#marinette in heat

[aeolusinthesky]

love danny phantom, mlb, and dc, but somehow not the crossovers? idk why. you would think id find it the best of both/all worlds but i just cant get behind the oversaturation of the crossovers in fanfic, probably because so much of what makes the originals so interesting gets lost in translation. this holds true for so many elements in these three seperate things, but mostly its the fanonization of the batfam and particularly tim drake that turns me off. the way fanon sees tim has truly turned me off the character

[er0dedc0pper]

Disabled Marinette is actually so important to me. Need her getting unusually heated during a fight and collapsing, than immediately getting back to beating the fuck out of HawkMoth. Her having the most thick and blinding brain fog, so she doesn’t even attempt to explain her insane lucky charm plans, instead muttering a few words and hoping Chat understands. He does, like 99% of the time. The nightmares she has are insane, like her body is so heat intolerant that she absolutely embraces the cold nights she spends with Chat. It’s fine, the cool wind helps balance her lack of temperature regulation! I also feel like after particularly hard fights, migraines and nausea enveloped her. But I also feel like the power from tikki gives her the energy too continue when Marinette wouldn’t. Ladybug definitely masks her chronic illness, like sorry I threw up! My lunch wasn’t sitting right! And with Tikki’s power, it’s easy to act abled! Though even sometimes, her disability overcomes the tiny god’s abilities!

Also; Ladybug using her luck charm too summon a mobility aid only to beat the crap out of what ever villain is terrorizing Paris.

Meanwhile, Marinette is very open about her disability, though I feel like it would be in character for literally no one to catch on about it. Like Marinette? Yeah she’s just super clumsy! She’s super ditzy and forgetful too! She also misses a lot of school and sleeps like 15 hours! But that’s just Marinette for you! The only ones to actually notice would probably be Félix, Kagami, and surprisingly, Chloe. Though Luka is suspicious of her constant state of fatigue!

Even with all of that, Marinette still helps her families bakery, sews, draws, and does super heroine things! It’s a mix of “I’m actually capable of doing things” and an unhealthy obsession with being hyper independent. Because resting and relying on someone feels like a burden, and the hero of Paris must always be useful!

This of course, ensues a nasty and straight up horrific burn out. Yikes! She’d looks like a walking corpse after HawkMoths defeat…

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

I just realize you're the only person who point out that Felix and Kagami would be just as in the wrong for hiding the truth from Adrien. Most people I know puts the blame entirely on Marinette and like yeah, I get it it's really bad she would keep something like that a secret from her boyfriend but at the same time how do you deal with that big of a burden?

If it were up to me, I'd make her deal with it the same way like in the Dragon Prince with how Rayla tries to tell Callum and Ezran about their dad being dead but idk, maybe it's not the same with Adrien so it's unfair.

I'm just irritated at people who blame Marinette just cuz she's her gf and not at the adults like Nathalie or Amelie, Marinette's a child, what about Felix and Kagami? They care about Adrien too right?

Yep, it's somehow all Marinette's fault even though Felix knew for all of season five. He knew before then, too, but at least you could argue that he was fearing for his life in previous seasons. As soon as he got the peacock? No excuse. Especially since he got the peacock by trading away Adrien's freedom. A thing he arguably didn't even need to do since I don't think anyone believes that Gabriel would have said, "No" to only getting all of the miraculous. Felix just offers up the ring without even waiting for Gabriel to ask for it. A master negotiator this boy is not.

To add even more insult to injury, season five gives Felix a subplot about informing freaking Kagami and faking her amok. A girl he literally just met gets the treatment that Felix arguably owes to Adrien after all the shit Felix has put him through. You can't even argue that Felix did it because Tomoe isn't a threat on the scale of Gabriel. She's literally a co-conspirator in season five and Felix knows that because Kagami wouldn't be a sentimonster if Tomoe wasn't involved. And Tomoe has always been written as far more hands-on than Gabriel when it comes to controlling her kid, so this isn't even a case of Felix picking the easier target. He doesn't care about easy targets or subterfuge since he, you know, kidnaps Kagami in front of her mother?

But does anyone in the fandom seem to acknowledge that? No and I really don't get it. If hate must be assigned to a character and not the writers, then Felix deserves so much more hate than Marinette.

Kagami isn't innocent either. She knew the truth for about half of the season and yet she doesn't seem to care about telling Adrien. At the same time, she's fine outing Ladybug's secret identity and fine telling Marinette everything, none of which is done in the name of justice. Kagami does it all for purely selfish reasons. To me, this was as much of a character assassination as the whole Kagami believing Lila thing even though Kagami should know the truth about Lila after the Oni-chan incident (Lila faking the kissing picture and texting it to Adrien's contacts).

Then there's Nathalie. In my opinion, Nathalie's redemption is a joke and one of the key reasons for that is how little she cares about actually saving Adrien. At no point does she tell him the truth even though she knows she's dying. She could have very easily died much sooner than the final, leaving Adrien to obey Gabriel's commands, never knowing that he was being controlled. She doesn't even try to find someone else to guard Adrien's ring. She just maintains the status quo and pretends that everything is fine while occasionally asking Gabriel to pretty please change his mind and think of Adrien? Please?

Lady, you literally pinned this man to a table at the start of the season and you are his second in command. You know all his secrets. You have access to everything. You have the power to take him down. You have the power to save Adrien. You are an awful, awful mother figure who put Gabriel's wants above Adrien's needs right up to the very end. Did you even think you had a chance to fire that cross bow or was this just another, "I'm totally helping" feel good moment to assuage your guilty conscious before you died?

And Amelie. Oh, Amelie. If you hate what Colt did to your son, then why are you idly standing by while Gabriel does the same thing to your nephew? You know that Felix has the peacock, so he's safe from being snapped. Why aren't you encouraging him to help Adrien? Or, if you want to keep protecting Felix, then why don't YOU go to Ladybug and Chat Noir and tell them that Gabriel is behind everything? Surely you have to know that Felix isn't safe as long as Gabriel has all those miraculous, right? Gabriel knows that you and your son know everything. A terrorist knows that you're a chink in his armor. Why aren't you terrified by that?

In summary: yeah, Marinette should tell Adrien. It's totally fair to be mad at her. But dear God, she should never have been put in a position where she needed to tell him because one of these four should have done it long before the end of season five! The fact that Marinette was put in this position in the first place is terrible, nonsensical, illogical writing. So go ahead and be mad at Marinette, but you sure as shit better be just as mad at the people who knew everything and did nothing, leaving a teenage girl to face it all alone while bearing the safety of the world on her shoulders.

[lily-drake]

The Demon's Queen

Chapter 17

First <> Previous

Mari is 18 Damian is 19

“Okay, let's start the trimonthly meeting,” Superman announced from the head of the table.  The Watchtower was filled with the founding members of the Justice League to go over everything that had happened in the last three months, which was a lot.  

“Well let’s begin with the most major events,” Batman grumbled, “There were four mass scale alien invasions that involved the whole League plus Young Justice.”

“Thankfully we were able to solve two of them with civil treaty talk,” Wonder Woman chimed in, a gentle smile on her lips as she reminisced on the events.  

“The other two had to be captured which resulted in the mass destruction of New York, New Jersey, Missouri, California, and Oregon,” Black Carny listed, “from there we had to help pay for reconstruction.  Batman, how much did we have to pay?”

Batman gave the whole League his normal flat look, seemingly unimpressed with the group.  “$1.6 billion,” he growled, scowling at the rest of the members, most of which didn’t meet his gaze.

“Right!”  Superman exclaimed.  “We’ll go over the cost of everything at the end.  Next on the agenda is reconnaissance missions and what we’ve learned.”

“The Young Justice team has gone on nearly fifteen missions in the past three months, most of which were successful.  From their hard work we were able to prevent five Kobra-Venom shipments,” Flash began to quickly list off, “having skimmed the reports, the few that went off the rails were quickly resolved and handled by other members of the JLA.  Going along those lines it was also discovered tha-”

A loud ringing went off and everyone looked back at Superman with a blank stare. “Sorry everyone, it’s one of my emergency lines that I give to citizens, let me juuust-oh.”  After Superman had removed the small device his face fell from his usual cheery demeanor into something more tired and solemn.  “It’s Mrs. Dupain-Cheng again.”

There were a few frustrated sighs from around the room, others simply shaking their heads in exasperation.  As of today it had been one full year since one Marinette Dupain-Cheng had officially gone missing.  She and her husband had been calling them every few weeks demanding updates, but the truth was that they hadn’t found anything.  Even when Tim had thought he had gotten a lead, it ended up falling flat as there was nothing they could deduce purely from black clothes.

Not only that, but ever since her disappearance, there hasn’t been a single magical attack, which has made looking for her a lower priority.  It wasn’t that they wanted her to stay missing or for a lack of scouting, but the matter of fact was that they were dealing with bigger active threats on a day-to-day basis, and there were simply no clues as to where she could be.  They let the message go to voicemail and continued on the meeting with a more sober tone.

__________

Ladybug and Chat Noir Were the Villains All Along–An Informative Article About the Truth Behind Akuma Attacks and the “Heroes” Who “Protected” Paris.

16:24 Written by: J. Jona Jámesón (previously hosted on Wild Safari)  & Raine Coffee Chaos

It has now been officially one year since Paris’ so-called “heroes” have vanished, along with the emotional terrorist known as Hawkmoth.  The last sighting of the heroes was during the last battle with the Akumatized victim known as The Reaper, a twelve-year-old boy that has chosen to remain anonymous.  

In that last battle, the video was captured of the Akuma, The Reaper, having the ability to take the lives of any person or being that came near their scythe or made direct eye contact.  Other videos taken by popular blogger, Alya Césaire, showed that both of our heroes greatly struggled with this Akuma, where Chat Noir once more fell victim to it, and once more Ladybug barely succeeded on her own.  Since the end of that battle both our heroes have simply disappeared along with the villain that brought them to light in the first place; which begs the question: were they ever heroes to begin with?

*video of final akuma attack from “The Ladyblog” filmed by Alya Césaire*

Take that masked menace the Flash, for example.  He presents himself as a protector of the masses with his super speed, but has a suspiciously cordial relationship with his ‘Rogues gallery’. These villains are known to have a moral code, avoiding unnecessary harm to innocents and children while committing their various nefarious crimes. It’s more than likely that they’re in cahoots with Flash; pulling off their various stunts with him acting as the “hero”.  Making it so that the police cannot properly do their jobs. He is wrongly adored by the unsuspecting masses in Central City, even having a museum! Perhaps he cooperates with the Rogues in a desire for attention and infamy! 

However, just as people worship the Flash, the people of Paris worship Ladybug and Chat Noir.  And now that Parisians are no longer afraid to talk about the atrocities inflicted on them, it has been widely speculated the heroes that Parisians so heavily relied on were mere children ! If we study the very first video taken of Ladybug and Chat Noir five years ago compared to the most current video of them, it is obvious that the both of them had grown and matured at the same rate as an average teenager.  A set of teenagers could never accomplish what Ladybug and Chat Noir have done on their own! There must have been someone behind the scenes.

*Photo of Ladybug and Chat Noir side-by-side during Stone Heart right next to an image of Ladybug and Chat Noir side-by-side during The Reaper *

Who’s to say that, in the end, these kids were not in fact working with Hawkmoth the entire time? Their job: to create mass fear and panic among the citizens of Paris so that everyone would fear for the safety of themselves and the children, who were most at risk if you look at the Akuma, Gigantitan, who was only 5 months when first akumatized, and was targeted nearly 18x after through the years for minuscule, child-like frustrations.  

From this prolonged fear-epidemic, studies have shown a mass decrease in mental health and an extreme increase in the unhealthy coping skill of suppressing emotions so as not to be a target.  This in turn has led to a massive increase of people searching for and spending on therapists, where there is a shortage of them in Paris. Commonly referred to as the ‘Captive Hearts Epidemic’. And with the government being unwilling to bring in more from outside the city, and France as a whole unwilling to bring more in from out of the country, it is not hard to believe that this was a ruse for people to spend more money to big Healthcare Companies.  We have already seen time and time again that Mayor Bourgeois is a corrupt politician only interested in putting more euros in his own private account.  It is not hard to believe that he paid off these children and mysterious entities to terrorize the city into buying higher and more expensive health plans, especially since any damage done by these so-called heroes–rather conveniently–just magically disappears; so he never has to worry about paying for any reconstruction.  

This war has gone on for over five years without end.  The very sudden disappearance of Paris’ heroes and villains without so much as a warning is far too suspicious.  It makes no sense as Ladybug and Chat Noir have had no trouble making public appearances and taking interviews.  It’s obvious they care about how they are portrayed through the media, so why disappear without telling anyone unless they were caught and forced to give it up? Are we truly in the clear, or are we just coming home to a peaceful disaster? 

17:07 RenaRougeOfficial:

How dare you make up such blatant lies and falsehoods!  Ladybug and Chat have defended and rescued our people every day, putting aside everything in their lives for us. 

Instead of trying to vilify them, why not think of the actual reason they disappeared.  Perhaps they defeated Hawkmoth and decided to leave the scene to live in peace.  Or maybe they got injured when defeating Hawkmoth and didn’t want anyone to know.  Or perhaps it’s because 

“Ohhh, that’s a good one Alya, here add this,” Adrien jumped in, startling Alya from her rant filled with righteous fury.  She was forcefully pushed aside as Adrien began to type on the keyboard, adding to her rant.

you are just lacking in brain cells.  Ladybug and Chat Noir risked their lives every single day so that this city, this world even, could continue on.  They put the world on their shoulders knowing that if they failed then the universe itself could have been destroyed.  Stop trying to destroy the heroes' reputations simply because you want clicks and views.

“And, send!”  Alya announced, slamming her finger on the button.  “Now, onto the next one,” she declared while opening a new tab.

“Okay, that’s enough you two,” Nino called out.

“Oh come on Nino!  Just one more,” his girlfriend begged.

“You said that five articles ago.  I’ve only tolerated you two doing this for so long because of the day.  But if you keep going we’re gonna be late,” Nino barged in, powering off the computer before either could do much as protest.  

Adrien and Alya looked away from Nino, a deep sadness penetrating their hearts, the same sadness they had been trying to ignore all day, all year really.

Nino watched as Adrien rubbed at his finger, twisting a ring that was no longer there.  He had been an absolute wreck the day it had gone missing, saying that it was a parting gift from his mother.  Nino could tell he was lying, but didn’t pry as, at the time, it looked like he had just watched someone die.  And then with the news of a mysterious attacker stabbing both his father and Nathalie had both been stabbed in their own home and had nearly died of blood loss.  Even though he was a terrible dad, Nino didn’t think he deserved that .  And Marinette was still missing.  It felt as if everything was falling apart at the seams.

"Let's head over to the bakery.  Tom and Sabine are waiting for us," he whispered, turning away from his two friends so they wouldn't have to see his pain.

@The_Official_Ladyblog

The Truth of Paris’ Heroes: A Response to the Forgetful

22:34 Written by: Alya Cesaire

It has, unfortunately, come to my attention that there have been some doubts about the sincerity of our heroes and their intentions in fighting for our city. While my beliefs have personally never been shaken, I know that I was able to get to know the heroes on a much more personal level than most. The heroes were, as has been speculated, children. They never confirmed this to me, but I genuinely believe it to be true.

I believe that our heroes were in the same age range as myself, and as such, they were more comfortable opening up to me about the struggles they faced while they were saving our lives.

Ladybug used to cry to me, about how she had to lie to her family about who she was. About how she felt she was a bad friend for having to run away to fight a battle she never wanted to be a part of.

Chat Noir shared how isolated he felt. How he felt free in the suit compared to his life at home. How he had little to no support group to help share the burden of his secret.

They were indeed children, fighting in a war they had no reason to be fighting. They put their lives on the line every time there was an attack. They showed up for us without fail each and every time we needed them, and this is how we repay them?

This is how we thank them?

We come at them, with accusations and cruel assumptions in response to their sacrifices. They gave their very lives for Paris over and over again, and yet here they stand; accused of participating in the crimes they fought so desperately against. How is this fair to them?

How could we treat them this way?

I personally, would like to apologize. Not to Ladybug, the symbol of hope for Paris. Not to Chat Noir, the very definition of Loyalty. But to the people behind the mask. To the children behind the masks.

I’m sorry for how we have treated you, for the suspicion that has been cast upon you. For the doubts we have held as you held the very world on your shoulders. Thank you for always giving your life, for continuously fighting despite your own doubts, and for saving us every day without fail. I know better than anyone, that we did not deserve you.

I hope you find your peace, in the aftermath of Hawkmoth.

__________ Ever since her mission, things had changed in the base.  No longer were the other assassins skirting around her, giving her side glances, and weirdly enough, they were no longer ignoring her.  When she had first come back, Tomoe had kept her in the medical wing for three days, where during that time The Boy had come in to check on her wounds, before leaving without a word.  She had brushed it off as him wanting to make sure his prized possession was still capable of doing his dirty work, but there was something in his eyes she simply couldn’t place.

Then when she had left she could feel the eyes on her.  One of the members even gave her a bow of greeting.  

“Samiet 'anak dhahabt fi muhimat mae abn awa li'iinqadh baed al'atfali. eamil jid,” one of the others grunted.  It took her a moment, but she was able to mentally translate it to, Heard you went on a mission with the Jackals to rescue some kids.  Good work.   It made something in her feel warm.  Valued even.  The feeling lasted her the whole day.  But there was always a dark feeling in the back of her mind.  The reminder of what she was forced to do to free those kids haunting her day and night.

Her thoughts often wondered to the kids.  She had blacked out before she could even know what happened to them, but nobody knew, nobody except one person and she wasn’t going to go searching him out.  Granted she didn’t have to as he came to her.

Marinette had been reading the book Talia had given her–it was in Arabic so it took her a long time to translate making it a very slow read–but she had been reading it for so long that her head was starting to hurt.  Laying down on the small cot she stared at the beige ceiling, imaging the night sky.  As of her mission she had been less restricted, allowed to move more freely around the base.  Maybe she could use that to her advantage.  Setting the tome back on her small dresser.  The idea came with some risk, but at this point she was willing to take it.

Carefully sliding the dagger she was now allowed to keep into its sheath at her hip she exited her room, stalking through the halls on light feet.  Making sure that nobody noticed or followed her as she made her way to the stairs that lead to one of the towers that overlooked the base.  Slowly she went through the small trap door before closing it behind her.  There above her was the starry sky in all of its glory.  It was a warm night that carried a gentle breeze strong enough to brush her hair aside every so often.  The stars glowed brightly as the full moon shone down its ethereal light upon the whole mountain top.

From her perch she watched as the tall grass and wild flowers danced and bowed with the wind, listened to the sound of the night life playing around her, the feeling of being a mere spectator in this moment, the-

“What are you doing up here?”

Marinette nearly jumped out of her skin as she spun while pulling out her dagger in one swift move only to come face-to-face with The Boy.  She felt her grip tighten on the hilt of the blade, but didn’t move.

“I asked you a question,” he demanded blankly.

Her eyes narrowed, but slowly she stood from her stance while sheathing the dagger.  “I just wanted to see the stars.  Am I not allowed even after completing your mission?”

He didn’t respond, just stared her down, his green eyes almost glowing in the moonlight.  They stayed like that for a few minutes, staring into the others eyes before he broke the silence asking, “How are you faring?”  

The question took her by surprise.  How was she supposed to respond to that ?  “What do you mean?”  She questioned, crossing her arms in front of her.  

She watched as he slowly walked past her toward the wall, staring out at the base.  “I know that the first kill can be…onerous.”

Marinette stared at him like he had grown a second head, none of this made sense.  “Did you think I was going to kill myself?”

“No, however it is best to not dwell on those thoughts alone.”

“Well I was trying not to think about it right now, but as you so generously brought it up I guess I must spill my soul to you,” she replied sardonically.

“Tt.”

Marinette took a few steps away from him, watching him as she leaned against the stone railing.  His face never changed, always stoic, as if it were carved from stone.  His forest green eyes moved from side to side, scanning the area around him.  His hair was kept short, though the tips of his bangs brushed against his forehead as the wind continued to blow.  His shoulders tense, as if ready for a strike.

They stayed silent, minutes passing between them as they stared out the distance.  “Why me?”

She heard him sigh tiredly, not even looking at her as he spoke, “I already told you that.  I don’t like repeating myself.”

“No.  There is no way that you looked at me as Ladybug and me as Marinette and thought that I could ever be qualified to run this,” she stated, swinging her arm out at the end as if showcasing the base.

“You still doubt yourself,” he grunted, shaking his head disappointedly before turning to face her, looking her directly in her eyes.

“I will not repeat myself again, so listen closely, Marinette.  As Ladybug I saw your tenacity, bravery, strategic prowess, and dedication you held.  Even as Marinette you still held those exact traits, because even though you might have believed that you and Ladybug were two different people, the truth is that is simply not possible and you know it.  Even if you feel less confident you lead your class of fools with strength.  You never put yourself above your duty.  Even with the knowledge that you were killing yourself, you still took on the responsibility of ensuring the safety of your home.  I admire those traits, they are what make you a competent leader, and I believe that you would be an excellent asset in the League’s legacy.”  

Marinette stared at him in disbelief, brows furrowing as she replayed his words in her mind.  “I’m not just some asset you can use for your games!  Have you forgotten that I’m a person too?”

“Of course you are, I have never stated that you are not,” he huffed, a brow lifting as he spoke.

“Yes you did!  You have since the day I met you!  You only think of me as some sort of weapon, just another tool you can use.  Well I’m not a tool!  I only saved those kids because it was the right thing to do!  But you don’t even care, do you?  If you did, then those kids would be somewhere safe!”

“They are safe!  Each of them were returned to their families,” he stated firmly, stopping Marinette in her rant.  It was the first time she had heard him show any emotion in his voice.  “And those without a family were given the choice to either join the League and learn to fight for themselves or be sent to safe foster homes where they would be protected from being put in such a situation ever again.”

Marinette stared at him in awe, she hadn’t expected that.  She had truly thought that he would have forced all of the kids to join like he had her, or he would have hid them away somewhere else to keep them quiet.

“Then why didn’t I get a choice?!”  She yelled, tears of frustration pricking at her eyes, “Why has everyone here gotten a choice but me?”

Here he finally hesitated, turning his head away with furrowed brows.  They stood there for many moments, Marinette trying to catch her breath as her shoulders remained tense.

“It’s late…”

“Is that all you have to say?!  You can’t even answer this one, simple question?”

“You should go back to bed.”  And with those final words he retreated back down into the base leaving a simmering Marinette atop the parapet.

“HA!  That was real smooth, Lover Boy,” Plagg goaded as Damian walked briskly through the halls.

“What are you going on about?” Damian demanded angrily as he snatched the pocket sized god out of his hair.  How the infernal beast was able to hide there so often without his notice he still could not discover.

Plagg gave him a large Cheshire grin as he stared up at the boy, “I’ve seen a lot of fighting in my life, but nothing compares to these.”

Damian rolled his eyes and let out a long sigh.  Sure he admired Marinette and her tenacity, but she was just so infuriating!  She was obstinate, brash, an idealist, and argumentative.  There was always a blazing fire behind her sapphire eyes, always alight with the need to prove herself.  It was as aggravating as it was endearing.

Shoving the small, laughing god into one of his hidden pockets he entered his rooms and tried to push away the question he could not answer that echoed in his mind.

“Can you believe him, TIkki?!  First he demands I answer his question then he refuses to answer mine, and not only that but he runs away!  Can you believe that Tikki?!”  Marinette turned to her right looking up in the air expecting to see her small red and black friend, but was met with nothing.  Marinette clenched her teeth in frustration, it’d been over a year now and she still believed her kwamii was still with her.  It’d been over a year, but it’d been nearly five years before they had ever been truly separated in such a way.  Marinette didn’t know if she’d ever get used to the emptiness of the air, the knowledge that she was truly alone.

Marinette stared out over the base once more, watching the flicker of the sconces that lined every wall.  She couldn't help but think back to his face, the way he finally showed her some emotion.  The storm in his dark emerald green eyes before he looked away from her, the way the moon cast shadows over his carmel skin and his sharp, stunned features.  The way the wind blew his bangs across his forehead without his notice.  In the end, she couldn’t help but loathe him.  

She hated his pride, his stubbornness, his stoicness, his skill, his ambition.  But if she wanted to escape from here, she would need to become as good as- No.  She would need to become better than him.  Because even if she escaped without that skill, he would just come back for her and she wouldn’t stand a chance.

Her mind wandered back to the last conversation she had with Talia before Talia left on her own mission.

“Have you been studying the text,” Talia asked her calmly.

“I have.  It’s in Arabic though, so it’s been difficult at times to get through.”

Talia gave her a warm smile, “Very good, Marinette.  You’re doing well.”  Her words warmed her chest, and Marinette couldn’t stop a smile of her own at the praise.  “Have you been able to practice what you’ve learned thus far?” 

Marinette’s smile fell, “No, I haven’t even figured out how to activate that sort of power, I don’t even think I can.”

“Tch.  That sort of thinking is the reason you have not advanced,” she paused for a moment before bending slightly to be eye level with her and placed her hands atop Marinette's shoulders.  “I have to leave for a few months, but when I return I hope to train you more in this power, however, you will have to seek me out.  I can not help you unless you want to be helped, so I leave this choice to you.”  

Marinette couldn’t stop the tears that welled in her eyes.  A choice, she finally had a choice!  She hadn’t had one of those in so long.  She didn’t get a choice to be Ladybug, didn’t get a choice when it came to Chat’s flirtations, didn’t get a choice to become the guardian, didn’t get a choice when it came to helping her class, she never really got to choose anything; until now.  She finally had a choice . 

“Thank you, My Lady,” she said softly, bowing her head in respect.

“But of course child,” Talia whispered, tucking a loose strand of hair behind Marinette’s ear, “Be strong.”  And with those parting words, Talia disappeared into the shadows.

Talia had been back on the base for a few weeks now, but Marinette hadn’t approached her for the offered lessons.  She hadn’t pressured her, in fact she hadn’t even brought it up since even during their sparse training sessions.  

If she wanted to escape The League of Assassins, she would need an advantage.  She would need to know or have something that would make it so that if Damian did come after her, he wouldn't be able to touch her.  With that thought in mind, she finally made up her mind.  Tomorrow she would approach Talia and accept the lessons.

Next

Thank you @the-coffee-fandom, Sage, and Worried_Safari on the maribat discord for helping me out with this!

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@aespades @adrestar @astrynyx @doll246 @queenz-z @toodaloo-kangaroo @crazylittlemunchkin @seraphichana @miraculous-ninja @dorkus-minimus @mysticsoulgirl @ritacrow-blog @snow-leopard-777 @fidget-eep @sometandomstuff333 @lady-phoenix-of-tardis @shreeing @achaoticmess1 @liquid-luck-00 @buginetye @stainedglassm @prettylittlebutterflie @laurcad123 @iloontjeboontje @heartsong18 @raeuberprinzessin @when-no-wings-do-broomsticks @jennifer-rose123 @moon5608 @corporeal-terrestrial @skitarii-alpha-c6-555 @saltysugarysembei @phantom120 @kking13 @depressed-bitchy-demon @a-slytherinish-gryffindor @iamablinkmarvelarmy @fleursroses @buginetye @humanoid606 @ev-cupcake @blackroserelina @rainbowbunny0159 @the-ace-reader @humanoid606 @taewinterbear95 @blueberrygeniejam @alex-rebecca-pearce @neulosfantacyworld @devilbunny612 @boredteen19 @agentxx92 @animegirlweeb @geminis93 @thatquirkydancer

[katzewolf]

This is my take on Akumatized Marinette :3

I just like to think of her having fire powers tbh. Like the potential of fire and justice combined is jsut glorious to me

“Lies and rumors spread just like a wild fire.”

- Something I think Akuma Mari would say

[goldenharmony]

I know its probably not a well-loved ship but I am kinda into Kagami x Felix as 2 rich anti-socials dumbasses 😭Plus after Marinette and Adrien, they were probably my immediate favourites...

Especially loved how Felix apparently couldn’t stop thinking about Kagami when the last ep was just her trying to beat him up lol

[actually-factually-anonymous]

Dear sweet Heavens, you've actually made a palatable Maribat premise!

Marinette goes to Gotham (somehow), meets the bats and...

She gets the ego-check of a lifetime. No Girlbossing for her, no one indulging her self-pity, a reality-check about her privileged life, and a lot of questions about just how she's running her team and what she's actually done to try and stop (Butterfly Villain Name Here).

Forget all those tropes about Romance and found family, Bruce and the Bat-clan would be the superhero boot-camp she actually needs.

As for Adrien...

It's like you said: his entire life is essentially a pre-Batman Robin backstory.

Curiously, how do you think ml x batman would looks like? I feels like Marinette would packed her bags and back to Paris after she take one step out and see how Gotham is while Adrien probably would stick around longer and befriend the bat family especially Dick and/or maybe Damian.

I just can't see her stay in Gotham and try to 'girlboss' her way there when the bat family is around but Adrien... I feels like he'd get adopted by them, somehow.

---

Look, the Gotham crew has had it up to here with one control freak trying to boss them around. They don’t listen to Batman, they’re not gonna listen to a 14-year-old girl no matter how she tries to gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss her way. They also would owe her nothing, since, unlike her previous allies, they don’t have to rely on her to be able to do their jobs.

I mean, this is how Alfred reacted when Bruce tried to pull a Marinette:

And Alfred does, actually, work for Bruce! The Gotham crew have no tolerance for self-pity. Marinette would get no coddling for her attempts at throwing a pity party for herself, and would leave such a “hostile work environment” very quickly.

Adrien is an abused son of a supervillain being gaslit by everyone who’s supposed to care about him. The Batfamily absorbs those types inevitably.

[ladyofthenoodle]

fic idea from 2020 that the paris special unearthed from the archives of my brain:

So far, there wasn’t a single thing about this new reality that wasn’t terrible. She was grounded, for some reason, which she didn’t know about, and was therefore double grounded for breaking the rules of the grounding. Which she hadn’t known about!

To make matters worse, when she’d gone to text Alya to complain about the unfairness of it all, she realized she didn’t have Alya’s number. In fact, she didn’t have anyone’s number except her parents, Nadja Chamack, her grandmother, and someone called The Supreme.

She next turned to Tikki to vent, but when she checked her (admittedly cool) purse, she found her kwami wide-eyed, terrified, and most horrifiyingly, muzzled—which Marinette couldn’t figure out a way to undo. 

So she was stuck in the bakery on a Saturday morning with angry parents and no one to talk to and no ideas on how to get out of the worst version of Paris possible.

Which is when Adrien Agreste’s bodyguard walked in. Brief hope flared in her heart before extinguishing just as quickly when she saw he was alone.

Which she should’ve expected. With how awful this world was, she wouldn’t be surprised if Adrien didn’t even exist here. She couldn’t imagine a world this awful with him in it.

She bagged up the Gorilla’s order with a heavy heart and sent him on his way before looking out the bakery display window with a sigh.

Only to spot Adrien Agreste himself, with an asymmetrical haircut and thick kohl around his eyes, staring back at her. He was different than her Adrien—and she couldn’t say she was a fan of the hair—but he was just as handsome, and his eyes even more striking with the eyeliner.

When he noticed her looking, his eyes widened and his cheeks started to turn pink.

Was he blushing?

Marinette could feel her own cheeks heating up as he stared. She ventured a small, embarrassed wave, and he—he!—

He lifted his own hand, brought it to his lips, and blew her a kiss.

Crash!

Marinette, along with about 300 macarons, toppled to the floor.

“Good morning, Marinette!” said Adrien Agreste, during a time that was decidedly morning but far too early to be described as ‘good.’ 

She scowled at him.

“Girl, you okay?” said Alya Césaire, who was—who was speaking to her.

Right.

Alya Césaire was speaking to her. Because Alya Césaire, Hesperia’s favorite lackey, was apparently Marinette’s best friend.

And Adrien Agreste was the boy Marinette was in love with.

She plastered a smile on her face. “I’m great, Alya! Super dee duper. Absolutely swell. What a beautiful morning with all the sunshine and the…. morning.”

Alya looked unconvinced.

“And the Adriens!” Marinette added hastily. “I mean, the Adrien. Because there’s only one Adrien and he sure is… here. Hello Adrien! Your face is looking very attractive this morning, because you are an attractive person. And that’s… something positive I can say about you.”

“Thanks, Marinette!” said Adrien with a dopey little smile. She wasn’t sure if he was mocking her or just deeply stupid. If her diary entries were to be believed, it was probably the latter. “Your face is looking attractive this morning as well. Did you do something new with your makeup?”

Marinette had done her makeup the same way she did every day, but she supposed his Marinette opted for a boring girl next door ‘no makeup makeup’ look.

Alya squealed next to her before giving her shoulder an excited squeeze.

Marinette took several deep breaths.

“Yes, I thought I’d try something new.”

Adrien smiled and nodded.

Alya shoved her forward.

Marinette barely managed to restrain herself from sending Alya a patented Toxinelle Death Glare. Instead, she smiled wider at Adrien.

Her cheeks hurt.

“Thank you soooooo much for noticing my makeup. That is a thing I am excited about. I love putting on makeup to impress cute boys, tee hee!”

Adrien’s face fell. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to imply—I know you always dress for you, Marinette! That’s something I really admire about you.”

His eyes were so earnest, so sincere, and for a second, she almost—

Marinette cleared her throat. “That’s so nice! You can leave now.”

Adrien blinked. 

“Bye!” She shooed him.

“Oh, um, bye Marinette,” he said with a sheepish wave, and then he left.

Nailed it.

“Girl, what the actual fuck?”

[zoe-oneesama]

Now that it’s been brought back to the forefront of my mind in regards to yesterday’s SL asks, it really is genuinely kinda nuts how the potions were revealed in Season 2 and have only physically appeared (i.e. not just been mentioned or shown in a one-off picture or alternate timeline) in 13 out of what’s now 92 episodes (not counting specials) since their closest-to-chronological debut. Even more wild is the fact that, like you pointed out, only 3 out of 7 potion powers are canonically known to date. Apparently That Guy tweeted a few years back that one of the remaining ones is supposed to be a Fire potion (which, if true, may be the one Marinette was trying to figure out the “spicy little rock” ingredient for in Mr. Pigeon 72?) that gives the user the ability to walk on lava and/or a resistance to scorching heat, but they haven’t been able to use it since “Fire is something very difficult to use in shows watched by kids, because we have to pay extra-care that they won't see fire as a cool thing and play with it afterwards. Broadcasters tend to prefer not showing it at all.” To which I’m like?? A) You guys STAY hopping between whether you want your target demographic to be little kids or early teens in actual practice. B) There have to be a million ways that you can blatantly write the idea that fire is dangerous which is why the Fire potion would be NEEDED (or, y’know, have more faith in your audience’s ability to intuitively understand that from the get-go). C) If you already understood that a fire power up was genuinely likely to be a hard no-go with your broadcasters, maybe change your plans to only conceptualizing 6 instead of 7 potions before putting them in the actual show???

Right? And like, he said Lava as well. So do something WITH LAVA if you can't use fire! (I bet it would be easier to animate too!) Or, or! Invent a kind of goo or acid that burns LIKE Lava so they have to use the suit! That could be the debut episode, where it's impossible to get close because of the heat and burn of it until BAM! Fire Suit.

It's not like you have to use the suits OFTEN, they've only used the Ice one like two times I think, just do a debut episode and then use it for Ordinary Heroing, like actually running into a burning building and saving people. Pretty sure even kids don't think house fires are cool, so you don't HAVE to associate fire with a "cool" akuma.

A long time ago when I was ranting about this I was informed by a Anon that the others were "revealed" at some convention or expo and they were things like Air and Space (space hadn't been shown at the time), Sun and Moon, and like...Soul? So, what's the difference between Air and Space? Are Sun and Moon supposed to be Light and Dark, how is that following the Environmental Costume Change of the three we know? Wtf is Soul? Maybe it's a lack of cohesion that's making this difficult for them.

The more I hear about them, the more I think this idea was never fully fleshed out and will never BE fleshed out.

[lineith]

Marinette straightened her dress and took a steadying breath before she went on. She wasn’t entirely comfortable in the strapless gown, though she loved the silhouette. She glanced at the house, it was pretty full tonight—there was a new face though. Sitting at a table on his own, the empty seats were a sign of danger she didn’t know how to interpret.

She felt Luka’s presence just before he spoke. His voice was soft and low in her ear. “I need your help tonight, Miss Dupain-Cheng.” Marinette let the ghost of the shiver his closeness caused to ripple through her without letting it show.

She glanced at the mirror above the piano, she could just make out Luka standing behind her, half hidden in shadow. He looked completely at ease, his hands tucked into his pockets. But while he wasn’t touching her, she could feel the warmth of his breath on her ear. He was so close that the heat of him seemed to sear her back. It took all of her willpower to not lean back into him. She nodded once, focusing on his words carefully. -----------------------

Here's my half of a collab with the wonderful @rierse for this year's Lukanette Big Bang!

This image belongs to chapter 5 "Insights" of her film noir AU "Luck be a Lady".

The amount of research that went into this fic-- I'm floored. Honestly, if you're into mysteries, go check it out!

[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.

[starsfic]

Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Girlfriend of Ladybug

Summary: During another invasive interview pushing her towards Chat Noir, Ladybug panics and claims that she’s dating someone. Who? Oh, just her civilian identity. Dominos unexpectedly topple.

Ko-Fi

-_-

It was a heat of the moment thing.

Ladybug really couldn’t blame herself. Well, technically she could, considering she had agreed to another hour-long interview with Nadja and Chat Noir. Where, of course, the topic inevitably turned back to the nonexistent romantic relationship between her and her partner, not helped at all by the fact  that Chat kept egging it on and nobody seemed to notice or care about her discomfort. The moment Alya appeared on screen and asked “So when are you going to admit your feelings for each other?”

She snapped.

“I have a girlfriend.”

Dead silence encased the studio. Chat gaped at her, Alya gaped at her, Nadja gaped at her, everyone gaped at her. It was only until a hand reached out of the audience that noise came back in. “Excuse me?”

“Yes, I have to agree,” Nadja said, a flustered blush making her cheeks red. “Excuse me?”

Welp, she had already said it, so might as well. “I have a girlfriend,” she repeated. Chat and Alya continued to gape at her. She took a deep breath in and plastered on a stern look. “Nadja, did you ever think the reason why I don’t confess my feelings for Chat is because I don’t have any?”

Silence encased the studio, but it was the silence where people were muttering to each other. Ladybug waited. Chat continued to gape, but Alya shut her mouth and made an odd squeaky noise.

Nadja finally took a deep breath in. When she opened her eyes, she seemed to be staring at her in a different way. Not as an icon or an idol or a celebrity, but as if Ladybug was a real person. She hadn’t even realized that she hadn’t been looking at her that way. “No,” she said. “I’m…so sorry, Ladybug. I hadn’t considered that.” Ladybug nodded but didn’t say a word. “May I ask who it is?”

Well, crap. She hadn’t expected that. She was tempted to say, “No comment,” but then it would be possible that people would catch on to the fact that she was lying. She needed someone. Ladybug thought for a moment and then prayed Tikki wouldn’t be too mad.

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”

Once again, the room descended into muttering silence. Chat was pulling out his staff with the angriest look she had ever seen on his face. Ladybug couldn’t help but raise a brow at that. But then Alya spoke with a “NO WAY!”

Ladybug raised a brow. “Are you calling me a liar?”

“Yes!” Alya said, seeming to not care about the fact that she was being televised live. “She’s in love with Adrien Agreste! He’s her soulmate, I’m sure of it!” Geez, Alya, thanks. Chat’s muttering stopped. “She’s been struggling to confess to him since the attacks first began! He’s-”

“A boy, Miss Cesaire,” Ladybug cut her off, keeping her voice bored. Yes, she did have a crush on Adrien once. But her feelings had faded over time, especially when she thought of how he reacted to Chloe and Lila hurting her. “A boy that is well-known and popular with the female population of Paris. A boy that would be expected if a person asked about a celebrity crush.”

Alya stared at her. She could practically see her put the pieces together. “What about Luka Couffaine? She dated him for…a few months!”

“Her and Luka Couffaine, I have discussed with her,” Ladybug said, keeping her voice calm. Her mind raced- she would definitely need to talk to Luka after this. “I will not pretend to be a good girlfriend, Miss Cesaire. Marinette does not know who I am under the mask- if anyone says that they do, they are lying-” Hopefully, that dealt with Lila. “Our relationship had to be kept secret. I cannot take her out on dates or meet her parents. So, we agreed to an open relationship.”

Nadja cleared her throat. “She does not know who you are?”

Ladybug shook her head. “No. We agreed that, after Hawkmoth is defeated and I can retire, I will reveal myself to her and discuss our relationship from there. I’m only being open with my relationship now since she knows I am uncomfortable with people trying to ship me with Chat Noir-”

“Because they know we’re meant to be!” Chat burst out. Honestly, she was surprised that he hadn’t spoken up sooner. He grabbed her hand and tried to pull her close. “My Lady, think about it! We have so much more in common than some random civilian!” His eyes were dark, sending shivers up her spine. “You’re lying about Marinette, right? There’s no way you could fall for some random person-”

“Hey!” Alya spoke up, her voice bordering on fury. “Marinette’s not just some random nobody!” The camera shook as something slammed, most likely Alya’s fist slamming into the desk. “Marinette is the smartest, most creative person I have ever met! She’s probably the greatest actress of all time, and I would say that she has done so much more for Paris than you ever have on your own!” She took a deep breath. “Ladybug, you have great taste.” And with that, Alya’s camera cut short.

Nadja nodded. “Okay, next question,” she said, her voice still a touch strained from the bombshell that was just dropped on her.

Hopefully, this didn’t blow up.

-_-

It blew up.

Tikki, thankfully, didn’t seem mad. “It was clever,” she said before encouraging Marinette to go to bed.

When Marinette woke up surprisingly early, it was to a ton of messages on her social media and email. By the time she left for school, it was a flood that she was too afraid to look at. Her parents were surprisingly happy for her, with her dad apologizing for blowing up in such a way on Chat Noir. “It’s okay,” she said, hugging him. “It was awkward, but it kept Chat from following Ladybug.”

“Which I can’t believe he did!” her mother groused. “You think he would know better!”

“Yeah,” Marinette sighed, old annoyance flaring up. “Me too.”

Thankfully, there wasn’t a crowd of reporters- yet. So Marinette wasted no time in rushing over to school before one did form.

Once she was there, she found herself pausing. A large portion of the people she saw were wearing Ladybug’s spots or LGBTQIA+ merch, from full outfits to just hair clips. Several stopped to smile and give her friendly waves, while others looked starstruck. This was a bigger reaction than she was expecting.

She waved back and headed to her classroom. She sent another prayer to the surprisingly quiet Tikki that nothing happened and opened the door.

The classroom was surprisingly quiet, with Lila sitting in the back looking like she had all the life drained from her, until Marinette stepped inside. “Marinette!” Alya said, jumping to her feet. She had switched her orange flannel for one bearing the pan colors. She wasted no time in rushing up and practically scooping her up in a hug. The shock meant that it took a second before Marinette realized that Alya was apologizing into her hair. “-so sorry, I should’ve thought more about Ladybug’s feelings, I never meant to hurt her, swear-”

“It’s okay,” Marinette said, pulling away to smile at her bestie. “I know how people can get with superheroes, I think Ladybug forgives you.” She poked Alya’s nose. “Although I’m annoyed that you tried to air out my crush on Adrien to all of Paris.”

Alya sighed, nodding. “I know. Now that I think about it, it was super not cool.” She tried for a smile. “I’m sorry, girl.”

Despite herself, Marinette couldn’t stay mad. “I forgive you. But, don’t do it again.” Alya nodded and with that out of the way, she could move on. She looked around and couldn’t help but raise a brow. “But what’s going on? Why is everyone either wearing Ladybug stuff or pride stuff? If I had known, I would’ve dug my pride stuff out.”

“Oh, haven’t you checked online?” Nino called, his headphones decorated with bi stickers.

Marinette shook her head. “I’ve been too afraid to,” she admitted. “My social media has been flooded with messages and emails.”

“Oh, I can sort those for you, dudette.”

“Thank you,” she sighed, handing over her phone. “The code’s still the same.” Nino nodded as he began to fiddle with her phone.

“Anyway,” Kim said, wearing a transmac hoodie instead of his regular red hoodie. “The entire queer community adopted Ladybug as a queer icon after her interview last night. People have been debating for hours whether she’s a lesbian or bi.”

“Uh huh,” Well, at least the community was supportive. “I’m glad people are supportive.”

“Of course they are,” Alya said, leading her to their seats. “It’s Ladybug and you, the biggest sweethearts in Paris. If anyone isn’t, they look-”

“RIDICULOUS!” Chloe stormed in, wearing her normal clothing. Her gaze could’ve set Marinette on fire as she marched up and slammed her hands on her desk. On closer inspection, her eyes were rimmed red. “Break up with Ladybug.”

“Excuse me?”

“Are you deaf?!” Chloe shrieked, slamming her hand down. “Break up with Ladybug! There is only one girl that is perfect enough for her to date, and it’s certainly not you!”

“And I’m guessing that’s you?” Alya scoffed before Marinette could figure out a proper response that wasn’t not in your life. “Please, everyone knows Ladybug hates your guts.”

“She does not!” Chloe shrieked, tears beading up in the corner of her eyes. “She thinks I’m great! She chose me to be a hero! She knows I’m great! She-”

“Lost the Miraculous by accident, and you refused to give it back.” Marinette interrupted. Chloe’s jaw dropped, and she gaped at her. “Yeah, she told me about that. She thought you would do better, be better if you understood how your actions affect Paris. But you didn’t.” She leaned forward and that angry spark in her, the one that had been burning in her since Adrien pouted and moaned, burned. “Your actions are why people were celebrating that you were leaving Paris when you decided to go to New York.”

“Marinette!” Adrien called, also dressed in his normal clothes, but she held her hand out.

“You are nothing to Ladybug. Just a hazard and a safety risk.” Marinette leaned back in her chair. “The only reason I made that party for you is because Adrien asked. Nobody else.”

Chloe shut her mouth. She looked around the room. Sabrina looked away. Nobody else did, staring her down, bonded in silent agreement. Marinette expected her to rage, to scream, to throw a fit. Instead, she straightened up and walked to her seat. The moment she sat down, she hid her face.

“Marinette!” Adrien barked. “That was horrible! You-”

“Told her what Ladybug thought of her and what she needed to hear,” Marinette said, interrupting him. She leaned forward, allowing the anger brewing in her at him to burn in her eyes. “And if you don’t stop and think about your actions, so will I.”

Adrien stared with wide eyes. Without another word, but a nasty glance back, he turned and sat down. Nino scooted away from him before turning and holding up her phone. “Here, Nette,” he said. “There was some hate mail from people like Chloe,” Chloe flinched. “But a lot more of people supporting you.”

“Oh, that’s sweet,” Marinette said, taking her phone back.

The rest of the school day passed in silence. Twice, Adrien tried to get her alone, apparently undeterred by her threat, but Alya and the rest of the girl squad made sure there was a bodyguard nearby until Adrien had to leave for a photoshoot. (Rose was tiny but fierce in her desire to protect Marinette.) The rest of the school left her alone, excluding a few people who asked for her autograph and pictures and a whole bunch of gifts and letters in her locker. Marinette tried to ignore the heat in her face with all the love and care. 

Finally, the school day was over. Marinette walked out and breathed a sigh of early relief. She could see a few news vans waiting outside the bakery, so she had that to stress about, but she had gotten through the school day relatively unscathed.

The sound of a guitar met her ears and she paused, coming to a stop on the stairs.

Right. Luka.

She meant to talk to him after the interview, but Chat Noir had been following her, insisting to talk more about them, that she hadn’t been able to. So, here she was, standing on the steps, trying her best to not be seen by the musician as he strummed his guitar, probably waiting for Juleka.

It was tempting to run. But Marinette had to be braver than that. 

She took a deep breath and marched down the stairs, coming to a stop right next to him. Luka paused in his playing, staring at her. Marinette couldn’t look him in the eyes. Instead, she found herself staring at her feet. “Hi, Luka,” she said and immediately wanted to facepalm. Hi, Luka? Just that? Not, hey Luka, did you see the interview where Ladybug revealed I was two-timing you with her even though we’re the same person-

“You should’ve given me a heads up that we were poly,” Luka’s voice broke through her haze. She glanced up. Luka smiled at her, although it was edged with something. “I have a cute boy in my class, his name’s Felix, and I think you two would love each other.”

Marinette’s mind blanked, at first wondering what he was talking about, and then realization. “You…you aren’t mad?”

“I…I don’t know how to feel,” Luka admitted, and it was strange to see him admit that. Luka was the only boy she knew who was best in touch with his emotions. “On one hand, it makes a lot more sense than you pining over Adrien like everyone thought. On the other-”

“I lied,” Marinette admitted. “I lied, a lot, to you and everyone.” She gripped the edge of her shirt. “I kept ditching dates for something dumb, not related to her,” Luka raised a brow, but she continued on. “Sometimes I wished she didn’t exist because I trust you, Luka, I trust you so much but I keep having to lie because I care about her too and hurt you and and and-” Warm arms engulfed her but she couldn’t allow it, she needed to say it. “I’m so sorry, Luka.”

Luka didn’t say a word, just held her. Finally, he sighed. “I’m sorry too, Marinette,” he admitted. “I should’ve been better, maybe then-”

“No!” Marinette shoved him away. Luka stumbled back, looking hurt, but Marinette wasted no time in gripping his shoulders, staring him down. “You were wonderful,” she said, making sure he understood. “You were wonderful. I was the one who should’ve been better. I should’ve communicated better, I should’ve explained better about why I was leaving you in the lurch.”

“I was the one who got akumatized,” Luka said, staring back with wide eyes. “I went after you.”

“It was my fault you got akumatized in the first place!”

“No, it was not-” And now Luka was holding her shoulders, making sure she was looking at him. They probably looked strange, gripping each other’s shoulders like this, but Marinette didn’t care. “It was not your fault. It was Hawkmoth’s fault.” Right, right, Marinette needed to remember that. He was the one who took advantage of people. “We’re both crappy at communicating. We can work on that.”

Wait…

“You…want to try again?”

Luka paused and then nodded. “Now that I know more, enough to possibly understand some things,” He took in a deep breath. “Only if you want to?”

Marinette nodded back. “We can try,” And isn’t that what they all could do? “Maybe you can introduce me to Felix, and I can introduce you to…” She held up her hand at the sight of a familiar red car. “Hang on real quick.”

Luka blinked but nodded. Marinette smiled as they released each other before she turned and marched up to Kagami, who paused with a raised brow. Much to her delight, she wore gloves marked with the queer pride flag. “Wanna go on a date?” she asked promptly.

Kagami blinked. She opened her mouth, closed it, and then hummed. Marinette waited patiently. If Kagami had to think about it, than she was willing to wait. “Yes,” she finally said. “If your girlfriend is alright with it?”

Marinette nodded, feeling her face heat up. “Luka and I are trying again,” she admitted. “So he’s introducing a friend of his on our date. I wanted to introduce you to him, because I think you guys would be good friends, if not datemates.” She wanted to be honest where she could.

Kagami’s eyes brightened at the mention of friendship. “Then I certainly will come,” she said. “You have my number, so let me know the details.”

“I will.” She held out her hand and Kagami didn’t hesitate in giving it a squeeze. “Maybe after practice today, we can have our first date? At our usual spot?”

Kagami smiled. It was awkward, but it was sincere. “I would love that.” With one last squeeze of her hand, Kagami marched into the school.

Luka was chuckling when Marinette returned. “I guess we’ll have a full table,” he said, pulling out his phone. “I’ll talk to Felix and figure out a good time for us.”

Marinette nodded. “Let me know the details.” She paused. “And, thank you, Luka.” Before he could respond she took off running.

Lying about her girlfriend went better than expected!

[miraculousystuff]

hi there! I have a request. Since it’s spooky season,my request is that Mrs.Bustier is on maternity leave and the class has a substitute. They are to be going on a class trip with Mrs. Mendeleiev’s class to Salem to study the differences between the Salem witch trials and the witch trials in Europe at the time, however lila starts her usual crap like trying to get Marinette to give up her first class seat or get her left behind with a sudden “disability” but the teacher isn’t taking any of her crap despite the class’s protests and objections.

The sub scolds the class and especially Lila, then the scolding continues when Lila continues lying and trying to get marinette into trouble.

however Lila messes with one of the historians, who happens to be a descendant of one of the accused. The worker, placed a “real curse” on the liar, making her have unfortunate accidents.

she tries to blame Marinette but Adrien shuts her down and tells her off.

soon the accidents get to her and she gets revealed as a liar. The class tries to ask for forgiveness but marinette brushed them off. And transfers to Mendeleiev‘s class.

Thank you @animechefgirl454 for the amazing request! I hope you like what I wrote!

The Corey Curse

Marinette Dupain Cheng was not in the mood for this. It was the 19th of September, or in other words, the day her class went on an expensive trip to Salem, all the way out in Massachusetts, USA. And of course, she had been peer pressured into organizing the whole trip, from the plane tickets to the destinations they were visiting. After about a month of sleepless nights (Hawkassmoth) the trip was finally here. And after multiple consultations with Tikki and Master Fu, she figured there was no way out of it. Anyone else would be jumping at the opportunity to go. But Marinette had a feeling that Lila would certainly ruin the trip for her, especially through the rise in snide remarks and bathroom death threats in the past few weeks. Thankfully, they hadn’t done anything physical recently, but that was mainly because Ms Bustier was on maternity leave, and had been replaced with a sub, Miss Fournier. She was a young, dark haired and sharp woman in her late twenties, and held a no-nonsense classroom. Marinette was still wary, because she had never openly discouraged Lila, but at least she hadn’t forced her into fake apologies or sympathy, a major level up from Ms Bustier. 

She trudged to school with her pale pink suitcase. It was adorned with elegant roses across it, along with a rose vine curling across the handle as a finishing touch. Her style had changed after most of her class had abandoned her, and she began finding the Marinette beneath the social mask she put up. Her hair had grown out to her mid back and she usually just left it out. However, today was a special day, or special enough that her mum had convinced her to tie it in a braid, draped across her shoulder. Her usual outfit had changed too, from the boring pink white and black to a more colorful range. Today she adorned a blue, spaghetti strap sundress with a floral pattern across it. Her ears adorned gold hoops and matching jewelry, along with a pair of white converse. In other words, she looked stylish, and as she reached the massive group outside the school, a certain liar, unfortunately, was the first to notice.

Lila let out a loud squeal and gasped. “MARINETTE HOW COULD YOU!” she yelled out, and Marinette’s eyes widened in response. “Me? I’ve been here for like 30 seconds!” she sputtered, her face heating up as all eyes glared at her. Lila ignored her however, and continued yelling. “You stole my suitcase!” she wailed loudly, huge tears welling up in her eyes. The whole class immediately went to comfort her, except for Alya and Adrien. Alya was the first to speak. “HOW COULD YOU MARINETTE! Stealing Lila’s suitcase is NOT COOL!” she yelled, and stormed up to the bluenette. She grabbed her and hissed “This is jealousy to a whole new level. Apologize to Lila!” Marinette stood, shocked. “Wh-I-but-” she sputtered, the utter stupidity was astounding. Nino was quick to agree with his girlfriend. “Yeah dudette, not cool!” he yelled, while comforting Lila. Soon, the whole class was bombarding Marinette with insults. Through the cacophony of it all, another voice cut through the crowd. 

“That’s Marinette’s suitcase.” Adrien said, stepping forward. All eyes turned to him in shock, including Marinette’s. Adrien, unphased, continued. “Marinette had the same one in the first class trip to London, before Lila came. Remember?” Slowly, the class began to nod, they yells dissipating into murmurs. Lila’s eyes widened before stammering out an excuse. “Oh, umm, sorry Marinette, you just had a suitcase that looks really similar to the one I got from Switzerland when I…” she stammered, continuing on to a story about rescuing the Duke’s puppy. Marinette was no longer listening however, staring at Adrien with wide eyes. “Wh-what happened t-to taking the high road?” she stammered, a faint pink dusting her cheeks. Adrien brought his hand to the back of his neck and smiled sheepishly. “Well I’ve been meaning to talk to you about th-” suddenly, he was cut off by Miss Fournier, yelling at the class to line up in front of the bus that goes to the airport. 

*time skip brought to you by Lila’s sausage hair*

After going through security, it was finally time to board the plane. As they reached their seats, Marinette realized she had a window seat, and smiled widely. She had only ever been on a plane once before, and had always adored the beautiful sky outside. She grinned as she got in, and immediately took out her headphones. Just then, someone sat beside her, and she was about to move away when she realized who it was. “A-Adrien?” Marinette squeaked, and said Adrien just laughed. “That’s me.” he said, and Marinette almost melted on the spot. The bubble was ruined, however, when none other than the devil herself plopped down in the aisle seat next to Adrien. “Hey babe…” she started, already pouncing on Adrien, who immediately pulled away in disgust. “What do you want, Lila?” he said through gritted teeth, and she was about to reply when she noticed Marinette. “YOU!” she screeched, and the whole plane turned to look at her. Lila blushed and coughed loudly, before making a fuss again. “I-um-yes-uh-I need the window seat!” she blurted out, before recovering quickly. “I have this skin disease, which requires me to sit on a window seat at all times. Could you switch seats with me, Marinette?” she simpered, garnering the attention of the rest of the class, who immediately took Lila’s side.

“Switch seats with her!”

“Don’t be mean!”

“Hurry up Lila could die!”

Marinette squeezed her eyes shut and was about to give in when a savior came in an unexpected source, “What is going on here?” Miss Fournier yelled, cutting through the crowd. Alya was quick to respond. “Lila has a skin disease and she has to sit on the window seat, and Marinette refuses to give up her seat!” she says, and to her surprise, Miss Fournier sighs. “And why should Marinette switch with Lila? It is not her duty to accommodate Lila’s needs. In fact it is Lila’s.” she says, shutting down the whole class as everyone gapes at her. She continues. “And seeing as Lila has failed to do so-” she pauses to give a sharp glare to the liar “It is now my duty to ensure Lila is safe. There is a window seat next to me. You will sit there for the remainder of the plane ride. Get up, let’s get going.” Lila slowly got up, burning with shame as she stormed to the seat next to Mrs Fournier. The whole class was bristled and annoyed, but left it at the fact that Lila was now ‘safe’.

To say Marinette was overjoyed was an understatement. She was beyond herself that not only one, but two people had stood up for her today. She put her headphones in and began to drift to sleep. Meanwhile, Adrien was going through an inner battle of whether or not to take back his high road advice to Marinette. “What if she hates me?” a voice whispers in his head, contradicting “She could never hate me…right?” Finally, he gathered the courage to turn around and speak to her, when Marinette’s head suddenly dropped on his shoulder. He turned rigid until he realized she was asleep, her small, steady breathing sending flutters down his chest. Adrien pulled out his phone and took a photo of them together, smiling softly. He then glanced at Marinette once more and moved his hand to brush her hair, and that was how they remained for the rest of the ride.

*time skip brought to you by Adrien’s obliviousness*

After they got off, their first destination was the Salem Witch Museum. It was based off the witches of Salem, exploring the 20 people who were executed for supposedly practicing witchcraft, one of whom was accidentally killed through torture. Needless to say, this gave Marinette chills, and as they reached the brown bricks and iron gates, she gulped. Lila however, didn’t share this sentiment, and had no problem yelling about the place, complaining about its structure, color, everything. Marinette was just about to yell at her to stop when someone else beat her to it. “Miss Rossi. I take it you have not learnt obvious respect in your old schools, however this is a place that deserves to be preserved and not be hurled upon by insults, especially by you.” Miss Fournier barked sharply, leaving the whole class silent once more. “I see that your friends are having an influence on your tongue, so until the tour guide shows up, you will come stand by me.” Lila’s face turned red as she glared at the teacher, but begrudgingly did as she was told. Marinette stared in awe as Lila was put in her place, and completely ignored the daggers the lying fox sent her way. 

Marinette soon realized how no-nonsense Miss Fournier truly was. As soon as the tour guide showed up, Lila didn’t hesitate to go back to Alya, and began rather loudly criticizing the poor woman’s outfit choices. She hurled insults like “Her clothes must have been dug out from a trash can!” and “Are those shoes fresh out of the 1700s?” The tour guide looked like she was going to cry and Marinette was about to fight when Miss Fournier stepped in once more. “That’s enough Lila. How dare you disrespect this incredibly well dressed woman who has the effort to put up with you? And let’s be honest, Miss Rossi, your outfit choices aren’t exactly flattering enough to be considered better than her’s. Apologize to her immediately and then come walk with me AGAIN.” she’d said sharply, leaving Lila humiliated and the class astounded. A while after, Lila began moaning about how boring this whole trip was, and how Marinette couldn't even plan something decent. The substitute once again came to the bluenette’s rescue. “Well Miss Rossi, I’ll make sure you plan the next trip then? But while we are here, I suggest you pay attention to the trip that Marinette has graciously planned for us and worked hard for while you have done nothing. Apologize to her now.” This continued on for the whole trip until they reached a historian, Molly.

Miss Fournier suddenly spoke up. “Excuse me students, I need to pop to the restroom for a moment. Please behave.” she said, giving a very pointed glare to Lila before disappearing. Molly gave her a smile before turning to the class. “Hello. My name is Molly. So boys and girls, I’m sure you have been waiting for this moment. I’m here to talk to you about what can be considered the most horrible death throughout the Salem deaths: The murder of Giles Corey.” she stated, and immediately the class broke out into whispers. Marinette froze at her word; she had learnt about this in history, and it wasn’t pretty. Adrien seemed to notice her state and put a comforting hand on her shoulder, to which Marinette flushed bright red. Lila noticed the interaction and her eyes burned with jealousy. Desperate to get the attention of her boy toy back on her, just as Molly was about to speak, she yelled. “Did you guys know that I actually know Giles Corey! He was a great friend of mine!” she yelled proudly. The whole class froze, and Molly full on flinched. Just as they began gushing over Lila, Marinette spoke up. “Lila, Giles Corey died in 1962, before you were even born. How could you have known him?’ she stated, hands on her hips. The class looked at her confused and expectant and Lila shrunk under their gaze before stuttering out an excuse. “Ah-uh, silly, silly me, umm, I mean, I’m-i’m-I’m related! That’s right, I'm related to him. My Alzheimer's acts up sometimes and I forget things, but that’s right, Giles Corey is my great grandfather.”  Marinette rolled her eyes, knowing there was no way to convince the class otherwise as they  once again crowded around Lila and gushed over the fact. Lila continued on a rant about him.

 “...but good old grandpa Giles was really an asshole in reality. He had a lot of money but he practiced in…” she dropped her voice to a not so quiet whisper “...unholy practices, so he was killed obviously, and he gave his money to his daughter and none to my grandpa because he was sleeping with her.” The whole class gasped. That was the final straw, Molly spoke. “I’m sorry, does Alzheimer's cause you to lie as well?” The class turned to her, and Alya immediately started yelling. “How dare you accuse Lila of lying?” she screamed, but Molly remained calm, a small smirk playing at the corner of her lips, but her eyes betrayed her anger. “I know Lila is lying because my name is Molly Crosby.” she stated, and the class stared at her blankly. Suddenly, Marinette gasped, eyes wide. “Oh no..” she said, pale. Adrien stared at her in worry, but Alya grew impatient as Molly grinned at the realization. “So what, you have a weird last name? Your point is?” Molly smirked and stepped closer. “Alya…” Marinette warned quietly, but as usual, she didn’t pay attention as Molly spoke again. “I’m Molly Corsby, granddaughter of Deliverance Corsby and direct descendant of Giles Corey.” she stated “Also known as the lineage of the most evil witches in Massachusetts.” The whole class was shocked into silence, gaping and staring. Nino was the first to get his wits about him. “So…Lila was lying.” Silence hung over the air as everyone turned to Lila, shock in their eyes. Lila laughed nervously and played it off. “Sorry guys my lying disease must be acting up again.” she stuttered, and everyone seemed to accept it soon enough, though a hint of doubt lingered. As everyone faded back into their own conversation, Molly walked up to Lila. “You know, Giles Corey was said to have put a curse on a town that lasted 300 years. I wonder what would happen to you.” she whispered and clicked her fingers. 

Suddenly all the lights flickered and died. The people in the room screamed. They came back moments after as staff reassured everyone it was just a technical issue. Even after they had recovered, Lila was still pale, with Alya and Rose simpering over her, asking if she was sick. The remainder of the tour continued on peacefully, in comparison at least, as Lila didn’t say a word the whole time. It seemed she had genuinely been shocked to silence. This peace didn’t last for long and after they reached their hotel rooms, Lila was already spinning a tale of how Marinette had used Molly to threaten her, but she had been subdued by Miss Fournier enough to not say it to Marinette herself. However, inside, a storm brewed inside of her as she watched Marinette and Adrien bid each other good night. She was going to make her pay, and with that thought she entered her hotel room, scheming.

The next morning, Marinette woke up feeling more refreshed than ever. The feeling of her teacher not being a complete pushover and at least one person on her side made her significantly happier than when she started her trip. Lila however woke up feeling crappy, with a sore throat and a headache. After they got ready, they were meant to meet Miss Fournier in the cafe for breakfast. Marinette had chosen a blue halter top and bell bottom jeans with a delicate scarf draped over her neck. Lila on the other hand, has on a bright orange latex too and orange checkered shorts along. Just to copy Marinette, Lila decided to wear a tacky orange scarf. As they entered the cafe, Adrien immediately complimented Marinette’s scarf. As usual, she flushed bright red. “I-uh-oh th-th-thanks, I actually, um, made it!” she squeaked out. Lila saw red as she stared at the scene. How dare Maritrash interact with Adrien. She immediately stormed up to them and flashed her scarf at them. “Hey Adrien! Do you like MY scarf?” she simpered, and Adrien recoiled. “It’s okay Lila.” he said uncomfortably. She continued showing off. “You know I actually made it.” she said, fluttering her eyes annoyingly, Adrien rolled his eyes. “The tag is still on it.” he stated, unimpressed. The liar immediately began crying huge tears, and though the class immediately comforted her, it wasn’t enough for her. She needed to make a certain bluenette pay. The room was very hot, and as Marinette got up from her seat, she placed the scarf on the table. Big mistake. Lila pounced almost immediately, grabbing the scarf, then walking back to her table nonchalantly. Just as she was about to sit down, someone bumped into her, sending her falling to the floor. They also, unfortunately, were carrying multiple glasses of juice, which all spilled over Lila, her clothes, her shoes, her hair. Miraculously, the only thing that remained untouched was Marinette’s perfect;ly stitched scarf. Speaking of the scarf, Adrien came and picked it up, smirking at her. “Lila don’t you know it’s rude to take things without the owner’s permission?” he mocked before walking off, leaving a soaked and sticky liar sputtering on the floor,

After Lila had cleaned up and changed into a clean pair of clothes, even though she got sympathy from the class, she couldn't stand the fact that Marinette got away scott free, and with Adrien at that. And that smirk. It looked like Satan’s grin himself, and she shivered at the thought as the image replayed in her head. There was no way Maritrash was going to get away with this. Today, they were going to the Salem witch Trials memorial, and it cost $25 to enter. Which means that if someone’s money just happened to go missing, they would be left out of the destination, and she would get Adrien all to herself, Perfect. As they neared the brick walls of the area, Lila smirked. Marinette, ever so forgetful, had left her wallet on the bus. And Lila, ever so thoughtful, was the only one left on the bus, and simply took out all the cash she could find in it before walking out and stuffing it in her pocket. Grinning widely, she walked up to Marinette and handed her the wallet, making a big show of giving it back to her in front of the whole class. “Here Marinette. You forgot your wallet.” she purred ‘innocently’ as the class cheered praises.

“Oh my god girl, you are such a good citizen looking past her bullying and still being kind!”

“Damn dudette you are a literal angel!”

“Yeah Lila, I could never!”

However soon, the comments dissolved as Marinette gave Lila a tight lipped smile. “Thanks Lila, but that’s not mine.” she said, and Lila turned pale. “Wh-what do y-you mean it’s not y-yours?” she sputtered as the whole class looked at her in disbelief. “I mean that that’s not mine. Actually, I’m pretty sure that’s Miss Fournier’s.” she stated calmly, and Lila paled even more if that was possible. “Oh no-” she breathed as she turned around and came face to face with the teacher. “Miss Rossi, that is in fact mine. Thank you for collecting it for me. In fact, your mother has actually entrusted the fees for your memorial with me, so_” she dug through her wallet until she came with nothing, pretending not to notice Lila’s shocked expression. “Oh, it seems I don’t have it. Did you see it anywhere?” the teacher asked, glaring at Lila. Ashamed, Lila had two choices: she could admit she had taken it and blame it on some disease or fault the teacher. Of course she chose the one with the least effort. “M-miss, how could you lose my fees!” she wailed, and the class came to her defense, criticizing Miss Fournier. “Actually Miss Rossi, I think that if we look in your left pocket we can find the fees.” Lila stopped crying and gaped as she pulled out the money and smirked. The whole class gasped, and while still defensive of Lila (claiming it was her lying disease or Alzheimer’s) were more subdued, some even giving sneaky doubtful looks. Meanwhile, Adrien and Marinette were having a ball, laughing with each other and entering the memorial. Miss Fournier was also giving her smug looks (even though she would deny it vehemently.)

These kinds of incidents continued on throughout the day, First, Lila tried to trip Marinette up as she moved past grave stones, but unfortunately, golden boy Adrien was in front of her, ready to catch her, Even worse, Lila had stuck her foot out too far, resulting her to fall forward, face flat onto the ground. Then, as Miss Fournier asked questions about the history, Marinette answered. Lila had tried to claim that she was wrong, and of course the teacher had said that the stupid bluenette was right and she, in fact, was wrong. It was humiliating to say the least. Then, as they stopped to eat food, Lila gathered up a bunch of dirt in her fist and dropped it in Marinette’s juice cup. But for some reason, as she brought her mouth to her own, there was disgusting mud in it, so bad that she spat it out. Right onto Miss Fournier’s face, who once again made her sit next to her for ‘disrespecting the area.’ To rub it even more, when Marinette drank her juice, she was perfectly fine, and not only that, but Adrien even wiped some of it from her cheek as she grumbled next to the teacher. The icing on the cake however was when they reached the hotel again. They had to cross the road, and Lila had the perfect plan. She was going to push Marinette into oncoming traffic. And sure enough, just as a giant black SUV began speeding down the road, Lila’s hands found the bluenette’s back and gave her a hard shove, throwing her onto the road. However, instead of getting pummeled, Marinette recovered even faster than the car and moved out of the way at the speed of light, earning loud cheers from the crowd. The SUV had even stopped and apologized to her profusely, and of course the owner had to be some rich guy driving by for a history tour, and oh of course he also knew the OH SO FAMOUS MARINETTE DUPAIN CHENG LIGHT OF LIFE EVERYDAY LADYBUG. AND Adrien had witnessed the whole thing, so he was even more clingy and protective of Marinette. It was the final straw when they were relaxing in the lobby and Marinette gave an AUTOGRAPH to someone. “THAT'S IT!” Lila screamed, stunning the whole room into silence.

“YOU!” Lila screeched and pointed to Marinette, who stood with eyes wide open, gaping. “YOU HAVE BEEN RUINING THIS WHOLE DAY FOR ME!” Alya stood up in an attempt to end this before it started. “Now Lila, I know she’s been bullying you, but I’m sure-” Lila held up a hand to shut Alya up before advancing on their ‘Everyday Ladybug’. 'FIRST IT WAS THE STUPID HAND MADE SCARF, THAT FOR SOME MAGICAL REASON COULDN’T GET SOAKED EVEN WHEN I DID!” she screamed “THEN IT WAS THAT USELESS TEACHER’S WALLET. THE MONEY I STOLE WAS MEANT TO BE YOUR MONEY, DUPAIN-CHENG, BUT OF COURSE, SO CONVENIENTLY IT WASN’T EVEN THE TEACHER’S MONEY IT WAS MINE!” she ran her fingers through her hair as Mylene put the pieces together. “Wait so, when you took the money…it was on purpose? To sabotage Marinette?” she gasped, her eyes wide, but Lila wasn’t done. “OF COURSE IT WAS! AND THEN SUNSHINE OVER HERE WAS SO READY TO CATCH THAT BRAT WHEN SHE WAS MEANT TO FALL WHEN I PUSHED HER, AND THEN, I FELL! HOW DOES THAT EVEN HAPPEN?” she squealed, aggressively pointing at Marinette, her hair a mess, ignoring the class’ shocked looks. “AND THEN, OF COURSE YOU WERE RIGHT ABOUT THAT STUPID QUESTION ON MARTHA WHATEVER, AND YOU JUST HAD TO SHOW ME UP! AND THEN, YOU WERE COMPLETELY FINE WHEN YOU DRANK YOUR JUICE, AND MY JUICE HAD THE DIRT IN IT, BUT IT WAS MEANT TO BE YOURS!” she screamed, and this time Nathaniel stepped in. “Wait so you purposely tried to poison Mari-” he was cut off by Lila once more. “SHUT UP TOMATO. AND OF COURSE, WHEN I PUSHED YOU ONTO THE ROAD, YOU COULDN’T JUST DIE, AND YOU HAD TO BE AN INSUFFERABLE HUMAN BEING AND BE ALL NICE ABOUT IT!” she finished, yelling at the top of her lungs, breathing heavily. Dead silence. Everyone stared at her as she exposed everything, including her attempted murder. Suddenly, a voice was heard deep and dark. “Lila, it sounds to me like Marinette is the victim here. You tried to destroy her property, poison and murder and you think YOU”RE the victim.” Adrien hissed, softly, but it cut through the silence like butter. “How dare you try to blame MY PRINCESS when all your friendships are based on lies, and when all you care about is hurting others. You are a disgusting, lying cockroach, and I hope you rot in juvie.” he finished, loud and clear, then gestured to the security cameras. Lila visibly paled as chaos resumed, the whole class turning on her, bombarding her with questions.

“Oh my god, Jagged Stone doesn’t have a cat, and would never write a song about a teenage girl!” “I literally know Ladybug, she would never be friends with a random civilian!”| “That rare fox necklace that Marinette stole is $5 on ebay!”

At the mention of Marinette’s name, it was like someone pulled a switch, and everyone turned to Marinette, apologizing profusely.

“I’m so sorry Marinette, we should have believed you!” “Yeah we’re so sorry!”

“Please accept our apologies!”

Marinette raised her hand to silence everyone. “I understand that you’re sorry. Believe me, I do. But it hurt. My friends for years betrayed me over an orange clad liar. Who threw away years of trust for something better. So, I accept your apologies.” audible sighs of relief could be heard from the class “...but I don’t forgive you. And I don’t know if I ever will,” The apologies started again, Alya being the loudest one. “PLEASE GIRL. WE’RE SORRY! THE LEAST YOU CAN DO IS FORGIVE US!” Marinette turned to her former best friend sharply. “The least I can do is forgive you. No. The least I can do is damage your things-” she gave a glare to Ivan and Nino “humiliate you-” she faces Alya and Sabrina “hurt you." She turns to Kim and Alix, then swivels to face Alya. “Believe me, I know the least I can do, because I’ve been facing it for the past 2 years. It would be a miracle to ever gain forgiveness from me, Alya Cesaire, or the rest of you.” Marinette finished, leaving the room in dead silence. She then straightened up and spoke in a clearer tone. “Actually, I’m planning on getting rid of this toxicity forever. I’m transferring to Ms Mendeliev’s class, straight after this trip, along with Adrien. I hope I never see any of you again. And I hope you suffer.” she finished before stalking off, Adrien at her heels. Leaving the class in chaos.

Let me know if you guys want an aftermath with Lila justice and Adrienettte fluff ❤️❤️❤️.

[flightfoot]

ML Fanfic Recs for Completed Fics Under 4000 Words

Hope everyone likes my selection here! I've got 21 fics for your perusal, mostly either humor or angst fics. When it comes to shorter wordcounts, those are the two genres that tend to make the greatest impact for me. Humor especially seems to thrive in short-form fics, I rarely see it in longer ones - if it appears in longer fics, it's usually in rom-com form.

I've tagged every author that I knew the tumblr username of. Feel free to tag the author if I didn't manage to get them!

All of these fics will be in my Keyseeker's Choices For Best Completed Miraculous Fics Of 2024 Collection, and if you like that, please consider checking out my other collections, Keyseeker's Choices For Best Completed Miraculous Fics Of 2023, Keyseeker's Choices For Best Completed Miraculous Fics Of 2022, and Keyseeker's Choices For Best Completed Miraculous Fics - Misc. Years.

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The Challenges of Changing Your Life by Shortdreamer

In the days following their return to their own universe Marinette was faced with several new challenges. But the most intimidating challenge that Marinette faced was getting to know her “new” partner.

Great ML Paris Special fic here! I love Marinette changing how she interacts with the people in her life in order to try to forge relationships, and hopefully, maybe even gain some semblance of the life her counterpart has.

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The Magical Rainbow Flying Caticorn by CrochetJellybean

Kagami is just trying to have a fun day with Marinette when Felix keeps messaging her. Apparently Adrien stole the peacock miraculous and won't give it back.

So this is a fun little fic. Felix is very annoyed at having lost his Miraculous, but hey, at least the kwamis are amused with the situation! There might as well be some sort of upside to being a Senti XD.

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The Self I Should Be (The Self I Could Be) by @pisoprano

Adrien realizes he has some feelings for Loveybug. Loveybug realizes that Adrien still misses Ladybug.

I love how this fic explores "private selves" and "public selves" for both Adrien and Marinette, lets them both relax a bit and decide what kind of dynamic they want to have. It's excellent!

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never been in love by @bittersweetresilience

Félix wonders if he has a heart. If he does, it doesn't beat like that.

I love this look at aromantic!Felix, him wrestling with his feelings (or lack of them) as he struggles to come to terms with them, especially since part of his father's abuse involved Colt telling him he could never love.

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Always Trending! by @candlemouse

Tumblr, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube argue over the Parisian superheroes’ relationship and identities. Things heat up even more when interviews from the Ladyblogger, Chat Noir, Adrien Agreste, and Ladybug release!

This is a fun little glimpse into social media within Miraculous's world, especially with the speculation over secret identities. People keep on putting forward Adrien Agreste as possibly being Ladybug or Chat Noir, even though he's too busy to possibly be a superhero XD

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Paper Masks by @jheqiawrites

“How do you feel about causing a little mischief?” He raised an eyebrow at her. “I beg your pardon?” Loveybug swatted him playfully on the shoulder. “You know, trouble, pranks, clownery, buffoonery, silliness, a lark, a jest, sheer jiggery-pokery!” “That depends on what kind of shenanigans you had in mind.” She giggled, eyes wide and bright with appreciation. “ Ooh, that’s a good one! I should write that down sometime. But, as for your question…” She pulled her yoyo out and flicked it open, spilling white light over their feet. “It wasn’t so much a question as a statement of concern,” Catwalker said, but forgot immediately what else he had been going to say when he saw Loveybug pull roll after roll of toilet paper out of the white field. All he could do was stare as she continued to pull out rolls until she had made a small pyramid on the floor next to them. “Excuse me if I sound rude, but what on earth are you going to do with those?” The smile she gave him was pure puckishness. She waved at the bright figure of the Eiffel Tower in the distance. “My lord, have you ever TPied a national monument?”

Loveybug AU fic here! (obviously). I loved the absurdity of these two trying to TP... well, I won't spoil where they eventually decide deserves the treatment XD. Mostly, though, I love both Loveybug and Cat Walker (but mostly Loveybug) breaking down, breaking out of their new personas, and really getting to talk with each other.

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you could win a rabbit by @purplecatghostposts

Félix raises an eyebrow but obliges. He should probably get on with it before Adrien second guesses himself too hard and tries to take it back. Félix pulls the tissue paper out and squints at what’s inside. It’s— a plushie? He takes it out of the bag to get a better look at it. All of the air is stolen from his lungs the second he does. A rabbit plushie. A white rabbit plushie. (Or for Félix’s next birthday, Adrien teams up with Marinette to make Félix a rabbit plushie, much like the one he had as a kid. Old feelings Félix thought he buried return in full force.)

I loved seeing a potential backstory to the torn stuffed bunny we saw in the play in Representation, and Felix's reaction to getting another rabbit plush was heart-wrenching!

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A Domestic Cold War by @unecoccinellenoire

Félix lives with a murderer. It’s not the first time. Unfortunately his cousin would never ever forgive him if Félix was to take Nathalie Sancoeur off the board.

I like the conversation Nathalie and Felix have here. They don't like each other (or well, Felix doesn't like Nathalie, Nathalie is just ambivalent about him), but they come to an understanding. It's interesting to see Nathalie's viewpoint on life and killing, and hear allusions to the things she was up to before she became Gabriel's secretary.

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the eyes that follow me; the ghost of my errors by NeonLite

There was something wrong with Duusu. More than Felix thinks should be. He didn’t have a frame of reference for Duusu’s behaviours. He doesn’t know what’s normal for the Kwami or how Kwami were supposed to act at all. The information he gathered from the tablet wasn’t much, he learned even less about the Kwamis but… Felix didn’t have a frame of reference for Duusu’s behaviour. But he didn’t think the Kwami of Emotion should look so empty.

I love how this fic acknowledges how Felix doomed the rest of the kwamis to staying with Gabriel, and how unhappy Duusu would be about that. Which Felix understands, but he was also desperate, and right now he can't stay transformed for long or keep any sentis he makes alive, which just... you can feel his desperation and bottled-up guilt. He knows what he did was wrong, but he'd still do it again, in order to feel safe for once in his life.

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see a world so beautiful and strange (spinning off somewhere) by @that-was-anticlimactic

“Why? Why are you suppressing?” “Because I can't tic,” Alya whispered, fingernails digging into the skin on her arm. “I know Tourette’s isn’t exactly uncommon, but it’s part of my identity as Alya Césaire. It can’t be a part of Rena Rouge, too. Someone could figure out who I am and then…” And then she’d have to give up the coolest thing that’s ever happened to her, give up living her dreams. [or, alya suppresses as rena rogue in order to protect her identity, but neither ladybug nor trixx will let her hurt herself like that]

I love how this fic goes into some of Alya's thoughts and insecurities about having Tourette's, how the general public doesn't understand, and then lets her receive comfort and validation afterwards. It's just... really nice.

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i'm worried 'bout the future by @purplecatghostposts

He edges closer to Adrien, lowering his voice to barely a whisper. “If it comes down to it, I’ll distract him while you run and hide the first second you get.” “What?” Adrien blurts, louder than Félix would like. His eyes dart to Argos but thankfully, he doesn’t turn around. Félix shoots Adrien a look to lower his voice and thankfully, his cousin listens. “You think we can’t trust him?” “He has the Peacock Miraculous.” Félix points out. “He’s from the future.” Adrien counters. “And Future Chat Noir trusts him so… Maybe we can trust him too?” (Or Chat Noir and a Peacock Hero from a decade in the future end up in the past and save their past selves. Félix is wary of whoever this ‘Argos’ is.)

I love time travel fics. Felix being really wary of the Peacock hero's deliciously ironic, something that Argos realizes and he doesn't. While Adrien's just happy to see his future self and completely trusts what Chat tells him. I loved how Argos was put out when he realized why his past self is afraid of him and trying to reassure him as best he can without giving away spoilers.

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The Black Cat of the Family by Anonymous

To Felix, Chat Noir is freedom. Pure freedom, unhindered by anything (well, except perhaps a little too much dedication to Ladybug). He goes where he pleases when he pleases. He acts so ridiculous, like no one was ever watching, even when everyone was watching. He chafes at orders and authority, even when the orders are coming from Ladybug herself. He's free to be whoever he wants, in a way Felix only wishes he could be. So of course he starts flirting with the catboy. It also doesn't hurt that the superhero is easy on the eyes. Chat Noir, meanwhile, is simply trying to figure out how to reject his cousin without revealing his own secret identity. But when has anything in his love life ever worked out for him? Or, in other words: Somehow the Fathom-Graham de Vanily-Agreste family becomes even more dysfunctional in brand new ways.

This was fun, I liked the natural way Chat caught Felix's attention with his kindness, wit, and hidden depths. It makes sense why Felix would slowly develop a crush on him, while Chat just thinks that he's having fun with his cousin.

Also Chat's reaction when he realizes that Felix is, in fact, confessing his crush on him, is just priceless XD.

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Handle With Care by @dragonchris

AU where soulmates can feel each other's emotions. But having a soulmate isn't always beautiful and romantic. Sometimes it's messy. Sometimes it hurts. Marc and Nath have to learn what that means for them.

This was cute, I loved seeing how Nathaniel and Marc both thought about their soulmate, and how they cope with the aftermath of Reverser in this AU. Helps that Alix is a platonic soulmate of Nathaniel's here (Nathaniel has two soulmates).

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Draining the Tank by @trinketsinthesun

After a hard day of being Paris's most famous fashion designer and supervillain, Gabriel Agreste wants nothing more than a hot bath. But with the hot water tank always empty, he starts to wonder - why is Adrien taking such long showers?

So this fic is rated M, and it's rated that high because Gabriel comes to suspect that Adrien's long showers are due to him masturbating while he's taking them (no masturbation actually takes place in the fic). Then he notices that Adrien's long showers happen to occur most frequently during akuma attacks and draws his own hilariously wrong conclusions XD.

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Marinette's Temporal Daycare by Choppa01

What do you do if your child is in danger and you have access to time travel? If you're Marinette (A.K.A Ladybug) you send them back in time to your younger self. Bunnix goes back in time to do the drop-off, expecting to surprise a younger Marinette. Instead she is the one who ends up being surprised.

I love the "Adrien and Marinette babysit for their future selves" trope, so this fic was a delight to read! It's ramping the trope up to 11, with multiple different Bunnixes dropping off kids from across timelines, and Marinette having long-since figured out a system to make this work for everyone.

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I Want to Remember by @kiraheartilly36

Adrien wants to remember all the times Gabriel tried to be a good dad.

This fic is less than 200 words, you could fit the entire thing in an AO3 summary if you wanted to, but I found it both sad and hilarious. Some dark humor here.

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The Wifi Trap by @jessecosay

Written for the Miraculous Fanworks Anniversary Prompts 2024 for Teleocrater. Alternative universe. Alya is trapped as Lady WiFi, even after being freed by Ladybug. But, at least she has Marinette on her side.

I love fics where people are trapped as their akumatized selves, so this one was right up my alley from the beginning! I love Alya trying to cope with the prejudice people are displaying towards her for being akumatized, and Marinette helping to defend her. Thankfully, while its unfortunate that she's trapped in Lady Wifi's form, she DOES also have access to her akumatized self's powers, which comes in handy...

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Overload by Verse

The power of creation is not by any mean gentle.

This is a Miraculous side effects fic. Marinette's body will create and create and create, overproducing and causing harm to her unless she finds a way to purge the excess. She got lucky that the particular way her body overproduces is relatively simple to handle and can be harnessed for good purposes. Other Ladybug wielders were not so lucky.

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Not the Ghost by Yellow_Soul

She… wasn't alone. Not anymore. Even when they parted ways, she would still have someone to come back to. A person that would look forward to seeing her.

I loved this fic's take on why Reverse!Marinette and Reverse!Sabine apparently have a bad relationship. It makes sense that if Tom died, Sabine may be unable to cope with it and begin lashing out or distancing herself out of stress and grief. Love the idea of Adrien and Marinette commiserating over their similar circumstances as well.

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LOCAL SUPERVILLAIN IS A PEDO?!? by AlexJX

Gabriel stares at the morning news headlines… And walks straight out of the room. “...Father?”

People start noticing that Hawkmoth keeps akumatizing children and reach certain conclusions. It doesn't help that demanding some kids' "Miraculous" or "magic jewels" could be seen as a euphemism.

Ladybug and Chat Noir do nothing to help the situation.

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Fall From Grace by PlasmusDogmatic

fall from grace verb 1. lose favor or a position of power or honor.

So this story explores a scenario where the Miracuteam is gradually put through darker and more brutal scenarios, becoming darker and more brutal to match, until Parisians are about as afraid of them as the actual villains - and also know that it's partially their own fault, since part of the reason the Miracuteam is more hostile and brutal is because Paris started being harsher and more critical towards them as they struggled more. I found this exploration of their descent really interesting, as the team doesn't turn "evil" at any point, per se, they just get placed in worse and worse circumstances and adapt in some damaging ways.

[fandomofone]

DMs and fanfic and identity reveals, OH MY!

I'm so excited to finally share a new fic I've been working on with @kuromori4 for @mlbigbang2024 !!

On Good Author-ity is a collab (about a collab!) that features loads of flirty late-night DMs, two unwitting partnerships and three separate reveals. Join Adrien & Marinette as miscommunication abounds and (identity) shenanigans ensue- and they get to know one another far more intimately than they ever expected.

Rating: M (Mature)

Check out the summary and Adrien's teaser below! (And be sure to visit @kuromori4 's profile for Marinette's!)

See you in January! 😉

Summary:

When the Ladyblog debuts a new fanfiction feature, Marinette wants nothing to do with it… until an unlikely recommendation piques her curiosity. She discovers— much to her dismay— that fans are writing salacious, and frankly, quite shocking things about Ladybug and Chat Noir! Scandalized, she’s ready to write fanfiction off for good, until she receives a link to a fic that’s too tempting to resist— leading her to #1LadyFan, a surprisingly good author that writes convincing romance, and seems to have an alarming amount of insight on the duo’s dynamic that isn’t public knowledge. Flustered, irritated, and admittedly a little intrigued, Marinette creates the username PolkaDotPrincess and contacts the author to offer constructive criticism on what she considers to be glaring inaccuracies. 

Meanwhile, Adrien is thrilled to learn that his Ladynoir fanfiction is gaining popularity, and over the moon when a reader reaches out. After weeks of increasingly flirty late-night conversations with his mysterious online friend, Adrien notices that she seems to know an awful lot about Ladybug and Chat Noir. Eager to learn more about her, he puts her critique to the test and challenges her to join him in a collaborative effort to write a more ‘realistic’ romance featuring Paris’ favorite superheroes.

Snippet:

Adrien sat down in his seat, ignoring Alya and Nino’s cutesy love play in favor of his coffee, when he heard the group of girls behind him exclaim, “Ooooooh!” in unison. Turning around, he caught Rose’s eye as she wailed, “He’s soooo romantic!” Amused, he hitched a thumb over his shoulder and asked Alya, “What are they looking at?” “New Ladynoir fic just dropped late last night. I’ve already read it twice myself. It is capital H- Hot.” Her voice, and her eyebrows, climbed suggestively on the last word as she punctuated her statement with a sharp nod. “Different from the rest too.” “What do you mean?” Adrien asked casually, not conceited enough to actually believe that she might be talking about his story. Still, the wayward thought crept into his head- he had posted his story in the wee hours. “Hot, Agreste. Steamy. Smoking. Sex-y.” She enunciated both syllables as if Adrien was a small child. “Surely you know what that means.” Alya arched one eyebrow, pinning him with a knowing look. His cheeks pinked up at both the words and her mockery; he couldn't help it. “I know what sexy is, thank you very much,” he muttered. “Do you think I live under a rock?” Alya’s eyebrows climbed, and she and Nino exchanged an amused look between them. “Don't answer that,” he grumbled, annoyed that it was even slightly true. “I meant, what do you mean by ‘different from the rest’?” “I meant that I hope Ladybug doesn't know who #1Ladyfan is, or she's probably gonna be knocking their door down when she gets her hands on it.” Adrien coughed, choking on air as he sat up straighter at the mention of his pen name. She was talking about his fic! And she thought it was sexy!! And the other girls in the class were into it too!!! He was glad his cheeks were still slightly pink from earlier because he could feel them heating up again. He smiled to himself as he turned back around to face the front, his day already looking up.

All the thanks to my co-author, @kuromori4, for taking on this insane project with me, and the artists joining us on this crazy journey, @ayekasong and @eclipsesmoonshine14 . Big thanks also to the entire @mlbigbang2024 discord server- y'all have been super helpful every step along the way, and been even more fun to hang out with!!

[aloeverified]

i love marinette redesigns that make her look more like sabine and give the two of them more accurate east asian features, but i'd also like to see some that have her resemble both of her parents (since she looks nothing like either of them in canon) and make tom look more italian as well.

i've always imagined marinette to have really thick and heavy black hair that makes it nearly impossible to use heat tools or hair color on, which is why she always sticks to one low-maintenance hair style. she'd also inherent curly hair through tom, which is always very frizzy and unkempt.

based on sabine's design, i typically think of marinette to have gray eyes, but i've also really enjoyed the idea of her having heterochromia; one gray eye like sabine (or brown, if you decide to change hers) and one green one like tom. as ladybug, i think she'd still have blue eyes from tikki (or black eyes like a bug, if we want to be fun) so it helps with making her civilian and hero form a bit more unique to each other.

if we're scaling the adults' heights in a more realistic sense then i'd imagine sabine is around 5'4 and tom is about 6'5, making marinette around 5'9 when she's still a young teenager. paired with her height, i think she'd also inherent her dad's natural strength and muscular build.

she definitely speaks shanghainese (a dialect of wu chinese, separate from mandarin) and italian, taught and encouraged by both her parents, and is learning mandarin — giving her something to bond with adrien over by tutoring him.