#obviously everything is marinettes fault though

[firstsupersoldieroc]

MLB in my OC universe

Because it needs to be explained.

Ok when Marinette and Adrien are 13 they get the miraculous, but in this world its because the snap just happened and the world needs all the balance it can get. Ladybug and Chat noir aren't active, they just need Plagg and Tikki to be away and out there.(Also Nooroo and Dusuu are in the secret lair, no one knows where they are, they are still missing)

Gabriel gets snapped, so there's no akumas. Adrien gets raised by his aunt, but they move to France because of Gabriel's business, there's not as many bad memories here(Emile just dies) and Felix needs to be away from the memories of his dads death.

(Also Adrien's aunt is slightly horrified to learn that Adrien only has one friend and so wants him to have more)

Flash forward 5 years, Adrien and Marinette are dating(less obsession because ladybug and chat noir aren't active and Marinette doesn't need to supress her bad emotions by focusing on her crush)

Adrien wants to become a baker or something, with modeling on the side to support his income.

Marinette has started taking commisions as MDC and is prepping to go to University for fashion design and bussiness.

Therefore when Gabriel returns, his wife is dead,(he couldn't have the magic sustain her if he was gone), his son has 'left him' and the world doesn't really care about Gabriel Designs.(Still exists, actually an ok fashion company, just went downhill for a bit after the Snap)

The only good thing is that the Ladybug and Cat miraculous are out there somewhere so he's going to get them and fix everything.

[seekinghelp-adhd]

Chance Encounters (Maribat idea I'm throwing around)

Marinette moves to Gotham to pursue fashion. She has to finish her last year of high school at Gotham Academy and do an internship over the summer, but if she does she gets a massive scholarship to Gotham University. They were more than happy to help out Jagged Stone's famously young personal designer. Obviously, this puts her in classes with Damien Wayne, who barely talks and only ever calls his brothers by their last names.

Jagged insists on setting her up in a penthouse for her stay in Gotham, but Marinette argues that being a single girl living in a fancy penthouse is like asking one of the Gotham rogues to kidnap or rob her. They compromise on a nice apartment with a state of the art security system, one owned by Wayne Enterprises. Another tenant on her same floor, Jason Todd, stops by to scope out the new neighbor. He seems nice enough, but he keeps calling his older brother "Dick" and Marinette can't tell if that's his name or just an insult. Apparently he does this whenever someone new moves in to see if he’ll have to move. Marinette tells him to let her know if he does, Because she says if he doesn’t feel safe living in this building anymore, she definitely wants to leave. Jason is amused by this and decides she can stay.

It doesn't take long for Marinette to encounter Gotham's bad side. After a few months of living there she's seen plenty of rogue attacks. She's been lucky enough to stay out of it. After all, if the villains aren't magical there's nothing her Miraculous Cure could do anyway. Her luck is apparently starting to run out though, because now she's being held up at knife point in an alley. She obviously takes the guy down after years of being Ladybug and calls the cops. Dick Greyson is the officer on scene. He's incredibly friendly and is super impressed that she managed to take the guy down, but Dick has seen corrupt cops take people in for self-defense if it means someone else owes them a favor. He gives her his personal cell in case anything like this ever happens again.

Through all of this, Marinette has been spending more and more time with Damien at school. Marinette is hesitant to trust all the smiles and niceties around her after Lila's manipulation and wants to truly get to know someone before she puts any trust in them. Damien is the only exception. She was warned of his reputation as the "Ice Prince" of GA before meeting him and found talking with him to be incredibly refreshing. There was absolutely nothing fake or over the top about him. He was straightforward and down to earth and Marinette found comfort in that. She decided that she trusted him on day one. Likewise, Damien finds her skeptical attitude toward the other students to be incredibly validating. Growing up in the League, everyone was always pretending, even to the other assassins. You had to act a certain way around the right people, and manipulation was the key to survival. Marinette seems to notice people trying to take advantage of her and recognize when someone just wants a favor, and he respects that. Regretfully, and to Jon's great joy, Damien finds that he thinks of her as a friend.

Word eventually gets out that Marinette is Jagged's designer. This is, of course, entirely Jagged's fault. Some good comes out of all the extra attention, though, when she learns that the co-CEO of Wayne Enterprises is a fan of hers. He makes a commission for a new suit and, upon learning of her situation, offers her a position as his families personal designer over the summer to meet her internship qualifications for GU. They set up a meeting in person for her to take measurements once her midterms are over.

When everything is going well though, something has to throw a wrench into things. The Batfamily raids one of Black Mask's warehouses late one night, and Red Hood takes a few too many bullets and a pretty big hit to the head. The kevlar took most of the hits for him, but he's badly bruised and nursing a concussion. It's the concussion that causes him to stumble into the wrong window of his apartment building and scare his new neighbor half to death. Marinette does what she always does and helps the vigilante without question. To do that though, she has to take off his helmet. She assumed he would have a mask underneath or something. He does not. Marinette is not as surprised as she probably should be, and Jason is pissed when he wakes up. He realizes after a while that this isn't her fault. She's been taking care of him since he was too stubborn to go to Bruce, and if she wanted him or his family dead she could have done something about it by now. He decides to put a little trust in her, but keeps an eye on her just in case. This is what clues him into the situation. In her time here in Gotham, she's managed to meet all of the Wayne brothers aside from Duke, and she has no idea they're even related.

Jason, of course, finds this absolutely hilarious and wants to see just how far this madness can go. He sends Duke to her favorite coffee shop. He refers Marinette to the same dance studio as Cass. Marinette, completely on her own to Jason's disbelief, enters the same Ultimate Mecha Strike tournament as Stephanie and absolutely destroys her. Jason lives for the chaos and Marinette is completely oblivious.

Eventually, after a few AO3 tags (slow burn, feelings realization) Marinette and Damien start dating. Damien feels guilty for hiding that he's Robin from Marinette, but he knows that he'd be sharing more than just his own secret and doesn't want to betray his family's trust. He realizes that if he wants to share everything with her, his family has to trust her as well. She'll have to meet them. He tells Marinette all of this, and she shares that she's been keeping her own secret as well. Marinette hasn't told him about Ladybug even after Tikki has given her blessing, and she's been feeling guilty about it as well. She encourages him to tell her whenever he feels ready and assures him that she can wait until then. She trusts him, and she asks for that same trust in return.

Damien trusts her of course, and everything goes back to normal for about 30 seconds. Then, Damien starts trying to prepare her for the chaos she's about to find in his dining room that night. Little by little, Marinette starts to realize that she already knows every single person he's talking about. Only, that means so much more than she could have realized, because if Jason is Red Hood and his brother "the Dick" is Nightwing, then that means Dick Greyson is Nightwing and Damien's older brother, which makes Damien Robin, and oh no she thinks she knows exactly what that secret is that he didn't want to share yet.

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

When I first saw a Miraculous Ladybug salt post it was the usual Lila takes away all of Marinette's friends Adrien does nothing Marinette becomes super successful Lila gets exposed blah blah blah

When I see posts like the ones you post where people give actual constructive criticism about the characters and not favor one character over the other has made me realize that these are fictional characters and its not their fault they are the way they are. Also they're 14 what kind of 14 year old makes good choice's? Especially when they have the fate of the world/universe on their shoulders

If anything the character I really blame is Master Fu. He was obviously meant to be some sort of mentor figure for them or at least Marinette's mentor. He was the one to tell and encourage Marinette to keep everything a secret from Adrien. Comparing him to other mentor like figures in the world of superheros he isn't really all that helpful.

Compared to DC Ladybug and Chat Noir do not have any adult superheros to help them. In DC younger superheros have entire superhero families to help them out and if not that than they have other adult superheros to help them or they have an actual team. We know that other miraculous holders exist and the order is back I have a vague idea as to why they can't help but I still find it weird as to why they are around if not to help. Like phones and the internet exist do they not?

Sorry for they rant, I want to know what your thoughts are on this?

Your rant was fine! I don't think that I've talked in depth about mentors as a concept and I should both because I love mentors and because Miraculous has completely failed to give us any good ones. This is a writing failure not because good mentors are required, but because the show chose to have mentors characters and then not use them.

Before I get into the topic at large, I want to start with a brief discussion of mentors in shows aimed at young children as Miraculous' intended audience is young children and that fact is worth keeping in mind when discussing what Miraculous did wrong and some of the ways that you can fix it.

Shows aimed at kids generally avoid adult characters in major roles for the very obvious reason that the intended audience is kids, so you want the kid and teen characters to be the stars. This doesn't mean that adults aren't allowed to save the day or have important roles. It just means that they should be used sparingly. This is why mentors are a great addition to kids shows. They allow adult characters to be deeply involved with the plot without anyone expecting them to intervene because that's not their role in the story. They're not here to be the hero. They're here to guide the hero.

One of the powerful things about this setup is that it allows the writers to give the real kids watching at home real advice about real life problems. For example, if Marinette comes to Fu to talk about feeling alone and overwhelmed, then he can give her real, practical advice that would apply to anyone who is feeling alone and overwhelmed, but no one expects him to directly intervene because he's supposed to say hidden.

A lot of these elements apply to mentors in media aimed at older audiences, the rules just apply for different reasons, so I'm going to stop reminding you that Miraculous is for elementary school kids and focus on the failed mentor issue as it would be an issue no matter what Miraculous' intended audience was.

When it comes to bad mentoring, a lot of people focus on Fu and I get why. At first glance, he's the classic wise old Asian man who is supposed to be there to guide the protagonist on her mystical journey (not getting into the racism issue here, just know that I'm aware of it and that Miraculous dropped the ball on this in a lot of ways even though they absolutely could have made it work.) But Fu isn't the main focus of my ire because, while the writers seemed to have designed him around the mystic Asian trope, they never actually wrote him like a mentor.

He doesn't train Marinette and Adrien in the ways of the miraculous. He just sneakily gives them their miraculous and then disappears from their lives for quite some time. So he's not around to get them properly started on their hero journey. That's strike one for the mentor role.

Strike two is the fact that we never actually see him mentoring Marinette. I don't think that she ever went to him for advice? If she did, then it wasn't a big element of their relationship. When I think of Marinette and Fu, I picture her going to him to grab a miraculous or two before booking it back to the ongoing fight and that's about it. The guardian training she supposedly had was all off screen, so we have no idea how close they were or what he even taught her outside of potion making. Even that wasn't really him teaching her something. It was them working together to figure out a puzzle because Fu never completed his own training, making it impossible for him to properly train a successor.

Strike three is the fact that - outside of the King Monkey incident - Fu never gets directly involved in helping team miraculous. He's never gives them feedback on fights or works with Ladybug and Chat Noir to strengthen their bond. He doesn't even help them track down the two missing miraculous or hand out the temporary miraculous on Marinette's behalf, a choice I still find super weird. "This fight is super hard and we need help, so I'm going to leave Chat Noir to fight alone while I go get said help!" is absolutely nonsense logic and one of the many examples of the writers desperately needing to let Marinette hand her responsibilities off. Why wasn't this Fu's job?

This brings us to fix one: if you want the guardian to be a mentor - which is a role they arguably should have - then the guardian needs to be actively involved in Marinette and Adrien's lives in an on screen way. For this to work in the context of Miraculous - a show that really wants to focus on the teen characters - then the guardian probably needs a teenage apprentice who isn't Marinette and that apprentice will be the one doing the mentoring.

My pick for this is Luka for two big reasons. The first one is that his calm personality is perfectly suited to a mentor. The second one is that it seems insane to me to have the snake be a temp holder. The snake should be watching every fight, but staying out of the actual fight so that they can use their power whenever it's needed. That's the perfect role for a mentor character to fill. Someone who is active in the plot, but only ever as a support because their power stops them from getting more involved.

Moving on to the bigger issue.

As I said up above, Fu doesn't actually get my ire. While I wanted him to be a mentor, he never once filled that role and he didn't really need to because the show already had mentor figures that it was actively using and using poorly. Those figures are the ancient magical creatures that follow our heroes around, dispensing terrible advice whenever they feel like it. That's right, as much as it pains me, Miraculous' biggest mentor failures are Tikki and Plagg.

The miraculous did not need to have magical creatures associated with them. They could have just been magical jewelry that Fu handed out and explained. Instead, the writers chose to give us the Kwamis and I don't disagree with that choice. I like the Kwmais! The problem is that they're used in the most lackluster, asinine ways you possibly could.

The Kwamis are not presented as oblivious to the world and unable to give advice. They give lots of advice! The problem is that advice tends to suck! I can think of many examples of times where the Kwamis made everything worse, but let's look at the one that grinds my gears the most: Plagg's actions in season four.

In Rocketear - the episode where Nino gives Adrien an incredibly inaccurate picture of why he knows Alya's secret identity - we get this:

Adrien: I still can't believe Ladybug entrusted Alya and Nino with those Miraculous. Plagg: Of course she did. She's the Guardian. Adrien: But they're a couple and they know each other's secret identities. Plagg: So...? Adrien: So, why does she make it a rule that we can't know each other's identities but it's okay for them? Plagg: She's the Guardian, the Grandmaster Cheese Ripener, and you and I are just cheese on the platter. She decides what's on the menu.

Hey, Plagg, maybe don't tell your clearly upset and vulnerable teenage holder to just suck it up and deal with it when he's feeling alone and betrayed? Maybe encourage him to talk to Ladybug about his feelings so that he can get the full story? Knowing that they learned their identities during the Scarlet Moth incident would probably do a lot to smooth over Adrien's hurt feelings.

What's even more rich is that the episode Kuro Neko lets Plagg go off on Marinette for not appreciating Chat Noir:

Ladybug: What's gotten into him? I didn't do anything. Plagg: Didn't do anything? Well yeah, you did! You've been neglecting a very classy piece of camemebert on your plate for too long! And as a result it got runny, and moldy! Ladybug: What? Cat Noir never gave me any camembert. Plagg: Of course not, Cat Noir is the camembert! For a while now, you've been neglecting this camembert— I mean Cat Noir, and going on adventures with the all other cheeses! Ladybug: But he should be happy about it, it gives him more time off. Plagg: Cat Noir doesn't wanna have time off, Ladybug! He is in love with you! And your persistent calling on all the other heroes has broken his heart.

Dude, if you saw all of this going on, then why didn't you say something??? You and Tikki are in the same location for multiple hours five days a week. Go tell her how your holder is feeling and figure out how to fix the situation! Or be an actual mentor and encourage Adrien to talk to someone about his feelings! At the very least, cut up a wheel of cheese, sit down, and listen to your kid so that he feels less alone!

Also what exactly do you want Ladybug to do to fix the problem you presented? Let Paris burn until Chat Noir decides to show up to today's fight? Refuse to use the temp heroes even if it means losing a fight? None of those are valid solutions when the problem presented in the episode is Chat Noir missing fights. Especially when we know that he's doing it on purpose. Why are you yelling at her instead of working with her to come up with an actual solution? You are such a terrible mentor...

To be clear, I don't think any of this is intentional. I don't think the writers want Plagg and Tikki to come across as actively hurting their teenage charges via bad advice. I think Plagg and Tikki are supposed to be seen as good and helpful, but they can't fill that role because they're tools of the narrative and the narrative has really wacky views on what good advice is. Thus nonsense like the example I discussed above or Plagg and Tikki picking new holders instead of guiding their holders through an identity reveal.

I personally adore letting Plagg and Tikki be good mentors in my own stuff. It falls under the same category as Alya and Nino being terrible friends on screen. I acknowledge the problem and then delight in fixing it by writing the exact opposite setup because what is fanfiction for if not heavy self indulgence?

[heidi891]

The Most Disturbing Scene

In season 5 Gabriel does many terrible things, but I find the scene from Pretension when he forces Adrien to go to his room the most disturbing.

Obviously this isn’t as bad as being locked in the isolation chamber while having a horrible nightmare, but even in those awful circumstances Adrien is aware of what’s happening and is able to make a decision. He still has some agency, even if very limited. But in Pretension?

When Adrien and Marinette get to his home, she’s nervous and he takes the lead: he comforts her, takes her hand, leads her to the kitchen and talks to his father.

But then Gabriel, using his wedding ring, forces him to go to his room, leaving his girlfriend alone with his father. During their conversation Adrien is standing at the door in his room with his hand on the doorknob.

He’s shocked and devastated. He desperately wants to go back to the kitchen, but he’s unable to do so. He doesn’t understand what’s happening and why he cannot make the simplest decision to walk out of the room.

Gabriel told him to do many things Adrien wasn’t happy about, but he was able to come to terms with them. But the current order goes completely against his will and personality. Though he’s rather passive and submissive, he’s shown to be brave and protective. In The Origins he fights the villain without hesitation unlike Ladybug, in S2 Reverser he becomes scared of everything (meaning that normally he’s brave) and in S4 Truth Ladybug admits she appreciates his courage. He isn’t brave only as Chat Noir, but as Adrien too, i.e. he fights the villains in S3 Puppeteer 2 and S5 Protection. Now he’s forced to abandon the girl he loves, unable to protect her. It’s heartbreaking.

I’m generally not a fan of “human-but-not-really” storylines, but in Adrien’s plot him being a Sentihuman and Gabriel using his Amok show that it isn’t Adrien’s fault nor choice. He isn’t weak and spineless. It’s literally beyond his control.

I hope no one does that to him ever again.

[lily-drake]

The Demons Queen

Chapter Fourteen

First <> Previous

“Excuse me?”  Marinette asked, shock written all over her face.  She was still too expressive, she needs to be weary of that.

“I will be escorting you around the village down the mountain today.”  Damian replied stiffly.  He wasn’t fully sure how this was supposed to go.  Every time he left his bases it was for a mission of his own, never for frivolities.  But he had promised his mother that he would take Marinette to the village as a reward for how well she’s done these past months.  

“And you believe that I would willingly go with you ?”  She asked incredulously, her accent makes the words come out more like a sharp hiss.

“I believe that you would want to explore places outside of the mountains.  I have noticed the distance in your mind when you spar outside.”  He watched as she shifted slightly, giving away her unease.  They would need to work on how open her body language is.  It would be a liability.

“When would we be leaving?”  She asked, eyes staring defiantly at the wall.  Even after all this time, she still kept hold to her defiant spirit, it was endearing as it was frustrating.

“Preferably, now.  However, if you need time to get ready, I understand.”  He watched as she bit her lip—another tell—as she thought over his proposition.  It was a reasonable request, it gave her a piece of what she obviously longed for while it also showed what she would receive if she became loyal to The League, loyal to their cause, loyal to him .

The town itself, while being independent from The League, was a great resource.  They kept the League’s secret, provided food and shelter to his followers, and provided tales and legends that would keep the odd traveler away from the mountains, and thus their base.  In return the League would protect the village and provide a small salary to the village as a whole.  While they were not loyal to The Demon’s Head, they were loyal to those that kept the city financially stable and thus, alive.

“Fine, I‘ll go with you.”  Then she slammed her door right in Damian’s face.  Damian blinked at the door, though he made no outward reaction he could feel fury course through him at such blatant disrespect.  He had been too tolerant of this type of behavior from her.  She needed to learn her place.  But now was not the time, first he needed to fulfill the promise he had made to his mother.

A few moments later Marinette reemerged from her room in her training robes looking him in the eye.  The nerve of this girl.  “Tt.  Let's get going.”  He could hear her sigh, and it took everything in him to not strike her.  If it were any of his other operatives they would already be dead for insubordination.  Maybe he should force her to watch the next execution, though he hadn’t held one of those in years as the ninja had learned quickly that while he wasn’t his grandfather, he wasn’t afraid to uphold his methods.  

He watched Marinette out of his periphery as they traveled through the halls.  She was tense, her brow furrowed as if she were planning something.  And knowing her, she very much could be.  Truly a shame that it wouldn’t help her.  The cool wind of the mountain brushed past them as they walked through the training yard.  

As he walked he could feel Marinette’s presence fading off causing him to pause and turn.  Marientte wasn’t trying to run, she was simply standing there, basking in the faint sun, eyes taking in everything they could.  He turned away, it was her own fault she couldn’t come outside sooner.  If she had simply just agreed to pledge her loyalty to the League and the cause she would have been allowed to come out sooner.  Did she not understand that they shared the same goal, the goal of restoring balance to this twisted and corrupt world?

“Hurry, I will not wait for you.” It only took a few moments for her to catch up, and as they neared the gates he made sure to keep a closer eye on her.  It may be Spring, but the mountains were still cold and unforgiving, and if she tried to survive up here by herself, well they’d have to wait until all the snow thawed to find the body.  

With a flick of his wrist the gates were opened on silent hinges and without a thought he started down the steps missing the way Marinette’s eyes lit up for the first time in the seven months she's been here.  “So, you’re not going to chain or leash me to you?”  She questioned, quickly matching his steps.

“There is no need.  If you attempt to flee you will either be caught or die.”  He stated. 

“Wow, aren’t you confident.”  She mocked with a roll of her eyes.  

“I have lived in these mountains for nearly all of my life.  I have watched it happen numerous times, it is simply a fact.”  He could feel her eyes on him.  Unsettling wasn’t the right word, but the feeling of her eyes put him on guard all the same.  They were silent after that with the only sound being the crunch of the white snow.  

“When can I go on a real mission?”  She asked, shivering as a sharp wind passed through them.

“When I can trust you not to run away and betray us.”  He remembered when Cain’s daughter was given her first mission.  Grandfather had seen her hesitation, but believed Cain when he said that she was ready to serve.  She had never returned, her hit was still alive, and in the end The Bat had taken her in.  He had only seen Grandfather that angry a handful of times.  He still had nightmares about it.

“And what do I have to do to prove that?”  She asked with forced calm.

“When I sense you are no longer plotting my demise.”  She hesitated only for a second, but it was enough.  “Believe it or not Miss Dupain-Cheng, but we are quite similar.”  

“We are nothing alike.”  She growled, eyes narrowed to slits.  Damian never faltered, still walking down the long snow covered stairs.

“That is where you are wrong.  You were forced to become a leader and hero, expected to die for a cause with little to no aid at the age of twelve.  My sole purpose for being born was to take over my grandfather’s legacy.  And because of the self-obsessed actions of another I took over that role at a far younger age than yourself.”

“I wasn’t forced to do anythi-” she hissed.

“Really?”  He paused, turning to face her, eyes burning and his jaw clenched.  “I watched the footage.  You were never given a real choice in the matter, you were left to fend for yourself for six months before you received any real aid.  Not to mention the way your supposed “partner” constantly forced his advances and opinions onto you, constantly making himself a target and compromising your plans and status.  

“You had no training before you were thrust into the fire, and even when the old man finally decided to aid you, the training you received was abysmal.  Not to mention that you no longer have any trusted allies and have decided that the only way to protect that wretched city was to slowly kill yourself.”  He could feel the slight heave of his chest, the burning in his lungs as he forced himself not to yell at this infuriating girl.  

When would she open her eyes and see the world for what it truly was?  He had thought that being Ladybug would remove her rose colored glasses, but perhaps not.  Maybe he should take her on a mission with him, make her see the true colors of this Earth.  It was silent again, the whistling of the cold mountain air forcing itself between them.

“I still don’t see how that makes us similar.”  She breathed, never looking away from his eyes, her blue eyes as cold as the ice around them.

“ That is not my problem.  Perhaps you should start looking at the world as a whole rather than the tiny section you’ve forced yourself to live in all these years.”  With those biting words he continued his descent.  If she ran, he had no doubts they would find the body soon enough and it would not be his problem.  The soft slush of snow behind him was the only tell that she continued following behind him.

__________ The village, though larger than Marinette had expected, was relatively small.  As spring began her gentle descent to the valley, winter still kept a tight grip with snow everywhere and biting winds.  But despite the cold, the village was still filled with life.  Vendors were selling goods from their shops and carts, people filled the streets with large smiles, and small fires were spread around to ensure warmth to those outside.

Marinette nearly jumped out of her skin when a small child nearly ran into her, only barely ducking away.  Following the child was an older woman screaming at them in mandarin to return to her side.  It was…strange.

She had been kept isolated from the outside world for so long now she forgot what it was like to be surrounded by normal people.  When she looked up at the boy, trying to gauge what he thought of the town, she was met with his usual impassiveness.  Rolling her eyes she continued to scan her surroundings.  Red lanterns were strung all around them, other children were running around with long paper dragons on sticks.  Nearly everyone was dressed in their best cheongsams or hanfus.  She listened past the chatter of the crowd and heard the bands playing in the distance.

“What day is it?”  She asked breathlessly.

Damian looked at her for a moment before replying, “January 29th.”

Marinette almost staggered back.  Eight months, she had been gone for over eight months .  Not only that, but it was the eve of Chinese New Years.  The year of the snake–the year of second chances.  Maybe this was a sign.  Maybe it meant that she would have a second chance at living in Paris, that she would be found and brought back home while this crazy organization was destroyed.

“Let’s go find some food.”  She muttered, her brain still foggy as she followed behind him to a small vendor that was selling spring rolls, Jiaozi, Tangyuan, and more.  Dragons, lanterns, and coy colored red and gold decorated the streets.  She watched in silent amazement as she spotted dragon dancers move through the streets with the giant replica.  Movements so smooth it was like the dragon was made of water.

What she found strange was how everyone they met seemed to pay Damian some sort of deference.  All of them looked all too happy to see this boy, and it made her blood boil when she saw mothers telling their children to bow and show this monster their full respect.

They didn’t talk to each other for about two hours as they wandered from place to place, taking in the celebrations and festivities.  Marinette mourned the time she had been gone, mourned the fact that she would be spending her first new years far away from her family.  Seethed with the knowledge that the only reason she can even celebrate today was because he felt some sort of pity for her.  It was disgusting.  

“What did you do to these people?”  She finally demanded when a man got down on his knees to bow to him.

“I have kept this town alive.  They are a good resource and deterrent.  They are some of my most important informants, and as such I ensure that they are compensated as such.

“So you buy their loyalty,” she barked.

“Believe what you wish, but I have earned it.  I would not waste my funds nor would I put my trust in the city if I did not believe they are loyal to me for loyalty's sake.”  How could he always be so calm and composed?  She had only seen a small flicker of any other emotion when they were on the stairs.  She wanted to see more of it, to draw some kind of reaction from him.  Make him feel just as angry as she felt.

“Why did you even bring me here?  To taunt me, to assert some sort of dominance over me, to teach me some sort of lesson that I’ll never be free enough to experience this with my family again?” She growled.  People turned to look at her, but then turned away, ignoring her completely.  

None of these people would help her, she was sure of it.  Any hope she had of escaping with their aid vanished when the first person bowed to him like he was their emperor.

“That was not my intention, no.”  

“Then what is your oh so noble intention,” she mocked.  Her throat burned as held herself back from screaming at him.

“You have been training well and have made great progress.  You can consider this as an award.”

“Oh, so now I’m some pet that gets a reward by doing your training.”  He didn’t answer her, but she could see the crease in his brow.  She was getting to him, she just needed to push a little harder.

“Makes sense, after all I’m just another tool, you only want me for my apparent usefulness to the league.”  She bit out, the words tasting like one of Tomoe’s poisons.

“No.”  He forced out, a scowl replacing his stoic facade.

“Right.  That’s what you first told me, remember?  When you uprooted my life, took away charges, and told me directly that I had no choice but to train to become one of your generals.”

He didn’t respond to that, instead taking longer strides down the street, forcing her to almost jog to keep up with him.

“You can’t run from yourself.”  He came to a halt where Marinette almost ran into his back from the suddenness of it.  The anger frustration she had seen only moments before vanished back behind the icy mask of nothingness.

“One day you will understand that I am not against you.  You are still young,” she scoffed, she was nearly an adult, but he ignored her.  “You still need time to adjust and see things.  But you will not see them solely at the league.  

“I will arrange for you to go on a mission in a month's time.  When you return, I expect you will at least start to open your eyes to the reality of this world.  I am not the villain here.  We have the same goal.”  Without a pause, he started to walk forward.  They didn’t talk to each other for the rest of the day and he had made sure to return to the base before sunset.  

The walk was long, with the cold winds and even icer silence that hung between them.  When they reached the base he walked back inside, not caring as she stayed in the middle of the now empty training field to watch the distant explosions of color and celebration.  Today was a new beginning.  She would take her chances.  She would be going on a mission in a month from now where she would make her escape, even if it killed her.

Next

Taglist:

@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 @neulosfantacyworld @devilbunny612 @boredteen19 @agentxx92 @animegirlweeb

[iceheap]

plssssss more aarmau / aaron head canons i will eat em UP

Hmmm I have one I thought up a few months ago but it might be a bit meta.

So basically you know how Aaron doesn't have a personality at all in both nystreet and MCD? I think it's pretty obvious that the fact he has no defining characteristics or traits besides being a former lord and him hating Zane is obviously the fault of Jess and Jason, not Aaron's. But I do think this is interesting from a limitation perspective.

See, I don't like completely rebooting a story concept, I like to work with the limitations of the original source material to create depth, not something brand new. I've been doing the same for Zane as well, though we can talk about-face him another time. I like to use the peices that are already there in a story and add everything else around it. Sure, I will do canon divergences here and there, but if I can use something in the original canon and keep certain events as close as possible, I will.

So, Aaron's severe lack of personality. It's obviously because of bad writing. But what if it wasn't?

Shad is a very interesting character. Mostly because we don't get the exact details of WHY, exactly, he turned out so... Twisted.

Like as a creature itself, Shad is weird. He used to be a good person. I genuinely believe that Shad was never evil, just assigned a set of abilities he couldn't really handle. He kind of reminds me of Chat Noir because of the way he and Irene's magical dynamics are so similar to Marinette and Adrian's. Irene was the light, and Shad was the darkness.

Now, sure, we have the absolute shit-show that was MCD season 3 and Mystreet season 6, and the ensuing retcon that has Irene kind of be a terrible person? Which, I have a headcanon about that retconed version of the story that I might write and post on AO3 one day, but for the sake of my sanity I consider the original story of Shad's betrayal canon. The other male members were in love with Irene and stabbed Shad in the back.

Thinking about it, though, where was Irene in all of this?

What, exactly, made Shad into the Shadow Lord? Irene would have reasonex with him. If Shad had come out of the altercation alive, he could have been reasoned with. Yes, maybe Irene's communications skills were lacking due to centuries of immortality and maybe she caused a misunderstanding that led him to the dark side, but Shad was not a BAD person. Temperamental, traumatized, tired and emotionally disregulated, sure. But he was not a bad person.

That's if we're assuming Shad lived.

I think he didn't.

I think the other male divine warriors killed him.

Of course, Irene would not have been okay with this. And they probably would have had to do it behind her back. Maybe they chose a time they knew she would not be there. Maybe they told Shad Irene agreed with their plans for his death.

But Irene loved Shad. She maybe didn't know how to show it anymore, but she LOVED him. She would have never let him die.

Shad probably didn't know that though.

So he dies. And somehow, Irene finds them. The others try to explain, at first, but it's moot point because for the first time in multiple lifetimes, Irene emotes. She shows an emotion. She feels something.

She tries to heal Shad. She's a healer after all. It's what she does. She tries.

It doesn't work.

She tries again.

It doesn't work.

She tries and she tries and she tries and she tries and--

And Shad comes back.

But it's not right. There's something WRONG. Irene fucked up. Because Shad is dark, and Irene is light, and they're not supposed to MIX.

So Shad comes back as an angry, furious, broken shell, twisted and dark and evil and angry. And they fight him and they win, and Irene locks him away, and the Irene looks around at what her companions have TAKEN from her and she can't STAND it anymore and so she locks herself away and sleeps, because she doesn't feel ANYTHING and she wants to FEEL and--

Anyway, we know this story. So what does this have to do with Aaron?

What if Aaron isn't Shad? What if Aaron is a PEICE of Shad?

Because light and dark aren't supposed to mix, but when they do, they create something unstable. And like any chemical bond that does not want to exist, it explodes. And what did it explode?

Shad.

And what part of Shad did it explode?

His soul, of course.

The heart of darkness. The Shadow Lord. These are PEICES of Shad's soul. He was fractured.

And that's why Aaron has no personality besides things like revenge and being a lord and helping raise Lilith and loving Aphmau and nothing else. He was the peice of Shad that carried Shad's humanity, but NOTHING ELSE. He doesn't have the Shadow Lords Passion and anger and rage. He shows glimpses of it, but only enough any other human would show. That's why he's blank and distant and doesn't emote. His heart is gone, and with it, all the deeper complexities of emotion.

He has no hobbies or interests. He just fights and eats and sleeps and drinks water and functions from a creatures instinct, because he's human, but he has NOTHING ELSE.

He's also probably the only peice out toghether enough to reincarnated. But he's missing things and that's why he's so bleh.

Anyway, yeah, that's my hc for Aaron's lack of character development. And I think it's super interesting that Irene would have fractured Shad without realizing it. She was probably too desperate to bring him back to realize how much damage she was doing.

So yeah! Aaron is a peice of a whole and that's why he's WEIRD AF thank you for coming to my TedTalk WOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

[anxresi]

NEWSFLASH: Pink-Streaked Plot Device Confesses Crush To Equally ‘Perfect’ Protagonist. A Nation Of Undemanding Fans Weep.

undefined

May I offer a few stray observations?

1. Zoe is not ‘Amazing’, Marinette. She’s just written that way. (Bonus points if you can catch the movie reference there) 

She’s obviously SUPPOSED to be because she has so many friends and loved ones, can do everything she puts her mind to SO well and hasn’t got a single fault in her oh-so-sweet personality. 

The problem with being so gosh-darn flawless though, is that you’re straight-out BORING... especially when put into the confines of a TV show where we expect the characters to be more than just insipid one-dimensional goodie-two-shoes. 

If only they had someone better to replace her, like a rebellious anti-hero... with many layers to their character and plenty of scope for growth and change... yes, that would be MUCH more interesting than a perpetually shilled Creator’s Pet...

Oops, they already got rid of her. So sorry, my mistake.

2. People should be honored to be ‘loved’ by Zoe? 

Not really. She probably ‘loves’ everyone, due to her single-note ‘nicey nice’ persona excluding her from expressing any mild distaste about anyone. Including her own newly-psychotic sister, who’s probably told her she despises her for years.

 She’d probably skip merrily into whatever-bullshit-name-Hawkmoth-has-these-days’ lair in a yellow sundress and a basket full of oatmeal cookies, give him a little kiss on the cheek before prancing out singing ‘Tomorrow’ from Annie, leaving a trail of fluffy bunny wabbits and freshly-bloomed daisies in her wake. 

Aaawww! *Retch*

3. “Adrien’s not the one I’m in love with...” OOOH HERE IT COMES! BRACE YOURSELVES...

4. ...AAANND like a deflated balloon, a broken swing and a show running out of ideas so quickly it shoves in these ‘serious’ moments that’ll never be referenced again, Zoe never explicitly says those three magic words (Alakazam, abracadabra and hocus pocus, right?)

I guess she wanted to be ‘special friends’ with Marinette the same way Rose and Juleka are. A more hopelessly unsubtle, pandering load of nonsense would be impossible to find... but it won’t stop a certain percentage of the audience from instantly shipping these two and finding this moment both ‘inspirational’ and ‘emotional’ (I can just see the hyperbolic tweets now: OMG I WEPT BUCKETS! I CAN RELATE SSSSOOOO MUCH etc)

Sorry, but I can’t get on board. I would say this was badly done whatever the sexuality of the couple, so you can kindly burn your placards screaming ‘BIGOT’ right now. The fact it’s so cynically aimed at a demographic that are often sadly overlooked in animation until recently (and naturally, afraid of some kind of Moral Panic the writers STILL can only hint at gay relationships instead of announcing them out loud) just makes the whole shameless manipulative process even worse, IMHO.

To all those who aren’t catered to by an often very heterosexual-focused cartoon industry, watch The Owl House. Give She-Ra a try. Just anything, instead of this pathetic... what was that term I heard the other day... Gaybaiting?

Yeah, that sounds about right.

(N.B If you get something positive out of this episode I am not seeking to devalue your experience or ruin your enjoyment... I am just saying, I think this is badly-done, poorly written tripe designed to earn the show brownie points when frankly it deserves none. A great example of virtue-signalling, to borrow a tired right-wing trope. You might disagree, and feel free to argue your case, but please respect my opinion by not calling me a bunch of profane names in response. Thank you.)

5. The short scene ends with Marinette letting the supposedly lovestruck Zoe down gently, with a hug and a silent promise to never speak of this again (believe me, they won’t).

 It’s a good moment for both of these favorite, endlessly-hyped characters of Thomas... Marinette gets to show her ‘human’ side and improve her already sterling reputation, whereas a lovesick Zoe takes her rejection surprisingly well.

 No tears, raised voices or even mucus bubbles... the entire emotional catharsis is over in less than 40 seconds. Guess they were too busy with more important stuff in the episode like Cheesy Chat puns, Hawkmoth’s Ham’n’Cheese and Marinette getting spotted panties from her Lucky Charm (I wish I was kidding... but I’m not. I’ve READ the leaks... *Shudder*)

.....................

So, to sum up then: another throwaway moment in an increasingly stupid show that could’ve been something special or left a lasting impact... of course, it does neither of those things. 

I mean, what were you expecting at this stage? The people who produce it are clearly not making any serious effort whatsoever, whether that be in the writing department or stopping MASSIVE spoilers from getting out and ruining the plot (although, I think they already did a pretty good job of that even before this latest round of security breaches).

So if they don’t care, why should anyone else? At least it’s fun to vent about... but time for a break now, to watch something with a bit of actual quality. Hmm... *Decides to see the Amphibia finale for like the trillionth time.*

[trishacollins]

Plagg nipped his chest through his shirt - that was his first clue that something was not right.

Marinette didn't seem to notice, chatting with the friend ahe had made last time they had both been in Shanghai, and the girl seemed just as relaxed.

He tried to play it cool, shifting back from the girls to look around. He was used to being good at subtle - two years as Chat Noir had given him that.

But when he turned his head he locked eyes with a tall, vaguely constipated chinese teen standing next to a slender Japanese girl wearing traditional a cheongsam similar to the one Marinette had been pushed into by her local relatives- though 16 years as Gabriel's son let him recognize that the girl and her party were wearing clothes of much higher quality.

The teen dropped his hand to an ornament at his side only for the girl to reach out and lay a hand on his arm.

The gesture starlted him, because he knew Ladybug had done the same to him, quieting him.

The teen glared at him for another moment, but the girl led him away into tye crowd.  

People who were obviously bodyguards fell in around them. 

"Who was that?" Marinette breathed by his side. 

Close enough that he jumped.

"That? That is further north than it should be." Fei looked uneasy. "I guess he really is taking her on a tour of the kingdom. "

Marinette stared at Fei, Fei blinked. "You really don't know? I thought you were keeping up with magical gossip?"

"You are?" Adrien asked, turning away from his study of the crowd to look at his girlfriend.

"I-uh! Yes, but-haha-just as a hobby. I mean with everything going on in Paris! You know!"

"That's really cool, Marinette." He tried for a reassuring smile, but she still looked miserable.

Fei was looking at her oddly, eyes darting to him. "Right. So. Ok. That was Syaoran Li. The heir to..you know. The Li family, one of the most powerful magical families in the world?"

"The most magical, thank you." A female voice announced cheerfully in his ear.

And it wasn't his fault that he hit her, it really wasn't.

It was his fault that she flipped him directly into the pavement- but he still maintained that it was her fault she broke his nose.

It definitely was not his fault - but wow - that Marinette threw his attacker through one of the stalls.

"Meiling!" Cut acrossed the panicked screaming like a whip before whatever Fei had been about to do could land.

"He hit me first!" The pile of fabric called, as the girl untangled herself.

The Japanese girl was holding of all things a card between her fingers.

"I don't know the rules." He told her through a mouthful of blood. He might be concussed. This felt like a concussion.

"The rules?" She asked, biting her lip.

"Adrien!" Marinette knelt next to him, trying to stem the bloodflow.

"You threw her!" He said, or tried to say. He ended up giving her a thumbs up to show that he approved.

The guy said something in rapid Chinese his mandarin couldn't quite keep up with, and handed the stall owner a card. "You will be compensated for anything damaged or destroyed."  

The stall owner bowed.

"Syaoran..." The girl said softly, but he shook his head and the card varnished.

"Bring them back to the hotel." The teen ordered. 

"On whose authority?" Marinette snarled, still holding fabric to his nose.

"On my authority." The teen said in a dangerous voice.

Marinette stood up, letting Fei take her place. "I don't recognize your authority."

"Marinette!" Fei hissed.

[688199]

shitty miraculous ramblings regarding the bibles

reading through the earliest bible version vs the one disney accepted. obviously there’s a lot of pointers but here are some i like to discuss.

in the early version, marinette has a clear goal as ladybug. it’s established right in the beginning that it’s her fault that the kwamis are loose, so she’s determined to solve her own problem. this gives her a reason to do what she’s doing, and also alludes to her sense of responsibility and righteousness. but at the same time, you can show that marinette genuinely enjoys being a hero because she can help people. thus, making her goal even more strong.

on the other hand, the latest version doesn’t state why marinette’s goal is to capture akumas. sure it’s because she’s ladybug, duh. but just “oh i want to help people!” is too weak of a reason imo. of course, this can lead to great development later on in which marinette struggles with the responsibilities of everything and questions why she decided to be a hero in the first place. but the current series doesn’t do that, i think? reading the origin story, it comes off as just “you’re the chosen one and you can’t do shit about it” and marinette is like: “aight idk bout this but ok.”

however in both versions, what marinette lacks is an internal goal/ conflict, what she needs to become a better person but is unable to due to mental obstacles.

sure she has flaws such as clumsiness, impulsiveness, self doubt, but it’s either there for comedic reasons and a lame way to drive a non existent plot, or doesn’t remain throughout the series as a proper challenge she needs to overcome. for example, if we expand on her insecurity, the series can explore how she constantly doubts her abilities when she fails to capture an akuma. how her confidence is just a mere facade to convince herself. and how she doubts chat noir’s love for her because she thinks her hero persona is fake. yet she battles through her negative thoughts to do what’s right. hey look, an admirable heroine who shows that she’s human too by having realistic struggles and not a dumb mary sue like canon marinette!

i also really like that felix has a disability. it gives him a clear goal, as well as a reason to why his character is as such. he’s not cold, just focused. but at the same time, he feels restrained by the expectations he places upon himself, unlike adrien, who has an outside factor physically restraining him. i think this makes for a more interesting story to tell (go fuck yourself thomas astruc, “felix isn’t interesting” MY ASS). but felix doesn’t have any ties with hawkmoth, his parents are just overseas all the time. in a way, i think it’s good? because one complaint about the series is that since adrien and gabriel are father and son but they’re also enemies as their aliases, it kinda overshadows marinette even though she’s the protagonist. and obviously this show is meant to be about ladybug AND chat noir, so in terms of character plot, they should stand equally.

and this god awful change they made makes me wanna bomb the houses of whoever decided the latter was better. in the early version, marinette falls in love with felix because she admires his skill, sensibility and determination. NOW? she loves him because he’s “good-looking” and “mysterious”. yet has a so called “soft side” which she loves. and because he gives her a god damn umbrella? do you not understand how shallow that is? the reason is as cliche as corporate romance anime, AND YET THOMAS ASTRUC SAYS FELIX IS THE CLICHE?!?!!!?! genuinely how?

it’s clear og marinette doesn’t place felix on a pedestal like how canon marinette does now (ahem “untouchable”). she admires him, sure, but not in a celebrity sort of way. oh and also, i really really love the fact her goal is to make felix smile and laugh, not as much “date him”. like it’s an after thought. “who knows, thanks to this, maybe he’ll fall in love with her one day”. that’s so wholesome 😞 it does bring more meaning to her actions such as giving him tickets. even though it’s technically a date, she really just wants him to enjoy himself away from his studies. isn’t that great? isn’t that a wonderful way to portray love to a younger audience? “if you truly love someone, it’s ok whether they reject you, as long as you make them smile.” is so much better than glorifying a creepy stalker.

AND SEE. LOOK AT THIS. i hate those miraculous dickriders who shit on the og ideas saying: “i’m so glad they didn’t go with the original. felix is so mean and cold towards marinette, it’s clear he hates her! adrien is so much better!” NO. FELIX DOES LIKE AND APPRECIATE MARINETTE. HE FINDS HER CUTE AS HELL. HE FINDS HER ATTEMPTS TOUCHING. HES JUST FOCUSED.

i’ll probably post more ramblings soon, regarding ladybug/ chat noir’s relationship, regarding other changes. i have a lot to talk about.

[a-chlolix-blog]

Scarabée and Kitty Claws AU

The Bubbler. The birthday boy's benevolent bestie.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It's been a whole week since the whole Stormy Weather situation happened.

Not only was it announced that Aurore was the true new weather girl, but Adrien's birthday was pointed online.

Of course his MANY FANS went crazy over getting this information.

Some even found out ways to directly message him, which obviously creeped him out.

Adri&Me112: Happy birthday, my Prince!

AdriensPrincess: I wish I could be your present!

MrsAgresteAlarie: IF YOU THROW A PARTY PLEASE INVITE ME!? I LOVE YOU ADRIEN!!!

Adrien didn't really like waking up to these notifications on his PRIVATE Instagram.

But he did wanna celebrate his birthday for the first time with his classmates.

Though he knew his father would NEVER agree to letting him throw a party at their home.

Everyone in class found out it was Adrien's birthday through Instagram, but Chloé was only reminded that she forgot.

Chloé: I CAN'T BELIEVE I FORGOT ADRIEN'S BIRTHDAY!!

Plagg, jokingly: Well, you were quite busy drooling over Scarabée's pictures on the ScaraBlog.

Chloé: I'M GONNA GET HIM THE MOST INCREDIBLE PRESENT!

Chloé managed to come up with the perfect gift before being drove to pick up Sabrina and then taken school.

Even Marinette, Alya, and Alix were talking about Adrien's birthday.

Alya, annoyed: I don't see the big deal about today. Thanks to those Fangirls, I can't even promote my ScaraBlog without one of them commenting "Is there Adrien content tho?" Agh!

Marinette: I don't know much about Adrien, but what I do know is the actions of his fans aren't his fault.

Alix: Some of those chicks sound unhinged too! Aurore's been following Adrien since she became the rightful Weather Girl. Look at the stuff they sent her just from him following her! *shows Marinette and Alya her phone*

Marinette and Alya, shocked: WOW!

As they looked at the screenshots of the unhinged messages, Adrien's limo pulled up in front of the school.

Nino then quickly ran up to him and put his arm around his shoulder.

Nino: Happy Birthday, Dude!

Adrien: Thanks Nino.

Chloé then runs outside with Sabrina right behind her and hugs Adrien.

Chloé: Happy Birthday, Adrien!

Adrien, whispering: Chloé, it's okay if you forgot. I know how you are with birthdays-

Chloé: And I promise to change that starting now!

Nino: ???

Alix, shouts over to them: Hey Adrien!

Adrien, quickly turns to her: Yeah?

Alix: Happy Birthday!

Adrien, caught off guard: T-thanks!

When Alix starts walking into the school, Marinette and Alya quickly follow her.

Marinette: That was sweet of you Alix.

Alix: If I had fangirls as crazy as his, I'd want to be reassured that SOME people are sane.

Alya, jokingly: Let's hope none of his fangirls saw you talking to him!

Marinette and Alix: *laughs*

~~~~~~Back outside~~~~~~~

Nino: That was cool of Alix.

Adrien: I know right? I haven't talked to her since later last week when we ran into each other after the fencing tryouts. So I was abit caught off guard.

Sabrina: Alix may be quite intimidating, but she's also quite the softie once you get to know her.

Chloé: Yeah... *faintly blushes*

Sabrina: *smirks*

Nino: So Adrien, what are you doing for your birthday?

Adrien, abit upset: Not much... but I'm use to it.

Nino: I'm sorry... WHAT?!

Chloé: Mr. Agreste has always been against Adrien having fun like a normal kid. It was always just me, him, Sabrina and his utterly annoying cousin. We weren't allowed to do much on his birthday despite being so excited to celebrate.

Nino: It's Adrien's birthday! He deserves so much for doing EVERYTHING his old name says! Which should include an actual birthday party!

Adrien: *cries tears of joy* I always wanted a big party...

While in school, Chloé and Sabrina were planning on what to do for Adrien's party while Nino mentally prepared himself to ask Gabriel to let Adrien have a party at the Agreste home.

Sabrina: If we can't have the party at Adrien's place, we can ask Alix-

Chloé: NO! I sure Mr. Agreste will let us have the party at his place if he'd agree to it. Gotta keep him close.

Sabrina: *sighs* We both know you don't believe that... one of these days you and Alix HAVE to talk about this.

After school, Nino gets to the Agreste home before Adrien does and begins his talk with Gabriel.

Nathalie: One of Adrien's classmates are here.

Gabriel: Adrien's not home yet.

Nino: I'm actually here to see you, Sir!

Gabriel: Explain.

Nino: That's right! I heard from Adrien that he really wants a party and I'm hear to ask on his behalf!

Gabriel: No. That's final.

Nino, getting angry: That's messed up! He does EVERYTHING you tell him to do and you can't give him this one day to have fun?!

Adrien, walking through the door: Nino? You're actually here?!

Nino, turns to Adrien: Of course! Anything for a friend! *turns back to Gabriel* shows some awesomeness, Sir!

Gabriel: *glares at Nino*

Adrien: Forget it, Nino. It's fine.

Gabriel: Young man, I decided what's best for my son. And I've decided that you're a negative influence on him and aren't welcomed in my house ever again. Leave now!

Adrien, getting very upset: Father please! He was just trying to do something cool for me!

Nathalie: Goodbye Mr. Lahiffe.

Nino: *angrily leaves*

Adrien: Nino wait! I'm sorry about my father, he’s always such a stubborn-

Nino: It's not fair, Adrien! You don't have to apologize for how awful you're dad is!

Adrien: Thanks anyway...

Chloé and Sabrina were waiting for Nino to call to tell him about their party plans, but he didn't.

Sabrina: I hope we get the call soon...

Chloé: I should've gone with him, but my present's almost done! Let's now worry, we gotta believe in him.

Sabrina: Nino? Or Mr. Agreste?

Chloé: Obviously Nino!

Little did they know, the next time they'd see Nino, he would not be himself.

Nino: Why can't the awful parents just go away?!

Hawkmoth: Such a good friend, desperately trying to help his friend, but feels powerless? How frustrating. Let's turn that frustration into anger. Fly away my little Akuma and evilize him!

*After the akuma enters the bubbles*

Hawkmoth: Hawkmoth is my name and Bubbler is now yours! I'll give you the power to get rid of all of horrid parents and other bad adults out in the world. All you have to do is bring me Scarabée and Kitty Claws' miraculous!

Nino: I'm gonna need an extra power, Hawk-Dude.

After awhile, Chloé and Sabrina finally got the text from Nino, telling them to meet him in front of the Agreste home.

Sabrina: I got the party supplies and my gift for Adrien. Chloé, is your gift done yet?

Chloé: Yeah, let's go!

After being quickly and safely getting to Adrien's place by limo, Chloé and Sabrina go inside.

But instead of seeing Nino or Adrien, they see the Bubbler.

Chloé, internally: Oh SHIT!

Sabrina: NINO?!

Bubbler: I'm Bubbler now! And I need your help, my party planning Dudettes!

Nino then uses his added ability to trap Chloé and Sabrina in fogged up bubbles.

But instead of the two flooding away, he pops the bubbles, revealing the two to now be dressed up in pretty party dresses that have the same color scheme as the Bubbler.

Bubbler: You two get the party ready, I'll go give out the invites. And don't tell Adrien, it's a surprise! *flies off*

Chloé and Sabrina: ...

Alix was finishing touching up her hair dye when a knock on the door was heard.

Alim goes to open the door and is very surprised at what he sees.

Bubbler: Mr. Kubdel! What's up?

Alim: ... NINO?!

Bubbler: It's Bubbler now. Is Alix home?

Alim: What do you want with-

Alix, runs between Alim and Bubbler: WHAT'S GOING ON?!

Bubbler: I'm invited you to Adrien's epic birthday party!

Alim, pulls Alix back: Do you think I'd allow-

Alix: Yeah, I'll be there.

Alim: WHAT?!

Bubbler: Awesome! Make sure to dress nice and bring a nice gift! *leaves*

Once Bubbler was gone, Alim let out his angry coated fear.

Alim: THERE'S NO WAY I'M LETTING YOU GO TO THAT PARTY! ISN'T THIS THE THIRD TIME THAT THIS HAWKMOTH MONSTER TARGETED KIDS FROM YOUR SCHOOL?!

Alix, quickly hugs him: Dad, it's gonna be okay. He most likely invited the other kids from class as well. Scarabée and Kitty Claws will show up, save the day, and then we'll leave.

Alim: Okay, but I'm driving you and your friends there though.

Right after Alim says this, Alix hears her text notifications from the bathroom.

She goes in, picks up her phone, and reads each message quickly.

💙Mari-Caroon🥐: NINO'S BEEN AKUMATIZED!!!

❤Best Blogger📱: I know! This is insane!!

📽Mylegend♻️: Are we really gonna go?!

🥇Alix💥: Of course we are!

🎨Nate🖌: We are?!

While the group texted each other, Alix quickly got ready for the power and left with Alim.

Alix: Tells stop by my favorite sports store really quick, dad.

After he leaves the Louvre, Bubbler sees Nathalie walking up to a store and quickly bubbles her.

After Alix bought what she needed, Alim drove her to Marinette, Alya, Mylène, and Nathaniel's homes to pick them up and drive them to the Agreste home.

Thanks to Alix's text notifications, she found out the rest of her classmates were already there before they all got out of the car and got their presents out of the trunk.

Alix: See ya later, Dad!

Alim: Please be careful Alix... *drives off*

Once Alim was out of sight, the Bubbler appears before the five.

Bubbler: Hey dudes! So happy you made it! The party's in the back! Adrien should be done with all those "Father-Approved" activities for the day and will be here soon, so hurry up and go.

Once the five of them got to the back, they saw that almost all of their classmates were there in their own very unique and nice outfits.

The only two that stood out were Chloé and Sabrina, who were wearing dresses with colors similar to Bubbler.

Nathaniel: Do you think they were akumatized too?

Alix: If they were, they'd probably have the same powers as Nino...

Mylène: What do we do now?

Alya: I guess we act like nothing's wrong until Scarabée and Kitty Claws get here.

Marinette: I bet they'll be here in no time.

Alix takes this time to walk up to Chloé and Sabrina and ask the two of them a few questions.

Alix: Why are you two dressed like that?

Sabrina: We were made into Bubbler's Party Planners. He used foggy bubbles to give us these outfits.

Alix: You're not under some sorta mind control, are you?

Sabrina: Nope, just Bubbler colored dresses.

Alix: What got Nino upset upset enough to be akumatized?

Chloé: *sighs* He asked Mr. Agreste if Adrien could have a party. Given how we didn't see or hear of him until after he's been akumatized, he obviously said no. Mr. Agreste knows I'm friends with Adrien, so I should've went with Nino!

Seeing how upset Chloé is, Alix decides to comfort her.

Alix: It probably couldn't be helped. From what I heard about Mr. Agreste from my dad, he'd probably say no if Scarabée and Kitty Claws themselves asked him.

Chloé, giggling: Yeah...

Sabrina, looking at the two: *thinks to herself* Am I witnessing ACTUAL progress?!

Bubbler then appears and tells everyone that Adrien's coming.

Once he makes his way to the back, everyone shouts out "Happy Birthday, Adrien!"

While Adrien is happy to see his classmates throwing him a party, he’s also obviously quite concerned by the fact that his new friend has indeed been akumatized.

Bubbler: Enjoy you party, Birthday Boy!

Since Bubbler was now quite distracted with the party, Alix decides to go transform.

Chloé figured that she should do the same, but needed an even bigger distraction so Bubbler would worry about her being gone.

Chloé: Hey Bubbler! Why don't we get the party games ready? I got a list of Adrien's favorites! *quickly gives him the list*

Bubbler: Awesome idea, dudette!

While Bubbler was getting the party games ready, he noticed Chloé walking towards the door.

Bubbler: Where are you going?

Chloé: Alix has been gone for quite awhile. I'm just gonna make sure she's okay!

Bubbler: Just make sure you're both back before the next game!

When Chloé runs inside, she literally runs into Scarabée and lands on top of her.

Chloé, blushing hard: SCARABÉE?!

Scarabée: Keep it down please. Bubbler doesn't know I'm here.

Chloé: Right! *realizes she's still on top of her and gets up* Well, I'm gonna go hide now! *runs off*

Chloé quickly finds her way to one of the bathrooms, goes inside, and locks the door.

Plagg then flies out of her ponytail, wearing the same dress as her.

Plagg: Please transforms so I can get outta this dress.

Chloé: Plagg, Claws Out!

While Chloé transformed into Kitty Claws, Scarabée was getting ready to sneak up on Bubbler.

Once the time is right, Scarabée makes herself know to Bubbler.

Scarabée: Party's over, Nino!

Bubbler: For the last time, it's THE BUBBLER!

Kitty Claws, running up to Scarabée: Did I miss the party, Itty-Bitty?

Scarabée: I'd say it's just getting started, Kitty.

Bubbler: Let's take this somewhere else, so the birthday boy can enjoy his party. Like the sky!

Scarabée and Kitty Claws popped every bubble he sent their way with ease, when caused their classmates to cheer loudly.

Bubbler: NOT COOL, DUDES AND DUDETTES!!

Instead of trapping the others in multiple bubbles, Bubbler manages to get the drop on the two heroines & traps them in a giant bubble before kick it into the air.

Hawkmoth: WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! GET THEIR MIRACULOUS!!!

Scarabée was kicking at the bubble while Kitty Claws was quite stunned by how close they were in the bubble.

Scarabée: Damnit, this isn't working! KC, use your cataclysm!

Kitty, quickly composing herself: RIGHT!

Kitty Claws then uses her cataclysm on the bubble, which causes the bubble to pop and for the two of them to fall towards the ground.

As if the heroine knew what the other was thinking, Kitty Claws throws her baton into the Eiffel Tower, Scarabée grabs her hand before she hooks the yo-yo to the baton and swings them to safety.

Scarabée, pulls Kitty Claws' baton back to her: We gotta get too the Bubbler!

Kitty Claws, hears her ring beeping: Unless you wanna see how hot I am, we gotta hurry.

The two then race back to the Agreste Mansion.

Once they get there, everyone (including Adrien) happily and loudly cheers for the two heroines.

Scarabée: Sounds like everyone wants this party to over!

Bubbler: Come on, Adrien! We don't need to deal with these haters!

Adrien: Wait, what?

Bubbler then traps Adrien in a bubble and flies away with him.

Not only did they have to stop the Bubbler, but they had to save Adrien as well.

They chased the Bubbler all the way to the Eiffel Tower.

Once they got close enough, Bubbler starts launching exploding bubbles at the two, which they quickly dodged.

Kitty Claws: I'm almost out of time, Itty-Bitty!

Scarabée: Don't worry, KC! I got this!

Scarabée then uses her summons her Lucky Charm and gets a large wrench.

Kitty Claws: I didn't know you were good with tools. I'm learning more and more about you every week!

Examining the area around her, Scarabée spots an HVAC and takes it apart.

She sends a pipe with air spewing out of it to Kitty Claws, who uses it to deflect the bubbles.

Adrien was absolutely impressed as he watched.

Adrien: AWESOME!

Bubbler raises his bubble wand, about to take another swing, when Scarabée catches it with her yo-yo and wrenches it out of his grasp.

Breaking it in two, she captures the akuma and cleanses the city, bringing back the parents he bubbled and freeing Adrien from the bubble. and returning Nino back to normal.

After Kitty Claws takes another after battle selfie, Adrien walks up to the two of them.

Adrien: Thanks for saving me and Nino.

Scarabée: No need to thank us.

Kitty Claws: I'm about to transform back. Make sure Adrien gets home safe.

Scarabée: No problem, KC.

Defeated, Hawk Moth vows to capture and crush Scarabée and Kitty Claws as his window closes.

Once Nathalie returned from being bubbled, she had the party guests leave immediately.

Just as the final guest left, Scarabée lands in front of the Agreste Mansion with Adrien in her arms.

Adrien: Thanks for the lift, Scarabée!

When Adrien goes to back, he’s disappointed to see that everyone left, but became quite happy when he realizes how big the pile of presents is.

Nathalie smiles as Adrien eagerly and carefully took his gifts upstairs.

Gabriel, over the phone: Did you get my gift for Adrien?

Nathalie: It's been handled, Mr. Agreste.

He didn't need to know the details. As long as Adrien was happy.

The next day, Adrien shows up to school wearing a light blue scarf (Marinette's gift) and showing off a new case for his phone (Alya's gift).

Chloé Sabrina and Nino quickly ran up to him.

Nino: Dude! I'm so sorry about yesterday!

Adrien: You don't have to apologize, Nino. That was Hawkmoth's fault.

Chloé: You managed to have more tact and grace than his rapid fangirls though!

Sabrina, noticing Adrien's scarf and phone case: I see you chose a couple of gifts to show off.

Adrien: Unfortunately I couldn't bring everything I got to school, or else I'd probably get sent home.

Chloé: What did you think of my gift!

Adrien: I love it, Chlo! *hugs her* Thank you...

Chloé, hugging him back: Anything for you, Adrien.

In Adrien's room, a photo collage of him and Chloé over the years was now hanging on his wall.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Inspired by: @emdoddles @princess-of-the-corner @muggle-born-princess @dcschart @justanotherpersonsuniverse @symphonic-scream

[idleglowingpixels]

Okay so, I watched the Miraculous Ladybug movie...

Originally I wasn't going to because the show was such a massive disappointment (mainly Seasons 4 and 5), and I mentally put my foot down saying I wasn't gonna consume anymore official content from the franchise. But morbid curiosity be damned, my God, it was probably everything I could have asked for from a movie for the franchise.

(Spoilers Ahead)

I'm gonna start with my critiques, with a lack of chronology, only so I can save the good parts for the end. I have a lot of nice things to say and I wanna end the post on a good note!

They really could've spent the time it took for Tikki and Marinette's song for the kwamis to explain the powers to Marinette and Adrien (and, in turn, the audience that might not know about/haven't seen the series). I love that song, and I thoroughly enjoyed Tikki's more sassy mentor-like position she takes in the movie, but I do feel that the powers are a bit difficult to understand if you're a newcomer to the show.

The fact Plagg, my favorite character from the series, got dumbed down to a fart joke made me so upset. It felt a lot like when Plagg got dumbed down to purely cheese puns and poor writing, he didn't feel as significant to Adrien's side of the story as Tikki was to Marinette's. RIP Plagg with nuance. :') To be completely honest, I think Plagg was really the only downgrade in characterization here though.

Did anyone else notice Nooroo had a different English VA in the movie??? I heard it and was like "WAIT YOU'RE NOT BEN DISKIN NOOOOO" haha. In fact it made me TERRIFIED they replaced Tikki and Plagg too, but I'm so happy they didn't. I don't hate the new voice tho! It does fit the character, but definitely leaned too grown-up and feminine sounding for me. I got too used to the squeaky, scared little baby voice Ben gave him. (EDIT: I actually really like the new voice lowkey, I think it's just as good as Ben but I do miss Ben for sure haha)

Obviously, the pacing had to heavily rely on montages throughout to move the story along due to the 90-minute runtime. I think of all children's film franchises to deserve a trilogy, this was the one, especially because of its international and overlapping appeal between its target audience and older fans. If we got the 3-act structure of this film evenly divided between 3 separate movies, it would've had much more time to flesh out the current cast of characters and narrative they were trying to tell. It's definitely the movie's biggest fault in my opinion, but I think fans of the series who have a baseline knowledge of the plot at the very least will enjoy the movie (unless they don't like musicals, I suppose).

I thought the best way to describe what it felt like watching boils down to "if someone took the series and wrote it into a 10k-to-20k-word oneshot fic." And I mean this affectionately, but with most fanfiction, generally you'd have pre-established knowledge of the world and how it works. The movie kind of goes off the assumption you have a baseline knowledge, so I wouldn't recommend it as a starting point for the show (tho I'd NEVER recommend the actual show to anyone), if only because it's so jarringly different in terms of their powers and characters. You'd only be setting up your poor friends for disappointment. :'D

The songs were fun, they're nothing crazy, but they're adorable. My only complaint for the songs is Marinette's singing VA being different than her speaking VA, another common complaint I've shared with others. Her singing VA is a wonderful singer, don't get me wrong, but Christina Vee/Valenzuela is such a talented singer and I would've loved to hear her sing for Marinette. I know Bryce wasn't singing for Adrien either, but his singing VA sounded similar enough that it wasn't as bothersome.

Okay, the best parts, let's go:

Now, admittedly, the story is rushed to hell and back. As a writer, I can't understate that. But what I can give the writing props for, unlike the show, is having its narrative not get overblown and out-of-focus. By the end of the series, there's so many characters and micro-arcs to keep track of -- Kagami's friendship with Lila, Luka's awareness of Ladybug & Chat Noir's identities, Alix being forced out of the picture at the start of Season 5, the ZagHeroes and Fae from the two specials that aired between S3 & S4, the fact I could go on should speak volumes enough -- that the actual story of the show crumbles beneath the weight of it all.

The movie condenses this narrative, and in doing so, it sets up the main characters of this film and what's looking like the next film, should this movie succeed. The main focus is on Marinette, Adrien and his father Gabriel, all of whom are well-known as the main heroes and villain of the series respectively. Through their stories, we somehow have that "vintage era" Miraculous charm that the first season or two of the show had, and also gave an ACTUALLY GOOD AND SATISFYING CONCLUSION TO THE STORY -- Sorry, I got sidetracked, we'll get back to that point later.

We also have Alya, Nino, Chloe and Nathalie, all in the movie BUT as a minor focus. The trio of kids get a bit more screentime than Nathalie, but they're present just enough to imply that they'll be important for the next film (Which I assume will have a return of Rena Rouge, Carapace, Queen Bee and Mayura respectively).

The animation, the big selling point of this film for most people, is incredible. Even seeing leaks before the movie dropped, you could tell this thing had cost big bucks for its animation. Apparently it was one of France's highest-budget animated films? It was gorgeous, I don't have much complaints with it, the style they were going for was just eye candy animation. Everyone's designs got elevated in this style, I think the only criticism I have for that is that Alya's hairstyle could've been changed to reflect the volume it has in the show, it looks a bit too thin and flat for my liking. But I guess that's just personal preference.

Master Fu! He's back, and he's a cooky AND wise old man! I was ecstatic to see him back. Once he was written out of the show in S3's finale, the show hasn't felt the same tbh. Idk why, but I didn't realized I missed him as much as I did until seeing him at the start of the movie. XD

No sentimonster bullshit shenanigans, THANK GOD. I really like the concept of senti-people, but good lord, the show's story was overly complex as it was, the movie didn't need to go making it worse. (Note, I got nothing against the theories! I just can't stand how the show executed that aspect of the plotline. It's awfully vague for absolutely no reason and screams that it was shoe-horned into the plot around mid-S3 for fan interest. The show only suffers from the inclusion of implications for the theories.)

And I'm SO HAPPY they gave Adrien some motherfucking agency. That scene where his father walks down the stairs looking disheveled af, demanding Adrien listen to him only for Adrien to say he doesn't have a father or that he lost his father a long time ago?!? Amazing. Bare minimum shit, yes, but it was executed so well. And him being an angsty teen, drowning out his solitude through music, and getting a bit of an ego through his Chat Noir persona? When I tell you this movie feels like a fanfic (affectionately), I mean it. It feels like the writers were actually competent enough to understand how to make a character 3-dimensional.

Same goes for Marinette. As much as I miss Rose, Juleka, Mylene and Alix being her friends, I think having Marinette start as a loner with no friends made her parallel with Adrien's feelings of isolation. Her arc of gaining her confidence and befriending Alya, Nino and Adrien, while Adrien's arc focuses on his grief and learning to open up to others again, was a nice contrast. And both of them actually felt equally important, which was probably the best part for me. (Side-tangent; If they introduce Kitty Section into a possible next film (which would make sense since they're a band and this movie is a musical adaptation), Marinette could befriend the old friend squad through the band. Maybe they could even be manipulated by Mayura in the next movie, and we could get a 5v5 battle between the Miraculous 5 and Rose, Juleka, Mylene, Luka and Ivan's amoks...? Just an idea I thought of on the spot.)

I didn't hate any of the songs, and the general consensus I've seen is that Hawk Moth's villainous song in the midst of the film was the best one (an opinion of which I agree, I had watched this with my cousin and we both agreed to start the song over after listening to it the first time, and it was the only song we did that to on our viewing). It also made the transformation into becoming Hawk Moth truly feel like a Jeckyll and Hyde style situation for Gabriel, like Hawk Moth was the alter-ego he could use to let his grief consume him and drive him mad. I'm a sucker for Jeckyll and Hyde tropes, and while it might've been intended, that's how I'm interpreting it. It was honestly a great change, and I joked that the top hat during the song made Hawk Moth officially a Tumblr sexyman lmao.

The 3-way reveal. WE GOT THE 3-WAY REVEAL. NO PREACHY, TIME-WASTING REVERSALS, NO BULLSHITTING FROM ASTRUC. WE ACTUALLY GOT THE 3-WAY REVEAL BETWEEN LADYBUG, CHAT NOIR AND HAWK MOTH. And it was just as fucking fantastic as the show ABSOLUTELY SHOULD HAVE made it. There was NO EXCUSES for the show's ending for Gabriel/Hawk Moth to be as atrocious as it was, nor for Adrien to be completely fucking absent and not have an identity reveal -- and I refuse to let anyone say executive meddling was the reason for it. Jeremy Zag was Astruc's executive, and clearly with the movie being his passion project, Zag cares enough about the franchise that he wouldn't prevent Astruc from writing a good story. But Astruc is a horrible writer, whose faults really began to shine the more tone-deaf and preachy his writing of the show got. Istg, half of the episode's "lessons" was just Astruc venting his frustrations against fans who had valid criticism of the writing. But goddamn, it's gotta be real embarrassing for Astruc to have his own franchise/story made and written better for a 90-minute film by his colleague than he could write with 5 seasons and over 100 episodes...Yikes. XD

When I tell you some parts of the movie -- the kwamis having a bit more agency themselves (Nooroo popping out of the brooch was so cute!!! :'D), the characters in general, Gabriel's story (tho it could've used more GabeNath imo lol), the focus on the characters while also having some engaging & wild battles, the long-awaited identity reveal, the masquerade ball trope -- felt like aspects the series just completely didn't have or vastly underutilized, it's insane. The difference between the film and series is like night and day.

Overall, it wasn't the best-written movie, but it's EXACTLY what I assume most Miraculous fans desperately craved from the show that crumbled its quality in its hands, spat on it, threw it in a garbage bin and lit it on fire. I genuinely saw parts of this movie that paralleled the rewrite fic I wanna write for the series soon (THE CAT IN ADRIEN'S ROOM WHEN HE FINDS THE RING BRUH), and unlike the series, which inspired me by how bad it was, the movie had a few parts that were so well-written that it inspired me to write scenes as good as those (THE FUCKIN PART WITH LADYBUG SAYING "I need to go..." AND THE DESPERATION IN CHAT'S "...Don't...").

I feel similar after-the-fact as I did with the Super Mario Bros Movie -- imperfect, but satisfactory to pre-established fans of the franchise. If anyone you know ever wants to give the franchise a chance, I'd honestly exclusively recommend this movie, and maybe S1-S2. A solid 8/10, only having a high ranking because of how much fun and entertaining this film was to me, a fan since around S2's airing.

[sco07ut]

oooo you are not immune to miraculous au grimmons angst oooooh

so for the people who haven’t seen miraculous ladybug Or just stopped watching the episodes (based, i completely understand u) ik this scene can seem a bit like simmons is just going off the deep end but technically

technically

neither of them r actually at fault. grif is totally right abt not wanting to take advantage over someone who he Thinks is just a fan (since he doesn’t know simmons is his own superhero partner, Beetle Bordeaux), and although he didn’t exactly handle the situation ideally, he did the right thing. even though he Does have feelings for simmons as grif, simmons isn’t reciprocating them anymore and despite the fact that simmons is seemingly into Calico Cat, it still doesn’t seem entirely right?

on the other hand, simmons does know he’s Calico’s partner and obviously cares about him as more than just an obsessed fan, as far as he’s concerned he’s well within his right to be in love with Calico Cat, at this point they’ve been working together for ages, and to be lead on that far before Calico suddenly shut him down would’ve been pretty nasty.

it could be argued that simmons should’ve realised what the situation looked like from Calico’s perspective, and maybe grif should’ve been more gentle letting him down, but at the same time they are actually both human, and are also lovesick teenagers, they’re not going to get everything right so basically all i’m trying to say is relationships r tricky and nobody in this situation is more at fault than the other

anyway on another note, if you’re a fan of the show you may notice that this scene isn’t entirely canon compliant ! the ending concludes with simmons being akumatised while marinette manages to break free from the akuma’s hold (arguably only because chat noir kissed her but i digress). i wanted this to be a little more angsty so i just had Calico leave instead, and simmons ends up as a temporary villain. if i get the energy i’ll draw the aftermath of that but for now have this 🫶

[vgckwb]

ML: Isolation Chapter 43: 14:59

As soon as Adrien left school, he got out his phone.

Adrien: Something happened.

Markov: Oh?

Mainette: Based on previous experiences, that doesn’t sound good.

Adrien: Lila asked me out.

Marinette: WHAT?!

Adrien: I told her “no” but she escalated things, so I just kind of snapped at her.

Marinette: Well, I’m glad you said “no”, obviously, but what do you mean?

Adrien: I just…lightly threatened to expose her.

Marinette: WHAT?!

Adrien: I maintained enough control to not get into specifics, but I did tell her I knew about her misdeeds.

Adrien: I still think we have the upper hand, but I think things are a little more difficult going forward.

Chloe: Ugh.

Adrien: I know, but there’s nothing we can do about it now.

Alya: Um, this was my fault actually…

Markov: How come?

Alya: After Nino and I announced that we were going out, Lila pulled me aside.

Alya: She wanted to talk about our little deal, and I kind of nudged her to ask you out.

Marinette: Why?!

Alya Well, I figured he’d say no.

Alya: I didn’t think it could go like this.

Chloe: Could this get any worse?

Adrien: Come on Chloe, it’s not that bad.

Adrien: I think we have everything we need to take Lila down. We just need a good opportunity.

Markov: Pardon me for asking, but based on Lila’s actions, she’s going to be more paranoid now, correct?

Marinette: That is true.

Chloe: Yeah…

Alya: But why are you asking?

Markov: Well, I just imagine it might be more difficult to get the camera from Marinette’s house now.

Markov: If Lila is willing to keep tabs on anyone, conspicuously going there would be an issue.

Adrien: Right…

Chloe: Are we just SOL?

Alya: Lila has to sleep sometime.

Chloe: She’s a diplomat’s daughter though.

Chloe: She might have a guard or someone on her ear.

Chloe: I mean, I have that, and I’m the mayor’s daughter.

Adrien: Hmmmmm.

Kagami: Pardon me for joining late.

Kagami: But I think I have a solution.

Alya: Oh?

Kagami: So, this was sort of a mistake on my part.

Kagami: But a strand of my hair fell at the music store, and the guy working there at the time found it, and deduced that it was me.

Chloe: WHAT?!

Kagami: It’s not bad!

Kagami: He just wanted to thank me because he put in the request.

Chloe: Oh!

Kagami: The point is, while Lila might be clocking us, I doubt she’d be clocking him.

Adrien: Hmmm. Sounds like a good idea.

Alya: What’s his name?

Kagami: Luka.

Marinette: Oh. Juleka’s brother.

Marinette: Yeah, I think that could work.

Markov: But if Lila might be keeping tabs on as many people as possible, wouldn’t relaying this information to him be risky?

Kagami: True…

Alya: I just think we need to distract her while Kagami brings Luka in.

Chloe: But when will that be?

Kagami: I could probably do it tomorrow at lunch.

Adrien: Alright. I think I can keep Lila distracted then.

Adrien: But now we just need an opportunity for him to get the camera.

Adrien: Sorry for scuffing that up.

Chloe: As much as you did, I can’t say I blame you.

Chloe: I’ve been wanting to give her a piece of my mind for quite some time.

Alya: I’m sure the opportunity will present itself.

Alya: I mean, with your confrontation, I’m sure she’ll try something to pull the rug from under you.

Marinette: I don’t know if I like the sound of that.

Adrien: I think what Alya’s saying is that we just need to ride this out for a bit so we can size up Lila and act accordingly.

Alya: Yeah…

Alya: I wouldn’t have put it like that, but yeah.

Alya: I need to get going.

Alya: Nino wants to hang out and stuff.

Adrien: Alright.

Adrien I think we have everything under control going forward.

Adrien: Later!

Marinette: Later

Alya: Seeya!

Kagami: Bye!

Chloe: Seeya!

Markov: Goodbye.

They went about the rest of the day. They had a new plan, and hopefully this whole mess will be rectified at the end of it.

The next day, Adrien entered the classroom to see his classmates turn to look at him intently. “Uh, hi.”

“Um, Adrien?” Juleka said.

“What?” Adrien replied.

“Well…” Ivan said.

“Is it true that you yelled at Lila?” Mylene asked.

“And threatened her?” Rose continued.

Adrien looked over. Everyone seemed concerned. He also noticed Lila smirking at him, as everyone else was paying attention to him. Hm. This might be working out better than anticipated. Adrien took a deep breath. “Unfortunately, the answer to that is yes.” The class was murmuring among itself, while Lila was surprised that Adrien just admitted to what he did. “BUT!” he interjected. “There is a perfectly good reason for it.”

“And that would be?” Nathaniel asked.

“Well, can we do this at lunch?” Adrien asked. Everyone was confused. “It’s just, there’s a lot to go over, and I don’t want to go to detention for explaining myself and delaying when class starts.”

“Well…” Rose said.

“I think that’s fair,” Alix said.

Everyone looked at her. “It is?” Mylene asked.

“Yeah,” Alix said. “I’ve learned that jumping to conclusions isn’t the healthiest thing to do. Adrien should at least have a chance to explain himself.”

Kim smiled. “I agree. Let’s hear Adrien out at lunch.”

“Yeah!” everyone agreed. They started to shuffle to their seats.

Lila was perplexed that Adrien had snatched this from the jaws of defeat. What is his angle? She went to sit down as well.

“You doing alright?” Alya asked.

“Yeah…” Lila said.

“I’m sorry about yesterday,” Alya said.

“Oh, don’t be,” Lila said. “You couldn’t have known.” Could you? Hmmm.

As Nino and Adrien sat down, Nino turned to him and said “Hey. No matter what happens, I’m on your side dude.”

Adrien smiled. “Thanks.”

After Max sat down, he looked at Markov. “Is everything alright?” he whispered.

“Well it’s not ideal,” Markov admitted. “But it should be fine.”

“Hm. I’ll trust you,” Max said.

“Thanks,” Markov replied.

After Chloe sat down, she texted Kagami that Lila would be adequately distracted for lunch. “Chloe?” Sabrina asked.

Chloe looked at her. “Yeah?”

“Well, you’ve known Adrien longer than anyone,” Sabrina said. “Is he capable of doing something heinous?”

“Hmmm,” Chloe pondered. “I don’t really think so. In fact, it’s exceedingly rare for him to even get mad.”

“I see,” Sabrina said. “So Adrien’s fine?”

“Well, I’d like to think so,” Chloe answered. “But let’s wait until we hear him out.”

Sabrina smiled. “Thanks.”

Ms. Bustier entered. “Alright then, shall we begin?” Class started.

When the class was dismissed, everyone gathered around Adrien. “Oh! Well, I can’t say this was a surprise.” He chuckled.

“Well…?” Alix asked.

Adrien took a deep breath. “So, what did Lila tell you?”

Everyone was hesitant to answer. “Well,” Kim spoke up, “she told us that you got really mad at her after she just wanted to talk with you.”

“I see,” Adrien said. “Did she tell you what she wanted to talk about?” The class looked at each other nervously and shook their heads. “I see. Well, let me tell you what happened. She wanted to ask me out, and I said no.”

The class was confused further. “Why did you say no?” Rose asked.

“Simple,” Adrien said. “I already have a girlfriend.”

Everyone was surprised by this revelation. “Who?” Ivan asked.

“She works for my father’s company,” Adrien explained. “I've been trying to keep this private, both for my sake and hers.” The class went back to murmuring.

“Getting back to the matter at hand, I told her all of this gently, and tried to leave after that. However, she stopped me and insisted that my girlfriend, who she doesn’t even know, is a manipulative liar. And then I just kind of snapped. I couldn’t stand my girlfriend being treated like that, especially since, again, Lila doesn’t know who she is.”

The class was in a quiet uproar. “I will admit,” Adrien went on, “I may have gone overboard, and didn’t express myself in the friendliest of terms. I said some things that were vile and threatening.” He turned his attention to Lila. “If you’re willing to accept, I will apologize.”

All eyes were now on Lila. He is a class act all the way, huh. Lila thought. But all I have to do is one-up you somehow. Then you’ll be sorry for rejecting me. After a moment, Lila sighed and said “I’ll…think about it.”

Adrien nodded. “Very well. I await your answer.”

“Hold on,” Alix said. “Why didn’t you tell us all of this Lila?”

“Well…” Lila said, on the back foot.

Adrien smiled “She was just probably embarrassed. I can’t exactly blame her.”

“Uh, right…” Lila said. What is he doing?

Alix was still confused. “Yeah, but-”

“Just let it go,” Adrien said.

Alix was unsure, but decided to trust Adrien. “Fine.”

Adrien smiled. “Well, I think this is as settled as this can be for now. I suggest we go and eat.” Everyone agreed and filed out.

Lila was cautious of Adrien and what just happened. You think you’re so clever. Well just you wait.

Meanwhile, Luka was eating lunch, when Kagami came and sat down by him. “Oh, hey,” Luka said. “You look serious.”

“I am,” Kagami said.

“OOOOOOOK?” Luka reacted.

“I need you to do me a favor,” Kamagin said.

“Uh, sure,” Luka said.

Kagami slid him a piece of paper. “Here is my number. I’m working on a big Cat Noir mission. I will need your help in getting me something.”

Luka was thoroughly confused. ‘Why can’t you get it yourself?”

“It’s complicated,” Kagami answered. “But basically, someone is watching me, and this needs to be done discreetly.”

“Who?” Luka asked.

“The less you know, the better,” Kagami said. “You trust me, right?”

“Uh, yeah…” Luka said. “Um, can you at least tell me a little something?”

Kagami looked at him. It was sort of unfair, but she was worried about Lila watching him too. Still, she had an out. “Very well. The person who might be watching helped Mr. XY get more popular.”

Luka was surprised. “Really?” Kagami nodded. “Well then, I am at your service.”

“Thanks,” Kagami said. “Um, do you mind if I stay here and eat?”

Luka smiled. “Not at all.”

Kagami smiled back. “Thanks.” They ate their lunch.

The rest of the day played out normally, but with a rift between Adrien and Lila. As the days went on, the rift was a constant. Lila didn’t seem ready to forgive Adrien, and Adrien didn’t want to invade Lila’s personal space for the time being. He was waiting for the perfect opportunity, while she was cooking up her next scheme. The class was waiting for a resolution to this as well, hoping things could work out for them somehow.

It all came to a head Friday morning. Adrien was on his way to class when he saw Chloe walking away from class laughing her head off. “Uh, Chloe?” Adrien wondered.

“Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha!” Chloe laughed, practically unaware of Adrien's inquiry. She continued on.

“Uh, OK?” Adrien said. He continued toward class wondering what that could be about. As he approached the classroom, he saw Alya sitting beside the door snickering to herself. “Alya?”

Alya happened to notice Adrien. “Oh. Hey.”

“What’s up?”

“You’re gonna wanna hear it for yourself,” Alya said. “Just head in.”

“O…K…?” Adrien said. He was still confused, but headed in anyway.

As soon as he entered, Rose called out “ADRIEN!”

“Hey Rose,” Adrien said, nervously. He noticed everyone was looking at him again. “What’s going on today?”

“Well,” Rose said. “Lila might be ready to go back to getting along with you!”

Adrien looked at Lila, who was again sporting her devious grin while everyone was paying attention to him. “Is she ow?”

“Well, sort of,” Juleka interjected. “Rose has a tendency to go overboard a little.”

“But I think this could be it!” Rose explained.

“Well, all she said was she knows someone who can help mediate,” Mylene said.

“Aw, come on Mylene,” Ivan insisted. “That’s still a positive thing.”

Mylene smiled. “You’re right.”

“So, who is it?” Adrien asked.

“Well, we’d rather let Lila tell you,” Nathaniel said. “We don’t want to ruin the surprise.”

“Although it was weird when Chloe and Alya left when she said it,” Max pointed out.

“Well, I’m sure they have their reasons,” Kim said.

“Hm,” Adrien grunted. “Alright then.” He turned to Lila. “So, who, pray tell, might this person be Lila?” he asked.

Lila’s smile widened. “Well, I didn’t want to say anything, since I didn’t want to make anyone jealous. Though I guess I made Chloe and Alya jealous a little. But I know someone at your father’s company who could maybe help sort things out between us.”

“Oh?” Adrien said. “This is my first time hearing about such a connection.”

“Well, you don’t know everything about the company, do you?” Lila asked.

“You got me,” Adrien said. “So, who would this person be?”

“Well, as I told everyone else just a minute ago,” Lila began, “I have a secret best friend. And I’m sure you’ll respect her. She’s smart, talented, funny, basically a Goddess.”

“Sounds like a really good friend,” Adrien said.

“Ofcourse,” Lila said. “And an even better designer. After all, my best friend is Ladybug: Mysterious Designer of Paris.” Everyone was in awe, waiting to see Adrien’s reaction.

Adrien himself was stunned silent. He had found his opportunity. Lila didn’t know it yet, but she served herself up on a platter.

[ramen8008]

Here is a one-shot I wrote. It's on my Wattpad I am gonna make an AO3 account soon too so I will write that in my description so anyways:

Marinette Pov:

I finally reached home after the akuma attack barely making it in my room before I detransform. I sighed in relief and give tikki a macaroon.

"You guys can come out now it's safe nobody is here" as I say that all the kwamis come out of their hiding.

"Glad you are safe ladybug" wayzz said. I prefer being called Marinette or ladybug by the kwamis it feel weird being called master and I know how hard it would have been for the kwamis when master fu's memories were erased especially wayzz he was his best friend.

"Yeah we saw the fight on the magical box thing it seemsssss like it was a pretty intenssssse fight" sass says flying up to me.

"Yeah we saw how you almost got hit by the villians but thankfully chat noir saved you" one of the kwamis said.

"Yeah don't remind me because of me chat noir almost got hurt badly" I groaned i hated seeing chat get hurt over and over again to save me. "I understand that that you might not enjoy seeing you partner get hurt but you have to be on the battle field no matter what because you have the power to bring your partner back in case of him getting injured" wayzz said.

"Yeah but I am still worried about him getting hurt he is really reckless at times" I said and sighed knowing there is nothing I can do other then be more careful. "Awww it's alright to be worried about the love of your life" mullo said catching me off guard.

"Wait you got it wrong me and chat are just partner and friends" I said but for some reason when I mentioned that all the kwamis except tikki, wayzz and sass gasp audibly confusing me.

The all started to mumble and whisper to eachother. "Why are you acting like this why does it matter", I ask.

"Well ladybug and chat noir are supposed to be together to keep the balance of the universe and we thought you guys were together" mullo said.

"WAIT WHAT!" I yelled. "Honey is everything alright up there" my mom screamed from downstairs "yeah mom everything is fine" I tell her and wait for awhile before having a nervous breakdown.

"Everything is not fine I didn't know this tikki why didn't I know this"

"Well we couldn't tell you for multiple reasons and you weren't supposed to know but I guess the kwamis forgot about that" tikki replied glaring at the other kwamis scaring them off.

"It's fine ladybug you just need time to figure this out and think about it" wayzz said.

"Yeah you are right I just need time to figure things out"

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

Dear diary,

It's been a few hours and I think I have calmed down I don't know why I was acting like it was the end of the world.

This is fine chat noir is a nice guy...even though I don't know him in his civilian form I can only prey that he isn't some kind of creep. Stop Marinette of course he isn't a creep he has been your partner and best friend for 2 years have some faith in him I'll be alright.

It's not like it was gonna work out with Adrien anyways we have become closer as friends but nothing more it's just as friends and it's not the worse. Tikki told me the best way to "amplify" my feeling for chat is to think of all the good relationship qualities of him and all the good friend qualities of Adrien. Yeah she said amplify because she claims that I already have a small crush on chat even if I don't admit it.

So anyways Adrien's good friend qualities are pretty much the same as before he is kind, helpful, good at advice, he can make you smile, he is so sweet and innocent.

Chat Noir's greatest quality is that he is loyal meaning he will never be dishonest in a relationship he is also selfless and even though his jokes suck he can still make me laugh. He is obviously a romantic person and also a gentlemen and on top of that i know that he is a good kisser.

---------a few hours later--------

Dear diary,

I can't sleep right now and it's all tikki's fault and because of her advice and now I can't stop thinking about what it would be like to be in a relationship with chat.

UGHHH I guess I'll try to sleep for school tomorrow.

------------At School during break-----------

"Hey Marinette you alright you look kinda out of it is something wrong" Adrien asked me breaking me out of my trance.

Adrien and I were eating lunch in the nearby park since Nino and Alya ditched us like always.

"Yeah just kinda thinking about something"

"If you want you can tell me maybe I can help you with it" Adrien said with a smile that can make me melt but now all I saw was chat's smile.

"Umm you know what yeah I could use some advice and you seem like the only person I can talk to about this who won't ask a bunch of questions" I say maybe this could help me get over Adrien and either way Adrien might just give me good advice.

"Okay tell me I am all ears"

"Well there's this guy well not just any guy he has been my best friend since we met and-" I say and I looked to see Adrien surprised.

"Wait do I know this person do you like him and I thought Alya was your best friend and if not I would have liked to have the title of your guy best friend but I guess you already gave it to somebody" he said obviously joking with a small childish pout.

"Well maybe if you can help me get together with him I might be able to give you that title"I said without even thinking and my eyes widen and Adrien smirked.

"Oooooo I didn't know you had a crush who is he"

"You don't know him and I am not telling you that's why I chose you to talk to you because alya would start asking questions before I even finish and I don't think nino is the kind of person to take love advice"I say.

"Okay go ahead tell me all about him" he said in a teasing voice which sounded too much like Chat Noir's.

"Well he is my best friend and it's not exactly that I am afraid of being rejected because he has been asking me out since we met and I have been rejecting him for the past 2 years and I don't know how to tell him that I like him. And I don't want it to be rushed because he might became suspicious"

"Wait what do you mean suspicious and I don't see the problem he likes you "

"I don't want him to think I am playing with him and I have been pretty harsh with my rejections now that I think about it"

"Come on you can't be that bad. What do you say when he asks you out?" He asked curious.

"Umm I either just say no or tell him to stop or maybe sometimes I'll just ignore him" I say nervously.

"Oof you are harsh I would understand if it was a random person trying to hit on you but if this is your best friend jeez could have been a little nicer"

"Don't need to make me feel worse just tell me what to do"

"Okay if you want to be subtle you can first of try not rejecting him so harshly maybe just tell him a maybe later and give him a compliment and try laughing if he makes a joke every once in awhile" he said and suddenly the bells rang meaning that lunch was over.

"Okay that makes sense I'll try thanks for the advice"

"Anytime"

-------------------After patrol------------------------

"Hey M'lady" chat said landing behind me and coming up to stand next to me.

"Hey C-chat, Is everything clear on your side?" I ask I didn't realize that facing chat after what the kwamis told me would be this hard.

"Yeah it's all clear. By the way you look beautiful like always M'lady" chat said.

"Thanks, you look great too" I said giggling and I could see he was surprised by my reply but it made me feel even more guilty about how harsh I have been with him.

"Well I guess I should be going patrol is over" he said with a small smile still on his face.

"Well we are done early I am free and if you are maybe we can talk we haven't really have time to hang out" I said but immediately regretted maybe I shouldn't have said that maybe it was too sudden the surprise face on chat's face made it worse.

"Hanging out what happened to the ladybug I knew she would never have time for me"chat said jokingly with a teasing smirk but i knew it was true I hadn't made time for him at all.

"Well yeah I haven't been the best partner or friend and I really want to fix that I don't want to push away my best friend and partner"I said smiling at him and chat was obviously taken back but then a smile made its way on his face.

"Okay we can hang out I am free" he said sitting down and tapping the place next to him for me to sit and I happily obligated.

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

Dear diary,

It's been a few days and chat and me have been hanging out after patrol everyday sometimes we get ice cream or race around Paris or sometimes we just talk I got to know alot about him including how much he values his friends due to him being neglected from an early age.

I realized how much he deserved and how vulnerable he actually is. And now I want to give him everything he deserves so much more he gets.

He is truly an amazing person and now he has been all I think about. I haven't even thought about adrien in awhile.

WAIT I HAVEN'T THOUGHT ABOUT ADRIEN AT ALL!!!

I didn't even realize that I have been so invested in chat and I can't stop thinking about our patrol hang puts or planning on what we can do next. Oh this is a disaster I k ow that I have starting to like chat more and more everyday even though I don't want to admit it but maybe I should tell him. I don't want to wait till it's too late even if tikki says I am rushing I don't think I am because what if he starts liking somebody else.

I stop writing just the thought of it made me wanna cry. Well it's settle I will tell chat how I feel tonight.

------------------At patrol hang out--------------

Third person:

Marinette was determined to tell chat her feeling at this point she had forgotten about what the kwamis told her only a few days ago. She had fallen hard and it was only matter of days . No she had always loved him just didn't admit it to herself but she finally did and she was gonna tell him how she feels.

"Hey M'lady ready for patrol?" Chat said walking next to her.

"Yeah but I have something for you first" ladybug answered awfully nervous.

"Ooo what is it"

Ladybug pulled out a present neatly wrapped in black wrapping and a green ribbon.

"Is this for me?" Chat said his eyes widen in surprise.

"Yeah open it" ladybug said excited and nervous hoping that he would like it.

Chat opened it to find a black a sweater with "I am a-meow-zing" written on it in green. Chat's eyes widen it was amazing he loved it and on top of it it was from his lady.

"Well I made it so it's not perfect I couldn't find the exact shade of green and some stitches are rushed because I really wanted to give it to you" Ladybug rambled nervously but stop when she saw that chat has already put it on and was modelling in it.

"So what do you think" he said striking a pose making ladybug laugh. Suddenly chat frowned "what's wrong?" Ladybug asked. "Well I don't have a gift for you" he said.

"You don't need to give me anything just take it as an early birthday present"

"But still this is amazing I want to give you something"

"Well you could give me a hug" ladybug said opening her arms to invite him to give a hug.

Chat gladly took the invited hugging her tightly. "Thanks for this I love you so much" chat said without even thinking making ladybug's heart beat faster.

"I love you too" she whispered but chat heard it he pulled away looking at ladybug with wide eyes.

"W-what did you say?" He asked.

"I-I said I love you too" ladybug said nervously looking at the ground.

"Do you mean it?" Chat asked in disbelief.

"Of course chat I am sorry I took so long to realize my feelings I was just too distracted to notice that you were always here for me"

As soon as she said that chat indulged her with a giant hug hugging her tightly with a love sick smile on his face.

"Can you say that again please" he asked.

"Say what?"

"What you just said I want to hear it again"

"I love you chat to the end of the universe and back I will always love you. You are my best friend and partner and I could never stop loving you" she said her hands on both his cheeks.

"I love you too M'lady to the end of the universe and back"

"May I?" He asked after a pause.

She nodded and as soon as she did he smashed his lips on hers.

[ylvaisawolf]

Spoilers... maybe? for Miraculous Ladybug

♤

♡

◇

♧

I don't really like Felix x Kagami but I think it is canon now?? I saw a spoiler which is my fault

To me it felt like it came out of nowhere and I am tired of Kagami getting shipped

(People obviously saw it but I didn't okay.)

I never shipped Felix with anyone

They can be friends though. Kagami and Felix need more friends

(I headcanoned Felix as Aro and Kagami as Ace)

Really the only ships I ever cared about was Adrien and Marinette finally being together and Nino x Alya

Everything else was a I Accept this

Oh well

[iwasbored777]

Time to talk about Chloé's appearance in Marinette's nightmare in Sentibubbler and how this represents Marinette's fear of betrayal

Before I start this is not a salt take on any of the characters, I just had to break this down cuz I think we need to focus on the symbolism of Chloé in this nightmare more.

Chloé showed up in a nightmare that represents Marinette's biggest fears - Chat Blanc and one of her teammates betraying her - because Chloé already did it.

Now Chloé showed up only because Marinette was afraid that the same thing will happen again with Alya, not because she doesn't trust Alya but because, as Chloé told her:

Marinette revealed her identity to Alya out of desperation and she let Alya keep her miraculous as her trustworthy friend. But it's not Alya nor Chloé that's the problem here, it's this line. Marinette feels like a hypocrite. This made her feel like a hypocrite. This made her feel guilty for what happened between Ladybug and Chloé in Miracle Queen. Because Ladybug told Chloé that she can't keep her miraculous if Hawk Moth knows her identity but she gave her miraculous to Alya after that even though Hawk Moth knows her identity. Chloé and Alya are not the same thing here: Chloé revealed her identity for fame, for attention, while Alya had her identity revealed in the battle because of Chloé, because Chloé helped Hawk Moth. But to Marinette this makes no difference here. She doesn't see the difference between 'my bff who's a good person' and 'my bully who betrayed me after I helped her' she only sees her mistake and her part in this. If she gave Chloé what she wanted Chloé wouldn't have betrayed her but this would not be a good solution because the problem was not in Marinette, the problem was in Chloé. However, Marinette feels guilty about it. If that happened to me I too would've felt guilty even if it wasn't my fault. That's a huge downfall for Ladybug who has to be a great leader and can't afford a mistake this big even if she wasn't entirely to blame, but in the end of the day it doesn't matter if she was right or if Chloé was right, no one is going to know this, what matters is that evil almost won. And "everyone knows" is a quite interesting part of this because Chloé is not talking about herself here, she talks about everyone. As "everyone knows what you did and everyone will judge you"/"your teammates will be disappointed". Which leads us to this:

Chloé doesn't mention Queen Bee here at all! She's talking about Ladybug and guardian. Chloé says that she would've been better for the job than Marinette. Chloé says that Marinette is a "ridiculous" guardian. According to Chloé Marinette is not capable of being both Ladybug and the guardian because she is bad for the job.

Now take a minute to remember that this is not the real Chloé, this is Marinette. This is Marinette's nightmare, this is Marinette's consciousness talking to Marinette. This is not what Chloé thinks of Marinette, this is what Marinette thinks of herself.

Marinette knows everything that's been going on, she is the first person she should be mad at Chloé but she is not. The only person she is mad at here is herself. She doesn't stand up to Chloé and tells her off, she is sitting here, looking at her in confusion.

She asked Alya "what's Chloé doing in your house" when actually Chloé was in Marinette's head blaming her for that. Because this is one of Marinette's biggest fears - that she will be betrayed again by someone she trusts. And who is the best representative of that fear than Chloé herself, the one who put that fear in Marinette's head in the first place? In this dream Alya betrayed her, in reality Félix betrayed her.

And what Chloé's reaction to Hawk Moth's victory in reality was? We didn't know for sure but based on her face and her body language she doesn't seem like a person who's angry or judgemental, she seems more afraid of what will happen next:

We don't know how Chloé is going to behave after this but she obviously doesn't seem like she thinks Ladybug is that bad or that she would've been better in her shoes. This also doesn't mean that Marinette thinks of Chloé as this kind of a person but this is what she thinks of herself.

There was no Chloé, everything Marinette heard in that nightmare was Marinette talking to herself.

And this fear appeared in the same nightmare where Chat Blanc appeared too and we know this left Marinette traumatised so imagine how worried she is about this if is this is equivalent to Chat Blanc. This left a huge impact on her and she is traumatised. Marinette is afraid of people close to her abandoning her and not being there for her, I think she has proditiophobia:

I think her fear of Alya doing the same has a lot to do with Lila, because Lila proved to be the thing that breaks their friendship all over and over again and it happened again in Risk. So Marinette was subconsciously thinking "maybe if Alya can leave me for Lila she might do it for Hawk Moth too". Alya was the closest person she had to her, but she still wasn't sure. It's understandable of course. But Alya didn't leave because of that, Alya left because of her identity being revealed again.

So the nightmare came true. Alya wasn't by her side, Alya couldn't stay because the identity shenanigans circled back and caused more problems and someone betrayed Marinette, a person Marinette thought she could trust. She thought she could trust Adrien because he wasn't affected by akuma but it was actually a whole different person, and knowing Marinette's luck it wasn't a good person.

But the one part of her nightmare that didn't come true was Chat Blanc.

The first thing Ladybug told Chat Noir when she saw him after her downfall was "Why don't you just give up on me?" and "I'm the worst guardian ever!" Because if the nightmare was right about everything else why wouldn't it be right about Chat Blanc? If she failed that ultimately makes her the worst. If she already lost so many teammates another one is expected to leave too. It's not that she doesn't care, she does, she just didn't have enough straight to keep going. One of the two biggest fears came true, half of her worst nightmare. That's why Marinette was certain that she's a bad guardian and that Chat Noir will leave her. It doesn't have anything to do with her feelings for him or her feelings for Chloé or her feelings for Alya, she was just certain that deep down people think of her as the bad leader because she thinks that's who she is, that people will leave her at some point because this happened already and because she didn't forgive herself this.

This is proditiophobia and self-blame at the same time.

She thinks she should've done better. That's why she could never stay mad at Alya when "Lila" happens, that's why she wasn't mad at Chat Noir for leaving in New York special and Kuro Neko, that's why she isn't mad at Chloé, that's why she didn't mention Félix at all (she kept saying how she failed) - because she thinks it's all her fault, not theirs. Of course no one can expect that a person you trust will leave you, but she thinks she did something to make them do this. She partly participated in this but it's not her fault, at least not completely. People fail her more than she fails them. But Marinette thinks she failed them and that she had it coming. In Marinette's head she is not the victim. That's why in the finale she was crying on the top of the building all alone because she didn't want to talk to anyone because she was sure that everyone will tell her the same thing. But Chat Noir didn't.

People don't talk enough about how self-blame is a big part of Marinette's character. She wasn't raised like this, but this is who she is. Luckily this came with Marinette's will to make things right all the time. She doesn't stay down every time, she gets up, she keeps going. But this time it was different because, like I already said milion times here, she had to go through the same thing all over again but this time it's even worse. Hawk Moth didn't win last time, but he won this time. And according to Marinette, this is all because of her.

Before salters get attached to this post and start saying how Marinette is the one to blame for all this, I want to remind you that Marinette:

Really wanted to help Chloé, she gave Chloé a chance, she was Chloé's friend and she left everything Chloé has done to her in the past behind and took her in her team

Already blames herself for this, for all of this, please have this in mind before you call her a hypocrite and before you say that she wanted to leave Chloé without a miraculous

And the main subject of this is not Chloé's redemption arc, maybe you agree with me on that, maybe you don't, but it's not what I'm talking about here - it's what it meant to Marinette

As a leader, Marinette needs loyalty from her teammates and she did everything to keep the whole team in place and happy and make them feel useful (like Penalteam when she tried to hype Chat Noir and later the team as a whole or in Strikeback when she was praising "Adrien" because he failed in Desperada) but with every one of them there was always a risk of at least one being unreliable, no matter how close they were to her. These people are not comparable but they are still in the same team and their loyalty is important to her. She was betrayed by her teammate once and it cost her a LOT (she had to become the guardian and that ruined her life) and ever since then this fear exists. Now imagine how bigger it is now. The story repeated and the ending was even worse than she remembers. Maybe the next time in her nightmare we'll see Félix or both him and Chloé?