She would be staying with Jagged and Penny in the Wayne Manor for the two weeks she was to be there, a week before the gala and a week after. Her classmates's parents were horrified to hear what their children had done, making sure the kids paid every penny of what Marinette was suing for without even going to court. Alix and Nathaniel had nearly gotten in trouble with their families, though Marinette was quick to personally visit and explain things. Apparently the other families had contacted the Kurtzburg's and Kubdel's about the scandal with the children, no one noticing that some of the children weren't involved.

She already had her traveling designing kit packed so that she could make sure the Wayne's outfits all fit properly. Chloè and Kagami were traveling with her, determined to make sure their former rival was well taken care of while their parents took care of the hotel. Jagged was fuming beside Marinette whole they rode through Gotham, the girl talking to her friends.

"So, Mari-hime, you told me that you would explain what was going on if Adrien refused to before we left." 

Marinette gave Kagami a highly stressed smile. "I think watching the video would explain things better. I didn't want you to get akumatized because of me while we were in Paris."

"So you knew Adrien would refuse to tell me what crime he committed against you. What video?"

Marinette pulled it up on her tablet. "For the record, I simply suspected that he would keep his mouth shut. Though Monsieur Agreste is making sure that his interactions with anyone besides himself, Madame Sancouer, and his bodyguard are highly limited." She passed Kagami the tablet, Chloè leaning over to watch it with her.

The Japanese girl dropped the tablet in her lap as she watched, clenching her fists so hard that her palms bled. "How- how dare that baka! They all have no honor! They should meet my blade!"

"Kagami. Calm down. I have it handled. I want you and Chloè to teach me how to be a vengeful Ice Queen while we're here. Monsieur Agreste suggested talking to his nephew for lessons as well. By the time I'm back in Paris, I don't want our classmates to be able to recognize me. I already have some revenge planned, the wheels for those are already in motion. I messaged the Césaire and Lahiffe families to inform the entire family that I will be unable to babysit for them for the foreseeable future. Ambassador Rossi has a request in her inbox to visit the school while we are gone, as Rossi's classmates would love to hear about what it's like to be an ambassador. The le Chein family was sent a list of tutors for their son's failing grades, unfortunately all those tutors work at the same time as mandatory swim practice. I sent Luka a copy of the video, so Kitty Section is about to loose their lead guitarist so that he can learn under my dear uncle. Agreste will be facing a startling amount of bad luck for a good chunk of time whilst loosing all of his beloved friends. By the time I am finished, even Hawkmoth won't want to work with them."

Chloè stared at her friend. "Did you really just say 'whilst?' Who hurt you? I just want to talk."

Jagged continued to sulk. "She won't even let me send my rockin followers after those bloody rats. She's only letting me steal away a new guitarist!"

"Because I have everything planned out. And Agreste will become even more isolated once we return. No matter what I say, Kagami is going to duel him to the, figurative, death before informing him of her distaste for him and his actions."

Kagami mock glared at Marinette. "So what if I do? He deserves it. He deserves much worse. But how will he become more isolated? I will still be sparring with him twice a week."

"A person is more isolated surrounded by people that don't care about them than all on their own. Yes, you will physically be there. But your obvious emotional distance will leave him more isolated than him being stuck in his room all day."

Chloè stared at her new friend. "Where was all this evil cunningness when I was your bully?"

Marinette smirked. "I had a wake-up call. Césaire, ironically, taught me that it's okay to stand up for myself, and Hawkmoth helped release a part of me I had blocked out."

"What? Were you akumatized? How did I not know?" Chloè demanded.

Marinette waved her hand dismissively. "It was a few days before we actually became friends, and he didn't manage to akumatize me. He possessed my dress, but I refused to work with him. Apparently he's wanted to akumatize me for a while, but I'm good at forcing myself to calm down."

"What was he going to call you?" Chloè was highly excited to finally have someone who knew what it was like to fully resist Hawkmoth. Not calm down before the butterfly reached them, not resist for a second before giving in, but fully resist the man.

"Mistress Hawthorne." Marinette laughed. "I was going to have the ability to turn my ruined dreams into hawthorn bushes that would trap everyone in their castle and force them to see the truth." Marinette had to stop, she was laughing so hard. "I told him no, and he was so shocked that he only argued for a second before wishing me luck with revenge!"

Jagged continued to sulk through the teens laughter, refusing to give in. He wanted to crush those bloody teens. No one gets away with hurting his niece.

⏳

As soon as she arrived at the manor and had her bags unpacked, Marinette began tracking down the Wayne's, one by one, and dragging them back to her room with their suits or dresses, forcing them to put them on so that she could fully alter them to her preference. Dick was scared of the tiny Asian girl that slung him over her shoulder before grabbing his suit and forcing him to come with her when he hesitated and then worked silently, ignoring his attempts at friendship. He was so scared of her that he sprinted the other direction the first time he saw Kagami. Jason and Bruce both wanted to adopt the girl- she blended in perfectly with their family, and Jason had witnessed both, the girl's kidnapping of his brother and Dick running away from Kagami. He had to respect someone who could instill more fear than Demon Spawn himself, and Bruce wanted to cultivate that talent until he got a Nightingale. Damian and Cass both respected the girl for her professionalism and silence (and word of her traumatizing Dick had already spread through the manor). Tim instantly fell in love with the girl, as she asked him if he wanted coffee or tea while they were doing his fitting, as he looked dead on his feet (he did not choose both or cry tears of joy, and no one can prove to Alfred that he did). Selina purred at the amount of pure chaos she could feel pouring off of the girl, even with her suppressing it while she worked. She needed a kitten. Bruce already had his litter, it was her turn. Kor'i bounced in place the whole time, trying not to inturupt the girl as she adjusted her glorious creation.

Jagged disappeared with Bruce after his fitting, explaining to the billionaire what Marinette had been going through, even showing him the video of her work getting destroyed, before asking for his help to get revenge. He explained Marinette's known plans, and the rocker and vigilante began planning around hers, using their collective contacts and knowledge to open the class's wounds even deeper.

Dinner that night was chaos. Jason, Selina, Bruce, and Jagged were in a constant argument, with Penny occasionally interjecting, that abruptly cut off any time Marinette drew near, she was only able to catch the words adoption and revenge, Kagami and Cass spent their time in silence, eyeing each other. Chloè didn't breathe while swapping between berating Dick and Tim for their fashion choices and interigating them about Gotham and its foreign student transfer policies. Damian scowled at everyone the entire time from his seat next to Marinette. Marinette did her best to emulate him, not noticing Dick slowly sliding his chair further and further away from her.

Damian decided he liked tolerated Marinette five days into her stay. Dick had been complaining to him and Jason about how much Asian girls scared him and Kor'i wanting them to live with them. Marinette had somehow heard his complaints and came storming up to them, cussing Dick out in a mixture of French, Mandarin, Arabic, Italian, and English. Damian did not know why that caused a blush to creep up his face, though he admired the way her accent curled around the words, making everything seem like a language all of its own. 

Jason chuckled when she walked off. "That. That was the art of cussing at its finest. I'm getting Alfed and we're going to go teach my new little sister how to shoot guns. Angel's my favorite, you can all suck it." Jason walked off in the same direction the girl had left in. It didn't take but forty-two minutes for the sound of gunfire to echo around the house. 

⏳

The night before the gala, the women in Wayne Manor gathered in Marinette's room. The night was spent coaching her on how to act and reveal her identity, both on the carpet and during the gala.

"Don't fret so much, kit." Selina advised. "You are a queen, act as such. Keep you head up and keep your cool. They'll all be tripping over themselves to speak to you, and you don't give them the time of day." Chloè nodded her agreement, even as Kagami objected.

"You're approachable and professional at the same time. Just let people see both sides of you."

The women continued to argue, Marinette finally escaping to talk to Alfred. She spent the night under his tutelage, learning all she could about presentation. The man finally ushered her off to bed. "You have a long day tomorrow. You will need sleep to get through it."

⏳

Once arriving at the gala, Marinette kept her head high as she glided down the carpet, the press quickly stopping her to ask if she was a new Wayne and what happened to her dress. "No." She offered a small smile to them. "I'm the designer MDC. The Wayne's hired me to design their suits, and were kind enough to offer their home to me and my aunt and uncle, even letting two of my best friends, Tsurugi Kagami and Chloè Bourgeois, spend the majority of their time with me at the Manor. My parents live in France, where I will be returning to in a weeks time. My room was broken into a few weeks ago, and some of my classmates ruined the outfits I had in there, including my dress. I decided to take what they did to my dress and use it as proof that nothing will bring me down. Excuse me, I need to go. I do not wish to keep my companions waiting." Marinette offered them a small bow before leaving them, giving the press a good look at the drooping angel wings sewn on the back of her dress.

"Angel," One of the reporters breathed, leading to a frenzy. MDC was announced to the world that night as Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Angel of Gotham.

⌛

Finding her group was easy, and it was almost just as easy to spot Felix, Gabriel's nephew. She grabbed Damian by his forearm, the boy too startled by her random action to react, and drug him over to the boy she assumed was Felix.

She tapped.the boy on his shoulder. "Excuse me, are you Felix?"

The boy gave a hesitant nod. "Great! I want the two of you to teach me as much as you can about being a vengeful Ice Queen."

Felix raised one eyebrow, looking between the girl and the scowling boy. "What do we get out of it?"

"You get to live with the knowledge that I am going to use your teachings to traumatize idiotic classmates and I can keep the girls from making passes at you, as you are already occupied with entertaining a lady."

The boys both quickly gave their consent, refusing to let the girl leave their side for even a moment the entirety of the gala. They were appeased enough with the girl that her lessons continued throughout the following week, the boys enchanted enough with her to seriously consider following her to Paris and watching her strike like a coiled viper.

⌛

When Marinette returned to school, she had changed. Not just in personality, no, she changed everything. Her personality (at school), her hairstyle, her clothes, everything was redone to fit who she had become. Flowy black pants, a black sleeveless top held up by a ribbon that wrapped around her neck, a red leather jacket loosley hung on her frame, and black boots could be seen under the pants.. Her gaze was frozen as it swept over the class. She was unsurprised to see Adrien sitting in his usual seat, Gabriel had informed her of his decision to place Adrien back in Bustier's class for the time being so that Marinette could teach him a lesson. Alix and Nathaniel had transfered out of the class as soon as they had learned of what the students had done, moving to Madame Mendeleiev's class. Chloè was also leaving, though she was transferring to Gotham after the week was up. She wanted that week to be able to watch the havoc Marinette would wreck on the class. Kagami had already decided to join the class, and Marinette spotted her in Nathaniel's old seat. She was not expecting to see Felix frowning next to Kagami, nor Damian smirking at the back of the blond's head. Thanks to those very boys, though, it was amazingly easy to hide her surprise. A smirk crawled its way across her face, even as she stepped far enough into the room that everyone could see her. She had timed her entrance perfectly. As soon as the class went to explode with praises and questions, the bell rang, Madame Bustier walking in and asking them to all take their seats. Marinette made sure her steps were conscice enough to make it seem as though she was gliding up the rows, refusing to shoot her classmates so much as a glance. 

Lila walked into the room moments later, late, her gaze zeroing in on Felix. "Felibear! It's so nice to see you again!" She squealed, rushing up the steps. 

Felix stopped her with a cold glare. "Do I know you?"

Alya glared at the blond. "How could you ask your girlfriend if you know her? Especially since everyone knows you transfered to François-DuPont for her!"

Felix looked scandalized. "I did no such thing! I came here on request of my uncle. There are very few people here that I know from previous endeavors."

Lila burst out into tears. "H-how could you treat me like this? At least my Damiboo didn't do this!"

"Damiboo?" Marinette asked. Clearly Bustier wasn't going to stop the girl.

"Oh, I forgot you weren't here!" A sly grin crawled across Lila's face. "I suppose Damiboo didn't speak to you the whole time you were in Gotham, otherwise you would have known I used to date Damian Wayne!" The girl boasted.

Marinette looked at the horrified expression on her deskmate's face, and began her countdown. "I would never date a harlot like you!" He burst out, unable to stop himself. The class turned to stare at him, then realized that he had been just ahead of Marinette when the Wayne's and Jagged Stone arrived at the gala.

A slow smirk crawled across Marinette's lips, erasing the smile she had given her friends. "Do tell, Lila. I would love to hear all about your relationship with the Wayne's. Or about you dating Felix here. Oh! What about your relationship with my uncle? Save any of his cats lately? Let's not forget Clara Nightingale! Since she steals her music and dance moves from you, perhaps we could get a preview for her next video?"

Adrien frowned at Marinette. She seemed… different. "Mari, don't be so mean! Your supposed to be our everyday Ladybug, the better-"

"Agreste, if example is the next word to come out of your mouth I will steal Chloè's six inch stiletto right off of her foot and shove it down your throat while I laugh at your struggles." Adrien's mouth snapped shut as he paled, the class staring at Marinette in shock. 

"Marinette! That was uncalled for!" Madame Bustier frowned at the girl. Perhaps letting her go to Gotham was a mistake.

"Really, Madame Bustier? From where I'm sitting, it was perfectly called for. Agreste is not going to use my emotions to manipulate me into being the perfect placemat anymore. You are not going to manipulate me into being the perfect victim. I will no longer tolerate this class's treatment of me. Four people in this room have the authority to call me by a nickname. They know who they are. Four people have the ability to ask something of me. None of them were the ones that destroyed my sketchbook or commissions. None of them told me that I always have to be the better person and set an example for my classmates. I refuse to allow myself to be used any longer."

Alya glared at her friend as the rest of the class stared at the noirette in shock or turned their head away from her in shame. "Girl, what are you talking about? First you want us to pay you a while bunch of money, and now you don't want to do anything for us?"

Damian started to retort himself, stopped by Marinette's hand on his arm. Her voice was frosted fire when she commanded the room. "Everyone in this room, excluding my four friends and our teacher, had a hand I destroying commissions for the Wayne gala, requests from all of you, and my sketchbook. That is why you were sued for damages. Some of you paid more than others because Alya was gracious enough to post a video she had taken of what you did on her blog that allowed me to see who destroyed what. That allowed me to see exactly who has hell to pay." The dangerous smirk several of her classmates had noticed danced across her face yet again, like a sword would dance in the hands of Robin. 

Adrien scoffed. "you're just a baker's daughter. What could you possibly do?" He paled not long after the words flew out of his mouth, remembering what his father had told him.

"You look like you just remembered that I am not just a baker's daughter. Why don't you share with the class?" Marinette offered up one of her customary sunshine smiles, though Adrien was not fooled this time, quickly yelling the class exactly what his father had told him. 

Lila blanched. Forget the Agreste's and that stupid reporter, she should have set her sights on Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

Marinette smiled down at the class, her court sitting in the back two rows with her. Chloè had kicked Felix out of his seat next to Kagami, and Felix had nudged Marinette into the middle of the bench, sandwiching her between Damian and himself.

Her blue eyes were frigid as she glared down upon her kingdom. The time for the Queen of Light was over- Darkness had come for her, and she welcomed them with open arms. Her crown darkened, from gold and diamonds to silver and onyx, and her reign had only begun.