Chapter 22: Cosplay, Prizes and Surprises
Just like it happened on its first day, Japan Expo was swarming with people. Everywhere a person looked, it would see cosplayers, people dressed with clothes from their favourite shows, while also wearing all sorts of merchandize. And just like on the first day, there was so much to do and see, that it was hard for people to decide what they were going to do first. And this did not apply only to those who were attending it for the first time. It was the same thing for those who had attended it the day before. The place was the same, the things were the same, but everything else felt new, thanks to the whole festive and cheerful atmosphere of the event.
And upon arriving, the Miraculous gang felt the same rush they had felt, when they entered that pavilion, the day before. The place's energy was the same, and their curiosity and will to try new things, was the same. And there was a lot to do, before they had to go to the auditorium, where they would once again be cheering for Miss Bustier's victory on the cosplay contest, who on the previous day, had proven herself one of the favourites to win.
Like it happened with Sabrina, when the others saw Chloe showing up as Queen Bee, they were not fans of her plan. They all warned her that it was a bad idea. Still, just like her girlfriend, they respected her decision to do so, and warned her to be careful and to not to draw attention to herself, while also wishing that she would have fun. And that was what she did. Walking around, always accompanied by Sabrina, Chloe made sure of putting the "fun" in "having fun". From the moment they arrived, people noticed just how incredible she looked, and did not waste a single minute in asking her if she could pose for photos, or if they could take a selfie with them. And Chloe did not disappoint them, by saying yes to everyone who wanted a photo or a selfie. Posing for them, she took special care in not taking her trompo from her waist, because she did not want to risk showing off her skills with it. More than once, cosplayers cosplaying other members of the Miraculous Team, as well as Queen Bee, asked her to pose for a photo alongside them, and Chloe was more than pleased to do so.
But like everything else, there is only so much a person can take of anything. And that happened to Chloe, right after lunch, when she began to wish that less people would come to her and ask her for a photo. Her powers prevented her from getting physically tired, but not psychologically, and she did not have a problem in commenting it, with Rose, Juleka and Sabrina, as the latter handed Chloe her backpack, after posing for another photo.
"Never thought I would say this, but I'm starting to get a little bit tired of having people asking if they can take a photo of me." -Queen Bee sighed, as she grabbed her backpack and slid it over her left shoulder.
"That's the price of being a cosplayer." -Sabrina giggled. –"You get to be adored by everyone, who loves the character you're cosplaying, but the price is that after a while, you start hoping that they don't want more photos of you… At least, that's what Miss Bustier told us." -she said, as they resumed walking. –"But you're still having fun, right?"
"I would be lying if I said I wasn't." -Queen Bee said. –"It feels nice having all of these people taking photos of me. This kind of reminds me of the thing we did a few weeks ago, remember?" -she asked Sabrina and the others.
"Oh, yeah, I remember." -Sabrina smiled, knowing that she was referring to the photoshoot the two of them, along with the rest of their class, did for charity. –"And yeah, I see why this reminds you of it." -she said.
"That was a great day." -Juleka said, as she too reminisced about it. –"And the photos that came out of it, were amazing." -she added.
"So true." -Rose agreed with her girlfriend, when she noticed a family with two little girls staring at them. –"Don't look now, Chloe, but you've got another set of fans, who might want a photo with you." -she smiled.
"Well, it can't be helped, I guess. I'm pretty irresistible… Are you three sure I can't convince you, or any of the others to share the burden of cosplaying ourselves, even for just a couple of minutes, so I can take a small break?" -Queen Bee asked the girls, while handing her backpack to Sabrina.
"I don't know about Rose and Juleka here, or the others, but I think I'll skip that proposition of yours, my majestic bumblebee." -Sabrina chuckled.
"Sorry, it's my day-off, and Jules' too. You are on your own, Chloe." -Rose giggled, as the family approached the bee heroine, and asked her if they could take a photo with her.
"I'm glad Chloe's having fun. Yesterday, she wanted to understand what made this kind of event so appealing to everyone attending it; so, I'm happy that she finally understood it, and is having a great time in it." -Sabrina thought to herself. –"She's really enjoying herself, but she's also taking every precaution not to give away the fact she's the real deal, and not just another cosplayer. It's nice to see that unlike what Mika might think, Chloe can be trusted in this kind of situations." -she thought, as she watched Queen Bee making her signature pose for the camera.
At the same time, and not too far from where Chloe and the girls were, Marinette and Adrien were trying to win a prize. Or better yet, Adrien was trying to win a prize for Marinette. While passing by a booth, where she saw the cutest Vaporeon plushie she had ever seen, Marinette told Adrien that it was the cutest thing she had seen that day and that any good boyfriend would buy it for. Of course, she was joking, but Adrien decided that he was going to buy it for her. She tried to stop him, telling him that she was just joking, but he insisted on getting it for her, only to find out that he would not be able to buy it, because that particular plushie was the first prize for the winner of one of those Japanese-style raffles, where one had to get the golden bead from a tumbler machine. Determined to get it for Marinette, he decided to play. He lost the first three times, and Marinette told him to stop.
"Come on, Adrien. You don't need to waste any more money." -Marinette smiled at him. –"You already proven that you're a wonderful boyfriend, by trying to get me that plushie, and that's all I really need." -she told him.
"Just one more time, Marinette. I've got a good feeling, that this time I'll win." -Adrien told her, convincing her.
Unknown to him, Tikki had sneaked out of Marinette's backpack and moving like a ninja, she got herself under the booth's table, and using her ability to pass through things, to enter the tumbler machine and look for the golden bead. She had decided that Marinette deserved that plushie, and that there was nothing wrong in lending a helping hand to Adrien. But like most things, trying to find that one golden bead was easier said than done. With the tumbler spinning around, it was hard for her to focus on finding that tiny bead.
"Whoa… okay, let's see… where's that bead? Where's that bead?" -Tikki thought to herself, as she tried to look for that particular bead in a dark and closed place, with hundreds of white beads. –"Thank God I can see in the dark, but even so… I feel like I'm inside a tornado, while being used for target practice with all these beads hitting me… there it is! Found it!" -she thought, as she quickly grabbed the golden bead, and tried her best to find the opening, from where the beads fell from. –"There… one plushie coming up, Marinette."
And when Adrien stopped the crank, the bead that came out was the golden one. He had hoped to get it, but deep inside, he realistically believed the odds of scoring the golden bead were quite slim. But when he saw it, he believed that he had been aided by the luck of the draw, not knowing that it had actually been Tikki's good luck, who had lent him a hand, in making all that happen.
"We have a winner!"
"I told you I had a good feeling about it." -Adrien said enthusiastically, as Tikki made her way back inside Marinette's backpack
"Nice going, sugar cube." -Plagg told Tikki, through their telepathic link.
"What are you talking about? And don't call me sugar cube, Plagg." -Tikki answered him.
"What am I talking about? Please, I didn't even have to guess it was you who lent a little help to Adrien. The odds of him scoring that golden bead were like one in a million, so I know that you give him a little help… also, it's not the first time you did something like this. I know you well enough to know when a situation has your name on it." –Plagg told her. –"Either way, thanks for helping him out. I know him winning that thing for Marinette, meant a lot to him." -he thanked her.
"I have no idea what you're talking about, Plagg. Adrien did it all by himself." -Tikki lied, pretending she did not know what Plagg was saying. as a mischievous smile appeared on her face.
"Sure, he did." -Plagg said, with a voice filled with amusing irony.
Collecting her prize, Marinette kissed Adrien to thank him for getting her the Vaporeon plushie. Holding it in her hands, she saw this one was even cuter than what she had perceived it, when she first laid eyes on it. Adrien had bought her several things on that event, but that plushie was different, because he had won it for her, and that made it ever more special.
"Thanks for winning this for me, Adrien." -Marinette said, as she placed the plushie inside her backpack, while walking.
"Don't thank me, thank my good luck" -Adrien said, while smiling at Marinette. –"You know, they say that people who have luck at gambling, have poor luck at love, and vice-versa. But in my case, I think I struck gold, with you, because not only I have the cutest and most beautiful girl in the world, as my girlfriend, but I have also enough luck to win a game and get you the prize you deserve."
"Oh, you're such a sweet talker." -Marinette giggled. –"Since you bought me this, you're going to have to let me buy you something, too." -she told him.
"There's no need, milady." -Adrien said. –"I already have the best thing I could ask for, and that's you." -he told her.
"There you go, being a sweet talker again." -Marinette said, as she placed her arm around his waist. –"But I'm serious, my silly kitty. I must try and get you something, to thank you for the wonderful gift." -she said.
"Well, if you really want to, you can buy me a snow cone. We did skip dessert at lunch, this time." -Adrien reminded her.
"Deal." -Marinette said, just before Adrien stopped cold on his feet, forcing her to also stop. –"Uh, Adrien? What's the matter?" -she asked him.
"Uh… sorry, it's just that I noticed that that girl over there has been following us, for the past minute or two." -Adrien told her, which made Marinette look at the girl in question. She was a little bit older than them, and one could tell from the way she was dressed.
"Do you think she's one of your fans, who recognized you?" -Marinette asked him.
"Usually, my fans aren't people who are older than us." -Adrien said. –"But, there's always a first time for everything." -he said. –"If she is a fan of mine, and recognized me with this disguise, she'd be the first one to do it. You did a pretty good job with the wig and these glasses; so far, no one has recognized me."
"I think we're about to find out. She's coming towards us." -Marinette declared.
The girl looked a bit nervous, which immediately told them that there was something up. They just did not know what. Still, they were both confident on the theory that she had recognized Adrien, and was going to approach him to ask him for a photo or a selfie. But they were proven wrong. It was not Adrien that she had recognized. It was Marinette.
"Excuse me… but, you are Marinette Dupain-Cheng, aren't you?" -the girl asked her, with a shy voice. –"The same Marinette Dupain-Cheng that created the face-paint that Jagged Stone used for the KISS concert?"-she asked.
"Uh… Y-Yes, yes I am." -Marinette said, smiling at the girl.
"I thought it was you… I mean, I recognized you from the photo in your webpage… I just wanted to ask you, if I could get a selfie with you; big fan of your work, by the way… and I also wanted to know if you are currently accepting commissions?" -the girl asked Marinette. –"I know that in the page, it says that you're currently not accepting any, but I don't know how long you have been looking for a particular jacket, and I can't find it anywhere."
As shy as she looked, she talked quite a lot. But Marinette did not mind. She was both happy, and a little bit shocked that someone had recognized her. She had seen Adrien and Chloe being recognized by people on the street, due to them belonging to wealthy families, not to mention that Adrien's career as a model, had his face plastered all over Paris billboards from time to time, and Chloe was the mayor's daughter. Even Alya had been recognized by a couple of people, who followed the Miraculous Blog, while walking on the street. But herself, had never been recognized by anyone. So having a complete stranger recognizing her, and telling her she was a big fan of her work, was a mighty big deal for Marinette.
"Of course, you can take a selfie with me." -Marinette said, as the girl pulled out her cell phone and took the selfie, barely giving Marinette the time to smile to the camera. –"As for commissions, right now, I'm not taking any. I'll probably open them again in the next couple of months. But if you give me your email, I could warn you when I will open my commissions, and you would be the first on the waiting list." -she explained.
"For real?" -the girl asked her.
"Absolutely." -Marinette guaranteed her.
Striking a little bit more conversation, Marinette got to know the girl and what she had in mind for that commission she wanted from her, and upon hearing what she had to say, she promised her she would contact her, as soon as she opened her commissions again. Giving her, her email, the girl thanked Marinette and hoped to hear from her soon, while also wishing a rest of a good day. Watching all this, was Adrien, who remained silent, while the whole thing happened.
"I wonder if I'm supposed to be a little bit jealous of you, right about now." -Adrien joked, as he looked at the girl disappearing into the crowd. –"But seriously, I wasn't expecting that to happen." -he told Marinette.
"You weren't expecting to what happen?" –a voice was heard from behind them. It was Nathaniel, who was accompanied by Ivan and Alix.
"He wasn't expecting that I'd be the one to be recognized, instead of him." -Marinette said.
"You were recognized? By whom?" -Alix asked her.
"A girl that follows my page online." -Marinette answered her. –"She asked me for a selfie, and also asked me if I was accepting commissions." -she confessed.
"You're beginning to get famous." -Ivan said.
"I think I am." -Marinette smiled, before looking at Adrien. –"One of these days, I might become even more famous than you and Chloe combined, my silly kitty." -she joked.
"Well, if that day ever comes, and hopefully it will, remind me to get you a congratulatory cake, courtesy of your dad, of course. He'll never forgive me, if I order a cake from the competition." -Adrien joked, making Marinette and the others laugh.
Asking them what they had been up to, since they left them, both Adrien and Marinette thought it was strange to only see the three of them, when Kim and Mylene were with them, when they last saw them. This prompted them to ask their friends what had happened to the other two.
"Where did you guys leave Mylene and Kim?" -Adrien asked them.
"Mylene told us, she would catch us, after she got an autograph from one of her favourite voice actresses, Anouck Hautbois. Ivan told her that he didn't mind staying in line with her, but she told him that he didn't have to. As for Kim, last we saw him, he was going to try and win another eating competition." -Alix said. –"This time it's to see who can eat the most pieces of sushi in five minutes, without throwing up." -she added. –"The prize is a bag filled with all kinds of merchandise from the event."
"Another eating competition, about an hour after lunch? I don't know how he can eat that much, without getting sick." -Adrien said. –"Even you don't pull a stunt like that, Ivan, and you're a big guy." -he commented, with Ivan replying him with a smirk.
"He says that he has a really super-fast metabolism, but I personally believe that he just happens to have a stomach that is a like garbage disposal, or a black-hole; what goes in, doesn't come out." -Alix joked.
"You know that if he was here, he would be fuming about those remarks." -Nathaniel told her.
"That's his problem, not mine. I'm just saying the truth." -Alix said, without a care in the world.
"Well, I'm sure he's going to win." -Adrien said. –"Knowing Kim, he'll do anything to win a competition." -he said.
Suddenly, the energy went down, and everything that was plugged to an electric socket, turned off. People's first thought was that the energy went down, due to a power shortage, and hoped that it would not take long for it to come back. But that was not the first thought on Marinette or the others minds. Because they had gotten used to expect things to go wrong, when things like that happened, their first thought was that there was an Akuma in the pavilion. Exchanging looks between them, they silently told each other to keep their eyes and their ears open, for any possible outcome.
"Hope it's not an Akuma." -Nathaniel thought to himself.
"Please, let it not be an Akuma. Is it too much for me to ask for an uneventful weekend, where I can just hang out with my boyfriend, and my friends, without needing to worry about Hawk Moth and his goons starting to cause chaos and mayhem?" -Marinette thought to herself.
Seconds went by, and nothing happened. No loud bangs, no explosions, no screams and yells, nothing. Still, they all remained alert, keeping their guard up. And then, something was heard. It started as a hum, coming from numerous speakers scattered throughout the pavilion, which slowly became louder and louder. And then, something else was heard… a speech.
"Hey, there! My name is Brigette… Brigette Dubois, and during the day, I live a normal life, like any other teenage girl in Paris. I got to school... I hang out with my friends… I help around the house…. I muse about the crush I have on a certain boy… everything a normal teenager does. But I also have a secret, that only a handful of people know about. When night comes, or whenever evil lurks, I transform into one of the very few people in the world, who can stop such evil."
It was then that one by one, every single large screen in the pavilion turned back on, to show something, an animated aerial view of Paris at night. Flying over the Arc de Triomphe and the Champs Elysees, suddenly a mysterious red figure, zipped through the air, before landing on top of a bus and striking an iconic pose. As the camera backed off, the figure was revealed to be none other than Ladybug. When this happened, the reaction of most people in the event was the same, a mass of excited yells and shrieks. Then, a couple of seconds later, another character showed up. It was Chat Noir, who landed next to Ladybug and winked at her, causing her to wink back at him, before jumping together from the bus, and landing on the ground. When the feline hero showed up, people's reaction was virtually the same as before. And then, one by one, the rest of the heroes made their appearance, coming from both land and air, and each one demonstrating what their powers were, before striking an heroic pose alongside Ladybug and Chat Noir.
"But I'm not alone. I have companions… teammates… friends, who are always there for me, and whom like me, have been chosen to carry out this sacred mission. To fight evil and protect Paris and the world, from the likes of Hawk Moth."
When the villain's name was spoke by Ladybug, Hawk Moth showed up, and with him were Reptile, Madame Romani, Brutus and a legion of Moth Scouts. The camera closed in on Hawk Moth's face, as this one smirked evilly, just before ordering both his lieutenants and the Moth Scouts to attack the heroes. As for the heroes, these wasted no time and threw themselves into battle. Some of them, went for the Moth Scouts, while others took on Reptile, Brutus and Madame Romani. But the team's leaders, they went one-on-one against Hawk Moth, who attacked them.
"And as long as we're here, neither he, nor anyone else, will plunge the world into darkness. Who am I?! I'm Ladybug… and along with Chat Noir, I'm the leader of the Miraculous Team."
And with those final words, just as Ladybug and Chat Noir punched Hawk Moth in the face, a bright explosion involved both heroes and villains, turning the video white, before fading to black, and show the logo of the animation series, along with the words "Coming Soon". Once more, the whole pavilion erupted in a mass of applauses, hoots, whistles and cheers. Everyone attending the convention knew that something big was going to be announced. But they never believed it would be the preview of the rumoured Miraculous Team animated series.
"Oh, my God! The Miraculous Team animated series!"
"That animation was beautiful!"
"Beautiful?! It was sick! Did you see the way they animated that battle?!"
"I really liked Ladybug's voice actress. I wonder if it's the definite one, or if they will choose someone else to voice her?"
"I'm telling ya, this series is going to rock!"
And if the fans of the Miraculous Team were were overjoyed with the news of the series, then, Marinette and the others were ecstatic. Like their fans, they were raving about the news, but in an absolutely different way. Most kids dream about becoming the heroes of an animated series, but they never get to live such dream. Marinette and the others were living the dream, and yet, they could not tell anyone about it. They could only rejoice about it, and talk between themselves, which they did. Their brains were swarming with all kinds of positive emotions. Even if they did not have their miraculouses on, to protect them from being akumatized, it would be impossible for that to happen, because of the massive number of positive emotions they were feeling, right then.
"Guess we can definitely scratch "Being the stars of an animated series" from out bucket list." -Adrien whispered to the others.
"Definitely. It's just too bad that we can't voice ourselves." -Marinette whispered back at him. –"Still, first the action figures and the merchandise, then the official comic books, and now the animated series. We can't say that we haven't made an impression on this world." -she told him.
"I still can't believe that they're actually making a cartoon about us!" -Alix told them, in a hushed voice. –"We've all heard rumours of it, since the first couple of weeks, when we first showed up, but to see it finally happening." -she said.
"Well, I have to say that I like the animation style they chose for it. I was expecting them to go with a 3D animation, like they do with most cartoons nowadays. So, seeing them making a series with 2D animation, that's a nice surprise." -Nathaniel said.
"I'm with you. I was also expecting them to do a 3D animation." -Ivan said.
"I wonder how would we look in 3D animation?" -Marinette thought to herself. –"Well, I can tell you this. I like what I saw. Everyone in the team looked awesome." -she declared.
"They nailed the outfits. Every single last one of them" -Adrien said. –"And I can definitely say that black really suits me." -he joked.
"I'm just a bit sad that we didn't get to see any of the heroes in their civilian clothes." -Alix said. –"It would've been great, if they had showed us, at least one of two of them in their civilian outfits." -she sighed.
"Namely the civilian form of Dragonfly, am I right?" -Ivan asked her in playful tone, while raising an eye at her.
"Guilty as charged." -Alix admitted. –"But be honest, Ivan. You also wanted to see Grizzly's civilian form." -she said.
"Okay, I admit, I also wanted that. But I'm already happy that they showed Grizzly doing my patented attack." -Ivan told her.
"We'll just have to wait, until the show premieres." -Nathaniel said. –"I do wonder how they're going to portray Panda's civilian self. I know it's a little too much to ask for them to portray him like me, but a guy can dream?" -he mused about.
"I'm more interested in knowing how they will write us, when we're not wearing a mask." -Adrien said. –"I'm really curious to see that. In the official comics, they still haven't given us the civilian background to team's members, either." -he said. –"I wonder which will give us the backgrounds first?"
"It'll depend if the team who's writing the comics, is also the one writing the series, or if it's two different teams, who are working separately, but may or may not share information with one another." -Alix said.
"Now you're sounding like, Max." -Ivan joked. –"He's the one, who usually talks like that." -he said.
"What can I say, when you spend a lot of time with someone, you tend to start talking and even behaving a little bit like that someone." -Alix told him.
It did not take long for the whole gang to start exchanging text messages between them, all of them excited about what had been shown.
"Kim just told me that he's flipping out, on how awesome Antelope looked on the trailer." -Adrien said. –"Oh, and he's also boasting that he won the competition." -he told the others.
"Rose texted me saying that she, Juleka, Sabrina and Chloe love what they saw on the trailer, and that they can't wait for the series to come out." -Alix said, as she received another text. –"Oh, and Max seems pretty excited too. Look at his face in this selfie he took." -she laughed, as she showed the others the photo. –"Can you read what he wrote on it? #bestthingiveseentoday."
"Mylene's saying that she's sure that the voice actress she's getting an autograph from is the voice of Ladybug, we heard on the trailer." -Ivan said.
"Really? If it turns out she's right, then she's about to get the autograph of Ladybug." -Adrien said. –"I wonder who will be voicing the rest of the characters?" -he said.
"Just got a text from Alya. She's saying that Nino and her recorded the whole teaser and are going to post it on the Miraculous Blog." -Marinette said, when her cell phone started to vibrate, signalling an incoming call. –"Uh? Miss Bustier's calling me."
"Miss Bustier?" -Nathaniel asked. –"Why do you think she's calling you?"
"I have no idea, but I'm about to find out." -Marinette said, as she answered the call. –"Yes, Miss Bustier?" -she said.
"Oh, Marinette, I'm glad I caught you." -Miss Bustier sighed, relieved. –"I'm sorry to bother you, but I need a small favour, and you were the only one I could ask for help, right about now. Could you come and meet me at the backstage?" -she asked Marinette. –"I'll be at the entrance to the backstage, waiting for you."
"Of course. I'll be there in a few minutes." -Marinette told her, before Miss Bustier ended the call. –"Sorry, everyone, but Miss Bustier needs me." -she said.
"She needs you? Why?" –Adrien asked her.
"She didn't tell me. She just said she needs a small favour, and the way she talked, she seemed a bit nervous." -Marinette said. –"I'm going to see if I can help her, and then I'll catch up to you all." -she said.
"Okay." -Alix asserted.
"Go help her out, bugaboo. Call me, when you're finished, so you know where you can meet us." -Adrien told her.
This took a little longer to write, than expected. The holidays aren't making it easy for me to write... too many things to do, and not enough time to do them. Still, I did manage to find a little time to write it... and as you can see, we are slowly making our way to the good stuff. Yes, the Akuma will make its appearence on the following chapter, and I think you guys are going to like what I came up for our heroes to face, in this fic. But I must warn you all, that my dad's going to get eye surgery, next week, so, I won't have much time to write, as I'll be busy taking care of him, and making sure that his recovery goes well, on my spare time. Still, I hope to have the chapter ready just before Christmas eve, as a present to all of you.
Also, the little moment where Marinette is recognized by that girl, it wasn't scripted in the original version of this chapter. I admit that I added it, after reading a post online, regarding how in the series, she has slowly become incredibly well-known, because of how she has affiliated with numerous characters, namely Jagged Stone, Gabriel and Adrien, Chloe and her mom Audrey, Alya, Luka and the rest of the members of Kitty Section, among others. And the more I thought about it, the more I realized that in this AU, she would have amassed a bit of that celebrity status as well, especially after designing that face-paint for Jagged Stone (and let's not forget that she's best-friends with Alya, who manages the Miraculous Blog and would've appeared in certain videos on the blog, also, she has designed clothes for Chloe to wear to certain events, and she's currently dating Adrien). When you think about it, because of what she has done, and the people she hangs out with, she's bound to also be recognized by people on the street.
By the way, did you spot the real-life easter egg I added to this chapter? It might be hard for you all, who don't speak French, but if you do, you certainly recognized the name of the voice actress, who voices Ladybug in the French dub. :) At first, I was going to go with Christina Vee, but it wouldn't make much sense, since the series is being produced in France, and like it happened in real life, we've heard the series in French first, than in English. And yes, I used the bane "Brigette" for Ladybug's animated debut, because it's only fair... whether Chat's name will be Felix, that I don't know yet (I'm still pndering on whether I will use Felix in this AU of mine or not. But rest assured that if I do, he won't be Adrien'd cousin on his mother's side of the family, but rather on his father's side of the family).
In the meantime, feel free to comment, fav and leave suggestions to improve this and other future fics.
P.S. This chapter is dedicated to the late Anne Rice, who died yesterday... though she was no lover of fanfiction, she was still one of my favourite writers, and deserves our uttermost respect, especially in death.