Filled With Poison, Blessed With Beauty And Rage (Daminette)

Welcome To The Black Parade

Marinette stepped through the terminal, carry-on on her back, red suitcase close to her. So far, her first impression of Gotham was:

Dark. 

Cloudy. 

Smelled like sewage, rain, and moist leaves. 

Was it going to rain? 

Where's my aunt? 

Police sirens sounded in the distance. People ran/walked all over, heading in or out of the busy airport. Cars honked and swerved, trying to get out of the trafficked terminal. Marinette felt beyond uncomfortable. Here she was in Gotham City, all alone, with only her broken, yet fluent English to help her. 

"Marinette!" said, Marinette, turned around to see a woman in about her early thirties running towards her. Her blueish-black hair was in a messy bun, bouncing with her every step. Coffee stains covered her beige cardigan. Underneath that, she wore a white tee-shirt dress and neon pink sneakers. 

"A-auntie Colette?" 

The lady, now identified as her Aunt Colette, panted in front of her, hands on her knees. 

"Oh my, it's so good to see you! I haven't seen you since you were three! You've grown so much!" she quickly hugged Marinette. Perfume, coffee, and pen ink wafted into Marinette's nose. Colette's French was slightly off, with more of an American accent to it. Figures. 

 "I'm sorry I didn't come earlier... pant... I have to return to work in..." Colette checked her watch. "About twenty minutes... come, come, my car is this way..." 

"Oh, um, okay. Thanks, Auntie?" 

Colette nodded, taking Marinette's suitcase. "Come, come!" 

Marinette and Colette weaved past people and carts of suitcases, running through the parking garage. Colette made a pit-stop in front of a 1990 Honda Civic in a fading khaki color. She kicked open the trunk, practically forcing the trunk to make more space for Marinette's suitcase. 

Once the suitcase was secure, Colette slammed the trunk closed, walking over to the driver's seat. Marinette slowly slid into the passenger seat, only to be stopped by Colette. 

"Hold on, hold on," she pulled a pair of high heels off the seat, tossing them into the backseat. So that's why she had those ridiculous sneakers on. "Alright. Now you can sit." 

Marinette managed a smile. Once everything was closed and the seatbelts were on-

Safety first. 

-Colette backed out of the parking garage, driving down the ramps all the way down to the toll where she paid. Now they were on an open highway, driving past all sorts of cars and buildings. One building in particular, stood out to her. 

A huge skyscraper with an awning made of silver with the letters 'W' and 'E' on it. 

"So, Marinette. Are you hungry? Tired, feel sick or anything? We can go get lunch real quick," Colette changed lanes, taking a quick glance at her watch. 

"Oh no, it's fine, I'm fine. I'm just a little tired but that's it." 

"You sure? You're not hungry or anything?" Colette took an exit. Marinette was now able to see the stores and streets better now. Kids were rough-housing on a small playground, leaping off swings and climbing up the slides. Next to that, a group of college kids were all tapping away on laptops inside some sort of restaurant called 'Caroline's Diner' while snarfing away on sesame bagels. Mm, sesame. I'm more of a plain/blueberry person. 

(Yes, all the locations in this story are semi-canon) 

Colette turned, alerting Marinette. The car engine turned off, the car still. 

"We're here," Colette closed her door, going back to get the suitcase. 

'She's fast...' Marinette thought as she also got out. This must be where her aunt lived. An old apartment complex. The color was a 'nice' soggy + old sponge. Laundry was draped over almost every balcony. 

"Alright, this way," Colette said, leading Marinette into the lobby. An old woman ignored the two at the front desk, instead burping and going back to watching her soap operas while eating curly fries. The heavy smell of bleach and cleaning sprays burnt Marinette's nose hairs. Finally stepping in to the elevator, Marinette watched as Colette pressed the '4' button.

'4, 4, 4.... gots to remember that.' 

'When I was... a young boy~' Marinette immediately recognized the song. 

"Um, Aunt Colette? Why does the elevator play 'My Chemical Romance' songs?" 

Colette sighed. "I really don't know. I think it's because the building manager likes the band."

~

Marinette laid on her guest bed, not sure what to do. Colette had given her a quick flat tour - it really wasn't much. A small guest bathroom for her, one guest room, two bedrooms, a walk-in kitchen and a balcony. 

It was about midnight in Paris, meaning that the only person awake would be Alix, but Marinette didn't exactly feel like talking to them at the moment. Yes, she loved and cherished all her friends, but something was just... different for her. 

Here she was, a semi-suicidal high school senior in Gotham City, a close eight hours (flight time) away from Paris. Just lying on a squeaky bed in a guest room with old, dusty salmon pink wallpaper and neighbors who won't stop fucking, based on the excessive squeaking coming from the opposite side. 

She heavily sighed as she got up.

Boxes of her stuff were lined next to the creaky door, which was currently locked. 

"Might as well... unpacked..." she took the first box, ripping off the tape. This one was filled with some extra clothes, like her sundresses and hoodies. She hadn't worn a sundress in a while - people ought to see her scars and ask what was wrong. That would've been hard to explain.

"Oh my demon cat scratched me."

Or.

"Oh, these bitches bullied me to a point where I grew into a state of depression were the only relief I got was by slashing my wrists and watching dizzily as the blood poured onto my white sheets." 

On the bottom of the box, there was a surprise.

~A roach!~

Just kidding. 

A scrapbook filled with photos from the past four years. On the front, there was a note from all her classmates, excluding Alya and Lila.

We'll miss you! Kitties for life! ~ Rose

Best luck to you, Marinette. ~ Ivan

There were more, brightening up Marinette's mood. She set that aside, opening the next boxes. This one was her posters and pictures. She'll have to ask Colette later if she could put those up. Finally, the last box was just clothes. 

Anddddd.... once again, she was bored and tired. 

~

Marinette sat on the balcony, watching the kids at the skatepark right next to the apartment complex. This one girl with multicolored hair and multiple piercings was the one she mainly watched. She would go from doing these intense triple kickflips to dancing in sync to the k-pop or rap music that was playing. 

Another boy, whom she assumed was her brother or friend sat next to a girl with puffy, curly lilac hair who also occasionally went down some ramps on her own skateboard, but mainly talked to the boy and took pictures. 

There was also another girl, with tan skin and brown hair, who would continuously try to get the boy to talk to her. 

Something about her was different... in a way. 

Yet so, so familiar.

"Marinette! I'm home!" 

"Oh!" Marinette hurried back into the room to greet her aunt. 

(t.b.c)