#i have the most embarrassing thing possible in common with gabriel agreste.

[anna-scribbles]

emilie agreste lives in my head in a much cooler and more ethical way than she lives in gabriel’s head. the stories i tell myself about what she was like are way better than his. no yeah constructing the idea of a person out of a well-preserved corpse is fine when i do it

[seungnoir]

My Current top 10 favorite Miraculous Ladybug Episodes and why (+analysis)

1. timetagger - the amount of possibilities this brings to the plot and insight is so fun. also, it’s one of the few things of writing and planning i appreciate in this series because it was hinted in the very beginning of s1 that alix’s watch was a miraculous, but now we get to see that connection. Seeing things that were hinted long ago end up having substance makes it more interesting. Also, I do thoroughly Alix as a character and loved to see her and see that she will have a bigger role in the future. This episode alone leads to so many theories and things that can be analyzed and makes it so fun - such as the idea that there is someone (besides master fu) that knows about their identities, and even further, about what happens in the future. The idea of a new hawk moth also comes to play. The akumatized villain from the future proves that there is a hawk moth in the future, but that it isn’t gabriel agreste. This brings into question of what happened to Gabriel and the current Hawk Moth? How did someone else of ill-intention end up the miraculous after hawk moth? Who is this new Hawk Moth? This brings so many theories and possibilities to where the show is heading. We also see chat noir and ladybug do still exist in the future as adults. We can only wonder and theorize about how theyve developed between present and future, though. Another small detail at the end that was interesting is i’m pretty sure chat broke the fourth wall?? At the end of the episode, chat is talking to ladybug and about what alix said about the future as they walk away, and started saying “maybe in the future you might even agree to see a movie with me. Hey, what if it was in the very near future? Like, the next show...”

2. sandboy - there are many reasons i enjoy this episode. first, i love the kwamis and i love learning more about them and having some focus on them. We learned more about background and history of the kwamis as well as see more than we had before. In addition, I think it brought good development to character, particularly for adrien/chat noir. Marinette’s and ladybug’s biggest nightmares weren’t too much of a surprise, and neither was adrien and chat noir’s when you think about it but foes bring more insight to him as a character and helps set up ideas for his character and things later. As adrien, his biggest nightmare was being trapped and cornered, obviously a result of how he’s treated by his father. While adrien tends to always seem chill and nice around people and like everything’s always fine, it shows there’s more we don’t see. Then, as chat noir, his biggest nightmare was that ladybug hated him. It was important to show how much chat noir really cares about his relationship with her, and not just romantically. It shows us this not only as a watcher, but so that ladybug sees too. This sets up well for the ny special, where ladybug gets upset with chat and says she can’t trust him. While not exactly like his nightmare where she despises him, it is parallel to his literal biggest nightmare and shows why he reacted the way he did and shows just how much ladybug saying that would affect him. I also very thoroughly enjoy the moment where adrien sees the sock plagg left when he sneaked out and he went “Plagg! who turned you into a sock!” i think i find it funnier than i should. 

3. heroes day p2 - not to be a ladynoir stan but that’s a big reason i enjoy this episode. When the other heroes they recruited fall, Ladybug gets worried and begins to lose hope. This isn’t very common for her, but it shows she’s not some perfect hero, she has times where she has doubts. However, chat noir was right there for her. He was able to encourage her and get her back into the spirit. I think this is important to show their relationship without thinking about it in a romantic way. It shows chat noirs full trust in ladybug, and how even if ladybug doesn’t always express it, it shows how she does appreciate and trust chat noir and that he is able to help her when she’s down, it’s a balance. Also, when chat noir is encouraging ladybug, one thing he says “let’s go back to what always worked - you and me against the world, m’lady.” In my eyes, this reinforces the “soulmate” idea and the importance of the two. Don’t get me wrong, I love the other heroes and miraculouses being used, and maybe its just me, but I think it’s important that despite the other heroes being helpful, chat noir and ladybug are the core, and that reinforces that. Also I honestly love that adrien was detransformed at the time of saying that line. In addition to ladynoir, there’s the plot and villain progression of hawk moth and nathalie, which sparks the plot to really start picking up after this event. 

4. reverser - I love marc a lot, i relate to his character a lot so i enjoyed having him and I wish we had more outside of this episode. There are also other fun characters we get to see that we don’t see as much (Alex and nathaniel). I also like the akumartizaion set up, i think it’s a very realistic situation in which misunderstanding takes over and there’s no specific person to blame, and i appreciate the demonstration of that. Not to be a chat noir stan, but him being a “scaredy cat” after getting hit by the reverser was so cute and funny and i enjoyed that. Again, back to the other characters, as i mentioned before i like alix a lot. i enjoyed her mocking chloe in the episode and then not caring when the teacher tried to say she should be nice. and then i liked the moment she scared chat noir. and then i enjoyed seeing her role in helping the duo in defeating reverser. also, there was a moment on the beginning of the episode where adrien teased marinette and any moment where adriens chat noir side comes out is my favorite. in conclusion, i love seeing the characters we see in this episode and chat noir was cute. 

5. puppeteer 2 - as much as the wax statue scene gives me the worst second hand embarrassment of my entire life, the episode gave us a clearer insight to adriens perspective on his relation with marinette, which i enjoyed, and made me like him as a character even more. while i love a good “she’s just a friend” joke, it is confirmed in this episode he’s genuinely oblivious - which he shouldn’t be perceived as dumb for. social cues are harder for some people and can cause problems but it’s not smth people can help, we also have to remember he has very limited experience with people. anyway, it gives us that insight and i believe it’s important. he even expressed acknowledgment of how he doesn’t pick these things up sometimes. so he interpreted marinettes reaction wrong, and he believed marinette even didn’t like him. it distressed him so much to think that was the case. this was the insight we needed to see how adrien perceives their relationship and how much it really developed. even if he doesn’t have a crush on her, it introduces the idea that he still genuinely cares about her and having a relationship with her - parallel to us seeing ladybug see that with chat, which i believe is very important for the development of lovesquare and the plot. not to mention the frusturation of dramatic irony at the end when adrien, seemingly for the first time we’ve seen him as adrien, mention to someone else how he DOES love someone. while painful for marinette, i do think it’s interested because i don’t even think he’s mentioned the fact he loves someone to nino, showing how he still considers marinette as someone he can be close too. 

6. ikari gozen - I love Kagami and I appreciated this kind of redemption arc. I wasn’t sure how I felt about her at first, but after this episode she’s one of the most relatable characters, personally. In turn, it also helps Marinette learn a good lesson. So yeah, the main reason i enjoy this episode is Kagami’s character development and her character. Ryuko is also so cool.

7. kwamibuster - i mentioned this before but i love the kwamis a lot and i love getting to see them in episodes. in this episode we got to see not only interactions between plagg and tikki, but get a chance to meet other kwamis and see their miraculous jewelry and some of their abilities. we also see that marinette and adrien are not incapable of connecting dots, realizing both plagg and tikki were in the same school. however, plagg and tikki try to reason them out of it and they both did things to throw the other of their track, so they didn’t keep their theories - but it does show they’re not Completely Oblivious. 

8. troublemaker - there’s a lot of small things and moments that make me appreciate this episode rather than one big thing. to start, i enjoy penny’s character a lot and this is one the few episodes we really get to see her and the only one where we get focus on her. in addition, she was a good villain and arguably the closest a villain got to taking ladybug’s miraculous, taking an earring. then theres marinettes adrien photo collection being exposed, and adriens facial expressions in reaction to it made me laugh. and then of course, the scene following the fight, adrien talks to marinette. one noticeable thing is that marinette didnt stutter as much as she had and got out full thoughts. good for her ! and it shows that she is slowly beginning to be more comfortable with him. then of course, adrien. he starts by asking if she was okay since the fight happened at her house (even though he was literally there and knows damn well marinette wasn’t even there, kinda anyway). and then, as i mentioned before, my favorite thing ever is adriens chat noir side coming out, which is exactly what happened. he teased marinette for the photos, both asking if she was lying and then the “even in the most unlikely places” line. the thing about this is that this is something we barely see happen with adrien as adrien, yet it happened with marinette, which shows he’s comfortable enough with her to do that. and then of course the sincere moment of him saying he’s glad she’s her fan, he’s just so sweet good for him i love him. 

9. origins - a classic. provides us background we needed on how things start and characters meant. there’s so much things to take from origins about their characters and the story in general. for one, marinette not even wanting to be ladybug. i feel this fit her character and was more realistic than if she accepted it right away. and then her being a bit of a mess the first time and not even capturing the akuma. i think that was important; to show ladybug and marinette are not perfect, but that’s what makes her a better and more relatable character. it wouldn’t be fun if she were perfect from the beginning. and then chat noir, who was a lot less reluctant. in contrast to marinette. he had been isolated his whole life and forced to try to fit a perfect mold. this gave him not only physical freedom he always desired but also the personal freedom to be able to be who he wanted. it of course also shows the balance of the two heroes. ladybug was nervous and had no hope at the beginning, but was able to get though with chat noirs encouragement - which is something that comes up every so often, but shows their balance and dynamic. and then of course . the umbrella scene. one of the most iconic moments, and also one thing i’ve noted is that we barely ever seeadrien laugh like he did in that scene, and it makes me treasure that moment more. and despite the whole “she’s just a friend” thing, it was important in that moment and you can see how important it is to him that he has a friend, and probably establishes the trust and appreciation for marinette we see as the show progresses as she was very important to him being kind of his first friend and that it holds a different kind of importance to him. 

10. glaciator - an iconic episode of course. while marichat is probably my least favorite in terms of love square ships, i think marichat moments are some of the best. i think it’s where the two are more showing themselves to each other than in any other way. chat gets to see truly marinette in which she isn’t a nervous mess and is actually acting like herself, and marinette gets to see chat has more to him than she saw previously as ladybug. with his constant flirting and joking with her, it seemed that she interpreted this as this is just his personality and it didn’t mean much, that maybe he acted the same with anyone. but with the interactions of this episode, she learns that’s not the case, he genuinely and truly loves and cares and about ladybug, it was more than just joking around. this realization is big for marinette and she even comments that she misjudged him. this episode allows eachother to rlly learn more about eachother. and then it helps ladybug be honest. she’s completely honest with chat after that, saying there’s someone else and she doesn’t want to lead him on, but that sets the stage for them to still grow on their platonic relationship, which is still important. ladybug for the seemingly first time directly tells chat how he’s important to her, and chat admits that his friendship with her is the most important thing to him, showing us more about adrien/chats character, as well as demonstrates despite his love for ladybug the platonic relationship still holds great importance with seems to contrast how marinette views adrien at this moment. 

honorable mentions: 

reflekdoll - this was almost in the top 10 but i changed it last minute. i appreciate learning more about juleka and hope we get more to grown on that later. and not to be an adrien stan but he looked really pretty with his outfit for marinettes shoot. one thing i feel is also important to notice is how easily he was willing to take off his miraculous for the sake of marinettes shoot. he didn’t even really hesitate? that wasn’t really surprising for marinette to do, but for adrien it again represents a small thing that shows he really appreciates and cares about her (whether it’s romantic or not). the concept of them switching miraculouses were also fun, and seeing a little bit of tikki and plagg interactions again. the reason that it didn’t end up in the top 10 was because i think the execution of their miraculous switch should’ve been done much better. i feel like the writing made chat look dumber than he is and made ladybug look more bossy than she is. while i feel part of this was meant to demonstrate they’re truly made for their own miraculous, it could’ve been demonstrated without making the character look worse. 

startrain - i don’t mean to be basic but the adrinette in this episode was super cute. however that’s not the only reason this episode stood out. hawk moth rlly sent his own son into space, u know as one does. and then the irony of him saying “how ironic i have to depend on my enemies (ladybug and chat noir) to save my son” like if you think that’s ironic then… but anyway . i also enjoyed seeing more max in the episode. his transformation is fun and i think we deserved a max based episode where he (or markov) didn’t have to get akumatized. also i feel like in the beginning of the episode, i like how adrien flat out decided to go to london without even asking his dad. i think he’s slowly stopping to care so much about his fathers rules and realizing what he needs for himself and this shows that. 

[anxresi]

Chloe’s Last Straw

Synopsis: 

Chloe is guilty of many things in her life. But not this. Never this. So when her mother says something unforgivable to a person she'd usually consider an enemy, it's up to her to put things right. Grab your popcorn folks, and get ready for a roasting. Written for Blackout Tuesday.

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Caline Bustier sighed in exasperation, wondering how her once promising career as an educator had stuck her with this… the most ill-disciplined, out-of-control bunch of students she’d ever had to guide since her formative years as a kindergarten coordinator.

But even those young rapscallions had some level of respect for their elders, whereas the current batch of alleged ‘maturer’ teens…

They couldn’t even raise their heads for role-call in the morning.

“Max! Stop playing with that flying toy this second ! Mylene, Ivan… you can kiss each other during recess! Return to your desks now ! Nathanael! Put down those pencils and listen to me! Lila, I know you said you suffer from ADHD, but until I see a doctor’s note, I expect you to respond immediately when I call your name! Honestly, it’s like trying to herd cats! And where on Earth are…”

“I’m here! I’m here!!” As if in answer to her request, Adrien Agreste bustled in just then, out-of-breath and apparently with a ready-made excuse to explain his absence. “Dawn fashion shoot… then piano recital… early morning practice… stop me falling behind. A-Apologies Miss Bustier… you know how it is with my father…”

“Hmm, yes… I’m afraid I do .” The frowning teacher gave an understanding nod, for Gabriel Agreste’s huge expectations for his son often led to constant late arrivals for his son. “I would say ‘try not to let it happen again’, but something tells me it’s out of my hands. Oh well, at least you haven’t missed any actual lesson time this week. Go and sit down, please. Now I wonder where…”

“ Argh ! S-Sorry Miss! Mom got sick… and usually she handles the morning deliveries… so I had to take a quick detour on my way here… and…” bang

At least, that’s the sound effect there would’ve been, if a stumbling Marinette Dupain-Cheng hadn’t been caught by Adrien on her inevitable descent to the floor. Right place, right time.

Still didn’t stop her blushing like a stoplight though.

“A-Adrien!! Gulp. H-Hi. ” The blunette gave a passable impression of a fish out of water.

“Hey there! F-Funny the places we run into each other, isn’t it?” Adrien seemed equally struck for what he wanted to say.

“ Ahem !” That was the sound of an impatient teacher, who obviously had no romance in her soul and was eager to restart the headcount. “If you two are quite finished with your impromptu act, you can save it for the talent show next month. Take your respective seats so we can get on. Wait…”

Glancing at Adrien And Marinette’s chairs had revealed something unprecedented in the recent history of this hallowed halls of education. In fact, so unbelievable was it, Miss Bustier had to rub her eyes twice just to make sure what she saw wasn’t just another product of her espresso-infused imagination.

For it would appear as though young Agreste and Dupain-Cheng, by some measure the most tardy pupils Caline Bustier had ever known, were not among the last ones to arrive that incredible day.

No, that dubious honor belonged to none other than the students the aforementioned pair shared a desk with, namely Nino Lahiffe and Alya Cesaire.

W-What the… the panicking teacher’s look of astonishment was completely forgivable, as both Marinette and Adrien made good their escape. I’ve never known anything like this to happen before. It’s most unlike them. I just hope they’re okay. Maybe, if they’re not here soon, I should ask the headmaster if…

Miss Bustier’s short soliloquy was interrupted by an unpleasant shrieking noise as a familiar pair strode in. The high-pitched noise made the hairs on her neck stand on end and shattered the formerly serene atmosphere of the classroom once and for all.

“ Dahling . You know I wouldn’t go back to New York without saying goodbye to my precious Coraline, don’t you sweetheart? I might be away for quite a while this time, even past Christmas, but you understand, right? If I’m not there to personally introduce my new range of spangly negligees to the world at Fashion Week, my competitors might steal my thunder! I might even be bumped off the front page of Vogue! And you remember what I’ve told you every day, since the blessed occasion you were born, whenever that was…”

“Yes, mother. ‘If you’re not somebody, then you’re nobody.’ I get it. But do you ‘get’: my name isn’t ‘Coraline’, it’s Chloe . Coraline is that so-called kids movie we saw years ago, the one that was so scary I nearly wet… you know what, n-never mind.”

The loud screech of Audrey Bourgeois’s voice was almost enough to give poor Miss Bustier a migraine, as if the prospect of trying to teach her disruptive daughter good manners wasn’t difficult enough. Why did this have to be the one day I forgot to bring my aspirin to class with me? Tell me, what did I do to deserve this? Did I walk under a ladder yesterday? Did I crack a mirror, or step on a gypsy’s foot by mistake? Please, if I am cursed for whatever reason, let me know how I can fix it. For the love of…

“Mrs Bourgeois! What an unple… u-unexpected pleasure!” The rapidly unraveling teacher put on her fakest, friendliest face to welcome the surprise guest. “How are you? When was the last time we met? I seem to recall it was at the salon…”

“What was that? Who is this strange person heckling me, dear?” Audrey pulled down her shades to stare closer, as Chloe whispered in her mom’s ear. “Oh yes, your public school educator. Still with the red hair I see, ugh . Yes, I remember… I told her to dye her roots blonde like me if she wanted a better job than the impossible task of instructing these degenerates. Because as we all know: ‘blondes have more fun’. Isn’t that right, Chlorine?”

Whether Chloe was still sore from Audrey getting her name wrong twice now, or just plain embarrassed by her female parent’s condescending behavior, who knows. She didn’t repeat her mother’s mantra again like last time though, and instead stood there nervously with her hands in her chino pockets, portraying quite an un-Chloe lack of confidence.

“Well anyway, if you simply must know Miss… Bustier, was it?” An uninterested Audrey inquired, proving the rumor true that her daughter’s name was the only one she regularly forgot. “I was just seeing my precious off, before catching the afternoon plane to uptown New York. It’s just wonderful there in the summer, with all the glitterati in attendance for the various functions. You really must try it, darling… oh sorry I forgot: on your meager salary, it might prove to be an impossible dream. Still, we can’t all be as ridiculously wealthy as me and my husband, can we?”

“Y-Yes, I suppose so.” Miss Bustier desperately kept her sentences as short as possible. She didn’t want the dreadful woman to stay there a second longer than absolutely necessary. “W-Well, I don’t want to keep you, if you have things you need to…”

“So, these are the local children you go to school with, dear?” Deciding she was tired with Miss Bustier’s ‘rambling’, a bored Audrey fixed a critical eye over the classroom. “Well, I must say, I’ve seen far better. A poor crop if ever there was one… why your father refused to let you be privately educated is beyond me. I suspect it’s because he wants to boost his election prospects by letting you ‘mingle with the common folk’, but is it really worth it? I hate to think the effect such distasteful surroundings must be having on your delicate young mind.”

Outraged gasps erupted from all around the room, and if Chloe could’ve jumped into a fifty-foot hole never to emerge, she likely would’ve done so with relish. Alas, this was not an option, and so once more the twitching girl was forced to deal with the consequences of her mother’s shameless arrogance and total lack of volume control.

But just as even the usually docile Miss Bustier was about to say something stronger to defend her visibly irritated students, the last two attendees emerged through the door, puffing and panting as they arrived at long last. Also noticeably, covered in what can only be described as black oil stains.

First up was Nino Lahiffe, who paused slightly to catch his breath and adjust his cap. Then came his girlfriend Alya Cesaire just behind, who despite being pretty exhausted herself, began to speak “N-Nino’s dad gave us a lift, but the car broke down. We had to help him fix it…”

Suddenly Audrey Bourgeois, obviously on a roll, glanced behind her with a pronounced sneer. Upon seeing the pair in question, her expression of disapproval grew even more pronounced…

And what she said next was truly shocking. Except, maybe not her.

“Who might these ‘people’ be, then? While I think it’s laudable you’ll let just about anyone into these types of schools Bustier, I hope you realize some individuals can’t be taught. Just look at those hopeless youths, for example. Obviously from a rough neighborhood, probably down to one parent each, deprived of everything to judge by their filthy clothing, and they can’t even be in class on time. Probably wasting their lives on the street listening to ‘wrap’ music, or whatever it’s called. As if this sort even need an education, in their future careers as minimum wage cleaners or drug-dealers. Really dear, you’d be better off kicking them out and investing in school uniforms instead…”

“ That’s enough !!”

Stunned faces all around. Jaws dropping to the floor. A few people on the verge of fainting, at the identity of the person who uttered those two screamed words.

It wasn’t Miss Bustier, who was prepared to declare her response by more physical means (a hard fist to the face of an unrepentant bigoted snob, if you must know).

Not Alya, who looked just about ready to burst into tears, being held by her apoplectic boyfriend  in his arms (otherwise, he might’ve formed an unstoppable tag-team with his teacher to kick some serious a**).

The surprise shouter was none other than Chloe Bourgeois, who having finally been pushed to her absolute limit at her mother’s complete lack of respect for anyone besides her own reflection, had finally snapped.

And boy, was it something to behold.

“Mom, as I’m sure anyone who isn’t you would agree, I’ve put up with a lot over the years. The insults. The dirty looks. Long absences. Always getting my name wrong. Never telling me you love me. Raising me to think ‘sacking’ anyone who disagrees with you is permissible behavior. I can tolerate all this and more, but there is one thing where I must draw the line. You want to know what that is?”

“ Must we get into this now, dear? You know I like first pick of the best VIP seats…” There Mrs Bourgeois went again, thinking this was just another conversation where she could brush off her daughter’s genuine concerns.

Well, in this case, she was about to get ‘schooled’ (pun not intended).

“Well, I’m going to tell you anyway. It’s racism Mom, plain and simple, and I won’t stand for it! Whatever problems I might’ve had with Alya and Nino in the past, and believe me there’s been plenty, I’ve never treated them differently due to the color of their skin! How shallow can you get?! And coming from me, this is the biggest of big deals!”

It was as if someone had lit a fuse underneath Audrey’s designer shoes, as the formerly unflappable woman suddenly recoiled in shock. “W-What… well I never ! How could you say such terrible things to me, Chlorophyll? Why, if you weren’t my own flesh and blood, I’d sue you on the spot! I’ll have you know, some of my best workers are blac…”

“Yeah, ‘workers’. You just made my point for me. That’s all they are to you, aren’t they? I’ve seen the way you treat them differently to even our other staff, calling them ‘tanned’ and ‘colored’ right to their faces. They don’t say anything because they don’t want to lose their jobs, and shamefully neither do I because frankly, you scare me sometimes. Well, that ends this second . The instant you behave that way again, I’ll be on you like a ton of bricks. Also, do you wanna know something else?”

“H-Huh?” Audrey’s demeanor had abruptly switched from coolness personified to utter confusion. Being called out so blatantly in front of a bunch of ‘underprivileged ragamuffins’ by her petulant child was not on the itinerary today.

“I’ll spoil it for you again. Father hates your attitude even more than I do! Whenever you finish treating the staff like the dirt under your feet, he goes to each one in turn to apologize personally. As well as give them a few extra euros that month, as if that’ll make up for the abuse they have to suffer. But look who I’m talking to! The woman who thinks Chinese and Japanese people are practically the same! And people wonder where I got such a stupid idea from…”

‘I-I…” For the first time in her life, Mrs Bourgeois was completely lost for words. All she could do was stare dumbly and numbly at her irrepressible daughter, as the young girl finished her extended lecture with a flourish.

“Finally, I suppose I should let you know about the head cook at our hotel. You know, the one who you think makes the best meals around for Daddy and his clients at short notice? Or when you have to entertain people, and she puts on a spread that’ll put any other caterer in the city to shame? That’s Mrs Cesaire, the mother of Alya over there. How do you think she’s going to feel, when she hears you racially insulted her daughter so terribly in front of her entire class? I don’t know, but if I were you I’d check my food for signs of saliva for a while. Also, put your lawyers on stand-by, because I think it may be heading for court. And if you want to know who’s side I’ll be on, here’s a clue…”

At this juncture, Chloe put her mouth to her now trembling mother’s ear to whisper sharply:

“...It won’t be yours!”

That was all it took for Mrs Audrey Bourgeois to collapse on the floor, in such a comatose state that not even the strongest smelling salts around could revive her in the foreseeable future.

...Not that anyone really wanted to do that, of course. Even the school nurse balked at helping someone who’d been so vile to the innocent students there. So, in an unconscious heap on the floor she stayed.

In the end, she missed her flight and the free expensive champagne on offer. Oh dear. How sad. Never mind.

As for Chloe, having said her piece and blithely sauntered over to her seat next to Sabrina afterwards, she was most surprised by the deafening cheer that subsequently erupted, as well as the much better treatment she got for an entire week afterwards by everyone present (even from Marinette).

As unusual as her newfound popularity was though…

She could quite easily get used to it.

If only she could master this whole ‘being nice’ thing.

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AUTHOR’S NOTE: Remember everyone, having White Privilege isn’t just about paying lip service to the concerns of minorities and posting black squares and hashtags one Tuesday to show you care…

It’s about using your advantageous platform all year round to speak up to defend those in need, whoever they are. After all. if activism was just listening to others whilst doing precisely nothing to change the world outside the confines of social media, how are we gonna change the world?

Food for thought. Hope you enjoyed the story, which (I hope) got the point across well enough. Whatever you think, let me know… and thanks for reading! :)

[pessimisticlatte]

Glass Roses ~ Chapter 15

itHKids Content Warning: This chapter discusses suicide and depression as well as alluding to a troubled family life. I don’t go into too much detail but if you are easily upset or can be triggered by mentions of negative mental health, please be wary and make sure to put yourself first. It would make me really distressed to think that I have triggered anyone or caused negative memories or emotions to resurface so please continue at your own risk. If there is anything you need to discuss, feel free to DM me and I’ll try to respond as quickly as I can. Contacts for mental health services will be included at the end of this chapter.

Adrienette ~ Tom Dupain x Sabine Cheng ~ The wonderful Dupain-Cheng Family ~ Gabriel Agreste x being a terrible father

“You have a boyfriend, Marinette?” Tom’s moustache shook slightly as he looked at his only child with wide, surprised eyes. Juxtaposing her husband’s almost betrayed surprise, Sabine smiled broadly at Marinette and placed a gentle hand on her daughter’s arm.

“What is his name?” Marinette tried to hide behind her fringe to avoid the question, the thick papered letter held in her now shaking hands. She wasn’t embarrassed to be with Adrien but she really didn’t want her Dad to go all papa-bear like he had when Chat Noir had turned down Mari’s ‘affections’. Chat Noir returned those affections now, of course, but that didn’t make Mari any less worried of how far her Dad would go to protect her against anyone breaking her heart.

“A-Adrien,” Sabine tilted her head slightly, trying to conjure up a face to put to the name. A spark lit in the small woman’s eyes as she realised who Marinette was talking about.

“Adrien Agreste?” Crossing the room of the bakery to a small end table beside two comfortable felt chairs, Sabine rifled through a small stack of magazines and pulled out one with Adrien on the front, dressed in his father’s designs from two seasons ago. “This boy is your boyfriend?”

Marinette nodded sheepishly and felt a prickle down the back of her neck. Tom’s demeanor had changed, he’d almost deflated against the cabinet as the corners of his lips curved down in a saddened frown.

“Papa, what’s wrong?” Walking to her father, Mari placed a gentle hand on his large forearm and met his eyes with sincere worry. She knew what was wrong but after having lived with Tom Dupain for nearly 18 years, Marinette knew that her father didn’t like to keep his emotions to himself. There had been a time, once, before Marinette was born, when Tom had keep his emotions bottled up and it had driven him to an edge he almost didn’t return from but some time spent with several different counsellors, repairing his relationship with his father and sister, and telling Sabine the truth of what was making him lash out had made him into the caring, open man he was today. Tom was an advocate for men speaking up about their emotions and accepting that they had them, Marinette and Sabine couldn’t be more proud of him in that respect because Sabine had grown up surrounded by very cagey men and Mari had seen how lack of affection between boys had negatively affected her male friends. 

“You’re growing up, Marinette, and I’m just a bit sad that you are,” There was a small hesitation before he spoke, as if he was trying to choose his words carefully. Normally Tom spoke his mind and spoke from the heart so the ever so slight pause before he spoke told Marinette and Sabine that there was something more than just sadness over her growth.

“I know that’s not everything, Papa,” Mari spoke gently, squeezing her father’s arm slightly so he knew that she was there and was going to be fine with anything she had to say.

“You are too smart for your own good,” He laughed slightly, a strain in the normally whole sound. “I don’t want this boy to hurt you and I’m worried that he will.”

“Why are you worried that he will hurt me, Papa?” Sabine walked to the door of the bakery and flicked the open sign to closed, adjusting the small timer on the door to say that they’d be open again in about an hour. Pulling the shutter down to keep some privacy for her husband and daughter, Sabine gave a small smile of encouragement to Tom. There was nothing for him to worry about, Marinette loved her father for who he was and knew of his past, he didn’t have to treat her any differently when they spoke about her relationship than he would when they spoke normally.

Tom sighed heavily and moved his arm so he could hold Marinette’s hand in his. “This boy, Adrien, is famous and I’m worried that fame may drive him to do wrong by you. You are a sweet girl, a sensitive girl, and you don’t deserve to have someone treat you carelessly,” He squeezed Mari’s hand gently. “I know that I was very intense when Chat Noir came over after you said you had a crush on him and that intensity came from my worry. I was worried that he wouldn’t treat you like you deserve to be treated and then I became angry that he was turning you down because he was missing out on the wonderful girl that my wife and I had raised with so much love.”

“Oh, Tom,” Hearing her husband’s words, Sabine walked to him, wrapping her small arms around his thick waist and pressing a kiss to his sternum. “You are tai di xiong.”

“Tai di xiong?” Despite over 20 years of marriage, Tom’s understanding of Mandarin still wasn’t the best. 

“A teddy bear,” Marinette had been studying Mandarin with Adrien in their spare time and knew enough to be able to ask her mother, in Mandarin, to help her learn her mother’s native tongue. “She thinks you’re a teddy bear, Papa.”

Sabine nodded vigorously as Marinette rounded the cabinet and hugged her parents, breathing in the smell of freshly baked bread and caramelised sugar that clung to their clothes. 

“We would like to meet him before we go to Alsace, though,” Sabine broke the silence, her words definite. There was no way Sabine Cheng and Tom Dupain were letting Marinette go to a big fancy celebration in Alsace without having met her boyfriend first, even if they themselves were going to be at the party.

“Of course you will, Maman and Papa, I can see if you can meet him tomorrow if you’d like?”

“If he has the time, that would be wonderful,” Sabine cut Tom off before he could get his words out, effectively silencing her husband. “What does he like to eat?”

“Um…,” Scrunching her face as she wracked her brain for something easy to make that Adrien enjoyed, Marinette rubbed her lips together slightly. There’s no way her mother and father weren’t going to make something just for Adrien but she knew that her boyfriend wasn’t a huge fan of people going out of their way to do special things for him. He’d led a pampered life and knowing that people had put heaps of effort into even small things made him uncomfortable; he’d tried to give the scarf she’d made him for his birthday several years ago back after he’d found out that she’d made it specially for him because he felt like she deserved the keep something she’d put so much time and love into. It had taken her almost two weeks to convince him to keep it and now he wore it as much as he possibly could. “He likes banana bread?”

“You sound unsure,” Of course Tom had noticed how long it had taken Marinette to think of something. “But we’ll make banana bread anyway.”

“Thank you, Papa,” Mari’s voice was slightly strained as Tom began squeezing his daughter and wife into one last hug, smiling broadly before letting go and escaping back to the kitchen.

“He is a good man, your father,” Sabine wrapped her arms around Marinette, hugging her daughter as the sound of Tom’s baking hum began to rise from the kitchen behind them. “We are lucky to have him.”

“I know, Maman,” Resting her cheek against her much shorter mother’s temple, Mari enjoyed the nurturing presence that came with such an embrace. “I’m glad that he’s still here.”

Pulling back slightly, Sabine rested a rough hand against Marinette’s cheek and smiled sadly up at her daughter. “If he wasn’t here, we wouldn’t have you and you make both of us very happy, Marinette. I know that he still struggles with his depression sometimes, and it can be a very hard thing, but we gave him something to live for, Gongzhu, and I thank the heavens everyday that I wake up with him by my side,”

Marinette couldn’t think of anything to say. She knew her father’s story and she knew that Sabine had nearly lost him so many years ago but the thought of her cheerful father being so low and so lost that he didn’t feel the need to be alive anymore was jarring. 

“Your name has meaning for him. It has meaning for me too but I chose your name to remind him how far he has come every time he says it,”

“Marinette means ‘of the sea’, it’s derived from the word ‘marine’, right?” Sabine nodded.

“Cheng, the way my family pronounces it means completed, succeeded or finished, though there is a similar pronunciation that means sincere, honest and true that I made sure your father knew about because he is the most sincere, true man I have ever met in my life,” The two women turned toward the open door of the kitchen as Tom walked past it with a jolly whistling tune as he moved baked bread out of the oven and onto a cooling tray. “You are succeeded of the sea because the sea is where I nearly lost him but it is also where he found himself again. Your birth marked a turning point for him, he was finished with the side of his life that had only ever damaged him and was now ready to begin a life with people who will always love him, support him, stay with him. You saved him as much as I did because he wanted to be a better father than the one he’d had.”

Wiping an escaped tear from her cheek, Marinette watched her father bustle back and forth as he worked, her mind drifting to Adrien. Tom and Adrien had common ground in lacking good father figures, so maybe there was more than just Marinette’s love for her to offer him. Maybe she could give him the family he deserved, the family he’d been deprived of because of Gabriel’s selfishness.

“Adrien’s father isn’t much of a father, Maman,” The words were whispered, Marinette tried not to feel guilty for speaking them. “Gabriel Agreste is Hawkmoth.”

If Sabine was surprised, her kind features didn’t show it. “A-Adrien and I are Ladybug and Chat Noir,”

“I know, Gongzhu, I already know,” 

“Y-you know that Adrien and I are...are Ladybug and Chat Noir?”

“I have known for a long time,” Sabine spoke gently. “Master Fu was known to me before he was known to you, my great-grandfather was a guardian of a miraculous box which my cousin now guards with his life and it is common for guardians to know each other as well as each other’s families. I met Master Fu when I was barely older than you are now, I knew of what he guarded and what the Ladybug and Cat miraculouses could do if joined. When I suspected that he had given you the Ladybug, I visited him and he confirmed it for me, I did my best to make sure you were able to leave the house when you needed to so you could protect us.”

“You’re incredible, Maman,”

“Thank you, my darling,” A warm smile curved on Sabine’s lips as a faint crimson began to flare on her cheeks, Sabine had never been the best at receiving compliments even if they came from her family and Mari would never know how much those words meant to her in that moment. “Your father does not know though and I don’t recommend that you tell him as it would heighten his worry for you. I am very proud of you, though, my little piao chong, you have gone above and beyond what you needed to, you have protected so many people and saved so many lives.”

Marinette pulled her mother into another hug, holding back tears at the genuine pride she could hear in her mother’s voice.

“Thank you so much,” Hiccuping slightly, Mari squeezed Sabine, who squeezed back. “Thank you so, so, so, so much.”

“You are the light of our lives, Marinette, and there is not a day that goes by that we aren’t proud of the woman you are becoming,”

~~~~~~~~~

Mental health services: Lifeline Australia: 13 11 14 Kids Helpline Australia: 1800 55 1800 Suicide Prevention Lifeline America: 1 800 273 8255 Hopeline America: (800) 422 4673 Samaritans UK: 08457 90 90 90 Hopeline UK:  0800 068 4141 Samaritans ROI: 115 123 Hopeline ROI: 0808 808 8000 Lifeline New Zealand (Auckland): 09 5222 999 Lifeline New Zealand (Everywhere else): 0800 543 354 European Emergency Number: 112 Samaritans Italy: 800 86 00 22 Lifeline South Africa: 0861 322 322 Befrienders International Tokyo: +81 (0) 3 5286 9090 BI Suicide Prevention Centre Osaka: +81 (0) 6 4395 4343 Checkpoint.Org: https://checkpointorg.com/global/

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