#rena rouge: secret keeper

[kasienda]

Rena Rouge: Secret Keeper - Ch 2: Alya

Chapters: 1 | 2 | 3

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Chapter 2: Alya

Alya waited by her phone for Marinette to call, chewing the inside of her cheek. She shouldn’t have chewed Chat Noir out like that. She knew he could be sensitive and it definitely was not his fault that Marientte was ridiculous about secret identities.

Her phone buzzed in her hand. Alya glanced down. 

Marinette:

I’m going to be akumatized. 

The words blurred as Alya read them. Damn that stupid cat! What did he say?! 

Alya:

Where are you? 

Marinette:

In my room. 

Alya transformed immediately and took off towards Marinette’s balcony. She dropped through the skylight barely slowing down. Marinette was curled in the fetal position at the foot of her bed, sobbing brokenly.

Marinette had never looked so small. 

Gone was the clever and confident superhero everyone looked up to and relied upon. No one else ever got to see the Ladybug that overthought and doubted herself, the girl who was so nervous she couldn’t complete an intelligible sentence in front of her crush, the girl who took responsibility for everyone in their class and their city, the girl who felt so much and so deeply when she saw others were hurting.

Alya dropped to the bed, not bothering to detransform. Her arms wrapped around Marinette. Alya wished she could do something, anything at all to ease Marientte’s wracking sobs. 

Alya’s filled with rage at Chat Noir all over again for putting her best friend in this state. What the hell had he said?

“What did he do?” Rena growled. 

Marinette shook her head. “N-not his fault.”

Alya was gonna blame him anyway. “What happened?” she asked more softly. 

“He quit. He said that our not being able to communicate with him made him a liability.”

Alya cringed internally because she actually agreed with him. She hadn’t thought he would be willing to make that sacrifice. And then she immediately wants to kick herself. If anyone had shown over and over again that they were willing to make sacrifices for Ladybug it was Chat Noir. 

“I’m so sorry.”

Marinette cried harder. 

A black butterfly phased through the wall. 

“Akuma!” Alya shouted. 

Marinette tensed underneath her arms. Alya wouldn’t let her be akumatized. She would take the butterfly if it came down to it. 

But the kwamis immediately swarmed it. And a second later, the akuma was just gone. 

Tension bled out of her shoulders. She continued to hold Marinette like she was the most precious thing in the world. 

Because she was the most precious thing in the world. 

“It’s gone,” Alya whispered. “The Kwamis did something. You’re okay. I’ve got you.” 

Marinette shook her head violently. “I’m not okay.” 

Alya rubbed her back, but didn’t argue. 

“I can’t do this without him,” she cried. 

Alya bit her tongue, wanting to argue. Marinette could do anything . 

“And I don’t even know how long he’s been feeling this way. I think it’s been building for a long time,” Marinette whispered. “And I didn’t know.” It was impossible to miss the self reproach in her voice.

Alya rubbed her side and back soothingly. 

Marinette twisted in her arms to face her. “How could I not have known, Alya?” 

“Marinette, why didn’t you just tell him? I totally love that you have trusted me, but why did you never trust Chat?”

“I want to! I almost did! But it would be a selfish decision. He and I cannot know each other until Hawkmoth is defeated.”

“But why?” Alya asked. “What’s the difference between him and me? It seems so arbitrary.” 

“Yeah—” Marinette broke off as she dissolved into another round of quaking sobs. 

Alya cradled her head, and rocked her. “There’s more to this than you just following the rules, isn’t there?” 

Marinette nodded tearfully. “There… was another timeline. He knew who I was. We were in love. Or that’s what he said, anyway. But… he was akumatized. Chat Blanc destroyed the world. He said that it was our love that caused it to end. Bunnyx said he couldn’t know who the other was. Not yet.” 

“Not yet?” Alya questioned. “Maybe it’s okay now?”

Marinette scowled. “I don’t have some metric! The only thing I know is that he can’t be akumatized! So I have to wait until the risk of akumatization is over!” 

Alya pursed her lips, uncertain what to say.

“I almost let him tell me anyway. Even knowing that it could cost us everything. How selfish is that?” 

“Shhh. It’s not selfish,” Alya insisted.

Marinette kept going as if she hadn’t spoken. “I’ve hurt him so badly. He’s never going to forgive me! I don’t know how to do this without him, but I didn’t know how to convince him to stay. And now it doesn’t matter because I don’t know who he is, which means I can’t find him! And I’m never going to see him ag—”

Marinette crumpled into tears all over again. And Alya hugged her tighter, but her mind was already awhirl. Marinette had seen the end of the world? Had denied herself love to prevent that ending? 

It wasn’t fair. 

Alya needed to do something. She needed to fix it. 

“You’ll see him again,” Alya promised.

“How?”

“His kwami knows who he is right?”

“They all do! But they can’t tell anyone!”

Alya looked over at Tikki who nodded in confirmation. 

“Can they give hints?”

Tikki shook her head. 

“It doesn’t matter, Alya! I can’t know who he is either!” 

“But what if you weren’t the one to know?” 

Marinette froze and pulled away. “What?”

Alya met her gaze, stroking the sides of her face. “What if I knew Chat’s identity? It keeps you from knowing each other but helps us coordinate. We could include him in the planning! I could help support him like I do for you!” 

Marinette nodded. “I… I can’t know all the details. But yes, anything, please! But you have to never slip, Alya. You can’t tell me who he is. You can’t hint! You may have to lie to me to protect him!”

“I understand.” Alya said, smiling. This could work. 

“Are you sure?”

“I’ve already lied to Nino you know… to protect you.”

Marinette slumped. “I’m sorry.” 

Alya shook her head. “No, it’s okay. It’s part of being a superhero, and I know Nino would be okay with it if I could tell him the reasons, and I knew it had to happen to protect you because you protect the whole city. I understand the stakes! And I’m telling you, I can do this.” 

Marinette crashed into her abdomen, her arms circling around Alya’s waist.

“You are the bestest best friend in the whole world!”

Alya laughed. “I don’t know if I would go that far.” 

“I would,” Marinette mumbled. “So how are you going to find him?”

Alya opened her mouth.

“No wait! Don’t tell me! I shouldn’t know! But do you need any help?” 

“Can I talk to Chat’s kwami? Without you?” 

Marinette dashed to the miracle box, and immediately pulled out an octogonal box. She shoved it into Alya’s awaiting hands. “His name is Plagg. He’s quite the squirrelly one. He loves cheese. I’ll get out of your hair, and be back in like an hour?” 

“Marinette?” Alya interjected. Places a hand on her friend’s flying limbs to calm her until Marinette stilled. “I need you to know I don’t know how long this will take. Even if I can figure him out easily, I still have to convince him to come back. I need you to be patient. Can you do that?”

“I’d do anything for Chat,” she whispered. 

“Okay! Then scat! I’ll see what I can figure out here.” 

Marinette darted from the room, Tikki bobbing after her. 

Alya let her transformation fall, wanting Trixx there with her.

“What do you think?” Alya asked her kwami. “Does destruction suit me?” 

“Absolutely not!” 

Alya laughed as she slipped the ring onto her middle finger. It flashed into a silver ring studded with blue sea glass all the way around. It looked like a ring her mother used to wear. Alya loved it. 

“So it’s not enough that you replaced my kitten on the team, but you’re to replace him as my holder as well?” Plagg deadpanned, floating in front of her with his little arms crossed.

“I have no intention of replacing Chat Noir. I only put the ring on so I could talk to you.”

“About?” 

“I’m hoping that you’ll help me figure out who he is so that I can convince him to rejoin the team.” 

“I can’t tell you who he is.”

“Not directly maybe.” 

“Look, blogger girl—“

“Blogger girl? You know who I am! That’s a hint already!” 

“Is it?! You’re the idiot who gets way too close to Akuma battles on the regular.” 

Alya frowned. “Do you not want to go back to him?” 

Plagg sagged in the air. “He’s one of the best holders I’ve ever had. Maybe the best. But he won’t take the ring back, so there’s no point in you bringing out all his hurt feelings. Because you can’t do anything to soothe them.” 

“Maybe not. But perhaps Ladybug can?” 

“As long as she maintains the Guardian’s secret identity at all costs with him and not with you, he’s a lost cause.” 

“I take it you don’t know about the alternate timeline?” 

Plagg groaned. “I hate alternate timelines!” 

“Do you think there’s a chance an akumatized Chat that destroys the world won’t happen this time if they learn each other’s identities?” 

Plagg went silent. Alya raised an eyebrow. 

“I really hate alternate timelines, but here’s the thing, blogger girl, they’re called alternate for a reason .” 

Alya threw her hands up. “Look! I’d be willing to risk it, but Ladybug is not.” 

“I get it,” he grumbled, flying to her hand. “So are you going to tell my kitten this?” 

“Maybe not that they were together? Or that he was the one akumatized? I don’t know. What do you think?” 

“It would be better coming from pigtails.”

“But we have to convince him first .”

“Yeah,” he drawled. “All right. I’m in.” 

“So how am I going to figure out who he is?” 

“Oh that’s the easy part.” 

“It is?” 

“Hey Kaalki!” The horse kwami popped up from Marinette’s desk. “Open up a portal to my kid’s room!” Then he turned to Alya. “You should transform. This is going to be a rough ride. You’ll want all the protection you can get.” 

…

Rena Rouge had been through portals before. More than once. 

This was nothing like that. Rena felt like she had been thrown into a tornado, then sucked through a sieve, and then swallowed by a dragon only to be thrown up ten seconds later. 

She crashed face first onto a grand piano, struggling to regain her breath. 

“Rena! Are you okay?” 

She shook her head to clear it. “I… I think so?” She said, accepting his offered hand, only then turning to look at his incredibly familiar face. “Adrien?” 

His eyebrows rose into his hairline. “Were you expecting someone else?” 

“You’re Chat Noir?” 

His shoulders slumped with a resigned sigh. “How did you find me?” 

“Kaalki knows where you live.”

“Figures,” he bit out. She had never heard him sound so bitter.

She held out the ring to him. 

He didn’t take it. 

“How’s Plagg?” he asked. 

“Umm… I have no idea. We only talked about you.” 

He glared at her.

Right, time to get to the point. “Chat, Ladybug needs you to come back.” 

“Then why are you here?” He ran his hands through his hair. “If I’m so important to her, why did she send you ?”

“Because she’s still convinced you can’t know each other’s identities.”

He threw his hands up in frustration. “I don’t understand what’s so different that you can know and I can’t! I know she says she trusts me, but her actions say something different. And I’m not sure what I did that she found so unworthy of trust—“

“It was nothing you did!” Alya interjected. 

“—but I didn’t take myself off the team because I think I have the right to know. It’s putting us all - her and me and you - in danger when we’re not on the same page!”

“I agree completely!” she yelled. 

“Does she know you’re here?” he asked. 

“She knows I’m trying to find you. She does not know that I’ve succeeded, and I don’t plan on telling her that until you agree to come back. She wants to know, Adrien. And she wants you to know who she is, too! I promise you, she does!”

“She has a funny way of showing it,” he grumbled. 

“She spent the last few hours bawling her eyes out about how much she’s hurt you and that you’ll never ever forgive her and that you’re right not to. And that it doesn’t matter because she’s never going to see you again, and she’s not certain she can even be Ladybug without you.”

He sighed and dropped his head. “I’m sorry, Rena. I can’t come back. I’m a danger to her and to the whole team because we can’t communicate.” 

“I agree completely,” she said. “Which is why I’m here! Will you let me explain?”

“Yeah, sure,” he said, his voice the calmest it had been since she had arrived. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to take my frustration out on you. What did you come here to tell me?” 

“Ladybug trusts you more than anyone. More than me.” 

“ But—“

“More than anyone!” she insisted. “Apparently she did trust you. You both knew each other’s identities at some point.”

“I don’t remember that.” 

“I know you don’t. She doesn’t really either. But she saw what it led to. Bunnyx… you know who Bunnyx is right?”

He nodded. 

“Bunnyx came and got her and took her to a future where the world had been destroyed. Bunnyx told her the inciting event was you two learning each other’s identities.” 

“Why did she never tell me this?” 

Alya laughed. “Honestly? She’s bad at difficult conversations. She avoids them like the plague.”

He winced.

“She didn’t plan to tell me her identity either, you know. She just had a mental breakdown and I happened to be there. I imagine being a full time superhero when no one knows, wears you down.” 

He snorted. “Understatement.”

“When she was spiraling, I convinced her that we could find some kind of loophole. Show you that she does trust you. She’s only trying to protect you, Paris, and apparently the future. I figured I could know both your identities, and act as a go between. That way you’ll always be in the know.” 

“That only works if I know who you are, too.”

“I’ll drop the transformation as soon as you agree, Kitty Cat.” 

He stared at her for awhile. “I will want to talk to Ladybug about all this.”

“Obviously.”

“Okay then.” He put the ring back on. 

“Will you stop renouncing me every time you have a bad day?!” Plagg screeched. 

“I’ve only renounced you twice,” Adrien said, sounding almost petulant. Alya grinned. She never knew Adrien had it in him. It was almost refreshing to see him in less than perfect form. 

Though if he was Chat Noir, she supposed she had seen it before. 

“Twice too many! And there was a third time you threatened to do so.” 

“You’ve given up the ring before?” Alya asked softly. How many times had he been hurting that deeply, and she had never noticed. 

He winced. “I don’t really want to talk about it. Are you going to drop your transformation or not?” 

“Trixx, let’s rest.” 

His eyes blew open. “Alya?” 

She smiled. “Hi, Adrien. I swear I didn’t know you were hurting this much. I’m sorry I’ve been so blind as your friend.” 

“It’s fine,” he shrugged it off. “I never told you anything was going on.” He frowned. “Wait! If you’re Rena. That means Carapace is…” 

She waved him forward. She wasn’t sure what she was allowed to say, but if he figured it out himself, it wasn’t her fault. 

“Carapace is Nino,” he concluded. “Isn’t it weird that practically all the holders are in our class?” 

“The same class where literally everyone except you has been akumatized?” She countered, proud of herself for delivering that line with a straight face. 

She felt slightly guilty that was already misleading him, but wasn’t that what she signed up for? To keep both Ladybug and Chat Noir on the same page while misdirecting them from each other? 

Which was going to be way harder than she thought because they were together like, all of the time. They saw each other every single day almost! They sat like half a meter apart in class! How the hell had they not already figured each other out?

Plagg laughed. “Welcome to my world, kit,” he said. 

She sighed. She definitely had her work cut out for her.

…

She didn’t bother going through the front door. Instead, she came in through Nino’s window, collapsed into his arms on his bed, released her transformation, and buried her face into his shoulder and neck. 

He pulled the earbuds out of he ears. “Hey,” he greeted softly. “You okay?” 

She mumbled something incomprehensible into his shoulder. 

He rubbed her shoulder. “That bad, huh? Want to talk about it?”

She wanted to tell him everything. “Our friends are a full time job,” she landed on. “They’re going to be the end of my sanity.” 

He laughed. “Tell me about it. What happened now?” 

She sighed. What could she say? “They’re terrible at talking.” 

Nino laughed again. “What can I do to make you feel better?” 

“Kiss me.”

He was only too happy to oblige. 

…

[gameguy20100]

I always considered that Marinette didn't chose Alya for role of her secret keeper not because she was worthy (or something), but because if Alya found that Marinette is Ladybug, then she would instantly public it on Ladyblog as "newest Big Scoop" and it would be essentially "Non-Standard Game Over" for her [Marinette/Ladybug]

Eh I don't think so.

Alya's a massive super hero nerd so I think she gets why secret identities are a thing.

Otherwise she would have broadcasted all over the Lady blog that she was Rena Rouge.

[matt0044]

#letmiraculousbeepisodic2022

If you’ve been around the wider community of animation fans, you may have noticed a growing discourse pitting shows with an episodic narrative vs. a serialized narrative. I made my case for serialized storytelling but now I feel the need to do the opposite.

Let’s start with when The Ghost & Molly McGee gained quite the following quickly. Certain viewers commented on the potential for lore and bigger story arcs to come. This makes sense for those also fans of Amphibia and The Owl House that air on the same TV block.

Certain other fans objected to this rather vocally, claiming that a show doesn’t need “lore” or “plot” to be worth seeing, that The Ghost And Molly McGee more than make up for this in terms of character writing along with humor.

Now Molly McGee has continuity where Scratch shows himself to Libby and Molly’s mom taking on odd jobs. However, there’s no Calamity Box to recharge, no quest to get back to Earth or Amphibia, no non-binary exes to rescue, no cotton-candy haired goddesses to woo.

The only narrative thread is that of Scratch potentially being condemned to the Flow of Failed Phantoms. Yet even if they cross that bridge, they could still continue the show off of their characters alone without any new threats to face.

I’ve actually come across those who go so far as to claim that the pivot to more serialized storylines from streaming services is “killing storytelling.” More specifically, many have gone so far as to claim that shows like Steven Universe and Star Vs. lost them when their later seasons became too plot focused or more darker.

As a fan of Ladybug, I’ve found this debate interesting because there’s never been any vocal pushes against those wanting a more serialized narrative from Miraculous. I have’t seen Season Four outside of preview clips but I have seen comments about the finale giving the series a long overdue game changer that isn’t easily fixed by the end of any episode anytime soon.

This is ignoring how Season Two provoked Nathalie into using the Peacock and Season Three ended on Master Fu being forced to pass on his Guardianship to Ladybug at the cost of his memories.

But yes, Marinette has never had to face any consequence. /s

Back to the topic, it seems that Season Five won’t be all shenanigans of the week on the note it ends on. However, I find myself… hesitant to entertain the idea of Miraculous ditching its model of self contained episodes amongst an ongoing storyline. Especially with Season Four striking an impressive example of Season Fluidity.

For one, “Gabriel Agreste” and “Qulin” were meant to come before “Dearest Family.” Gabriel and Sabine have Magical Charms in addition to the latter having their power “returned.“

Yet there’s still a degree of wiggle room in this order. Gabriel would try to keep his cover as the Collector while Sabine would’ve been akumatized during one of Ladybug’s many off-screen adventures.

Additionally, you have additions to the Status Quo rather than overhauls. “Gang of Secrets” establishs Alya as Ladybug’s secret keeper before “Optygami” establishes Rena Rouge as a full time holder.

However, her role is kept to the shadows whenever Ladybug needs to pick up someone to hero up and have someone on lookout for Shadow Moth. Thus, contrary to what some have complained, it’s still the “Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir.”

Imagine if Amphibia forgone Wartwood stories in favor of focusing on a journey home, basically the road trip in Season Two’s first half. While that might’ve been cool, it wouldn’t be the Amphibia we know today. We wouldn’t care as much about the citizens of Wartwood when they were threatened if something akin to the first season finale occurred.

Similarly, Lumity’s slowburn and aftermath worked because the show took its time one episode at a time. I feel like it’s a case of Animation fans being overly defensive of our medium of choice. We want the notion of animated television being only mindless fodder for kids entertainment, crushing the stereotypes that have plagued it for decades.

Hence, Miraculous not exactly being the next Avatar gets on the nerves of certain fans who want to not be seen with what is a kids show. We want episodes to lead into the other and to dive into that rich lore.

It’s part of a wider fandom issue with many wanting a title to essentially be something it isn’t, beyond just a perceived pet peeve. And I don’t think I like that when I’m enjoying Hawk Moth be an absolute ham or Ladybug being an unapologetic super heroine, grandstanding and all.

I just want to have fun .

[chronicallylatetotheparty]

Float Like A Butterfly... Ch. 7: Best Intentions

Summary: An unexpected team up provides some introspection.

-----------------------

"And then she just took off without even saying goodbye!" Chloe sniffed. Curling up tighter as she laid on her side. Face toward the floor length window with the sun streaming in, away from Adrien. It was easier to be honest if she couldn't see the obvious empathy in his eyes.

Adrien laid a hand on her shoulder from his spot next to her on the bed. It was cold. "I'm sorry it wasn't the reunion you were hoping for."

Chloe sniffed again, eyes staring at one of the shadows on her balcony. Still not comfortable with these... vulnerable moments. "Thanks... I just..."

"... Wanted her to acknowledge you?" Adrien supplied when Chloe didn't continue, voice quavering a bit. Chest aching in sympathy.

She nodded, the tension in her shoulders relaxing a bit. Peaking at him from the corner of her eye.

"I get it..." He swallowed the lump rising in his throat.

One of Chloe's hands found Adrien's on her shoulder and squeezed. "Wh-who needs them anyway."

Adrien squeezed back. Saying nothing, a small smile teasing at his lips. For Chloe's sake if for nothing else.

Pollen poked an eye out of Adrien's pocket with a quizitive look. Pressing her tiny arms against his breast. His heartbeat pounding through his skin.

Straightening at her touch, Adrien glanced down at her furrowed brow. Mustering the most reassuring smile he could Adrien placed a finger to his lips.

Nodding tentatively, Pollen went back into his pocket. Her wielder's heartbeat slowing steadily.

Adrien stayed there with his hand in Chloe's and Pollen next to his heart as the sun rose higher. Trying to keep thoughts of absent parents at bay.

---------

Marinette desperately needed a distraction.

Something nice and normal and effective at keeping Master Fu's panicky voice when she told him about the Bee out of her head! Why didn't he listen to her? Everyone listened to Ladybug! It was such a weight off her shoulders knowing that Paris' citizens would listen to her instructions about akuma! It made beating them easier!

But the Bee wasn't a citizen and other Miraculous weren't akuma related, were they? Marinette ran a hand down her face and groaned.

Also, why wasn't Adrien at school? He didn't have a photoshoot today and- Nope! No. Nuh-uh. It was embarrassing enough being left in the dust after Frozer. It was probably just his dad making last minute changes again... Aaand now she needed a distraction from thinking about that too. Perfect.

She spotted Marc hiding under the stairs, writing something. Marinette smiled. Perfect.

----------

Alya stared at the multiple open tabs on her laptop with a sigh.

Standing up, she started to pace her room. Eating one of the sandwiches she made for lunch.

"Mmm. Okay, recap. Chat Noir isn't Chat Noir anymore. Ladybug doesn't like talking about it. The only thing she will say is that he's 'safe'. Does she know his identity now? Is that why she looks so guilty every time Chat Noir's kwami pops out? Plagg was not happy. But why would that mean Chat Noir would have to give up his Miraculous? Unless-"

Alya gasped and whirled on her Ladybug poster. Half eaten sandwich pointed at the 2-D image of her favorite hero. "You're not the one in charge!"

Rushing to her computer Alya pulled up the timeline she made to keep track of important occurrences. Like when she first became Rena Rouge.

"Of course! That's why Ladybug only started giving out Miraculous and using power ups after Riposte! When the keepers of the Miraculous, or whatever they're called, revealed themselves! Since she's not actually thousands of years old."

Alya pulled up her file on Dark Owl. Scanning through it for clues. "There! When Ladybug and Chat Noir were trapped in that crate they must have seen each other's secret identities! That's why the keepers- No, that's stupid. Why would the keepers take Chat Noir's Miraculous just 'cause Ladybug knows who he is? And wouldn't they take Ladybug's Miraculous, too?"

And that wasn't even going into Aristos.

"You talking to your posters again, sis?" Nora called from the door. Eyebrow raised incredulously.

"Not now, Nora!" Alya groaned, leaping up and pushing her door shut. "I'm close to a breakthrough!"

"I told you. It's Anansi!" Nora called through the door.

Ignoring her, Alya's eyes narrowed at her Ladybug poster. Mind running through all the possible superhero tropes that might apply. "... How fast can I get a conspiracy board?"

----------

"Are you sure this is gonna work, Marinette?" Marc's eyes shifted nervously. Hiding under their bright red hoodie that was terrible for hiding really. Made them stand out too much for that.

Marinette beamed at them. She was just planning to ask about their stories when she saw them at school. But Marc really admired Nathaniel's work! Marinette couldn't not bring them together right? For comics!

Plus, helping Marc meant Marinette hadn't thought about her own problems in hou... rs. Great.

So she couldn't bring back Chat Noir or confess to Adrien or get that smug little Bee to- No! Bad Marinette! Focus!

Anyway, she couldn't do anything about all that. But! She could still help everyone else. Starting with Marc and Nathaniel. "Trust me. Nath is going to love it!"

"O-okay. If you say so." Marc smiled tentatively, making their way toward the fountain where Nathaniel would show up any minute.

Grinning, Marinette raced upstairs. Her balcony had the best angles for recording! Taking out her phone she pointed it at the park's central fountain. Just as Nathaniel showed up.

---------

"Your old man cool with you skipping school today?" Nino handed Adrien a soda as he sat next to him.

"Sure." Adrien cradled the can between his hands. "Considering I didn't tell him."

Nino grinned. "Bro, you're lucky we had Mme. Bustier today." 

Adrien looked up from watching the Seine to smile at him before taking a sip of his drink. True enough. Mme. Mendeleiev definitely would've told his father.

Rubbing the back of his head Nino looked to where Adrien was staring. "... So how's Chloe?"

"Exhausted but better... Thanks."

Nino shrugged. "Any friend of yours is a friend of mine."

Adrien scoffed. Lips rising into a grin despite himself. "If only."

"Yup!" Nino bumped shoulders with Adrien. This was nice. It'd been so long since they just hung out... Nino's eyes fell. Why had it been so long? "Adrien?"

"Hmm?"

"Is everything, I don't know, okay?" Nino looked up to see his face.

Adrien felt his mask sliding invisibly into place. The lie on the tip of his tongue. There was no need to worry Nino. It wasn't... necessary.

Pollen pressed against his chest, Adrien cupping his hand over her hiding place. Taking solace and strength in her presence.

Mask falling, Adrien wrapped his arms around himself. Not looking Nino in the eye. "I, um." Adrien swallowed the lump in his throat as his chest constricted. "I... There was this person. From work. He's not there anymore." Hands tracing the shadow of his ring, Adrien spoke. "I thought he was supposed to help me." Adrien's eyes narrowed. "But instead he kept secrets, kept me in the dark. A-and when I didn't do everything perfectly? He blamed me! For not knowing what to do..."

Nino placed a hand on Adrien's shoulder. He didn't get it, not really, but that didn't mean he couldn't support Adrien.

Wiping the sudden moisture from his eyes Adrien continued. "And that isn't the worst part. He took two of my f-friends away when he left. They... I could be myself around them, Nino! L-like I can with you! And he-"

Adrien's words failed him, pressing his palms into his eyes in an attempt to stem his tears.

I hate you.

"I hate him!"

Nino wrapped an arm about Adrien's shoulders and pulled him into a hug. Letting Adrien's head rest against him as Nino stared straight ahead, jaw tight. Adrien trembling in his grip as he tried, and failed, not to cry.

Screams echoed down from the street.

----------

Ladybug swung through the air behind Reverser, face set in determination. Holding on tightly to her yo-yo as they tried to shake her off their glider.

She could fix this! She had to! Everything else was falling apart but she. Could. Fix. This!

"Reversion!" One of Reversers paper planes hit a bicycler on the footbridge below them. The man careening out of control.

Quickly releasing the akumatized villain Ladybug leapt down and brought the man safely to a standstill. "There. You're safe now!"

"Reversion!"

Ladybug felt something poke her in the back before vanishing. "Whoa!" Her right leg giving out without warning she grabbed a nearby bench for support. Growling in frustration she launched her yo-yo at Reverser... Only to have it bounce back straight at her face.

"Ah!" Losing her footing, Ladybug collapsed onto the ground. Barely avoiding getting hit with her own yo-yo.

"How do you like your new roll, Lady-klutz?" Reverser laughed. "Your Miraculous is mine!"

"AAAHHHHHHHH!" Aristos' scream alerted Reverser to his attack just in time to dodge. "Do you have any idea how pissed off I am right now!?"

Ladybug blinked at the Bee's sudden appearance. His red eyes making it obvious he'd been crying even through the goggles. Despite her best efforts Marinette felt a twinge of sympathy for him.

"You think you're a badass killer bee?" Reverser mocked. "Now you're a bumblebee! Rever-"

Aristos' fist almost connected to Reverser's head. The villain floating back to avoid the blow but their cursed plane drifting into the river as they lost their grip. "We were finally talking again!"

Reverser tried to gain altitude but Aristos wrapped his yo-yo around their waist and pulled them off their glider. "It's been ages since we hung out!"

Flipping to their feet Reverser charged towards Aristos to loosen the top's cord. They summoned a paper plane in each hand and-

Aristos grabbed their wrists and pulled them close. Too close for Reverser to aim their curses. Aristos glared into the supervillain's eyes, grip like iron. "Do you know how long it's been since I've gotten a proper hug!?"

"Probably due to your- OW!" Reverser reeled back as Aristos headbutted them in the face. Even through Papillon's magic their nose stung as Reverser instinctively held it.

Aristos raised his top and-

"Look out!"

He backflipped over Reverser's glider as it charged past him. Reverser jumping onto it and speeding away. Quickly rising past the Bee's reach.

"Ranting wasps were not part of the agreement!" They snapped at Papillon's mark, which seemed to glow brighter in response. "Don't worry. I already have the next plot point."

"Hey! Get back here!" Aristos shouted after them.

"Aristos, wai- Woah!" Ladybug supported all her weight on the bench as she felt herself jerk downward. Ugh, it was official. She hated this one.

She looked up at the Bee, trying to read his inscrutable expression. Aristos was tense before but he jumped at the sound of her voice. Like he forgot she was there. Which might have been annoying if she hadn't listened to his whole tirade.

It... gave some perspective to this unknown complication. His fists were clenched tight but that could be because he didn't know where to put them. And didn't want to reveal anything about himself to her. His eyes were wary and... sad? Remorseful?

Ladybug couldn't tell. But she could see that he didn't want to deal with her. Understandable, if frustrating, considering their last encounter.

The Bee walked towards her slowly, reluctantly. And once he was close enough he looked away from her eyes. Square shoulders relaxing slightly as he took a deep breath. Like that made it easier somehow.

"So monochrome villain takes away peoples sense of balance?" Aristos asked, voice carefully even. Neutral.

"Reverser." Ladybug tried to stand up straight but she found her head leaning too far in one direction and had to sit. "Oof! Their power is exactly what it sounds like. They can switch any aspect of their target."

Aristos raised an eyebrow, surprisingly effective even through the goggles. "And they chose to reverse your balance instead of your moral alignment?"

"..." Ladybug shuddered. "Thankfully." ...Well, this sucked. Marinette knew what she had to do she just didn't want to.

The image of Marc cradling their journal as Nathaniel stomped off rose up, forming a lump in Marinette's throat. Swallowing the guilt, Ladybug focused on what she could do now.

"Listen. I know last time we didn't see eye to eye," Ladybug started.

"You lorded your authority over me so I'd give you my Miraculous," Aristos stated matter-of-factly.

"I didn't- !" Marinette took a deep breath and waved it away with both hands. Smoothing out her frown. "Point is. Neither of us can beat Reverser without the other."

"Well, I don't know. Never tried before." Aristos tapped his chin thoughtfully.

Ladybug glared at him in annoyance. "Alright, fine!" Standing, she started for the closest street. "If you're gonna be stubborn about it then- Ahhh!"

Marinette squeezed her eyes shut as she tripped and... A strong hand gripped her arm, keeping her upright. She turned to see Aristos staring with wide, worried eyes. Mouth open like he was about to call out a warning...

Pink dusted his cheeks around the goggles and he looked away. Squeezing his eyes shut, Aristos pinched the bridge of his nose with the hand not currently holding her up. Like he was coming to a difficult decision.

"... If we're going to team up then you have to tell me the plan beforehand." Opening his eyes again Aristos forced himself to look at her. Tension not leaving his face. "I need to know what you're thinking." He lowered her carefully back onto the bench. "I'm not one of your helpers. We're not partners. We're coworkers. Alright?"

A pang went through Marinette's heart for reasons she couldn't afford to analyze just yet. "Okay," Ladybug raised her hand. "It's a deal."

Aristos blinked at her outstretched hand before realization dawned on his face. Shaking her hand awkwardly.

"Okay," Ladybug brought out her yo-yo and opened up it's screen. "Their name is Marc..."

---------

Adrien didn't like having to carry Ladybug around and she wasn't enjoying it either. Judging by the tension in her shoulders. But they needed to hurry and Ladybug's equilibrium was shot.

So here they were. Adrien desperately trying to touch Ladybug as little as possible while still keeping a steady grip. If he was still Chat Noir...

"We're not partners."

Adrien winced. He needed to say that. Not just for her but for him. A reminder that they had a job to do and nothing else. Adrien blinked rapidly to get the moisture out of his eyes.

"We're here." Ladybug pointed to the glass pyramid of the Louvre.

Aristos landing at the front door. Ladybug leaning against the walls as she made her way to the person they needed. His red hair unmistakable. Oh, and Alix was there too.

Nathaniel's eyes widened as he spotted them. "Ladybug? And..."

"Aristos," Adrien supplied with a flourish. Wait, less Chat Noir! Before he could give more away by tensing up Ladybug stepped forward.

"Nathaniel! We need your- Ah!"

Arm shooting out to grab her shoulder Aristos steadied her just long enough for Ladybug to lean on the protective railing.

"Your help," Ladybug finished.

Alix glanced at Nathaniel with a raised eyebrow.

Nathaniel frowned, pointing at himself. "Wait. Me?"

"Yup." Adrien opened his top to show him a clip of the recent news.

Reverser floating next to the Eiffel tower. Mayor Bourgeois grinning maniacally as he fiddled with his tablet.

"If you don't bring me Nathaniel and Marinette I'm going to let the mayor bury Paris in an artificial meteor shower, Ladybug and Bee boy! Oh, and don't forget your Miraculous!"

"Why is it always the Eiffel Tower?" Alix asked no one in particular.

Nathaniel squinted at the supervillain before his eyes widened. "Is that Marc?"

"That's why we need your help, Nathaniel." Ladybug placed a hand on his shoulder. Partly for encouragement but also so she wouldn't fall over.

"Bee boy? That better not stick," Adrien muttered. "Anyway, what about Marinette?"

Ladybug straightened at the sound of Marinette's name. "There's no time to look for her," she pointed out. "We'll have to do it just with Nathaniel."

"Sweet! I'm in!" Alix announced. "Nathaniel's my friend and I'm not letting him go out there by himself. No offense."

Adrien smirked and gave her a thumbs up. "Alright. You can be moral support."

Alix gave him a look. "Lame."

Ladybug eyed them warily but her gaze turned back to Nathaniel.

"Yeah... Okay," Nathaniel shook his head to loosen up his guilty thoughts. Looking Ladybug in the eye. "I'll help."

"Excellent!" Aristos clapped his hands. "Here's the plan."

---------

Reverser circled the Eiffel Tower impatiently. The space dumpsters Paris' dear old mayor spent the entire annual budget on visible as bright, growing stars. "Those idiots wait any longer and I'll have to pick their Miraculous from the rubble," they muttered.

"Reverser!"

Reverser paused, looking down to see two different red specks on the ground below. 

"Looks like you've come to your senses, Lady-klutz," Reverser sneered, floating a bit lower to see them better. "Give me your Miraculous and Nathaniel and Paris survives!"

"Turn Mayor Bourgeois back first and I'll give you Nathaniel!"

"It's a trick!" Hawkmoth announced. "Have her promise the Black Cat Miraculous along with your boy before lifting Bourgeois' curse!"

"Send Nathaniel up with the Black Cat ring and then you can have your precious Mayor back!" Reverser instructed.

Ladybug paused before agreeing. Nathaniel arguing something with her before accepting a black box from her and making his way to the elevator.

Reverser grinned. Probably didn't like being offered up so easily. They floated to the elevator in anticipation.

Nathaniel stepped out, sweating despite the chill. But still he looked them in the eye. The black box in his hands was octagonal with Chinese symbols on the top.

Hawkmoth's mark glowed. "Open it," Reverser repeated.

Obliging, Nathaniel did so to reveal... an empty, spotted interior.

"No!" Hawkmoth shouted.

"Venom!"

Before Reverser could react a black and yellow blur shot towards them and stabbed something into their shoulder.

Vision darkening as the Bee smiled triumphantly.

--------

Adrien brought his foot down on Reverser's glider, breaking it in half. The akuma fluttering out as it tried to escape.

"Ladybug!"

Nathaniel tossed the octagonal box down. Alix catching it and skating back to Ladybug. Steadying her as she threw her Lucky Charm skyhigh. Miraculous Ladybug swirling up and returning the completely impractical space dumpsters to their stable orbits.

Balance restored, Ladybug easily caught the akuma. Releasing a white butterfly in it's place.

Time to buzz off.

"Huh? Where am I?" Marc stood up as they glanced around. "A Bee hero?"

"Easy," Adrien smiled warmly at them. "Name's Aristos. You were akumatized but you're safe now."

Marc's eyes widened, trying to retreat into their hoodie."O-oh."

"Um, Marc?" Nathaniel held Marc's journal, trying not to fidget as his face bloomed crimson. He held it out to them, forcing himself not to look away. "Sorry about overreacting and throwing your journal on the ground. I... I'd be open to collaborating if, y'know, you still want."

Marc took their journal slowly, pressing it to their chest. Not bothering with eye contact. "Um, thanks. For apologizing!" they clarified. "But, um, I think I changed my mind..."

Nathaniel blinked. "Oh! Sure. No problem..." Nathaniel shuffled his feet awkwardly. "So... See you at school?"

Marc gave a small smile. "Sure. Gonna be spending more time in the art room, after all."

"R-right! ...Right."

----------

Aristos zipped into his room and let his transformation drop.

"Excellent work, my King!" Pollen praised.

Adrien smiled shyly at the praise, giving her a brioche from the mini fridge. "Thanks, Pollen." His smile fell, however, as he remembered Ladybug's Lucky Charm.

Pollen swallowed her mouthful and set the pastry down. Floating up to him with a worried frown "What is it, my King?"

"It's just..." Adrien sighed as he flopped onto the couch. "Ladybug said the Lucky Charm needed the Black Cat. But we didn't. I convinced her we could do the plan with Aristos. And I was right. But..."

Pollen chose her words carefully. She didn't think there was a 'right' thing to say but at least she could offer something constructive. Her King was sensitive, after all.

She drifted in front of him and Adrien instinctively held up his palms for her. "The Ladybug's Lucky Charm often seems like the only solution to a problem. This isn't always the case. Or even often the case. You saw an alternative and she didn't argue... much, because she saw it too. Once you pointed it out."

Adrien's brow furrowed in thought. "So... If I was still Chat Noir...?"

Pollen nodded. "He would have been as indispensable as Aristos was today, my King."

Her eyes widened as Adrien's started watering. Worried she said the wrong thing.

But Adrien smiled even as he wiped at his tears with one hand. "Th-thanks, Pollen." Hesitating for a moment, Adrien brought her to his chest and held her close.

Pollen hugging him back as best she could. "Anytime... Adrien."

----------

Marinette hugged her pillow tightly to her chest. Blinking back tears. "Today was a disaster, huh Tikki?"

Tikki antennae drooped in sympathy. "You tried your best, Marinette."

"Lot of good that did," Marinette muttered, pressing her face into the pillow. "Marc was akumatized and now they don't want anything to do with Nathaniel."

"That's not true!" Tikki latched onto the one silver lining in the whole debacle. "They seemed open to being friends! ... Eventually."

Marinette's fingers clenched tighter, eyes watering. "Yeah..."

"... Maybe then they'll give it another shot! Nathaniel looked pretty eager to patch things-"

"I should have told him," Marinette interrupted.

"... What?"

"I should have told him!" Marinette salt bolt upright, tossing her pillow aside so she could wrap her arms around her knees. "I should have told Chat Noir as soon as I knew about the Guardian! Then he'd still be here!" Tears filled her eyes as Marinette's throat constricted.

Tikki zipped in front of Marinette's face. "The Guardian instructed you not to."

"I don't care!" Marinette rubbed at her eyes as she took a shaky breath. Trying to push the tears back in. "It wasn't fair to him!"

Tikki didn't know what to say. Repeating the rules wouldn't help Marinette. Empty platitudes hadn't gotten her anywhere. And Tikki couldn't even say Marinette was wrong because she didn't know!

Marinette held out a hand for Tikki to land on. Trying to keep her trembling voice even. "Tikki, Master Fu isn't telling me everything. Chat Noir wouldn't leave just for something like that!" Her reddened eyes became downcast. "But... maybe..."

... Tikki slowly floated up to Marinette's wet cheek and placed an appendage on it. "Maybe it was a mistake not to tell, Chat Noir," she admitted.

A sob escaped Marinette's lips before she could stop it.

"But him leaving is not your fault," Tikki finished sternly. Staring into Marinette's eyes. "Even Plagg knows that or he'd never be so friendly."

Marinette's lips twitched upward despite herself. "F-friendly?"

"Plagg has been very friendly," Tikki stated simply.

Marinette sniffed, wiping at her face. "I... I miss him."

Tikki's face softened even as her heart panged. Adrien's face filling her mind with a simple, impossible wish.

"I know, Marinette... I know."

[aviculor]

When I saw the preview for Wishmaker, I was like “pff big deal, Luka going “Marinette....?” was probably taken out of context as usual."

But uhh hmm... And he fucking lied to Ladybug about ‘not even him’ finding out her and Chat Noir’s identities in the reset timelines. Even if he keeps his lips sealed, there’s a giant breach of trust here. One which spells disaster if one little accident happens involving an akumatized villain. This is exponentially worse than the “Nino knows Rena Rouge is still active” thing. Marinette can’t account for Luka being a secret keeper if she doesn’t know he is. Things are getting sloppy compared to how it was earlier in the series...as Shadowmoth himself constantly says, it will only take one slip up in order for him to win.

[spookylostboy]

My head is full of Maze Runner characters as Miraculous holders, so I’m gonna force y’all to listen!

Newt as Ladybug, yes using that name. He’s confident, level headed, and probably the most rational of the lot. Also I’m just obsessed with Newt in red (He’d also end up being Multi-Mouse at some points)

Thomas as Cat Noir! I know he’s the main character but there’s no way his personality lines up with Ladybug’s. He’s quick to act, not the best at making plans, and he’s fiercely protective of his friends. Plus Dylan in a cat costume? Yes please!

Brenda as Rena Rouge/Volpina, I’m not sure which name I prefer. She just strikes me as the kind of person who’s playful and cunning. Brenda would look awesome in orange

Minho as Carapace! Protective and not afraid to throw himself into danger, I think he’d be a great turtle hero.

Teresa as Queen Bee! This would be a modern AU so she’s be friends with everyone. I dunno, she just strikes me as a good fit for the bee miraculous

Janson as Hawkmoth because, well, obviously. He’s the main evil dude sooo

Ava as Myura, just to keep the ‘villain’ theme going and they work together in canon so

Sonya as Bunix! I like the idea of Sonya having the bunny miraculous. A time traveler and a secret keeper

Harriet as Ryukko! She’s badass and would use the dragon’s power to her advantage! Also, Harriet in red

Aris as Viperion! I think he’s use the snake’s power properly. He could use some second chances

Frypan as Pegasus! I….don’t really have a good answer for this one and I wanted to find a way to include all the characters, so if anyone has any ideas about this please lmk

Gally as King Monkey! Listen- tbh I hate this miraculous but it was the only one I felt that fit Gally.

And that’s it! There are a few other miraculous that haven’t been shown or are very new and they didn’t fit any if these characters. Let me know what you think!

[domxmarvel]

Miraculous ladybug masterlist

Domxmarvel 1 Year celebration Masterlist

💙=Male 💖=Female 💛=Neutral 🌈=Fluff 💦=Smut 💀=Angst 💜=Mtf 🖤=Ftm

~~~~~~~~~~~

Luka Couffain/ Viperion 

Colors 💖🌈

Heavy heart💖💀

Sing with me💖🌈

Beautiful💖🌈

What i wanted 💖💦

Duet 💖🌈 

Melody💛/💙 🌈

Too much 💛 💀 🌈

No one else 💖 💦

Just ask 💛🌈

Big brother headcanons 🌈

Choose 💖🌈

For you 💛🌈

Cuddling headcanons 💛🌈

Forget me (not) 💖💀

Sooner 💖 💦

Promise 💖🌈

Between us 💙🌈

All night 💛🌈

Anytime 💙🌈

I dare you 💖💦

Him & I 💖🌈

Knock knock 💙💦

Crimson 💖🌈 💀

String💛🌈

Flustered 💛🌈

Year of the cat 💖🌈

Rides 💛🌈

New boy 💖🌈

To the ends of the ocean 💖🌈

Spider snake 💙🌈

Bitter blue rose 💖💀

Marinette dupain cheng/Multimouse/Ladybug/Lady noire

Designer and model 💛🌈

Croissants 💖🌈

My secret 💖 💀

Feelings 💙 🌈

Irreplaceable 💙🌈

Princess 💛🌈

Better? 💛🌈

"Like this?" 💖🌈

In plain sight 💙🌈

Rooftop picnic 💖🌈

Adrien Agreste/ Chat noir

Sunshine 💙 🌈

Black cat 💖🌈

Pole dancing headcanons 💛💦

My kitty? 💖🌈  

Cats💖🌈

Shield  Sword(Part 2)  💛🌈

30 Minutes 💖 💦

Cabin 💖💦

Little kitty on a rooftop 💖🌈 💀

Alya Cesaire/ Rena rouge

Nightmare 💛🌈

Chloe bourgeois / Queen bee

Perfect 💖🌈💀

A bit longer 💙 🌈

Not just a bet 💖🌈 💀

Just you 💖🌈

Welcome back 💖🌈

Teddyzilla 💖🌈

Bet 💖🌈

Heart keeper 💖💀

Style 💖🌈

Lucky I’m here 💖🌈

Kagami Tsurugi/Ryuko

Knight 💙 🌈

Always here 💛 🌈

Zoe Lee/Vesperia

Pink shoes 💖🌈

Heroes 💛

Felix graham de vanily

Little mouse 💖🌈

Sneaky💖🌈

Black swan 💖🌈

Doesn't change a thing 💖🌈💀

Yours is better  🌈💛

Copy 🌈💛

I’m fine 💖🌈

No,you’re not 💖🌈

Salt & Sugar 💙🌈

Juleka couffaine/Purple tigress

Marc anciel  

Salt & Sugar 💙🌈

PREFERENCES/Multi

Sleepover 🌈 💛

Miraculous Preference-Wearing their costume/using their miraculous

Miraculous Preference-catching the wedding bouquet

[miraculous-rewrite]

Hiatus Notice

Now, here on Miraculous Rewrite, we’ve hit a bit of a conundrum. While Season 4 of Actual ML is currently underway, The Mods Aimee and Vega have been in a position where in order to tell you all the story the Rewritre has been telling, we didn’t have time to wait for it to come out. Therefore, Miraculous Rewrite, upon our return on April 10th, will be starting our own fully original season!

But in the interrim, Our current hiatus project will in fact be a bit different from our usual Season Ender, instead of polls, we’ve decided to do something a bit more fun

The “What If...” Game!

The idea is that you the audience send in Rewrite-related ‘what if’ scenarios, and us Mods will playfully speculate about them for the sake of interest!

Example: What if Adrien didn’t think to dive into the fight in Syren and thus didn’t earn Plagg back?

The answer:

Well, Calamity would probably be here to stay then. While Fu didn’t intend on Alya keeping Plagg for good, Paris probably doesn’t have time to waste in hunting down another black cat, and Alya’s good with the power, so though she seems to HANDLE being Rena Rouge better, she’s Calamity for the forseeable future.

But a minor issue then arises in that Alya can’t very well be Ladybug’s partner AND her Secret Keeper, so she’d likely tell Marinette what’s up. So the two of them become a more Classical Magical Girl duo. But that also means they’re gonna need someone else to be the fox when Mirage is next needed; oh! Easy! Adrien!

Meanwhile with Adrien he’s.... Not doing too hot. He’s long since internalized that it was his own actions that lost him Plagg, but he still can’t just sit idle and do nothing while Paris continues to be in danger! And He’s honstly on some level SO happy that Ladybug looked at him while he was a civillian and said that she could trust him with another Miraculous, He gets the feeling that Trixx knows who he once was. Her seemingly inoccuous comments partnered with too knowing looks. And on some level it almost feels like a punishment. That he’s not allowed to forget, as he hands the pendant back after every fight it was given to him.

But he’s not in danger of going down a dark path, don’t you worry. Instead he becomes borderline obsessed with proving his worth, he focuses on what he CAN do. His father has some sort of connection to Hawkmoth. Alright. What is that connection? He goes full Spy mode and ends up properly breaking into his father’s safe again, this time with no Plagg to pointedly distract him from picking up the peacock. And Duusuu whom barely has enough energy at the time to greet anyone, springs forth. And Adrien realizes on his own what this HAS to mean.

He doesn’t face his father in the same way he does in canon, he doesn’t have Team Miraculous backing him up. He just pins the peacock to his collar, writes a note and leaves it on his piano, and packs a bag.

He turns up at Nino’s door because he.... just honestly doesn’t know where else to go.

When a blue hero turns up to fight an Akuma, brandishing a fan and looking pale as a sheet beneath his mask, as though he’s fighting through excruciating pain, Calamity and Ladybug are a bit suspicious, but he smiles and though his voice is weaker he calls Ladybug ‘Bugaboo’ and it hits her.

Wait... didn’t Master Fu say that the Peacock was lost? Where did Chat Noir get it?

[sparklyaxolotlstudent]

Ladybug Puppet Show 9

Origins Part 1

“Hello everyone!” Luka greeted everyone in the classroom by saying hello. He was a little taken aback when everyone waved back and some stared at him.

“Ok, the goggles I kinda dig, too steampunk for my tastes, but they have their own charm” said Alya eyeing the newcomer. “But why are you dressed like a Ninja Turtle?”

“To get in character!” he explained, with a dramatic pose.

“And the Captain America toy shield?”

“I’m on a budget.”

“Ah”

“Besides, do you know how hard it is to find Carapace merchandise?”

“Tell me about it! He’s the best one… after Ladybug and Queen Bee, of course, so one would expect for him to be included in all stuff!”

“Are you still crushing on him, eh Chloe?”

“Well, duh, he’s still a fine piece of…”

“Kagami! Hi!” Adrien greeted his friend when he noticed she had arrived and was looking at Luka and Rose weirdly.

“Hello. A background extra told me you were here. Ready for some good old sword to sword combat?”

“I thought you guys had fencing until tomorrow?”

“Yeah, but we’re practicing for the Renaissance Fair with real swords and name calling.”

“Oh…kay”

“SO! We’re kind of in the middle of our Ladybug Show and Adrien is an important part of this.”

“But I’m not voicing anyone or anything”

“I thought you were Chat Noir?”

“Spoilers, but no, that’s Kim”

“Well, since we rewrote a bit to make the Keeper and the Narrator different people, we kinda wanted you to be the narrator”

“I can narrate” said Kagami flipping through the script that Marinette had lent her. “This sounds fun”

“Thanks but you are kind of… stoic.”

“I can do other emotions”

“Other than angry?”

Kagami cleared her throat and dramatically placed the script at an appropriate reading level. “A long time ago, in a land far away, lived Princess Tikki, she was cute as a peach, in a pineapple way…” Kagami stopped her dramatic reading for a second and reread that line in her head again several times “wait, isn’t this a song from that Disney movie?”

“Yeah, Marc is kind of obsessed with Disney and made us put that in”

“High School Musical and is a cinematic masterpiece and very few movies have managed to achieve what they have done”

“Let me guess, Teen Beach Movie, Descendants and Camp Rock?”

“No, Camp Rock sucks. All the others, yes.”

“Well, if we’re done lusting after Zac Efron…”

“Alya, please, we’ll never be done lusting after Zac Efron. Have you seen Nathaniel’s comic?”

“… well, I have, I’m not sure if I like the TroyxRyan aternate ending”

“What can I say? Lucas Grabeel is more to my tastes”

“Yeah, but you didn’t had to include the ‘wedding night’”

“It was a commission AND I told you not to keep swiping…”

“Hey, let’s focus on the important, Kagami can read!”

“… excuse me?”

“I mean, Kagami can be our narrator. She has a nice voice… and this would add some color to our whitewashed cast” said Marinette pointing to Luka, Mylene, Aurore and Chloe. Kim felt offended he wasn’t pointed.

“Oh. I’m glad you think like that, because we decided to make you our Keeper”

“WHAT? Why me??? I’m busy with the puppet making and stuff!” Marinette replied, pointing to the box that had the puppets inside, with a frog-like creature wearing a Hawaiian shirt.

“He only appears every other episode and gives cryptic advice that the heroes must decipher on their own, it will be a piece of cake”

“FINE!” Marinette agreed finally, just to stop thinking how on point they were being about Grandpa Chan character.

“Okay, let’s start, Narrator?”

“A long time ago, in a land far away, lived Princess Tikki, she was cute as a peach in a pineapple way, although she hardly speak…y. She was born in the Silver Miraculous Kingdom, based on the moon. Princess Tikki fell in love with ... Zefron.., a prince of earth, but because of evil Queen Grimhilde, earthlings and moonies started a war. As a last resort, Princess Tikki sacrificed herself and created the Miraculous, magic jewels that bestow extraordinary powers to those that hold them. Throughout history, heroes have used these jewels for the good of the human race.”

“As a descendant of Princess Tikki… wait, I thought she had sacrificed herself?”

“… she… huh… she left an egg behind. Go with the flow MariKeeper!”

“Tikki will kill me… AHEM! As a Descendant of Princess Tikki, my duty for eons has been to keep the Miraculous safe and sound, and to choose worthy individuals when times of great need arise. I am the Keeper.”

“But this idiot couldn’t even do this basic thing and ended up losing one of the Miraculous, that of the Butterfly”

“Hey, everything was fine until the fire nation attacked!”

“Wrong show, and you still lost the Butterfly and its current holder is now causing trouble”

“Shush you disembodied voice, I’m going to chose five teenagers with attitude to fight against the current holder”

“You’re going to try to recover the Miraculous by losing even more? Specifically the ones he’s currently after?”

“Don’t question the traditions of my people!”

“Boop boop. And so, The Keeper chose five teenagers to be the current team of Miraculous holders that would hopefully recover the Butterfly Miraculous and not destroy the world in the process.”

“Carapace!” yelled Luka, which startled everyone, even Juleka. “With the Power of the Turtle, Protection is my game!”

“Rena Rouge!” said Aurore, adding a flirty wink at the end. “Illusions are my passion, I am the Fox”

“Queen Bee!” added Chloe, glaring at Aurore. Now she wouldn’t be able to play herself as the flirty one. “I am Bee. I am Queen… seriously?”

“Go with the flow Chlo-Chlo!” Chloe rolled her eyes and blew a raspberry.

“Chat Noir!” yelled Kim as enthusiastically as he could. “I’m just a Cat, at night I rule, my ring is charged with energy, my claws are out, just watch and see!”

“Chat, the camera is on the other direction” Mylene read from the script. “Hi! I’m Ladybug, my power is Common Sense!”

“Miracuteam!” yelled the five of them at the same time.

“Miracuteam? If that’s how they want to be called…”

“Well Mister… err… Miss Narrator, I wanted ‘Queen Bee and her Fabulous Four’ but these peasants thought otherwise”

“Impudent fools!” added Rose in the hammiest tone she could muster. “Now the Butterfly is the one putting traps, and those fools fell for it. It’s only a matter of time until I get their Miraculous and conquer the world MWAHAHAHA… or get Ice Cream. My motives are vague at best.”

“No adlibbing Rose!... Although I liked the evil laugh. Ok, we’ll keep that.”

 -

And once Again, the day was saved thanks to a bunch of puppets controlled by some amateurs! Well, that's the Secret Origins of the Miraculous Team. Can you guess how many things Alya and Cia. are ripping off?

And yes, Marc is totally a Disney fanboy.

[kasienda]

Rena Rouge: Secret Keeper - Ch 1: Prologue

Chapters: 1 | 2

Read on Ao3

Chapter 1: Prologue

Chat grinned in satisfaction as his cataclysm turned the bracelet to dust, revealing a butterfly crackling with dark violet bolts of energy. Ladybug’s yoyo wasted not a second before she captured it, released it, and sent out her healing energy to the city. 

Chat turned to her and Rena both with a grin and offered his fist. His smile faded when neither of them reciprocated.

Rena Rouge’s amber eyes flashed in anger. “You ruined the plan!” 

“Uh… but we got the akuma,” he countered, his brows furrowed under his mask in confusion. 

“Yes! That’s the problem! We were going to appear to lose to that akuma and then follow it back to Shadowmoth, but now we can’t! Who knows how long it will be before there’s another akuma with the right abilities for our plan to work.” 

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t realize there was a plan.”

Ladybug put a hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay, Chaton. This isn’t your fault. You didn’t know. It’s mine. Rena is just upset because we spent weeks on this. We had just finalized the plan a few days ago. I was going to tell you about it at our next patrol, but this opportunity presented itself much faster than we thought. But it is okay ,” she insisted, pinning her glare on a grumbling Rena Rouge. “I’m confident we didn’t tip our hand. We’ll be able to try again.”

But Adrien couldn’t be reassured by her words. Ladybug knew everyone’s identity except his own, and she couldn’t communicate with him in his civilian life. This wasn’t the first time that fact had caused problems. And Adrien knew it wouldn’t be the last. 

And he wasn’t an idiot. Rena had abducted Adrien from a battle. Rena arrived to fight Style Queen with two miraculouses without Ladybug ever showing up. 

Rena and Ladybug both knew who the other was. 

And even as his heart was breaking and his eyes were burning, he couldn’t help but smile. Ladybug and Rena Rouge made quite the powerful and effective duo. 

For whatever reason, despite his best efforts, Chat Noir hadn’t been able to support Ladybug in the way that she needed. But clearly, Rena Rouge could. Since she had joined the team on a more permanent basis - maybe even slightly before that - Ladybug had come out of her funk. She was more confident, somehow even better at kicking butt, and she was…

...happier. 

And he couldn’t help the relief that Ladybug had found the support that she needed.

But the hurt within him that she had never been able to completely trust him tore him to pieces. 

“Can I talk to you alone for a moment?” He was proud of how steady the words came out. 

Ladybug smiled brightly at him. “Of course!” 

They go off. 

“I’m sorry about Rena,” she started.

He waved it away. “This isn’t about Rena. Or well, not directly.” 

She considered him. Her shoulders slumped. 

“It’s become clear to me that I’ve become a liability for you.” 

She looked so startled. “What are you talking about?” 

“I ruined the plan because I didn’t know what it was.” 

She looked away. “That was my fault more than yours. You didn’t know what the plan was.” 

“Yes, well…” he trailed off, uncertain what to say. They had already had the identity talk more times than he could count and it never did any good. 

“I can tell you about the plan now. And then next time, I’ll just give you a signal and you’ll know.” 

“And what about the next plan?” 

“What do you mean?” 

“There will always be something new, something that you won’t be able to tell me because you can’t find me, because you don’t know who I am.” 

“Chat, I thought we’d talked about this already.” 

“We have! But nothing’s changed. And I can’t stand the thought of putting you in danger. So…” he hesitated. Was he really going to do this? There might be no coming back. He probably should go home and at least talk it over with Plagg. But then he shook his head. Nothing would change. Plagg would convince him things weren’t that bad, and Adrien would believe him. 

And then at some point, because she didn’t know who he was, or he didn’t know some fundamental piece of information he would screw up. 

And Ladybug or Paris would pay the price. 

“I would like to put in my two week’s notice.” 

Her eyes shot to his, wide with shock. “W-what?! You can’t quit! You’re my partner!”

He looked away - out at the city. “Maybe that was true once, but it isn’t anymore.” 

She thankfully didn’t argue. But her shoulders shook as tears flooded her eyes. He didn’t reach out to comfort her. Surely, Rena would be able to do that. 

“But you love being Chat Noir,” she whispered. 

He nodded in agreement, but didn’t speak. He didn’t want to think about how much more restrictive his life would be without the miraculous, but he couldn’t keep doing this.

He couldn’t keep putting her in danger in his ignorance.

“Please don’t leave me,” she begged. 

His eyes squeezed shut against her pleas. There had been a time when he would have done anything she asked.

“This is better for you,” he whispered. 

“Why do you get to decide what is best for me?!” she demanded, her voice hot with rage, her fingers clenched into fists on her lap. 

He turned to her with tears in his eyes. “I don’t see another way. As long as you are adamant that we can’t know each other’s identities, I’m only going to get in the way.” He glanced over the city’s skyline. “I’m not trying to pressure you. This is not an ultimatum.” 

“There’s nothing I can do to change your mind?” she sobbed, desperate.

The question made him want to scream. He had already established what she needed to do. Trust him. 

“No.” He suddenly knew that he couldn’t actually give her two weeks. His resolve would waiver. He rose to his feet and stepped behind her. “Plagg, claws in.” He wasn’t worried about her turning around. Part of him even hoped that she would.

He placed the ring beside her.  She didn’t immediately take it up. 

“Good-bye, Ladybug,” he whispered. 

“Chaton!” she screamed, but she still didn’t turn around. 

She continued to sit, her back hunched, her shoulders trembling. He longed to comfort her, but he knew he was the only one that couldn’t. 

“Yes?” 

“Will I ever see you again?” she cried. 

“I don’t know. I hope so.” 

He walked away from her, looking back only once. Her shoulders shook like an earthquake and her head had fallen down into her hands, but she didn’t cry out again. And she didn’t turn around. 

It wasn’t until he made it back to his room that the numbness faded and his emotions caught up to him. The second the door clicked shut behind him, he crumpled to the floor and cried, not sure how he would ever be okay again, but still absolutely certain that he had done the best thing possible. 

Why couldn’t Ladybug have trusted him? 

What had he done wrong? 

…

[zebrabaker]

A Spider’s Web, A Ladybug’s Delight, Part 2

I’m back with chapter two! The tag list for this story is open!

Peter and Marinette were sitting in the back of the class, chatting about plans for when they were in Germany.

“There’s a chocolate shop we should visit! Then again, Germany just had great chocolate.” Marinette giggled at the glazed look in his eyes.

“Whatever you want to do, so long as we can visit Berlin! I want to look at fabric, maybe get some fresh schnitzel. I haven’t had real schnitzel since I traveled with Nona when I was ten.” Peter ran his thumb over the back of her knuckles.

“Of course, my little lady. When we get to Sokovia, we’ll have to visit the street market. Sergeant Barnes says the fresh fruit is the best he’s had in a while.” She nodded.

“Ooh, I’ll have to price some fur in Russia! And some silk in Ital- “

“Hey, Mari! Who’s this?” Alya asked, phone trained on the couple. Peter and Marinette glanced at each other.

“Do we tell her?” Peter whispered in English.

“Let’s. I want to see how she reacts. Think of it as a test.” She muttered back. He pursed his lips before nodding, content to follow her lead.

“Hi! I’m Peter Parker, Marinette’s boyfriend. I’m in town to pick her up. We, along with my mentor, are going on a tour of Europe. I’m from New York, and I’ve never left America before. Who are you?” Peter pasted on a smile, and tried not to glare. He knew exactly who this girl was. She may have once been his little lady’s best friend, but right now she was just an annoyance.

“Boyfriend? Girl, spill!” Alya yelled, swiveling her camera to Marinette. Peter slipped an arm around her waist, and tucked her head under his chin.

“Well, Alya, we met when I went to New York last summer. We started dating about two weeks into my month and a half there, so when I came back for school, we just kept in touch. It isn’t hard, really, to keep in touch when you really care about someone.” Marinette beamed at Alya.

It was all true. The two had run into each other when Doctor Strange and Iron Man had been forced to handle a threat together, and each brought their protege with them. Marinette had worn a mask, as she was still a minor trainee in the French branch of the sanctum. Peter had been there as Spiderman, and the two had hit it off. (Better than Marinette got along with Paris’ cat vigilante, anyway. That damn cat always flirted at the worst possible times.)

“Why didn’t you tell anyone?” Alya’s voice was getting angry.

“I did tell some people. Luka and Juleka both knew, since Luka tried to ask me out, and I refuse to cheat on Peter just because we were literally an ocean apart. Juleka told Rose, since they tell each other everything. The reason I didn’t tell anyone and everyone was that I didn’t want to be judged, or looked at as desperate. Peter an I are dating because we genuinely love each other, not because we needed someone to make us look cool.” She tucked herself into Peter’s chest. Again, it was the truth. When she had first come back, she had wanted to rub her amazing boyfriend in Chloe’s smug face, but quickly realized that would just sound like she was lying to sound better. So, she had kept quiet. No one knew save her family. She had panicked when she met Adrien, worried that she was developing a crush, but soon realized she just wanted to impress him so that he wouldn’t complain about her to his father. She had felt horrible when she realized, and soon passed off her awkwardness as a crush. Soon, she was in too deep to tell Alya, and then Lila had come. If she didn’t know better, she would say the girl was a witch, with how good a manipulator she was. (She had run a few spells, just to be safe.) Lila had twisted the whole class like a bunch of twine, and had them all dancing to her tune. Well, maybe not Nathaniel, but he was always a bit of a loner.

“Why not tell me?” Alya huffed.

“I didn’t know how. It’s not exactly something to just drop into a conversation. Now, if you’ll please move, class is about to start.” Marinette huffed right back. Former friend or no, she refused to let her grades drop. Alya pursed her lips, before heading to her seat at the front of the room. Marinette knew this wasn’t the end of things, but for now, she needed to focus. They were going over the meaning of colors in Shakespeare’s Othello. She snagged her tablet from her bag, and opened google classroom, to pull up the power point.

XoxoX

Alya seethed. She understood that she and Marinette hadn’t talked that much lately, but how could she just not tell her? She knew the girl was jealous of Lila and how awesome her life was, but to keep a secret like this was such a breach of girl code. Really, she thought they were best friends. Lila wouldn’t do this sort of thing. She knew she wasn’t paying attention to class, but she didn’t care. She was too mad. How could Marinette do this? If she could keep this a secret, what else could she keep hidden?

XoxoX

What the creole girl failed to notice, in her stewing anger, was the little black butterfly flitting it’s way to her Rena Rouge purse, the one Marinette had made her for her birthday a few weeks ago. She did notice when she heard a smooth, deep, rich voice.

“Hello, Secret Keeper. I am Hawkmoth. I offer you the chance to strike back at the one who hurt you, and expose the truths they have kept hidden. In return, you must destroy the heroine Ladybug, and her pesky partner, Chat Noir. Do you accept the offer?”

“Yes, Hawkmoth.”

[vgckwb]

ML: Are They Worthy? Chapter 55: Sabrina Needs.../Beekeeper (A Hero Like Chloe, Part 2)

Honey Bee returned to City Hall and de-transformed. She nervously rushed out, but then remembered Sabrina. She opened the door and found her, holding onto an old hat she found in the closet. “Thank goodness you’re alright,” she said, hugging her.

“I’m just glad you’re alright” Sabrina said.

Chloe let go and looked at the time. “AH! I’ve got to give my speech. Are you OK to come with me?”

“You go on ahead” Sabrina said. “I’ll catch up with you.”

“Great. Thanks” Chloe said, rushing out the door. Sabrina looked upset, but she smiled.

She then broke down in tears. “Oh Chloe,” she said. “I can't believe I wasn’t brave enough to tell you that someone else got the bee miraculous! I’m pathetic.”

“Well well” Hawk Moth said in his lair. “What have we here? An opportunity to draw Chloe in again, AND punish a new miraculous holder? I LIKE IT! Fly away, my vile akuma, and evilize this girl once more!”

The akuma flew off and fused with the old hat Sabrina was grasping. “Beekeeper! I am Hawk Moth. That bee miraculous belongs to Queen Bee, wouldn’t you agree? With the powers I’m giving you, you will give me Ladybug and Cat Noir’s miraculous and PUNISH Honey Bee for taking what rightfully belongs to Chloe!”

“Of course, Hawk Moth!” Sabrina said. She put on the hat and was swallowed by the purple-black aura. It soon encapsulated the entirety of city hall.

Outside, just after Chloe finished her speech, the building was being taken over. Everyone gasped in horror. “Another one?” Marinette said.

Pretty soon, City Hall looked like a giant beehive with a TV screen on it. An image appeared on it. The room looked like a honeycomb with honey dripping down from the sides. There was also Beekeeper, who was wearing a beekeeper’s uniform, and through the netting she looked like Sabrina, but with purple skin. “Greetings Paris!” she said. “As you know, today a heinous crime has taken place. Queen Bee has been robbed! There’s a NEW user of the bee miraculous out and about calling herself ‘Honey Bee’. I cannot stand for this! That is why I have taken it upon myself to challenge her!”

A swarm of robotic bees exited the hive. “My bees will continue to terrorize the city until Honey Bee gives me her miraculous!” Beekeeper continued. “But first…” The swarm of robot bees formed a hand, grabbed Chloe, and took her in. “There. Now once Honey Bee gets here, she can present the miraculous to the Queen herself!” Beekeeper cancelled her broadcast. More robotic bees exited the hive and spread out. The crowd ran away in a panic.

Marinette and Adrien ran away together. “Quick clarification: Chloe IS Honey Bee, right?” Marinette asked.

“Correct” Adrien answered. “She doesn’t know what happened either.”

“Then we have a problem” Marinette said.

“Not for long” Adrien said. “I’ll take care of this. You get everyone else and come up with a plan!”

He ran off. “Adrien WAIT!” Marinette said. “Ugh!” She ran off on her own and hid.

Mayura was watching the chaos unfold. “Perfect” she said.

She got a call and she answered it. “What are you doing?” Hawk Moth demanded.

“I’m waiting for my opportunity” Mayura said.

“You were only to help with Secret Keeper” Hawk Moth said. “Judgement Wolf almost caught you once today! Fall back! That’s an ORDER!”

Mayura didn’t like it, but she had to respect it. “As you wish,” she said. She left.

Chloe was cuffed to a honeycomb throne. “Sabrina, let me out of here! This is ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous!”

“It’s Beekeeper” she said sternly. “Sabrina couldn’t protect you. I can.”

“I don’t NEED your protection!” Chloe shouted.

“Oh Chloe. You’re so brave” Beekeeper said. “Braver than I was when I found out someone had taken what was rightfully yours. I didn’t say anything. I was weak. But now I’m getting your miraculous back! Then we can make Ladybug and Cat Noir pay for leaving you behind!”

“I don’t NEED the bee miraculous!” Chloe said. “I gave it up!”

“But don’t you want it back?” Beekeeper said.

Chloe looked at Beekeeper. “The only thing I want returned to me is SABRINA!”

“Couldn’t have said it better myself” said Cat Noir, jumping down. “Cataclysm!” He ran over to the throne and destroyed it. “Let’s get you out of here!” He grabbed Chloe and left the hive.

Beekeeper put her hand on one of the honeycombs and said “After them!” Out of another honeycomb, another swarm of robot bees came out and started following Cat Noir and Chloe.

Meanwhile, Judgement Wolf was going around destroying whatever robotic bees he could. He saw Abrial fruitlessly swinging a stick at some that were trying to attack her and her parents. He rushed over and destroy them. “Thanks Judgement Wolf” she said.

“It’s what I do” he replied, sheathing his sword. “Now get to safety!” Abrial and her family ran off.

Judgement Wolf got a call, and he answered it. It was from Ladybug. “Judgement Wolf!” she said. “Meet me at the Pont des Arts bridge! I’ll explain when we get there.”

“Gotcha!” Judgement Wolf replied. He left.

He found Ladybug on the Pont des Arts, and Rena Rouge and Carapace came running up as well. “Where’s Cat Noir?” Rena asked.

“He ran off by himself to save Chloe” Ladybug said.

“Of course” Carapace said.

“So, what are we doing?” Judgement Wolf said.

Ladybug thought for a moment. “Rena! Carapace! You two grab the other heroes and protect Paris. Judgement Wolf and I will track Cat Noir and we’ll take the fight to Beekeeper!”

“What about Honey Bee?” Carapace asked.

“Duh! She’s Chloe!” Rena asked.

“Oh right. Judgement Wolf told us as much” Carapace said.

Ladybug nodded. “Now go!” The teams split off.

Alya and Nino arrived at Master Fu’s and grabbed all but the dog miraculous. They retransformed and gave the miraculous to everyone without revealing anyone’s identity. The bees had done a good job of separating people for them.

Meanwhile, Cat Noir was trying to outrun the swarm that was following him while carrying Chloe. “Move faster!” she said.

“I’m trying!” Cat Noir said. “It appears she really wants you!” Suddenly, Ryuko came in and sliced through the entire swarm. “Ryuko!”

“Rena Rouge and Carapace told me the plan” Ryuko said. “Hide Chloe and meet Ladybug at the Arc de Triomphe!” Cat Noir nodded and took off. Another swarm came to Ryuko. She smiled and called out “Lightning Dragon!” She transformed into lightning and zapped all of the swarm. She continued flying through the city, zapping whatever bee-bots she could find.

“NO!” Beekeeper shouted. She checked her other bees and was devastated. All across Paris, heroes were taking out her swarms. Rena Rouge and Carapace were doing their synchronized combat to destroy the swarms. Bunnyx was racing around the city, destroying the swarms and running off using her time powers.

King Monkey was destroying what her could, while also leading a large swarm. He jumped off a bridge, and when the swarm followed, one of Pegasus’s portals opened up, and they flew through into the Seine.

Another swarm was heading towards Pegasus, but they were sniped out by Rooster Gold, who gave Pegasus a salute. Pegusus nodded back. Rooster Gold kept shooting.

Meanwhile, Oxenfree kept destroying bees with his hammer. One of the mini-Scourieses jumped off of Oxenfree and landed on one of the bees. She rewired it, taking control. She smashed into another bee and jumped off onto another bee. We can see plenty of Scourieses doing the same.

Hog Wild had gathered a large swarm, as did BleatStar. When the two met each other, they turned around and used their power against the swarm to capture them. Hog Wild distorted the ground so it turned into a large ball that captured the bees, while BleatStar used the fear he had gathered to make a cage and slammed it on the swarm that was following him.

Viperion had taken the time (literally) to gather as big a swarm as he could, and lead them down the Champs Elysee. Once there, he got out of the way, and Tigress unleashed a huge sound blast to destroy the swarm.

Ladybug watched over this and smiled. “OK, we’re here” Cat Noir said. His miraculous started beeping. “I gotta go.”

“Just be back here as soon as you can” Ladybug said. Cat Noir hid.

“I’m sorry” Chloe said.

Ladybug said “Don’t be. This isn’t your fault. In fact, you helped out earlier, right?” Chloe smiled. “And we need that help now. The four of us are going to take on Beekeeper! Ready?”

Chloe nodded. “Pollen! Buzz On!” She transformed back into Honey Bee.

“Great, now we just gotta wait for Cat Noir” Judgement Wolf said.

“Present and accounted for!” Cat Noir said, coming back.

“That was fast” Judgement Wolf said.

“Well, this time Plagg agreed with me when I said we should rush this” Cat Noir said.

“Let’s go!” Ladybug commanded. The four took off through the city. They destroyed more robotic bees on their way to the hive.

Beekeeper saw the four on their way. “So, they think they can take me out with the impostor” she said. “We’ll see about that.” She placed her hand on another honeycomb to summon something.

The four heroes burst into the hive. “Alright Beekeeper! We have you surrounded!” Ladybug shouted.

“Do you now?” Beekeeper said. The heroes looked up and saw Beekeeper piloting a giant robotic bee. “Because I think I have the upper hand.” The giant bee robot pointed its stinger and Ladybug and charged at her. The rest of the heroes split off and Ladybug ran away. “It’s no use Ladybug! You’re going to pay for ignoring Chloe!” Ladybug continued running. “She’s changed! She’s better! And yet you refuse to give her the miraculous!”

Honey Bee watched at Beekeeper was chasing down Ladybug. Ladybug couldn’t work like that, and she knew it. “Hey! Beekeeper!” she shouted. “It’s me you want, isn’t it?! The so-called ‘impostor’?! You can take care of Ladybug afterwards!”

This intrigued Beekeeper. “Yes. Of course!” she said. “I should be punishing YOU first!” She turned her contraption to Honey Bee. Honey Bee started racing away from Beekeeper.

“Honey Bee, no!” Ladybug called out.

“Relax” Cat Noir said, coming to her. “I think she knows what she’s doing.”

Ladybug sighed. “You’re right. Lucky Charm! Super glue?” She looked around and saw the honeycomb walls, the stinger, Honey Bee, and the super glue. “That’s it! Can you two distract Beekeeper for me.”

“Anything for you, m’lady” Cat Noir said.

“Sure” Judgement Wolf replied. The two jumped into action.

Honey Bee was still running away from the stinger when Ladybug’s yo-yo dragged her off. “Get back here!” Beekeeper said.

“Hey!” Cat Noir said. “I’m sure you have some qualms with us?” He stood on his sticky cockily, while Judgement Wolf challenged her.

“You bet I do!” Beekeeper said, turning her attention to the two of them. She began giving chase. “You both should KNOW how good Chloe has been! You need to stop this impostor with me!”

“I don’t think so” Judgement Wolf said.

“Not even if you bee-have” Cat Noir added.

“Really?” Judgement Wolf said.

“I just had to get one in there” Cat Noir said.

“Ladybug, what’s going on?” Honey Bee asked after being let go.

“You need to use your Venom to stop Beekeeper when she’s in motion” Ladybug said.

“Got it!” Honey Bee said.

Ladybug called out “Cat Noir! Stay where you are!”

“WHAT?!” Cat Noir said, stopping.

Beekeeper smiled. “You fool!” She went full steam ahead towards Cat Noir.

“Honey Bee! Go!” Ladybug said.

“Venom!” Honey Bee said. She stung Beekeeper, which caused her to freeze while still moving ahead.

“Cat Noir, you can leave now!” Ladybug called.

“Thanks!” Cat Noir said. He got out of the way.

Beekeeper crashed into the wall. “And now, for the finishing touch” said Ladybug, getting out her super glue. She took some of the loose pieces and super glued the area around the stinger. “That should do it.”

The Venom was wearing off. Beekeeper tried to back out of the wall, but found that she couldn’t. “So, where’s the akuma?” Cat Noir asked.

“I think it’s in the hat” Honey Bee said.

“How do you know?” Judgement Wolf asked.

“Just trust me on this” Honey Bee said.

“Well, only one way to find out” Ladybug said. She used her yo-yo to grab the hat. Once she had it, she tore it in two, revealing the akuma. “No more evildoing for you, little akuma. Time to de-evilize! Gotcha! Bye bye, little butterfly. Miraculous Ladybug!” The magic Ladybug fixed all of the damage caused by Beekeeper. All of the heroes outside were in awe, and pounded it with whoever was close by.

Sabrina returned to being herself. “Ugh…”

“Pound it!” the four heroes said.

“My second failure for the day” Hawk Moth said. “No matter. I’ll still be busy as a bee to defeat you, Ladybug!”

Ladybug got a call. She answered it. “Rena! How’s it going?”

“Great!” Rena said. “Carapace and I are going to get back the miraculouses soon. Just wanted to check in and congratulate you.”

“Thanks” Ladybug said. “You all did well out there too.”

“Seeya” Rena said, hanging up.

“Hey!” Sabrina demanded. “I know I wasn’t myself, but I still feel like that!” She then went from angry to sad. “Chloe really has changed. So why?” tears started to drop. “Why can’t she be Queen Bee anymore?”

The heroes looked at the crying girl. Honey Bee turned to Ladybug. Ladybug nodded. “Sabrina!” she said. Sabrina looked up. “Pollen! Buzz Off!” She transformed back into Chloe.

“Chloe?” Sabrina said, slightly confused. “Chloe!” she said, happier. She ran to Chloe and gave her a hug.

“I’m sorry, Sabrina” Chloe said. “I wanted to tell you, but Judgement Wolf told me to keep it a secret for as long as I could.” The hug got less tight, but they were still embraced. “I didn’t know why I had a new costume either.”

“None of us were expecting that” Judgement Wolf said. “I told her to keep it a secret because if she became Queen Bee again, then everyone would know who she was.”

“If I may, your majesty” Pollen said. Everyone turned their attention to her. “A miraculous costume is determined by the heart of the user. Since Chloe recently went through a dramatic change of heart, her costume also changed with it!”

“So, it’s the biggest signifier of her becoming a better person” Cat Noir said.

“And I mistook that as someone else” Sabrina said. “I’m such an idiot.” She cried into Chloe’s jacket.

Chloe locked her arms around her. “It’s OK,” she said.

“SABRINA!” Everyone could hear Lieutenant Roger call out for his daughter. “Sabrina, where are you?”

Ladybug’s Miraculous started to bee. “Don’t worry. I’ll cover for you and you can make your escape” Sabrina said. She left the room. “I’m over here, daddy!”

“We should get out of here” Cat Noir said.

“WAIT!” Chloe said. “Ladybug, can I talk to you?”

Ladybug noticed her earrings counting down.

“Let’s go to the roof,” she said. The heroes grabbed Chloe and took to the roof. “Alright, let’s hurry this up!”

Chloe stood there nervously. “Um, it’s OK if you don’t want to tell me, but are you Marinette by chance?”

Ladybug was surprised. Still, she knew what she had to do. She let her transformation run out and then said “What do you think?”

Chloe was delighted. “I KNEW it!” she said. “Iknewitiknewitiknewit!”

“So, how did you figure me out?” Marinette said.

Chloe looked at Marinette. “Well, I started thinking it when I first saw Pollen and how she reminded me of that toy thing I grabbed.”

“You mean me?” Tikki said.

“Yeah” Chloe said. “Sorry. Had I known, I wouldn’t have done that. Anyway, I started realizing it more after the talk we had after the day Adrien’s photographer. And even more at my coming out party with the class.”

“I see” Marinette said.

Cat Noir then smirked like he had an awful idea. “Hey Chloe. Watch this!” He then grabbed Marinette and gave her a kiss.

Chloe yanked Cat Noir off of her and started shouting. “Hey! She’s spoken for! And by one of my closest friends too! Marinette, I am so sorry. If he found you made a move on her, he would be so devastated and-”

“Plagg! Claws in!” he said. He transformed back into Adrien. “Hey Chloe.”

Chloe started smacking him. “Not funny, Agreste!”

Adrien chuckled, putting his hands up to try and defend himself. “I just like seeing how much you cared.” He chuckled some more.

Judgement Wolf sighed. “Does this mean I have to share who I am too?” he asked.

Chloe stopped smacking Adrien long enough to answer. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

Judgement Wolf stood still. “Beyyo! Fangs Dull!” He changed back into Vlad.

Chloe smiled while lowering her eyelids. “I should have known it was you.”

“Yeah, well, lucky you didn’t get akumatized for it” Vlad said. Chloe punched him. “Ow!”

“That’s my girlfriend we’re talking about here,” Chloe said.

“Sorry” Vlad apologized.

“Well, we should get out of here” Marinette said. The heroes retransformed and separated.

Roger and Sabrina found Chloe at the Arc de Triomphe. “Chloe!” Sabrina said. “I got your text. I was so scared.”

“It’ alright” Chloe said. “Cat Noir stashed me here after he rescued me. You know, I did mean it when I said that I didn’t need the bee miraculous if I had you.” Sabrina blushed. “Come here.” Chloe gave Sabrina a kiss. Roger smiled. From a different vantage point, Ladybug, Cat Noir, and Judgement Wolf looked down and fist bumped as well.

Meanwhile, in Gabriel’s office, he and Nathalie were talking. “It seems that Miss Bourgeois really don’t mind not having the bee miraculous” Gabriel said. “It looks like I can’t use her anymore.”

“With her out, and with Lila wavering on her convictions, it seems that we’re losing potential allies” Nathalie said. “Meanwhile, Ladybug’s team only appears to be growing. What should we do?”

Gabriel grinned. “Not to worry. We still have limited help from Judgement Wolf. But more importantly, I think there’s someone new I can convince.”

[spottedcutie]

It feels like this episode also renewed the whole conflict regarding identities. Thoughts?

Yeah it was already a bit messy with the discourse surrounding it and how that discourse unfortunately tied deeply into Marinette’s character and her self-esteem, and after this episode it did seem to make it more complicated.

The general rule was that no one can know their identities out of safety for themselves and their loved ones. While Plagg seems a little more laxed on this rule seeing how he acts about Adrien wanting to know Ladybug’s identity, Tikki being the responsible kwami and canonically having lost some of her Ladybugs in awful ways, strongly instills this into Marinette who also takes her duties very seriously.

But then you add Master Fu into the mix and now we have Marinette knowing his identity as the keeper of the miraculous and the Turtle holder while Adrien is still made unaware. On top of that now, it appears that Marinette IS going to be the one who chooses the heroes and not Fu, as she chose Alya for the Fox.

So I could see how some people take issue with the fact that Marinette knows about Master Fu and Alya’s identity while Adrien does not, and whether the secret identities are that necessary. However even with Marinette knowing, the reason behind the rule still remains the same, as it simply boils down whatever is practical and the best for the current situation.

Marinette was never meant to know Fu’s identity. When she visited him in the Collector, this was the first thing Tikki says to him

The only reason why she brought her over however was because she knew she had to get the book to Fu to decipher. It was emphasized a lot in this episode how valuable the knowledge in this book was, especially with the ability of unlocking more powers for Ladybug and Chat which would help them in their fight against Hawkmoth.

Basically there wasn’t much they could do about the situation that led to Marinette knowing his identity, however the same can’t really be said about Chat Noir. If it was the other way around, let’s say that Plagg did recognize the book and had Adrien bring it to Fu, it would probably play out the same way with Ladybug being unaware and Chat knowing about Fu. 

In the end if the reason why there’s a rule for secret identities comes from safety precautions, then it follows that the less people who know the better. And if Fu doesn’t want Chat Noir to know about him, then it’s not Marinette’s place to tell him his secret identity.

It’s the same situation with Marinette and Rena Rouge. It just couldn’t be helped that Marinette knows her identity. Fu could have been the one to chose instead of Marinette, but they were tight on time and he never intended to hand out anymore miraculous outside of Ladybug and Chat’s so he probably didn’t have any other candidates in mind, and even for those two he had to test Marinette and Adrien to make absolutely sure that they were the right ones. So Marinette had to be the one who chooses, specifically a person she knows can be trusted, and of course she can’t tell Chat because then she’ll have to explain him about Fu and in any case she wouldn’t want to put Alya in any potential danger by allowing another person to know who Rena Rouge is. 

When safety issues was first brought up at the beginning of Sapotis, Alya had pointed out the pros in knowing Ladybug’s identity, such as being able to help her, while Marinette repeated what she said in Lady Wifi, that not telling would protect her from her enemies.

(screenshot taken from ladyofacat) 

And right before Marinette and Tikki’s conversation in Lady Wifi, we had this scene of Hawkmoth, which only served to drive their point about it being for safety from her enemies home.

When Marinette approached Fu for help, he was reluctant with giving away a miraculous because of the risks involved. While the risk was successful as they were able to purify Sapotis with Rena Rouge’s help, there was still a consequence that came from it. Because of Rena’s appearance, Hawkmoth now knows that there is a guardian and even more miraculous in the city (which may not speak well for what this means for Fu especially since we know that Nino gets his miraculous and as this episode reveals he has so many other options, so why would he get one that already has a chosen?).

Safety and practicality are the key basis for what informs Tikki, Ladybug, and Fu’s decision and at the moment the best way to achieve it is by secret identities. So it’s not necessarily an ironclad rule if the situation calls for it to be broken. And to clarify further it’s only if doing so outweighs the risks involved, which was the case for Tikki bringing Marinette to see Fu and Marinette being tasked to choose a hero to help her and Chat.

The only real issue that I personally find with this set up has to do with the show needing to explicitly state these reasons for the audience to clearly understand, especially for the matter of Chat Noir not knowing about Fu. I can infer the reasons why he’s still in the dark, especially given the circumstances that resulted in it and how it appears to be supported by the fact that neither Marinette or Fu bring it up as an issue, but it seems that at this point it really needs to be said. Otherwise if the writers continue to not acknowledge it, it’s just going to be confusing and harder to accept.

[kasienda]

Rena Rouge secret keeper??? 👀👉🏽👈🏽

Okay! Okay! I've been working on this one for since forever. It's Season four. Adrien resigns after his not being in on the plan backfires on team miraculous. Marinette is distraught but still insistent she can't know Chat's identity because of Chat Blanc. Alya proposes that SHE be the one to know his identity to act as go between. Then it's her job to keep the two of them in communication while also not tipping them off to one another. She's going insane and Nino is her anchor. She gets more close to all of them while this is happening. She might even fall in love more than she already is. It's supposed to focus on ALYA'S relationships with each of them, but all the corners of this OT4 square get some attention in this one because I was having too much fun.

I actually finished chapter one earlier this month. I didn't post it because I have so many wips right now, and don't think this one will take center stage any time soon and it's kinda looking like it'll be a big fic. But... could probably be talked into it pretty easily if literally any ONE person wants to read it and is willing to be super patient!

...

Preview:

Alya waited by her phone for Marinette to call, chewing the inside of her cheek. She shouldn’t have chewed Chat Noir out like that. She knew he could be sensitive and it definitely was not his fault that Marientte was ridiculous about secret identities.

Her phone buzzed in her hand. Alya glanced down. 

Marinette:

I’m going to be akumatized. 

The words blurred as Alya read them. Damn that stupid cat! What did he say?! 

Alya:

Where are you? 

Marinette:

In my room. 

Alya transformed immediately and took off towards Marinette’s balcony. She dropped through the skylight barely slowing down. Marinette was curled in the fetal position at the foot of her bed, sobbing brokenly.

Marinette had never looked so small. 

Gone was the clever and confident superhero everyone looked up to and relied upon. No one else ever got to see the Ladybug that overthought and doubted herself, the girl who was so nervous she couldn’t complete an intelligible sentence in front of her crush, the girl who took responsibility for everyone in their class and their city, the girl who felt so much and so deeply when she saw others were hurting.

Alya dropped to the bed, not bothering to detransform. Her arms wrapped around Marinette. Alya wished she could do something, anything at all to ease Marientte’s wracking sobs.

[kasienda]

Rena Rouge: Secret Keeper - Ch 5: Marinette

Chapters: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

Read on Ao3

Chapter 5: Marinette

“I just… it wouldn’t be hard to fall for you, Chaton.”

She couldn’t look at him when she said it and instead stayed focused on her writhing hands. 

“I’ve known it for a while. I had to keep you at a distance.” 

He had to understand. She had never wanted to hurt him, had never really wanted to push him away, but what else could she do. 

“To save the world?” His voice sounded dead - like an autumn leaf that had been stepped on too many times. 

She shook her head violently and looked up at him. “No,” she insisted. He had to understand. “To save you.”

“I don’t understand.” 

She pressed her lips together, and glanced over his shoulder. What could she even say? 

“You… survived. No one else did. You were all alone.”

She wanted to say more, she would have said more, but he was already swaying on his feet. 

She reached out to steady him? But he took a step back. 

“Chaton?” 

His lips pressed into a practiced smile. “I’m okay.”

“But—“ 

“Thank you,” he said, cutting her off. “Really, thank you for telling me.” 

And then she was standing on the rooftop alone. It could have gone so much worse. 

And yet, her throat still lodged closed, and she blinked back tears. 

She wanted it to go so much better. 

… 

Marinette lay staring at her ceiling. She hadn’t cried again since coming home, but she didn’t know what to do either. 

She eyed her phone. She had texted Alya already, but her best friend had yet to respond. She knew that meant Alya was likely talking to Chat. 

She rolled to her side and brought her knees to her chest.

He probably needed it more. 

But Alya was her best friend. And Marinette needed her too. Alya had a way of pulling her out of her worst spirals, of putting things in perspective when it felt like the world was ending, of helping her find her courage to have the difficult conversations.

Ladybug only even managed to talk to Chat Noir because of Alya! And now she was supposed to deal with the fallout of that conversation on her own? Without her best friend? 

A lump formed in her throat, and her eyes burned with threatened tears. 

Her phone buzzed, and she seized it. But it wasn’t a text and it wasn’t from Alya. 

Her eyebrows furrowed. Nino was calling. 

She sat up still keeping her knees close to her chest, wiped her eyes, and answered. 

“Hey,” she said. 

“Nettie!” His face was positively brilliant. “Have I ever told you you’re the most amazing girl in the world?!” 

In spite of everything she laughed. “What do you need?” 

He clapped his hands together. “So Alya and I had this big date coming up, and of course, my parents’ work schedules aren’t cool enough to take my dating life into consideration and I’m stuck with Noel the night of and that’s just—“ He blew a raspberry and just shrugged, still smiling. “Can you bail a guy out? Please?!” 

Marinette smiled back. “What day?” 

“Thursday afternoon. I would be able to grab him by six.” 

She didn’t have anything that day and sure akumas were always a possibility, but Marinette refused to plan around those. 

“Yeah, I think I can pull that off. And you wouldn’t have to come get him until eight.” She didn’t want to do bedtime with Noel. He was worse than the twins about going to bed. 

“Nettie! I wasn’t kidding when I said you’re the best girl!”

“Shouldn’t you be saying that to Alya?” 

He grinned. “Alya’s definitely amazing! But she usually has me cover for her rather than the other way around.” 

Marinette’s eyebrows furrowed, suddenly suspicious. “Did she tell you to call me? Do you even have a date planned?” 

He shook his head. “I’ll have you know that calling you was all my idea! I really do want date night to be uninterrupted. But is there a reason Alya would tell me to call? Are you okay?” 

“Not really,” she admitted, resting her cheek on the side of her knees. 

“Well, I know I’m no Alya, but do you want to talk about it?” 

She sat up. “Hey! Don’t sell yourself short. You’re an amazing listener. At least, according to her.” 

He grinned. “Good to know she speaks highly of me.” 

“Yeah…” 

“Nettie, seriously, what’s up? Do I need to go yell at someone for you?”

Marinette shook her head. “No, no one did anything. I just… have you ever hurt someone you cared about? Not intentionally, but like while trying to protect them?” 

“I mean, I don’t know if it’s the same thing, but Noel is always pissed at me for not letting him run off or eat too much candy, or whatever.” 

Marinette smiled. “You’re a good big brother.”

Nino snorted. “I try. But what I do know, is that however hurt or mad Noel is in the moment, he always comes around. He knows that I love him. Your friend or whoever - they know that you care about them, yeah?” 

Marinette nodded. “I think so.” 

Chat knew that she cared, but she was never certain if he understood how much he meant to her. 

Nino smiled. “Then, it will be okay.”

And he said it with such confidence. And like, he had no idea what was going on. The things Noel got upset about in no way compared to the bombs Ladybug had dropped on Chat Noir, or to the things that she had kept from him. Marinette shouldn’t have found Nino’s assurances convincing. 

And yet, she believed him anyway. 

“Thank you, Nino. That really does help.” 

He offered her a half smile. “Anytime, dudette! I can be your substitute Alya anytime you need!” 

She burst out laughing, trying to picture Nino sitting next to her on her bed, trying to give her a pep talk while combing her hair.

“Hey! I can be your Alya!” 

She grinned. “Sure! And I can be your Adrien.” 

“Oh my god! Nettie! Can I tell you some of the stupid jokes he’s been sharing with me lately? I need someone to understand my pain.” 

She grinned. “Shoot!” 

Surely Adrien’s jokes couldn’t be worse than Chat Noir’s. 

… 

“I want to write him an appreciation post, but I don’t know all the details of what he does for you .”

Marinette nodded enthusiastically. She wasn’t good at explaining to people what they meant to her. Words just never came naturally to her - not the way they did for Chat. 

But this was something she could do. 

“Chat, well more than anything, he’s reliable. He’s always there whenever I need him.”

Her eyes burned. She couldn’t make that claim about anyone else. Even Alya, who knew everything about her, hadn’t been there all day.

“And he just gets me! He knows what I mean with like two words, and he just knows when I need a moment or reassurance.”

Alya was rapidly typing away, nodding enthusiastically. 

“He just… he’s amazing.” 

Alya nodded. “Yes, we just have to make sure he knows it!”

Marientte laughed. “Oh, he knows.”

But Alya didn’t laugh. Alya shook her head sadly. “I don’t think he does.”

Marinette wanted to argue. That didn’t make any sense! She knew three things about Chat Noir for a fact. He was hilarious, super smart, and had an ego the size of the sun. He definitely knew he was amazing. 

What did Alya know that made her think differently?

“What do you mean?” Marinetted asked. 

“I–I can’t tell you.”

The words hit her like a bucket of ice dumped over her head. 

“Oh.” Marinette forced herself to smile. “Yeah, I get it.” She had told Alya to keep these secrets.

“But trust me. That boy is too good at pretending and he has issues!”

“I always trust you.”

And she did . She trusted Alya more than she trusted herself. So why did she suddenly feel so alone?

…

An akuma alert interrupted their lunch break the next day. Marinette both loved and hated when they interrupted breaks. On one hand, she didn’t have to come up with an excuse to leave class. But on the other, it absolutely wasn’t fair that the akuma stole away her limited downtime. 

And this time, she was particularly nervous. She hadn’t seen Chat since their talk. Despite what Alya said, despite the Chat appreciation post they wrote together, Marinette wasn’t sure where Ladybug and Chat Noir stood with one another. 

Ladybug was the first on the scene. Multi colored gems litter the ground like confetti. Experience suggested they were either mines waiting to explode, remnants of a power, or people that had been transformed. But she followed the trail they provided to the akuma. 

When she caught up, Marinette could barely focus on the akuma itself - it seemed to be made more of light than anything solid. But Marinette didn’t learn more than that. Her gaze was on the sky and searching around corners, waiting for her partner to show up. 

Where was he?

Had he just gotten held up? 

Or was he mad at her? 

“Ladybug!” 

Her head jerked toward the incoming blast. She had enough time to see it.

Familiar arms wrapped around her and slammed her to the side. 

They landed tangled up, sprawled on the ground. Chat Noir lifted his head and offered her a bright smile, and the anxiety in her evaporated. 

“M’Lady!” he greeted. “May I just say, you are looking pawsitively radiant, today? You rival the sun in brightness!” 

And it was so stupid how this was exactly not the time! And yet, it was exactly what she needed. It felt normal and right and she found herself laughing. Wasn’t this exactly what ended up in Alya’s post? His words had a way of getting her out of her head.

“Guys! Get up!” Rena growled, running past. “Illusions alone are not going to take this guy out!” 

Chat hauled her to her feet, and they took off after Rena, towards the akuma. 

With all three of them there working together, the rest of the battle was over in minutes. And how could it not be? Chat Noir knew what she was thinking without asking, and Rena Rouge built off of her plan like they planned it out in advance. None of that was new or surprising, but what was new, was that the two of them weren’t sniping at one another. 

Chat hadn’t picked any fights and Rena hadn’t offered any snide sarcastic responses. 

They both worked well with her, and with each other. 

It was a little weird. 

But Marinette liked the change. She felt so relieved. 

She watched them joking with each other, and smiled at them fondly. She was happy for both of them to find a new close friend.

She wrapped her arms around her chest. She just wished she knew how to join in. 

…