THANK YOU

Hey all! I know I've said this before, but I'll say it again, Thank you so much for reading! It means a ton. I mentioned this in the last chapter, but this is only my second fan-fic I've published online and It's my first multi-chapter fic ever. (The first fic is a one-shot about the cabbage merchant from Avatar the Last Airbender. Not my finest work, but it was a fun character study to be sure.) I got way more reviews than I was expecting and a lot more readers as well. It really means a lot. Now then, let's get in to the long stuff.

First thing's first. I am an over writer. What I mean by that is that Staying Proud was supposed to be five chapters tops. Originally I only wanted it to be a one shot. Yah. Ya'll know how well that worked out... Now, at 42 chapters (gosh, that number really is the answer to life) I actually left a lot out.

WHAT I LEFT OUT

Okay, so. The ending to Staying Proud was rushed. I know it reads like that a bit and that's because it is rushed. The point at which I ended was originally about the 2/3 mark of the story with a bit more to come. Then I hit 40,000 words and was like "okay, I don't have the time to actually get through everything the way I want to. I need to end this." 10,000 or so words later I did. Because of this decision however, there are a few loose plot threads that were never tied up.

The most noticeable to me personally is Adrien's relationship with Kagami. It is mentioned in the earlyer chapters that he had been dating her but they had broken up. There's actually more focus on this then there needs to be, but that's because I was planning on bringing it back. Kagami was supposed to return to Paris and be part of the final third of the story. It was supposed to build up to Adrien getting akumatized, being the final boss if you will.

That takes me to the next thing I left out. Hawkmoth and Mayura's identity's were supposed to be revealed once they lost their miraculous. Originally it was going to segway from that reveal, to the new villains, to Adrien getting akumatized. Hawkmoth and Mayura were never supposed to be the main villain's in my story, they were just a prelude to the larger threat.

Speaking of which, Felix and Lila were supposed to eventually get redeemed. Ish. Redeemed-ish. I had been planning on going over their motivations a bit more. Why does Lila feel the need to lie all the time? Why can't Felix move on from his fathers death? Ect. Originally they were supposed to be defeated and forced to go over their true motivations as they considered their choices. A final "am I really evil" if you will. Instead I chose to end with a "oh no! New villains!" because I really just don't have the time to go as far as I wanted to.

Okay. Marinette. I worked really hard to build up to a believable break down and akumaziation of her. I've been following the show for a long time. Like, since the leak of the original anime PV long. I loved her hair in that so I decided to use those extra six years for her to grow it out. Then of course there's that whole comment that when she's an adult she has a short hair cut. I incorporated that into the last chapter, kind of a throw away comment really, but I had been planning on making it a larger thing. I had a whole mini-arc planned so that she could excuse the fact that she had the same sudden hair cut change as Ladybug and everything.

The ships were supposed to be a little more built up than the end product has. I wanted more Marichat and Chloe-Luka(I have no idea what the fan name for Chloe-Luka is). Starting them all out as friend and building to romance as they learn to let go of the past. Did not happen. I did not have time to make that happen. I will say I just like the idea of Chloe being with an artsy guy. When I came across the whole idea of Chloeanial (ignore my terrible spelling) I was surprised how well I thought it fit. Then there was her whole calling Luka "cute" in Miracle Queen while akumatized and I thought, why not? Why not let her build a relationship from someone who wasn't affected by her in her worst years? Someone who was willing and ready to give her a second chance. I took it and ran. I'm just a little sad I didn't have more time to build it up.

Last thing I planned to do more with was Chloe's grandmother. My goodness. Of course she was supposed to return! I had a whole backstory for her and everything. A Bourgeois never regrets. That is repeated through out my story. And yet the grandmother is surrounded by a melancholy that reeks of regret. Grandmere was not always the person she appears to be in the story. There's a reason Chloe felt safe and comfortable running to her. I'm sad I had to cut her part short as she was a large reason for Chloe's change of attitude despite her personality.

CHARACTERS

I'm not sure I've mentioned this before or not, but originally this fan fiction was just supposed to be a character study. How would Chloe feel about the events of Miracle Queen? She must know that everyone would remember this, she would be ostracized. So on, so forth. Needless to say I love character, and man did I have a field day with the ones in Miraculous. Not everything got in there and no one got as much screen time as I had originally planned so I thought I'd add a little description here. Where did everyone go?

Alix has a strong personality and the advantage of having small glimpses into her future. She works pizza-delivery part time as well as a couple other jobs to pay for school. She's a bit wiser than she was a few years ago, but as true to herself as ever and really hasn't changed much. She's currently going to an engineering school and is much more technically minded than a lot of her old classmates.

Julika has overcome her fear of getting her picture taken. On the contrary, she takes pride in her pictures now and has started on the path to become a career model. She's been doing this for a few years now and has a pretty solid following. Many people consider her the female equivalent to Adrien Agreste himself. She's still pretty quiet and prefers her time alone (introvert through and through), but her confidence has taken a big leap.

Rose is a little bit of a major hopper, not quite sure what she wants to do quite yet. Not that this bothers her. On the contrary, she takes great joy in the fact that she has endless possibility's before her. She's grown her hair out a little but that's honestly the biggest change she's had. She's technically in the music department and has a growing online following for her hardcore unicorn metal music but she's also considered management among other things. She still keeps in contact with Prince Ali (who has developed a somewhat serious crush on the entirely oblivious and well meaning girl, like, she's worse than Adrien) and does a ton of volunteer work, much of it overseas.

Max graduated early and took both the world of robotics and the world of programming by storm. Now entirely wealthy but extremely bored he returned to college to hang out with his old friends, deciding a degree in business couldn't hurt. He's even offered to help Alix pay her way through school, though the girl vehemently refused.

Kim attends school on scholarship and is currently training for the summer Olympics where he has declared he'll bring France gold in every swimming event. Never mind the fact that he's not technically allowed to participate in every single event. His grades could use some work but the money he makes swimming professionally has been invested with help from Max and Alix, making sure he'll be able to live comfortably even without a degree when he retires.

Mylene is currently working towards a degree in film, specializing in camera work and lighting. She's still the main carrier of the mouse miraculous, but her always bustling schedule means that she's not always the first person Ladybug asks for help. She and Ivan are still dating, though they hit a rough patch a few years back when discussing possible college choices. In the end they went for the same degree, made up, and are now planning their wedding set for about a year after the events of this fan-fic.

Ivan has had a confidence boost over the years, though he's still a silent wonder. Like his girlfriends he is getting a degree in film, though he specializes in editing and sound work. He proposed to Mylene on New Years after a series of nervous blunders and turns bright red anytime it's mentioned. He is attending on partial sports scholarship for heavy weight wrestling and came in second at his last tournament.

Though Nathaniel is still attending school for an art degree he is actually already a published and successful comic book artist working together with Marc. I imagine they work together kind of like the two main characters of the anime Bakuman (highly recommended if you've ever wondered what the manga industry is like and how it works). Currently a live-action movie is in the works based on their most popular superhero.

Alya is currently interning as the news station with a second internship lined up for the paper. Since the power of the fox miraculous has returned to her in the last chapter, she's been balancing life like Superman and Peter Parker combined. She never seems to be around for the action but was apparently always in the right place at the right time, always able to get the full scoop and the best pictures. She and Nino are in line to be married after Mylene and Ivan, the date continuously getting pushed back as Alya buries herself in work. They don't mind though, they'll be ready when they're ready.

Nino works part time as a freelance DJ, quickly gaining popularity for privet events and clubs alike. He's getting a music degree focused on synthesized and electric music and instruments. Despite all this he works perfectly well as Carapace now that he has his miraculous back and the newly restored temple of the guardians are keeping an eye on him as a potential recruit for their European branch.

Sabrina is getting a business and marketing degree, same as Chloe. I was actually going to write the two friends making up but, since I cut everything short, I'll just mention that they have made up here. She's still very much a follower, but that's okay. She followes the people she agrees with and helps get things done. Her work ethic has made her popular during her internships, building her resume and pile of letters of recommendation. As Chloe builds her empire I imagine Sabrina's right there with her as VP, making sure everything runs smoothly but still able to take time for herself.

Okay. I think that's everyone. I think. I actually spent way too long on this but whatever, it was fun.

FINAL THANKS

Oh. My. Gosh. I'm actually done. As you can see there really was a whole lot more I meant to add but just didn't have the time to. I have a lot of personal projects that are taking priority right now, but I'm glad I was able to finish with decent quality. Thank you all so much for reading, commenting, favorite-ing, whatever. Just thank's so much. It means a ton. I'm planning on writing more fan-fictions in time but I'm pretty sure I'm considered a fandom hopper, so while I'll come back to Miraculous there's probably going to be a few stops along the way. (currently in my plans is an unofficial Joker origin story and a crossover crack between hunger games and barbie. Gosh I have no life.) Really and truly, thank you for getting this far. I hope you all enjoyed Staying Proud and I would love it if you read more things I write for this fandom in the future.

One last time for the readers in the back, THANK YOU!