#marinette deserves the world

[miraculouscataclyyysm]

This episode was perfectly titled because all I wanna do is protect kagami…this was so fuckin sad

[bittersweetresilience]

say hi to me i don't know, i just remembered being so much brighter, i guess

cigarette ash like wildfire burning holes in the nighttime open scars feel like barbed wire white lies flying high like a ceasefire dropping flags on the shoreline this is as far as i can feel right 'cause what you don't know can haunt you

and all we ever wanted was sunlight and honesty highlights to want to repeat let's get away from here and live like the movies do i won't mind when it's over at least i didn't think for a while

don't drag it out living like that doesn't mean a thing

so let's, make a great escape and i'll be waiting outside for the getaway it doesn't matter who we are we'll keep running through the dark and all we'll ever need is another day we can slow down 'cause tomorrow is a mile away and live like shooting stars 'cause happy endings hardest to fake

and i wanna let you know i wanna let you go but i just can't bring myself to speak but this is how it goes the end credits, they roll this bridge was built over kerosene but we can watch it and all i ever wanted was sunlight and honesty highlights to want to repeat let's get away from here and live like the movies do i won't mind when it's over at least i didn't think

so let's run, make a great escape and i'll be waiting outside for the getaway it doesn't matter who we are we'll keep running through the dark and all we'll ever need is another day we can slow down 'cause tomorrow is a mile away and live like shooting stars you can wish away forever but you'll never find a thing like today

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

I've recently come across a couple of season 4 fanfics that dealt with the Chat Noir feeling left out and quitting thing and every time I read one I can't help but think "man did they chose the wrong side of the masks AND the wrong characters for this conflict. Chat Noir comes across terribly here". It's weird to see people try and justify his behavior and act like Ladybug was in the wrong.

Was Ladybug being the best friend ever? No, but friendship is secondary when they're wearing the masks. Paris comes first. Chat Noir quitting because he doesn't feel special enough is literally him endangering everyone he loves because his crush isn't paying enough attention to him and I truly can't tell if the show wanted us to feel like he was in the right or the wrong here. In Kuro Neko, Catwalker actually does acknowledge the lesson he needed to learn

There's nothing wrong with you. Maybe the boy who was Cat Noir was more sensitive than it seemed. But his feelings for you shouldn't force you to pay more attention to him than to others. You take care of everybody equally, Ladybug. 

And Chat Noir apologizes at the end of the episode for causing Ladybug trouble, but the whole thing is incredibly lackluster. They don't actually have a meaningful conversation about why he was feeling that way and the rest of the season seems to present Ladybug as being in the wrong, especially the final! Trusting Alya leads to nothing meaningful and not trusting Chat Noir loses her the miraculous. Basically, I still have no idea what season 4 was trying to do with this conflict and it's been dropped forever now that Adrien is fully reduced to nothing more than arm candy.

HOWEVER, this basic setup could have been a fantastic b plot if the "Adrien doesn't feel needed" conflict wasn't a Ladynoir conflict, but was instead a conflict between Adrien and Nino. Move Rocketear up to earlier in the season and have the fallout from that be that Adrien's relationship with Nino is strained. He can still feel leftout because Ladybug has a bigger team now, but instead of him pouting about it and skipping fights, focus on how that need for connection has transferred to his civilian life, but he doesn't have Kagami or Nino now and he's lost. Then you can either have an Adrien and Nino b plot because that relationship needs more screen time OR you use this to make Adrien and Marinette start to grow closer because Rocketear's fallout is also Alya paying more attention to Nino. Then, when season 5 does the whole crush switch, it actually feels earned.

[slimpreturns-to-the-idiot-masses]

poor marinette all she wants to do is make clothes be nice to her friends and date a pretty boy and she’s gotta deal with super villains a complex web of secret identities and her own autism

[treatop]

please bring back happy ladybug i beg 🙏🙏🙏

[raleydrew]

I knew this part bothered me for a reason. Poor Juleka, thankfully you have Rose who ACTUALLY does SOMETHING to try comforting you properly.

I suffer from intense anxiety and I know full well how guilt kills you from the inside-out, and in my experience, having friends just send hearts and stuff when I'm feeling like that just kinda pisses me off. Like, use words.

How hard is it to say something like, "Juleka, we're so sorry for not taking your feelings in full consideration. We all meant well and we just wanted to help lessen the burden for Rose after we heard about her hospital visit, but we see now that all of that was too overbearing and unnecessary." Or "You confided in secret with Marinette your concerns, and we had no right to involve ourselves in your business like that."

I can go on and on over this, but I'll try to keep it short:

If a friend tells you a secret or tells you about something that is very personal or meaningful to them, respect their wishes and don't tell anyone else. If anything, you step back and if your friend wants to open up to others, let them know that way. Don't go behind your friend's back. Because when your friend realizes that MORE people know about their problem and then start acting differently because of that, that just causes tension and panic and if it were me, I'd start having trust issues and be like "I can't tell you anything anymore because you'll make such a big deal out of it.."

And seriously, don't make jokes about sensitive subjects. In her defense, Marinette doesn't realize that Rose had to go to the hospital for her 'skipped-breakfast headache', but I personally find it in bad taste to make a comment toward the worried friend and how "if she doesn't eat her lunch, she'll end up just like Rose did."

Maybe I'm putting high standards on the characters, but they should all know how insecure Juleka is and I would expect them to be more careful with what they say or what they do. A neurodivergent's brain is a complicated thing, and I know because I have one and there's so many problems going on in it. It's just so frustrating being the only one (aside from her girlfriend Rose) that understands what this poor girl goes through. I get so heated over it, U G H

Ranking the texts that the Miraculous Class sent to Juleka after she ran to the bathroom to cry in Guilttrip

I'm not going to explain myself here

S Tier: An actual text!

Marinette is the only character that (explicitly) sent Juleka an actual text with actual words here. She apologized for the situation getting out of hand. Completely normal text. The only S tier.

Everyone else sent emojis. We're ranking emojis from here on out.

A Tier: A nice sentiment

Mylène, Nino, Kim, and Alix sent her hearts. Uncontroversial, sweet. Clearly telling her that they care for her. Alix chose a cupid heart, which is a bit of a choice, but I'll allow it.

B Tier: A bit confused, but they've got the spirit

Max's emoji is a bit too smiley for my taste given the situation (she just ran off to cry!), and Nathaniel's borders on flirting, but I think the sentiment they were trying to convey is clear enough, even if they missed the mark just a smidge. Still sweet enough for a B.

C Tier: Weirdly passive aggressive???

Sabrina, what were you thinking? Imagine someone in your class (who has helped bully you in the past!!!!) sent you this emoji while you were crying. I kind of love the audacity of it, tbh. I'm sure this isn't meant to be passive aggressive, so let's just hope Juleka knows that, too.

(Side note: we see later that Marinette ALSO sent this emoji? Presumably after the "I'm so sorry!" text? Marinette? ??? Why? I think this emoji actually undermines her text. Maybe Marinette should also be bumped down to C tier.)

And that brings us to last, and also least...

F(lirting) Tier:

Come the fuck on, guys.

[marcmarcmomarc]

Miraculous

Chapter 13: Florida Tour

(Now, at Air Force Fun Helicopter Tours, Marinette boards a waiting helicopter.)

TOUR GUIDE: Good afternoon, Miss Dupain-Cheng. Welcome to Air Force Fun Helicopter Tours. I hope you’re ready for extravagant sights of some of Florida’s greatest tourist attractions.

(The helicopter lifts off. They leave the plaza and pass the Premium Outlets.)

TOUR GUIDE: To our left is the Orlando International Premium Outlets, an outdoor outlet mall. It used to be called Prime Outlets-Orlando.

(Later, Marinette sees Aerophile - The World Leader in Balloon Flight.)

TOUR GUIDE: First is Disney Springs, an outdoor shopping, dining, and entertainment complex at the Walt Disney World Resort. First opened in 1975 as Lake Buena Vista Shopping Village, it has been expanded and rebranded over the years as Walt Disney World Village in 1977, Disney Village Marketplace in 1989, and Downtown Disney in 1997, finally becoming Disney Springs in 2015.

(Over Bonnet Creek…)

TOUR GUIDE: Over there is Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon, one of two operating water parks at the resort. The second water park to open at the resort, preceded by Disney’s River Country, which closed in November 2001. The park is home to one of the world’s largest outdoor wave pools where it is even possible to bodysurf. The theme of the park is the “Disney legend” of a typhoon that wreaked havoc upon a formerly pristine tropical paradise. Ships, fishing gear, and surfboards are strewn about where the storm flung them. Its centerpiece is “Miss Tilly”, a shrimp boat impaled upon a mountain named “Mount Mayday” that erupts a 50-foot geyser of water every half hour, right before the bells of the watch sound on it. Its mascot is “Lagoona Gator”.

(Marinette gawks as they pass the Surf Pool. Later, she points out another attraction.)

MARINETTE: Ooh, that big ball looks epic.

TOUR GUIDE: That’s Epcot. Often referred to as a “permanent world’s fair”, Epcot is dedicated to the celebration of human achievement, particularly technological innovation and international culture. During early development of the Florida property, Walt Disney wanted to build an experimental planned community showcasing modern innovation, known as Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, or “EPCOT”. Epcot remains a popular destination, with Spaceship Earth, a geodesic sphere, serving as its iconic landmark.

(They fly over Fantasmic!)

TOUR GUIDE: Here is Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Originally named the Disney–MGM Studios Theme Park, it was the third of four theme parks built at Walt Disney World. Spanning 135 acres, the park is themed to an idealized version of Hollywood, California, and is dedicated to the imagined worlds from film, television, music, and theatre, drawing inspiration from the Golden Age of Hollywood.

TOUR GUIDE: Pandora - The World of Avatar is a themed area inspired by the Avatar franchise created by James Cameron. Set a generation after the events of the Avatar films, the area is based upon the fictional habitable exomoon, Pandora, and features Pandora’s floating mountains, alien wildlife, and bioluminescent plants. Spanning 12 acres, it includes two major attractions, Avatar Flight of Passage and Na’vi River Journey, as well as retail and dining outlets.

(They fly over DINOSAUR and Dino-Rama.)

TOUR GUIDE: Disney’s Animal Kingdom is a zoological theme park. Owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Experiences division, it is the largest theme park in the world, covering 580 acres. The park was the fourth theme park built at the resort. It’s dedicated and themed around natural environment and animal conservation, a philosophy once pioneered by Walt Disney.

(Later, Marinette gawks at the Magic Kingdom’s immense parking lot.)

TOUR GUIDE: As we approach the Magic Kingdom, feel free to take in the gorgeous greenery that covers most of the state.

(They circle around the Partner’s Statue of Mickey Mouse and Walt Disney.)

TOUR GUIDE: Here is Magic Kingdom Park. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Experiences division. The official park name has changed slightly over the years, from Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom from 1971 to 1994 and The Magic Kingdom from 1994 to 2017. The park was initialized by Walt Disney and designed by WED Enterprises. The park layout and attractions were based on Disneyland in Anaheim, California, and are dedicated to fairy tales and Disney characters.

(Marinette watches as they pass Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. Later, they fly over the Sky Tower outside Seaport Theater and Voyager’s Smokehouse.)

TOUR GUIDE: SeaWorld is an animal theme park. Although separately gated, it is often promoted with neighboring parks Discovery Cove and Aquatica as well as Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, all of which are owned and operated by United Parks & Resorts. Across the street is Aquatica, its sister park. The park is themed to the southern Pacific and features Australian and New Zealand based mascots. The park features a wide array of attractions for all ages and swimming abilities, some of which pass by or through animal habitats, and has two wave pools which share an extensive, 80,000-square-foot man made white-sand beach area equipped with deck chairs, sun beds, and umbrellas.

(Marinette gawks at the beach near Big Surf Shores and Cutback Cove. Later, the tour guide lands at Air Force Fun.)

TOUR GUIDE: And that concludes the tour of the city’s most popular attractions. Feel free to leave a review on Yelp.

MARINETTE: I will. Thanks.

[the-purple-possum]

My friend just started watching miraculous. They just said 'I love the whole they like eachothers other identity, I can't wait for them to realise'. Like me too bro 😭.

[sairenharia]

Why Chloe Deserved A Miraculous

Its a thought that's been stewing in my head and the more I thought about it, the more I realized it was true. Chloe was entitled to a Miraculous.

From a Doylist Perspective.

When there is conversations of if Chloe was entitled to a Miraculous is always presented from a Watsonian perspective. For those who don't know, Watsonian means the perspective of someone inside the story. A character. Doylist is the perspective of those in the real world. The author and audience.

The problem I see from fandom discourse is how often people don't actually consider the tools in a story. Often they take a Watsonian perspective, talk about what is right and sensible and should be how things work if this was a real situation. But the thing about stories is they have messages. They have tools and metaphors and themes to help display these messages. Sure, shows are about entertainment, but a story always has some kind of point. It may not be a moral lesson, it may not be some grand philosophy, but any story worth telling says SOMETHING. It takes a stance. The Fast and the Furious is all about doing cool stunts with cars, but it also has a message of doing things for family because if you just want to see cool car stunts, just go watch cool car stunts, but no, people want at least a little humanity in the car stunts, so there is a message of family. Sharing is caring, do your best, the heat death of the universe comes for us all, the messages can be vast, but there's some point of emotional reality to invest us in this specific media.

If we talk about Chloe and the Miraculous from a Watsonian perspective, no, she is not entitled to a Miraculous. No one is entitled to an object of power. Not even Marinette nor Adrien are entitled to their Miraculous.

But superpowers aren't real. Superpowers have always been a tool to emphasize a point. The stories of superman only focused on his powers are boring, but when you tell stories of how he tries to fit into a world that is not made for him, stories of how much he loves this world despite how easy it could be to be cruel, it gets interesting. The reason superhero comics started is there was a want to show that there can be incredibly powerful people who choose to be good. To choose to make the world a better place.

Superpowers made just to be cool and show off are boring. There is only so much you can watch a fight with a cool power before it gets dull and repetitive. But you relate the powers, the struggles of using the powers, to the person wielding them, the story has a lot more staying power. The powers say something about the person, and is part of their development.

And honestly, Miraculous is a good case for why this is important.

Because good god, most of the superhero team is boring.

And I don't just mean because they're good people, so there's no spice, though that's also true, but because the powers aren't really used to emphasize anything about the character. Max has portals. Why? His mom wants to be an astronaut, but we never really hear about Max wanting to travel. Doorman is a better example of a portal hero because he loves going to other places and learning about them.

Now portals are good for a tactician....except Max is never the tactician despite the fact we know he's brilliant and is good at video games. He just does as he's told by Ladybug for where he should put his portals. Its so close, but its not utilized.

And that is the case for most of the superheroes. Like the bones are there, but nothing is properly utilized. Sabrina is definitely a dog, good at getting things, and is in fact well practiced in recognizing what things may or may not be important. But we've never actually gotten to focus on her BEING a superhero, she only had a small cameo with the power, basically. Same with Ivan, really. They're pretty perfect for their powers and it suits their personalities, but none of it is EXPLORED. And that's the case with most of the heroes.

Juleka and Rose were pretty good at using the Miraculous to develop more of someone's character and emphasize a strength about another in turn. These are good hero episodes because we learned more about them and their journey.

Kagami's first episode with the dragon showed off more of her, such as she could be reckless, which is new information, but we learn a lot about her without it, and nothing new beyond that.

Luka could have actually been incredibly good because the snake both emphasizes a big part of him, and something he needs to work on. Luka is someone who steps back and watches. He observes. However, he has a problem where he often is too willing to step back. But with the snake needs someone who can observe AND act. So its a Miraculous that uses an important part of his personality, but could have also helped him grow.

And the rest are just...nothing.

There is a little for Nino and Alya. Nino is definitely more bold about defending his friends than he was at first, and Alya learns to be better about secrets, but these are the primary secondary heroes. We should have seen a ton of impact and development due to them having the Miraculous.

Here is the stance Miraculous should be taking in their story.

The desperation of those trapped and the power of being given good options.

Most of the Akumas are people who are trapped. They feel powerless. They are desperate to escape their problem and feel like they have no proper recourse with things are they are. How accurate this is varies, but this is how they feel in the moment, and that is what Gabriel preys on. These people agree to the deal because they don't feel like they will be helped any other way.

Ladybug and Chat Noir are meant to bring hope to those who felt hopeless and chose a terrible way to try and escape. They are support. They are a hand people desperately need.

So by that same token, the Miraculous should be a good way for people who feel trapped to be given an option, OR give those people the ability to extend their own hands to help others.

While it doesn't have to every time, it should often be the case those who are given a Miraculous; A, dealing with a huge problem and the Miraculous helps them solve that problem, regardless to the Akuma being related. Like if Juleka was working on trying to speak up even if the Akuma wasn't her parents and the Tiger still helped her do that. B, they are related to the Akuma and why they feel trapped, so they are working through their own issues with the important person. Like Rose when Juleka felt guilty. Or C, the person wants to find a way to help in general and kind of go how it went with Nino becoming Carapace. Where they were trying to be that hand a person needed, and earn the Miraculous, and that helps them on their journey to provide more support and help.

But its often it is someone they know, but them being the hero doesn't REALLY matter. Penalteam, the people were just there, these specific people didn't matter. Why did Zoe need to be Vesperia? Anyone could have taunted Chloe and she got turned into a banana real fast, her being the Bee didn't really bring a lot, to the bee, to her, or even to Chloe, and then she proceeded to just not bring much as the Bee, to the story, or herself.

Now part of this problem is that Marinette is not allowed to not learn a lesson, and has to be the one to save the day. These heroes do have skills. They have things they could be good at. But often....the plan is just what Marinette says. These heroes are not allowed to have agency.

They can't make decisions on their own.

Often times, they're just bodies being told to do the power without the ability to make the decision how and when. Sometimes they let the heroes do things and make decisions, but nine times out of ten, its Marinette who says who does what and when and her mental health is degrading because of it.

The Akumas are stories that always at least tell us something about the person because we see what problems hit them hard. There is something to learn, a bit of conflict to develop from.

The Miraculous should be following that trend, but in a positive way, but...doesn't.

All that being said.

Chloe was entitled to the Miraculous.

Because here is the stance Miraculous takes.

Someone is trapped in a situation and chooses to lash out violently and while that violence can not be permitted to continue, the heroes offer their support so the victim can feel like they have another option.

This is the story of Miraculous crystalized. People who feel alone and helpless are easily convinced to hurt others until someone is willing to help them despite this harm.

Chloe is the story of Miraculous.

Akumas are a metaphor.

And Chloe is the reality.

A child who is alone. Who feels trapped in her situation. Who doesn't know what else to do. So she does the only thing she knows how. She lashes out. She hurts people. She keeps them distant because then it doesn't hurt as much when they leave, or when they treat her like dirt.

Chloe is an Akuma personified, but her problems are brief moments. They're not a bad day that someone took advantage of. They are ever present and continuous and more over, reinforced to continue.

Chloe knows being a brat gets her what she wants from her father and was never taught to not be like that. Because he didn't discipline her, because her mother acted like that, because all adults around her was staff. Making demands is what she was TAUGHT and learned, through observation and guidance.

A behavior she continued to do with kids, and she found out teachers responded to the same threats and was never properly stopped. Other kids, reasonably, didn't want to deal with her, or submitted to her like Sabrina.

Chloe was not never taught how to be good. She was, in fact, very much taught to NOT be good. Her parents both set a terrible example. Her father is a corrupt politician. He may spoil her, but he we know he bribes and blackmails people, plus, you know, abandoned his daughter and technically kidnapped Zoe. This is not a paragon of a man. Then there was her mother. But she had a choice, listen to the man who had to weasel and cheat and play back handed games to get what he wanted, or the woman who got anything and everything she wanted...of course she would try to be the woman who seemed to get everything her way.

Because if her mother got everything she wanted, if Chloe was like her, maybe she could get everything SHE wanted.

Except it wasn't working.

But Chloe wasn't taught it was because she was cruel. She just started to believe she wasn't GOOD ENOUGH.

Maybe if she was as great as her mother, it would work.

By the time she would be old enough to recognize that wasn't how the world worked...well, by then, most of her peers hated her.

And here is something I think goes under the radar about Zoe.

Zoe knows how to act like Chloe. Audrey didn't blink at it. Zoe defaulted to the same behavior as Chloe. Zoe said she put on an act and she was tired of it.

Zoe WAS CHLOE.

And we know what happened with Zoe. Zoe stopped acting like Chloe. And then she got bullied. People were mean and cruel and put cockroaches in her locker and she only had one friend.

I'm sure that's why Zoe moved to Paris. Zoe went to her mom because she wanted a clean slate. She wanted the bullying to stop.

Even then, she struggled to stop. She defaulted to her habit, and we see that she CONTINUED the act around the hotel for some weeks after, because it was a hard habit to break.

But then...

Zoe got support. A hand was held out to her. Marinette gave her a chance, and so did everyone else, and Zoe took it because she wanted to be herself and she wanted to stop being cruel. Of course she's nice. She was given the space to be so.

Chloe is never given that support.

Chloe doesn't know how to be kind. She doesn't know how to be nice.

But the greatest tragedy is Chloe does know how to be GOOD.

Out of all the heroes, besides Chat, to a lesser degree Alya, and Alix and Luka by nature of their Miraculous, Chloe shows the most agency as a superhero. All the other heroes have their hands held by Ladybug. She tells them what to do, to an overly specific degree, and they are just bodies to use a tool. Chloe? Chloe acts on her own. To good and bad effect. Discounting the whole Queen Wasp break down, just when Chloe is actually acting as a superhero, she doesn't wait for Ladybug to tell her everything all the time. She calls out to her father, which was a mistake, but then there is every other time she's Queen Bee...

And she's fantastic at it.

Miraculer, she almost had Mayura's Miraculous.

Star Train, she gets people away from the Akuma.

In Bakerix, she's the last the to leave the train car.

In Ladybug, she's defending Sabrina.

In Style Queen, played Style Queen in an effort to find a way to save Adrien.

In Heroes Day, she is a great teammate. Keep in mind, everyone on the team knows who Chloe is. Ladybug was desperate and doesn't fully trust Chloe as a general rule. Rena Rouge and Carapace definitely don't trust her at all. Chat Noir is the only one who believes in Chloe as a person.

And yet, throughout the entire fight, Chloe is keeping up and picking up the slack with everyone else. She fights, she keeps civilians from being hurt, her synergy is on fire despite the lack of trust. When Rena Rouge and Carapace go down, she is quick to try and protect them and even after two EXTREMELY dangerous Akuma show up by way of her parents, who are both gunning for her real hard, she holds her own for a while and even then, she had to be mind controlled to stop and to feel negative emotions. It took FOUR AKUMAS gunning for her specifically to corrupt her, akums who are made to mess her up mentally to boot. When they confront Gabriel at the end, she prepares venom without being asked, to have a back up for taking him down. She makes decisions and when she was trusted to act as a hero, they are largely good ones.

And she never once complained about the mental hardship of what she went through. Because that's the thing, all her times as Queen Bee are super intense. They are her loved ones she's fighting, they are incredibly powerful Akumas. She fought a frickin' army.

And everyone...

Just insults her.

She risked her life for people and no one cared.

She fought her family and no one cared.

Chloe doesn't know how to be nice. Nor kind. But she was so good. And while the next day, people appreciated her, it was only a day.

And the tragedy is Chloe didn't immediately go back to being a bully. After Despair Bear, Chloe's bullying habits took an extreme nose dive. We only see her being unreasonably cruel a few times. After Maledikator, the only time is when she bullies Aurore and when she teamed up with Marinette, but also Marinette was with her and they were both doing it for fear of losing Adrien reasons. Not reasonable, but also not just to be cruel and honestly, her plan was fairly benign. She wanted Kagami to leave, not even humiliate her. And even Aurore is because Chloe was reaching the point she did in Miraculer where she was doubting Ladybug's trust in her and as she is want to do, she lashed out.

Most of the time when we see Chloe, what we see is her bragging about being Queen Bee. Which, sure, isn't a great thing...

But better a braggart than a bully. And when things go wrong, she tries to use her status to help reassure and guide people, which is actually a pretty good idea. Akumas are attracted to negative emotions. If she can reassure them, then less likely of them getting akumatized. It may be bragging, but it could help.

Chloe may not have been picture perfect nice, but we literally have an entire classroom full of perfectly nice people. She may not be humble, but bragging is not a damnable offense. But Chloe was legitimately trying to be a better person. She put herself in between others and danger. She had faith and belief that there were solutions. Even without the Miraculous, she tried to help people.

She may have wanted appreciate and gratitude for it, but what's even sadder is she didn't require it.

Chloe believed in Ladybug for a long time. She believed Ladybug would trust her again. She believed she could be given a Miraculous again, and all on her own, ALL ON HER OWN, she was trying to be a better person.

Its actually amazing how good Chloe was being despite the fact no one was helping her.

Because that is the thing.

Zoe got support and help.

Chloe didn't.

Every. Single. Time. Chloe tried to do something different, something not cruel, she is rejected. She tries to join the art club and she's mocked out of it. She tries to be class representative, a job no one else wanted for years, and she loses it as soon as someone did challenge her. She auditions, legitimately, for a music video, with eight years of practice, and she loses it because she isn't nice enough.

She stops bullying, tries to be a reassuring presence, and she is treated with suspicion and derision.

And still.

And STILL.

That isn't what breaks her.

What breaks her is the realization the only time where her efforts were appreciated was taken away. And even then, she holds onto the pieces. Holds onto hope that maybe she would be given a new chance.

Her parents are in danger. The reason she was given she couldn't be a hero is because she and her loved ones would be in danger.

Except her loved ones were in danger.

She was in danger.

Not having a Miraculous didn't change anything. It didn't keep them safe, it didn't keep her safe.

And its only then, after months of no one believing in her for more than two days, of no one holding out their hand, helping her, supporting her, believing her, with the one person she thought DID believe in her proved that she didn't believe in her, and couldn't even give her the safety that not having a Miraculous was supposed to bring.

For months, Chloe only thought Ladybug believed she could be good.

Adrien wanted her to be less cruel, but Chloe knew her being good wasn't necessary for him.

Nor was it for Sabrina.

But Ladybug?

Ladybug needed her to be good to believe in her, and she thought Ladybug did.

Chloe was able to largely bite back her desires to lash out at people based purely on the fact one person, ONE SINGULAR PERSON, needed her to be good, and believed in her ability to be so. It got her derision. It got her suspicion. It got people comparing her to villains. It got her dismissal. But she still tried. She still believed.

A person who didn't really believe in Chloe very much.

And there is also the Watsonian argument that Marinette doesn't owe it to Chloe to help her improve AND THIS IS INCREDIBLY VALID and honestly, in a perfect world, it would be great if it was Adrien who helped Chloe improve.

Or you know, Zoe. Someone who has a clean slate with Chloe and understands where she's coming from and could help her.

But no, this is the Marinette Has To Solve Everything Show.

So from a Doylist view, it IS Marinette who has to help Chloe, but also the Watsonian problem could be helped if it was CLEARLY ESTABLISHED that Marinette knows she doesn't HAVE to help Chloe, and people aren't pressuring her to do so (coughBustiercough) because that is a bad message...

But Marinette can CHOOSE to help her and make that clear.

Because Marinette has seen a lot of Chloe and could understand that she really does just need a little more help. That Chloe needed just a bit more support and help. And, you know, didn't actively encourage Chloe to please her abuser.

But we're going from the Doylist view and we can solve the Marinette being the one to help Chloe problem by not having it be Marinette, but LADYBUG.

And this?

This is why I say Chloe was entitled to a Miraculous.

Because Chloe is the reality of the stance of the show, and so helping her problem with the metaphors would go a long way.

You see, Chloe doesn't know Ladybug is Marinette. And Marinette knows being Ladybug means being the bigger person. Ladybug believes in people. Ladybug helps everyone she can. Its not about the victim helping their bully, its the superhero choosing to help someone who NEEDS HELP.

Chloe is stuck in her situation. Her mother will always be emotionally abusive. Her father will always be an enabler. She can try to change, but no one will BELIEVE in her change. She will be derided and mocked and treated poorly because no one is willing to give her the chance to grow, and they certainly won't help.

Frankly, its a miracle that Chloe's Akumas are so merciful.

Because Banana Queen is the most destructive of Chloe's Akuma forms. Most of Chloe's Akuma forms don't care about HURTING people. They care about WINNING. She either wants to win or for people to just listen to her.

But give Chloe the Bee Miraculous, and suddenly things change.

Chloe feels like she has OPTIONS as Queen Bee. She doesn't feel she has to meet her mother's expectations as much if she's Queen Bee. She has people who trust and depend on her. At least right after she saves people, she gets a little praise, a little belief.

And people may say being a hero for glory and attention is a bad thing, but the thing is, Chloe's need for glory and attention is about being ACKNOWLEDGED. As feeling like people value and care about her. This is a BASIC HUMAN NEED and she doesn't know another way to get it. Its not like she's demanding physical things for her heroics.

She just wants to be appreciated.

By giving Chloe a Miraculous, she is given the tools to try and be good. She is given an escape from her situation. She is given SUPPORT in her efforts because the other heroes have to support her.

And over time...

That trust will grow.

Because what Chloe doesn't know, all her classmates are the other heroes.

And suddenly, all her classmates will see her as a different person. They will see what she's like when the chips are down. How much effort she's willing to put in. How seriously she takes the job.

Is she still a braggart? Sure. Is she still rude as hell? Absolutely.

But she will risk it all to help people, without asking for anything in return except a little faith.

Chloe is entitled to a Miraculous.

Because her story without a Miraculous is a story of a little girl who no one wanted to help, who were unwilling to offer her help because she lashed out while trying to survive a situation she couldn't escape, and because it wasn't super charged by a terrorist, she was deemed unworthy of it and instead deserving of isolation and constant emotional abuse.

But with a Miraculous?

Chloe is a girl who, when given a little faith, a little trust, a little help, returned it tenfold. Who puts her all in trying to be the best hero she could be. Is she imperfect? Sure. But she's giving it her all. (And frankly, she's spicy and it makes for entertaining character dynamics. You can have a character be a jerk and good, tsunderes are popular for a reason.) And as she gets more trust, as she gets more help, as she is offered that hand of help over and over again, she would continue to improve.

And as she's given power, she uses that same faith to figure out how to offer her hand to others. To help them. To spare them the same pain she suffered.

Because that is what given to the Akuma victims. They are given a little help, and a little power to break free of their magically abusive mindsets.

To have someone go from the continuing the cycle of abuse to someone who would save other people from that?

That is a real superhero story.

Chloe is undeserving from a Watsonian perspective.

But she's so very deserving from a Doylist perspective.

[actually-factually-anonymous]

I see the appeal now, Adrien going a little crazy like this might be a quite a bit of dramatic fun. And there's no reason he can't start out by finally snapping under the revelation of everything about himself and his life being a horrible lie and then go the Eren route because of some dark dilemma that he doesn't have faith in Ladybug to solve (anymore).

Might be some good development for him, starting from fawning and forgiveness, to a mental breakdown and lashing out from the utter insanity of his situation, and then resigned determination to do whatever he deems necessary.

But of course, that would require Adrien to be allowed to react and develop away from the "perfect boy". And I don't think that's in the cards.

Besides, Marinette seems to be heading for a villain arc of her own- even if the show seems dead set on validating her faults.

Adrien should be the final akuma.

Him finding out the truth, Him having to deal with... Everything.

Either him as the last akuma or last villain.

Boy earned every right to be a villain as a treat

[gemsofthegalaxy]

Not gonna lie, I'm glad they finally addressed the difference in how Marinette sees fashion as self-expression and something that should be accessible to everyone vs Gabriel who sees fashion as a means to create an elite class and extract wealth from those they deem deserving of wearing their pieces

It's always been my headcanon that Marinette does go into fashion, but she doesn't have a world famous high production brand, she chooses to do slow-made sustainable fashions in a wide range of sizes that are still fun and quirky, ready to be mixed and matched and loved for a long time rather than tossed to the side each season

[mc-lukanette]

One might think that having the most incredible, most creative, most skilled, and most beautiful girlfriend in the world would be hard, but it wasn't for Luka. What would destroy the confidence of hyper-sensitive boys only bolstered Luka's, knowing that such a wonderful girl picked him.

He had no idea what he'd done to deserve Marinette, Paris's sole hero and the guardian of the miraculouses, but he wasn't going to argue.

"Which one are you showing me today?" he asked, leaning forward on her chaise lounge.

She grinned, raising a finger to gesture for him to wait. "You'll see! I don't want to spoil the surprise."

There was a bounce in her step as she walked over to the Miracle Box, her hands gliding along its edges before opening it up. Luka kept himself rooted in place, fighting the contagious excitement but unable to help tilting to the side to try and see better.

It was common for her to show him the various miraculouses in the box and explain their powers, ever since her master had handed it over to her and left the country with his own lover. It wasn't just for fun either - even if they did have fun doing it - as Luka was Marinette's hero of choice when she needed someone to wield a miraculous for her.

She insisted every time that it was a completely unbiased decision, that it wasn't her fault that he could fit so many of them, and who was he to question a guardian?

Marinette turned to face him, holding up a shiny black ring and waving it about. Gesturing at it with her free hand, she explained, "This one's special. It's not safe to use since it's one of the ones Hawk Moth wants, but who knows? You might need to someday."

There was a playfulness to her voice that made him raise a brow, but he suspected that it might have to do with the thought of actually seeing him transformed. He wasn't oblivious to the once-over she'd give him any time he transformed with a miraculous he hadn't used before, and he'd do the same back to her.

That was because, rather than simply explaining the miraculous to him, she would ditch her earrings and don it herself like some superhero version of dressing up for one's significant other. While Luka knew nothing of fashion nor design, he could still appreciate seeing her in something new.

Marinette slipped the miraculous onto her finger, raising it up to watch it shrink just enough to fit her. It transformed, disguising itself to be a simple, rose gold ring, and out came another kwami for Luka to meet.

Said kwami, easily fitting the black and cat theme the ring had previously given off, yawned and stretched now that he was properly outside of the box. His green eyes popped open, tail swishing curiously as his cat-like pupils took in the scene before him.

"Oh, we're finally doing this, huh?" he asked, flying over to Luka. He looked him up and down, then went closer to bat at his bangs. "Hair's soft at least. Would make a nice bed."

"Plagg," Marinette called sternly, putting her hands on her hips.

Luka moved his head to look past Plagg and smile at her. "It's alright. He's not bothering me."

Also, though he didn't say it out loud, meeting each kwami felt vaguely like trying to impress future in-laws, so he gave all of them an extra dose of his patience.

"Good kid," Plagg said, hovering around Luka in a circle before laying himself atop his head. "Just keep the mushy stuff to a minimum whenever I'm here and we'll be fine. I got sick enough hearing her talk to me about it."

Luka looked up despite his inability to actually see Plagg. "You were talking about it?"

"Well—"

"Plagg!" Marinette burst out, panicked. "Transform me!"

Luka heard a mischievous snicker just before Plagg was pulled off of his head and into the miraculous. The rose gold ring returned to its original shape and color, light flowing out of it and transforming Marinette.

As if the fake cat ears that popped out of her head weren't already cute enough, her hair grew in length and fashioned itself into a long braid to represent a cat tail. Lining her black bodysuit were streaks of blue, accentuating her body properly as one would expect of a future fashion designer, and her sclera turned to a lighter blue while her pupils turned into vertical slits to mirror Plagg's.

Luka didn't realize his mouth had opened at all until she strutted up to him and closed it with a clawed hand. He smiled warmly, not subtle about looking her over.

"I love the black and blue," he said, doing his best to compliment her as an artist might. "The blue stripes harmonize with your eyes."

The pink blush didn't do anything for the look she was going for, but he cherished it all the same.

"Thanks~" Her voice came out a little higher-pitched, shyness blending with her earlier confidence. She reached out for him, placing her hands firmly on his shoulders, then began to let herself up onto his lap.

It wasn't usual for them to cuddle during her mini lessons - not right away, at least - but muscle memory kicked in nonetheless and his hands found her sides. Her hair brushed his skin as she buried her face into the crook of his neck and slipped her arms around his back.

"I didn't know you could give lessons from there," he said jokingly, though his own voice was a smidge higher as well.

She didn't joke back, which he found a little odd. Beyond the sound of her shuffling to get even closer to him, she wasn't making a noise of any sort.

He rubbed her sides in tiny circles with his thumb, calling out curiously, "Marinette?"

Now, Luka had a mental log of all of the various sounds that Marinette made over the course of them knowing each other. She had sounds for when she was jumping in excitement, for when she slept, for when she was distressed, and for when she was being cuddled.

But the sound she was making at that moment was entirely foreign to him. It was low, rumbling, and consistent, repeating in almost a rhythmic pattern. He tried to place it without getting distracted by the way she almost seemed to be vibrating against him, but then it clicked.

She was wearing the cat miraculous. He didn't have a cat himself, but they did go to a few pet shelters one day to see the animals and talk about if they'd want one when they were old enough to move out together. He still remembered getting to pet one of the cats, rubbing its side not unlike what he was doing with Marinette.

She was purring.

"Mmm," she hummed, sensing that he'd gotten it, "I...I know I'm not always good with words. We're dating, but nothing I really want to say comes out the way it is in my head. Even when you don't say anything, you can still play music, so..." She sighed, nuzzling him. "I wanted to find a way to speak your language?"

Luka froze, blushing as he looked down at her. Plagg's earlier words came back to mind - that she had been talking to him about their contact - and he realized that it must've been this: that she wanted to know if cat heroes could purr so she could tell Luka what she felt without words: that she was comfortable with him, that she loved him, and that she felt happy whenever he touched her.

Luka wasn't self-conscious about his role in the world, but at the end of the day he was just some guy. He wasn't conventionally attractive like a celebrity on a magazine, he had what many would consider a lower class part-time job, and he didn't have any presence in the public eye. He didn't have any problem with that - less eyes on him meant more time he could eye Marinette - but it left him awestruck yet again thinking of how many boys must've been after her (or how many stupid ones weren't) when her gaze focused solely on him.

"...Luka?" Marinette called when he didn't say anything. The purring stopped as she raised up enough to look at him, the fake cat ears drooping in concern.

He snapped himself out of his reverie. Smiling at her, he took one hand off her side to cup the back on her head, bringing her in to press their foreheads together. He took a deep breath, finding calm in her scent, and assured, "You're already speaking my language, Marinette. Music doesn't mean playing an instrument or purring like a cat does. You're the song in my head, all the time, even if you're not singing."

"Really?" She sounded skeptical.

With a chuckle, he asked, "Do you want to know what my favorite part of your look is?"

She perked up, pulling back so he could better gesture at said part. "What? What is it?"

His smile tilted up to the side in a smirk. He brought a hand to her face, pressing a finger to her lips. "Right here."

Her brows soared, eyes going wide. She pushed his hand away and turned her face to the side so she could laugh, even as her face flushed. "That didn't change at all!"

He pulled her back in, eyes glinting in amusement but no less genuine. "So? You don't need words to tell me how you feel. I know with everything you do for me, and the sounds you make are already music to my ears, especially when we're..." His eyes flicked to her lips instead of saying anything further.

Her blush deepened, her claws raking shyly through her bangs. "S-so... all that practice of hugging my pillow and trying to imagine it was you to see if I could purr? That was all for nothing?"

She asked it lightly, but Luka had never been jealous of a pillow before that day, knowing that it got the experience before him.

"No," he replied with a shrug. "I love hearing whatever you want to give me, but you're already so much. You're more than enough."

He could see her visibly swallow, the stiff embarrassment melting away as she relaxed against him. She bit her bottom lip - carefully due to her fangs - and slowly slid the back of her claws up his stomach, his chest, then over his shoulder.

"Then—do you want to hear a little more?"

It was a request, not a question, and a request he was happy to indulge in.

He kissed her, immediately rewarded with a squeak that transitioned smoothly into a moan. Whenever one of them were in superhero form, it was inevitable that the other would be underneath them eventually due to the strength imbalance, thus leaving him laying flat on the chaise lounge as she kissed him back.

He could hear the purr starting up again, but he much preferred the tune they were creating with their mouths.

[trainsinanime]

How various Miraculous Ladybug characters murder you (mostly assuming you deserve it)

I had insomnia last night, probably due to allergies (forgot to take my meds), and somehow I ended up writing this.

The basic assumption for this: You’ve been mortal enemies for half the movie, and now it’s the big action scene where you are about to die. This assumes you're the main henchman, perhaps even the main antagonist, but it can be a 009 type good guy character who dies at the start of the movie as well.

Marinette: She spent the last five minutes of the fight transforming the space into a giant set of traps, full of broken light bulbs, wire and pulley systems and so on that have killed all of your subordinates. You come face to face with her, convinced that you will be the one to finally take her down. But just as you raise your gun, you notice that you have already tripped a tiny wire. For a fraction of a millisecond, you see her grim, determined smile, before you blow up.

Roland: Still has a sub-machine gun from the time he was in the French resistance in World War 2 and knows how to use it.

Kagami: In an honourable duel, you thought you’d won. She’s battered and bruised, lying on the floor, blood coming out of her mouth. So you say “it’s over” and start your final attack. But then she remembers all her friends. Remembers them real hard. And with the renewed strength, she gets up, and runs you through with her sabre. Afterwards she respectfully closes your eyes and tells your family that you loved them.

Chloé: She’s wearing an expensive gold evening gown, and she says, “fine, I’ll do it myself”. Then she grabs a shotgun and starts blasting. There is no warmth in her eyes, no remaining bit of empathy, no warrior’s understanding. She looks at you with the exact same disdain she has for delivery people who got her order wrong. She has no remorse, but killing you will still make her unhappy.

Nino: You get trapped in the cables of his DJ equipment that have been strewn all over the room by the preceding fight. With his last strength, Nino reconnects a plug, creating a sick dub-step sound and also electrocuting you. He’s sad it had to come to this, but it was definitely your own fault.

Tikki: [Removed for being too graphic]

Luka: He bores you to death by talking about your “heart music” and replacing every other sentence with three chords on his guitar.

Lila: You didn’t even know you were fighting. You just take a sip from your drink, and you feel a bit funny. And a bit weird. Maybe you need to sit down. Or lay down. As your vision gets blurry, Lila takes off her mask and wig, and you realise your fatal mistake of letting your guard down. She is the last thing you see as you die in agony.

Sabrina: She’s smiling. She’s got you in a corner, with the knife in her hand, and she’s smiling. She keeps stabbing you, and your screams only make her smile more. There’s blood on her face, and she’s still smiling. Chloé is going to be so pleased with her.

Zoé: You follow her into the dark alley, getting ready to suck her blood and kill her. But then she turns around, and she’s confident, and you realise your fatal mistake: She is this generation’s chosen one, who stands against the vampires and demons and forces of darkness. She is— and then she drives a wooden stake through your heart.

(If your favourite character isn't on here, it's because I eventually managed to fall asleep.)

[x-ae-z]

THIS^^

Whenever I feel the lack of doing anything or just getting out of bed, i think about Marinette & how a 14 year old that's going though so much & has so much responsibilities at such a young age & how despite all that Marinette doesn't give up, she stands strong. She truly is amazing & I'm just in awe at her ability to juggle everything & to acknowledge her faults & learn from them. I'm 20, in college, & Marinette is my motivation when things get hard. Sometimes I think "what would Marinette do or say?" & that really does help me :)

I just freakin adore how Marinette managed to stand up for herself more in this season and despite her self-blaming never stopped she knows how to defend herself and knows how to sort things out and make difference what bad and what good things and people are and how her emotions evolved and how she's learning so much and everything I just love how developed her feelings are and how she can control them (not fully but she's trying guys she's still trying to think with her head first and heart second) and how this is both great and sad because a 14-year-old is not supposed to know so much already and IS supposed to spend the next two years collecting stickers and napkins and eat candies and have fun and she should be emotional - seriously us girls know how rough this age was emotionally - but she left me taken aback this season with her emotional struggle and how it's not at all as big as it used to be - she knows to judge both other people and herself when something goes wrong. Like how she takes no shit from Su-Han anymore and how she was mad at Alya and Nino, and how she does blame herself for Strikeback now but she doesn't make herself a victim even though she is she wants to know Adrien better because she doesn't want her feelings to be shallow and how she is (I already mentioned this two times already but it's so goddamn important) Lila's friend in public SHE'S DOING EVERYTHING IN HER POWER GUYS AND NO ONE TAUGHT HER HOW TO DEAL WITH STUFF GUYS NO ONE SHE IS LEARNING AS SHE GOES SHE IS THE ONLY PERSON MAKING THESE DECISIONS AND SHE'S SO GOOD. And my favourite thing about her is that she is always trying so hard to make things better whatever happens it's so amazing I love her so much. She doesn't deserve to be like this so young it's not fair but the way she is carrying it is amazing and honestly everyone who says she's not a good role model for young girls can suck it.

Literally the more I watch and the more I find out about this season I love her more and she literally has the biggest and most complex character development in the show and no one is talking about it. She inspired me so much one day I had a rough day at work and I cried for the rest of the day and I remembered her and I said to myself "Marinette would cry but she wouldn't give up and would give her all the next day and would keep fighting if animated child and handle loss so well so can you" she was the first person I thought about and I learned more from her than any other superhero ever and I know a lot of them. Literally both of her so-called mentors were useless as fuck when it comes to emotional burden the superhero life would bring her and no one prepared her for this and every season she is more unhinged but she's also more grown up and if she can get traumatised so often and learn a lesson to move on and become an even better person so can all of us. She's the best superhero for a reason.

[marinettesaltprompts]

We Can Grow Up Without You (Two-Letters inspired Anti-prompt)

Inspried by a post of @broadwaycutie16

Marinette had snapped one day. She was done with being a hero.

She had a plan all figured out. She would trick Chat Noir into an ambush so that she could take the ring from him. She would trick Lila into thinking that the ring was secretly in space, all while she secretly kept the ring for herself as leverage, then give the Miracle Box to Lila so that she could be "the Ladybug that Paris deserved", one that would also ensure her former friend's misery. With her memories wiped, Marinette could be with Luka, the only person who cared about her, all the while holding onto the ring so that she could go after Lila, in case she ever needed the Wish to ensure Luka remained loyal to her.

Clearly, this was the best plan, an insane Ladybug thought.

So imagine the chill in her blood when a year after she done her plan, she went to go check on the ring, only to find it missing.

It didn't take long for Marinette to find the news about Chat Noir seemingly betraying the new Ladybug, revealing her to the world as Lila Rossi. She (alongside Felix, who was also unmasked as the new Hawkmoth) were both arrested on charges of essentially staging akuma attacks, while the "Chat" that was Lila's partner was revealed to be a Sentimonster in disguise. All the miraculouses were collected by the real Chat Noir, then he too disappeared.

Marinette knew exactly where he went, however.

Snarling, a livid Marinette went to the office tower of Agreste (renamed from the well known Gabriel brand) where Adrien was located, having returned from a month long vacation. She was unexpectedly let in without resistance however, as Adrien was supposedly expecting her.

Smiling an empty smile, Adrien stared at Marinette, sporting not only a familiar ring, but also a familiar set of earrings.

"Hello Marinette, its been a while, hasn't it?"

Naturally, Marinette was anything but polite. She ranted and raved about how Adrien wasn't supposed to have the ring (nor the earrings). She was outraged, horrified, and most of all confused.

Despite not needing any reason to tell her, Adrien obliged Marinette's demand for an explanation and told her his story.

About a month after Marinette went through her plan, Adrien took a lot of time to think about things. What he had went through regarding losing his miraculous, what he had felt at being tricked by Ladybug and Marinette. He wanted to scream and shout, to let go of his anger and blame everyone around him. Yet he had remembered one of the wise things Plagg once said (during a time he wasn't asking for cheese), and decided to reorient himself by focusing on one step at a time. Adrien messed up by letting his guard down around his former crush, but decided to make up for it by going after the new Ladybug, who at the moment was causing trouble for Paris.

Through some detective work (with the help of Max Kante) and using his head for the first time, Adrien tracked down Felix over the course of a week and managed to catch the latter off guard. Stealing the Peacock Miraculous from his cousin, Adrien created a sentimonster to track down the other miraculouses while pretending to be his cousin (to keep Lila unaware), including his former ring and the butterfly miraculous, which Felix had kept in a safe for when he was causing villainy as "Hawkmoth". He also learned from Dusuu the truth about himself, that he was actually a sentibeing created by his mother, and that her using the then broken miraculous was the reason for his passing. Despite the revelation shaking him, Adrien kept going, focuing on one step at a time.

From there, it was easy to take care of Lila (who grew so arrogant that she didn't expect Adrien to have any way to take her down) and get the rest of the Miracle box back. He also managed to track down the pieces of the Rabbit Miraculous and repair it again, after Marinette was able to destroy it.

With all the Miraculouses returned, Adrien finally used the opportunity to finally figure out what went wrong with his former partner and what caused her to give up being a hero.

Through evidence provided by Tikki and Plagg and a little help from the Rabbit Miraculous (through windows in time), Adrien had learned what went from with Marinette and why she had snapped. She saw how other people used her for granted, Adrien included, and how the responsibility overwhelmed her to the point she felt she had to leave.

However, Adrien also saw that Marinette had also ended up blaming other people for why she was like this (despite having other options to fix her problems), including blaming her partner for being supposedly unreliable (when she had pushed him away from helping with her plans or choosing the wielders) and for being unknowingly tricked by the Sentimonster Ladybug (which he admitted was stupid at the time, but he couldn't have imagined a sentimonster posing as a human at the time). Worse still, Marinette had started to blame the people of Paris for being akumatised, refering to them by their akuma names, despite it clearly being Hawkmoth's fault.

It was Marinette's mention of "Chat Blanc" that got Adrien's attention. Through a window in time, he learned of the alternate timeline in which he was akumatized by Hawkmoth, and learned the truth about his father: he was secretly Hawkmoth this entire time. Adrien was traumatised from this, but kept going.

This eventually led to learning of Marinette's plan to quit, having snapped and deciding to leave the fate of Paris in Lila's hands because "that's what Paris deserved".

Adrien spent a whole week going through all the information, every memory, every significant event, every bit of the life of Marinette Dupain Cheng, then another week to take it all in.

By the end, Adrien was horrified, but he was in a way grateful for what he had learned. Adrien felt sympathy for Marinette and why she felt she had to quit, but at the same time he could not condone her plan to leave Paris to Lila, nor her insults towards her former friends and family, especially with how she blamed them for being akumatized. He also realised that he did in some way play a role in her downfall (especially with his flirting and not trying harder to reach out more), and he did feel somewhat ashamed with himself for not noticing Marinette's feelings until it was too late (though given that Marinette had been somewhat possesive of himself with her stalking and attempts to control his love life, maybe it would have been a toxic relationship that was best to not have happened).

With all that being said, Adrien decided he would take matters into his own hands. With the Miracle Box now in his hands and with the Guardianship belonging to him (after threatening Lila with being Cataclysmed), Adrien decided he would make a new Order of the Guardian sect in Paris, with himself as the leader. He would use the recovered Miraculous to make a team that could not only help Paris, but all of France, choosing people that could handle the stress of being a hero since he could pay them for their services. Since Marinette no longer wanted to be the Guardian due to stress, Adrien would use what he had learnt to ensure he wouldn't make the same mistakes as the former Ladybug. He apologised to Marinette, but told her that he would be taking care of the Miraculouses now.

Of course, this all passed through the increasing erratic Marinette's ears. All she wanted were the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculous back so she could make her wish and bring everything under her control, all while ensuring everyone suffers. Plain and simple (to her broken mind at least).

Adrien, of course, politely refused, since Marinette had no right to them considering her plans threatened the very reality they were in and that she had given up the box to someone untrustworthy. It was only once Marinette attempted to attack her former partner that Adrien transformed (without uttering phrase, having mastered his powers by this point) and restrained the insane former heroine, at which point he gave up being polite and threatened Marinette with ruining her newfound life with Luka. Adrien did not want to do so, but he would if she kept going with her foolish quest. Marinette wanted her peace? Fine. But she would not threaten others into acting the way that she wanted.

"...Screw you Chat Blanc" Marinette uttered, having finally lost whatever mask of sanity she had before, eyes growing increasingly erratic. "Just like last time, you tried to destroy me and all of Paris to get the wish, now you'll do it again because I walked away from you, right?"

"Now that was just a low blow..." Adrien replied tersely, the comment about the akumatization getting under his skin. "But since we are going for low blows, what gives you the right to blame others for being akumatized? Prin-cess Jus-tice?"

"Th-that wasn't real! YOU'RE LYING!" Marinette yelled.

Smiling a sad smile, Adrien pulled out the Rabbit Miraculous, quickly showing a window in time before Marinette could react. With no words being spoken by the Agreste, Marinette could only watch as her former self fell under the sway of Scarlet Moth, having no means to resist the akumatization, being moments away from removing her earrings before the akumatization process was cancelled, not by Marinette's own strength, but by the slim chance of Nathalie falling ill.

"Of course, you wouldn't be so quick to judge others if you remebered being almost akumatized. But you gave up your memories, didn't you? All so you could be happy."

Marinette fell to her knees, having gotten cataconic from the truth.

"You know ... that apology I said to you before." Adrien continued "I don't think I mean it anymore. Not to this version of you at least. The Ladybug... the Marinette that used to be before you was someone I considered a friend, a person that ended up being broken by the responsibilities of things she couldn't handle on her own. Yet at the same time, she tried to push people away because of it out of a belief she had to sort things on her own. Had I apologised earlier, had I tried harder to reach out to her... perhaps this entire debacle wouldn't have happened, and she could have retired in peace rather than in anger. Then again, I'm not the same person I was before. I grew up. But you didn't, did you? You're just someone who has no idea about what Paris has gone through. You only saw the last letter of a broken woman and decided to take her words to heart, laughing at the suffering of those who once relied on her to feel safe against a manipulative man, blaming them for their own akumatizations despite having no control over themselves, feeling like what they deserved was justified despite having no memory of what they did to you. You're just some echo of Marinette, an echo that has no memory of anything except her hate, her suffering, and her desire for revenge. You didn't grow up. You just ran away while getting to enjoy the spoils of doing so. You didn't grow up. You didn't change."

Marinette could say nothing, having gone entirely blank. Adrien called security into his office and had her escorted off the premises.

Sighing, Adrien went to a portrait of his mother and pulled it back, revealing a small mural of photos, the main one being a smiling picture of a younger and more innocent Ladybug and Chat Noir. Adrien did not know if the emotions Ladybug showed in that photo were real, but he would cherish them regardless, even after she was gone.

Adrien left inside the mural a single yellow rose, before getting back to work.

[starsfic]

Protective Rose

Rose was loving.

It was part of her nature. "I would think the world would end if you ever stopped loving," Juleka had said once, soft and gentle. Rose knew that if one of her friends asked, she would try her best to snuff out the sun or rearrange the stars. It was silly and ridiculous, but Rose loved.

She loved Juleka. She loved her friends.

That was why she didn't say anything when Alya brought Adrien to the modeling shoot. She loved Adrien and Marinette, and both of them deserved good things. Would it be bad if that good thing was each other?

Then she had looked at Marinette's face.

Marinette couldn't hide the stress the moment Adrien appeared. Rose wasn't sure when it started, but at that moment, the time limit was being presented, and she had a feeling that she was looking at ancient stress. Stress that couldn't be easily scraped away.

The modeling shoot was fun, but Alya's behavior wasn't. Even though this shoot had been for Juleka to start modeling, Alya shoved Marinette in front of the camera. Even as she plastered on a smile, the stress never faded from her eyes.

Rose had looked at the others behind Alya's back. Mylene looked uncertain, Alix had looked so annoyed that she was honestly surprised she didn't throw something, and Juleka was gone. The next few minutes, the akuma and sentimonster had appeared and Rose was left to scramble.

Thankfully, Lady Noire and Mister Bug had saved Juleka. Rose had figured things would be better now. Marinette apologized for Juleka for ruining her first modeling shoot, even though it wasn't really her fault. Rose waited for Alya to apologize too.

And waited. And waited. And waited.

Alya never apologized. As Rose waited, she started to think.

Alya was the catalyst for Marinette to start reaching out again. The rest of the class tried their best to avoid Chloe's attention, meaning she had retreated into herself. Before Alya came, Rose could count the times that all the girls had hung out together on one hand. She had Alya to thank.

But...Alya never really let them talk. Not unless it was about getting Marinette and Adrien together. To be fair, Rose liked the idea of Marinette and Adrien getting together. They were so sweet, with sunshine pouring from them, and Rose knew they would be happy together. But, no matter what the conversation started as Alya would divert it back to Adrien.

They tried to talk about more than Adrien. Marinette tried the hardest of all. Alya didn't seem to care.

And Rose wondered if Alya's help was really just a deal with the devil.

She didn't notice the black butterfly settling onto the bracelet Marinette had made her, which matched Juleka's mirror. She did notice the familiar sensation of a hand reaching into her mind, prying it open.

"Roseheart, I am Shadowmoth..."

-_-

"CESAIRE!"

"What did you do to make her angry?"

"I have no idea!" Alya admitted, her voice nearly lost in the rush of wind. Ladybug held her tight, yoyoing from building to building, all trying to outpace the latest akuma.

Roseheart looked like a living rose, with green clothes leading into petal pink curls. Rose's usually friendly blue eyes were clouded with yellow, matching the roses blossoming on her vines and the roses her minions gave people. The person would be entranced with one smell of the flower, accepting more flowers to hand out. That, at least, meant that only Roseheart was actually chasing Alya.

"Are you sure?" Ladybug landed on a roof, yanking Alya out of sight. "I'm not saying I don't believe you, but your friend Rose seems willing to bottle things up. Can you think of anything?"

Alya scrunched her face up in thought, trying to think. "Ugh, no," she finally said. "Last time I saw Rose, she was happy. The girls in our class were planning a sleepover to make a plan to help my best friend confess to her crush."

Okay, so Alya was willing to talk about Adrien to Ladybug. Good to know.

"AAAAAAALLLLLYYYAAAA!" Roseheart's screech interrupted her thoughts. "COME OUT! YOU NEED TO APOLOGIZE!"

"For what?!" Alya's screech was just a touch too loud. In the next second, Ladybug found herself knocked off her feet as the chimney exploded, revealing Roseheart. The heroine landed on her feet on the other end of the roof, looking in time to see Alya scooting away from Rose. "Whatever I did, Rose, I am so sorry, okay? But I need to know what I did wrong before I do!"

Roseheart's already furious expression darkened further. "You don't know what you did?" she growled. Alya, realizing that her words might've not been the best, shook her head slowly. The akuma raised her hand above her head. Vines started to collect and grow, creating a makeshift club. "You hurt Juleka, you put Adrien above us, and you don't know what you did?"

Hurt Juleka? Put Adrien above?

Was she talking about when Juleka got akumatized during that first modeling session? That had been months ago, to the point that Ladybug had almost forgotten that it happened. Based on Alya's blank stare, so did she.

"Marinette apologized," Roseheart growled out, lifting the club higher. "But it wasn't her fault. It was yours. You were the one to push Juleka out, even though that modeling session was for her. And..." Bigger. "...you..." Bigger. "...never..." Big.

Ladybug yanked out her yo-yo.

"APOLOGIZED!"

Before the club could slam into Alya, her yo-yo wrapped around her best friend's waist and yanked her back. As Roseheart struggled to lift up her club, she scooped up Alya and made a run for it.

"I guess that explains that!"

"...yeah..."

If she looked down, she would've seen Alya's eyes widen, thinking. Right now, however, her focus was on running.