#because Adrien Agreste is perfect and can do no wrong. maybe he enjoys being insulted or something

[buggachat]

something so fucked up about Chat Noir’s whole deal is that he is in a lot of ways Adrien playing a character. Like Adrien picked up his miraculous and was told he’d be a superhero so he was like “ok, time to act like a superhero!” and he lets himself have fun w it and play up the role and let loose and kind of just allow himself to be silly and goofy and have fun and for once in his life not care about performing Perfection™.

But. But none of the other characters KNOW THAT. So everyone just sees Chat Noir and is like “look at this guy’s ego. He’s so full of himself. Surely it’d be fair to knock him down a few pegs” without being aware of how few pegs he actually HAS. He’s like the “insecure character who overcompensates in ego” trope except he’s really not doing it unironically, he’s just having a fun LARP pretending to have self worth in his off-hours but nobody else is on the same page about it being a game and he refuses to tell them. He just dramatically pouts about it and lets them laugh and pretends like he’s not internalizing it and it is almost 3 am and my brain forced me to write this instead of sleeping I’m gonna take a melatonin

#writing this my brain was like: what if he actually likes it? #what if he likes people openly criticizing him in ways nobody actually does to Adrien agreste? #because Adrien Agreste is perfect and can do no wrong. maybe he enjoys being insulted or something #and then I remembered chat noirs multiple breakdowns about feeling unworthy and yknow what yeah I don’t think he likes it LOL #do normal people actually fall asleep when they lie down #if you can’t tell I recently decided to make my random ml musings your guys’ business instead of keeping it to myself #hope you enjoy

[mochegato]

Pixie Spy

Written for the Jasonette July Wayne Gala prompt.

Why?!? Why was she doing this again? Oh right, because John Constantine promised to give her some help with a particularly difficult part of the Grimoire if she did.  And he needed the information he was currently obtaining in order to give said help.  That is how she ended up with an invitation, still not sure how Constantine pulled that off, to the most exclusive event of the year, the Wayne Gala.  

Plus, Adrien was kind of right, ordinarily it would be a great opportunity to showcase her designs. The problem was on its surface, her dress wasn't one of her best works. The black dress had a high, cowl neckline in front and in back, adding a bit of drama and a small homage to the local heroes, vigilantes she silently corrected herself.  The high neckline also offset the incredibly short bubble skirt, making her legs look longer than the Nile.  Despite being a bit uncomfortable showing that much leg, it was necessary for this particular design and if she could actually feel like she had long legs for once, she was willing to deal with the discomfort.  She also added a glittery belt to show her shape and add some bling, which seemed like something the people at this particular event would value.  It was functional, not fashionable.  Not that it was ugly, just that it was designed to be passable, enough to fit in but not enough to get noticed.

She fidgeted slightly as she stood in the entryway trying to get past the people piling up trying to not so discretely pay homage to the king.  That king being Bruce Wayne. From her research, he actually did seem like he was a good guy. The list of charities he started or contributed to was longer than she was tall. She scowled at the voice in the back of her head that sounded suspiciously like Adrien's saying that wasn't much.  Adrien, who got out of coming tonight because the mission was to observe the Waynes unnoticed and Adrien Agreste would get a bit too much attention, that cat bastard.

Despite the laundry list of charity work, Marinette was still suspicious of Wayne.  First of all, he was rich, filthy rich.  Anyone that rich had to have some dark and twisted secrets they were hiding.  He wouldn’t be the first rich person to hide their illicit activities behind a veil of charity work.  Second, he chose to live in Gotham, the most crime-riddled city in the world.  And that is just the reported crime.  A great deal of the crime never got reported to or investigated by the police, whether through corruption or exhaustion.  The kind of place a rich person could be confident they would get away with literal murder.

But mostly, it was Constantine that made her suspicious of Bruce Wayne.  Not that Constantine had ever said anything negative about him, well nothing more than calling him a pain in the ass, but that was really not so much an insult as a compliment coming from Constantine.  But, Wayne had information Constantine needed to help them with the Grimoire and Constantine refused to say how Wayne had gotten that information. How and why would a playboy billionaire have that information?  There is absolutely no reason someone outside of the hero/villain/magic community would have that information.  And, if he was such a good guy, why would Constantine need to go to these lengths to get it without Wayne’s knowledge?  Unless it was related to one of his illicit secrets.

Her eyes darted around the room taking in its grandeur, muttering to herself about how ostentatious it all was.  Normally, she would be completely mesmerized by the grandeur and pomp of the scene.  The room was decorated to perfection.  Everything was absolutely exquisite.  However, she was too anxious and wary to enjoy it.  So instead of being inspired, each gorgeous detail grated on her. She reached up to tug on her hair before remembering her hair had been pulled up into an elegant twist held in place with a single silver pin. With her normal anxiety relief method unavailable, she instead shifted nervously from foot to foot while she scanned the room trying to catch sight of the rest of the Waynes, gently tightening and loosening her grip on her purse, trying not to crush Tikki.

She was so lost in her anxiety she didn't notice the dark haired man walking behind her take notice of her and stop.  He stood behind her with a nonchalance that didn’t seem to fit a man his size.  He watched her fidget and muttering to herself about “damn rich people” with a smile on his face.

“You don't seem excited to be here” he said quietly.

She turned around with wide eyes, shocked that someone had heard her.  Whatever she was expecting to see it was not what she saw in front of her.  The man towered over her.  Even in her ridiculously, dangerously high heels, Chloe insisted, her head didn’t even come up to his chin.  He was also extremely handsome, with chiseled features and the most gorgeous blue eyes she had ever seen.  Those eyes were going to be a problem.  They were clear and kind and roguish and hypnotizing.  His black hair with a shock of white was slightly tousled giving the impression of a rouge trying to look sophisticated.  Was it inappropriate to imagine running her hand through his hair and along his sharp jawline?  Yeah, probably not appropriate and likely not welcome.  Clean up your thoughts, girl!  Great, now Alya was in her head scolding her.  No, that’s not right, because that would definitely not be Alya’s advice.  

He was grinning at her with an impish look in his eyes. “What?  Not impressed with the ‘we care about whatever the point of this gala is, but we’re not hobos so let’s not skimp on the luxury for us’ décor?  Or maybe it is the illustrious, soul sucking, benefactors of Gotham that have set you on edge.”  The smile he shot her was guarded and critical. She chuckled lightly and looked away. “You have good judgement and a good reason to be suspicious.  But you made it to The event of the season, so you must have done something right… or wrong.”

She hummed and looked away.  “Have you ever had one of those days where everything went wrong and now you don't know how you got where you are or why you are there?”

“I’m familiar with the feeling,” he nodded.

“That's my life. All of it.  Every single fucking day.  This one included."

He barked out a laugh and looked at her again appraising her.  “Well aren’t you a ray of sunshine.  I think I like you.  You might just make this torture session more bearable.  See you around,” he chuckled as he walked away.

Marinette watched the man’s retreating back.  The night was already going better than she thought it would.  But the plan for the night wasn’t to find a date it was to act as a scout and keep tabs on the… enemy?  For all intents and purposes, that is what the Waynes were tonight, right?  They had information that she needed, that Paris needed, and they apparently weren’t going to part with it willingly, so they were the enemy.  No, enemy sounded too harsh she chided herself.  Opposition? Yes, they were the opposition.  That sounded much less hostile, more like a game… a game where people’s lives were on the line.  You know, just for fun, no pressure.

She found a spot against a wall she could use.  It was slightly raised but not well lit so it wouldn’t draw attention to her.  From her spot she could finally see the family. It was very thoughtful of them to group together like that.  She could see the little one, stiff and military-like posture, glowering at the people around him.  He was standing as far away from the rest of the people there as he could without actually leaving the room.  Much closer to the dancefloor, she could see the middle boy talking to a few business men. They all had fake smiles plastered on their faces as they made seemingly insignificant small talk.  She did not envy him that experience.  Between the two and to the side was the oldest son. He was chatting up some business person’s daughter, leaning in a lot closer than etiquette would dictate. Just the father then… there he was still not too far from the door talking to a dark haired woman.  He had his arm around her waist as she leaned into him. She must be the girlfriend then. Mari made a note that she should probably pay attention to where she was as well.  Fortunately, the spot she had chosen gave her a great vantage point.  Unfortunately, her observation spot wasn’t as unnoticed as she had hoped.

 ___________________________________________________________

Jason made his way over to the bar and ordered a beer.  He still hadn’t spoken to his family to let them know he was there and he definitely needed a drink before he approached them.  Why the fuck was he here again?  Fucking Batman.  

Fresh glass of beer in hand, he made his way over to his brothers, refusing to acknowledge any of the partygoers along the way.  He watched as his brothers took note of his approach and excused themselves from their conversation partners.  Dick didn’t look too happy to turn away from the latest interest, smiling at her and giving her reassurances before sending her away.  Tim looked less happy to have to turn away from the men he was talking with. He should be thanking Jason really. He was giving him an out from having to deal with them and their god awful personalities and fashion. Seriously, who told that guy that tie was okay.  Even the Riddler would think that tie was obnoxious.

“Okay, I’m here,” Jason said taking a large swig of his drink.  “How long before I can ditch this bottomless pit of misery?”

“Woah, slow down there.  You’re going to get drunk before the announcement.”  Dick cautioned him.

“Do you want me here or do you want me sober?  You’re going to have to choose one.  They’re mutually exclusive, Dickweed.”

“Come on Jaybird, we all have to be here.  None of the rest of us are getting drunk.”

“That’s just because I’m smarter than you guys are,” he said tipping his glass to Tim who had scoffed at the suggestion and took another drink.  “There is no reason we all have to be here.  We shouldn’t all have to suffer.  And officially, I’m not even a member of this hellscape of a family anymore so I really shouldn’t have to be here.”

“If The Disappointment gets to leave, so do I. Someone should be patrolling tonight instead of all of us wasting our time entertaining these harpies.  And if one more person tries to touch me on my head I’m going to break a hand.”

“Stop it!  Nobody is leaving, Damian.  We’re in this together.  And Jason, if anyone got to go home it wouldn’t be you.  You are the reason we all have to be here in the first place; so we can ALL show our support when we officially announce that you are part of this ‘hellscape of a family’ again.  So enjoy it,” he said with a cutting smile.

“Not everyone enjoys getting groped by the gold-digging, trust fund whores.  I’ve found a way to cope.  It’s called alcohol.  Now if you’ll excuse me,” he downed the drink in his hand, “my drink is empty.  I’m going to go find another.”

“At least try not to interact with anyone. We don’t want to piss anyone off tonight.  And I don’t want to have to fix your messes.”

“Way ahead of you, Replacement.”  Jason turned and walked away before Dick could reprimand him again.  He needed to get away.  He could only handle his family in small does, very small doses, miniscule amounts, and he had already surpassed that limit.  

He grabbed two more drinks off of a passing waiter’s tray and looked for the Sunshine Girl.  He scanned the room sipping the champagne, trying not to make eye contact with anyone in the room.  His size and demeanor was usually enough to keep people away but making eye contact made people think he was open to talking.  He was not.  He had no interest in making nice with Gotham’s elite.  He wanted to get this night over with, with as little pain as possible.  

He finally spotted her off to the side of the room speaking with the obnoxious tie guy.  Jason watched as the man slid his hand up the side of her leg starting to move under her skirt.  Jason started to make his way over to them until he saw her move closer to the man.  She was close enough to whisper seductively into his ear now.  Ah, not uninvited then.  Maybe he had misread her.  Well there goes his hope of this party not sucking balls.  He started to turn away but noticed a pained expression on the man’s face.  He turned back to reexamine the scene.  She was holding the man’s hand at an unnatural angle.  It was a hold he’d used a few times himself, it was discrete but extremely effective, causing intense pain with a small movement.  He knew if she moved her hand just a few more centimeters, she could easily break his wrist.

She let go with a viscous look pushing him away from her as she did.  The man shook his hand and scowled at her.  He started back toward her and Jason took off running, not pausing to apologize to the people he bumped into along the way.  Before he could get to her, she had already taken care of it. She squared her shoulders and glared at the man, making it clear that she could and would continue with her actions if he persisted.  When she moved her hand ever so slightly, just enough so he could see it and remember what she had done, the man turned away and smiled at the people who had been standing behind him as though nothing had happened.  Jason chuckled to himself watching her move away from the man. She was definitely going to make this night more bearable.

“Looks like you don’t need me around for protection. Although I did bring a drink so maybe I can earn my keep that way,” he said handing her one of the glasses in his hand.  “That was extremely impressive.  How did you lean to handle yourself like that?”  

She accepted the glass and shrugged.  “You live in Paris long enough you pick up a few things.”

“That isn’t something you just ‘pick up’. That’s experience.”

“And that is exactly what you get when you have a supervillain terrorizing your streets and thoughts for 5 years; experience. And how do you know about that move?  Rich boy secretly a vigilante?” She raised an eyebrow at him giving him a daring smile and pretending to take a drink from the glass.  She was on a mission and she didn’t know him.  She wasn’t about to actually drink anything a stranger gave her, let alone get drunk.

“You don’t grow up in Gotham without learning how to take down someone trying to cop a feel.  And what do you mean about a supervillain in Paris?” he asked taking a step closer to her, concern edging into his stare.

“It doesn’t matter.  It’s not relevant for tonight.” She said taking a step away and scanning the room again to locate the Waynes.

He looked at her for a few moments taking her in, not just her appearance but how she held herself.  She stood with confidence and nonchalance.  She wasn’t acting coy, she wasn’t baiting him to ask her more questions, she was serious.  There was some kind of supervillain running around Paris that they had no idea about.  Well that piqued his interest.  He wanted to find out more about that and just his luck, the only person around who knew about it was the gorgeous and badass Sunshine Child in front of him. Guess he’ll just have to suffer and spend more time talking to her.  The things he does for Gotham, he smirked to himself. “I’m Jason,” he said putting his hand out for her to shake.

She looked at his hand before hesitantly taking it. His hand absolutely engulfed hers. “Nice to meet you Jason,” she said looking toward the dancefloor.  She had last seen the Waynes near the dancefloor and they couldn’t have gotten far, right?  They were likely to be near it.

Misinterpreting her focus he asked, “Wanna dance?” placing down his now empty glass.

She needed a better vantage point to locate the Waynes and even if they weren’t on the dancefloor anymore, the dancefloor would be the ideal place get an unobstructed, overall view of the room.  She could see the entire room from the dancefloor.  She just had to scope it out discretely so Jason didn’t get suspicious.  “Sure,” she said smiling at him and accepting the hand he had offered her.

He guided her out onto the dancefloor.  Jason noticed a little girl standing nervously next to the dancefloor looking at a group of kids nearby.  “Hold on just a second,” he said dropping her hand to kneel down next to the little girl.  “Hey, I just wanted to say what a beautiful dress you have.  I wish you had a smile to match.  Anything wrong, kid?” he asked gently.  The little girl gave him a nervous smile.

“Thanks.  My Mom said I could pick out a dress and I chose this one.  But Mom says it looks silly.  It’s too fluffy and gets in everyone’s way.”

At that Marinette kneeled down next to her as well. “Oh.  Well, let me fill you in on a little secret.  I’m a fashion designer and I can tell you there is nothing wrong with fluffy.  You did a great job picking it out.  It is perfect for you.  I couldn’t design anything better.  I wish I looked as confident and effortlessly beautiful as you do. ”

The smile the little girl gave her was genuine this time.  “You really like it?”

“I do,” Marinette responded.  

“I do, too.  I’m not a fashion designer, but I still think you look good, kid.  And if anyone tells you they don’t like it, scr… I mean, forget them.  Who cares what they think.  A fashion designer and a delinquent think it looks amazing.  Don’t let someone else tell you what you like.” Jason added.  The little girl beamed at both of them and bounded off to join the kids with much more confidence.

Marinette watched him as he watched the kid play with her friends making raucous noise as they played, a grin on his face until he saw some parents come to reprimand their kids for being so noisy.  So, rich boy has a heart and is really protective of kids.  Well that wasn’t going to help Marinette focus solely on the mission. “That was incredibly nice of you.  That’s not advice I would have expected from someone attending a party like this.” Marinette said taking Jason’s outstretched hand again.

“Just because we’re miserable here doesn’t mean she should be, too.  Kids should be happy.  It’s ridiculous to bring a kid to a party if you aren’t going to let them be a kid. Adults in Gotham expect too much of their kids.  They treat them like props instead of kids, tools to help them achieve a goal.” He said voice getting gruff as he spoke.  He looked back at her and shook his head as if to clear his head of his thoughts.  He smiled at her instead and took her waist with his free hand to start dancing with her.

“You know, I noticed you never did give me your name.”

She looked into his eyes for a just a moment before she looked back to the dancefloor, “You know, I noticed that too.”

“Hmmm.  Secretive. No name but a fashion designer from Paris,” he said.  Marinette paled slightly refusing to look back at him.  He was paying attention to her and noticing details.  She hadn’t expected that from this crowd.  She was going to have to be more careful about what she said.  ‘Not get noticed’ played over and over in her head.  She was supposed to slip in and out with nobody remembering her.  She might have blown the mission already.  But, was she ready to walk away from those blue eyes?  Surely, talking with him couldn’t do any harm, right?  “So, did you design the dress you’re wearing?”

She was brought back to reality with a jolt.  “Yes.  Not… not my best work, but it fit the uh, occasion,” she stuttered out.

“Was the occasion to look stunning?  Because you do.”  He grinned smugly as she blushed heavily under his praise.  This was fun.  This was his new mission for the night; to see how many times he could make her blush.  “Still not going to tell me your name, huh?”

She looked back at him before dropping her eyes again.  Stupid mission.  If it were just her here for herself, she could stay here dancing with Jason and gazing into his eyes for the rest of the night, and tomorrow, and the day after for that matter.  But she wasn’t here for herself.  She was here for a reason and that reason demanded she be anonymous and keep track of the Waynes.

She scanned the floor again and finally spotted the Waynes, confirming they were all there.  Nobody had snuck off.  They really liked sticking around each other didn’t they?

“No, it takes more than a pretty line from a pretty boy to get my name” she said looking back to Jason and plastering on a fake smile. “I don’t need any rich boys remembering me after this is over.  Tomorrow I’ll go back to my real life and it will be like none of this ever happened. I can report that I came, I danced, and I even smiled a few times, then never speak of it again.”

“Friends or family forced you to come because they thought you needed some excitement in your life, Pixie Pop?”

“Something like that… Pixie Pop?”

“You won’t tell me your name and I need to call you something.  You’re little and mischievous and can handle yourself… Pixie Pop. Honestly, you’re lucky I didn’t go with Odysseus.  Also, you think I’m pretty?”  He grinned down at her.

She rolled her eyes but smiled anyway, cheeks flushing slightly.  “I think that would have made you Polyphemus, which you certainly have the size for,” she grinned up at him.  “Anyway, that’s why I’m here.  How about you?”

“Oh, my family thinks I have enough fun already. I’m here because if they have to suffer, so do I.  And all to bolster the name of the illustrious Bruce Wayne.”

Marinette examined his face as he stared toward where she last seen Bruce Wayne.  He looked annoyed and frustrated.  This was a side of Mr. Wayne she had not heard about in her research, a side that frustrated native Gothamites.  A bit more information could be helpful for her to figure out what role he played in the Grimoire information Constantine was gathering, figure out whether or not he was a threat.  “Not a fan?” she asked delicately.

He looked back at her examining her face for any malice.  “Depends on the day.”

She hummed in response.  “What can you tell me about Bruce Wayne?” she finally asked.

“Why do you want to know?” he responded suspiciously. Most people looking for more information wanted it as a weapon.  Bruce might not be his favorite person, he might actually hate him right now, but he wasn’t going to help someone take him down unless it was him.

She shrugged, “everything I’ve seen shows an exemplary record for him.  You don’t seem to be a fan though and you’ve grown up in Gotham so you would have some good insights.  So, I’m wondering what your take on him is.  What he’s done to draw your ire.”

Jason nodded slightly seeming to mull over what she said.  “He does good things.  He helps a lot of charities.  He honestly does care about the city and the people and about making their lives better. His parenting skills could use some work though.  He could show his sons that he actually cares about them as more than tools, you know, whether they live or died…” he furrowed his brows and looked away for a few seconds before he schooled his expression.  His eyes got a wicked gleam to them and he leaned towards her to whisper conspiratorially “… and I hear he’s sleeping with Batman.”

Mari looks at him surprised.  “Huh, I guess he has a type then, supermodels, superheroes…”

“Supervillains…” Jason says under her breath looking back at Bruce and his date.

“What?”

“Nothing,” he covered quickly, but the damage had already been done.  She had started thinking about Bruce’s involvement with the super community.  If he was sleeping with superheroes and super villains, that meant he was part of the same circles as Constantine… and Constantine liked dating in the super community.  Could Bruce Wayne be in the super community?  That would explain why he had information pertaining to the Grimoire.  And she might need to revisit exactly how Constantine knew Bruce Wayne.

“Are you okay?  I didn’t break you, did I?” he asked cautiously.

“Yeah, fine I could just maybe use some uh, water?” she gave an awkward smile.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, please?”  She just needed a bit of space to think.

Jason left to grab a glass of water and turned back to her.  She watched Bruce with her head crooked to the side.  He saw her finger discretely swiping to the right a few times as she stared intently at Bruce.  After a few times her finger swiped left instead and head straightened.  She looked around to the other members of the family as if she was counting, confirming something in her head.

Marinette’s eyes widened as she suddenly realized why Bruce Wayne could have information they needed and why Constantine needed her to keep an eye on the Waynes.  Shit. Shit shit shit shit. Shitshitshitshitshitshit. Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit.  She turned away quickly.  This could not be happening.  This. Could. Not. Be. Happening.  She did NOT help him break into the BATCAVE while she kept tabs on BATMAN.

And if Constantine was trying desperately to avoid him, like he did all his exes…That little…

Jason had no idea what happened but as he got closer to his Pixie he could hear her muttering under her breath in French.  His French was a bit rusty so even the pieces he could pick up were scarce and nonsensical.  Something about maybe “lying” and “Roast Beef” and “bat” and “shark” and “fucking”.  He couldn’t be positive about any of the words except two; “fucking” and “bat” those he was pretty familiar with.  Not to brag but he could swear like a sailor in at least 7 languages.  And “bat”, he knew that word in a few more languages for obvious reasons.

She was abruptly moving and ran right into him before she could take notice of her surroundings.  She looked at Jason with wide eyes, reexamining the man she had spent the evening speaking and dancing with.  Suddenly, everything clicking into place.  There was one more hero she hadn’t accounted for, Red Hood, who while he hid his face behind a mask, just so happened to have the same towering build as Jason. But Bruce Wayne didn’t have any more kids, right?  And if the other vigilantes were his sons, Red Hood should be too, right?  He just had the three boys and the two girls who were out of town.  That was it.  He had another son, but that son had died.  What was his name… She gasped loudly, “Oh God! You’re Jason,” she exclaimed out loud.  

“Yeah?”  He said confused.  They’d been over this before.

“You’re Jason Todd,” she said looking down and taking slow breaths.  “You’re Bruce Wayne’s son.”

He looked at her startled.  She put that together quicker than he was expecting especially since she didn’t seem to know much about the family. “For what it’s worth, I don’t feel like his son most of the time,” he tried to joke.  “Sorry for not telling you before.  I don’t like talking about being in the family, or being in the family at all, actually.” He winced looking at her wide eyes.

“I wasn’t supposed to get noticed by the Waynes. Shit!”

“Then you shouldn’t have worn that dress… or that face… or that smile, Pixie.”  He said grinning suavely.  

She examined him for a few seconds, emotions flittering across her face almost too quickly to identify them.  Confusion, bashful, flattered, hopeful, guilt, pain, melancholy.

“I have to go.” She finally spoke up.

“Wait.  What?”

“I… I have to go”

“Wait, is it… you have to go because I’m Wayne’s son?”

“No, I… shit.  Putain de bâtard.” Yep, that one he understood too.  Wait... “Me?” He asked pointing to himself.

“No, not you… Not because you’re a Wayne, well kind of because you’re a Wayne.  It’s…” she faltered for a few seconds then muttered under her breath again “Je vais tuer cette putain de mère.”

“Wait, who is the mother fucker you’re talking about? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.  I’m just going to kill a bitch when I get home.”

“Okay… Okay, first, that is a lot more swearing than I thought you were capable of and I’m extremely impressed… and turned on,” he chuckled as she rolled her eyes at him and mumbled under her breath “you should have heard what was going on in my head”.  He raised his eyebrows at her suggestion.  “Okay, you’re making it really hard not to make out with you right now.” He watched proudly as her cheeks suddenly blazed red at his comment. Another point for him tonight.

“Second, if you’re just worried about Bruce finding out you were here, it never happened.  I never saw you.  You were never here,” he assured her.  Instead of calming her she seemed more panicked, eyes darting from the door to him. This seemed like more than just not wanting to get noticed.  She was into something and didn’t want to be.  “Or, if you’re in trouble, I can help.  You just need to tell me what is going on.  You don’t seem like you would willingly work with someone out to hurt others, so whatever it is, I’m sure you aren’t willingly doing it.  If it is something bad.  I just really have no idea what is going on right now and I would like you to tell me.” He continued earnestly, looking her in her eyes to make sure she understood how deathly serious he was about it.  If she needed help, he WOULD help her.  Even if he didn’t like her, which he really did, he was going to help put that smile back on her face.

She looked at him for another few moments opening her mouth slightly to say something then seemed to think better of it and closed it again.  She narrowed her eyes and looked away scanning the room as she thought about what to say and do next.  She seemed to come to a conclusion as she turned back to him and set her feet firmly on the ground.

“I never told you why I was here, did I?” Even before he shook his head she continued.  “I’m here to keep an eye on the Waynes.  On you, apparently.  Didn’t know you were back from the dead though, so I wasn’t looking out for you. Congratulations on that, by the way, you know, on the whole not being dead thing.  That’s really amazing.  I’m glad you can be around to enjoy life and laugh and be sarcastic and look at me with those eyes and look like that in a suit… probably even better out of it.”  She muttered the last part under her breath.

“I’d love to see you out of that dress, too.” He smiled smugly at her.

She huffed out a breath, cheeks reddening again, “Yeah, not happening.  I’m burning this dress as soon as I get out of here.”

“I can help you with that, too.  I like setting fires.  Two birds, one pyrotechnic.” He preened for a moment enjoying the flirting. Wait, less flirting, more focusing back on the more important part of her earlier speech.

“Wait, why are you keeping an eye on us?” he asked apprehensively.

“So I could warn my… associate if any of you left. So he could have plenty of time to… what is the best way to say this…” she looked up to the ceiling and took a deep steadying breath thinking about the words she wanted to use.  None of this was part of the plan. “…so he could have plenty of time to evacuate your… lair? No, lair makes you sound like villains… your illicit… cavern of, actually I don’t know if it is a cavern… and it isn’t really illicit, is it?  Well, actually I guess it kind of is, but that still makes it sound like you’re a villain…your underground… no, I don’t even know if it is underground… to evacuate your… uh… secret… base of… um, operations?”

“My what?” Jason demanded now more than a little concerned. “Who are you?”

“Nobody.  Absolutely nobody of consequence. And nobody who should be here right now.”  She turned to walk away before Jason stopped her.

“No.  You don’t get to say something like that then try to slink away like nothing happened. Come on, we’re going to go talk to some people,” he said grabbing her arm a bit harder than strictly necessary and dragging her towards his brothers and Bruce.  She definitely figured out who they all were or at least who Bruce was and that they knew too, which put her in danger, and she was working with someone to break into the Batcave, which put them all in danger.  Everything about this situation was dangerous and bad and they needed to talk to the family to figure out the best next steps.

Marinette dug her heels into the ground pulling against him, a really bad idea considering how high her heels were. Instead of stopping him she stumbled into his chest allowing him the opportunity to wrap his arms around her, “I’m not going anywhere with you,” she said squirming to get out of his embrace. “This is between you guys.  I have neither the desire nor the interest to get involved in this little lover’s spat.  I have more important things to be doing right now.  Things that asshole was supposed to be doing instead of pulling practical jokes.”

“Jokes?  What do you mean jokes?  What the fuck is going on?”  He looked at her again.  She wasn’t afraid, she wasn’t gloating, she wasn’t even nervous.  She was annoyed verging on enraged.  

“Nothing you need to worry about, Red.” She threw in the moniker at him to get him to back down.  She knew how important secret identities were, and how finding out someone knew yours could throw you off your game.  She felt a bit of guilt as she used that knowledge against him but this was no longer fun.  Now this was infuriating.  John was playing games with his former lover, or current lover, whatever Bruce was to him, instead of just helping.  He was taking time she didn’t want to spend, time the people of Paris should not have to wait.  They had spent weeks planning this when he could have just walked in and asked for the information.  They had wasted so much time.

“I. Do. Not. Have. Time. For. This.  This is not a joke.  This is not some gag for you overgrown children to play at,” she said hitting her finger into his chest with each word.  “I have people in need relying on me.  I have children counting on me. Parents counting on me.  Single people, who also deserve to live just as much as everyone else, counting on me and all suffering while they wait.  I. Am. Done.  And I am leaving”

Jason listened to her shocked.  Something was happening and he had absolutely no idea what, but somehow they were involved.  He hated not knowing what was going on.  Apparently children were suffering because of all of this and he didn’t know why.  But, he was going to figure it out.  She was right.  They did not have time for this.  Whatever was going on, they were going to help.  He turned away loosening his grip on her waist to just laying his arm on her instead of encircling her.  He touched his hand to his ear to activate the com hidden inside, “Tim, can you check the security video for the uh… our base of operations?”

It appeared that Tim was giving Jason some resistance because Jason turned away even further and started yell whispering threats into the air.  He was trying to be as discrete as possible in the crowded room, which normally wouldn’t be such a concern but there was a group of dancers headed their way, just leaving the dance floor after the song ended.  Marinette took advantage of his distraction and the sudden cover to twist away from him and slip into the crowd.

Jason called after her and tried to grasp her arm but missed her.  He searched for her but the crowd was too thick, having had to bottleneck to get past the tables surrounding the dance floor.  He scanned the crowd for her twisted hair or the black dress, but couldn’t see her in the group.  She had effectively disappeared, but if she went into the crowd, she would have to come out and cross the dancefloor in order to leave.  He could just wait for her on the other side of the group and keep an eye on the dancefloor.  He moved to go around the table, but that side was just as crowded so he did the only rational, discrete thing he could in the situation, he slid across the top of the table landing on the dancefloor and waited to grab her there, but she never came out.

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­

_____________________________________________________________

Marinette had a habit of catastrophizing.  She knew this.  Everyone who knew her knew this.  She thought of all of the worst case scenarios and tried to plan for them. Generally, it was a wasted effort that did little more than stress her out and annoy her teammates.  Today, however, today it paid off.  She had anticipated having to make a quick escape and once she decided it was time to go, she put her escape plan into action. Freeing herself from Jason, she pulled off her belt before even getting to the crowd.  As she entered the crowd of people, she pulled out her hair pin, letting her hair fall down.  She didn’t even have to hunch down much at all to disappear into the crowd as she weaved her way through them.  One advantage to being short.  She ran her left hand through her hair tousling it so her long raven hair cascaded around her shoulders.  With her right hand, she yanked at the cowl neckline of her dress, allowing the fabric overlay to drop forming a floor length skirt, revealing the bodice of her now red Harlow inspired dress that had been hidden underneath.  Her new dress hugged her body until it reached her hips then fell freely.  

Finally, she reached into her red purse, removed her phone, the cookie for Tikki, and Kaalki’s glasses, nodded to Tikki, turned her purse inside out revealing a now black purse with red detailing, and returned her phone, glasses, cookie, hairpin, and belt into it, leaving plenty of room for Tikki. The entire change took all of 10 seconds.  By the time she would walk out of the crowd, she would be completely unrecognizable, at least by anyone who didn’t already know her.  Unless that is, if they were looking for someone moving against the tide of people.  That would be a dead giveaway.  So instead, she pivoted and moved with the crowd instead of against it, parting with them after a few tables and moving laterally toward the exit.

Marinette made her way to the exit quickly, but not quickly enough to draw attention to herself.  She needed to get to Constantine before the “bat family”, as her research had called them, got to him.  They had reasons for keeping other superheroes out of Paris and she had no interest in having that particular awkward and slightly guilt laden (stupid gorgeous blue eyes she wanted to get lost in) conversation with them.  Especially when she was this utterly livid with Constantine, which was another reason she was rushing.  She needed to get to him so she could beat the asshole out of him. Oh, she was going to make him pay for this, and not in a way he would enjoy.  

She was angry and frustrated and guilty and grieved. She knew Jason didn’t deserve for her to snap at him like she had but she had been too frustrated to hold back and he was part of the problem.  She had been having fun with Jason.  She had been enjoying bantering with him and looking into his eyes.  She had really, really been enjoying having him look at her like she was the most interesting thing in Gotham and having him hold her closer than he had to while they danced.  And now it was gone.  She was a hero and he was a vigilante so he had to be kept at a distance.  A 3,670 mile distance to be precise, well approximate.

She was just about to cross through the exit when a voice stopped her.

“Hey,” a woman with short black hair and green eyes called out to her.  Marinette slowed down weighing the risk of just blowing her off vs the risk of stopping. She decided ignoring her might lead to the woman calling after her, which would bring unwanted attention, which she wanted to avoid.  Stopping seemed the safer answer.  As long as she didn’t look back at the gala or do anything else that might incriminate herself, she would be able to get away without any awkward conversations or fights.

“Yes” she answered with a strained smile.

“I saw that little quick change back there,” the woman responded.  Marinette’s eyes widened in panic.  Before anxiety could start going over all the worst case scenarios her mind could come up with, she was already in the midst of one of them in real life she really didn’t need to start thinking of worse things to add to it, the woman continued, nonchalantly scanning the people at the gala, “don’t worry, I’m not going to out you.  I just might have occasion to use a quick change myself from time to time, so I was hoping you might share where you got your dress.”  She shot Marinette a wicked smile.  ”Just because you’re hustling doesn’t mean you can’t look killer doing it.”

Marinette relaxed minutely and gave her a small smile, “it’s called MDC Designs.  She’s online. What’s your name so she’ll know who to look out for?”

“Thanks kitten.  I appreciate it.”  She said never looking back at Marinette.  “Selina.  Selina Kyle. I’d say nice to meet you, but we never met, did we?”

Marinette smiled to herself as she walked out the door. Maybe the night wasn’t a total loss. Hopefully, Constantine got the information they needed, she’ll get to punch his smug face as soon as she sees him, and she’ll get a new client.  Guess Adrien was right about showcasing her design after all.  He must never know.  Not such a bad night at all.

 Chapter 2

 Tag:

@fsketchart @jasonette-july-2k20

#maribat #jasonette #jasonette july 2k20 #Pixie Spy

[necer0s]

So I’m catching up on Miraculous Ladybug at long last (I finished season one when it was out and never got around to watching later episodes when they came out) and I thought I’d just put all my reactions in one post so as not to go overboard.  

So first off, I really like that they opened the season with the Gabriel=Hawkmoth reveal?  Obviously it wasn’t much of a reveal at that point, but it’s good that they didn’t waste any time.  And they immediately set us up for future speculation by revealing that Nathalie knows about Hawkmoth at the same time-- also good!  Plus, I like how GabeMoth deceived our heroes about his identity.  The conclusion they reached about “he was akumatized so he can’t be Hawkmoth” seems a little shaky to me (how do they know that’s not just another application of his power-granting powers?) but the deception was well-crafted and well-acted, and I can absolutely see how it would fool two children who desperately want to believe the best of him.  

Despair Bear:  I like seeing Chloe’s softer side (one-dimensional bullies bore me) but I love seeing Hawkmoth literally go “ah yes, people in close proximity to Chloe Bourgeois, the perfect opportunity to akumatize someone.”  

Riposte:  God, Ladrien is my favorite dynamic in the love square.  They’re both with the person they like… but they don’t want to act like they’re interested in that person in their current form… how terrible!  

I also like the “akuma alert” that shows up in this episode.  Paris has gotten really used to this, huh?  (I guess it’s not surprising, since there’s literally never any lasting damage.)  

I have to say, I really prefer these episodes that spend most of their time on fighting the villain rather than on the high school drama.  

Also… there are people who ship Ladybug/Kagami, right?  Because Kagami staring at Ladybug when she tells her everything is alright is just… *chef kiss* perfection.  That’s the kind of wonder-filled stare that crushes are built around.  (Of course, as a big fan of poly resolutions to love triangles, I’m hoping that Luka will have a similar moment with Adrien so I can build a proper shipping tesseract.)

Befana:  I haven’t actually started watching the episode yet as I write this, but seeing the blurb say that Marinette’s grandma gets akumatized is giving me Thoughts about Paris’s culture and society in the wake of the whole akumatization thing.  Like, insulting someone or being overly cruel to them is just actively dumb, obviously-- you might not suffer permanent harm, but the next couple hours probably won’t be pleasant for you if Hawkmoth is paying attention.  In a non-kid’s-show universe, anyone with common sense would be unusually concerned about hurting people’s feelings at all times.  There’s a lot of “utopia-looking dystopia” potential in something like that....  (Of course, as I watch the episode and it transpires that Grandma is deeply out of touch with current Paris, this seems oddly prophetic.  Kagami was from out of town as well… hmmm….)

  Also: Marinette’s parents fistbumping is Super Cute and I love it.  

Random thought while watching:  Do you think one of the reasons people always run away from Akumas is to give Ladybug and Cat Noir plausible deniability?  

Another aside:  It’s always kind of weird when the dub is Really Obvious about having changed something.  They really think we can’t recognize that the “fairies” here are supposed to be angels?  

My new favorite part of this episode:  Befana making Hawkmoth say “please”.  God, I love her.

Tangent:  I wish they would do more with the purified butterflies.  If they can’t follow them back to Hawkmoth, is it at least possible that they could destroy them?  Hawkmoth seems to have a limited number of them.  Maybe normal damage wouldn’t do anything, but if Cataclysm happens to have not been used yet in the fight, surely that would be enough to destroy the butterfly?  If that became a thing, it would add two interesting new elements to every fight:  a slow countdown to Hawkmoth eventually becoming powerless, and a struggle for Cat Noir to not have to use his power.  

Robostus:  ...The technology level in this is kind of weird.  Not super weird, given how recently this was made, but at least a little weird.  

I really like this akuma?  He’s asking questions of Hawkmoth, unlike most people.  And his tech-control may be the most powerful akuma we’ve ever seen. 

And he’s the first akuma to betray Hawkmoth!  Damn, I love this little guy.  I wonder if this is why Hawkmoth usually hands out relatively weak powers?

Glaciator:  I hate episodes where Marinette is the cause for someone’s akumatization.  I mean, it’s good to have flawed heroes and all, but it’s just so awkward to watch.  Though I do like that she immediately recognized that she was cruel and felt bad about it, instead of needing a hamfisted moral.

I know I said before that Ladrien was my favorite dynamic, but Marichat is pretty great too.  Removing the pressure of the crush from both sides gives us a great chance to see how they work as friends.

Sapotis:  Random thought:  What does Hawkmoth do with his cane when he’s using both hands to infuse a butterfly?  Does it just stand on its own?

Here’s another akuma that I really like.  Multiplying powers are perfect for overwhelming the heroes and for protecting the core object.  “When they eat” is a decent limitation to make it possible for them to eventually be defeated, too.

I like that handing out the Fox Miraculous wasn’t an easy choice.  It’s kind of a big deal!  I do think that it’s kind of a weird choice, though-- why should Marinette particularly think that illusions will be helpful in dealing with this?  (For that matter, what makes Fox Illusions important enough to be one of the five central Miraculouses?  The Butterfly makes sense-- handing powers out to other people is a huge power-- but illusions just don’t seem to measure up against stuff like the Rabbit’s time travel.  I have to think that the Fox has more powers to unlock, just like the Ladybug and the Cat.)

Huh, Alya detransformed faster than Marinette even though she had spent less time transformed and used her power later.  That seems to suggest that practice extends how long they can use their powers…  Which makes sense, given Hawkmoth’s ability relative to theirs.  That’s probably why his powers (and Fluff’s, later in the series) are so much stronger, as well… it’s just that it’s hard to judge the strength of most of the powers we’ve seen so far.

Gorizilla:  Hey, Gabriel Agreste?  Do me a favor and DIE HORRIBLY.

Captain Hardrock:  ...So, is Luka being written as autistic-coded?  It seems like he can communicate more easily through music, which (while I’m not entirely sure if that’s a real way autism can manifest) is definitely a way it gets written in some stories.  

Alya: “Some of us are still chained up here, could you stop flirting for one second?”  (I love her so much)

Okay, I’m not a musician, but can Adrien and Gabriel just… play a solo piece as a duet?  Don’t you need a song written for that purpose?

Everyone already knows that Adrien and Luka had just as much a meet-cute as Luka and Marinette did, right?  Good, good.  The Ship Tesseract is a go.

Frightningale:  Marinette is very cute when she gets excited about her idols.

Tikki explicitly and casually saying that she’s proud of Marinette is A+, very excellent.

Plagg: “That costume is what you really wanted deep down, isn’t it?”  What.  WHAT???  So… Miraculous costumes are shaped by the desires of their holders?  I love it.  I love it!  That opens such a delightful future opportunity for showcasing character growth, it’s perfect.

Adrien shows up dressed as Cat Noir:  Marinette.exe has stopped working.

...I really wish they would take this episode as a chance to explicitly say that Miraculous Magic helps protect their identities.  That really needs to be canonized if people are going to stop looking like morons.

Syren:  Wow, we’re jumping right into this akuma.  Very promising for my enjoyment of the episode!  And a delightfully interesting akuma, too-- I’m a big fan of terrain control as a power.

New transformation sequence!  New powers!  I love this whole episode.

And Adrien getting to meet Master Fu is also Very Good.  He deserves it.

Zombizou: Another excellent episode.  I love this Akuma’s power… all the cute of a romance with all the horror of zombies.  A delightfully unusual combination that could only occur in Miraculous Ladybug.

And some delightful character growth for Chloe, which I love. 

 Frozer:  Okay, Cat Noir grabbing a rose to give to Ladybug is cute and all, but… roses are expensive, you know?  It’s like he just swiped a few dollars out of this guys hand.

Kagami, who ships Marinette/Adrien as much as anyone else in the school:  Change targets, Adrien.  Adrien:  *hands her a rose*  Kagami:  Wrong target!

...Yeah, Adrien does not have a lot of good options for love advice around him.  But wow, going to Marinette is hands-down the cruelest and dumbest thing he could do.  

God, I love Marinette’s friends.  They have their own personal fandom going on here, don’t they?

Aaaww, Gorilla Bodyguard is nice.  It’s a shame that he never talks, honestly.

You know, I’m really trying to ship this poly quartet, but it just isn’t doing much for me tbh.

I do like the different forms (and the different transformation sequences) but I have to wonder what the rest of them do.  Surely they can’t all be for dealing with different kinds of environments? There just aren’t that many environments that need magical assistance to deal with.  Underwater, on ice… I can imagine flight, fire resistance, and maybe digging, but that only gets us to five out of seven potions.  It’s hard to think of two more environment adaptations that wouldn’t be covered by the first five.  There must be at least one that has a different kind of power.

Remember how I really enjoy episodes that spend a lot of time with the akuma?  That goes in reverse for episodes that spend a lot of time on stalling relationship drama.  If anyone was actually making any kind of progress, that would be one thing, but as it is…

Style Queen:  Tikki playing Marinette’s crush on Adrien against her crippling insecurity is just hilarious to me.  I don’t know why.

...I really hope this interview isn’t going out live.  Poor Chloe.  She doesn’t deserve that.

Tikki:  *encourages Marinette in every possible way when she’s anxious*  Plagg:  You feel awkward?  It’s because you look dumb.  

How the heck did all of Marinette’s classmates and family get seats in this highly prestigious fashion show?  Front-row seats, no less?  (I could understand a couple tickets for close family and friends, but this is a little excessive.)

Wow, Nathalie is really good at this “accidental” infuriation thing.  

(Side note:  I really like the touch of having Chloe so thoroughly imitate her mother as to even walk like her.  It serves a delightful dual narrative purpose of both explaining much of Chloe’s cruelty and of making Audrey’s cruelty to her daughter even more heartbreaking.)

Okay, again:  How did Nino get the gig of doing music for this highly prestigious fashion show?  Like, did Adrien cash in every favor he had with his father?  And why are all the other rows of the audience still empty?  I normally don’t notice or care about animation shortcuts, but this is all very glaring.

...God, Chloe wants to please her mother so much she’ll even help her akumatized self.  That’s just depressing.

Plaggaclysm is an absolute goddamn delight.  (And, you know, utterly terrifying.)  It makes me wonder what Tikki’s unrestrained power looks like.

Okay, as someone who’s been spoilered a lot, I always wondered how Marinette managed to lose a Miraculous so badly that it ended up in Chloe’s hands, but this is actually a really good explanation-- she thought that the magic clean-up of Miraculous Ladybug would have sent it back.  Which makes sense!  That’s the kind of put-things-back-where-they-were that we might often see from a Miraculous Ladybug.  It’s not great that she just assumed that without checking, but it’s not unreasonable either.

Troublemaker:  ...So, is this out of order or something?  Or is there a deliberate gap between the two Queen episodes?

You know, it’s hard not to wonder sometimes why Hawkmoth keeps trying all these useless-seeming akumas all the time, but Troublemaker does a pretty good job stating their case-- sometimes you just get exactly the right circumstances for victory, even with a power that wouldn’t do much good anywhere else.  Intangibility wouldn’t be impressive outdoors or even in the Agreste mansion... but in a cramped Parisian apartment, she’s one of the most successful akumas ever created.

It’s nice that they’re actually showing us some emotional aftermath of an akumatization for once.  You can just feel that shame radiating off of Penny-- that sense of “how could I do that?  What will they think of me?”  It’s a nice thing to address.

You know what I just realized I desperately want?  I want post-reveal shenanigans where Tikki hangs out with Marinette’s other female friends.  They have such a great girl group, and Tikki would be so much fun hanging out with them.

Queen Wasp:  It’s interesting that Gabriel mentions a “promise” between him and Emilie.  That certainly seems to imply more than just him wanting to resurrect her.  I’m starting to see where the “maybe Emilie was evil too” headcanons come from.

Yay, Marinette’s getting what she deserves!  Boo, Chloe doesn’t deserve to have this happen in front of her!  Very mixed feelings.

...But wow, Chloe did not choose a great way to react to that.  I can’t blame her at all, but still…

I wish they’d given more time to the Queen Wasp fight.  I mean, I get that obviously they couldn’t do much since a single strike on her part would defeat them, but such a powerful akuma deserves more attention.

Chloe saying sorry is just… That’s Growth!

Reverser:  I’m enjoying this episode, but the number of people who seem honestly confused about the fact that Marc is an akuma is baffling.  It feels like this really ought to be a Season 1 episode.

This really seems like an episode where they should be handing out other Miraculouses to get some help?  I mean, Alix said it pretty explicitly.  I can imagine a lot of ways that Rena Rouge could help out here, for instance.  

Random thought:  How come Ladybug can capture and purify the akumas anyway?  It doesn’t really seem to fit Tikki’s theme of Creation.  Is it because she’s one of the top two Miraculouses, and therefore has some amount of power over the lesser Miraculous?  That would make sense, I suppose.  And I... guess it sort of counterbalances Plagg’s ability to destroy the Miraculouses.

Anansi:  Adrien excusing his father’s behavior as being “overprotective” is physically painful to me.  

Honestly, Nora has a point.  How are the people of Paris supposed to tell the difference between akumatized people and people in costumes?  (Well, presumably it’s easier to tell the difference in a non-animated world…)

Marinette being a Chaotic Good trickster is my everything.  Almost as much as Alya being all dramatic as she walks out is.

The irony of this ordinary, non-magical fighter saying that Alya, Marinette, Adrien, and Nino are clueless about the dangers of akumas is smothering.  

Is it just me, or does Marinette look unusually worried in this transformation sequence?  I thought they just reused the same thing multiple times, but this definitely isn’t her usual cheery transformation.

I’ve been waiting a long time for Cat Noir to use Cataclysm as a way to protect his Miraculous.  It’s a fairly obvious application of the power, and it’s nice to see that finally happen.

Ladybug:  This Cat empty, YEET!

God, Nino is a terrible liar.  Which puts him in good company in this show…

Malediktator:  Obviously we can’t have Chloe maintaining her positive character development.  Clearly, we need to backtrack that immediately!  /sigh…  I suppose it makes some sense in that she’s spending more time with her mother and learning from her.

I feel bad for the Mayor.  Audrey is too cruel to deal with, and Chloe follows her example.

I saw the “everyone celebrates Chloe leaving” bit coming a mile away, and I still laughed for a solid minute.  Of course, then Adrien has to come along and spoil it with her being his “childhood friend” and “the only person his age he knew for years”, but whatever.

God, I can’t believe the Lucky Charm in this episode.  Can we have more of that, please?  Massive laser gun weapons for the win.

The one thing I can’t stop thinking about is how Cat Noir’s Miraculous is clearly only saved by narrative convenience.  It’s frankly very jarring.

Sandboy:  Some interesting worldbuilding going on here.  Too bad it comes at the cost of Nooroo having to deal with Gabriel “Evil Bitch” Agreste.

Anyway, worldbuilding.  Miraculous holders can apparently control their kwamis!  That’s… awful.

And, as I’ve wondered for a while, it appears that the Miracle Box is in fact magical in and of itself, and not just a spiffy container for the Miraculouses-- it apparently has a kwami pocket dimension.  

Kwamis can’t say their owners’ names, which makes sense.

Nightmare!Adrien is horrifying.  

I’m a little disappointed with the singing kwamis.  That could have been a lot more mystical.

Adrien’s nightmare is… incredibly depressing and disturbing.  Yeesh.

Hawkmoth reverse-tracking the kwamis is hugely dangerous.  I hope Fu moves to a different apartment after this.  (And speaking of Fu, I’m a little disappointed by his nightmare.  I hoped for something a little more revealing.)

Have I told Gabriel Agreste to die in a fire recently?  Just in case… die in a fire, Gabriel Agreste.

Catalyst:  I’ve been looking forward to this one, yes I have…

God, there’s a statue of Adrien’s dead mom right outside his room?  Was his life not awful enough somehow?

Yeesh, Lila.  I probably should have rewatched Volpina at some point so I had a better sense of what’s going on with her, but there’s only so much Lila nonsense I want to deal with.  And apparently she’s lying to both her parents and to the school?  Honestly, why?

Ugh, Marinette lying.  Honestly, I just straight-up skipped past this.  Among my many personal problems with this, I also feel that having everyone say in front of the entire class what they’re doing for Heroes Day is… really weird?  I mean, that would be an unfair way to force children to compare themselves to each other even in a world without akumatizations-- and in this world, it’s an actively dumb thing to do.

Volpina(/Lila) is such an interesting character because she so entirely embraces the power Hawkmoth grants her, and is so willing to help him even when she loses that power.

Catalyst is a fascinating akuma choice.  I don’t think it would work for anyone but Nathalie, and for her it fits perfectly.  And from the very instant she appears, it’s obvious that she may well be the most valuable akuma ever created.

Watching people stare down the akumas is awesome, I have to say.  

I love these Miraculous handing-outs.  Alya once again proves herself the queen of everything.

Mayura:  Ohhhh yes. I’ve really been waiting for this one.

Dark Cupid + Scarlet Moth is a particularly inspired combination.  Honestly, at this end of the episode I can’t possibly imagine what would lead to Hawkmoth never doing this again.

Plagg sharing his cheese may be the most heartwarming moment this series has ever seen.

The Peacock Miraculous is fascinating in oh-so-many ways.  It creates (or maybe summons) creatures from strong emotions with a material focus, just like the Butterfly Miraculous.  What makes those two so different from seemingly every other Miraculous?  Is it something about the way they’re used?  And how was it damaged?  My initial guess is that some of the feathers were destroyed by a Cataclysm for some reason.

...It just occurred to me that Adrien probably thinks that Marinette is stammering and clumsy around lots of people.  (I feel like that’s been addressed in a previous episode, though…)

Having reached the end of the episode, I’m still not sure why they wouldn’t repeat the Catalyst -> Scarlet Moth -> Dark Cupid combo in the future.  As far as I can tell, there’s no downsides to this-- it seems to cost them no more than normal, and even if they can’t get Dark Cupid, the rest of the combo still works.  Why would Gabriel and Nathalie bring back Mayura and not Catalyst?  

Chameleon:  Ugh, Lila.  I honestly just skipped the first third of this episode and read a summary.  Her lying is painful in almost every way.

Fortunately, what she lacks in believability, she makes up in pure willing evil.  Grabbing an akuma and demanding to be akumatized?  That’s how you make a petty villain look dangerous.

(Also, “Oops!  I lied” is a fantastic line.  Slightly funny, dangerously unrepentant… delightful.)

Chameleon’s powers are an interesting twist on Lila’s usual Volpina powers.  They’re clearly weaker, but also more personal, and they allow the possibility of an actual attack with her kiss-- a capability that Volpina lacked.  On the whole, I find myself less impressed with these powers than with Volpina’s (not least thanks to Lila’s less-subtle actions this time around), but it at least opens up some future possibilities.  Still, I think for Lila to be a real threat in the future, she’s going to need to steal the Fox Miraculous.

Sigh… another disobedient akuma making things harder for Hawkmoth.  At this point, it’s less relieving than it is predictable.

Honestly, I really like the idea of Lila?  Marinette and Ladybug having the same dedicated enemy is something that the show otherwise lacks, and her use of lies morally opposes her to Marinette in an interesting way that could be used to explore the moral complications of the secret identity.  It just sucks that she’s so very poorly implemented.

(Side note:  I’m reading the Miraculous wiki of this episode, and it points out that Hawkmoth has tried to akumatize Marinette and gotten someone else twice now, and both times the new person has had kiss-based powers.  I wonder if that might be foreshadowing for what an eventual akumatized Marinette’s powers might look like?)

Backwarder:  Again, I’m skipping the first part and reading a summary.  I’m just… so tired of love square shenanigans.  There’s a reason I shouldn’t binge watch this show…

Hawkmoth in a train bathroom should be funny to me, but I just can’t comprehend that negative emotions are really so rare in Paris that he absolutely can’t miss this opportunity.

Hawkmoth is getting a dangerous amount of information about Fu from Backwarder here.  I’m increasingly starting to think that the first eventual Big Plot Development will be Hawkmoth finding Fu and either controlling him or taking some of the Miraculous or power-up potions from him.  

Really, Gabriel?  You couldn’t even skip your monologue on a public train?

I love that literally everyone who likes Marinette ships her and Adrien.  It’s adorable.

Weredad:  Listen.  Gigantitan was a cute gimmick once, when it was an accident.  And when Scarlet Moth showed up, there wasn’t any particular reason why he shouldn’t be re-akumatized.  But what could possibly possess Gabriel Agreste to repeat the event?  Gigantitan is almost completely incapable of stealing the Miraculous.

Anyway, skipping past the love square stalling nonsense…

Finally, an akuma who can grab the Miraculous when ordered.  

Eh.  I know it’s because I’m just so tired of the love square right now, but this episode did nothing for me.

Skipping Animaestro altogether.  I’ve heard nothing good and the summary looks to back that up.

Bakerix:  This really feels like it was supposed to come before Backwarder.  Is the train they’re unveiling somehow not the one the Agrestes rode in that episode?

You know, normally any plot that involves the words “get them back together again” worries me, but I find I have unusually high hopes for this one.  (Although the lying is not a great start…)

Marinette, you live in a bakery and you don’t tote bags of flour daily?  Pfft.  (Though with how huge her dad is…)

Granpda Dupain is seriously traditional.  They’re really playing that up.  Probably to distract from the otherwise-blatant racism metaphor of him disliking rice flour in the family bread.

Very cute ending!  And see, we can have a nice emotional episode without using the love square!

Silencer:  I debated whether or not to actually watch this, because Lukanette really doesn’t do much for me, but what the hell.

Wow, Bob Roth and XY are the scum of the earth.  

I love the Kitty Section visuals.  Armored death kitties is a flawless concept, without a doubt.

God, I love that Marinette sees this problem and her solution is just to go right to the top.  I feel like being Ladybug has altered her sense of scale.

It’s astonishing that Bob Roth can look at his son’s costume and unironically call Kitty Section an inferior garage band.

I am not thrilled with the way that Luka gets more coherent and talks less about music when he gets angry.  I don’t know why, but I don’t like it.

Huh.  I didn’t think Silencer could be an effective villain with his powers, but cancelling her active powers isn’t a bad move.

Cat Noir’s reaction to Ladybug’s loss of speech is priceless.  But boy, is he bad at charades.

...Shit, they really did make Silencer a scary villain.  Nicely done.

Aww, Lukanette is cute.  It’s too bad it’ll probably never get a fair shake.

Oblivio:  Another one I’ve heard a lot about.  Hell of a way to start the episode, that’s for sure.  

Adrien and Marinette “introducing” themselves is goddamn adorable.  Now this is my kind of love square content.

Ooooh, I love Oblivio’s design.  Super blank and creepy.  

Okay, question:  Is the highlight sight thing magical or not?  (Upon looking it up, it is apparently not.  I think we can all be forgiven for the mistake, given how it always shows up.)

“SuPeR PeNgUiNo”

Worldbuilding-wise, I think the most interesting part of this episode is the fact that two people can be akumatized into one villain.  There’s room for a particularly terrifying villain to be created in the future by combining Hawkmoth and Mayure...

Stormy Weather 2:  I’ve heard a lot of shit about this episode, but I like the start so far?  Let’s see where it goes.

Oh wait shit, is this a clip show?  Yuck.

Did Stormy Weather just summon a God Damn Volcano?  Holy shit.

This is frankly disappointing.  It’s not the worst clip show episode I’ve ever seen, but I wish they’d chosen a different villain to make a reappearance.

Locker Stalker Adrien will never not be funny to me.

Oni-Chan:  UGH, LILA.  Alright, let’s do this.  (Me, two minutes later:  UGH, LILA.)

Is the skylight above Emilie Agreste’s coffin new?  I don’t remember that being there.  It’s weird that they have two separate underground lairs with skylights.  How does no one notice that?

Adrien:  “I don’t have any girlfriend.  Plagg, claws out!”  Plagg:  Noooo there were so many things I wanted to say in response to that!

Huh.  Oni-chan’s powers are a little underwhelming, but very interesting.  And a reasonably interesting solution to fighting her, as well.

This is easily the cutest Adrigami has ever been.  If they were always like this, I would ship them a lot more.

Lila and Gabriel teaming up is honestly fascinating.  Each one of them thinks that they’re using the other, but Gabriel currently has the clear upper hand because he’s the only one who knows about Hawkmoth, which means he can play Lila from two different positions.  But Lila has an advantage of her own in that she doesn’t care whether Gabriel or Hawkmoth is manipulating her, because she’s already getting what she wants out of the bargain-- power and influence.  

Honestly, if it weren’t for the scenes where people inexplicably believe Lila’s more ridiculous lies, I would love her as a villain.

Miraculer:  Yet another episode I’ve been looking forward to!  I do love Chloe development.

Wooow.  That’s a dark scheming side of Nathalie we haven’t seen before.  I like it, but as always happens with Nathalie, I’m left wondering where her commitment to this plan comes from.  

Ah, Marinette.  So savage.  So delightful.

Remember me talking in the last ep about people believing the most ridiculous things from Lila?  Here we go again.

Mayura is using her power surprisingly freely all of a sudden.  I thought the Miraculous was broken and it damaged Nathalie to use it?  Hmm….

Okay, I hate to blame the victim, but for a professional lackey, Sabrina is terrible at figuring out what Chloe would want her to do, and worse at not saying the wrong thing at the wrong time.

Chloe fighting off Hawkmoth is super badass, I love it.  Only she could have the absolute HBIC confidence needed for something like that.

...Wow, I’m actually kind of starting to ship Sabrina/Chloe.  Or possibly wanting Sabrina to get out of the relationship she’s in with Chloe…

Hawkmoth being the one to tell an akuma not to take a hero’s Miraculous?  That’s new.

Dang, Miraculer is powerful.  It’s almost hard to imagine a stronger akuma.

And Mayura vs. Queen Bee is everything it’s been chalked up to be, of course.  I love it.

Damn, the sheer confidence in “I will always be Queen Bee”.  Magnificent, utterly magnificent.

Timetagger:  Poor Mr. Pigeon.  Constantly transformed by Hawkmoth and equally often getting the stuffing beat out of him by Ladybug and Cat Noir.

Aaaw yeah Bunnix!  Honestly I’ve already seen this episode, but there’s nothing about it I don’t want to watch again.

I really thought that “what if today’s the day we grow up” was going to be a lead-in to Ladybug using her powers twice in one transformation as a sign of growth.  On a second watch, it’s really very disappointing to know that’s not the case.  This episode would have been the perfect opportunity to showcase Ladybug and Cat Noir’s growth and give a visible, power-related symbol of that growth.  Maybe it will serve as foreshadowing for their ability to do that by the end of the season…?  We can only hope.

#miraculous ladybug #ml

[sparklyaxolotlstudent]

La Catrina Part 3

In which Adrien is denser than Stitch.

“Well, that was weird”

Adrien threw himself at his oversized bed, while Plagg came out of his school bag and went to his minifridge for some cheese.

“The fact that you’re a model yet use the same tacky clothes everyday?” He said, taking a big chunk of the stinky cheese he loved so much.

“No…” Adrien looked at his clothes. “Well, besides that. That Anciel guy inviting me to that festival. I thought he hated me”

“Is that the guy who told you that your full name was Adrien ‘Doormat’ Agreste?

“… yes”

“Wasn’t he also the guy who apologized for calling you an idiot because he thought you already knew?”

“… yes”

“And also called you as useless as the ‘ueue’ in ‘queue’?”

“… pretty sure he hadn’t said that”

“Oh, he probably told it to Marinette behind your back” another big bite of cheese. “Oh right, you were saying?”

“That it was weird that he invited me to the festivel, since he clearly thinks so lowly of me”

“What else he said? It’s just the two of you?”

“You were there”

“Yeah, but I wasn’t paying attention”

“We’re going with Nathaniel and Marinette too.”

“Maybe it’s a double date and he’s being the wingman”

“A double date? But I don’t like Nathaniel that way!”

Plagg stopped midchew. He was using all his willpower to not slap some sense into Adrien, as he was pretty sure he would only get the poor kid thanosed. Or more confused. He then realized he only had two options, either be frustrated with this kitten obliviousness, or troll him into oblivion and enjoy the ride there. He chose the second one.

“Well, Marinette did help you that time with the fencing girl. Maybe she just wants a date with the Rainbow kid and was too self-conscious to tell you about it herself.”

“But I’m not gay! I mean, Nathaniel is kind of cute and has pretty eyes, but he’s not my type!... I mean, if I had a type for guys!”

“Ah well, then you should just cancel and let Marinette on her own, despite being such a Good Friend™ to you” Plagg was using all his willpower not to snicker. How could Adrien not realize the setup was for him and Marinette was beyond him, and he was older than time. Well, the Time Kwami was technically his older sibling, but still…

Adrien was confused, on the one hand, he didn’t liked Nathaniel that way, but on the other hand, he did owe it to Marinette. He then wondered if he could switch Nathaniel for Luka, like Marinette did. No wait, maybe for another girl.

“I was sure Marinette was into Luka… maybe that’s her type? Androgynous slim guys with black nail polish?”

Plagg just looked at him. He never jumped this high even when he was Chat Noir. “GAH! Fine! I will do it! FOR MARINETTE!”

Adrien marched to his father’s office, as it was the only obstacle for his date with… Marinette’s date he meant. He knew his schedule was as packed as always (Except when it mysteriously wasn’t) but this time he would go there even if that meant confronting his father. He arrived at the ridiculously big office, outside of which was Nathalie in an equally ridiculously big desk.

“Nathalie! I need to speak with Father”

Nathalie looked up from her work, unimpressed.

“Adrien, what a great coincidence. I was about to go for you, your Father wants to talk with you.”

“Oh fiddlesticks” Adrien swore in a lowe voice. It usually wasn’t a good thing that his father requested him. Nathalie looked at him with a raised eyebrow. “Sorry for my rude language”

Nathalie then buzzed Mr. Agreste, and they both got inside his office.

“Father, before anything else happens, I want to ask for permission this Friday for the Festival of Dia de Muertos that the Morales family is hosting.” Gabriel raise an eyebrow, looking intensely at his son. “Marinette…”

“The designer girl from your class? You’re going with her?”

“Well, technically…”

“Hmm… Mister Morales actually called personally to request our presence on the festival. We might even make a deal and he gets to feature some of my brand in his next movie. Maybe his daughter will even dress an Agreste original for a Gala. I think Pink is her color…. Anyway, he did request for us to wear something appropriate to the celebration, so Nathalie has been investigating in some Catrin suits. Miss Morales wants to do the sugar skull make-up herself”

Gabriel was happy that his son finally got on a date with his little secret girlfriend that he did not want to talk about, and in such public event! Maybe it was a bit too soon to be thinking on grandchildren, but he sure as heck was going to keep sketching wedding dresses until he made the perfect one for his future daughter-in-law. He was very glad, if a bit annoyed, that both times that Marinette Dupain-Cheng had attracted his attention – or rather, Hawk Moth’s- she had been able to calm herself down and evade the butterfly. His son deserves the best of the best, and if that meant a girl who managed to convert her negative emotions into something positive, even if it was frustrating him that there was someone defying his akumatizations, then so be it.

Adrien was again at his room. Plagg was… being Plagg. Adrien was still processing what just had happened.

“That went better than how I anticipated”

“Oh?”

“Father allowed me to go to the Festival without any strings attached. Well, I do have to wear a Catrin suit, and Gabriella will paint my face like a sugar skull”

“A Sugar Skull? I love those! They were better when they used grounded human bones, but sugar is okay too.”

“In hindsight, I should have remembered that Gabriella was friends with Marc and Marinette is a much better planner than me. She probably asked Gaby to tell her parents.”

----

“I HAVE NOTHING PLANNED! THIS IS A DISASTER!” Marinette was going though her wardrobe, hoping to find the perfect outfit for her date with Adrien. The girl squad was of course with her. “IF I CHOSE THE WRONG THING THE MORALES MIGHT SEE IT AS AN INSULT TO THEIR CULTURE AND I WILL CREATE AN INTERNATIONAL INCIDENT AND ADRIEN WILL HATE ME FOREVER!”

“Would you relax a bit girl?” Alya teased her friend, trying to be reassuring. It wasn’t working.

“Yeah, I’m sure Adrien would love anything you wear” Added Rose, always the positive influence.

“I bet you could go wearing a potato sack and he would still love it” grinned Alix.

“To be fair, Marinette would make that potato look very cute on her.”

Rose looked at Juleka about to protest, but conceded the point. “Yeah, Marinette would look cute in anything”

“Girls, girls, focus! We have to help Marinette chose something appropriate for her date”

“Do we? Didn’t you said that Marc told you that you were going to coordinate with his friends?”

“Yeah, when I went last year with my daddy, most people went dressed in traditional garb. I was the most fabulous one, of course”

The other girls looked at Chloe. They still couldn’t believe that Marinette had invited her to their Girl Squad™ meeting. She had been behaving, but it was still weird.

“It’s not mandatory, but the Morales really encourage people to share the traditions to have a good time.”

“And how was the party?” Asked tentatively Rose.

“I wish I had been less sour back then, I missed out on some fun. It was great, people dancing, a real mariachi band, and the food! It was exquisite!”

“I thought you only liked sushi…”

“I do love me some sushi, thank you very much, but their salads and traditional dishes were delicious. And the desserts! I had buñuelos, tamarindos, cocadas, and Sugar Skulls are really not my thing, but Gaby gave me one made of amaranth and honey, and it was really tasty. I got a few pounds that weekend hehe”

The girls giggled nervously. They really liked this new Chloe and hoped she would last a lot.

“Cesaire is right, you should relax, the Morales are really nice people, they would forgive you even if you somehow manage to knock down their altar. Plus, I will be there too, I can totally run interference if you do manage to do something embarrassing.”

Marinette smiled at that. She hoped this date was a success.

#miraculous ladybug #ml fic #ml fiction #ml la catrina #maybe nathadrien