#Ladybug will in fact understand

[purplecatghostposts]

Adrien panicking after Cataclysming his father/Monarch: Félix, I need— can you please stop singing ‘He had it coming’?— I need help explaining this to Ladybug!

Félix, having the greatest day of his life: Oh, she’ll understand.

[thecapturedafrique]

Waiting for the day the fandom will substitute the phrase “Marinette is a 14-year-old girl” for the truth that “Marinette is a middle-aged man’s idea of a 14-year-old girl.”

[katsdynam1ght]

thinking about shouto todoroki and this line from season five of miraculous ladybug: “the love you have for your friends isn’t divided; it’s multiplied!”

i think as someone who grew up without friends (much like kagami) that line and that revelation overall would hit very hard for him. i imagine it’s difficult sometimes for him not to view love as a nonrenewable resource, but. time and time again, his friends prove that it isn’t. they love him and continue to love him no matter what.

[hanahakizombie]

just watched el toro de piedra and like. holy shit??? ivan is so incredibly transfem coded in this episode why am i not seeing anybody talk about it??

its not even a subtle metaphor i srsly dont get how nobody has talked abt it

[androgynouscloudheart]

You know that one post that's like "only one person has ever truly understood me and I fucking hate that guy?" Yeah that's adrientte but in reverse in cloudy days.

Marinette understands Ariana more than anyone ever has. She sees past all of her personas (as chat noir , as Adrien agreste, as cat walker) and she sees her for what she truly is.

Unfortunately what Ariana truly is is a perverted loser with a shit ton of mental health issues she refuses to address or treat.

So Marinette in turn despises her with her full heart (except chat for some reason. Idk what's up but for some reason perverted loser with a bunch of mental health issues just looks better on chat)

"only one person has ever truly understood me but she also fucking hates me"

[hikari-m]

I just learned that the Russian word for “ladybug” translates to “God’s Little Cow”

[bigfatbreak]

Me thinks Clark didn't realize until now how bad the situation in Paris really is and might just interfere now.

Correct!

I don't know if I'll have the time to draw it, but essentially higher-powered supers are banned from entering France, in the very least the Paris area, because an akumatized superhero with more power than Ladybug or Chaton could lead to devastating results. Due to this, media outlets regarding Hawkmoth and that situation are throttled to specifically France, as no one wants Hawkmoth gaining allies through outside supervillains via the media. HM/Gabe hasn't caught onto that fact yet, since its something hush-hush between LB and the local government, but Marinette did publish a paper regarding a character profile of Hawkmoth and how current Akuma function, as well as a deep dive into how its effecting the Parisian population.

Chock full of primary sources, interviews, and even one on one dialogue with Chat Noir and Ladybug, naturally the study gained attention. It was meant for France, for the public to understand the current stakes and how now more than ever, people need to extend sympathy, patience, and understanding to each other, and how negativity is as healthy as positivity and must be nurtured and resolved with care. It was meant as a public notice - to not destroy one another or shut down, to instead have faith in one another and to work as a community, even if their faith in LB/CN was to waiver, that you can always trust your friends and family to help you in times of great tragedy and stress.

It was popularized both as a letter to the public, and as a research paper regarding Akumas; as a result, it was eventually translated and squeaked out under the French censors accidentally, as its spread was entirely minimal. However, it wasn't so minimal that it wouldn't eventually end up on the desk of a woman looking into Superhero news, aka, Lois Lane. It was a solid read, if not a bit garbled, since auto-translators were used instead of a real person, and it was passed to Clark to read.

The issue in France didn't seem so terrible from words on a page, and not only that, the League agreed that all in all, major supers needed to stay out of France for their own protection.

however, looking at the face of the girl that published the article speaks of a different story.

[buggachat]

legitimate question ....... why do people like to tell me all the reasons they don't like miraculous ladybug? i know i complain about the fact a lot, and i find myself on the defensive a lot, and i keep telling myself i'll stop and let it go, but it really is hard when people are always coming onto my posts, in my replies, in my comments, on my art and my fics and my text posts and anything i make, and telling me blatantly all the ways that they don't like the thing that i so blatantly find enjoyment in. "the show is bad". okay? good for you? why are you on my post about it? why don't you make your own? why are you telling me, specifically, this, on the art/fic/analysis i made that i assume you found by searching through the tag?

it's kind of a behavior that i legitimately don't understand. I'm a human being and I hate a lot of things, too. there are things i've loved at first and been disappointed by and have strong opinions about. there are things i like to complain about. so i'll complain about them to my friends or my family or my cat. but i have never, once, not even for a single moment, thought, "oh let me go into the tags of this media, find a positive post about it written by someone who's having fun with it, and make it that random stranger's problem". never once.

i just don't get it. i really don't get it. i sometimes worry that i come across like i'm heavily critical of people who just personally don't like the show, when really i'm just trying to defend my interests to the droves of strangers who are always coming specifically to me to tell me all the ways they hate the thing that makes me happy.

just.......... why? where does the urge come from? what do you get out of this?

[zoe-oneesama]

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE I URGE YOU TO TALK ABOUT THE SEASON 6 CHARACTER DESIGNS. Mostly cus i wanna hear the salt, but also because as someone who's designed many outfits for these characters over the course of multiple years, you more than anyone have your place to talk

Honestly the episode was just *okay*, so the designs are really the only place I'm particularly heated (I mean I still have my complaints on the episode, but nothing as anger inducing as Season 5):

So I'll start with the heroes:

I'm not mad about cutting off Bunnix because nothing's different.

Viperion - I like what they did with the mask and the deeper color contrast is delicious, but the suit feels like such a downgrade from the old design.

Carapace - I guess this is the Season of the Mask Facial Hair? Viperion is encroaching on this, but Carapace's little chin bit looks like a Soul Patch. Otherwise, it's a good design and I like the additions!

Vesperia - At least it looks like they fixed the weird root issue she had with her bangs from the old model. From what I can see here, I don't dislike this, like, full inversion making the top yellow and the pants black. Dunno what the ring around her thumb is though, and why does she hold her weapon like that??

Rena Rouge - it feels like they made changes to her because they thought they had to? I'm not mad at the differences, just...they sure are there. My only complaint about her is that they colored her tail as if she has two tails but she only has one? Like...just give her two coattails.

At least they ditched the corset U_U

Rooster Bold - The pose makes it hard to see, but he looks pretty cool to me! LOVE the new mask and his bitchy heels. Didn't like the mohawk then, still don't like it now.

Ryuko - this^ picture doesn't show her off, so here's her from the episode:

The suit is still nothing amazing, but I like the scale texture and shoulders, I LOVE the bigger horns, and her hair is fire~!

Miss Hound - yikes on this picture, thank god she cameo'd in the episode:

She's cute! ...Honestly anything was an upgrade, she was just wearing a recolored version of her outfit in Season 4-5, so the fact this is it's own thing is instantly better.

King Monkey - yikes the lighting on this is scary. Anyway, I can't really glean anything from this and the only thing that stands out is the horns on the circlet. I'll pend judgement for now.

Pegasus - Similarly to KM, there's not much I can note here? He's got longer hair so that's...something, but I like that now the visor is a full visor and not a floating pair of glasses. And we'll have to see it in an episode because here I like the contrast between the browns, but the old suit also had that contrast in promo material and then lost it in the episode.

Caprikid - Loooove the fur on the pants for some reason, and I die for the boots little hooves~ Bold choice to go bigger on the horns when there was some controversy about them, but hey. At least they fixed the problem with his white mask.

Minotaurox - aww what a cute widdle hammer. It really looks stunted, a lot of the weapons here look skinnier and weaker actually. I don't think I like the yellow on the horns, but I like that we can actually SEE the details on his suit now. And I like the hoodie/hair.

Argos - yep. That's Argos.

Purple Tigress - Okay, she looks dope AF! No notes, she looks awesome.

Pigella - And on the other hand...yikes. There so much going on here, and in fairness I can't fully understand what I'm looking at. This is not what I meant when I kept adding pig ears to my Pigella design!

Polymouse - Okay, no lie, I DID like her in this still image, but uhhh she's in the episode and um...

Girl no. What's with these LED strips?! WHY is your HAIR going THROUGH you hoodie?! And I know in comparison to the other characters she's still "plus sized" but this still feels...bad.

I won't talk about Ladybug and Chat Noir, they're good. Not exciting not bad just good.

Sooooo the humans.... Mostly I'm bothered by how some are so drastically changed and some are just...not. At all.

Alya - her new Mom lewk. Idk, I just feel like they could've gone harder. She looks fine, I actually like her hair when I watch the animation in motion, it's just...she looks 25 now.

Alix - uh, yep that's Alix. Wait, did her pony tail switch sides...?

Zoe - She's found her 2000s emo girl aesthetic and is clinging to those crusty shoes. I don't like it, her dumb tshirt was really my biggest problem with her old design so of course that's the part hey keep. She just looks...disjointed. I'll hold on judgment of her hair for now.

Kagami - love the hair, hate the crop jacket. It makes her skirt look reeeeeally short.

Sabrina - AH! NO! BAD! WRONG! Hate the hair, hate the pants, I don't even think I like her new glasses. This is a chop, a CHOP!

Juleka - I don't...hate the hair. I just weep for what we lost. I DO hate her new boring-er blouse which is just a weak imitation of her old top. Her hair is so wild so why did her clothes get more boring?

Rose - Season 6 Rose can't hurt you, Season 6 Rose can't hurt you, Season 6 Rose can't hurt you-!!

Mylene - I like her new outfit, it feels like the natural next step for her! I can't get a good look at her new hair though, so I'll reserve judgement.

Nino - Damn, finally a full glow up. Nino looks good! This is probably how I would have designed him the first time around, so, yay!

Felix - you fucking loser, you didn't change here either?! Are SentiBoys just stunted?!

Kim - His big change is...getting sleeves. And his roots are more visible? I guess??

Max - Why this nerd got a smolder all of a sudden? I think he'd look good if they just finally ditched the suspenders, or had them hanging down and not in use.

Nathaniel - Have...have I drawn him in this? I feel like there's a Scarlet Lady version of this. I guess that tells you I like it, right?

Ivan - Hell yeeeeees! GLOW UP! He's like "oh, I gotta wear this nose ring all the time? Better make it ALL WORK TOGETHER!!" I didn't know he had it in him, good job!

Luka - uhhh, is he wearing a different jacket, or is that his old jacket in the new animation style? At least he stopped advertising his own father on his chest. His shirt being tucked in...it disturbs me...

Marc - ...I can't tell if he even got a hair cut because it might just be the new style.

So yeah, I have quibbles but they're overall okay.

If you really want nightmare fuel, you see the kwamis.

[snaaail]

I can't believe so many Good Omens fans and content creator are being guilt tripped into dropping the book and show as a whole in fear of being seen as a Neil Gaiman apologist, it is completely fine to separate art from the artist people have been doing it for YEARS ( see harry potter, miraculous ladybug etc. ) If it's a purely personal choice then I understand but if people are doing it out of fear of being judged then that's a problem. Also is everybody just gonna leave out the fact Terry Pratchett also wrote the book? It wasn't just Neil. We can still support the amazing person and writer that was Terry, the performances of Michael Sheen and David Tennant plus everybody else that was involved in the making of the show. Stop giving Neil ALL the credit.

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

About the "kwamis as mentors" angle: Interesting to read and analyse, yet I can't help but feel they were not necessarily meant to be seen as mentors. At least to me, they seemed to be kind of whacky mascot characters who are tied to the lore, who have a personality to crack a joke or point something out or cause a little situation or be cute, but nothing more.

They are rather naive magical entities chained to jewelry (a fact they don't seem to mind that much or think about at all except for Plagg) and all that talk about "being around for 5000 years" and having seen many holders before is just there to make them seem more wise than they actually act like. From what I've seen on the show I would even assume there's a threshold to how much they can even mature emotionally and understand humans. Sometimes Tikki and Plagg even come off as indifferent and egoistical towards their holders (like an example you gave with Tikki, or Plagg's fixation on cheese over Adrien at times).

So...sorry if I missed it, but why do you view them as mentor characters? You made an interesting post about rom-com vs magical girl and the magical girl part is exactly why I always viewed them just as critters to appeal to kids, but nothing more. I can see that the show's writing is so inconsistent that sometimes they are portrayed as wise but more often then not they are just background noise to get a little interaction on screen so that the characters are not talking to themselves about miraculous stuff or to point something out for the audience.

The show's writing is pretty weird, so there are elements that are hard to get a clear read on. The Kwamis are one such element. When they're one-on-one with their chosen, they often feel like mentors to me. When they're all together, they almost always read like "critters to appeal to kids" (mostly because there are too many of them to let them have individual personalities when they're all together). So while I think that they're supposed to be mentors, it's not like that's the only canon-accurate read.

To dig into what I mean by the one-on-one writing, let's look at this exchange from Feast:

Master Fu: See, Wayzz? If Marinette had kept her Miraculous, the sentimonster would have swallowed her right up. Wayzz: Or she would have transformed into Ladybug and fought it. Master Fu: Sometimes fighting is futile, Wayzz.

And then later on we get this:

Wayzz: Master, look! Ladybug and Cat Noir, despite their ridiculous costumes, they haven't let you down! Wang Fu: That's impossible! They don't have their Miraculous! Wayzz: Master, it's obvious it's them—who else would do something so crazy? Cat Noir (Adrien): Hey, have a taste of this! Some exploding banana split from Bananoir! Ladybug (Marinette): Much tastier than any Miraculous! Wayzz: Look, Master, there's no use in running! Your disciples never give up the fight, no matter what! With or without their Miraculous, they are Ladybug and Cat Noir!

That's some pretty active mentoring right there.

Wayzz is probably the character that feels the most like a mentor to me. When he's with Fu, he feels like Fu's partner or adviser, which is why I think that the Kwami's aren't supposed to just be cute critters. They're regular ol' Jimmy Crickets meant to act as a conscience that the characters can talk to since this is visual media and you want a way for the characters to talk through their thoughts instead of having them do it all internally.

I also present this exchange from Desperada as evidence:

Adrien: Plagg, Ladybug needs me. She needs "Adrien"! Plagg: If you asked me, this whole idea is worse than cheese in a can. Adrien: She thinks I'm the perfect guy for this mission. Plagg: You can't be Cat Noir and another superhero at the same time! Which means that you're not the perfect guy for this mission. Adrien: The Lucky Charm told her I am. Plagg: That's not how it works. Why am I bothering? You're not even listening.

We then get Plagg reiterating that this is a bad idea through multiple loops, ending with this:

Plagg: Ah! At last, you've come to your senses. Adrien: I'm not sure Ladybug will have very fond memories of her experience with "Adrien Agreste". Plagg: Then make up for it as Cat Noir.

See? I told you Plagg can be a good mentor when he wants to! Tikki, take notes!

I'd even call this bit from Sapitos some quality subtle mentoring from Trixx:

Alya: Oh please, Ladybug! We'd make a great team! I could help Cat Noir and you every day! Ladybug:(her earrings ring) I'm about to transform back! Hurry! Alya: Please? Ladybug: I have to go! I'm trusting you! (opens a nearby door and goes inside, so she can detransform) Trixx: You're absolutely right, Alya. I'm sure the three of you would make quite the team! You have all the makings of a true superhero. You're strong, brave; but most of all, you're trustworthy.

Way to both build Alya up and reminder her of her duty, Trixx. Gold star. Quality mentorship!

So are the Kwamis supposed to be mentors? Who knows! I just see them fill the role often enough to feel comfortable judging them through that lens.

Miraculous also isn't the only magical girl team show to make the cute critters into mentors. That's a pretty standard path even though it's also common to see the critters used to sell merch/appeal to kids and nothing more. In terms of classic magical girl team shows, I'd say that the Kwamis are written way more like Luna and Artemis from Sailor Moon than Mini Mew from Tokyo Mew Mew.

[pico-farad]

I finished season 1 of Vrains and it was cool but I thought it needed about 2 billion more secret identity shenanigans

More Secret Identities AU

extended thoughts below

So I went into a deep dive in my last two posts (1, 2) about all the problems I had with Vrains, and you'd think I didn't enjoy it, but in fact as I was watching, there was a separate, parallel version of Vrains that was playing in my head, a Yugioh I think we were robbed of and which fixes every problem I had with the first season, and that is Secret Identities AU.

Yusaku needs FRIENDS

This is YUGIOH.

This dynamic is everything I wanted from Vrains. Yusaku developing unexpected fondness for these bozos who think he needs a defense squad. I want Miraculous Ladybug levels of secret identity shenanigans. I want Yusaku slapping his duel disk every time Ai tries to blow their cover.

This AU sprung forth from the scene in the duel club where he shows Naoki his decoy deck. Having Yusaku passing as a bad duelist is 1) so funny, but 2) Yusaku needing to maintain his low profile is a useful contrivance for other characters to get more duels, and 3) I think it would be a really fun one-off episode where Yusaku has to duel using his bad deck. When he wins, Naoki is so proud he cries.

Having Yusaku actually have to interact with the other characters in the real world opens up Greek play levels of dramatic irony. The crux of a secret identity story is that every single interaction builds up anticipation, because you the viewer know that the other party is being deceived, and that the tension will snap when the secret is revealed.

I have zero anticipation about Playmaker's identity being revealed, because Aoi would be like "oh.... I guess he goes to my school" and Go would be like "have I seen that guy before?" But SIAU Playmaker? My guy is making friends just so he can betray them. Insane.

Go needs A ROLE IN THE STORY.

I said in my first post that Go isn't a rival or a best friend character. SIAU fixes this by making him both simultaneously.

Having him be the ace of the duel club is a natural replacement for his whole hero of the orphans schtick, while placing him directly the circle of relevance with the other characters. Instead of being disgruntled that the orphans suddenly like Playmaker more than him, he's disgruntled that Naoki and the duel club mooks are fawning over Playmaker -- which is actually just Naoki's character anyway.

I would kill for a big dramatic moment where Go learns that Playmaker and Yusaku are the same person, and even though Go feels betrayed that Yusaku has been deceiving him, he stands by Yusaku anyway because they're friends.

With a secret identity story, every conversation is working on multiple levels because each character is working with asymmetric information. You get these fascinating, layered scenes of two characters talking past each other because they cannot give up their secret.

Which would go especially hard with Go and Yusaku, because Go has legitimate criticisms of Playmaker in canon and Yusaku has legitimate reasoning behind the things he does, and as Go Onizuka and Playmaker they could never come to an understanding on them, but as Go and Yusaku, two friends in duel club, that door becomes open to them.

Aoi needs WRITING THAT ISN'T A TRAINWRECK

I made a whole post on this. Basically every problem would be solved if Akira doesn't know that she's Blue Angel. There's no reason for her to lose grotesquely against Yusaku, or have her basic autonomy called into question constantly. 

Having her actively deceive her brother is delicious. Like I said in my last post, it's so obvious how Akira's overprotectiveness has taken its toll on Aoi, and pushed her into developing this other persona, Blue Angel. I want this absolutely dysfunctional sibling relationship so badly. The Blue Angel vs. Zaizen duel would make me lose my mind.

And a secret identities setting works so well with the potential themes of VRAINS as a stand-in for the internet and Blue Angel as an idol. Give me that Perfect Blue Satoshi Kon good stuff. Give me those themes about identity, and the different lives we live, outward and inward, online and offline.

This also helps Akira's character, because I think he would be much more interesting and relevantly positioned in the story if he stayed a SOL Technologies baddie. SOL Technologies has very little presence in season 1 despite being critical to the story. After Zaizen is replaced by an irrelevant clown, they don't do anything but send out mook AIs to get destroyed. By having a three-way standoff between Yusaku's squad, the Knights of Hanoi, and SOL Technologies, both Hanoi and SOL Technologies become more compelling. They've both got all the reason in the world to want to take down the other. Zaizen vs. Revolver or Spectre? That's good shit.

And don't get me started on how I would turn Revolver into a Secret Identities character.

[trainsinanime]

When people say Marinette is too anxious and has regressed in Illustrhater, they forget some very important facts:

Marinette is very sleep-deprived because she and Alya spent all night up theorising about the new Hawkmhoth. Who knows what kind of caffeine she took in to be functional for their date. It must've been bad.

Speaking of: New Hawkmoth. Yes, Marinette is redirecting some of her insecurities about Adrien onto New Hawkmoth, but she is definitely genuinely anxious about this new threat and this keeps filling her head.

Also bridges in the city randomly collapse now. That was canonically not a superhero, just a really bad condition of the bridge. How many more bridges are about to collapse? Did they cut corners while building these new trams? All that would weigh heavily on my mind too.

These excellent points aside, I also really, really like that Marinette is anxious about dating Adrien. The thing is, I have seen so many shows that had a will-they-won't-they thing going on forever, and then once they did, like a dog that caught the car, the show didn't know what to do with them. The solutions were generally an attempt to return to status quo. Make them break up. Have the forces of fate separate them. Something, anything, other than actually write the romance you just had made canon.

Miraculous Ladybug has even more risk here, because at the end of season 5, for better or worse, all the things that could challenge Marinette in the real-life A plot of an episode have vanished. Her real-life enemies have been exposed and left the school (Lila) or outright deported (Chloé), and her other big challenge was always Adrien. Frankly the show needs to do something to ensure Adrinette isn't too easy, otherwise all the plots would be, "Marinette is having a super-awesome day, briefly interrupted by an akuma". No, they found a way to still challenge Marinette here, in ways that feel authentic to her as a character, and to her challenge of having a real boyfriend for the first time (don't be too sad about Luka's feelings here, he'll understand).

Now, I know many people will say that this is all nice in theory, but the way in which they did in Adobe Illustrhater was so over-the-top and unrealistic that it felt like they were watching a French cartoon for six-to-ten year olds. And to that I can only say: It's been a while since we all watched a regular episode of this show, hasn't it?

[at4-raxia]

Mark Grayson x ladybug! Reader (part 2)

Part 1 (if you haven't read it) and part 3

Hii, honestly I couldn't wait to write part 2 especially because I just love the variants and writing various shenanigans with the characters. With that said, I hope you enjoy the chapter!

Before you read: protective Mark, him and the reader are whipped for each other (more like obsessed to some degree), they are also really dumb, the variants want that cookie, deception, non-consensual touching, suggestive, the reader is not okay (unreliable narrator), angst (because why not?), and lastly but not least, violence and blood.

Synopsis: It was a way to cope, if you could overcome your past with Mark, you would start anew, but as [name] it was impossible. You had missed this sense of normalcy with him, you had missed Mark, and being Ladybug had given you the solution on a silver platter. With a mask on you forgot about all your insecurities, in your suit you forgot about everything that had transpired with him and you acted almost like you did once. It was easy, flawless, until, well, it was not, and the consequences of your actions came crashing down on you.

"Tikki does it look like I can do anything else?" Your frustration was palpable in the air, you didn't want to hear the scolding.

"[name] please" she pleaded softly while flying in front of the woman who had her arms tightly crossed and her face tense. "I'm only saying that you can't keep doing whatever it is you think you're doing, it's not healthy".

"Then what other option do I have Tikki? As a normal human I was not enough, now as a superhero I can't face him without my mask." Your eyes were staring at the ground, your jaw clenched in anger and you closed your eyes for a second from feeling the tears.

"Mark... I don't understand him. How could he approach me as if nothing ever happened? As if he didn't sever ties with me, as if I didn't go no contact from everyone for almost two years." Your hands were swiftly wiping the tears away. Tikki for a second went still, shocked by your outburst, and then went to hug your cheek, not caring in the slightest if the tears wet her tiny form.

"I just—I don't understand. I can't do it, I can't go back to how things were without addressing everything. But even if I did, we wouldn't go back to how things were. I can't even face him, I can barely speak to him, or give him what he needs apparently, and now, I can't even let him go." Your deep sigh reverberated through your chest, a slight tremor ran through your spine and you felt more at peace after having let some of the build up tension out of your body.

"I'm so tired of not being enough Tikki... If I had been enough do you think he would have at least apologised?" The words were brimmed with insecurity which made the kwami of creation gasp in horror at how little you thought of yourself.

(Paris had destroyed you and those two years were a buried secret that you and the city shared. You were a murderer in cold blood, you had done it for the city, you had gotten rid of the black cat that mindlessly annihilated without remorse. That day of destruction and death, that dark day for the supposed "city of love", was the only day the Parisians had praised you. "Their saviour" they called you, "their hero", "the luck of Paris". You remember puking your guts out, your knees giving up in your tiny claustrophobic bathroom. You had enjoyed killing the cat, you had loved the feeling of creating strategy after strategy to demolish every little ounce of his hope and strength, your smile becoming more twisted each time you saw him crumble. Tikki didn't say a word to you about the ordeal, not to comfort nor punish you verbally, but while you had given a young man eternal rest in a brutal way, you had done it for the greater good. That fact alone was enough for Tikki to know that while wrong, you had done the necessary thing that many would have hesitated to do.)

"Can you believe that I really thought that I would have a chance as a superhero?" Your laugh is a ugly, almost hysterical as you wither in the corner of your room.

"[name] that's not true, I really think you should talk to Mark about this—"

"And then what?"

"Haven't you stopped to think for a second? Don't you maybe think that Mark did that years ago not because you were not good enough but to protect you?" Tikki then gave a napkin for [name] to blow her red nose in.

"What do you mean? Then why only me?" You say focusing your puffy eyes on the tiny red and black creature.

"Is it really so out of the question to think that maybe you were so special that he couldn't have risked you getting hurt because of him? Are you really going to just disregard the fact that he stuck with you through thick and thin? And for what? Because you overthink too much".

"it's not overthinking if it's the truth, he didn't even message me or call me to know if I was okay after I went to France". There were so many different little things you were focusing on, your mind was imploding from the possibilities, from the guilt of having jumped too fast to conclusions.

"I don't know about that for sure and I'm not justifying his actions, but we need to see his perspective. We don't know why he did that, yet you can ask him that". How could Tikki even propose this when you couldn't even look him in the eyes?

"You can't hide forever behind this excuse, your avoidant behaviour is just your way of justifying your fear of being faced with the reality of things again. I know you're afraid, but you can't run forever or hide behind your mask forever. Even if the worst case scenario happens and we discover an even uglier truth than what we imagined, at least you will have the truth in your hands. You will be able to finally get closure, to have a fresh start". After recovering from the shock of Tikki's wake up call, you slowly nodded while some tears made your way down your face. An ugly smile, the one you make when you cry, made its way up to your face as you hugged your friend closely and closed your eyes.

-

Eve knew that Mark had a childhood friend, she knew that he cherished her deeply from how fondly he spoke about her when they had been together. She wasn't jealous, Eve recognised her worth and wouldn't want to exchange it with anyone else's, yet it kind of hurt to see that Mark didn't talk about her with the same fondness. For Eve you were at some unreachable peak, and in the moment she had realized it, she understood how Alexander the Great's generals must have felt knowing that he was unsurpassable.

Mark wasn't the only man in the world, but for some time he had been her world. He had been a good boyfriend, caring, attentive, sweet and so on. They had their ups and downs, like any other couple, but overall the experience had been unforgettable.

(A buried thought screams that in another universe where you don't exist, maybe there's a possibility that she's still with Mark. Even if she does think about it sometimes, she doesn't dwell on it.)

Mark loved her, she wouldn't doubt it. Yet, it wasn't enough when she wasn't the girl he loved the most.

(To their friends they say they separated on a mutual accord, but nobody knows how it had happened. One day everything was fine, while the next they were on separate ways. She couldn't stay with Mark when you were on his thoughts 24/7, but after seeing you in person she couldn't really blame the guy .)

Meeting you had been an humbling experience.

You weren't the most attractive person she had seen, but there was something about you that made you look like a flower in bloom. The kind that you appreciate early in spring after a harsh winter, the kind you don't pick off the ground just to see it alive the next day.

Alive.

That was the word.

You felt alive, not just in the literal sense. More in the fact that every little gesture, every smile, every giggle livened up the room. For Eve this kind of beauty is not something you can achieve, it's something that you have because you're a good soul and your body shows it.

You're no saint, but for a moment—the goodness in you, the pain you carry both as a civilian and a hero, your smiles—all of this makes Eve believe in something, in something good, that almost resembles hope for this world. (She hadn't meant to find out who you were, it was accidental. One moment she was following you to talk to you, the next you were de-transforming, completely clueless of her presence.)

-

"So you know Invincible's name?" Atom Eve, or Eve, had sat down next to you after asking you this question. The both of you were on the roof of a building, legs dangling meters from the ground as you munch on your sandwich.

"I heard it from you", it was the truth, but you also knew who was under the yellow mask, so partially the truth?

"Are you sure?" You were pretty sure.

"Yes, I was standing not too far away, I mean I'm not hard of hearing" you joke, but something tells you that Eve's question is not really about Mark's name.

"Look, I'm gonna be forward with you" she turned around to face you completely as you took another bite of your sandwich, for a moment she thought about just asking where you had bought it, but then she revealed something she knew about you.

"I know your identity", the words leave you comically frozen, but there's nothing to laugh about really.

Silence, complete utter silence. You had stopped chewing, the air had grown still and there was no sound whatsoever. You slowly turned to face her, with cheeks full of food and eyes wide.

"Did you tell Mark?" That was what you were worried about?

"So he doesn't know? I guessed this was the reason why he acted so differently towards 'Ladybug'. But no, it's not my place to do that, but I think I should also ask you that question." She was calm as she generated in her hands a sandwich, probably hungry too after seeing you eat with so much joy. You had found out her identity just by using your brain, after all there was no way that Samantha Eve Wilkins—the same girl who looked and sounded like Atom Eve, the girl who befriended Mark after he got his powers—was not the superhero in pink.

"To whom would I reveal your identity? I mean, as far as you're concerned my kwami knows about you", you opened your bottle of water and washed down the lingering taste of meat, veggies and home made bread.

"Kwami?"

-

You don't really know how much time you had spent with Eve, talking about your powers, about college, work and so on, but you were glad you had the opportunity. One conversation led to another and suddenly you were vulnerable:

"I mean, I might be smart but that's it. There's nothing really special about 'Ladybug'", the both of you were still on that roof fully suited up, your feet swinging mindlessly.

"You're kidding right? You defeated a villain with a hairpin and you can repair any damage. Your powers are similar to mine, but you have the creativity that I lack. My powers are almost limitless, but I just act in survival mod all the time".

"Creativity won't save me in the long run, against viltrumites I'm useless, while you can hold your ground. I'm not fast enough, strong enough to compete. I'm not weak but it's not enough, you know?".

For a moment Eve was silent, thinking her next words carefully.

"Well, you don't need to be that strong. You're not facing threats alone, you can rely on others." Eve was not a person of words, she was not as impulsive as Mark, and was not insensitive, but she wasn't used to comforting others.

"You need to embrace your confidence, and honestly—it's not really about this—but you need to tell Mark. That man is going crazy over you". With that you choked on saliva and got up.

"Eve! Don't lie about this!" You exclaimed with a high pitch. You were already delusional enough to hope that maybe you could fuck around with Mark without him knowing who you were in the long run, she didn't need to feed your delusions by saying that Mark was crazy for you, it was unfair.

"Why would I lie?" She laughed hard as she also got up, she couldn't really believe how ridiculous the situation was, how stupid the both of you were.

"You need to grow some balls [name], I mean it". You pushed her lightly as she laughed before saying goodbye and flying away.

.

.

"Why do you need to grow some balls?"

"JESUS MARK" you're startled as you jump a little, your eyes wide as you turn around to find Invincible standing in all his spandex glory.

"It's 'Invincible' to you Ladybug" He says before crossing his arms and looking at the city.

"yeah, yeah 'Invinciboy', tell that to the news, not me", your smirk is the one of a cat as you tip toe on the edge of the roof. You might not see his eyes, but you know Mark, you know every kind of expression he makes.

And if that isn't one of irritation than you never knew him.

"Don't call me that".

"You have a lot of demands today, first you eavesdrop on a private conversation and then you pretend I call you 'Invincible'? You let everyone else call you Mark when no civilians are around". You express your opinion with nonchalance, with a teasing smile as you take a good look at him, at your Mark in spandex (or in polymer fiber or whatever the material is—).

"I wasn't eavesdropping and you're not like others for the record" , for a moment you think he will add a "because you're special, so you can call me however you want", but you know he won't, so you start to question if he at least considers you a friend.

"Aren't we at least friends?"

"Why would we be friends?" There's no evil, no malice, nothing. It's just a mere observation after all.

Your playful expression vanishes for a second, your gaze falls on his eyes once again as you try to understand if the words are genuine or just a way to rouse you.

"Why would we not be friends? We fight together, joke around, talk, spend time—"

"No. We don't do that. At least I don't, you do all the joking, the talking, the laughing. All you do is stick to me like some octopus". You're not even close to him and he can feel the lingering sensation of your gloved hands against him. He calls you an octopus but then he just clings on you like a leech in your civilian form? How hypocritical can he be?

"You should be glad that at least one girl is giving you some sort of attention". You might be hurt, but you recover fast. There's no right or wrong right now, even if it's mostly your fault. You wish you had the confidence to solve this mess, but instead you fuel whatever this is under this confident façade you have created for yourself.

"That's a lot coming from you, you look like a lost puppy every time I even look at you". A hard jab, one that makes you more vicious. One that makes you laugh internally, since that's the face he makes whenever you're too busy to give him some semblance of attention.

"I don't get why you're so pressed about it. The fans love us, the GDA loves us as a duo. You're the only one so against it". You don't understand why things always need to be so complicated with him.

"Um, hello??" He says mockingly with sass. "Maybe it's because I don't like you?"

You laugh a little, because obviously he doesn't like you. He didn't like you before you became a superhero, it was foolish to think that maybe he would change his mind now, fuck Eve for saying otherwise and getting your hopes up.

"Oh really? Are we in fifth grade? Let's hear it then, who does the little baby like?" You don't bother to cover up the mix of emotions you're feeling right now as you mock him with your tone, you might have cried on the spot if it wasn't for the anger that kept you going, which was directed at him and yourself. Out of every plan, out of every crazy stunt you have pulled, trying to start anew with your secret identity has to be the one to go wrong? (And all for what? Because you don't have the balls to face Mark? Pathetic.)

His skin reddens, only slightly, as he looks away. Now he even dares to become shy? Fuck wrapping your hands around him, the yo-yo in your hands looks too good to not be used right now.

"It's not your business, but this" he makes a gesture with his hands to indicate whatever is going on with you and him, "needs to stop". Especially when he can't even make a move on [name] properly.

"Oh yeah, gee I wonder who it is with your busy social life", your tone is acidic as you mock him, "Mmm, let's list all the girls you know and find out, is that okay for you 'invinciboy'?" The man grits his teeth and is about to go away, tired from your bullshit when he halts as he hears you listing names and things you shouldn't really know about his life.

"Is it Eve? Mm, from your face I guess no. But it would have been a good guess, many exes who remain friends usually go back together", your face is gleeful, but in a mocking way, focused on his expression as you try to solve him, like one of your puzzles.

"Oh, oh! Is it Amber? She was your first after all."

"What—"

"Mm, I don't think it's anyone from the team either, is there a possibility you might be gay then? Do you like William perhaps, Gayson? I don't have other female options available and the best friends to lovers troupe is really common—" Suddenly, in the blink of an eye, you're no longer touching the ground and Mark is holding you up by your suit.

"How do you know all of this?" His voice is deep as his glare cuts your skin like butter, there's no sympathy in his tone, the words are the ones of a man who doesn't mess around with the people he cares about. It's the first time you've seen this side of him directed at you.

"Has your tiny little pebble brain thought that maybe, just maybe, I'm someone you know?" You seethe as you face the consequences of your actions, you know that Mark could rip you to shreds right now since he has the upper hand, but you don't care, because he is not a monster like you, so you know he won't snap your neck for running your tongue.

"Then tell me who you are, if you're so sure you actually know me" Was he insinuating that you, a hero, were a stalker? You knew he had at least somewhat the right to believe it, due to the information, but you weren't that bad to make such an assumption. (You were already this horrible in his eyes, and he didn't even know your worst side yet.)

"Why don't you answer my question first?" His face is still contorted in rage, yet he hasn't abandoned all common sense like you. He ponders for a second if he's making the right choice, the right deal.

"If you dare to hurt them I swear—"

"Woah, woah! Pretty boy, I would never. You're not that pretty". It's not the right moment and your joke doesn't land, yet after this illuminating discussion you realize that none of them really did, because Mark doesn't like you and he doesn't even trust you as a coworker.

"After I tell you who it is, you will reveal your identity to me". You freeze slightly, your pupils shrink at the possibilities of a disastrous aftermath. Your curiosity is too much though, you really need to know who this person is.

"Yes, yes, okay", you say, but not before rolling your eyes.

He looks at you for a second more, to see if you're honest under all this fake bravado, before sighing and letting you free from his hold.

"Do you know the bakery down the road?"

It's almost a mutter but you hear it anyway so you don't bother to mock him with a derisory "what did you say?", you're getting tired of this, yet not tired enough to just give up. This is the moment when you can finally find peace and accept that maybe Mark wasn't meant for you. (Deep down it's useless thinking this way, since you will never get over him.)

"I buy often from there", your words are almost phrased like a question. Maybe it's because you work there and there are only two people and an old lady running the place.

"It's one of the girls working, her name is—"

"Anna?"

"[name]".

The name repeats in your head like a loop as you become a statue, your smile fades as you come to the realisation that it was always you at the end of the day. Not Amber, not Eve, not Ladybug, just you.

[name].

You've tried so hard to fix things, to have a second chance. Now you're face to face with the fact that you had never needed one, that all your overthinking, all your crying about him, avoiding him, all your fears and insecurities could have been avoided if you had had the courage to talk to him.

You're not happy, you're not relieved.

You have ruined everything.

He loves you, of course, he has just said it. But he loves [name], his childhood friend, the girl who loves baking, the [name] he remembers. He doesn't love Ladybug, the superhero version of you, the one whose trauma changed her in a confused mess. His distrust and dislike is palpable, you wouldn't doubt after your epiphany that he might be disgusted too if he knew about the blood you have shed in Paris.

You're breathing hard, you know that he will hate you if he discovers your identity. Not just Ladybug, but you. (But who are you really? Are you [name]? The childhood friend that stuck to him like glue. Are you Ladybug? Are you something else you don't know of?)

You think you're crying as you walk back towards the edge of the roof, your only escape route, since running away is the only thing you're good at. (It almost reminds you of that time when Nolan comforted you, it was also the last time you had seen him and Mark doesn't tell you what happened when he comes to the bakery. He doesn't even talk about his family, about his little purple brother you saw on the streets when you were patrolling).

"Hey, are you okay?" He is tentative in his steps as he tries to approach you, he had expected some sort of reaction from you, but not this.

"I need to go", it doesn't sound right because of the tears, from the snot in your nose that's keeping you from saying the words right, together with the hiccuping.

He finds it hard to let you go after you promised to reveal your identity, yet it's even harder when you cry the same way his girl does.

He almost reaches to hug you but you're already far away, he can see your silhouette swinging from building to building. He could fly and catch you, but he doesn't find it in him to be harsh on you again after seeing your crying face.

-

("Aren't you glad [name]? He loves you!" Tikki is buzzing around happily as you try to collect yourself, as if you're the broken puzzle that needs solving.

"You don't get it, do you? He doesn't love me, he doesn't know who I am anymore, he loves the person he remembers, the one who he thinks I am. Not this mess. I thought that if he fell in love with Ladybug, it would have been easier for him to accept the person I'm now". Your hands are shaking as you look at them, as if by looking at them you could remember the sensation of the warm blood coating them.

"Let's think in a positive way, at least you know the truth..!" Tikki stops in her tracks as she sees your deranged expression.

"You and your damned truth. I don't need to know the truth!" You glare at the kwami with the build up hatred you have for yourself and this hero life that was forced upon you.

"I don't give a shit about the truth!" Your voice gets higher with every point you make, Tikki can't help but flinch at you.

"I just want Mark" you plead, almost like a prayer and not a demand. Tikki can't help but be angry at you, at the fact that you won't listen, you just drown in your sorrows even when there's a life-saver around your body.)

-

You don't talk to anyone, not even to Tikki, you don't go to work and you ask your parents to tell others that you are sick. They are worried about you, sometimes they come inside your room and sit on the bed, they tell you that they are there if you need them. You don't answer, you never do, and you feel like a bad daughter, you don't deserve this coddling when it's your fault, but you know that it's not like you can accept their help, since it's not even a possibility in their minds that you might be a superhero.

Your friends and coworkers are worried, Mark especially. You feel guilty about causing all this distress, but it's not enough to stop you from looking at flights for Paris. Would everything be better if you just gave back the miraculous? Tikki might not outright say it but you can see the way she looks at you. The way she judges you, scrutinizes you. You know she would gladly go back to Marinette if given the opportunity.

You never book the flight, you just look and think about it under the warm blankets as the bright light from the laptop makes your eyes red. Tikki can see what you're doing, yet she doesn't stop you. Maybe it's some sick test to see if you have the guts to actually leave behind one of the identities you have created, or maybe it's not, and she genuinely wishes you would press it and get this over with.

You never make up your mind, you just rot in indecision, like you always do.

Like you do with your life, with Mark and with everything else.

You don't know what is going on with the outside world, the GDA has contacted you multiple times but it's better they get used to your absence since you're reluctant to go back to the team. You're a coward, they might need you for something important, and your stomach churns at another responsibility you are avoiding.

"[name]?" Tikki after weeks of giving you the silent treatment, has finally decided to grace you with her presence. You wonder if she feels remorse for having blindly accepted Marinette's choice. You look at her, she's clearly worried and she's trying to find the right words to not activate the bomb in the room.

You don't bother to wait for her and just go to the bathroom. The one that stares at you in the mirror is not your reflection, or at least you hope that it's not the reflection of who you truly are. (A shiver runs through your spine, you knew that the black cat had gone crazy. You wonder if maybe he had been just misunderstood, if he had been just like you. Instead of trying to find a better solution to help him, you gave him a painful death.)

Suddenly as you wash your face you feel something trying to keep your hair from getting wet. You see the little creature that has been by your side until now holding your hair up, she's looking at you with love and sadness, not hate.

And you feel guilty, because how could you be harsh to her when she's always trying to fix your messes?

You repeat "sorry" all over as she dries your face with a towel, she doesn't say anything, she doesn't need to. She always knew that you were never going anywhere, but she wanted you to know that she was also not going anywhere.

While Marinette had been great, every miraculous holder had been a unique experience and you weren't the exception.

You didn't see it yet, you didn't see yourself the way Tikki, Eve, Mark and everyone else did, but maybe one day you would and she wasn't about to leave your side before that moment.

Because she loved you, not the girl who liked to bake, not the hero, not whatever distorted version you had in mind of yourself.

Just you.

"Do you feel better?" Tikki's voice is calm, gentle as she puts the towel aside.

"I think I do—I do", your words feel like a promise. A promise to be better than yesterday, for the people you love, for those who need you, for yourself, even if you don't know who she is yet.

-

"Have you read any messages yet?" Tikki says with her tiny cheeks full of chocolate chip cookies that had just come out of the oven.

"No, I don't think I will for now."

"[name]..." You glance at the little creature who's giving you an accusatory glare with no real heat behind it. You just smile and cut up the vegetables, the onions are merciless to your already tired eyes as you're hit by their pungent defence, but your knife is far more cruel as you dice them without remorse to prepare your five star meal (fried rice).

"I mean, I know I should let them know if I'm alright, but I just want to enjoy my peace a little more", you take out the left over rice and put it on the counter, the vegetables are sizzling and the aromas that cloud the kitchen make you sigh.

You're fine, not great yet, but for now being contempt in just cooking for yourself and your little friend a meal is enough.

Cooking is a big part of your life, one of your defining abilities. Your skills make people wonder how you became this good at such a young age.

You don't say to them that you cook when you're stressed, you cook when you're sad, happy, and even when you're angry.

You've lost some of the creativity over the years, pursuing your passion at an academic level has replaced fantasy with skill and technique. You have always known that academic discipline kills passion, and it did kind of murder the love you had for cooking.

But what else could you do if not that? It was either following your childhood dreams or working in an office.

You don't know where Tikki is as you lose yourself in your train of thoughts, completely focused on the task at hand. You stir, mix and add whatever is missing almost on autopilot and you sway your hips to the rhythm of the music that is playing on your phone.

In your little safe haven you don't know what's going on outside. You don't know about the dangers your coworkers are facing—the dangers Mark is facing—because the one time you seclude yourself from the rest of the world, it's also the one time it's about to be destroyed by alternative versions of your childhood friend.

You don't even think about what could be happening outside until you feel strong arms around your waist.

( "why do you always leave the window open?"

It was a bad habit of yours to forget to close the kitchen window, but your neighbourhood had always been safe. "I mean, it's not like we're in a dangerous area and the kitchen sometimes needs some air", you don't look at him in the eyes as you answer, you don't need to, because the bangs on the table and the almost moan that comes out of his mouth are enough to tell you that he is enjoying the food.

"Is it good?" You laugh proudly as you throw a glance in his direction.

"Not just good, it's better than my mom's, I'm not kidding", that's praise right there, better than his mom even? That's something to blush for.

"I'm not that good, Debbie is on another level", you jump a little as you feel him peer over your shoulder to look at what else you're making.

"Next time I go to your house I'll tell her you said this", there's a teasing glint in your eyes as you turn your head around to face him.

"It's not like she would disagree, she literally loves you more than me" he scoffs even if his lovingly warm eyes betray how he truly feels.)

You gasp at the sudden contact and instinctually elbow the person that's holding you so close against him to the point where there's no space between the both of you, no air that keeps away the heat radiating from whoever is behind you. As the hit lands you're not met with an abdomen, but with a wall that doesn't even budge.

"hey, it's me baby".

The voice is raspy, almost breathless as Mark whispers in your ear. You suppress a shiver as you try to create some space between your face and his, and while doing so that's when you take a good look at him.

"What the—what's with the mohawk? And Mark can you let me go please—" you plead before yelping from your stomach fat getting squeezed as the man behind you just sighs and just nuzzles his face in the crook of your neck, his short hair tickling you in the process.

"you don't like it?" You're speechless at Mark's anomalous behaviour and looks, but it's been quite a while since you got out. It's wrong to be so pleased about the situation, about the domesticity of it. You have dreamed of Mark coming home and hugging you like this while you cook your favourite meals. Now though it just feels wrong, especially after last time. You could not in good conscience take advantage of the situation without addressing the many problems at hand.

"No, it looks good" the rice is done, but you're not focused on that as you hear a deep chuckle from Mark, who just smirks and leaves feather like kisses on your bare neck. You squirm as his weight and arms are blocking you from escaping his gentle assault at your neck. A whine builds up in your throat, frustrated at your helplessness.

You know the bastard is enjoying this, you can feel his smile as he almost bends you on the stove.

"Just—hey what are you doing?" You don't know what stars have aligned to put you in this position, but you need to put a stop to this. The escalation of the situation is worrisome as teeth graze your skin, as you feel his groin against your ass.

"Can't a man just appreciate his girl?" Not when you're not his girl.

"Don't call me that" you manage to say, as your flushed face betrays you.

You don't realise that he is confused by your statement, since you can't turn around to face him, but you do feel his muscles tense. What gives you the chance to escape is the smoke coming out of the pan, the rice is not inedible but it's just slightly charred by the looks of it.

"The rice!" Your suddenly raised voice and the smoke that hit his senses made him slightly loosen his vice grip around your warm waist. It only took one second for him to recollect himself, but it had been enough for you to just step aside and not feel his hot breath on your neck.

Having the possibility to turn around you can finally have a good look at him.

Is it bad if you say he looks wrong?

You were gone for two years and there's barely any change, you're gone for a couple of weeks and this man does a whole 360?

And the eyebags, his eyes...

They are so dark and focused, almost predatory as he looks at you up and down.

"I really missed you babe" he sighs, eyes half lidded, like a full lion after a meal and he hitches closer, because unlike the feline he could be satiated.

"Mark, you're acting weird today, are you alright?"

"I've never been better", his gaze is loving as he settles for grabbing your face with his hand—squishing your cheeks in the process—and giving you a peck on the lips, as if this was a daily occurrence. It's heart warming, soft, and gentle. It's not a passionate kiss, but it's enough to make you freeze. After all it's just the start of something more as his hand settles on your hip.

"Mark—no, stop. We can't." There's a frown on your face as he lets you push his face aside with shaking hands. His face is confused and you don't understand why, what did he expect?

"Why not? Come on [name], don't tease me.." he's almost desperate as he longs for your touch once more, even the hands that keep pushing him away are somewhat palliative as he can once again feel your soft skin against him once more.

"Because it's wrong, we're not together and there's a lot you don't know about me that I haven't told you about. You would hate me if I told you." He chuckles, no, no, he laughs whole heartedly, wiping some of the tears that are about to fall from your eyes. So this lame ass version of himself is not together with you? And more importantly, you're hiding something from him?

"Babe, babe", you're tormenting him with your flushed face, with your slightly red eyes.

"I could never hate you"

You stare at him as if he just hit you with a bucket of cold water.

On the other side of the room your phone vibrates on the table from the quantity of messages you're receiving.

Mark: are you okay?

Mark: hey, answer me? Are you home?

Mark: [name], it's important

Tikki looks at the messages with a horrified face, so she flies in a zone of the room where you can see her, even with the doppelganger in your way.

When you lock eyes she rapidly shakes her head while indicating the men in front of you and your phone.

Mark is calling

You don't hide the expression you make, it's priceless how your eyes shrink and your mouth falls agape. You don't know if he has realised that you know now, you don't know what his intentions are with you, but he had seemed so sincere, there was no way he would hurt you? What version of Mark could be so sadistic to toy with you before hurting you?

"Love, are you okay?" His tone has shifted, the words are another way of saying: "Oh, so you know now? No more faking?"

Because he knows you're not okay, and you're too smart to be fooled twice.

As you move backwards he moves forward, amused by this little waltz he is entertaining you with.

You move right using the table as a support, and he follows you.

It's fun, it's hilarious even. You were so pliable in his hands, like putty, whining about the contact even if your body craved more, and now you were making this laughable effort at evading him. You were lucky he loved you. He wonders where your Mark went wrong when you're as eager to hold him as he is.

Your back hits the open window behind you, the air is cold on your face as you turn around and look at how high up you are.

"There's nowhere to run now babe" he laughs amused as he hovers closer and closer, barely containing his desire to just finish what he started back at the stove.

"You really think so?" A smirk appears, eyes shining in a way he has never seen before, and then you do the most unexpected thing.

You jump out the window, he's not fast enough to grab you since you took him by surprise.

His heart leaps out of his throat, he almost doesn't want to see if you're splattered on the floor, your body just a stain on the floor as your organs are splattered here and there on the sideway.

As he flies outside instead of something gruesome, he's met with your suited up form bouncing around buildings as you try to create some distance between the both of you. Or maybe you're creating some other scheme to fool him once again.

When your gaze meets his, time freezes and you playfully stick his tongue out to him, to mock him, laugh at his foolish and cocky behaviour.

He laughs as one hand just covers his face.

Of course you had powers in this world, of course this was your secret.

Oh, this Mark was a real loser.

Hellooo, I hope you enjoyed part two! Honestly out of every variant, Mohawk Mark is my favourite. Originally I had just planned to finish this here, but then I just got carried away with the last part, lol.

Part 3

[miraculouspegasus]

ranking the miraculous kids by how likely they are to reveal their secret identity to their s/o

(excluding the obvious canonical cases like lovesquare, djwifi, nathmarc, or the fact that felix has absolutely told kagami everything he knows)

alix: is aro. she is sooooo aro and also she’s hopping through time, so even if she found it in her somehow to experiment. like. girl has her priorities straight.

luka: i know he’s canonically single right now, but like, let’s imagine a context where he’s still dating marinette. still not gonna tell her. that boy is very mature and would know how important it is to keep your mouth shut for the sake of everyone he loves, no matter what.

kagami: we don’t know if she’s told felix about ryuko! i say it’s very likely she has but only because of their insane rich kid cult upbringing and plot forcing her to this point, because otherwise, if she were dating, say, adrien, she would take her secrecy very seriously. girl was brought up on responsibility. if she doesn’t have a brief moment of recklessness like when she just outed herself to her mom on day one

max: yeah yeah he’s ace and single, but like, bear with me, imagine it’s like. a qpr. with alix, say, or maybe kim. max is very responsible and would treat his secret identity seriously, but he’s way less inclined to take secrets to the grave like someone like kagami, but neither is he as put together as luka is, and maybe someday he’s having a rough patch, and things are piling up on him! so like. i’d give it something in like, a 10% chance, which is relatively low, and that if he’s in that kind of relationship. but still higher than previous characters.

zoe: we’re talking if she ever got together with like, sabrina or marinette. well…girl knows how to keep secrets, whether she likes it or not. but this time it’s for good. it’s a good thing. so not likely, but possible.

mylene: mylene is so committed to good causes, to the point of civil disobedience tactics, so i think that, even though she doesn’t like lying to ivan, she knows that he would understand if he were in her situation. so it would take something pretty rough to actually shake that commitment.

ivan: i think ivan would be more likely than mylene to slip up and tell her but same as mylene, he’s a pretty brave guy, who could hold on to a secret like that even when things are rough. i do think that he might slip up because if his superhero identity ever got in the way of his relationship and ever made mylene feel lonely or abandoned, he would not stand for that.

juleka: juleka tries her best, but she’s also the kind of person who needs a strong support network to face herself and her fears, and she would have absolutely confidence that rose would be careful with her secret. so honestly it’s not an insignificant possibility.

rose: while rose is a little less plagued by doubts and in need of reassurance, what would get her is that she feels like juleka deserves everything. just total honesty. and it wouldn’t even be because of a potential conflict like ivan, it might even be out of principle. which is very sweet but also kind of dangerous. sweetheart, please don’t.

sabrina: i think she takes ladybug’s trust very seriously but given she just got out of an intensely dependent abusive relationship, i think if or when sabrina gets with someone, she’s not gonna be able to weather the rough patches that come with keeping secrets from your partner. oops.

kim: kim probably told ondine the day party crasher happened. xuppu gives him hell about his secret identity and kim was like, hey, how was i supposed to know this was going to be a permanent thing? you didn’t come with a contract! and even though after xuppu made it clear he shouldn’t tell anyone now… ondine knows. like. kim will not bother making a whole new persona using the monkey miraculous. it was king monkey when he fought party crasher, and it’s king monkey now, so.

[uptoolateart]

Here's a whole bunch of initial thoughts I have after watching the London Special.

Time Travel

Speaking as someone who writes way too many stories involving time travel...there were a lot of holes in this special. Also, I appreciate that it's been 15 months since the S5 finale aired, and they probably wanted to remind us (and especially children) of the key moments...but some scene repetition felt like it was just there to pad out the episode length. But I'm gonna shrug all that off because of everything else this special did.

Lies, Lies and More Lies

I've not been quiet about how angry I was over Ladybug lying to Adrien and keeping vital secrets, in that S5 finale. I'm so glad to see that this special addressed that stuff. By the end, we see that both heroes are keeping secrets. Cat's identity has become more pertinent than never, and she has no idea.

Going Too Far

In their final conversation, Ladybug told Cat she worried she might have gone 'too far' this time. Throughout S5, we were repeatedly told no one has ever been able to handle unifying the miraculous like Marinette can. We also watched her change dramatically over that season. By the S5 finale, I felt like she'd become overpowered. In this special, I think she acknowledged that. Maybe she handed out the other miraculous because she realised she was in danger of becoming another Gabriel, e.g. making decisions about what's right for Adrien, etc.

Did She Make the Right Decision?

With no one else to turn to, Marinette asks Plagg and Tikki if she made the right decision. They don't tell her she's wrong, but they also seem very undecided. She also asks Bunnyx, who tells her that both paths - telling or not telling Adrien the truth - will lead to both happy and sad moments. This warns us that hard times are on their way. She wants to 'protect Adrien', but she can't. She can't keep him from pain. seems to suggest that Marinette's choice to keep the truth from him is going to lead to some hard times.

Kagami

Kagami intimated that she disagreed with Marinette's decision. When she comforted Adrien in the white room and told Bug Noire to go...that really hit me. There is so much going on there. Transformed, Marinette can't comfort Adrien. In fact, she's just hurt him, and Kagami is the only one in that scene able to help him pick up the pieces. Not just that, but Kagami can relate. Remember her name means 'mirror'. She's now in the position Adrien could be in, if he knew the truth. She's the one trying to come to terms with the truth about her parent. She's the one dealing with the knowledge that she's a sentibeing. She is an example of Adrien's alternate path. When she tells Bug Noire that she's letting her love for Adrien blind her...Kagami is speaking personally - as someone who can put herself in Adrien's shoes in a way Marinette just can't.

If I Could Turn Back Time

When Chrono Bug got that black cat calendar as a lucky charm, she must have known it meant Cat Noir was somehow the solution. But she ignored it. I think her emotions regarding Adrien blinded her from understanding what the universe was trying to tell her.

She and Bunnyx spent much of the episode trying to determine the crucial moment when things started spinning out of control - the moment they needed to change. Marinette focused on the revelation of her identity, which I'm sure was vital. BUT...the elephant in the room was the moment she chose to lie to Adrien. Standing in that time burrow, she had a chance to change the story she told him and undo everything that's on its way. Surely that cat calendar was hinting at this.

Kitten

I think it's telling that the cat on the calendar was a kitten. It felt like the universe was telling her there's something she isn't seeing in Cat - that he's more fragile and in need of nurturing than she acknowledges. When she sees him at the end, and he tells her he has his own awful secret - when he cries over it - she should be questioning why he's that eaten up about missing that final battle. What's his secret? Why's he so devastated? But she's too wrapped up in her own conundrum. Like in Cat Blanc, she's not 'listening'. For me, the most painful moment was when he tried to reassure her that things would be okay - now it'll be 'you and me again, just like old times'. She hasn't yet told him there's actually a huge team now. But they both must understand that the old times are well and truly gone.

The Truth Is Out There

We're now waiting for yet another reveal. Adrien and Marinette still have to find out they're Cat and Ladybug - but Adrien also has to find out the truth about his father. This special hammered it all in so hard that it's Chekhov's gun waiting to go off. What I wonder is if the writers had this angle in mind all along, or if they did this after they saw the fan reaction to that S5 finale. I suspect it's a bit of the latter, particularly because they also had Bunnyx explain that Marinette's reaction to Gabriel in the S5 finale was her getting the 'proof' that he was Monarch. Her reaction was one of many things we all questioned after that episode first aired, so I think the writers were trying to 'fix' things with this special. And I'm fine with that. I'm pleased that they're listening and not just moving on from this stuff / trying to sell it to us that lying to someone is 'the right thing to do'.

The Wild Card

At the end of S5, I thought it was clear that Lila had worked out Ladybug's identity. I assumed S6 would involve some vendetta against Marinette. This special demonstrated that would make things too easy, so they levelled the playing field. Lila doesn't know Ladybug's identity. But she does know Monarch was Gabriel. I think it's inevitable that at some point (probably not for ages, because the writers will want to string us along in suspense), she'll tell Adrien the truth about his father.

Cat Blanc

I think 'Cat Blanc', and Adrien's vision in the white room, were foreshadowing. In this special, we saw how angry Adrien was at Bug Noire when she told her story. He demanded to know why she couldn't save Gabriel. He seemed to have forgiven her by the end, but when he learns the truth, he's going to feel so betrayed. And when he breaks down...watch out, moon.

The Inevitable Break-Up

I think it's inevitable that Adrinette will break up...but only temporarily. When it all blows up, it could be the necessary turning point we've been waiting for, where they finally get on equal footing - where their relationship is based on honesty and total mutual respect.

Conclusion

Buckle up, guys. We're in for a bumpy ride - but I remain optimistic. After 15 crazy months, I'm finally no longer angry about the S5 finale.