#ml fanfic analysis

[pearl484-blog]

One of the most interesting traits of Ladybug is that she, as a female superheroine, has a strong desire to be a good role model, which Chat is just not on the same page as her on.

Fortunately for us, one of the ways she shows this is very funny. Anytime she is on a bike, of any kind, she will wear a helmet.

It doesn't matter if the bike is stationary. It doesnt matter if it BARELY qualifies as a bike in the loosest definition. It doesn't matter that finding a helmet and putting it on wastes precious time in a fight. It doesn't matter that the helmet will probably break long before she does. If she's getting on a bike, she's wearing a helmet.

One of my fanfics is about post-Season 3, pre-Season 4 Adrien going back in time and teaming up with Origins Adrien.

In it, I had to cut a chapter where the two want to learn how to ride a motorcycle and decide to teach themselves. The younger Adrien, knowing from the elder one that Ladybug knows how to do it, asks why they don't ask her and are trying to learn it by themselves.

The eldest explains that since they’re virtually indestructible transformed, he doesn't want to wear a helmet, but the younger one says that SURELY Ladybug will be reasonable about it. Nope, the elder says, she's always been pretty clear. We ride with helmets.

After schnegians ensue, Ladybug does indeed find out that they are riding without helmets and plops one of each of their heads. The elder Adrien is resigned to it, but the chapter ends with the younger getting into an odd tug of war with Ladybug about the helmet staying off/on his head.

[generalluxun]

Talking about about abuse and psychological damage, have you the last chapter of stripped socks in ao3¿ I think it really nails what an emotional and mental breakdown in a teenage girl looks like and how friendships can shatter without salting any characters, very good reading.

Thanks for the ask. I had bookmarked it instead of subbing so I was a few chapters behind. I left my thoughts on comments there. Especially in chapter 6, a full breakdown of Marinette.

Let's see if I can copy-pasta it. (Also: people should go read this fic. It is quite good and I am extremely picky)

This is headcanon/psychoanalysis territory but it fits so *well*.

Re:Marinette several things are all simultaneously true.

She feels tremendous guilt not only for what is known, but also what is not known. She recognizes the real wrongs she has done and feels genuine remorse.

She feels resentful, she is a 14yr old girl who fought multiple grown adult supervillains with wildly inadequate training or support most of the time. She's also Ladybug, the one with the answers! The entire city dumped the responsibility for protecting itself on her shoulders.

She has a taste for control. She's Ladybug the leader! She's got tremendous power! This dropped into the life of someone who felt previously powerless. The tendency to swing is obvious. Control the situation, control the information, mitigate chances for embarrassment, slather everything in Bathos, bury uncomfortable truths, keep everyone two steps behind so you can be ready when they catch up to yesterday. Adrien, Su-Han, Gabriel, all of it. You see how it is interwoven itself into who she is now.

She has no legitimate stricture authority anymore. Law enforcement? Powerless. The Mayor? Corrupt. Fu? Gone

Su-Han? Incompetent. Her partner? Smitten. This isn't on her at all but it feeds into her response here. (Curiously a state similar to Chloé's at one point again)

Note:These aren't distinct parts of her or meticulous thoughts. It's a hodgepodge of emotions, reactions, learned behaviors, desperation, and yes on some level deliberate ill-will(we all have some)

So what happens when the truth is forced out? Honestly I think we get a large-scale reaction of how she would have handled Adrien. (She's 14, always remember.) Control was stripped away from her. She wasn't *forced* to do anything, except be honest without her filters.

She leans all into the self-blame/self-harm narrative.

This ticks all the boxes above. She *does* feel bad, bit there is no legitimate authority to hold her accountable, those that can don't. Lacking that catharsis she is left with only the disapproval of the masses, people she does resent on some level, people who know nothing. The panels, the armchair coaches, the mob. What *right* do they have? Well... Every right, because shd is a hero, and she knows this, but will their response be proportional and constructive? Ha. It's the mob.

However, if Marinette deliberately enflames them. If she pushes the 'hate me' if she *feeds* their emotional reaction then she can discount it all, in her heart, as blind hatred. She can de-legitimize caring critique by flooding it with emotional feedback. Hence- 'hate me' to her friends. 'I have to be the villain', because she knows she isn't but if she can make people treat her like one, she can fight against that -in her heart-. She can keep the reckoning at arm's length. The more dear the rejection the more she can justify her own secret-keeping. 'I knew they wouldn't understand, and this is proof'.

And for those who won't turn on her? It's classic sympathy fishing. If I hate me/mock me harder than anyone, those who really care will rush to my defense unconditionally. They will be my duvet against the reality of the situation, because their instinct will be to nurture, to justify in my place, and to be 'on my side'.

Again-this isn't some grand villainous scheme, this is the broken toxic self-defense mechanisms of a kid who has been put in multiple positions well past her depth.

This is why Plagg is so perfect here. He denies her sympathy, but he doesn't seek to punish her. He admits his anger, he tells her plainly what she needs to do to make things right. He holds her accountable in a way no one else will, and gives her a path out of the darkness.

It is exactly what she needs, and also what she is terrified of, because it really *is* something she can fail at. And canon tells us Marinette will do anything to avoid being emotionally vulnerable.

I'm rooting for this Marinette to seize this opportunity and grow. I'm rooting for Kagami and Zoé to find the balance of love and accountability that Marinette's life has lacked.

[kilfeur]

Mes fics et mes ones shots sur Wattpad ainsi que mes dessins (My fics and my one shot on Wattpad also my drawings)

Fanfictions et One Shots :

Fic Miraculous Ladybug (oc) : https://www.wattpad.com/story/344892827-fanfic-miraculous-ladybug-la-marche-du-loup

Résumé : Elliot n'a jamais cessé de marcher, il ne pouvait pas regarder en arrière. Et pourtant malgré les différentes épreuves qu'il a dû affronter, il a réussi à obtenir quelque chose de précieux.

Two Shot FE3H : https://www.wattpad.com/story/335187221-two-shot-fire-emblem-la-trace-des-souvenirs

Résumé : Le royaume de Faerghus se retrouve dans une situation compliqué entre la guerre, les territoires qui se sont ralliés à l'Empire à cause de Cornelia. Toutefois certains croient que le prince soit encore en vie malgré son exécution. Et cette rumeur va parvenir aux oreilles d'un certain archer.

One Shot Heart No Kuni No Alice : https://www.wattpad.com/1361114281-one-shot-heart-no-kuni-no-alice-pas-si-diff%C3%A9rents

Résumé : Blake Duncan est une étrangère aveugle de naissance qui vit dans le royaume de cœur dans la tour de l'horloge. Elle est assez froide envers les autres acteurs à part l'horloger et le chevalier. Mais est ce qu'il y a quelque chose de plus dans cette relation ?

One Shot Heart No Kuni No Alice : https://www.wattpad.com/1361117014-one-shot-heart-no-kuni-no-alice-une-m%C3%A9moire-douce

Résumé : Alors qu'Alex Liddell vit sa vie à Wonderland celui ci cache qu'il est le fils d'Alice pour éviter de faux espoirs aux habitants. Certains souvenirs préfèrent être oublier plutôt que déterrer.

One shot le prince des dragons :

https://archiveofourown.org/works/57189484

Résumé : Lorsque Callum et Rayla sont entrés dans la tour, ils se sont retrouvé séparés or ils sont loin de se douter de ce qui les attends et ce dont ils vont faire face.

One shot le prince des dragons :

https://archiveofourown.org/works/57278329

Résumé : Pendant ces deux ans, Aaravos a observé Callum depuis son miroir. Et il a beau apprendre des choses sur lui moins il le comprend.

One shot le prince des dragons :

https://archiveofourown.org/works/57218983

Résumé : La solitude d'Aaravos à la Pentarchie puis dans le miroir

One shot le prince des dragons :

Résumé : Terry est dans un rêve, il veut rester avec Claudia mais de l'autre, une voix lui dit d'arrêter

https://archiveofourown.org/works/57410317

One shot le prince des dragons :

Résumé : Qu'est ce que ferait un parent pour son enfant ? Souvent la réponse n'est pas bonne à entendre à travers ses trois pères.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/58121857

One shot le prince des dragons :

Résumé : A travers ses souvenirs, il voit et comprend les choses d'une autre manière et se demande ce qui ce serait passé si les choses se seraient passés différemment. Tandis qu'une voix le tente pour qu'il s'endorme à tout jamais

https://archiveofourown.org/works/57657226

One shot le prince des dragons :

Résumé : Leola adore ses amis mais quand ces derniers ont des problèmes, Leola se dit qu'elle doit faire quelque chose pour eux.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/61126585

Mes dessins :

https://www.tumblr.com/kilfeur/tagged/kilfeur%20art

Mes comics :

TDP :

Une nuit à l'auberge : https://kilfeur.tumblr.com/post/729888718342766592/page-1-rayla-im-nervous-its-been-a-long-time

Le cauchemar de Rayla : https://kilfeur.tumblr.com/post/732171347143327744/voil%C3%A0-enfin-fini-mon-nouveau-comic-rayllum-avec

Callum le barde : https://www.tumblr.com/kilfeur/720846325382545408/dans-la-vf-martin-faliu-double-callum-et-jaksier

Les choix d'Ezran : https://kilfeur.tumblr.com/post/747745748284751872/jai-enfin-fini-mon-comic-sur-ezran-pour-le

La solitude d'Aaravos : https://www.tumblr.com/kilfeur/751198366771347456/je-crois-que-cest-le-seul-comic-o%C3%B9-jai-le-moins

Jamais je t'appartiendrai :

https://kilfeur.tumblr.com/post/756015710419959808/vous-nimaginez-pas-le-temps-que-%C3%A7a-ma-prit-pour

https://kilfeur.tumblr.com/post/756558252913901568/la-suite-et-fin-de-mon-comic-jamais-je

T'avoir à mes côtés dans la tour céleste :

https://kilfeur.tumblr.com/post/758444349307617280/jai-toujours-voulu-de-dessiner-ce-genre-de-sc%C3%A8ne

Jeu de pensée :

https://kilfeur.tumblr.com/post/761620023331667968/lid%C3%A9e-de-ce-comic-est-si-aaravos-hante-les

Défier les étoiles :

https://kilfeur.tumblr.com/post/769959991587241984/alors-pour-donner-un-peu-de-contexte-ce-comic

Miraculous Ladybug :

Le partenaire de Ryuko : https://kilfeur.tumblr.com/post/720895123876134912/inspir%C3%A9e-du-moment-o%C3%B9-batman-parle-de-wonder-woman

L'empire de la souffrance d'Adrien (oc) : https://kilfeur.tumblr.com/post/720912168419262464/comic-que-javais-%C3%A9crit-au-d%C3%A9but-de-la-saison-4

Son chemin en tant que gardienne (oc) : https://kilfeur.tumblr.com/post/720853162669506560/comic-que-javais-dessin%C3%A9-au-d%C3%A9but-de-la-saison-4

Taquiner Marinette (oc) : https://kilfeur.tumblr.com/post/720893205100560384

Le poti chat : https://kilfeur.tumblr.com/post/720853860551393280/lo-petit-chat-lo-petit-chat-qui-court-dans-la

Besoin de ton âme : https://kilfeur.tumblr.com/post/720853500720005120/%C3%A7a-me-fait-bizarre-de-revoir-mes-anciens-comics-vu

Le couple de supers héros : https://kilfeur.tumblr.com/post/720892996705452032/javais-fait-ce-comic-bas%C3%A9-sur-le-trailer-de

A l'hôpital : https://kilfeur.tumblr.com/post/752633659698380800/jai-enfin-pu-le-poster-alors-que-tumblr-ou-m%C3%AAme

RWBY :

L'épée de Winter : https://kilfeur.tumblr.com/post/720849755345977344/bas%C3%A9-sur-le-jeu-arrowfell-qrow-a-vol%C3%A9-l%C3%A9p%C3%A9e-de

Salem ne peut être arrêtée : https://kilfeur.tumblr.com/tagged/Work%20for%20Salem%20AU

Sur l'île : https://kilfeur.tumblr.com/post/720848891469348864/des-comics-que-jai-dessin%C3%A9-avant-le-volume-9

Fire Emblem :

Souvenirs d'une mère : https://kilfeur.tumblr.com/post/720855225797345280/si-three-hopes-ne-me-donne-pas-de-flashbacks-entre

Le soutien moral : https://kilfeur.tumblr.com/post/720856858988036096

Rester avec toi : https://kilfeur.tumblr.com/post/720854693756239872/je-lisais-eternal-covenant-et-un-chapitre-me

Le cadeau d'Ingrid : https://kilfeur.tumblr.com/post/720854494202773504

Fate series :

Emiya Cooking : https://kilfeur.tumblr.com/post/720894802662735872

Ace Attorney

Les funérailles de Barok : https://kilfeur.tumblr.com/post/720858288468770816/pas-cette-fois-barok

Mes analyses :

https://www.tumblr.com/kilfeur/tagged/analysis

[richter10]

lots of ideas for fanfics!

Best Miraculous for Crime

Since Miraculous Ladybug is a superhero show, it’s mystical magical Miraculous are generally used for good. Even when the villainous Hawk Moth Shadow Moth Monarch acquires them, he only scratches the surface of how they can be exploited. So, which of the show’s Miraculous do I think are best for crime? There’s only solution to this question - a tier list!?

S Tier

Here we have the crime of the crop, the best Miraculous for any and perhaps all crimes you may wish to perform. Each of these either offers an insurmountable advantage, or so many options that you can probably do anything.

Horse - The power of Voyage, provided by the Miraculous of Teleportation, renders all but a few physical security measures obsolete. Unless there is literally no space for you to move into, you can create a portal into, and out of, any location on the planet. Theft becomes trivial, the options for violence are almost countless, and even cybersecurity can be overcome, as direct access to a machine is a hacker’s dream. The only weakness is when it comes to espionage, as Voyage portals are two-way, meaning a bad placement means whoever you gaze at will gaze back. So you’ll need a little planning to exploit the Horse to the greatest extent of it’s abilities. But the Horse Miraculous can take a little planning a long way. Quite literally, in fact, with it’s maximum range being at least one astronomical unit.

Peacock - The Miraculous of Emotion allows you to create animated beings from your emotions or the emotions of others. And it seems there are very few restrictions as to how you can express those emotions. For every crime, a Sentibeing can be created to perform it for you, and as long you hold the Amok, it will always obey you. Sentibeings can possess magical abilities and can be created to interface with technology and to interact with cyberspace. The Peacock can even be used to create “Sentimposters“, who take the form of existing people. The only limit, it seems, is yourself. However, season five of Miraculous Ladybug gives evidence that the greatest crime you can perform with the Peacock is simply using it to create and destroy Sentibeings. It’s endless potential makes it the greatest of the Miraculous, yet also makes it the worst of them.

Rabbit - What can you do with time travel, the power provided by the Miraculous of Evolution? Steal every single piece of lost artwork, paradoxically becoming the reason it was lost in the first place. Okay, maybe that’s not a crime, since technically, you can save a lot of stuff from destruction. But the Burrow also provides the ultimate panopticon, covering past, present and future. And every window is actually a doorway only a Rabbit holder can use. This would put it on the same level as the Horse, except for one small issue - other Rabbit holders. Time crime attracts time punishment, and the protectors of the timeline might not be too happy with someone misusing the Rabbit for personal gain, and they’ll have all the advantages you do. It’s still very good, but it comes with a pretty big hazard.

A Tier

These Miraculous are going to be good for a fairly broad range of unethical activity, although the drawbacks are getting a little more meaningful. Just not enough to overcome the advantages you’ll be getting. Plus from this tier on, you actually have to go to the place you want to do crimes without shortcuts.

Fox - One of the more obvious choices for wrongdoing, the Miraculous of Illusion is the tool of choice for deception, even beating out the Peacock in that specific area. The Mirage power has been used to create complex scenarios, involving both audio and visual aspects, and they can even be recorded. The main downside is that the illusions dissolve on contact, but with careful usage that can be worked around. The Fox is something that gives back what you put in, but the ceiling on returns seems pretty good, especially since it’s actually the holder who defines the limits. You can even make it seem like you have a different Miraculous with the right illusions.

Dragon - The Miraculous of Perfection grants three powers at once, which allow you to transform into Wind, Water and Lightning. Three things that are surprisingly difficult to keep out of places. While it doesn’t provide the total access the Horse does, the Dragon seems like it should be able to get you into anywhere that’s not tightly sealed, which is going to cover quite a lot of places. You might say it’s perfectly suited to setting up locked room mysteries. And as long as you’re transformed, you can essentially never be captured, as you can just activate a power an immediately escape. Just be sure to do it before they stick you in an air-tight container.

Ladybug - Lucky Charm! The Miraculous of Creation lets you create things which will be useful. However, it’s not always obvious how they should be used, so this is another Miraculous that’s going to need some quick thinking to weild at maximum effectiveness. Creation is also a pretty open-ended concept, so if you’re looking for material gain, you might just be able to… create valuables. Just make sure you keep Tikki under control. If she uses her power by herself, things could get weird and/or apocalyptic very fast.

B Tier

This where the restrictions are going to start to get in the way, or the base power leaves something to be desired. However, these Miraculous also end up excelling at specific crimes, in a way that some of the A Tiers might not be up for. (The S Tier ones still smash them)

Butterfly - The magic brooch that’s seen the most canon evil use, the Miraculous of Transmission. In service to the narrative, it is supremely effective for what Gabriel Agreste uses it for - an asymmetric, opportunistic weapon of terror against Paris, with the end goal of seizing other people’s Miraculous. However, if you aren’t using it for wide-spread emotion terrorism, you’ll probably need an accomplice to empower. It does seem that with the right state of mind, specific powers can be gained, but it still requires collaboration, which is a unique drawback for the Butterfly. Oh, you can akumatize yourself, but that seems like a questionable idea if you aren’t trying to trick heroes. But if you do have someone you can trust, the Butterfly is going to give you a similar advantage to the Peacock.

Black Cat - The niche of the Miraculous of Destruction is, unsuprisingly, destroying things. If you’re just looking to break things or kill people, the Black Cat is going to give you exactly what you need, and it can be applied in a surprisingly specific manner. Outside of this incredibly malevolent area, it’s not quite ineffective, but instead rather noticable. A cataclysm can get you into places too tight for the Horse or Dragon, but it’s also going to leave behind some pretty clear evidence that you’ve been there. Now, one thing that’s unexplored into canon is whether the Black Cat can destroy non-physical things. If it can, it might be quite useful for disposing of any forensic evidence you’ve left behind. Or witnesses’ memories, depending on how careful you are. Finally, there is a certain level of destruction that will perfectly cover up anything else you’ve done, if you’re willing to go that far.

Dog - Yoink! The Miraculous of Adoration is almost perfectly suited for theft. The main limiter is that you need access to the thing you want steal, while transformed, so that you can touch it with the magic Fetch ball. But if you can pull that off, you can then relocate your target back to a safe location, without having to worry about the logistics. Outside of theft, it’s a lot less useful, although you can probably do some nasty damage if you apply it correctly and time things well.

Mouse - Be more you with the Miraculous of Multiplication. But more usefully, be less you, in terms of volume. There are a lot of security measures that assume people are at least so big, so being tiny could get you into places you’d otherwise be locked out of. You’re also harder to detect, and the many yous can cover more ground. The disadvantages of smallness are even somewhat cancelled out by the general Miraculous superpowers, and if you really need to be larger, you can always merge. Obviously the Mouse won’t beat more serious security, so there’s a cap on how criminal you can get, but it does open up quite a few opportunties. Plus if you want to kill someone, there are less effective methods than DEATH MOUSE SWARM.

Goat - The Miraculous of Passion gives the people of Genisis, which is like Creation but worse somehow. Assuming you can get batteries, the Goat is in some sense the perfect multi-tool, able to create a solution to any problem. Provided the solution doesn’t require luck? If I had to guess on what the limit of Genisis is, it would be that the object is created entirely from the wielder’s knowledge. So the Lucky Charm can get you the key to a door, but Genisis can’t unless you know how the lock is set. This one is really quite weird, especially given information from Destruction.

Snake - The Miraculous of Intuition is where the use cases start to get narrow. The power of Second Chance lets you do something, then undo it, but keep the memory. This makes it great for learning things you aren’t meant to learn… but it’s not very useful for much else. Also, using it to brute force combinations or passwords would probably suck. I suppose, if you’re a certain type of person, the Snake’s ability to remove the consequences from an action would be highly desirable, but I don’t want to dwell on that. I do think that as a secondary Miraculous, the Snake shoots up the ranks, since it lets you undo a lot of mistakes, and acts a safety net if you overextend yourself with your primary.

Rooster - Down at the bottom of the B Tier is the Miraculous of Pretension, which might be higher if it’s powers were clearer. With its power, you can never miss a goal in football, and turn invisible. Other powers are possible if they don’t overlap with another Kwami’s domain. It’s possible that in the same way the Butterfly can grant off-brand Miraculous powers, so can the Rooster, but there’s currently no evidence for that. But since you can turn invisble, other stealth options are presumably on the table, which gives the Rooster it’s own niche. Plus cheating at some sports could be used for match rigging, which is sort of a crime.

C Tier

At this point the powers are getting too specific, or end just being a worse version of a higher tier Miraculous.

Bee - With the Miraculous of Subjection, you can paralyze people. One at a time. Sure, you can use it to get people out of the way, or render them defenceless, but beyond that there’s not much it can do. You also need to directly poke your target with the glowing stinger, which isn’t a great delivery mechanism. The whole “holder determines the limits“ thing might mean you can convert it into a ranged weapon, but it’s still unclear how redefining the limits actually works.

Tiger - If you want to hit things, the Miraculous of Elation is very for that. Which ultimately puts it in a similar destructive niche as the Black Cat, which is just better at that. Sure, the Clout ability can probably deal out destruction fairly well, but you’d lack the fine control that Cataclysm is able to provide.

Turtle - The Miraculous of Protection lets you protect yourself with a shield. Really, you want to be using the Shelter power offensively, in order to trap people. Since many of the higher tier Miraculous allow you to Do Crime in a way that massively reduces the need for protection, the Turtle isn’t looking like a strong pick.

Pig - I guess you can use the Miraculous of Jubilation for weird blackmail purposes? That or sending people to the Psychological Torment Zone (Delayed). This is not going to help with criminal activity outside of incredibly narrow situations.

D Tier

These Miraculous are for countering magic. Even though having a Miraculous would mean magic is real, they aren’t providing many crime benefits.

Ox - Passively resist magic with the Miraculous of Determination. At least it’s fire-and-forget? Determination specifically shows that it doesn’t provide complete immunity to physical harm, which even with the general Miraculous superpowers leaves a major gap in your defenses. At the end of the day, crime is an active activity, and the Ox’s power seems to be entirely passive.

Monkey - But what if you had to attack the other magic users? The Miraculous of Derision grants the power of Uproar, which disrupts other magical powers. But to do so, you need to actively engage with them. If the Miraculous that allow you to avoid conflicts are the best, the Monkey is the worst. It’s ability is too narrow to be useful, and unlike the Ox, requires a non-zero effort to apply. Sure, you get the super-agility and boosted endurance, but any Miraculous will give you that.

Closing Words

And so, we reach the end of this highly serious analysis. Truly, the Miraculous can be used for many shady purposes! Although some of them end up being really rather specific, while others basically mean you win crime forever. Join me “next time“, when I determine which Miraculous are the best for improving your everyday life!

[hamsteriffic]

Miraculous Fandom Stats 2023

A Visit to Gotham

…and beyond

As promised here are my stats for Miraculous Ladybug fics on Ao3 with crossovers only. To see a snapshot for Miraculous Ladybug without crossovers click here.

📈 The data presented here is a snapshot of the Fandom on 06 Jan 2024

Don't be mad! I'm just a stats hamster.

🖤 Proportion of Crossover fics

At the time of posting, Crossover Fics accounted for 13% of the total fanfics on Ao3 (9177 works) (Fig 1A). They were predominantly featured in Batman All Media Types (5097 works) or DCU (1034 works), accounting for 68% of all crossover fics (Fig 1D). The majority of the works were rated for General (39%) or Teen Audiences (39%) (Fig 1B).

Fig 1. Proportion of Miraculous Ladybug works posted on Ao3 in 2023 [A] featuring crossovers (grey) and without crossovers (black); [B] and the proportion of all works posted on Ao3 as of January 06, 2024 (9177 works). [C] The proportion of cross-overs outside of the MariBat fandom as well as [D] the growth of the top ten fandoms in crossovers in 2023 (red) are also presented.

Excluding works from the MariBat fandom, the second highest number of works to be crossovered with ML was Boko No Hero Academia with 348 works (3%) and is also the fastest growing crossover fandom, almost doubling in works in 2023 (141 new works) (Fig 1C-D).

🖤 Top 10 Fandom Crossovers

Here are the crossovers in a Table format.

Table 1. Top 10 Fandoms in 2023 and percentage change compared to 2022.

Popular Tags used in 2023 (number of works) and percent change compared to 2022:

Fluff (246): -2%

Angst (161): -1%

Badass Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug (130): -1%

Lila Rossi Bashing (127): +1%

Alternate Universe (100): -7%

Hurt/Comfort (94): -2%

🖤 Top 5 Relationships

Fig 2. Top 5 relationships in ML crossover fics in 2023 and percentage change when compared to the year prior.

While works tagged with Adrien/Marinette has increased by 3% in 2023 when compared to the year before (Fig 2) the top 5 relationship pairings have not changed with Daminette taking first place.

Relationship Tags with Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug across all time (from Highest to Lowest):

Damien Wayne (1870 fics)

Adrien Agreste (1237 fics)

Jason Todd (806 fics)

Tim Drake (580 fics)

Dick Grayson (321 fics)

Hope this entertained you! Until 2024, same stats time, same stats channel.

Sodium Content and Methodology below the cut:

🖤 Top 5 Salt Categories

Look, Marinette is in Gotham for a reason. Usually it’s because of some sort of common table condiment/seasoning. Here is a breakdown:

Fig 3. Frequently tagged salt and character bashing tags across all crossover works prior to 2023 (green) and new works posted/updated subsequent to Jan 01, 2023 (dark blue). The change in numbers to the previous year (where present) are indicated.

Methods

Partitioning

To see changes in crossover fics in the ML fandom over time, I have tracked the number of crossovers posted to Ao3 per year.

Data was filtered by the date the fic was last posted, between 01 Jan - 31 Dec for each year.

Note that older fics may get updated, this data is only a reflection of the fandom at one moment in time. This analysis was performed 06 Jan 2024.

Filtering

Note that I have followed the Ao3 definition of a slash representing romantic relationships and & indicates platonic relationships.

[pastsaoi]

I like angst

Usually when I find a good otome game and like- get into in for a while

I immediately start thinking of an angst idea for it

But tot is the first game for which

I just cannot think of anything? Like- I can't even make Rosa's backstory tragic. She had Luke and her parents were nice

i am also a massive angst enjoyer... a lot of tot angst is either the most obvious thing in the world (luke) or you gotta look a bit harder...

off the top of my head i think rosa's parents have?? some kind of important job?? i think science related?? and in the game atm they are off doing some secret science stuff

for rosa i think her backstory isn't exactly tragic especially compared to the mls but her current life is fucking Insane and she is suffering as an adult

purely main story shit, the girl is going through it bc she is Always part of it. the boys get a break from nxx things often, but not our rosa she is constantly in the thick of it and??? if i remember right i think we do see how its weighing down on her in the story (i haven't played the main story in a while oops)

i think the 2nd and 3rd birthday cards for the mls is the best way to see their angsty stuff but people have done wayyy better analysis of it than i can possibly do

if ur a big big angst enjoyer... luke is ur guy he has gone through it and is still going through it

i don't wanna like... rank their trauma😭 but i'd say after luke.. its marius, vyn then artem in terms of angst potential but there is so much going on

lots of people have done analysis and recaps of it all! and there is. so so so much angsty fanfic... i might reblog with some of my fav angst fics later...

[doodlegirl12345]

Honestly same. I haven’t written in canon stories in a while now because I just don’t agree with the writing choices. Which is kinda funny as in my earlier of fanfic works I tried to stay true to canon as humanly possible. But the direction that the show have went recently. Plus what’s going to happen in the latter half of season 5. It kinda bums me out. So it’s the AU route for me.

Me: “You know, I think I’m being too salty on the show lately. Yeah, I’m not happy with most of the writing decisions for S5, but focusing on that it just making me miserable. In the end, it’s just how things are, and it’s not like there haven’t been good thing brought into the plot that I can focus on or make fic/fanart about-”

Revolution Script leaks+Revelation+Precanon bibles, readjusting their salt sniper rifles: “Oh no, she’s lowing her standards again! Quick, take the shot, TAKE THE F****ING SHOT!”

[seeasweetsmile]

To my miraculous fans followers

I'm sorry but more the serie continues, more I’m turning myself into the dark side (aka the ml salt).

Maybe you saw that I didn’t reblog gifs from episodes since S4 (just a few) like I did for S1-S3 and to be honest, the wait between seasons/episodes and the way I’m slowly detached myself from the show to discover others cartoons or animes didn’t help either.

For S4 and mostly S5, the traitement of the characters, the Ladynoir/Adrinette chaotic relationship, the way Lukanette and Adrigami were killed at the first two episodes of S4, Marinette’s hypocrisy, Gabriel’s madness and his growth grudge towards Marinette, Chloé’s caricatural treatment, Lila being mastermind, no adult has a brain anymore, even if there’s globaly good ideas and so much potential, the fact they were awkwardly or badly executed were a pain to watch.

And you know what is the most painful? I loved that show.

Because is that : I loved that show.

It’s been 7 YEARS (almost 8 years in september if I remember correctly) since the serie debut, and like so many fans, I grew attached to the worldbuilding, the characters, the bond between all of them, the humor or the banters, the lore about the miraculous, the design of the superheros and the supervilains, their powers and how complex/funny/interesting they were... and if you have the inevitable urge to read/write fanfics, look/create the fanarts, or even read analysis/meta post about the episodes, you grow even more attached to the characters and the show!

But when you watch from a objective point of view, you realize there’s so much problems consistency issues (I don’t list them, others fans on tumblr and salty hashtags do it better).

Like I said in a previous reblog, if the writers didn’t want to make episodes just for shocked the viewers (remember when they said each episodes of S4 were equivalent of Chat Blanc??) because all the excessive drama around ladynoir or adrinette, if they didn’t push these things to the extra way, if they didn’t get anyone involved (Alya, classmates, adults) to tell Adrien and Marinette what to think or what to do, it could have been so much better. I firmly believe that friendship is a fondamental piliar to any relation. Adrinette started with a good way (cf origines), but they shaped Marinette into another girl who idolazed Adrien without sincerly knowing him (and when they start to give Marinette some retrospective of her behaviour, what we got? we got Alya to tell her she kNoW AdRiEn instead of listening genuinely her best friend and step back), and Adrien, even though he sincerely liked Marinette and held her in high esteem, he ends up becoming the perfect boy madly in love with her who forgets everything as soon as she is in his field of vision or as soon she breathes. If the others characters had LISTENED to Marinette when she questioned herself and preferred to remain friends with Adrien because she realized she didn’t fully know him, and if the others characters had LISTENED to Adrien when he told them he wasn’t agree with their crazy plans (they didn’t listen and the MCs sighed, abandonned their spine column when the classmates insisted a little bit too much), I repeat myself ; it. could. have. been. so. much. better.

To leave Marinette and Adrien figuring out how to do the things at their own rythm. Instead of a healthy, good and solid friendship that transform into romance, we get a forced ship. Because “ThEy MaDe FoR eAcH oThEr” like everyone said in millions times (I was temped to rewatch since the beggining to counts exactly how much the characters say this stupid sentence but I’m not strong enough). And they say this as if we were dumb and we didn’t know Adrinette was the endgame since day one.

Also, another thing that bug me : since S4 to S5 –and I don’t know if anyone felt that– but I have this distrubing impression that Marinette and Adrien mostly  were just puppets in the theater/playhouse and they didn’t have a soul. Sometimes it push me out of the show when I watch the episodes.

Anyways, if you made it until here, thank you for reading my rant post. Two more episodes to left for S5 that will air early july (I read the script of the finale and boy...) and I still don’t know if I will watch the S6. With Gabe and Chloe out of the picture, Lila stepping as main vilain (still wait for her background) and Emilie being here, maybe they’ll do something correct ? But as I said in a previous post, if I watch the first few episodes and if it irrated me, I’ll stop.

I’m tired to hurting myself.

[unluckycryptid]

Glassheart/Rise of Red posts

Master post of all my og Rise of Red/Glassheart related posts for people who visit my blog. Enjoy :)

Textposts

In-Depth Analysis of The Fight Our Lives (Movie AND Soundtrack version)

Chloe Charming has been clocked by the fandom as lesbian

Red is good at Chemistry headcanon

Let Chloe Fight in D5

Fanfic

Miraculous Ladybug AU original post

Rise of Red x ML!AU Authors Notes for Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 5

Chat Blanc companion piece version 1.0

Red is allergic to shrimp

Rise of Red as Power Rangers

[wantmangojuice]

I Ship My Adversary x Me - finished - 47 ch + 1 extra

Premise: What do you do when you're an actor and you stumbled upon the fandom of people shipping you x your co-actor ... but their pages upon pages of shipping manifesto are...surprisingly compelling? Kinda makes sense, actually?? And you find that, oooh that's some excellent analysis they've got going there, some fanfic, too-- and before you know it, you're neck-deep in shipping hell-- but you're literally one half of this ship. But that's okay, right?? It's just some nice, feel-good fluffy thing from your fans, it absolutely will not affect the way you interact with said co-actor, right? Right???

My premise write-up above does not even begin to cover how hilarious this thing was.

This novel made me so happy. SO. HAPPY.

MC's narration is so ridiculously delightful I don't think I stopped smiling once.

Have you ever read a book and thought, "This man is so stupid I love him so much please never change" about a character? That is This, The Novel (TM).

Love the ML's diary excerpts they're amazing.

"They all talked about Schrodinger's cat. Gu Yiliang was probably Schrodinger's heterosexuality." Yanyan please 🤣

The greatest misunderstanding plot ever. >!Who is sugar-dating who??!<

Xiao-Chen deserves a 500% pay raise at least.

I don't feel coherent enough to leave adequate words of recommendation. Just. Please. Please read this.

[flightfoot]

Scarlet Fever Analysis 2: Salt Fighting

AO3

Note: this contains spoilers for all of Scarlet Fever

Scarlet Fever addresses and shuts down salt in many ways, showing where it might have a point, but fighting back when that point is taken too far.

This is usually done through two particular mouthpieces - Master Fu and Princess Justice, though other characters do bring up salt arguments and scenarios as well.

Master Fu’s main problems stem from not trusting Adrien enough, from having so little faith in him, treating him like an afterthought, a sidekick. He largely represents the Adrien salters who think he’s incompetent and unworthy of attention, that he’s useless without Ladybug and only exists to be her bodyguard - and that since that’s his role, he deserves no accolades for fulfilling it.

From the beginning, Master Fu has some misgivings about Adrien being Paris’s main protector, without Marinette around to help.

Tikki floated forward to respond but Master Fu held out his palm to stop her. "The last time you used the Ladybug Miraculous you had her help!"

Adrien looked down. "I know... That's why we need her back." He looked up in determination as he put on the earrings. "If I had so much trouble with them then we can't just choose anyone else and we can't wait." (Chapter 2)

Master Fu is doubtful here that Adrien’s up to the task, since he wasn’t quite up to it last time. Which… fair. Adrien struggled in Reflekdoll, with Marinette ultimately telling him how to use his Lucky Charm.

But Adrien’s counterargument is also important. It shifts the conversation from the implication that “Adrien is incompetent as Ladybug” to “Marinette is the best at being Ladybug, but failing that, Adrien is the second best choice since he has some experience as Ladybug and a lot as a Miraculous Wielder more generally”.

Credit to Master Fu, he doesn’t argue with Adrien on this front, doesn’t try to stop him. Adrien IS the best option available to wield the Ladybug Miraculous.

There’s some salt about Adrien being dumb and unable to use the Ladybug effectively, but Scarlet Fever shuts that down. Yes, it’s not as natural a fit for Adrien as it is for Marinette, but that’s because of how uniquely suited Marinette is for the Ladybug, not because Adrien is especially bad at using it - and when push comes to shove, he can use it very effectively.

That’s only the beginning of Master Fu’s doubt in Adrien and skepticism of his choices, however. He isn’t especially happy when Adrien brings Sabine back to their base.

"He also said you were the one to ask about Marinette," Sabine continued.

Master Fu stumbled in shock and turned his head from Sabine to Adrien and back again. "The situation is... complicated."

"She deserves to know, Master," Adrien insisted, he'd wrapped the tarp around himself like a shawl, revealing his eyes but keeping his face covered.

"It is not the time!" Master Fu chastised. "With Papillon Écarlate gaining strength we must focus on- Are you listening to me?" (Chapter 3)

This passage parallels one of the arguments about Syren, one of the conflicts. In that episode, there was an undertone of Adrien having the right to know some of the Miraculous-related stuff, enough to know what was going on with Ladybug at least, and Fu delaying because it supposedly wasn’t the right time. It’s fitting to see that argument rear up again, especially since Adrien’s “right to know” stuff comes up so often, with how he’s left out of the loop so much and how that hurts.

Fu’s resistant to trusting Adrien’s instincts in general, not even wanting to let him decide who to give a Miraculous to, wanting to wait until Ladybug’s freed so SHE can decide. It takes an outside authority - the Lucky Charm - to persuade Fu, rather than having some faith in Adrien’s choices.

"We can still free Ladybug," Master Fu insisted. "Then she can decide who to bestow with a Miraculous."

Adrien shook his head. "My Lucky Charm said I needed Kagami."

"... The Lucky Charm said to give Kagami the Black Cat?"

"... Yes! I don't know if it's to bring My Lady back to us or some other reason but I know that we need Kagami! And I know I need to hurry!"

Master Fu stared at his Chosen intently. "If that is our best course of action," he conceded. (Chapter 3)

The complete reliance on Marinette to fulfill the auxiliary duties of a Miraculous Wielder, the unwillingness to consider that Adrien may also be able to perform some of the same roles well, like choosing wielders, is something I’ve seen crop up in salt repeatedly.

It comes to a head with Sabine and Fu arguing, Fu claiming that Adrien isn’t good enough while Sabine counters, defending Adrien.

"I had to train Marinette! I could not stop simply to scold Chat Noir every time he erred! Adrien has made too many mistakes!"

"Isn't it a teacher's job to correct his students? Maybe you should have trained Adrien too instead of expecting my daughter to do everything herself!" Sabine challenged.

"It was too dangerous!" Master Fu retorted. "Marinette proved herself! I couldn't let Adrien in when he did not earn it!

Sabine stared at this man older than her father and realized he knew nothing of adolescents. "... Trading his wellbeing for my daughter's may not make him trustworthy in your eyes," she stressed. "But it does in mine." (Chapter 6)

One of the salt arguments I’ve heard is that Adrien hasn’t “proven” himself worthy of having more information, more of a role in the process, of having the same sort of information and authority as Marinette. Him just fulfilling his role as a superhero, protecting Paris and protecting Ladybug so she can restore everything, even at the cost of his own life, isn’t seen as enough (and is sometimes even seen as him manipulating her somehow).

But Sabine’s the voice of reason, fighting back. She doesn’t have the same sort of unreasonable, unmanageable expectations that Fu does - if she did Marinette would probably be joining Adrien in the “awful parent” club.

Instead, she holds Adrien to the same sort of standard that she would Marinette. He’s trying to help, has sacrificed himself again and again for Marinette’s sake, for Paris’s sake. He is a Hero of Paris. That’s all he needs to be. He’s more than proved his trustworthiness, shown that he should be given the same sort of respect that Marinette gets.

Princess Justice is not so easily reasoned with.

She represents a specific character in saltfics, the most important one by design - the one the world’s warped around.

Saltinette.

It’s pretty apparent in her accusations against the heroes, in the accusations against others more generally.

"What of Papillon's Judgment!" Maneki-neko demanded as they sped towards the Seine. She held tight to the struggling villain as she attempted to get through to Marinette. "Will you absolve him of his crimes against Paris! Against your friends!"

"What friends!?" Princess Justice roared. She opened her bag and spun. The dust engulfed them, entering Kagami's eyes and distracting her long enough for the villain to break free.

Princess Justice struck at the hero, Maneki-neko barely deflecting her attacks. Every sentence punctuated by the crack of her whip. "They abandoned me! They chose that liar over me! They will all suffer like I have! They will all feel my pain! Every! Last! ONE!" (Chapter 5)

Saltfics frequently exaggerate the “sins” of Marinette’s friends and family, from merely having some doubt in her (based on both accusations and actual evidence, albeit planted evidence) into actively shunning her - something that doesn’t happen in the show for more than a few minutes at best, and which Alya doesn’t even entertain.

But the part that’s most telling? Her desire to inflict pain on them in return. Not merely to persuade them that Lila’s wrong, but to actively want them to suffer for the impertinence of being conned.

The revenge plot is a staple of saltfics, often focusing on punishing the people Lila fooled even above punishing Lila. On inflicting pain on the people who “failed” Marinette when they should have believed her and followed what she said unquestioningly, no matter what evidence or accusations were thrown her way, without a hint of doubt or consideration for Lila’s words.

Marinette notably does NOT do this. Even in Silencer she wants justice because of Bob stealing her design and Kitty Section’s music, but emphatically does NOT pursue revenge, trying to get Silencer to back down because anything he did to Bob WOULD be vengeance, not justice. She even tells Chat as much when he suggests letting Silencer MAKE Bob confess the truth.

If she isn’t willing to let that happen to Bob, someone who did indeed knowingly wrong her and her friends without remorse, she CERTAINLY wouldn’t want to inflict vengeance on people whose main crime was being tricked, something that Mister Bug calls Princess Justice out on.

"You've always been forgiving!" Mister Bug reminded her desperately. "Always the one to point out what's unjust! You said that we should strive for Justice not Revenge! This! All of this! Is Revenge!" (Chapter 5)

Of course, she isn’t exactly in a headspace where she’s able to listen to him.

Instead she fights him, accusing him of common salt complaints against him.

"Chat Noir!" She slammed them into the side of a building, gratified to hear his cries. "You are accused!"

Adrien felt his heart pounding in fear. He knew what the verdict would be.

"Accused of being Unworthy!"

"Plagg disagrees." The throbbing impact of the bench on his head hurt less than the impact of her words on his heart. (Chapter 5)

Adrien frequently has the Black Cat Miraculous taken from him in saltfics for one reason or another, declared unworthy of possessing it. Canonically of course none of the heroes would even consider that (except Adrien himself, funnily enough), and the one whose opinion on his “worthiness” matters most - Plagg - has declared Adrien to be the best Chat Noir he ever had, both thinking he’s a good hero AND also caring about him deeply, helping to cheer him up whenever Adrien’s hurt.

"Accused of holding Ladybug back!" She ground him on the underside of a bridge as they flew past.

His chest tightened and he forced air into his lungs. The friction of stones on his back burned less than her barbs. "First I've heard of it." (Chapter 5)

Chat Noir’s also accused of being useless a lot, of Ladybug being better off without him. Something that has been shown to not be the case time and time again. Furthermore she’d never WANT to be without him - that was shown in the NY special. That she didn’t know she could even fight without him by her side.

"Accused of treating the lives of Paris like some game!"

His eyes widened. "Never!" (Chapter 5)

This salt mostly stems from Syren, though it crops up more generally with Chat Noir cracking jokes during akuma battles. But while he jokes or gets upset, it never distracts him from fighting the akuma for long, if at all. Plus, it’s a way of coping with the situation. Getting too bogged down and not having any fun along the way can lead to MORE mistakes, as Gamer 2.0 demonstrated.

"Accused of getting in her way! Of always expecting her to save you without regard for how getting brainwashed affects her!" She ricocheted between two trees before she had to evade his companions.

"I was protecting you!" He jerked them away from the lamppost she was about to crush his back against. "You think I want to fight you!? I hate being brainwashed! I'm terrified of it!" (Chapter 5)

Yep, this is, for some reason, an actual salt accusation towards Chat to show how he’s a horrible person: that he gets hurt and brainwashed for her sake too often and doesn’t think about how she feels about needing to save him, making him a horrible person.

"I had to ask you to help me before you did anything!" Princess Justice launched herself at him with a kick.

"... What?" Mister Bug was snapped out of his thoughts by her words. He grabbed her foot and used her momentum to spin her away, head over heel.

She righted herself, the butterfly mark flaring back up, and charged again. "Right before Damocles expelled me, you said nothing until I asked you to!"

He used his forearms to block her strikes as a familiar rage started burning through his veins. "You're... angry because I helped you? When you asked for it!?" He ducked under her blow and brought his fist into an uppercut.

"I shouldn't have to ask!" She barely twisted out of the way in time as she failed in her attempt to knee him in the face. "You are Unworthy!" Princess Justice accused. (Chapter 9)

Yep, this is an actual accusation that’s thrown at Adrien for the events of “Ladybug”; that after Marinette opens the locker and Lila’s necklace falls out, he processes for a few seconds and intervenes once Marinette asks him for help. It takes 15 seconds from the time Lila picks the necklace up to Adrien intervening (with most of that time taken up by Marinette talking), but a quarter of a minute is an unforgivable delay for salters.

As for not helping until she asked for it (though Adrien didn’t have much of a window in which to intervene before she requested assistance)... that’s not always a bad thing. It’s not what MARINETTE does, but that doesn’t always work out. Often it IS a good idea to wait until someone gives an indication that they want the help before intervening, because that intervention may end up only making things worse. Adrien knows that well enough when it comes to his father - Nino wasn’t able to persuade him to allow Adrien to have a birthday party, and was subsequently barred from the house as a “bad influence”. Worse may have happened if he pushed further, ESPECIALLY to Adrien, whom Gabriel has authority to punish.

Adrien can only take so much of this, so much of being slandered, of having every potential fault magnified a thousandfold while his own feelings and views of the situations are completely disregarded before he SNAPS.

"I was betrayed!" She swung a right hook at him. "My whole world crashed down around me!" And a left. "Who are you to Judge me, oh Chat Blanc!" The villain sneered.

And Mister Bug's control snapped.

"So sorry grieving over my dead mother isn't good enough to get AKUMATIZED OVER!" (Chapter 9)

Marinette has issues that she’s dealing with, emotional turmoil that she’s going through. But so do others, ESPECIALLY Adrien. She’s not the only one whose feelings matter.

“I forgot! Marinette is the only one whose burdens count!" He stopped suddenly and yanked on his yo-yo.

"What would you know about it!?" She copied him and jerked her whip towards her, the tangled cords beginning to pull free.

"They kept touching ME!" His disgust and shame roared through him and their weapons separated with a snap.

"Then you should have said something instead of letting them walk all over you!" She lashed out with her whip, intending to put an end to this. (Chapter 9)

Adrien’s sneered at for being a spineless doormat, for “letting” people touch him when he’s very clearly trying to get away without just outright telling them to back off. It is something that he needs to work on, but it’s certainly not something to BLAME him for. Especially since it’s doubtful that making a fuss about that sort of thing would’ve been well-received in most of his life. His father would be unlikely to take it well if he objected to a photoshoot on those grounds, for instance.

But he’s not the only one who needs to learn when to confess that something bad has happened to them.

"You're one to talk!" He deflected every strike with his yo-yo, mirrored her every move.

"You're the one who told me not to SAY anything!" Her whip came a hairsbreadth from his ear.

"You never said she threatened you!" His yo-yo barely grazed her bag.

"What difference does it make!?" She charged at him.

"It makes all the difference!" He rose to meet her. (Chapter 9)

This is a key point of contention in a lot of the Chameleon salt that’s directed at Adrien. Often he’s blamed for his advice to Marinette not to continue going after Lila, that it won’t help anything. That so long as he and Marinette knew she was lying, it didn’t really matter.

But that advice was based on the premise that Lila wasn’t an active threat, a danger. That it was merely galling to see her lying, but that she wasn’t causing any active harm by doing so. And while it was theorized that her lies about her status may lead to her making false promises to people, causing them to forgo real opportunities in pursuit of a lie, by the end of season 3 that does not appear to be the case.

Her actively threatening Marinette changes things. If she didn’t pose an actual danger, then it would be irritating to have to listen to her lie, but it doesn’t actually change anything. But with her desire to isolate Marinette? That’s different. Just leaving her be under those circumstances leaves Marinette in peril.

But Adrien DID NOT KNOW ABOUT THAT, and that is not his fault. He could only make decisions and recommendations off of information he possesses. He is not to blame for not being psychic.

Marinette would NOT blame Adrien for these things. Would not try to inflict pain on her friends.

Princess Justice is not Marinette.

Saltinette is not Marinette.

Something that Adrien realizes.

Adrien looked at Princess Justice. Really looked at her. The sneer of her lips, the sadistic gleam in her eyes, the ferocity of her advance. This... This was not Marinette.

The anger made way as Adrien's determination and love rose to merge with it. He broke through her assault and zipped away. The villain giving chase.

Princess Justice was all pain and rage and desire.

The villains on the ground took notice of their approach.

But Marinette was not defined by these things.

Glaciator fired a barrage of ice cream as he moved too close.

Marinette was joy and compassion and longing.(Chapter 9)

Marinette can have negative emotions and make bad decisions like anyone else. But fundamentally she is kind and caring, brings light to those around her, makes their lives better. She doesn’t try to make them miserable and beat every ounce of happiness out of their existence. She values people besides herself, besides what they can do for her, and cares about what they think and feel.

And SHE truly cares about justice.

Princess Justice does not deserve the name. Although she declares herself just, serves as judge, jury, and executioner, she does not keep herself to the standard she holds others too.

Kagami's tail stiffened. "Liar!" Maneki-neko let the villain's whip wrap around her staff and yanked her in. "You're a liar!" Her fist connected with the akumatized supervillain.

Throwing her own punch Princess Justice's eyes narrowed. "Justice doesn't lie!"

Stumbling back, Maneki-neko threw herself forward. "You're not Justice!" She tackled the villain, and they went over the edge of the roof. "You're immune to your own dust! You've been lying since the beginning!" (Chapter 12)

It’s poetic really. For the representation of Saltinette to be an evilized Marinette, one who rains down judgement on others but protects herself from being judged similarly, not even realizing that she’s doing it. Saltinette isn’t Marinette. She’s a twisted version, bereft of reason and her best qualities.

If Saltinette was judging herself the way she judges everyone else? She would be even more furious at Marinette for not doing more to take Lila down, since she knows she’s an active threat and is well-positioned to let people know that she’s lying about being her friend, than she is at Adrien. There would probably be a host of other things she’d judge herself for as well, but what exactly would depend on what space Saltinette occupied in that dynamic. For the only thing that matters to Saltinette is whether something or someone benefits her or whether they cause her any difficulty, nothing else.

Indignation. Princess Justice whirled to face him as her blue eyes narrowed. "You'd turn against me, too? Just like everyone else!? You all turned against me!"

Righteous Fury rumbled in displeasure at its master's agitation, exoskeleton glowing faintly under their feet.

"Disagreeing with you doesn't mean I've turned against you, my Lady," Adrien reasoned. (Chapter 13)

This is key. It’s possible to have fics, to have circumstances where Marinette conflicts with Adrien, Alya, or many others, without anyone being treated as being a horrible person. Sometimes people just disagree, sometimes for good reasons, due to perspective, mindset, or differences in knowledge, for instance. It doesn’t always mean they’ve turned against the other person.

Approaching cautiously, Roi Bug kept a hand close to his yo-yo in case she tried to attack him in earnest. "Revenge isn't Justice. You know that. Remember?"

"... I do." She looked down as another building was hit. "I remember letting the Guilty hurt the Innocent! Letting people who have never shown an ounce of remorse get away scot-free! Showing mercy to people who don't deserve it! Who haven't earned it!" Her gaze turned to him with frustration and anger in her eyes. "That is what I remember!"

He let her rage wash past him. "Mercy is never earned. That's why it's Mercy. Because you don't deserve it. Forgiveness-"

Princess Justice laughed. "Oh, forgiveness! You're really good at that, aren't you? But I'm done forgiving! From now on everyone gets exactly. What. They. Deserve!"

Temper flaring, Adrien shot his hand out toward a girl barely younger than them as she floated past. Face frozen mid-scream. Dark glow proclaiming: Self-righteous. "Is this what they deserve!?"

No, yes, no, yes, no- "Silence!" Princess Justice's whip flew at him again. This time Roi Bug whirled his yo-yo as a shield to deflect it. (Chapter 13)

Forgiveness and mercy can go too far. That is true. But there’s a reason they exist, why they’re generally considered good. Punishment can go too far, can cause more harm than good, especially when taken to insane extremes for minor slights, as Princess Justice and Saltinette do. A LOT of Disproportionate Retribution gets thrown around.

And if merely causing someone some strife was worthy of insane punishment? Few people would pass. Marinette among them.

"I've never harmed an Innocent person in my life!" She slashed her whip in a wide arc.

Bringing out the Monkey's staff and the baseball bat Lucky Charm, he used both weapons to deflect her attack. "Of course, you have! You're human aren't you!?"

"They were all Guilty!" She insisted, agitation causing the sentimonster to rumble as she struck. "They all deserved it!"

Adrien's eyes narrowed. "Did Luka 'deserve' it?"

Flinching, her whip missed its target.

"Or Kagami?" He pressed. "Did she 'deserve' the way you treated her?"

Regret, determination, shame.

"She should know what she's done to you," he whispered.

"... She does."

"No- I- Quiet! Be quiet!" She held her head between her hands as a drum pounded in her skull. "Justice! I am Justice!" (Chapter 13)

Marinette’s inflicted pain on others who have not done something to earn it, Kagami being one of the chief examples, what with her actions towards her in Animaestro and Ikari Gozen. But while what Marinette did those times were WRONG, they do not define her as a person, and do not justify an insane level of disproportionate retribution against her, do not justify writing Marinette off as a human being.

That same courtesy should apply to others as well.

Marinette is different from Princess Justice, from Saltinette, something she aptly demonstrates when she talks to Adrien after being deakumatized.

I-I said some... terrible things to you and I..." Marinette curled her arms around herself. "I didn't mean it." (Chapter 14)

Marinette also fights back against the accusations Princess Justice made, things that Marinette didn’t mean, does not believe, and would never say if she’d been herself.

"You saved me countless times!" His eyes watered as her's did the same. "You saved Paris countless times!" Yellow smoke intruded into his thoughts, helpless to stop the cycle no matter how many Second Chances he got. "It-" Shame choked his throat and he swallowed it back, averting his eyes. "It's about time I started pulling my weight..."

Frowning, Marinette placed her hands over his. "Who... said you weren't pulling your weight?" His silence was answer enough and the guilt cut at her.

Piecing Adrien and Chat Noir together was surprisingly easy when she let herself consider it. Virtues and flaws that made a terrible sort of sense together. Once Marinette understood that he felt just as alone as she did. And Princess Justice threw it all in his face.

"Well, she was wrong!" Marinette snapped. Gripping Adrien's hands firmly as they trembled. (Chapter 14)

Marinette would never say that Chat wasn’t pulling his weight, that he wasn’t good enough. Wouldn’t believe it and would fight back against anyone who hurt her partner that way. She reassures him that he is enough, that he did well, even while he assures her that he doesn’t blame her for what happened and nor would anyone else. That she’s human, and having a moment of emotional weakness, of distress, does not make her bad or unworthy or irresponsible.

Both of them reassuring each other that they don’t need to be perfect. That they are enough. To be kind and forgiving towards themselves.

[uptoolateart]

Defining Masculinity

For ages, I’ve wanted to write something about Adrien’s unspoken quest to define 'masculinity' - and ‘Reunion’ sealed it for me.

I’ve written a bit about Adrien being the beta unconsciously on a personal journey to overthrow the current alpha (Gabriel) and become the new alpha on his own terms. A lot of this involves Adrien figuring out what it means to be a man, because Adrien is 14-going-on-15 and ‘Miraculous’ is very much a coming-of-age story for both him and Marinette.

Starting with Gabriel - I think we can all agree he represents an old school version of masculinity - tall and broad, physically strong, authoritative, not emotionally demonstrative, intellectual, accomplished.

In some ways, Adrien can be defined as everything Gabriel is not. He’s physically strong, yes, but he gets bested by Kagami, who’s a girl. He lets everyone tell him what to do. He wears his heart on his sleeve. He’s been trained to be good at many things, but he often declares that Marinette / Ladybug is smarter than him. (I think they just have different types of intelligence that complement each other.) His accomplishments have been forced on him, and his only personal ambition is to love and be loved.

As Cat Noir, Adrien spends more than three seasons playing the alpha-as-seen-on-TV. He feigns all the confidence he secretly lacks, shows off the muscle (look at that costume), and no one takes him seriously. For a long time, he’s baffled about why Ladybug is so immune to his ‘charms’, because he’s been taught to be a very outdated sort of man. And we can’t blame him for his confusion, because this outdated archetype still crops up in so much modern romance. But Marinette / Ladybug reminds us that romance needs something deeper.

Thankfully, Adrien gets the message and does some deep self-exploration. Season 4 Cat Noir was seeeeerious. And it all led to his realisation that everything that defines him as Adrien, as someone distinct from his father, is what will set him apart as a man.

Put simply: emotional expression is not non-masculine. His strength at the end of ‘Strike Back’ was not physical or intellectual or anything else that traditionally falls in the category of ‘masculine’. He didn’t take over. His strength lay in his unwavering faith and support of her, even accepting that she would continue to be the leader and give him the instructions. I suppose you could say he fulfilled the stereotypical role of ‘protector’...but on his own terms.

So, why mention ‘Reunion’? Look at that imagery of Dark Grimalkin we got - the postures and bulging muscle. Everything about him screamed out old school alpha male. Buuuuut...then we learned that he gave up all the power for love.

This is the path Adrien is following - the path with heart. It is a path that forks off and away from the path Gabriel is on, which can only lead to a place of loneliness, dark and forgotten in the annals of time. I like to believe the notion of masculinity too long linked with Gabriel is on the way out, and people like me (with two boys) are raising a generation of Adriens in their stead.

At the end of the episode, Adrien gets a kwagatama from Plagg, hinting that we might see Adrien communicate with Dark Grimalkin later on. Because I can't wait, I wrote this fic as a companion piece to 'Reunion' after I first drafted this post...!

Read at Ao3

[lifeexperience]

Maribat March 2021 - Half time

In my AO3 account I am also updating the 'A playboy billionaire, an ambassador and the secret love-child' title, and sometimes I add(ed) commentary why I write something the way I do.

Masterlist

From the last fifty days here is all the plus note:

First day

In Red Robin (2009-2011) comics Vicki Vale was a little bit too noisy for her own good, that's why I used her personal annoyance against Bruce Wayne in this story.

Third day

Vanessa Rios was an assistant district attorney in Gotham in the Robin (1993-2009) run. Here I am using her as the Wayne's legal team head. Tamara Fox, Lucius Fox's daughter, is friends with Tim Drake in Red Robin (2009-2011) comics and here too. Also she is an intern with the HR department who knows about the BatFam alteregos.

Fifth day

In the comics, Alfred always followed Bruce to his 'trips' (in 'Batman and Son' to London, 'Batman & Robin Annual' to an scavenger hunt, in 'Batman Inc.' to every country where they found representatives...) However because of Damian's unpredictable behaviour he stayed at the manor with the children in this story.

Sixth day

So Young Justice thing is a little complicated to me if I dare to say something about it. There was the 'Young Justice: The Secret' and its sequels. Then there were 'The New52' and 'DC Rebirth' era, plus the animation show. And they all are kind of okay..ish, furthermore I wanted to keep the principles like the main members (Tim Drake, Connor Kent, Bart Allen and Cassie Sandsmark), however I never liked their too childish behavior in some of the works (and the mixing with 'The Titans). So in this story, here, they are more adult..ish, but more relaxed and cheerful than 'The Titans' ever was (like in comics, not in the shows).

Eighth day

In the 'Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir' show they showed Lila as a manipulator without any remorse, which got me to think she has antisocial personality disorder (ASPD). I am not a doctor but I had some basic lesson in psychology, and I have a natural curiosity about things so I always research everything. With diagnosed ASPD the person has to be older then 18, however I read its symptoms can show up in childhood, and it can lead to an earlier diagnosis like 14-15 years old early.

In the case of Lila she deceives people and uses them (✓). Don't makes long term plans or thinking through about her behavior (✓), however has a set on some goal she wants to achieve (✓). She has a sense of superiority above of her classmates and adults in her environment (✓), nevertheless does't have any remorse or guilt to mistreat them (✓). Uses charisma and her fake charming persona to get something or someone (✓), however didn't value them more than tools or prizes (✓).

I didn't see any real aggressive behavior from Lila beside akumatizations (✓), but on its own I think it's enough evidence, that she has this disorder (and not the many that she claimed). In normal aggressive way Lila didn't show herself (like physical violence, loud angry outbursts, big fits in front of everyone) yet, rather she uses Akumatization to hide that kind of behavior (when Adrien tried to stand up she became willingly Chameleon, or the Heroe's Day, or Oni-Chan). So her Akumatised forms and helping to Hawkmoth are the evidences that she has aggressive behavior, however they are not the classic forms (but we also can remember the threatening in the bathroom, but I think that was more intimidation and showing her superiority then pure aggressiveness).

And I wanted that recreate and strengthen this 'fact' a little bit so it would be more obvious than in the show.

Ninth day

In the comics there are so many take on Bruce Wayne it's kind of hard to count it. We could list the Batman persona, when he kind of let his children do what they want within his no-kill-rule (like living alone at fourteen with bunch of other teenager - 'Teen Titans' or 'Young Justice' or as it looks like to go rough - Robin, Red Hood). And there is the obvious martyr-parent take, when he has to know everything about his children, but he is always silent about the important things ('Death of the family' - 'Batman and Robin: Born to kill' - 'The Hunt for Robin'). And one of my favorites the worried-tired father take, when he is kind of showing his emotions and trying to love his kids ('Super Sons' - 'Robin Rises' - 'Prelude to the Wedding: Nightwing vs. Hush' ...).

And I decided to use the last with a more active take from the first (like he lets everyone do their thing but he is monitoring them within reasons). In the comics there are many accusations about being someones father (with Julie Madison or Mariah Shelley), and here in my take he is trying to be responsible (for the sake of his children, mainly for Damian and Jason) and checks every claim out personally (so they also can do DNS test).

Tenth day

Alya Césaire is a complicated someone in the show. At first she is portrayed as a fierce helper for the protagonist, Marinette. She is stubborn and reckless, but royal to her best friends.

Then came Lila and the makers sharpened her stubborn tunnel vision. This I saw it first at the 'Lady Wifi' episode, when she clearly didn't remember about the first day, when Ladybug saved Chloé (or ignored it). After that she always fixated on 'Adrienette' (or everything else if it's interesting - Dark Cupid) when the girl, herself had other things to do (Princess Fragrance, Puppeteer 2, Reflektdoll 2, Timebreaker). So it was not that big surprise when her tunnel vision turned to Lila, and she (and everybody in her class) forgot about that they all met Jagged Stone and with his crocodile already.

Yeah, it's all true, however unlike Lila, Alya didn't show any other big social flaw. And she is 14 years old and middle child, which is kind of important in someone personality. She has to be a mature figure and a little child at the same time in her sibling's eyes. She has to compete attention in their parents eyes and be smart about it.

Moreover if we look at the Collège Françoise Dupont's students, they are all spoiled, not just Chloé or Lila or Adrien. Yes, they are not that bad like the three, but they are all sheltered to a certain degree. Their family don't have financial problems (famous chef, designers, mayor, famous bakery, curator in the most famous museum, police officer, famous pantomime, ...), plus they are all in a prestigious school where they can't meet people with everyday problems (and rich spoiled kid is not an everyday occurrence in my country). And beside some vision problems (Max, Sabrina) they are all healthy and the first time to meet a disability is when Lila arrived. So it's natural if they don't really know how to interact right with her (putting aside that whole lie thing).

And I think they, especial Alya, need first a little life experience, before they could be called responsible about their acts. And here I am trying to write it this kind of way, where they are all flawed, but they can learn from it.

Human being can be shallow and not perfect. These children only heard one perspective from Lila, and another from Marinette. In the show the makers not exactly specified about how well the classmates know Marinette and how depth Marinette and Alya friendship is, so there is already some trust issue.

Like yeah all of they are going to concerts, cinema, each others, however they didn't show so far any serious conservation between them (maybe the only exception is Adrien-Marinette combo). Until this year when Adrien and Alya got transferred in the class, the classmates don't even help Marinette with Chloé bullying. And one year friendship - how beautiful is it tho - is not that depth and stable, especially with that many secrets they have. And Lila 'charming' personality came into this still fragile relationship at the right time to prove this.

I am not saying that the makers is doing good to simplifies the relationships. Because rather they missed so many ziccers for the sake of promote new hero designs and the overwritten romantic scene, it's physical hurting me. But they are right that we are talking sheltered-traumatized-too naive kids, who sometimes had unearned magic powers (looking at Chloé, Alya, Kim).

And I didn't ever going the length of mentioning the adult characters. It's an other kind of wormhole.

Marinette was the only one who openly disobeyed Lila's wants. She stands up against her lies in the public so she is a real obstacle for Lila. While Adrien is only trying in the background without any witness (I don't say it's bad, because with some case it's better, but not here), and the boy is too valuable to Lila.

Lila already showed in the series she didn't stop with the lies and she is brave enough to ruin someone carrier with them (Marinette - 'Ladybug', Nathalie and Gorilla - 'Oni-Chan', Alya - 'Volpina'). And Adrien watched all of it in the front seat, and he kind of knows that Lila's main target here to discredit and broke Marinette/Ladybug (and Adrien, himself also, but it's his perspective and he is very sheltered and naive about it).

And this story she got another one to ruin. Bruce Wayne, himself. And as her fake charming side melts away in her anger as she is focusing more and more on her targets.

Eleventh day

Speed Force is one of the Seven Forces of the Universe. It grants the power of the speedsters. And some of them merged with it (for example Barry Allen). Speed Force has a direct connection to the time flow and with the Multiverse (or now Omniverse). The biggest event of it is the Flashpoint (2011) which started the New52 era. And Batman doesn't want to mix this kind of force with a really mysterious ancient magic.

Nightrunner's first appearance was in 2011 in Detective Comics Annual #12. Within the Batman Incorporated line Bruce recruited Bilal Asselah, French-Algerian citizen to represent Batman in Paris. Here he is a mentor/background assistant to the Team Miraculous and a representative of Batman Inc.

Fourteenth day

Wang Fu is not the most mature character in the show and I think it says it all. Being an 186 years old is the Great Guardian after he accidentally destroyed the temple, he is kind of shameful and amateur. And if we contrasted him with Batman... yeah. Batman is NOT happy and takes the control from the old master.

Fifteenth day

I know Cyborg, alias Victor Stone is currently shown as a founding member of the Justice League (since 2011), however I am prefer him more in the Titans. And it's not just because of the animation show form 2003, but also in the comics he is more himself with the first Titans then with the -all mighty- Justice League. And I also wanted him to have a little cameo in this story because in the Super Sons (2017-) he was kind of like a babysitter for the boys. And to me it's kind of funny how many times the bats short circuited him (Robin Rises, Super Sons: Parent Trap, ...).

Sixteenth day

Damian Wayne is a complicated character. For ten years he was teached to kill. He only learnt about his mother at eight. He only learnt about his father at ten. Thalia used him for anything from power play to plotting someone death. Bruce loves him, but he is so moronic about his own emotions it's kind of painful to read sometimes. And there is the thing where Damian is never enough, his mother cloned him (Heretic), his father has other wards (mainly Red Robin). Dick Grayson went incognito spying when the boy had finally a healthier relationship (Grayson: The Superspy). His best friend, Jon Kent was suddenly older then him (2018 Superman #16). Alfred was killed in front of him (2016 Batman #77). Yeah, Damian is a jerk, but he has every right to be a jerk in my opinion. And I wanted that recreate here as Lila is a liar and threatening his 'only' position as a blood son. His only weapon to prevent it to have a fit and doing what was teached to him.

Fulltime

[mylifeisfruk4ever]

Rating:

General Audiences

Archive Warning:

Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Category:

F/M

Fandom:

Miraculous Ladybug

Relationships:

Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Plagg

Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug

Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Emilie Agreste

Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Emilie Agreste & Gabriel Agreste | Papillon | Hawk Moth

Characters:

Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir

Emilie Agreste

Plagg (Miraculous Ladybug)

Additional Tags:

Mentioned Emilie Agreste

Angst

Sentimonster Adrien Agreste

Sentimonster (Miraculous Ladybug)

Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir Needs a Hug

Implied/Referenced Child Abuse

Mental Health Issues

Mental Breakdown

Emotional Manipulation

Hurt/Comfort

Headcanon

Letters

Childhood Trauma

Shock

Hurt Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir

Season/Series 02

Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence

Not Canon Compliant

Minor Emilie Agreste/Gabriel Agreste | Papillon | Hawk Moth

Peacock Emilie Agreste

Language:English

The proverb said curiosity kills the cat. An adage adapt for Adrien. He shouldn't have reopened his father's safe.

--------------------  "Adrien…"

Plagg was in front of him, but for Adrien, it was as if he wasn't here.

Creation.  Not son.  But creation.

His mother considered him a creation.  And indeed he was, she was committed to having the perfect child.  Adrien was her dream, and she had loved him for it.

"Plagg, did you know that?"  finally he managed to ask.

The kwami hesitated, and Adrien asked him again, "Did you know I'm not real?"

“Kitty, you are real.  "

"You didn't answer," the boy said, a sense of urgency building up in him.

--------------------

" What do you want?"

Ah, good question.  What did Adrien want?  He had wanted to be a normal person, to have friends, for Ladybug to reciprocate his feelings.  He had wanted a lot of things, but could he have them?

He was a creation of the miraculous peacock, made of dreams and expectations.  Adrien was a perfect illusion.

" It doesn't matter."

[misdemeanors-are-stolen]

i see likes as ‘i have coerced this individual into accepting my ridiculous nonsense no effort post of the hour/minute/week they have no idea. they have no idea *maniacal laughter*’ so basically any of them are a win

[my-fanaticdomain]

ML Episode Breakdown

mundane or moral problem

someone tangentially involved gets v upset

Hawkmoth is dramatic

akuma interrupts problem and presents new, kickable problem

The fight

Hawkmoth is even more dramatic about losing

like seriously dude do you want to bring back your wife, take over Paris, or get petty revenge on some teenagers??? which is it dude

mundane or moral problem approached with fresh eyes

general happy resolution

overarching plot is not addressed in a satisfactory way, this is key