#I would love someone to write a fic about Marinette blowing up at everyone for never trusting her and believing the worst in her

[stormiclown]

Bruh this series is aging like milk. Ugh. Someone needs to write a spite fic addressing this ASAP. I would love for Marinette to not only get angry, but to flip her switch and go ape shit. How can the teachers and administration be this stupid?!

But her parents is what gets me. This happened twice and they were quick to believe Lila in Ladybug. But they know that Chloe has been bullying Marinette as we've seen in Origins and they still choose to believe the girl with a bullying and lying pattern. Don't even get me started on the fact that Lila has already confessed to having a lying disease.

I know if my own parents pulled this not once -- but twice, that relationship is going to be in shambles.

What’s the point of Marinette getting beaten down and turned against by the people she trusts most if it’s not going cause some sort of change in her? It’s being treated as just another thing she has to overcome to then be happy she exposed the bullies but realistically being treated like that by pretty much everyone in your life would be pretty traumatic regardless of whether it gets “resolved”. What I’m saying is Marinette should be developing trust and intimacy issues with everyone regardless of if they’re friend or foe.

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

Funniest irony of Paris Special, is that Shadybug ("evil" version of S1!Ladybug) is "less bad" that S5!Ladybug, due to fact that she is ultimately just "minion of Supreme"

"I was awful, due to Supreme threatening me into compliance. What's your excuse?" - Question that Shadybug should ask to S5!Ladybug, but didn't, due to fact that it would cause latter to look bad (and "we can't have that")

Unless I'm missing something, I don't agree with your assessment of who is the badder one here. I'm assuming S5!Ladybug is getting the "bad" label for keeping everything a secret from Adrien? If so, then I get why that upsets you, but Shadybug is a domestic terrorist or possibly even a domestic and international terrorist. In the grand scheme of things, terrorism ranks much higher than lying to/keeping secrets from your significant other no matter how bad the lie/secret is. I love Adrien, but he is not more important than the safety of every person in Paris.

If I'm wrong and you were instead talking about S5!Ladybug keeping Gabriel's status a secret from Paris? Then I still don't agree. That's not worse than terrorism, especially since I don't even think that Ladybug was clearly in the wrong there.

I disagree with her telling people that Gabriel was some sort of hero - I would have just labeled him an "unfortunate victim" - but the threat is neutralized. Paris is safe. Is the general public really owed the full details of how it happened?

It's a complex question and I fall on the side of protecting the innocent here. Gabriel is dead. Outing him to everyone will just hurt Adrien. I've actually written and will write fics where Gabriel lives, but is neutralized, so he's still not outed because Paris isn't owed the fine details. Perhaps in the idealistic world we see at the end of season five this sort of grand reveal would be a good idea, but in a more realistic world, it would probably blow up in Adrien's face and possibly even force him to give up being a hero due to unwanted public attention. In order to protect him and the secrets of the miraculous, I am totally cool with Gabriel facing justice via non-conventional means. This is probably extra true because I'm not a big fan of punitive justice, so I try to find paths other than traditional jail when dealing with my villains.

I will possibly feel differently about all of the above if season six introduces Gabriel Agreste day or something, but the universe was rewritten by the wish, so maybe Marinette thinks that Gabriel really was a hero? Who knows. Canon is dead to me and, either way, active terrorism is still worse than Gabriel being posthumously seen as a hero.

In your ask you say that Shadybug was "just a minion," but that's not an excuse. If someone hands you a weapon and orders you to hurt another human being, the fact that you were "just obeying orders" doesn't undo the harm you cause by obeying the order. Those things still happened and they happened because of you.

There can be nuance to this depending on context, but that's kind of the problem with making these grand statements about the Paris special: we don't know anything about that other world. We don't know if Emonette has loving parents. We don't know how long she's been working for The Supreme. We don't know if she's been indoctrinated since childhood to obey the Supreme or if he operates from the shadows and she didn't know that he existed until she got her Miraculous. We don't even know what she's done! She could have killed millions! She could have also done nothing but chase after Betterfly. Without a full picture of what her life was like and what she's done, we cannot say that Shadybug is clearly the better person. I'm also having a hard time picturing any context that would lead me to give her that label. She might have a worse life than canon Marinette, but her crimes are still hers.

If you're making the argument that Emonette is more sympathetic than S5!Ladybug, then I might agree as her situation does have the potential to be far more sympathetic than Marinette keeping a massive secret from Adrien, especially when that secret has the potential to cause him very real harm. But that's not a case of our Marinette being worse than Emonette. Emonette is still a terrorist, making her the one who is irrefutably causing the most harm. We just don't see that harm on screen because it would undermined her frankly lackluster redemption.

Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy the Paris special, I'm just saying that it only works because we never have to think too hard about what Shadybug and Claw Noir have actually done. Their minimal screentime keeps them pretty tame and allows their redemptions to mostly work. If we'd spent five seasons watching them terrorize people, then their redemptions would probably have felt as lackluster as Gabriel's did.

Because we don't have all of that context, the emo versions fall into the same category as PV Felix: they're so underdeveloped that they're more of a concept than a true character, so you can imagine them as wonderful or as terrible as you would like them to be. They will never be marred by the prolonged influence of the writing staff. If we had a show that starred them, then you would probably feel very differently because it's the same writing staff writing them. I don't see a world in which these two are magically leagues better than what we got in canon.

All of this is reminding me of that excellent Eddie Izzard bit where he talks about horrific, large-scale crimes being so outside of what most people's minds can fathom that they just kind of go, "Oh, well, that's, huh..." because it's easier to know how to react to smaller, more personal wrongs:

[heartfulselkie]

Below is a section from chapter 29 of Citrus and Lavender. I would love to hear what was going through your head writing it for the ask game!

{Failure .

She was just an ordinary girl. What business did she have trying to play hero?

Shoulders shaking, she pressed her face to her knees and continued to rasp through her broken breaths as tears kept falling.

“Is someone there?”

Ladybug flinched at the sound of a voice calling out. She didn’t want to answer whoever it was and let them find her. But she couldn’t stop crying either. She curled up tighter as though she could somehow shield herself against the world. But she could still hear the sound of hesitant footsteps approaching.

“Ladybug?” the voice gasped. It was distinctly male, but so soft and gentle and somehow familiar. But she couldn’t place it.

“Go away,” she hissed childishly as she hugged her knees tighter. And she did feel like a child. A child wearing some stupid costume as they played make-believe.

The other person went silent, but she knew they were still there as she could hear them scuffing their shoes as they awkwardly stood in place.

“What about the…the akuma?” he whispered.

Her shoulders heaved as she fought back another sob. “What does it matter? Everyone’s right. I screwed up. I failed and now things are worse.” A whimper escaped her and she screwed her eyes shut. “I knew I wasn’t the right one for this.”

She expected the other person to laugh at her, to tell her to leave it to people who knew better. But he remained quiet for a time. Ladybug almost looked up from the defensive shell she’d turned herself into to see who was standing there, but she was far too ashamed to try.

And then his voice came again, quiet and gentle but so warm in its reassurance. “They’re all wrong. They’re not the ones who stopped the attack yesterday or saved Chloe Bourgeois today. Without you, they won’t make it. You just have to prove it to them. So what if you’ve never been a hero before? So what if it’s all sort of new to you?” He paused and then whispered sadly, “You can still try.”

Ladybug didn’t respond. She didn’t know what to do with the comforting encouragement a stranger was giving her - one she was too embarrassed to look at with her puffy eyes and tear-stained cheeks. But she felt that agonising terror that had taken root in her chest shift a little. She took a deep, shuddering breath.

“I believe you still can - that there’s still a chance, ” the boy added, his tone almost reflective.

Her heart was hammering hard in her chest, but it wasn’t entirely unpleasant. Compared to the restrictive vice she had felt earlier crushing into her lungs, this felt light and lively. It was as though her heart had become a hummingbird and was doing delighted swoops within her chest.}

[Ask Game]

Given that Citrus and Lavender is an enemies au fic with Adrien being coerced into Hawk Moth's ranks from the start, there's obviously going to be a lot of differences between the events that happen here and what occurs in canon.

Some of these differences can be glossed over, but something I wanted to draw attention and give detail to is the events of origins - specifically the LadyNoir side of it.

Ladybug starts out very insecure in herself. She doesn't believe she's up to the task. And finding that her would-be partner has defected immediately is a devastating blow from the get go. Like her canon self she wants to give up. She believes that this is not a role she can fill because she cannot see what she still managed to achieve on her first day. She can only hear all that's gone wrong.

In the events of canon, Alya helps Marinette see that there are some people who are excited for Ladybug's appearance. This is also true in the fic. But this is a very impersonal viewpoint. Alya thinks Ladybug is cool because superheroes in general are cool! She doesn't know Ladybug well enough yet to give a well-formed perspective.

But you know who did grow close to Ladybug during those first trying hours in the events of Origins? Chat Noir.

Sure he went in head first and full of himself - but he was right there with Ladybug and saw in real time how she went from a nervous, shaking girl to a defiant and unshakeable heroine!

In Citrus and Lavender - even if he's on the other side of the fight, Chat Noir still sees this change in Ladybug very clearly too. And he's enamoured by it! Though it does take him a lot longer to wholly admit how much his feelings were shaken up by her.

Ladybug still needed that closer interaction though. Without it, it's very hard to see her evolve into the hero that she is. She needed that moment of someone caring about her. Not as a superhero, but as a person. Someone to tell her to have faith because what she's accomplished already is outstanding!

I knew I had to include the exchange LadyNoir have in Origins: Part 2, when they stand beneath the Eiffel Tower and Chat Noir gently reassures her. But I couldn't do it in the same way in canon.

So instead for Citrus and Lavender, we have Ladybug running and hiding. She just can't take it. But then she's approached by someone - someone that she later becomes certain is Adrien - and they give her the comfort and confidence she so desperately needed.

Ladybug/Marinette and Chat Noir/Adrien both know this event happened, but they both have slightly differing viewpoints of it. Surely that isn't going to cause identity shenanigans later on...

[princess-of-the-corner]

*some bird sounds* Hi Corner. I was browsing ML Tumblr and I read something about a "Great Salt Onslaught of 2018" or something by like that. Out of the people I’m brave enough to ask, you’re the most knowledgeable one about salt, so I was hoping you could shed some light for fandom newcomers.

Short answer: 2018 is when Chameleon aired.

Long answer, because I was there Gandalf. I was there three years ago.

And by FUCK is it a journey.

Okay. So. Chameleon aired. And the fandom was frustrated.

On one hand, good! Chameleon was supposed to be a frustrating episode! The plot is about Marinette and Adrien being the only ones to realize Lila is a liar, but unable to prove it. That's the point!

On the other hand.... while the Fandom had been noticing some lackluster writing in Season 2, the way the writers made Chameleon really showed the lack of talent in how forced things were.

The biggest complaints about the episode were

The class ignoring Marinette when it came to rearranging the seats and forcing her to the back.

The class is dumbed down, believing anything Lila says, no matter how Marinette points out the flaws. Lila says she saved Jagged's cat from a runway and got tinnitus, Marinette says "I know Jagged and he doesn't have a cat!", the class ignores this. To the point where Max believes a lie about a thrown napkin being able to gouge out an eye.

Everyone brushing off Marinette's accusations as 'she's probably upset because Lila likes Adrien, and she's done wacky shit before because of that'.

Alya asking Marinette for concrete proof that Lila is lying, saying that 'a good reporter always checks her facts', while falling for something without fact checking

Adrien tells Marinette that the whole thing will probably blow up in Lila's face soon enough, so just take the high road and ignore her instead of causing a scene every few minutes.

Marinette not telling Adrien that Lila's lies are going further than just 'I know X celebrity', with her actually threatening Marinette, purely because 'well! Gotta do what Adrien says because I love him and he's perfect even if I know there's more to it!'/

Now. These are legitimate criticisms. The writing in this episode was off. And there were ways it could be improved upon!

So after the initial criticism toward the writing, Fandom did what Fandom does best: Write a Fix It Fic!

Some had the class realize on their own what was wrong. Some had Marinette successful in convincing people that Lila was lying! A few had Marinette actually get Akumatized and expose Lila through that. Maybe Marinette actually tells Adrien about Lila's threat and they plan together.

Some included a bit of catharsis of everyone having made the Canon mistakes, but someone calls them out on it.

This last one got popular. Because god isn't that catharsis a rush? Everyone kinda projected onto it.

But.... it built on itself.

Eventually it went from 'the class makes mistakes because they're teenagers' to 'honestly they're being jerks right now and Mari would be justified in being pissed at them for all this' to 'you know what? They're all assholes who use people and poor Mari is just their victim but they see shiny new better Lila and jump ship! She should use her own connections to ruin their lives in revenge!'.

Yeah it... it escalated.

And over the past three years, it's continued to build. We have fics where instead of just them believing Lila for a bit but coming around, they are 100% fooled. Sometimes this takes place over months of manipulation and gaslighting, sometimes they're just totally dumb jerks. Either way, the class deserves to have their futures ruined for being jerks at 14.

I won't go into every awful variation I've seen because we know the awful stuff. The kinda racist way they made Alya into Lila's attack dog. The Mar///ibat. The Quantic Kids making a comback but only as 'Marinette dumps these assholes for better friends'. Attempted murder through not believing allergies.

It all originated in 2018.

[me4ml]

Why don't you like Maribat? Why do you think it's a spite or salt ship?

This is presumably because of my Adrigaminette post or the whole Maribat being on the ship list thing.

Quick disclaimer: if you read/ship/write/like Maribat, cool! This is not an attack. This is me answering why I, personally, do not like it. It’s tagged anti, and salt, so it should be filtered. Please don’t harass me over it.

Another note before we start: a lot of what I’m about to write is based on what I’ve read, fic wise or meta, and I blocked off the Maribat tag and fandom a long time ago. It may have changed over there-I doubt it, and I have zero desire to go and look-but this is based on what I’ve seen and read about.

There are, principally, three reasons I can’t stand Maribat, why I think it’s a spite/salt ship.

1). I don’t like Damian Wayne.

2). I don’t like how Damian and the DCU are written in Maribat.

3). Maribat is a mutated salt fic.

If you want to see my reasons why, the rest is under the read more.

1). I don’t like Damian Wayne.

Damian’s not just my least favorite Robin, ranking behind any of the others who have born the name. He’s my least favorite Batfam sidekick overall.

Part of this is his introduction, where he’s a violent, murderous, arrogant, entitled, snotty little brat of a thug. Lest we forget, one of his first acts is to go out, kill a guy, cut off his head, stuff a grenade into the decapitated head’s mouth, and try to blow up Tim. This is his introduction! There are a number of other occasions, including how he treats Jon, his best friend, and the rest of his siblings.

Another part is that he believes that he deserves to be Robin simply because he’s Bruce’s son, and therefore has the blood right to be Robin, to become Batman, and damn anyone else, who are all pretenders. Doesn’t matter that those characters might have a right to become Robin, or the future Batman, he’s the bio son, he deserves it!

Additionally, Damian feels.....not unnecessary, but repetitive, in his actions/characterization. There are other characters who can perform pretty much the same way for whatever storyline is necessary, without including Damian.

Trained by an abusive family to be the best, as an assassin and warrior? Cassandra.

A killer who breaks the main rule of his mentor, which causes tension and strain in the family? Jason.

Incredibly intelligent and talented? Tim.

Damian isn’t unique in what he does, and while that can make him an interesting character, it can also make the focus on him unnecessary.

As well, so much of Damian’s actions and motivations feels like he gets away with stuff, in-universe, because he’s Bruce’s biological son, and so Bruce gives him too much slack, and out-universe, because the writers let him/the fans will defend him. He gets woobified, or leather pantsed. Which leads to:

2). I don’t like how Damian and the DCU are written for Maribat.

For all his (numerous) faults, when written well, Damian can be an interesting character. For example: How does he deal with being deeply insecure? By putting on a mask of arrogance and overconfidence.

Some more examples: How does Damian act like an actual child, when he’s never had a childhood? How can he be a hero, if he’s been trained to be a killer? Can he ever catch up to his siblings, or will he feel like they’re always better than him?

Damian’s sense of being Batman’s son, of being the heir to the Cowl, slams right up against the idea of the Batfam: that there are people who have just as much of a right to call Batman their father/father figure, people who are just as talented and skilled and capable as Damian himself is, if not more. Watching Damian develop, when he’s written right, is actually enjoyable; mainly because when it’s done right, it shows Damian actually progressing and growing, becoming more of a person, with friends and interests. Most times, seeing Damian with his pets can be adorable, same with when he hangs out with Jon.

Is he still a brat? Still sometimes a bit too much of a Demon, an al-Ghul? Yes, but that’s always going to be part of him, and as long as he’s shown to try and grow, or gets called out on that, it’s less of an issue (There’s a completely different rant to be written about how DC likes to chuck character development or backstory into the trash when it suits them for a new run. Damian gets hit with this, as does Tim, or they get handed the idiot/conflict ball, but not the space for it).

Maribat hurls this all out the window. Damian’s bad traits are all “fixed” offscreen-he’s developed, matured, gotten better, whatever you want to call it. It’s basically a writer’s hand wave to make Damian into the character who will be the lead of the story, perfectly suited for his main role of being Marinette’s boyfriend and utterly devoted to her every whim and will. He’s enchanted by her at first glimpse, and defends her against everyone who hates her, because no one can understand her like he can!

Uh, what? This is not Damian Wayne. Even at his best, he’s no broody boy, pulled from his “dark path” by the love of a gentle girl. He’s a Jerk with a Heart of Gold-emphasis on the Jerk. There’s a reason his nickname usually involves “Demon.” Is Damian trying to get better? Yes. But even then, he’s not the type to immediately fall in love. He takes a while to warm up to people, for them to earn his trust, and Marinette would not be like that?

Let’s say that Robin is in Paris for a case, he runs into Ladybug and Chat, and after they explains what’s going on, Robin gives them a stare over his mask, and goes “TT! What a worthless hero, I would have caught him already.” LB and Chat would probably want to deck him, and that’s before he keeps talking.

Same with if Damian transfers to the class, or they meet on a field trip to Gotham. Damian’s not gonna care about some random French teenagers on a tour, or if he was transferred he’s gonna be trying to figure out why his father sent him to Paris, and be focused on the mission, not making friends.

Of all of the Robins, the ones that would be the most likely to capture Marinette’s interest would be Dick or Tim, not Damian. He would remind her too much of Chloe, as Damian, and as Robin, he would be dismissive of Ladybug’s abilities, which would absolutely piss her, and Chat Noir, off.

In characters that aren’t Damian, no one seems to be written properly over in Maribatland. One huge example is that Marinette is so beloved, so pure, that she can make any character fall in love with her, and reform by her pure goodness, including a fic where the Joker-THE JOKER!-becomes her “Uncle J,” and pranks Lila on her behalf.

Uh-huh. Sure. Completely and totally something that one of the biggest, most sadistic twisted, notorious villains in pop culture would do. Maribat winds up worshipping the ground that Marinette walks on, cause she’s “Teh best evar!”

Which then leads to my third and final point:

3). The whole Maribat concept is a mutated salt fic.

Most of the themes you’ll find in Maribat? You will find in nearly every salt fic.

Maybe my biggest issue with the whole Maribat idea is that it doesn’t feel like a proper crossover, which, at their best, explore how characters from one universe and their rules would interact with characters from another universe, and the rules of that one. Putting ML and DC together is a rich opportunity to play with concepts in both worlds!

And yet, it’s mainly used to bash ML characters who the writers despise, predominantly Adrien, Alya, and Lila, with members of the class thrown in depending on feeling, and potentially even Marinette’s parents! The only “good” ML characters are the ones who are on Marinette’s side, usually Luka, Kagami, a Chloe who for some reason has been redeemed and is now Marinette’s best friend, and whatever members of the class the writer decides to throw in there.

You’ll notice it’s not called “MiracuBat”, or LadyBat and Bat Noir-it’s MariBat. It’s meant as a focus on Marinette, making her-the hero of the Miraculous Ladybug franchise, someone in-story in story who is incredibly smart and talented and the leader of her team, future Guardian-even more awesome.....by beating down everyone else around her.

Marinette is simultaneously treated as an beaten-up, beaten-down walked-on carpet, and the best person to ever exist ever, go who only needs a group of new, different, better people to recognize that and save her from the clutches of those greedy and ungrateful assholes! That doesn’t include the fics where she’s the unknown child of a superhero or supervillain, making her even more special.

It’s Chameleon salt, class salt, with pointy ears and a cape on.

Some specific examples.

Adrien: Adrien is a spineless doormat who prioritizes Lila over Marinette, or an entitled bastard sexual harasser, only fixated on Ladybug, or even both. Sometimes it’ll get worse, as Adrien will threaten or abandon Marinette if she steps off of his “high road,” and Chat will be a budding rapist, stalking or capturing Marinette after he’s learned she’s Ladybug, while ignoring her prior to that. He will, of course, have his ring stripped and handed off to Damian, who is the “true” soul of Destruction and so therefore a “perfect match” to Marinette’s Creation soul. Occasionally it will be Jason, or Tim, or Dick, but the key thing is that it’s not Adrien!

While Damian’s issues are magically fixed, Adrien gets no such courtesy. Adrien has been abused, just like Damian, and while Damian’s abuse is more extensive and extreme, abuse is abuse. If anything, if Damian met Adrien, he would probably see another abused kid, and want to be his friend/have his “adopt stray person!” Instincts go off. I can much more imagine Damian dragging a bewildered Adrien into the Batcave and yelling “Father I’ve found another one for you to adopt!” than I can Damian immediately hating Adrien, or Chat, simply for breathing.

We never see Clark taking Adrien under his wing, or Bruce, or any of the other Batfam; nor any of the other Justice Leaguers. We never see Selina try to fight Bruce over the kid, because he’s cat-themed, and Selina can train him, this one’s hers Bat, get off!

Adrien’s never treated as a kid, or given actual development. A major complaint among salters is that Adrien is treated as perfect and never develops, and in fic, rather than developing him, Adrien either remains static, with his flaws narratively exploded, or is developed negatively. He’s there to be beaten up on and punished by the writers, if not actually physically beaten up by characters in the fic.

Alya: the not-so-good friend, the cheap excuse for a journalist, the awful person who abandons Marinette for Lila and her “connections.” Never mind that Alya was Marinette’s friend from the beginning, or that Marinette’s chosen her multiple times for a Miraculous. One instance of questioning Marinette about Lila, and Alya’s a backstabbing bitch.

Maribat treats Alya as neglectful, bossy, domineering and submissive at the same time to Marinette and Lila respectively, and as a journalist, the worst of the worst. She’s played as a two-bit paparazzo, and once again, the DCU is used to punish her. We don’t see Alya get mentored by Lois or Clark-indeed, if they notice her, it’s with disdain or disappointment. Often, they’re crushing her under their heel, calling her not only a bad journalist, but a bad friend/person. This forgetting, of course, that Alya runs her blog as a hobby so far, she’s only a teenager, and that she’s had Marinette’s back against Chloe and Lila.

The Class: the dupes or allies as needed. Class salt levels depend on what the writer needs. If they’re pro-class, they’re all on Marinette’s side, aside from Alya Adrien and Lila. Chloe, for some ungodly reason, is “redeemed” nigh instantaneously, and often will become Marinette’s best friend, if that isn’t Kagami already. Kagami will drop Adrien like a wet tissue, never trying to reconcile him with the clas, or encourage him to stand up for himself, or if she does, Adrien, of course, will not listen.

If the writer is anti-class, whoo boy. Openly mentally, emotionally, physically abusive to Marinette, the worst gang of people you would ever have the displeasure of meeting, they all need to be in Arkham.

We never see any of the class make friends with the Batfam, the Titans, Young Justice-unless they’re on Marinette’s side, of course. There’s no Alix stopping Selina at the Louvre, for instance, or Max hanging out with Babs. It’s all based on how Marinette is treated as to whether or not the class is portrayed as being worse than the worst of the Rogues Gallery.

Wrapping it all up, Maribat has made me dislike the entire concept of a DC/ML crossover.

Even if someone had written an non-salt, in-character crossover, I don’t know if I would read it, simply because the well has been that poisoned.

[miracle-sham]

Yet So Poison Entwined We Fracture.

| {Jasonette July 2021, Saturday Challenge 1: Hurt No Comfort} |

| [Ao3 Link] | | [Masterlist Link] | | [Spotify Playlist Link] |

| It all went wrong so quickly. Marinette thought she could trust Jason, that he'd never betray her. And Jason thought the same. But with a truth-serum turned poison seeping through their veins, neither had thought to look for the purple feathers. |

| Word Count: 1,706. |

———

| A/N: I'll try and keep this short and sweet but it's nice to dip back into writing for Maribat, I really missed it whilst I was gone. Also I've now got a author's channel in MGI where I sometimes put title sneak peaks, snippets, and random au ramblings, so y'know feel free to pop into the channel and have a gander if you'd fancy! And one last thing, keen eyes may have noticed I've added a Spotify Playlist Link, it contains all the songs I listened to when working on this oneshot, if you're curious! |

| If you want to be tagged in future oneshots/fics or a specific Au, then feel free to send me a dm and or ask! |

| Also side note, Don’t Like? Don’t Read. Also also, please do not criticise any of my writing. This was written for fun and receiving criticism, even in a compliment/criticism sandwich, is the exact opposite of fun. |

———

Marinette staggers back, clutching at her bloodied side as the world spins for a moment and everything blurs. Breath catches in her throat as a sharp pang of betrayal pierces her heart, tears springing to the corners of her eyes unbidden. Whimpering, she barely manages to cry out, “J–Jason?”

Heartbreak coating his name like the truth serum-poison making its way through her system at this very moment.

She makes an awful choking noise and collapses to her knees, scrunching her face up and wheezing. Barely is she able to keep her eyes open, fixated on staring at someone she thought she could trust.

Smirking lazily, Jason saunters up to her, crouches and then grabs her face by the chin, forcing her to tilt her head up to continue staring at him in the eyes. “Aw, did you really fucking think I cared about you this entire time?”

Marinette swallows thickly—unable to conjure up a response to him. Black spots start to form in the corner of her vision like watching a spattering of embers burning away on a piece of paper.

He tilts his head to the side and snorts, “really? Nothing to say, no heartfelt "I trusted you!" or "you're lying!". Not even a "I know the real you is still in there?", how fucking pathetic.”

There's a small part of her brain that starts flashing red lights and wailing alarms—warning her that she's in danger, that she's hurt, that she's stopped breathing. She can't breathe, can't move, can't say anything or she'll spill all her remaining secrets.

Jason sighs and drops her chin. “And here I fucking thought your shitty-ass reaction to me betraying you would be more fun.”

Grimacing, she waits a heartbeat after he lets go before mustering all her strength to slam her skull into his—if I'm going down, you're coming with me for this, Marinette mentally vows.

There's a horrendous thwacking sound as the impact lands, and Marinette feels as though her brain has turned into a blender that just had its blades snap mid blend.

Jason, on the other hand, flings himself backwards and curses up a storm. He pulls out one of his guns and with dizzying vision, manages to shoot a bullet that just clips the uninjured side of her ribs. “That's what you fucking get for that you bitch!”

Marinette doubles over as the pain seems to ricochet through her; vision blacking out completely. She struggles for breath, her hearing cutting off not a second later. Objectively, she's aware she's not alone. But as her senses shut down one by one, leaving her helplessly trapped in her own mind, she can't help but wonder why her heart aches with loneliness. I'm sorry, she silently apologises to no one and everyone.

Distantly, she thinks she's swaying—or collapsing again maybe. But it's hard to tell, it's disorientating trying to focus on the world with dying senses.

Marinette is lost. Every little movement, every little thought—it's agony, a struggle to keep going, keep holding on. Once more, she silently pleas for forgiveness from the kwami.

She stops.

Stops breathing. Heart stops beating. Stops fighting. It all stops.

At least this way, she thinks to herself, I can't spill any secrets from the truth serum-poison if I carry them to the grave instead…

She sinks into the darkness, clinging to her final thought in numb relief as she does so. Everything fades away.

———

Jason groans as the knife Marinette is wielding digs deeper between his ribs.

She doesn't move back immediately, so he grits his teeth and roundhouse kicks at her—the heavy thump of collision makes his wound burn like acid has just been poured on it.

He's a few seconds too slow pulling his leg back, as Marinette slices the knife through his calf.

“Fuck!” He bites out, throwing himself further out of her range and breathing. “Marinette!”

With the gall to smile faux-innocently, she plays with the knife in her hand, slipping it between her fingers and swirling it about. “Yes, Jason?”

“The fuck are you doing!?” He growls, shifting his position when she doesn't move to apply pressure to the calf wound.

She shrugs, seemingly unbothered, “what? Did you really think this wouldn't happen one day? That I wouldn't get sick of you. Show you just how much you've hurt me the entire time we've known each other?”

Jason spits blood from his mouth at the warehouse floor in front of her. “I don't believe whatever shit you're being made to spew, but I sure as fucking hell know that you'd never do something as fucked up as this.”

“Oh, that's cute! You still believe in me. What's next, are you going to beg me to come to my senses? Are you going to cry my name and hope it changes my mind? Are you going to declare that the "real" me is still there inside and that you're going to save me?” Marinette giggles, high-pitched and yet hollow sounding.

Jason flinches at the sound, breathing stuttering as the poison from her knife starts to really seep in. Shit, he thinks to himself, truth serum-poison. If I'm not careful I'm gonna say shit that should stay secret.

A flash of silver catches the edge of his vision. And it's all the warning he gets. He immediately ducks and rolls, cursing under his breath as his wounds are aggravated. The air by his hair swooshes as the blade just narrowly misses.

Marinette giggles taper off into a hiss of fury. Her hair slips out of her pigtails from the constant movement, and multiple strands fall in front of her face. She huffs, ineffectively blowing them out of the way. “Did you really think I ever loved you?”

“Yes!” The words are choked out of his mouth before he can even think, the truth serum-poison kicking in hard and fast. Jason wheezes and the taste of iron lingers like malice in his throat. Fuck, he thinks desperately, I'm running out of time and Marinette isn't snapping out of whatever the fuck's been done to her.

He stumbles into another roll, as the blade comes swinging at him again. His vision blurts violently, and the next thing Jason knows—is that his view has suddenly tipped upside down and that there's a throbbing ache radiating from the back of his shoulders and head.

“Huh, you really do have a thick skull. Normally that'd be enough to knock anyone else out. Well, I guess I'll have to do this the old fashioned way.” Marinette rambles, pulling out a rag.

Jason grunts as he pushes himself only to be slammed back into the concrete warehouse floor, rag pressed firmly over his mouth and nose.

He thrashes and refuses to inhale. Marinette scowls and kicks him sharply into the ribs, causing him to gasp through gritted teeth. But it's enough to affect him.

His vision teeters then flickers to black, he can feel his movements slowing—becoming more and more sluggish until he's as still as he was in that fucking coffin he's had to crawl out of once before. At least, he barely manages to cling to the final thought, I can't spill any secrets if I carry them to the grave once more.

And then it all fades away.

———

Lila steeples her finger and smirks. She's sitting in her plain white office for the Agreste, three monitors set up before her on the desk. The middle screen shows her emails and a few tabs up on fashion for work-related reasons. The outer two screens, however, show the feed to two identical cells—two by four by five metres with cement floors and grey brick walls, no windows and a single plain black metal door. No furniture either, not even beds or toilets, just chains attached to the wall opposite the door. And in the chains is what has Lila so very happy indeed; Marinette and Jason, one in each cell and both stuck in the chains with no hope for escape.

A steady pool of blood has already formed beneath the both of them, thanks to the wonderful work of her Sentimonster duplicates of the two.

Lila can't help but monologue in her glee, “It's so excellently simple really. Even if one escapes, there's no way they'll help the other escape now. Now they've experienced the pain of betrayal and torture inflicted by the other!”

Footsteps approach the door to her office; all it takes is a quick click and click of the mouse and her two outer screen feeds flip to showing more work-related tabs and emails.

The door opens to reveal Adrien, slightly dishevelled—hair and shirt ruffled, eyes red with dark bags beneath them, and shiny tear streaks down his cheeks—he stands in the threshold, shaking. “Did you know?”

Lila smiles in fake confusion. “Know what?”

Adrien swallows, gaze flickering to her screens. “Marinette's dead. So is Jason.”

Lila tilts her head to the side to make it look as though she's thinking. “The Wayne boy that was close to her, right? Oh dear.”

His tired gaze turns back to Lila as he continues. “They think both of them were kidnapped and tortured separately. Police have found traces of an altered truth-serum among the bloodstains and…” He chokes for a second, grief plain as day across his face. “and they found pieces of fingers, ears, slices of skin, and all.”

“Oh, oh, that's horrible!” Lila gasps, covering her mouth with her hands to hide the victorious curl forming on her lips. “Have they found out who was cruel enough to do that to them yet?”

Adrien shakes his head silently.

“Hopefully, the culprit will be found soon. But if you need any support, I'll always be here for you, Adrien!” Lila gravely announces, bobbing her head slightly as she spoke.

He narrows his eyes at her, shakes his head, and then stalks away from her office.

She scowls as soon as his back turns and gets up to shut her door. “Well,” She says to herself as she flips back to the cell feed, “at least that means I'll have plenty of time to pull the secrets from you two without the police thinking to look for you alive.”

———

| Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed this little oneshot! Comments, likes, and reblogs are much appreciated! |

| Also feel free to send me any asks or comments with any questions you have regarding this oneshot, I'll be more than happy to answer! |

| @jasonette-july-event |

[p-artsypants]

List of All My Fics!

Every once in a while, I’ll update this list and share it. It is always available on my blog! (I’m up to 54 fics for multiple fandoms! 😱)

Find most, if not more, of these fics on:

Fanfiction.net | Archive of Our Own | Wattpad

(~AU’s, *Finished, ❤️Author’s Favorites)

Kingdom Hearts

~❤️Rage Awakened AO3 | FF.net- Ten years ago, Terra, Aqua, and Ventus lost their fellow apprentice, Sora, in Deep Jungle. Now, they are to return with two new students, Riku and Kairi, to lock the heart of the world. All the while, something watches from the trees. Feral!Sora AU

My Kingdom for a Heart AO3 | FF.Net - The curse of being one of the Princesses of heart, is that there’s always someone out to get you. As Xemnas looked failure in the face, he reached out in a last ditch effort and destroyed Kairi’s heart. Now her friends must travel the worlds again. Sora, to find a way to recover Kairi’s heart, and Riku, to make amends to those he has wronged. All the while, the darkness grows.

Miraculous Ladybug

One Shots

*❤️Amalgam- When an young man is rejected for being ‘incompatible’ he turns into the akuma ‘Amalgam’ able to fuse two people together. And later Adrien and Marinette would debate if it was lucky or unlucky that they got hit. (Also Available in Russian)

*Sing We All Noel- After receiving the worst Christmas present ever from his father, Chat Noir finds himself out on the streets with nowhere to go on Christmas Eve. Thankfully, Ladybug finds him and brings him home.

*Speechless- In a world where everyone has a soulmark, the first words their soulmate will say to them, Marinette is born without one. But Adrien Agreste has two. Curious, considering he’s mute.

*❤️Tunnels of Love- The night started out with an accidental kiss from Adrien Agreste, and ended with her bleeding in the Catacombs of Paris. Ladybug, the wielder of the miraculous of good luck. Yeah right. (Some blood)

*The Reveal That Wasn’t- First Parts My ending to kittybug’s Tumblr Prompt

*What A Mess We’re In- Ladybug has a lot on her mind, and when Chat Noir bugs her enough, she tells him she’s going to confess to her Crush, Adrien Agreste. Chat’s reaction is not what she’s expecting.

*Oblivi-oh no! - A retelling of Oblivio, except Ladybug is the only one to lose her memory. How will Chat deal?

*Bad Day (3 chapters) - Marinette was Ladybug! This was Adrien’s luckiest day ever! Except it wasn’t, because all his good luck was used up in one go. Turns out this might be the worst day of his life.

*One Win, So Many Losses- Marinette was forced to break up with Adrien. It had been a low blow from Gabriel, to be sure. But she was Ladybug. She’d find a solution…right? An alternate ending to Chat Blanc, where Adrien doesn’t Cataclysm the akuma.

*Five Minutes- Gabriel has had enough of all these girls fighting over Adrien. He decides it’s high time Adrien picks one, and arranges the perfect opportunity for him to do so. Each candidate has five minutes to present why they’d be a good girlfriend. Marinette decides to take this opportunity to shoot her shot.

~*Panache- Every eligible maiden was invited to the Prince's ball. That included Marinette, scullery maid in her own household. But her stepsisters destroyed her dress, and she can't go to the ball in rags. Or can she? (Cinderella!AU)

*Perfect, No Matter What-In which Gabriel sets the bar even lower for himself, a reveal happens because of pain medication, and the new guardian actually goes to Chloé for advice.

Long Fics

*❤️Longest Night- (FF.net | Ao3) - The day started out sucky to begin with. Her crush ousted to the class and Adrien. Lila taking pride in exacting her revenge. But by the time patrol was over, a young man was dead, and Ladybug’s identity was at risk. Lila was the least of her concerns. Good thing Adrien was taking it all like a champ. (Rated M for scenes of torture)

*❤️Nine Lives- (FF.net) When Adrien Agreste is scheduled to go to a Military School in Germany, Chat Noir must make a critical decision. Does he give up his Miraculous? Or does he give up his life as Adrien? I’ll save you the trouble of guessing, he gives up being Adrien.

*Tender Words- When Marinette finally gets the guts to confess her feelings for Adrien, some things go so wrong, and other things go so right.

*Integrity- Overwhelmed with her responsibilities, guilt, and drama, Marinette has an emotional breakdown in front of everyone, and even hands over her earrings in a moment of weakness. Only for a few seconds, but the damage was done. Adrien’s pretty quick on the uptake like that.

~Much Obliged- Everyone deals with grief differently. Some take to drinking, others devote themselves to charity. Adrien Agreste? Well, he became a cowboy. Marinette Dupain-Cheng is a witch, one of very few in the world. She knows what it's like to be doubted, and assumed delusional. Maybe that's why they got along so well. Or maybe it's just because they both like big hats. AU where everything is the same, except instead of superheroes, Adrien is a Cowboy and Marinette is a witch. (Unfinished) (Based on a AU by @bugaboo-n-bananoir)

I'll Handle This- “I’ll solve all your problems,” Plagg had said. “You just have to agree to it.” A fixed relationship with his father, Lila to stop bothering him, and Ladybug to fall in love with him? Who wouldn’t agree to that? Except Plagg was the God of Destruction and Chaos and had a more…hands-on approach. Adrien just wants his body back. (Body swap fic)

How To Train Your Dragon

One Shots

The Vikings Have Their Tea (FF.Net | AO3)

Arranged Marriage- Takes place at the beginning of HTTYD

❤️Breathe- Survival of the fittest

~Childhood Friends- At the Sandbox

❤️Easy Fix- In which Hiccup has a bad day

~Fashion Designer- Astrid needs a fill in

❤️Frozen- In Which Astrid takes a Dip and things get frisky (Rated M)

❤️Headache- In Which Hiccup hits his head….really hard

❤️Heir- In Which Hiccup is Picked (Longer version by FateCharms)

Illness- In Which Stoick is a dad

~Illusionist- Trick gone wrong

~In the Walls- In which there’s a poop ghost

~Knocking On The Wrong Door (2) - A chance encounter

❤️Messages- Astrid is Frustrated with Hiccup’s obliviousness

~To Mirkwood- Hiccup is not a dwarf

~Monster Falls- Hiccup and Astrid take a dip

❤️Mute- In which there’s a quiet stranger

~Music Video (ImgHS)- He didn’t expect it

❤️Operation: Lovebirds- In Which the gang makes a plan, and Hiccup gets Drunk

~Over- Too many nightmares

~Partners in Crime- A normal day at work

~Pirate- Astrid is the greatest treasure

~Prince- He doesn’t want to be a broken King

❤️Sorting Things Out- In Which Astrid gets her ducks in a row

~The Dragon and The Dame- Beauty and the Beast Au

The Pit- In Which Hiccup is rescued

Hide and Seek- Part 1

Lost and Found- Part 2

Long fics:

*❤️Infernal Responsibility- Being the son of the chief takes brains, courage, and a lot of patience. But at his father’s the request for marriage, Hiccup decides he has had enough. When he seeks out a life of ease, he runs into more than what he bargained for.

*❤️Roses and Lilies- “Astrid, you and I both know you’re much tougher than I am. You’re more brave, and a better fighter…but just for a little while…could we pretend that I’m the one protecting you?” “Oh gods yes!” (Also Available in Spanish!)

*~What the Water Gave Me- The sea is a wild and dangerous thing, something that cannot be foretold or predicted. Hiccup discovered this many years ago, in human naiveté. Yet, what was meant as a sacrifice became a new life, one like no one could comprehend. He now finds himself once more in the unknowing hands of those that sentenced him to death. He only prays things will be different this time. Merman!AU

*Parasite- Soulsnatcher Dragons are rare but deadly. But, As Hiccup finds out, it’s the eggs you have to watch out for.

*~320 State Street- Gobber’s Goods. A Hardware Store that was rumored to have everything you needed. She thought she only needed a job. Turns out, she needed a lot more than that. (A Modern AU no one asked for)

*~❤️The North Tower- When Finn Hofferson died, Astrid inherited his castle in Wales…and a whole lot more. Something sinister lurks in the North Tower.

*~❤️Boy Toy- AO3 - At the age of 21, Princess Astrid lawfully has to pick a husband. But when the perfect groom is nowhere to be found, she requests the toymaker to create one for her. It’s safe to say that everyone in the kingdom is a little concerned. (Pinocchio!AU I guess?)

No, You Go First- AO3 - The Chief of Berk was a headstrong viking, stubborn and full of pride, and willing to do whatever it takes to keep his village safe. But for a moment, he puts that aside, and listens to his son. In which Hiccup convinces his dad not to make him go through Dragon Training, and the subsequent changes that follow.

*In Due Time- AO3 - As another illness sweeps through Berk, Gothi needs another ingredient for her medicine…one that doesn’t exist anymore. Fortunately, she kept that old spell book around for such an occasion. Big Hiccup is sent to five years into the past, and his younger self sent to take his place in the future. But it’s only a few days, what could go wrong?

Trollhunters: Tales from Arcadia

❤️Arcadia or Bust- In Which Arcadia welcomes back it’s underground citizens.

Teen Titans

Oneshots:

~Big Brother- Don’t turn out the light (Horror)

Dear Jason- Bruce Writes a letter

Just Drawing- Bruce thinks about Robin

The Prisoner- Starfire is Guilty

Of Mustard and Three Foot Purple Tongues- A collection of Oneshots and Drabbles

Long Fics (*Finished):

*~❤️Carol of the Bells- High in the dark Bell Tower of Notre Dame, there lives a mysterious bell ringer. Legend tells of the angel who fell from the sky, and the curse she bares. There are few who know her true identity though; her master, the priest, and the acrobat that performs on the streets below. Based loosely on ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’ RobxStar and slight BBxRae

*No Escape- Three years ago, Starfire escaped an Alien race called the Gordanians, to arrive on Earth. They’re back, and ready to put Starfire back where she belongs, behind reinforced Titanium bars. Robin’s not about to let her go…if only he hadn’t got captured first. How does it feel to be the alien, Robin?

*Now you Know My Pain- When the new Villain, Gender Bender, comes to down, the Titans find themselves in an odd situation. They’ve been turned into the opposite gender against their will! Now in order to change back, they must learn to understand the gender they’ve turned into. Rated T for obvious reasons. A great read if you’ve ever wondered why girls or guys do [blank].

*Paint it Black- Robin disappeared three months ago. Now, Jump City’s crime rate is mysteriously being taken care of by a normal, albeit strange, teenage boy who goes by the name Black. As the Titans befriend this lunatic, they begin to see a relation between him and their missing leader. Will they be able to find Robin, or will Black turn them all insane as himself? Actually, contains NO OC.

*Saving Grace- “When I’m done with you, you won’t be able to walk upright or speak coherent sentences and all you’ll see is my mask and my voice repeating in your head…Weak. Richard Grayson, I am not tough, I am everything that you fear.” Happy Ending! Smudge of RobStar. NO Slash!

Other Fandoms

Final Fantasy XV

❤️Requiem for Pitioss-“O King. The god’s have heard your cries. Know that we weep with you. The Oracle’s calling has not yet been fulfilled. But…Lunafreya as you know her cannot return the way she was.” Noctis looked up, hopeful. “But she can return!” Canon divergence from Chapter 9. Happy ending. Some spoilers.

Beauty and the Beast

*❤️Behold the Beast- A Oneshot alternate ending to the Animated Film

Cinderella

*❤️Midnight- “When the clock strikes twelve, the spell will be broken,” the fairy godmother had warned. A retelling of the story, when Cinderella doesn’t escape the ball in time. Oneshot

*So This is Love- What if Jaq and Gus hadn’t made it in time to help Cinderella? A new twist on the ending of the classic Fairytale, and what lies beyond the story. She still gets her happy ending and her Prince, and her step family gets their just deserts.

Sleeping Beauty

*❤️A Love Song Back To Me- Maleficent saw the loophole that stared her in the face. Prince Phillip would break the curse in time, for sure. After all, he was betrothed to Aurora. So in an effort for her evil plan to stay in action, Maleficent takes care of the young prince herself. Phillip never imagined having to live off the land like the birds above. Alternate twist on the classic Disney tale.

Escaflowne

Down Feathers- Hitomi’s depressed. She’s been away from Van too long, he comes back to visit her…but what if something went wrong with the transfer? (Not finished. Never will be finished. Mwahaha) Circa 2012

*Angel’s Wounds- Fanelia’s been victorious in their most recent battle with Basrum. Unfortunately, someone is wounded and just seeks solace in his love that lives so far away. Post Anime.

Momma Look Sharp- With the war between Fanelia and Basrum finally coming to a close, the kingdom is celebrating. The young king, however, is suffering from an experience unlike any he had before. Van finally seeks solace in his wife.

[dawnwave16]

Link Start - Lies Stopped!

I’ve been reading a lot of salt fics recently and needed a break from “Not what I expected” so I thought I’d try my hand at writing a one shot salt with one of my all-time Favorite anime’s SAO. Enjoy!

17-year-old Marinette was quiet. Today marked the 3rd anniversary since SAO had been cleared by her big brother Kirito. He wasn't really he brother but they had partied up right at the start of SAO when he realised how young she was and how she hadn't wanted to leave his side when it became clear that it was a death game. She was grateful that she was able to speak enough Japanese at that time to make sure she was understood so they had worked together to make sure she was completely fluent by the time the game cleared.

She had helped him get Asuna out during the ALO mess, had helped out during GGO's death gun incident and had even been visiting during the Ordinal Scale disaster. She had been pulled in to help during the time Kirito had been stuck in RAFT's Alicization project too though she hated that that had even happened to begin with. As far as she was concerned there were things you just didn't mess with. It was when she had come back from Japan after 3 months of physio that she had been given the Ladybug earrings and she thanked Tikki every day for her help getting her body back into shape.

Her attention was brought back to the class when the constant thorn in her side, Lila Rossi, started bragging again. She listened for a moment and couldn't believe what she heard.

“Oh yes, I was part of the Front liners in SAO and was one of the best when it came to clearing an area for people to get through. In fact, I landed most of the killing blows during boss fights!” Lila was saying.

There was a lot of things Mari would let slide but this? This was not one of them. She didn't care if Adrian didn't approve of her actions, nor did she care if this caused an Akuma, she wasn't letting this lie stand. She stood and slammed her hands down on the table getting the whole classes attention.

“Can you stop lying for once in your life?” She growled, her eyes flashing angrily. Adrian looked at her reproachfully but she ignored him.

“I'm not lying, Marinette, you-”

“Yes, you are!” Marinette interrupted her.

“Girl, we know you love gaming but just because Lila happens to have been in the most amazing VR game ever you don't need to accuse her of lying to cover your jealousy!” Typical Ayla, always ready to believe a liar and never someone she called a friend.

“Exactly Marinette, you don't need to be jealous, I could introduce you to the members of the Furyankazan or Sunlight Cats if you want.” Lila simpered and immediately the class started saying how generous she was.

 “Min'na ni usowotsuku no o yamete kudasai,” Marinette yelled. (Stop lying to everyone.) This startled the whole class into silence again despite not knowing what Marinette had said.

“How can you even think about lying about being in SAO? Don't you know the trauma that everyone went through? The worry and stress about getting out alive? If you were truly there you would know that the Moonlit Black Cats are all dead! They were killed by a trap room!” Marinette's voice was trembling with suppressed fury as she spoke. “Do you even know what the final boss was or what floor that boss was defeated on was? Do you know how many died in that battle?”

“Well, of course, I know!” Lila seemed sure of herself as she answered. “It was the 100th floor, The final boss was a giant golem and no one died.”

“Wrong on all three counts, Lila.”

“No, I'm not,” Lila stubbornly declared.

“The game was cleared on the 75th floor. 12 people died facing The Skull Reaper and while that was the boss for the 75th floor, the true boss of the game was Heathcliff aka Kayaba Akihiko himself!” Her voice was getting a little shrill by this stage. “Kirito was the one to defeat him in a one on one winner takes all match! So stop talking about something you know nothing about!”

“How do we know you aren't lying?” Max demanded. He was especially interested as he wanted to see if he could meet some of the players of SAO and Lila had said she could organise for him to meet them.

“Ms Bustier, can we link the laptop to the projector and start a skype session?” When Ms Bustier nodded confusedly, Marinette pulled out her phone and confirmed with Yui that the team was logged on in ALO and that Yui would patch the call through. 

“Max, the people I'm calling will be speaking in Japanese, so please set it up to have subtitles at the bottom, I would but I want it to be clear that I have not interfered with the programming in any way. It should also show what I'm saying as I won't be speaking French!” Marinette had turned to Max as she spoke. By this time the class had realised she was dead serious about what she was saying and were looking at each other in concern. Max nodded and made sure everything was set up. 

The call soon connected and an image of 8 people sitting in what appeared to be a lounge slash viewing area type place was showing on the screen. They were clearly in avatar's as they all looked like some sort of elf or fairy and there was a tiny fairy sitting on a man with black hair's shoulder. Max looked excited but the class looked confused. 

Without prompting Max explained, “Those are ALO or ALfheim Online avatars!”

Meanwhile, Marinette had greeted the group with a wave. Once she had the classes attention she introduced everyone on the screen and as their name was said the person would wave. Lila was a little pale but figured she could still make it look like Marinette was lying until Marinette got to the last name.

“And this is Kirigaya Kazuto or Kirito as most of us know him.” Lila blanched even further. When Marinette spoke again she was speaking in Japanese and just as Max had set it up to do, subtitles were coming up on the screen. Marinette gave her SAO friends a brief rundown of what Lila had said as part of her explanation for the sudden call.

“It's alright Irakusa-chan (Nettle) we were planning on giving you a call later to double-check that we were still on for the raid on Saturday,” Kirito said cheerfully. Max's eyes got big at the sound of the name Kirito had called her, the name was just as famous as the rest of the people in the on-screen chat!

“Now on to what this girl was saying I remember every one of the front liners, floor clearers and mapping party members looked like and you are the only person in that room that I recognise.” Asuna said still looking at Marinette's class.

Max turned to Marinette and asked her a few questions he wanted answers to confirm that yes the people they were talking to were SAO survivors and not fakes. Marinette nodded and translated the questions, knowing the class would see the translations written as subtitles on the screen as she spoke. Kirito and the others answered them and soon Max was satisfied. Marinette confirmed the raid for Saturday was still on and that barring any drama she would be there, then signed off. 

The class was quiet and Lila looked furious.

“How could you humiliate me like that?” She spat at Marinette.

“What do you mean, Lila? I simply spoke the truth. After all, I lived through SAO so why would I need to lie about it?” Marinette stated calmly. Max nodding along to confirm that she wasn't lying.

“Maybe next time you'll check your facts.” With that last shot, Marinette turned around and walked out of the classroom. She needed to get to a spot to transform should she need to. After-all she could already hear her classes screams as they confronted the liar.

[galahadwilder]

It’s Not a Surprise if Everyone Knows

Ch. 1: In Which Nino is an Excellent Friend to Both Our Heroes

Enjoy my writing? Sponsor a fic chapter!

AO3

Not a Surprise Archive

Inspired by Cheescake and Sweetie Pie-Rates by @alexseanchai

*

“The key component of any surprise party,” Nino says, idly tapping on the open math textbook with his pen, “is that the person the party is for isn’t expecting one.”

Adrien nods. He’s only sort of paying attention, a little focused on his chem homework. This reduction equation is ridiculous.

“The problem is,” Nino continues, “that the key element of a surprise birthday party is that the birthday boy thinks everyone’s forgotten his birthday.”

Adrien stiffens a bit at his words. Memories of every lonely birthday flash through his mind, every year that his parents forgot, and he barely manages to suppress a shudder at the thought. He doesn’t want to say anything, but... that sounds hellish.

“See!” Nino says, pointing his pen, before sheepishly sinking into himself as he remembers that they are in the library and he should probably not be yelling. “I knew that would be a thing for you. What with...” He coughs a bit into his hand, then purses his lips, pretending to blow bubbles through his fingers.

Adrien snorts.

“So I just, you know,” Nino says, turning back to his book, “wanted to make sure you knew.”

“Knew what?” Adrien says. Oh! Hang on, that should be three hydrogen ions, not four. Electron there...

“Nobody forgot your birthday next week,” Nino says, scratching out a few extra data points on the quadratic chart he’s making. “Marinette’s planning a surprise party for you, and she swore everyone else to secrecy.”

Adrien’s breath catches in his chest—his classmates are planning a party? For him? His chemistry homework starts to blur as he feels tears gathering at the corners of his eyes. I’m getting a birthday party! the Chat Noir voice inside his head shrieks with delight. Adrien forces it down. Library. No squeeing.

Then something else Nino said processes, and Adrien squints. “Back up,” he says. “Marinette?”

Nino tilts his head. “Yeah?”

“Marinette is planning a birthday party. For me.”

Nino looks up at him, one eyebrow raised. “Yep.”

“What the hell?” Adrien hisses.

Nino’s eyes narrow. “Why is that... surprising?” he says, setting aside his pencil. “She always goes overboard for her friends, dude. You know that.”

Adrien snorts. “We are talking about the same Marinette who was the only person in our class who didn’t show up to my birthday party last year?” he says. He feels a twang of guilt as Nino winces at the mention of the party, but honestly Adrien has made no secret of the fact that he’s kind of grateful to the Bubbler anyway. “The same Marinette who can barely stand to be in the same room as me. And don't think I didn’t notice that she was the only person who didn’t give me a present.” He stares down at his chem homework, trying not to fiddle with his pencil. “I mean, not that I care about the presents really? But—”

Nino groans and collapses, slamming his forehead into the table. “I knew that would backfire,” he mumbles. “I told them.”

Adrien furrows his brow, scrapes his teeth over the edge of his lip. ”You’re confusing me, bro,” he says. “Backfire?”

”The scarf,” Nino groans, not lifting his head. “The blue one. Nette forgot to sign it.”

Adrien’s pencil skitters across the des, thumping to rest against Nino’s math book. “What.” The scarf? The scarf? The one from his father?

”Marinette made you that scarf, bro,” Nino says. “Delivered it herself.”

Adrien’s brain is ticking over. “What did... why did she—”

Nino sighs. “She said, and I quote, you ‘seemed so happy that your dad made you a present’ and she ‘didn’t want to take that away from you.’”

Adrien's not sure what to feel. On the one hand, Marinette was right—he feels like like his father has gone inside his stomach and scooped out his intestines with a blunt spoon. On the other, Marinette doesn't hate him. His heart is soaring straight out of his chest like a freshly cleansed Akuma butterfly. His gut is roiling with joy and devastation and he's one step short of exploding. “I... think I need to re-evaluate a year’s worth of interactions,” Adrien says. "Please hold."

His father didn't care enough to handmake the scarf, or even pay someone else to handmake it. Instead, he'd stolen someone else's work so that he didn't have to get his own son a present. And Marinette, who'd only known him a month, who had every reason to dislike him, had gone out of her way to make him a present and then had let him believe—

My father doesn't care.

The day at the movies. The lucky charm. The, oh, she'd invited him to ice cream at André's...

“Oh, cats—the museum!" he says, slapping himself in the forehead. "She was serious, wasn’t she!”

”The museum?” Nino says. “What did she say?”

Adrien swallows. “That’s, um, private.” And also horrifically embarrassing—tiny gods, no wonder she freaked out and tried to deny everything! He purses his lips. “So you’re telling me,” he says, “that the mystery boy that’s been Marinette has a crush on is—” His throat seizes and the bottom of his stomach drops out. "It's me, isn't it." I told her I was in love with someone else.

Nino snorts. "Took you long enough," he says, rolling his eyes.

"Why didn't anyone say anything!" Adrien cries, shooting to his feet and slamming his hands on the table. He's immediately met by a number of pointed stares from the rest of the library, and he sheepishly sits back down.

"Look," Nino whispers, leaning in. "She's been... too scared to say anything. Didn't want anyone else telling you either."

"Marinette," Adrien whispers back, flatly. "Scared." Marinette, as far as he can tell, isn't scared of anything.

Nino nods. "She's been prone to catastrophizing as long as I've known her," he says. "Worse than you, even."

Adrien breathes in sharply. "And she keeps trying to talk to me anyway?" he says, shocked. "I'm... wow. I'd be paralyzed." He sucks in his lips. "I, um... I need to think about this. For—for a while."

*

Adrien can't help staring at Marinette after lunch. She's incredible—brilliant, brave, and kind. Widely acknowledged as Fraçoise DuPont's most eligible bachelorette; every single one of his classmates has admitted to having a crush on her at some point except Alix, and even a few people outside of his class. And somehow, she likes him. Literally everyone he knows would stab their mother for even a fleeting chance at her romantic attention and she likes him.

She's planning a birthday party for him, and doesn't that just light a fire right under his lungs.

He's not sure what to think, or at least he shouldn't be, he realizes as she laughs at something Alya said, blushing, her eyes closing and squeezing his heart like a pillowcase left in the dryer to shrink, tumbling on high. He's in love with Ladybug, right? Always has been, since the moment she got back up and decided that she wasn't going to let her fear keep her down. But Marinette doesn't have superpowers. Marinette, if Nino is to be believed, is more scared of him than he has ever been of anything, even his father. And for all that, she keeps trying. To talk to him. To make him feel appreciated.

Everyday Ladybug. He'd called her Everyday Ladybug.

She looks at him, and he has less than a second before the burning in his face grows unbearable and he can't hold her eyes. He drops his gaze. Swallows.

He's lucky when Mme. Bustier starts class, but he still feels the heat of her gaze on the back of his neck.

Not a Surprise Archive

Enjoy my writing? Buy me a coffee!

[imthepunchlord]

Your thoughts on Felix? I know you do fics on Felix lot (which I like) but what do you think about him personally?

Well, as a concept character, Felix himself I am very intrigued by. When I first learned about him, I wasn’t impressed with his attitude and thought that, yeah, he was quite the anime cliche. Then I started writing Grumpy Cat to add that he wasn’t the best partner for Marinette and well… XD that fic proved me wrong. And unintentionally started off the ship of Felinette. 

While writing it, I kept look over a lot of Felix’s concept art and watched the PV over and over again to get an idea for his character and how to write him, at least, what was shown and what I saw was a character that actually seemed complex, had a possible story to himself, possible growth and I found I was genuinely sad that he wasn’t being included. 

Felix’s set up is that he’s cursed with bad luck, he’s forced to be a hero to try and hope to get a kiss form LB so he can be free (I wonder if LB even knows about this curse or not in the earlier concept); he’s a loner that seems pretty content being on his own, and is someone that lashes out when pushed, not going out of his way to be mean to everyone for fun (like say Chloe). The one detail that adds to this is his dropping the apple on concept Marinette, who in a lot of concept art is shown invading his space, trying to steal a kiss from him without consent, and keeps pursuing him despite his no. And if playing off the idea of miraculouses mirroring each other, Marinette selfishly used her good luck, she received bad, if Fe used his bad luck selfishly, he’d get good luck. 

And there’s only one concept showing him using that bad luck power once to get away from earlier concept Marinette; which suggests to me he only does that when push comes to shove. Its not certain since that’s the only example we have, but that’s an idea I like for him. 

And with all of these, there’s potential growth in the story set up. Him learning to embrace being a hero, genuinely wanting to be one and bearing with the curse, bonding with Plagg. There’s him genuinely falling in love with Ladybug and wanting to work beside her. Potential of making friends, expanding the circle from himself to others. And most likely, the story of him facing his father the villain as well, though, its a wonder how much of a blow that would be to his character since I have yet to find anything to show how close Felix and his father was, if they were at all. 

So, to summarize, personal opinion on Felix, he’s a character that intrigues me, and I think he’s a missed opportunity; and on days when I’m salty at Adrien, I wish he was Marientte’s partner instead. The Marinette we have in canon would’ve worked off him better, not one to make people uncomfortable or invade space unless its clear she’s allowed to and is observant enough to notice when there are issues left unsaid. Its even possible we might’ve seen more of a slowburn instead since I can’t see her immediately falling for Felix like she did with Adrien. 

And learning that Felix is going to be made official and finally come into this show… honestly I am weary. Because I remember Thomas being extremely salty about Felix, his bias for Adrien and insistence for Adrien’s perfection; I am anticipating that it’ll be an ep to make Felix look awful and lift Adrien up on a higher pedestal just to prove how much better he is as a lead, which is now questionable with how much of a Nice Guy Adrien is becoming. There’s a good chance I’ll be ignoring what canon does and just stick to my idea of Felix depending on how they handle him and what’s done with him. 

Though, I will say, a small part of me is hoping that the ep will end up releasing a wave of Felinette shippers, but we’ll see. 

[miabrown007]

1, 16 AND 35

35 IS BLOWING UP MY MIND AS A QUESTION PLEASE I NEED

i want numbers to have caps

1. What fic of yours would you recommend to someone who had never read any of your work? (In other words, what do you think is the best introduction to your fics?)

already answered here :)

16. What’s an AU you would love to read (or have read and loved)?

it appears, I can never get enough of enemies/spy/thief AUs, they are just so *clenches fist* but fake dating or secret dating AUs -- very distinct but equal-flavoured stupid -- are also outstanding. I guess in the end it's all about the setup and the shenanigans 😂

35. What aspects of your writing are completely unlike your real life?

apart from the romance part? 😂 badass and confident Marinette are completely alien concepts, and so is being able to lie with a straight face. in fics I always make everyone be able to act anything out the plot demands, but irl I have the worst poker face

from the fic writer ask game

[twin-books]

Yeah, it really is and it’s frankly gross. This fandom used to be the best fandom ever. The only other fandom I had been in, admittedly, was the Sonic fandom. Its used to be known as the most toxic fandom but I think the MLB fandom and Sonic fandom switched places because, though I’m not as obsessed with Sonic anymore, I still like to check in on him and love him... The fandom has gotten pretty nice. It’s great. Though I never really ran into any toxic fans somehow, much like in this fandom. I have no idea how I have managed to avoid hate from fandoms I’m actively in but the one fandom I am not in I had someone attacking me. *shrugs* That’s literally all my ideas. XD ALL my ideas are “hey, I have this thing I want to get across but need to fill it in with some details”. XD

I’m so glad I’m not alone on that. That AU is just... Alright, I don’t like Alya. I have no real good reason, I just don’t really like her. She’s a good character she just upsets me a bit and her face reminds me more of a villain for some reason. Which, I suppose, makes sense since Alya was originally intended to be what Chloe is. But reading that AU just made me mad they kind of ruined Alya and I don’t like her so I can only imagine how bad that must have felt for Alya stans. It’s so out of character its sad. The idea is intriguing, I will admit. It’s a curious idea. I wouldn’t say I love it, but had it not been intended to bash Adrien and Alya, it probably would have been a pretty interesting story. I have never seen the other way around myself but I have actually never imagined it. I tried thinking of one once just to spite the salters but I realized, 1. It’s such a disservice to Chat and Ladybug’s characters. 2. It’s so childish. And 3. It makes no freaking logical sense. So yeah, whenever I think of ANY salt fics where Chat separates himself from Ladybug he always still holds her in some high regard and refuses (even if in some cases he should, depending on the story) to take her miraculous. I have 2 reasons for this. The first is obvious, because Chat would never do that. The second is because I think knowing how much his miraculous means to him he would never want to take that from someone else. Well yeah, a Marinette bashing fic would probably go very similar to an Adrien bashing fic, considering how creative this fandom is at twisting kids into evil little gremlins. XD I don’t blame you. I tend to avoid salt fics myself, even ones I write end up just turning into normal stories with maybe a sprinkle of salt to fuel it here and there. But I’ll read any of my friend’s stories (even though I have a hard time reading) because I’m all about supporting those creative ideas and making sure they know their ideas are awesome because, I’m used to my ideas kind of being ignored? That’s another reason why this AU blowing up really surprised me. Though my friends are partially responsible and have all my love. <3 And yeah, the kids are picked on for such minor mistakes its sad. I, hilariously, decided to make a list of all the wrongs Adrien and Marinette do in Bubbler and I was really nitpicky like the fandom... Marinette’s list was a bit longer but it was ridiculously hilarious just... Thinking like this fandom does. At some point they have to come to realize they are just reaching but they don’t. OMD THE CHAMELEON SALT FICS ARE SO ANNOYING! THERE’S SO MANY AND THERE’S NO ESCAPE!! I get it, that episode sucked. Everyone was out of character, logic was broken more than usual... But like, give it a rest. Let it go. Just move on. It’s okay. I can barely remember the episode now, alright. Literally the only thing I remember from it was the thing that most annoyed me and it was the fact that Adrien!Lila somehow popped balloons without a pin but with her finger. That’s it. I have such a hard time finding good fics due to all the salt fics around. Is it too much to ask for some normal angst or fluff, or AUs? The only fics I read now are Lukadrien fics because they are all so tame its very refreshing and nice. Plus, I just love that ship. Adrien is my favorite character too. ^^ I don’t like seeing characters dragged through the mud, even if I hate them. I just don’t enjoy it. Probably because I’m not one to enjoy tormenting others I believe are in the wrong. It’s why, writing fics like this is painful for me and I always try to add some sort of bright side or joke or something. Plus, it feels more justified when you treat them like humans. Oh, I have seen those and I did skim read! (I also have a problem with reading. I’m a mess. :’ D) And it was not only interesting but refreshed me. Also, gave me a better idea of French culture. I was sort of referring to internet but also to outside the interwebs. Nothing is more true than the phrase “rumors spiral”. It is pretty interesting how emotional this fandom is. It’s... odd? Like, most of us seem to treat this show like its actually our lives? I have a whole thing on Reflekdoll that you might like. I have this series called “MLB Episodes Retold by TB” where I just rewatch episode and describe what happens and fan girl or complain where I see fit. XD It’s also there to shed light on the fact that the characters aren’t to blame for their bad writing and it’s the miraculous team (particularly one person) who are to blame. I also have a post explaining why I don’t like Lady Noir. (I’d also like to inform you that in some areas of France “Lady Noire” with an e at the end of Noir is considered a slur for prostitute which is why I give her the male form as I don’t like her but I’m not mean). Oh man, I forgot about Gamer 2.0. Mostly because I blocked that episode out of my mind as it triggered me and I don’t mean the meme thing running around, I mean anxiety attack triggered me.  I have now calmed down and rationally come to realize what have upset was not what I thought and its a okay but thanks to that fun little attack I completely forgot most of the episode. But that makes sense and unlike half the fandom I’m actually a huge fan of Chat Noir’s joke and fight style. I mean, I joke when I feel upset or in distress because it makes me feel better and others feel better. Plus, its fun and helps removed the negative emotions. I mean, I do agree a little with him needing to be a slight bit more serious but I definitely don’t think its the end of the world. XD Interesting. I didn’t think about that, but its true. That is how Mari thinks, really. She’s gotta figure out she can’t fix everything and she isn’t responsible for other peoples happiness. She comes first. Admittably the fandom and season 3 has made me really dislike Marinette which is sad. I have decided that I shouldn’t let the miswriting of Marinette’s character ruin her for me. Especially since I’m working on my own Ladybug comic. It’s basically when worlds collide but you know, sad. : D I read your post and its great. I reblogged it immediately after finishing. XD Adrien is such a doormat its sad and it’s partially why I write him overcoming that most of the time. Naturally someone does terrible things when upset and just because they may be righteously upset, it DOES NOT excuse their actions following. Most of the salt fandom doesn’t seem to get that? They seem to be huge fans of revenge for some reason? Oh wow. Man I need to read more Mangas... I’ve only read a few. XD Most of them Hatsune Miku I also like clarification so I’m glad you were okay with it. ^^ Most of the fandom seems to be very... feminist? Like they seem to let Mari get away with a lot of the stuff she does and also treat her like an angel or a goddess instead of like a human character which kind of annoys me. I’m not about “men are evil and every little bad thing they do should be condemned, and woman are always the victims so when they do the same thing its okay”. Some people have literally said, “You just don’t like Mari because she’s a woman”. NO. I am a woman and I like being treated with respect but I also know I’m not a goddess and shouldn’t be treated as such. Stop letting me and other females get away with everything because we’re female. If I do something to screw someone over I want to know so I can change. XD Hilariously most of my fics start out with me being mad at Mari for some reason and then it’s just me being like, “But the poor baby couldn’t stop blaming herself”. XD Yup, all of that. A hero isn’t someone unbeatable and perfect and always serious. And it shouldn’t be expected of them. One of my favorite things about Oblivio is how selfless they were giving up the love they had found for one another, knowing that in another life they probably don’t have it, in favor of saving the city their forgotten selves swore to protect. That shouldn’t be expected for a hero to just give up their happiness like that but they chose to make that sacrifice... Making them heroes. Also forgot to bring this up earlier but I ain’t a fan of Fu either. I have a salt fic for him where it basically involves him learning he ain’t a very good guardian. I have been thinking about how I would write this and I do have scenes I didn’t include in this either because I forgot or found them unneeded since the post was so long anyway. Also, feel free to message me whenever because talking to you is absolutely great and I would love to talk to you more. If you got a Discord or anything like that and don’t mind sharing, shoot me a message. However, don’t feel obligated to. ^^ P.S. Drop by my friend’s Tumblr and say hi. He’s mostly a salt blog but he’s very nice and has some great ideas. <3 @arlakos So even if you aren’t a salt fan you can look forward to some of his ideas and his funny posts. ^^

Miraculess AU

Hi, welcome to salt heaven where Adrien finally gets repercussions, Ladybug is the one true hero, the entire class gets punished, and everyone is happy. : ) I made this AU and I do oh so hope you enjoy because this was real fun to make and honestly was the most angsty and salty I ever got. : ) Be warned it isn’t too well thought out and doesn’t have an ending yet but I hope you still like it. ^^

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