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There’s a lot of people going to Paris pride. Marinette hates to admit it, but she knows that this is an easy avenue for akumatization — big events almost always end with someone getting hurt. Emotionally, that is.
Well, sometimes it’s physical, but it’s mostly emotional. Either way
Her parents already know she’s planning on going to Pride — a bunch of her friends are all going, after all, and she was invited.
But she’s not going as Marinette.
“Tikki, spots on,” she says.
Ladybug needs to be out there. Just to make sure that nothing happens.
She calls Chat Noir, but he doesn't pick up. She wasn't expecting him to — she knows Chat Noir is very frequently busy. She knows he would probably want to go, but he probably has other obligations in his life, so he can't make it to the parade.
Not today, at least. If there's an akuma, he'll probably find a way to show up. She does want to see him.
Hmm. She's probably lingering on this a bit too much.
The festivities are mostly in the center of the city. She makes her way there and perches atop a tall building.
The thing about parades is that they're usually colorful, and this one is no exception. Of course it isn't — their symbol is a rainbow, an explosion of color. Our symbol, she thinks, because she could fly under that flag if she so wished. She remembers brief crushes on the girls in her class; little trifles that made the facts all add up.
She wonders how many people awakened because of Ladybug. She shudders to think about it — whether it's because of her tenacity and heroics or just because of her suit. Sure, she could change it, but she likes how aerodynamic the design is.
Music plays from below — a lot of it is generic club stuff (or at least what she imagines to be generic club stuff — she's never been inside a club before, after all). She smiles at the thought of Kitty Section holding a performance at pride — she thinks all of them are queer, but she's not completely sure.
Anarka would probably like the sentiment of "the first pride was a riot", come to think of it. It's a sentiment that a lot of people have forgotten.
Hawk Moth's probably on the side of the corporations, of the people who seek to eradicate all this. Who claim to be allies as long as it's acceptable to be one, and then will take it back as soon as it isn't.
Oh no. Is that...screaming she hears?
That's an akuma, rising to their feet.
Ladybug sighs and swings over to the fight. It seems like some parent got akumatized because their kid is trans. She wonders if Hawk Moth deliberately chooses the people to be akumatized, because she could definitely picture Hawk Moth reacting bad enough to the reality of a trans child. After all, he's the one that wants parents to control their children -- unless that child is Manon, and then adults are all unfair.
But in this case, he's appealing more to the entitled parent than anyone else. Ladybug narrows her eyes and tries to get a hold on what exactly the parent does. The akuma's power, apparently, is just a capturing one — she wants to keep her child close, it seems. Ladybug dives down into the crowd.
"Ladybug! You're here!" someone cheers. She realizes here — it's probably that people love her and respect her. They accept her.
There's even one person holding a "no cops at pride" sign with her spot pattern on it. She smiles. She doesn't know about Chat, but she's sure he would feel the same sort of honor at being highlighted as a protector for these people. She is a protector, and that is a miracle.
She takes a better look at the scenario. The parent is large, and the child is in a cage.
She doesn't know where to start, really, but she has to. She just has to get started. First, she needs to prevent more people from being captured.
"Evacuate the area," she says, "and let them know that it might take a moment before everything gets back to normal. But it'll be okay."
"You, Chat Noir, and the other heroes are always welcome to help, Ladybug," one of the people says, saluting at her. The crowd evacuates as told. Ladybug dodges the attempts to capture her, bouncing between the walls of the alleyway.
"Oh, hey, Chat," she says as she backflips off a wall. "Nice of you to drop in."
He smirks and salutes. "Wish I could've made it earlier. What's the plan?"
"Right now, the plan is don't get captured until we figure out more. The parent's already got her kid captured, but this akuma's trying to endanger everyone in this parade."
"That's not good," Chat says with a frown. "Seriously. I wish I could've been here earlier. I've never been to something like this."
"Maybe next year," Ladybug remarks. "I mean, I don't know if you're willing to come out or anything, but..."
"You've heard a little about how my dad is," he remarks. "Do you really think he'd let me come out? Being like this is the only way that I can come out at all."
"Is that your way of coming out to me?" she asks.
"I mean, kind of," he admits. "Is that a problem?"
"What do you really think?" she responds. "I'm at a pride parade to help protect it. There's no problem. I'm a big fan of being queer — you know, because I am. I haven't really tried to make that a secret."
"Well, that's nice, but I think we have bigger problems."
She nods. "You're right. Lucky Charm!"
The charm that falls into her hand is a set of keys. In an instant, she knows exactly what she needs to do.
"Let's get this done," she says. "And then maybe we won't have to wait for next year."