You Deserve To Be Happy More Than They Deserve To Be
In the middle of the night, Marinette awakens on the Liberty. Resisting the urge to whoop with glee, she reflects upon the day's events... and the contents of the letter she'd written to herself. The one hidden away in her former master's defunct tea shop, that she pointed herself towards by placing that teapot earlier.
The one that started by declaring that if she was reading this, then her plan was working. That immediately confirmed that the new Ladybug was none other than Lila Rossi, who was even more reprehensible than she was likely to recall... but still had her uses.
Idly, she wonders what her chosen successor is up to, and how much longer she'll be able to keep things going before all her scheming inevitably goes awry. Oh, sure, Luka passed on Alix's warnings, but honestly, it wouldn't surprise her if somebody came along and toppled her plans like a house of cards. Lila wasn't really as clever and cunning as she thought she was, after all.
But that wasn't her problem to deal with. Not anymore.
She'd made certain of that by intimidating her back when she passed over the Earrings. Still, she knew she'd cause problems... and that this would attract the attention of the holder of the Rabbit Watch. Just like she knew they'd try forcing her to get involved rather than resolving the matter by themselves... which would give her the chance to ensure she'd never have to deal with any other time traveling meddlers.
Timebreaker wasn't a threat anymore. Nobody was. Yes, Lila held most of the Miraculouses, but she lacked the kind of creativity necessary to use them well. And if Marinette was ever forced to enact the next stages of her plan, they wouldn't be able to stop her.
For dealing with the Rabbit holder also offered the chance to put Luka Couffaine's loyalty to the test. Though he seemed like the perfect boy, well... Adrien had seemed perfect too, once. Much like how Alya seemed like the perfect friend. But both Adrien and Alya betrayed her, over and over, and she needed to ensure that Luka wouldn't do the same. That his love for her would outweigh his desire to see Lila stopped.
Brushing some stray hairs off her boyfriend's face, Marinette muses that he didn't completely agree with her. Hadn't come to the conclusion that Paris didn't deserve her. But he'd gotten all the important parts right, and his desire to help her heal... she could handle that. Another year or so and they'd be off to university, where she wouldn't be surrounded by those who'd personally betrayed her... and he'd see her ability to get along with all those new acquaintances as a sign she was recovering, slowly and surely.
Oh, obviously he'd want to stay in touch with Reflekta and Captain Hardrock, and likely Guitar Villain as well. And she'd have to contact Qilin and Weredad in order to keep up appearances. But she could handle such minor irritations for the sake of her beloved Luka.
Even in her letter, she noted how likely he was to pass. But if he didn't... she had contingencies in place to deal with that as well. Such as what she'd done with the real Black Cat Ring, after sending a fake one into space in front of Lila. The real one was camouflaged, transformed to look like a pewter ring covered in ladybug stones and musical notes.
The ring Luka bought for her, after Marinette snuck it into a craft show and used Reflekta to ensure he noticed it.
If Luka ever betrayed her, she needed only to declare "Plagg, claws out." The kwami would instantly be summoned from America, giving her the power she required to retrieve the Earrings from Lila and make her Wish. She warned her future self against trusting Tikki, who'd tried betraying her as well, forcing her to remain transformed into Ladybug full time just to keep her from interfering.
A shame, Marinette thought, but unsurprising. After all, it seemed like the whole world was inclined to treat her like a sacrificial lamb, expecting her to suffer endlessly for their sake. Why would Tikki have been any exception? The only one who ever stood against that was the boy she was watching sleep now, the boy she'd do anything to keep by her side.
While she could go after the Earrings anyway, Wish for a truly fresh start — one where they wouldn't have to deal with petty annoyances like their akumatized family members — she saw no reason to do so needlessly. Not so long as this was a world where Luka loved her. That was enough reason to preserve this reality.
Her past self implored her not to let anyone convince her that it was wrong to seek her own happiness. She was better than them, after all. The only one who'd never been akumatized. Alya's stories about some 'Princess Justice' that almost came about were nothing more than slander; despite all the pain she was forced to bear, she'd always kept her emotions under control.
Those words came as considerable relief to Marinette, who'd often wondered whether she'd ever slipped, whether she'd fallen far enough to be akumatized herself and was just never caught on tape. But surely there was no better source than Ladybug herself.
After all she did to save and protect others, nobody was willing to do the same in kind for her. Knowing this, she shouldn't hesitate — if she needs to make a Wish in order to ensure her dreams come true, she should do so without sparing a single thought to those who exploited her compassion for so long, letting themselves be akumatized and putting her through hell.
She deserves to be happy more than they deserve to be.
...Maybe Luka had a point about her being traumatized. Maybe she wouldn't be so calm about the prospect of rewriting reality itself to suit her whims if she hadn't witnessed so much death and destruction as Ladybug. If Chat Noir hadn't been so casual about Syren drowning millions of people. While the memories themselves were gone, the horror lingered, as did the sense that she'd grown more inured to such things with time.
She'd probably empathized more with all of the akumas, as well... but that Ladybug, that Marinette, was long gone, her capacity to commiserate with them long since worn away.
And as the past Marinette reminded her, while Luka had also been akumatized, he was the only one who fell under Hawkmoth's sway due to sympathizing with her pain. He became Silencer because of how Bob Roth hurt her, and Truth when he saw her anguish over not being able to share her secrets with him. The only one who cared...
Ladybug ended her letter by declaring she'd done everything she could, and it was up to Marinette now to build a perfect life for herself and Luka... either in this world or the next. One crafted by her own Wish.
Oh, and incidentally, she'd told Lila that she'd appreciate it if her successor made certain Chloe had a bad time during her reign. Encouraging her to look her up for a laugh.
Heading up to the deck, Marinette burns the letter, silently thanking her past self for being so thoughtful. She really did have a wonderful life ahead of her, and if Luka ever strayed, she'd have the Wish in her back pocket... but surely, surely she'd never have to go that far. He'd love her forever, certainly. Evidence duly disposed of, she returns to his side, snuggling up against him as she whispers "I love you. And you love me too. We're gonna be together forever. Forever, and ever, and ever..."
This chapter contains examples of:
- Ambiguous Situation: In her letter, past Marinette reassures her current, amnesiac self that she never even came close to being akumatized herself, painting 'Princess Justice' as Malicious Slander on Alya's end. It's unclear whether this is simply a matter of Marinette lying to herself, or if she'd sincerely convinced herself that she never had that kind of brush with Hawkmoth's powers even before losing all of her Miraculous-related memories.
- Became Their Own Antithesis: The new Marinette has more in common with Lila than the compassionate, idealistic girl she used to be. After having her generosity exploited and taken for granted for so long, she has no intention of helping anyone other than herself.
- Conditioned to Accept Horror: Over the course of her time as Ladybug, Marinette gradually grew used to witnessing others dying horribly at the hands of akuma... and occasionally her own partner. While the memories themselves were lost when she renounced her Guardianship, those feelings were strong enough to leave lingering impressions of the horror she initially felt... and how it faded over time.
- Didn't See That Coming: As much as Marinette did anticipate and account for while planning her impending retirement, she didn't foresee Lila teaming up with Felix and creating a fake Chat Noir to replace the original. Ultimately, however, the current Marinette dismisses that as irrelevant.
- Double Meaning: The line that serves as this chapter's title: "You deserve to be happy more than they deserve to be." This isn't simply referring to the happiness of others, but denying their right to exist — the past Marinette is reassuring her future self that she shouldn't hesitate to use a Wish to remake the world if that becomes necessary to secure her happiness with Luka.
- Downer Ending:
- Marinette finally managed to escape the burden of being Ladybug... but is no longer the sweet, compassionate and considerate girl who made such a wonderful heroine in the first place. Not only did she sacrifice a massive chunk of her memories, she transformed into somebody who Stopped Caring about anything or anyone other than herself or her precious Luka. Now Paris is being 'protected' by Nominal Heroes, and her contingency plans hinge entirely around ensuring she keeps hold of her personal happiness no matter what.
- Making matters worse: the majority of their experiences throughout the day just reinforced Marinette's belief that Paris is full of Entitled Bastards who expected Ladybug to solve all their problems for them instead of doing anything for themselves. While Luka wants to help heal her wounded spirit and deal with her trauma, it's clear she has no interest in doing anything more than tricking him into believing she's improving, while holding onto her resentment indefinitely.
- Dramatic Irony:
- Marinette completely trusts her past self's proclamation that she never had any brushes with being akumatized herself, deeming Ladybug to be an unquestionably valid source. The reader, naturally, knows that past Marinette lied, and that she almost did get akumatized into 'Princess Justice'.
- Marinette's musings on recent events reveal that Kagami and Socqueline asked her to join their secret anti-Ladybug alliance, blissfully unaware that Marinette not only is responsible for the new Ladybug getting established in the first place, but she has absolutely no intention of fighting her... and if she does decide to do so, it wouldn't be a good thing.
- The Ending Changes Everything: After being drip-fed segments of Marinette's letter to Luka throughout the work, we finally get to read the second letter mentioned in the title and learn just what she told herself.
- Even Evil Has Standards: As far as her morality has slipped, Marinette isn't quite willing to use a Wish just to try and make things 'perfect' for herself. So long as she has Luka, she's fine with handling 'imperfections' like dealing with their formerly akumatized relatives. For now, anyway...
- Gilded Cage: Lila effectively keeps the kwami in one; all her efforts to keep them happy are just a matter of placating them so they don't turn completely against her.
- Irony: One of the reasons why Marinette latched so hard onto Luka is because he was one of the only people in Paris who actually respected her agency and right to choose what she did with her life. Tragically, two years of serving as Ladybug wore her down to the point that she no longer respects his personal agency, intending to ensure he stays with her no matter what.
- Moment of Weakness: Privately, Marinette feared that she might have slipped enough that Hawkmoth did akumatize her at some point, and that the results were simply never caught on camera. Her past self reassures her that was never the case... and that Alya made up some story about a 'Princess Justice', claiming that she was almost akumatized at some point as a form of gaslighting.
- Pragmatic Villainy: Before heading back to Lila, Sass reassured Luka and Marinette that she was treating the kwami well, giving them their own private room filled with all their favorite snacks and toys... namely so she doesn't piss them off and risk their wrath.
- Rule of Symbolism: Past Marinette's claim that 'Princess Justice' is nothing more than a story Alya made up underscores how she's lying to herself — intentionally or otherwise, she's using self-deception to convince herself that there's nothing wrong with what she's done or how far she's willing to go for the sake of her own happiness.
- Secret Test of Character: In essence, the entire story was one massive gambit run by Marinette to see whether or not Luka was trustworthy, or if he'd try to override and undermine her choices just like everyone else in her life. He passed.
- Suspiciously Specific Denial: Past Marinette reassures her future self that she was never akumatized, and never even came close... and that anything she might hear about a 'Princess Justice' is nothing more than some silly story Alya made up.
- The Unfettered:
- Marinette noted in her letter to herself that one of the reasons she selected Lila as her successor is because she was confident Lila wouldn't be constricted by her conscience. While she tried to avoid unnecessary damage, Lila would be more than willing to do whatever it took to win.
- Her past self also encourages Marinette to embrace this mentality and do whatever it takes to secure her happiness with Luka... even if she has to reshape reality with a Wish.
- Villain Protagonist: Turns out that Marinette really is a Fallen Hero, with her past self having orchestrated everything in order to lure Alix out of hiding and see whether Luka would stand by her side... or whether she'd have to take even more extreme measures to secure her happy ending.
- Yandere: Marinette's love for Luka has turned obsessive; she's convinced that he's the only person in Paris who ever truly gave a damn about her, and is hellbent on ensuring they stay together.
