#asbsf

Here's my first concept art in A Small but Stubborn Fire for Sabine as Cricket, which is her wielding the Ladybug Miraculous when Marinette has been nearly killed by an akuma.

Crickets are the lucky bug in Chinese culture, so I think it fitting that she'd adopt that name. I wanted to connect to the name with brown hues, but it still needed some connection to the underlying Ladybug Miraculous. So reddish browns! (There was an attempt.)

She has spotted gloves as a nod to her daughter, and, otherwise, she wields the yoyo (which glows white-blue the same as her eyes) like a meteor hammer. This is a weapon used in Chinese martial arts, and a practitioner wraps the rope—attached to a heavy ball of metal—around her body, using elbows and knees and ankles as fulcra to rapidly accelerate the metal ball and bludgeon her targets.

A Small but Stubborn Fire, ch10: Weather Stripping

It's the end of spring break. I'm happy I was able to get this chapter ready. This is ch10 of my Sabinefic for the @mlbigbang. The story is from Sabine's POV as she tries to figure out what has been traumatizing her little girl (who, by the way, will not tell her anything).

If you haven't started reading yet, now's a good time. We're turned the corner on vibes and are now hurtling toward events.

Synopsis

Sabine drags Marinette to therapy.

Extract

“Okay, okay! I’m just saying to be careful around that cat boy.” She knew she’d gone too far when Marinette’s expression clouded.

“See, that’s what I’m talking about. You were rude to him last night—”

“He shouldn’t have been visiting that late—”

“And then you acted like you understood and were sorry. You even apologized! And then today, you have me cornered on this bus, and you keep picking at the scab. You’re my mother; you’re supposed to believe me—”

“Marinette, I’m supposed to support you.”

“How is that any different?”

“People aren’t objective about themselves. That’s why our loved ones have to check our worst impulses. Sometimes I’m even mad at Alya for pushing your wild confession schemes. She shouldn’t be encouraging that craziness.”

“You know about those?” Marinette’s face had gone red.

At least it’s from embarrassment, not anger. “Mothers see everything. We have hundreds of eyes.”

---

Chapter 13: The Knitting Fairy

This is my story about Sabine & Marinette for the @mlbigbang. The story is from Sabine's POV as she tries to figure out what has been traumatizing her little girl (who, by the way, will not tell her anything).

Thanks also to @uptoolateart and @raspberrycatapult. These two absolute legends get me through the gauntlet chapter in and chapter out.

Synopsis

Sabine trains Ladybug in martial arts. She needs a little miraculous help to keep up. And then an old friend she'd once had for dinner shows up.

Extract

Sabine still wasn’t sure how she felt about sharing her home with a god. She seemed nice enough, but didn’t gods usually come with words like Ragnarok, Armageddon, and...Cataclysm?

At least she didn’t live with whatever god gave Chat Noir that ability. What would it be like to break bread with something that could end reality?

What if her partner ever went crazy and touched Marinette with that power? Could the Goddess of Creation hold off the Goddess of…Destruction?

Sabine felt the blood drain from her face, recalling what she’d read in Marinette’s diary. She had been so high on adrenaline and fear that her memories were a threadbare quilt, unraveling even as it was stitched together. There was something about Chat Noir, and…

A Small but Stubborn Fire's finale goes live in a few minutes. Here's Sabine as Cricket, wielding the yoyo like a meteor hammer!

A sketch I did based on the upcoming ch3 of my Sabinefic, A Small but Stubborn Fire. Look for it Monday!

Yay I can't draw backgrounds, and I found a way to avoid attempting 75% of the hands in this picture! Just pretend they're outside on the sidewalk and the silhouette is on the other side of the street.

I really need better software. This was just Freeform, the first app I found on my daughter's new iPad (for studying!) that I could draw in.

Chapter 12: The Armory

This is my story about Sabine & Marinette for the @mlbigbang. The story is from Sabine's POV as she tries to figure out what has been traumatizing her little girl (who, by the way, will not tell her anything).

This chapter has wonderful art by @izanogi! Check out their Tumblr!

Thanks also to @uptoolateart and @raspberrycatapult. These two absolute legends get me through the gauntlet chapter in and chapter out.

Synopsis

Sabine confronts Marinette with what she's learned, and then she makes a decision.

Extract

Old memories resurfaced…Hawkmoth’s clammy, psychic fingers slithering over her body, hot breaths whispering “Verity Queen” into her ear as he took control…the urge to just lie back and let it happen.

She shivered, remembering the self-disgust she’d felt afterward. It was like she’d let another man into her bed, the Day of Scarlet Moth.

Chapter 11: Fossil

This is my story about Sabine & Marinette for the @mlbigbang. The story is from Sabine's POV as she tries to figure out what has been traumatizing her little girl (who, by the way, will not tell her anything).

Synopsis

Marinette's family discusses removing her from Paris.

Extract

Rolland wasn’t having any of it, though. “Spying on your kids is not the way it’s done! The first word in our national slogan is liberté! You should give them as much freedom as you can stand, because it’s good for them!”

Meilin shouted back, “Children need to learn obedience. She’s skipping class!”

“Meilin, she is class represen—”

“—paranoid, and I can’t help but be afraid—”

“Mi scusi,” Gina said.

“—trust her, she’s always been so responsible—”

”—Please everyone—“

“—showed me that rice flour is more resilient to high temperatures—”

“Mi scusi.” Gina had raised her voice.

“—Roland—”

“—Tom—”

“YOU WANT HER OUT OF PARIS, JUST SEND MARINETTA WITH ME!”

The room went silent, all eyes on Gina.

---

Hey all, here comes chapter SIX of my Sabinefic written as part of the @mlbigbang this year. It explores what it would be like to be the mother of a teenage superhero, but not know what the cause of their trauma is. What it's like to struggle to help someone who will not ask for help.

Synopsis

Sabine and Marinette take a trip to the spa for some rest, relaxation, and honest conversation.

Extract

Marinette's gaze had once again drifted back to the man in the Metro uniform. Sabine let her gaze linger on him, on his thin brown eyebrows and aquiline nose. At the way he stared at a black family talking happily with each other. Then she recognized him, and she realized what was going on.

Qilin. She's thinking about Qilin.

Shortly after her akumatization, this man had disappeared from their bus route. She figured he’d been transferred, but it appeared he’d found a new, better job. It was so typical, guys like this fucking up and falling up the ladder. The irony of him working so close to the Mandarin Oriental was not lost on her.

--

Thank you again to @uptoolateart and @raspberrycatapult for their many labors helping this fic become a fic.

A hat tip as well to @mysticraven20 for the inspiration for this chapter. Sabine and Marinette would probably be having a boring talk over some silly coffee were it not for her.

Also, Happy Lunar New Year (a bit late; I was too busy celebrating it to post!)

Title card background image credit to Dhivakaran S on Pexels.