#And a little bit of Marinette salt

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

Why the "True Selves" Theory is Insulting

Image for a second that you have a friend who's a bit of a ditz. She's also fun, creative, and sweet. You enjoy being around her, but you've never seen her as more than a friend. Then, one day, a fire breaks out at an event that you and your friend are attending. Your lives are suddenly in mortal peril and the same goes for everyone around you because you can't find the exit. You think that you're going to die.

Then, suddenly, your friend transforms. Not in a magical way, it's just a personality shift, but it might as well be magical because it's like nothing you've ever seen! The ditziness is gone, replaced by laser focus and a take-charge attitude that has everyone following your friend without question. When all is said and done, everyone lives because of you friend. As it turns out, her tendency to get easily distracted means that she's a fantastic in-the-moment problem solver.

Going through that completely changes how you see this girl. You no longer just like her, no, you're now deeply in love with her. You tell a mutual friend about this and they laugh at you, then say, "Don't be silly, that wasn't really her! Her true self isn't that brave girl who saved your life! That was special circumstances that don't count. All that counts is the way she acts when there isn't a crisis going on. It doesn't matter that you've always liked her and enjoyed her company, if you didn't fall in love with based solely on her ditzy self, then you don't really love her."

Most people would call this mutual friend insane because of course going through crazy experiences changes the way we view people! Imagine if you had an allergic reaction and your significant other's reaction was to panic and run away, leaving you to die. You only live because you manage to grab your phone and call '911.' That would understandably lead many people to reassess if this is the person they want to spend their life with just like the opposite experience might make you see a person as a good life partner.

Marinette is Ladybug. She gets full credit for everything she's done in the suit and it's perfectly fine for Adrien to become attracted to her after he sees her in action. It doesn't mean that he only values her Ladybug side. He quite clearly cares for Marinette, he just hasn't seen her in the right light for him to fall in love. (And, if we're being frank, Marinette acts like Ladybug all the time when he's not around or when he is around, but a crisis is going on. She's really not that different from her alter ego.)

Along similar lines, Marinette isn't wrong for being drawn to Adrien's sweeter side more than his over-the-top jokey side. There's a reason why Glaciator ended with her blushing. Compare the end of Glaciator to the end of Origins and, yeah, same energy because - in that moment - Chat Noir was letting his Adrien side out by being more sincere and vulnerable, which are the things that Marinette values most in a romance and the things that he rarely shows while in the mask. It doesn't mean that she hates his jokey side, it's just not going to win her heart when Adrien's right there being sweet and sincere while Chat Noir hides his feelings behind a smile and a laugh.

In fact, it's pretty insulting to Adrien to say that someone shouldn't be attracted to his more vulnerable side. That his sincerity is worth less than his jokes. Almost as insulting as telling Marinette that her Ladybug side doesn't count and she should get no credit for being brave as that's not really her. Loving her only counts if a person falls in love while she's behaving in her most over-the-top, cringe, embarrassing way.

I don't know about you, but I would never want someone to hold me to that standard nor would I hold my significant other to that standard! It's perfectly normal to have things that you don't love about your significant other. In fact, I'd argue that part of the magic of a real, lasting romance is having someone who loves you even though you're not perfect. If you are looking for a partner who never annoys you or does something wrong, then you will never find happiness because that person does not exist.

Now that I've said all of that, I want to add that I do think that marichat, "love both sides" stories can be cute. It's just not One True Path to Real Love. It's totally fine if the square starts dating based on the things that they find attractive about each other and then just continue to be in love as they learn about the other side. If anything, that's normal. Learning about a person is what dating is all about! A good relationship is no different than a good friendship, you just get some bonus perks if you're into that kind of thing.

I'll also note that I'm not criticizing stories where Marinette feels like she's the "real" version and Ladybug is the fake because that's a really understandable thing to be nervous about. Tikki saying that shit? Hard no. Terrible mentoring.

[goggles-mcgee]

A Little Birdy Told Me 20

AO3

Beginning Last Chapter

Summary: Damian continues to try and get more information about the akuma class and Marinette while Dick is having an off day and just wants it to get better.

Only one brother gets what they want.

CH 20:

Damian may have jumped the gun on that one. 

He admitted that, willingly, in the privacy of his own mind. 

“To Dupain-Cheng? I mean sure but why would you like to know.” Chloe asked with narrowed sharp eyes.

Bourgeois was sharp, as were all his acquaintances so there was no point in lying, though he was confident he could do so flawlessly, his acquaintances had proved to be somewhat trustful. They all kept secrets if asked unless it was something trivial which confused him to no end. Allegra could ask they don’t tell anyone what she shared with them when it came to her having trouble mentally or her parents fighting but the group would tell almost everyone in the group how Claude had a crush on so-and-so from class-whatever. Richard said that is just how teenagers and friends are but it didn’t make sense to Damian and he tried many times to make it make sense. The only thing that made him feel better is the fact his father also didn’t understand. When he was in med school he told him how his study group kept his fear of bats to themselves but when he admitted to not being a fan of some musician that that information was shared and laughed at, but he stated clearly that the laughing wasn’t at him, just at the information as a study group member had explained. Again. It was strange, but Damian felt like this wasn’t one of those moments that they would share his information with others. 

“It goes without saying that what I tell you does not leave this table,” he began, “I know I said that if I knew something I wouldn’t tell, but given Bourgeois’s forthcoming, I too can be a little forthcoming. Dupain-Cheng is now a ward of my Father for the rest of the exchange.”

Vogel nodded and glared at everyone at the table as if to ward them off even thinking of telling anyone what Damian was saying. It was…nice and appreciated. Vogul reminded him of Cassandra sometimes and it always left him feeling warm yet wrongfooted. The blonde wasn’t his sister but sometimes she felt like it and that also confused him. Nonetheless he gave Vogel a small nod of appreciation. “After the events at Wayne Tower and what followed, it was decided that my father take care of Dupain-Cheng for the remainder of the trip and actual chaperones are being flown in. The original plan of having the class merge with ours has been effectively thrown out the window and negotiations are being made where to place everyone as they will be separated. Dupain-Cheng and her friends will join our class but it hasn’t been decided where Rossi and her sycophants will go.” 

Allaway pursed his lips together and looked deep in thought, it was like he was trying to organize everything that was said and unsaid. He was someone who liked puzzles and mysteries. “You guys are building a case?” It was posed as a question but Damian knew the other boy better. It was a statement. Damian simply leaned back in his chair to give Allaway his attention, it took the boy some time to voice his thoughts so Damian waited before responding. “The question is, who is the case against?” 

“I would think that obvious by now Allaway.” Damian scoffed. 

Allaway stared at Damian intensely until he let out a deep sigh, “Yeah, I know, I was saying it to be dramatic.”

“You’re always dramatic.” Damian countered.

“No. That’s Claude.” Allaway shot right back.

“Guilty!” Hardy sing-songed. Damian conceded. Hardy was always dramatic. Every announcement he made to the group or even the school was so rich in dramatics that Damian wondered if the boy practiced what he said every day to make sure it was the perfect amount of dramatic or if it was something instinctual. Damian felt like it was the latter. Sometimes Hardy’s dramatics confused him but Vogel was good at explaining what the dramatic boy was saying, she was basically the Hardy Translator.

“We are getting off topic.” Bourgeois sighed. “You really want to know everything that witch did to Dupain-Cheng, Wayne? Then you better buckle in and take notes.

Damian nodded and pressed the hidden button on his watch that Lucius Fox and his son Lucas upgraded at Bruce’s request, that would record the rest of the conversation. Though he did take out a notebook and pen, he never wrote in pencil, writing in pencil showed you were not confident in your writing or knowledge. He was trying to break out of the habit though as it was one Ra’s made sure ‘stuck’ with his heir. His grandfather would never settle for anything less than perfect and the one time Damian took a test in front of his grandfather and used a pencil, he was punished. Damian hid a wince at the memories of that particular lesson and instead stared at his watch, it was a replica of his Grandfather's watch , the one he wore when he was murdered. It was a bit morbid but it was the thought behind it that made it one of Damian’s most prized possessions. 

It had been a little after he had been…introduced to his father and a little before his father’s seeming demise at Darkseid’s hand that Bruce had taken Damian aside into his study to talk to him. Damian thought it would be another reprimand of his methods but had been surprised when Bruce handed him a small box with a bow on it. He had been so hesitant, so wary, so suspicious that his father had gently taken the box from him and opened it to show a watch. A rather nice watch though Damian had noted its somewhat dated design. Like someone had purposefully made it look vintage.  “ It’s made to look like my father’s watch, your grandfather, though I have no doubt you were…informed of my parents before you came here -”

“ I know everything about you, Father, and my grandparents .” Damian had interrupted, eager to prove his knowledge, his worth. 

“ I don’t doubt that, Damian, but you were told about them by people who did not know them. That makes all the difference. There is time for stories so you get to know them like I knew them but this is the first one I will tell you. ” Bruce had looked sincere yet a bit uncomfortable, Damian had chalked it up to his father’s weakness of not getting over his parent’s death. Such a weakness was not allowed in the League, but Damian had said nothing of the fact even if he could. Richard had been teaching him just because you could doesn’t mean you should. It was confusing but his father seemed to agree with the sentiment so Damian was doing his best to learn it. 

His father continued. “ When my father was ten, his father bought him his first watch. I never met my grandfather, but when I was young, my father told me grandfather wanted to start a new Wayne tradition. When the heir of the family turned ten, they would be gifted a watch. I’m afraid that the reason is lost in time and forgotten memories but my father wanted to continue this tradition. I got my watch on my birthday and 9 days later my parents died. My father had been wearing his birthday watch that night .”

Damian hadn’t wanted to interrupt but he did want to touch the watch and his father seemed to understand that so he passed back the gift and watched as Damian had caressed the face of the watch with his thumb. 

“ I admit that I have bought your brother's watches as well but I know you are struggling to accept them. I won’t lie and say I understand but I want to feel connected to them, to me, to this family. I wasn’t able to give you a watch on your birthday but I am giving it to you now. I had this made for you in the image of your grandfather’s watch because I want to show you how important you are to this family and me. I could have easily given you a new watch as I had your brother’s but you deserve a connection to your roots. I hope you like it. ”

Damian had only nodded but the small smile his father gave in return had filled him with such warmth he hadn’t known what to do other than let his father put the watch on him. Later, Alfred would explain that Bruce had the watch built with many hidden features to keep Damian safe and to make sure his son wouldn’t be without a way out of a situation. The watch was made to resemble the Rolex Submariner that Damian had seen in a case along with a broken pearl necklace and some loose grimy pearls. He knows they were keepsakes of his grandparents that Bruce kept in a protected case in the Cave. He didn’t really believe it would make him feel any more connected to the Wayne name than him already being Bruce Wayne’s biological son but wearing the watch and seeing the original in its case when he was down in the Cave actually did make him feel connected in a way he couldn’t explain. Thus it became one of his most prized possessions much like his first straight double edged sword his mother gave him for the earliest birthdays he could remember. 

Damian inhaled slowly then exhaled to bring himself out of his memory before he looked up at Bourgeois and gave her a short nod. “Proceed.” 

___________________

Dick was doing all he could to relax and show Marinette the company’s botanical gardens as it was something she had wanted to do. It was good to see her smile and flit from plant to plant like a little honey bee or something, but Dick couldn’t get rid of his tension completely. He was always like that after dealing with Two-Face even if it wasn’t the usual confrontation between the two, i.e mask to two faces but it still left him feeling the same. Angry, restless and most annoyingly, scared. He wasn’t the same little scared Robin but dealing with Two-Face always made him feel like he was. He thought he worked past all that! But seeing Marinette in his arms with a gun pressed to her head brought uncomfortable flashbacks of a different tiny black-haired blue-eyed child. A child who got cocky in his skills as Robin and helper of Batman. He could still feel the long-since healed injuries throb in phantom pain. Dick couldn’t help the flash of another black-haired blue-eyed child, older than the first when he learned that being Robin wasn’t magical or whimsical. Thinking of that never did him any good, if anything it brought about an enormous amount of guilt and anger that Dick didn’t know what to do with. 

“Mari-gold?” A very familiar voice pulled Dick out of his thoughts and he cursed himself for being so distracted. 

“Ivy!” Marinette shouted out in glee as she ran to hug the woman she had seen fairly recently. It made Dick smile though, this kid loved with her whole heart and it was something he admired. 

“Now what are you doing here, Sapling?” 

“I came here with Mister Dick and Mister Tim. Though we lost Tim pretty early on.” Oh yeah, they did. Though Dick was willing to bet Tim just went to the coffee shop nearby, he seemed to have a built in radar for knowing where they were no matter what part of town they were in. It was kind of funny though since Tim wasn’t even a big fan of coffee, he more so just needed the caffeine. The guy preferred tea but he was really particular about which places made the best tea, specifically a good ol’ Dirty Chai. 

“And what brings you to the Gardens today, Ive?” Dick asked, deciding to partake in the conversation. 

“Oh just making sure they are doing okay and to give the workers a restock of my special fertilizer.” That made sense, Ivy was, on-the-down low helping the Wayne Botanical Studies team. While Harley helped them more with their night time business, Ivy was content to help in the more official business. With the occasional helping hand stopping a threat if they “got in over their heads.” Her words. 

“You make your own fertilizer?” Marinette asked. Look, Dick was also curious about that but after finding Ivy and Jason talking one night with these big-ass smiles on their faces, all teeth, he was like 80% sure that fertilizer was some of Jason’s…problems. But there was no way in hell that Dick was going to try and confirm that, and he sure as hell would not be telling Bruce that little theory. 

“Yes! It takes time but it-”

“My Passion Lily! I got your Matcha Lemonade and look! I found a wild Wayne.” They were interrupted by Harley, which was not a surprise, and she was dragging a resigned looking Tim with her. 

Ivy merely huffed out a laugh at her wife before taking the offered drink with a kiss to Harley’s cheek. “Thank you, Peanut, I also found a wild Wayne and a little Sapling.”

“Mari-Doll!” Harley squeaked out before almost knocking the poor girl off her feet in her hurry to smother the girl in a hug. Surprisingly they didn’t fall over. 

“Hi Harley!”

“You guys saw each other the other night?” Tim said, confused. 

“And?” Marinette and Harley asked in unison. It made Dick giggle and helped relieve him of more of his pent up tension. 

“Well since we're all here, why don’t we walk around together?” Dick offered. “Bruce wanted Tim to get some fresh air so try not to let him sneak off again.”

Tim gave an offended squawk which had Marinette laughing once more. “I’m fine!”

“Yeah, okay Timmy-Boy.” Harley said with a scoff as she laced her arms together with Ivy and Marinette. “And I’m the Queen of England.”

“You do need some time outside the Manor Tim. It’s not healthy to stay cooped up.” Ivy said as she happily walked with Harley and Marinette. Though she did grab Tim by the scruff of his shirt and manhandled him toward Dick. He looked very much like a cranky kitten. 

“What is this? Pick on Tim day?” 

“I believe Damian has that scheduled for next month.” Dick wished he was joking.

Marinette obviously noticed he wasn’t if her raised brow was anything to go off. “Oh?”

“He stepped on Titus’s tail three months ago, on accident.” Dick explained. “But Damian is very good at keeping grudges and he’s very good on cashing in on favors.” 

Tim merely whined in response and Dick couldn’t help but pity his brother for a second before he remembered how Tim used him as a human meat shield when Condiment King randomly joined in on a fight against some robbers. Apparently he was also planning on robbing the jewelry store after keeping a low profile from his then-recent prison break. Needless to say it took Dick forever trying to get the mustard smell out of his costume once again and had to beg Alfred for help once again. Even though Alfred refused to help with cleaning anything CK contaminated, it spiked his blood pressure or something like that. Dick thinks it’s because of all the first times he helped clean them up when the rogue had been new on the scene. That had been a long month and Dick had seen how Alfred got more and more annoyed each time they came home covered in mustard, ketchup, you name it. It was awful. Truly. So Dick didn’t feel all that bad. Stephanie was already coming up with a list of things to tease Tim about. She specifically waits for the days Damian declares will be Pick-On Drake Days so she has lists on lists compiled for that very reason. She hoards them and never shares until the scheduled day. Duke surprisingly joined in too and started making his own list. 

“He’s very dedicated.” Marinette giggled out.

“That’s one word for it.” Tim grumbled. 

From there they had a good time touring the different gardens with Ivy acting as a somewhat tour guide and Dick could see it was really helping Marinette unwind as well. The interview with Jim and Harvey had really gotten her tense which was totally understandable, it would be intimidating for anyone. Tim tried to escape a couple times but after Dick teasingly asked if he should get Tim a child-leash and Ivy offered to make one out of vines he stopped. He even seemed to be relaxing a small bit. It was nice, really and it seemed to be something that Dick needed too without realizing it. Eventually they went out for lunch and after they went their separate ways. The drive back to the Manor had been nice too, normal traffic and a nice playlist helped. Tim and Marinette had even made some good conversation, though Dick got worried at the mention of PowerPoints. He hoped it was nothing serious, but the fact that Tim found someone as obsessed with planning and making PowerPoints was a little frightening. Maybe more than a little, Dick could only take so many Tim PowerPoints. He loved his brother, dearly, with his whole heart, but his PowerPoints were long and…thorough. He even tested people on the more important ones with a freaking Kahoot match. Cass and surprisingly Damian always won those. 

As they made their way into the manor Dick was pretty much planning on taking a good, lengthy nap to catch up on the sleep he hadn't gotten last night. His brain felt fried and scrambled, like it couldn’t decide whether to sink into the depressing thoughts from before or just remember the good time at the gardens they all had, even Tim surprisingly had a good time. As he sunk into the couch in the family living room his mind seemed to settle on both. His eyes closed and he saw Marinette laughing and smiling at their afternoon activities, then it would flash to her being held against Two-Face. He could hear the rogue’s laugh deep in his bones, then it changed to the Joker’s unique cackle. Marinette changed from her to him to Jason at blinding speeds. He could hear Marinette’s voice firm and confident in contrast to the fear in her eyes when she told him there was no time and that she would lead Scarecrow away. He could hear her yelling and telling Alfred she and they weren’t safe. He heard his own cries and shouts mixed with Two-Face’s voice. He could hear what he imagined Jason sounded like when the Joker beat him to death. He could hear the accusations of others about his jealousy of Jason being adopted. 

That unfortunately brought up memories of the talk he had had with Bruce once upon a time about Jason and adoption. It felt like he had had to fight not only tabloids but even Bruce about nonexistent hatred. Dick never hated Jason, but he had been so caught up in his anger with Bruce that he let it affect his and Jason’s relationship. He had just been so angry and it wasn’t an excuse but sometimes it seemed like he was even trying to justify his actions to himself. Though there was some jealousy and hurt there that he didn’t know what to do with, okay he did know what to do but the fact it would have to involve talking to Bruce and Jason was not something that sounded fun nor easy. He liked a good challenge but that idea sounded impossible. Like yes, he was Bruce’s son now but for so long he was just a ward, like Marinette was now, he called Bruce dad, they lived together, they fought crime together, they took care of each other, and yet it took years for Bruce to adopt him. But Jason? Dick knew Jason was Bruce’s son, his first son, his favorite son. Jason got the Bruce Dick had always wanted and it had hurt. Jason’s death had impacted Bruce more than his parents. That was a fact. 

And…And Dick had no idea where this was all coming from. He knew he didn’t know Marinette well as her class’s tour guide but seeing her held against Two-Face, mere centimeters from danger had thrown him. She reminded him too much of himself and too much like Jason before his death. She wasn’t a Robin, she would never be a Robin, but she had been a hero like one. She saved her people as fiercely as a Robin protected Gotham and its people. She took the weight of her world on her shoulders, much like a Robin. She was a child turned soldier due to circumstance just like a Robin. Marinette was a Robin in soul with no Batman to guide her and maybe that was for the best but looking at how lost she looked when she spoke about the ‘akumatizations’ in Paris, Dick wished she had had her version of Batman. A mentor who could aid in the fight, who shared the knowledge and responsibility. Yes, there were other heroes, they were like her version of Teen Titans, but that’s just it she was just barely a teen, a child, when she took up the mantle of hero. And from the pictures Tim showed the family of the other heroes, it wasn’t hard to guess that the other ‘Holders’ were teens themselves. Seeing as Adrien was also a teen and a former hero. 

Dick, in a weird, roundabout way, felt responsible for Marinette. As soon as she looked at him with hope, determination and fear in her eyes he was hit by a wave of protectiveness for her. She looked at him like Damian did when he first complimented and criticized his work as Robin, he and Marinette had also pulled off a plan as smooth and seamless as Dick and Damian had been when they were the Dynamic Duo. Or as Dick liked to call them, The More Dynamic Duo. He knew his family was kind of freaked out by how well Marinette and Damian seemed to get along, but not him, sure he teased a bit but he just had a feeling they would be friends. Damian had been trying to get himself out there and make friends and he did have some! He just called them acquaintances right now but Dick knew it wouldn’t be long till they were bumped up to friend status. Though Jon would always be Damian’s best friend even if they weren’t in the same school anymore. They still video or phone called every day and they played games with each other online. Which games? Dick could never remember but the point was, Damian had grown and was very capable of making friends, it just took him some time. 

Speaking of time , Dick thought as his gaze lazily glanced at the clock on the wall. If he slept now, he knew he would not go to bed after patrol tonight. So with much reluctance he pushed himself up and off the couch. He figured he could see if Marinette wanted some company and maybe the two of them could get some tea and snacks from Alfred and tour more of the manor when they were done. It would help in the long term of Marinette’s stay so it was productive! When he got to her room he saw that the door was slightly open but it was still he knocked, if he could dodge a Pennyworth Lecture he would even knock his own bedroom door. As he did so though, the door opened more and with it came an overwhelming energy that left him feeling suppressed yet energized. He wasn’t around magic a lot anymore, but it always left him with the same feeling so he ditched being a gentleman and waiting for an answer and just barreled into the room to see what looked like a closing portal. 

“Shit!” That would be a dollar in the Swear Jar, but that wasn’t important. What was important however was the fact Marinette was missing, a portal had seemingly opened in her room and closed, and…and there was a note on the bed? 

‘Dear Any Wayne That Finds This,

Actually, are you all Waynes? I never asked, I should have asked. Anyways, please don’t freak out if you come to my room and I’m not here. Ladybug needed my help back in Paris and opened a portal to get me there. I shouldn’t be too long and hey! Maybe I’ll be back before anyone reads this but if I’m not then just don’t worry. Ladybug will return me once the akuma is dealt with.

 -Marinette who is very sorry if someone does end up reading this and is pleading they don’t worry or get angry.’  

“Double shit.” Dick said as he read over the letter. 

That was another dollar for the Swear Jar. 

_________________

Dick “Flying” Grayson @toflyistofall

Oops.

____

Bruce Wayne @therealbrucewayne

RE: Dick “Flying” Grayson @toflyistofall

       Oops.

Richard John Grayson-Wayne. What did you do?

_____

JBIrd @sidesteppeddeath

RE: Bruce Wayne @therealbrucewayne

       Richard John Grayson-Wayne. What did you do?

Ha! You got full government named Dickie! @toflyistofall

_____

Dick “Flying” Grayson @toflyistofall

RE: JBIrd @sidesteppeddeath

       Ha! You got full government named Dickie! @toflyistofall

Oh come on! I didn’t even add tags! How did he respond so fast?

#hahaimindanger

Next Chapter

[mystic-myrtille]

Anyway here’s a little Migration fix-it with Lukanette I wrote for @airi-p4 based on this post ☺️💙 (Airi I‘m sorry this took so long kdhskahshs)

Sorry for any grammar or spelling mistakes!

Enjoy!

Gold record stepped through the portal on the Eiffel tower, ready to capture Luka. As he threw his golden record at the guitarist, Ladybug got herself into position, ready to strike as soon as the akumatized villain would be off guard. All according to plan.

The golden record touched Luka and he immediately turned into a light blue record floating in the air.

Now's the tim-

„I love Marinette~“

Ladybug froze.

„You know, I'll tell you who I love~ The most amazing, talented and smartest girl I know~ Funny and brave as well, the most extraordinary girl~ It's Marinette, you know, I love Marinette, you know~“

Ladybug watched the record wide eyes as Luka sang... about his feelings? For her?

Luka still had feelings for her??

„Her eyes are the prettiest blue, you know, like have you seen them?“

Ladybug blinked a few times, the mission completely forgotten as her attention was now entirely on Luka's song. A song she definitely hadn‘t expected at all.

She had been sure that after their break-up, it was over between them.

They were buddies now. Really good buddies. Especially considering how he had seemingly doubled down on his support of the, as Alya had called it, „Adrinette train“, she had assumed that any sort of romantic attraction, at least on his part, must've eventually worn off. Which she would understand, honestly. She had been a complete disaster as a girlfriend, of course Luka would move on quickly, and she knew that such a pure soul deserved better. So so much better.

„M'lady?“, Chat's voice spoke through the little ear piece. „Is everything okay? What about the plan?“

„Hold on,“ Ladybug replied. Even though she was still aware that letting Vinyl Luka sing could end with their identites being exposed, but then again, his heart seemed to have other priorities she was very interested in listening to.

„She'd the sweetest and I hope she's happy forever,“ the song went on, „from the bottom of my heart, you know. She's wonderful and and hot, I hope she knows~“

Ladybug slapped a hand over he mouth to keep herself from squealing. Luka wanted nothing but for her to be happy? And to know that she's wonderful? And hot!? Nobody has ever called her hot before! The thought of Luka thinking of her as hot… yeah that definitely did things to her…

Wait, what was she thinking??

„The most extraordinary girl, clear like a musical note, you know~“

Ok, now that was just entirely unfair! As if the entire thing hadn't already caught her completely off guard, this line gave her full on deja-vu, how Luka rested his hand on her shoulder to look deep into her eyes, smiling like she was the most precious thing he had ever seen to just casually drop the most beautiful love confession she had ever heard in her life, something even Adrien couldn‘t top.

„I love her more than my guitars, you know~“

Ladybug was too captivated to register anything that wasn't Vinyl Lukas singing, that she didn't realize her partner standing next to her until he poked her. She jumped with a loud „Agh!“

„M‘lady, what‘s going on?“, he asked confused.

„What are you doing here?,“ she scuffed, „didn‘t I tell you to stay put?“

„You weren‘t reacting and I got worried, so I came to look if everything‘s okay,“ he explained in a defensive tone, „What are you doing, what happened to ‘needing to do this quick, otherwise he tells Monarch out secret identities?‘ “

Ladybug fumbled with the needle. „Uhh… oh that. Well, he hasn‘t done that yet, so… uh…“

Shit, was she still blushing? God, hopefully Chat won‘t notice…

„So what, you wanna- wait a sec…“

Chat's ears pointed to the vinyl. „Is he singins about… Marinette?“, he muttered more to himself than anyone else, his tail flipping seemingly irritated. Ladybug swallowed. Chat sounded as if he was jealous. If he got jealous and threw a tantrum in any way, they were screwed…

Then again, didn’t he reject Marinette himself not too long ago? He had no reason to care…

Expect judging by the way he narrowed his eyes at the Luka record (which was now singing about getting lost in the bluest eyes, making Ladybug‘s mind go „same“ followed by a panicked „wait what am I thinking??“), maybe he wasn‘t so unbothered by that after all.

… What was his problem with Luka's love confession?

… and more importantly why was she the complete unbothered, quite thrilled even, by Luka's love song?

„Okay, let's end this,“ Chat said, then ran.

---

Golden record inspected the Luka record with a confused look.

„Wow, that's lame,“ he noted. „Nobody in this family has any talent. I'll teleport you to spa-“

The butterfly mask appeared over his face. „No! He knows their identites, he‘ll sing them any minute now…“

„Monarch, he's been going on non-stop with compliments and love confessions for 10 minutes, I don't think-“

The mask popped up again. „He‘ll sing!“

„Oh, just give it up already, this is getting pathetic. You'll find another way!“

He was about to open the portal to space, when suddenly, he was struck to the ground, his golden record flying in the air, only for Chat Noir to yell „Cataclysm!“ and turn it into dust.

Then a swarm of small ladybugs washed over him.

---

Luka sat up on the floor, looking around confused before the events of ten minutes ago came back to him, when he had lured the akuma to the Eiffel tower. And... oh god!

Had the plan worked? He hopefully hadn‘t said anything, right? Right??

Chat Noir walked up to him, offering a hand to help the musician stand up.

„Thank you,“ Luka muttered, still feeling a little dizzy, „Did the plan work?“

„Sort of,“ Chat said with a netral expression, „We had to improvise, but we won. It's all good now.“

„So I didn‘t blabber your identities?“

„No, you did not,“ Chat replied, rolling his eyes.

Luka smiled relieved. „Ok, good.“

He turned around to Ladybug, standing a few feet away. As soon as his gaze met hers, her cheeks became as red as her superhero suit and she looked away.

„Uuhh, yeah,“ she stammered, „Y-you didn't do anything wrong, you were hot- I mean perfect. Perfect.... bait. For the akuma. Akuma bait. Yeah.“

She rubbed her neck with her hand, looking entirely too flustered. Luka found that awfully cute.

„M'Lady, are you not feeling well? Your face is red,“ Chat noted sounding a little bitter.

Ladybug fumbled with her hands. „Uh, what? But of course not, I'm perfectly fine. I've never felt better my entire life! Don't worry about me, Luka was the one who got hit by golden record!“

She slowly looked at Luka again. „How do you feel? Are you okay?“

Luka smiled. „I'm okay, thanks to you.“

She gave him a shy smile back.

„Oh you little…!“

A voice caught their attention. Oh right, they‘ve completely forgotten about Mr. Roth, who was just getting up again, looking angry. „You take right after your father, Jagged Junior. You‘re just as talentless as the rest of this talentless family!“

„Wha- you take that back!“, Ladybug exclaimed, „You wish you had just an ounce of his musical abilities, you-“

She felt a hand on her shoulder and turn around to see Luka was now standing next to her, a calm smile on his face. „Even though I appreicate you standing up for me, don‘t bother with him, it‘s no use. Really, his words don‘t hurt me.“

Ladybug met his eyes and the way he smiled at her made her lips form into a smile as she was hit by another deja-vu. From when they had stood up to him together after he had stolen their work. They did make a pretty good team, huh?

„Ahem,“ Chat brought the attention back to him. He seemed even more annoyed than before. „So yeah, the day is saved and everything's wonderful, I’ll just take care of of more thing.“

Then he walked right over to Bob Roth, grabbed the man and threw him off the plattform.

Ladybug and Luka gasped. „Chat!“

„Don‘t worry, I‘ll catch him,“ Chat said as he casually walked over to the egde of the platform, then turned around again.

„Before I go,“ he turned around one last time looking at Luka, sounding a little cocky, „cute song, but I‘m afraid that it’s not going to work out between you two. Marinette's already taken.“

Luka furrowed his brows in surprise, but before he could ask any follow-up questions, the cat hero leaped off. He hurried over to the edge of the platform, Ladybug following him, to see Chat indeed catching Bob just in time.

„What the… I can‘t believe he just threw a man off the Eiffel tower!“, Ladybug uttered in disbelief. „What is with this guy?“

„Well, at least he caught him,“ Luka said, not sure what to make of that strange situation.

He looked over to Ladybug and met her eyes. „You okay?“

Ladybug clung to the railing, opening her mouth only to close it again and advert her gaze, blushing again. Luka blinked confused. After telling her he knew her identity, he expected her to act more upset. He wasn‘t entirely sure how to interpret this reaction.

„Ladybug, I-“

„Did you mean what you just sang?“, Ladybug blurted out, immediately slapping a hand over her mouth. „S-Sorry, didn‘t mean to yell… I-I mean... uhm...“

Luka tilted his head. „Is everything okay? Did I say… or sing something weird...?“

„Not at all,“ Ladybug reassured him, still blushing, „It's just that... you said something about… well…“

Luka took a few steps in her direction, closing the distance between them and put his hand on her shoulder. „Okay, let‘s try to calm down first, shall we? So deep breaths in-“

„Oh my god, Luka,“ Ladybug exclaimed irritated, „you just casually sing a song about how I‘m hot and you love me more than you love your guitars and expect me to pretend like I‘m fine?!“

Ladybug slapped a hand over her mouth. God, why did she never think before speaking??

Luka didn‘t move. He just blinked at her, processing what she had just said, until his eyes went wide and his furious blush matched hers.

„Wha- I mean, uhm… oh, I sang that?“ he stuttered, rubbing the back of his neck. „Wow… huh, so that‘s what Chat meant earlier. Well, glad we have this mystery uncovered.“

„It doesn‘t matter what he said,“ Ladybug rolled her eyes, thinking back to Chat’s unnecessarily rude attitude from earlier. „But… Luka, is it true? Do you love me?“

There was a hopeful glimmer in her eyes and she found herself wishing that he‘d say yes. Please say yes.

Luka held her gaze for a few seconds before looking down to his shoes. „Well, the akuma did make us share what‘s in our hearts, so…“

There was a moment fo silence between them, Ladybug taking a few seconds to fully process what Luka had just admitted to. But once she did, she felt her heart beating faster. Just like back then, when he had told her how he felt for the first time. Only that this time, he didn‘t walk away right after.

„B-but that shouldn‘t matter… you‘re taken, like Chat said, and I‘m not getting in the way. You‘re happy this way and that‘s all that-“

„But am I really?“

Luka finally looked up again.

„I mean,“ she continued, „if I really was so sure, wouldn‘t I be with the supposed boy of my dreams already? Instead of constantly feeling insecure about myself and actively avoiding him? And what does it mean that me learning about another boy loving me doesn‘t make me feel upset? And instead made me doubt a decision that… actually was mostly made for me?“

Luka tilted his head. „W-what do you mean?“

Ladybug shrugged.

„Maybe I‘m not so sure after all. I was happy when you were my boyfriend back then. A different kind of happy. A… less stressful happy?“

Luka chewed on his lips. „But that didn‘t work out because I was noisy and couldn‘t handle you having secrets you didn‘t want to share. So… I don‘t know…“

Ladybug stepped closer and looked deep into his eyes. He was thrown off guard by how close she was standing to him all of a sudden and swallowed.

„You being upset about somebody lying to you doesn‘t make you a bad person, you know?“

„But I shouldn‘t have tried to reveal it either!“

„You were akumatized, Luka.“

„But I could‘ve resisted,“ he said, „and I didn‘t. And then I found out on accident and kept it from you. I messed up big time and honestly, I‘m not sure I even deserve yout trust ever again. I just… I‘m so sorry for keeping quiet about this for so long. If I just had said something sooner, I could‘ve avoided this whole thing and…“

Ladybug didn‘t reply. She‘d lie if she said she didn‘t mind at all, it did hurt a little, knowing he hasn‘t been honest with her. But…

„You had good intentions,“ she said, „and I know we both didn‘t handle the situation perfectly, but that‘s really because of reasons we had no control over. I know keeping secrets this big in a relationship can hardly work out but…“

She took his hand in hers.

„But now we know our secrets, right?“

Luka blinked a few times, then smiled a little relieved. „Y-yes, I guess we do…“

Ladybug smiled. „I want to make a confession. I‘m actually a little happy you know. And understand why we had to end things. It was never because I didn‘t like you, I did. I really did…. And I think I still do.“

Now Luka was the speechless one.

„But… Adrien…?“

Ladybug shrugged. „I don‘t know. He still holds a special place in my heart, but… I feel so stressed out all the time. He sang a song for me few days ago and I completely freaked out and maybe that‘s a sign that… we‘re not meant to be romantic with each other. With you, it‘s different. With you, I feel like… it‘s okay to be myself.“

She squeezed his hand and smiled even wider. „Just myself.“

Luka chuckled and looked away for a moment, trying to hide his blush before realizing there‘s no use and looking back at Ladybug.

„So… what now?“

„Well… if you want, we could maybe… go out sometime?“, said Ladybug, „I mean, there‘s a chance I might have to do superhero but, but…“

„We can do something spontaneous,“ Luka suggested. „And if you have to go, I‘ll wait for you. Since I know you’ll come back.“

Ladybug smiled. „That sounds lovely.“

[brierburrbrito]

Okay, so huge fan of Miraculous Ladybug right here, however towards the end of season two, less of a Marinette fan. Well, less of a Marinette/Adrien fan. So! I had an idea after seeing all of the MariBat fics all over AO3 and decided ‘yes, but maybe AdriBat??? 👀’

So that’s exactly what Im doing! Im in the process of outlining an AdriBat crossover!!! Yay!

So far, the plot is that after the Miraculous team defeats Hawkmoth, and its revealed that he is in fact Adrien’s father, Adrien becomes a sort of social pariah. The miraculous’ have deactivated in order to give the Kwamii’s time to regain their energy.

Marinette and the others weren’t able to reveal their identities to Chat Noir before Adrien was sent off. He’s having a real rough time. So by some means or other, he ends up in Gotham City, all alone. He comes into the possession of *giggle* a BAT miraculous and uses it to feel like he has a purpose.

Except he also uses his own skills (and leftover cat miraculous tendencies) to steal miraculous’ from around the city, because Gotham’s rogues are somehow getting them and its making life difficult for the Bats.

So the Bats are looking for two people who ARE THE SAME PERSON. One is a hero who is more like a bat than Batman, the other is a literal Cat burglar who seems to be more stealthy than Catwoman. They learn about the Miraculous through Constantine, and call in the closest known guardian.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

All while this happens, no one knows what happened to Adrien Agreste.

And because I can’t write a heteronormative ship to save my afterlife, assume everything is gayer than a rainbow.

[inke-ri]

So I had a different post up about the miraculous movie and how it wasn't perfect but - as someone who liked the series back when it was just Ladybug and Chat Noir against the world, and sorta naturally dropped it when the show started to introduce more heroes just bc it wasn't my thing - it felt nice and it gave me closure.

I was just gonna rewrite it in a way I liked better, but Jesus, whatever minor desire to pick the show back up again was very quickly snuffed out by how negative the a browse through the fandom tags felt. It's like people who like the movie are rubbing it in with a sort of arrogance, and the people who don't are almost gatekeepy with how "it's not the show" and how inferior it is bc of that. And I feel like wanting to talk about that instead.

Like. There are actual criticisms and praise going around but it gets lost in a sea of salt. It's kinda scary.

Personally, I liked it. It had some very cheesy lines, a couple scene transitions could have been better, What Have They Done To My Son, Plagg, and Adrienette's dynamic would have benefitted from a couple extra scenes (just a few tweaks showing him a little embarrassed or staring a little longer than usual in the Baddie Of The Day Montage(tm) would fix it, since I think they do a decent job of setting Marinette as special to Adrien given she's the only person we see him open up to about his mom, when we know he and Nino are friends and Nino already stated to always be there for him), to make the turning the ball invitation down + reveal hit harder, but overall it was fun. It was different.

What I truly cannot understand how this isn't Miraculous or how it doesn't really have a story. Sure, it's not The Series but in movie format, including the characterizations (they ARE different characters), but?? I feel like the core of who they are, or who they were back when the show began, still remains. Marinette still struggles with self confidence (which is in line with her season 1 self), and I particularly love how you can see how she HAS that spice bubbling underneath the surface, she just needed a push to embrace it and grow more confident (very Origins of her). Adrien is still closed off and quiet, and I love the implication that it was each other that gave them the push they needed to open up and be stronger and more social. I love how it was still Adrien's kindness that made Marinette fall for him, and Ladybug's bravery and selflessness that caught Chat Noir's eye.

Marinette is still clumsy and a little over excited, which we see in the first music, it just has a sense of WONDER to it instead of a frazzled energy like in the show, lol, poor baby. Adrien is still flirty and punny, he's still closed off, except show Adrien is trying to put up a brave face about it and trying to move on, and movie Adrien has lived with grief for longer and developed different coping mechanisms in regards to it. They're both very interesting in their own right, and I think the timing of Emilie's loss really explains the changes in him- movie Adrien is just past the meek attempts to be happy that show Adrien is still trying to do. He lost his mom and lived with an absent father for much longer than his show counterpart and it SHOWS. It's a different flavor of Adrien, but I think it's a neat choice, to have LB be the reason why he chose to open up. Show Adrien was interesting bc he chose to stand up to his dad in order to go to school, but he still felt alienated from his peers. The movie just makes that separation clearer but lets Adrien grow and hang out with his friends* and create actual bonds with them thanks to having first created a bond with Ladybug. It's a cool take on it.

I also really like what they did with Hawkmoth, though I don't think I can compare it to the show bc back when I watched it Gabriel was more or less just the absent father, mustache twirling villain that he was. This is where that * is inserted, I think the biggest change is that show Gabriel was more controlling of his son's life, and more demanding. Movie Gabriel straight up "lets" Adrien go missing for a whole night and only tries to talk to him the day after. He doesn't seem to mind Adrien spending time with his friends. He doesn't micromanage his son, though we still see hints of that control in how he talks about his designs, so its there, just a little hidden, that pride and arrogance. Again, it's a different flavor of Gabriel, but it works within the characterization of the movie and what they wanted for his character. Reminds me a bit of the Gabriel that wasn't willing to hurt Adrien (which apparently is an early series thing only, rip lmao) but was willing to go all out on Ladybug and Chat Noir.

So... yea. Maybe I'm just out of touch with the fandom and the show. Maybe it's because the characters have grown in ways I simply don't know bc I lost interest, and the modern MLB fandom understandably attaches those changes to the characters and wants to see it represented, which is valid. But tbh? I still love early MLB - not bc the "writing was better" or bc of Astruc v Zag shenanigans (are those still going? oh the war flashbacks) - just bc I vibed with the concept more. I love the show versions of these characters. And I think the movie is a different spin on them, but I think it does them justice. It has flaws, but the show also did, and I loved it anyway.

Speaking of just what I watched back then... I still think nothing in the movie tops the Umbrella Scene(tm), but I love that Ladynoir got a cute equivalent in the sparring one. I love the banter in both. I love the Adrienette moments in the show and I love how the movie expands on the inconditional trust between Chat and Ladybug, on how they're partners and always there for each other. I love Tikki in both. Show Plagg is my baby. I love what they did with Hawkmoth in both (movie and s1/some of s2). Master Fu as a cooky old man is hilarious. The cringe somehow got cringier in the movie. I think it's funny that movie Adrien gets to have his own "oh my god the second hand embarrassment, I want to cry" to balance out show Marinette lol. I love Chat still simping for LB and I love the cute little romance scenes, shipping fodder moments were always one of the strengths of the show, and we have it here in spades, so good for me.

It's just... as I said, it's different, but to me it's a love letter to the MLB that captivated me for years. It does its own thing, but I think I'm just gonna make a few tweaks in my head, mash Origins with the first half of the movie, then watch season 1 and a few select season 2 episodes, then go back to the movie to finish it up. I actually think that they complement each other quite well, even with the characterization changes, because, for example, the early seasons compensate for the movie's lack of Adrienette, while the show expands on the ladynoir side. If you use both, then the movie manages to effectively reverse the love square, allow Mari to grow past her awkward self, deal with the bits of insecurity in her that we still see sprinkled across the series, allow Adrien to stand up to and face his father, and give me a satisfying conclusion to the Hawkmoth plot and a cute little reveal.

I could go on over more talked about topics like the music (its fine. Christina inserts a certain breathlesness to Marinette that you feel Lou is trying to capture but she just can't. I got used to it tho, and Lou's voice is lovely) or the animation (gorgeous), like I did in the original version of this post, but to me what mattered most was the... For lack of a better word, the vibe of the movie. To me, it felt like a little time capsule bc it really embodies everything the fandom liked about the show during season 1 and its hiatus. I can't give it an objective score bc I think my 8.5/10 feels very biased, but I loved the nostalgia trip. I loved getting that closure. I'm still gonna go off and enjoy parts of both the show and the movie, because something something stronger together might just apply to them as well :)

[stormiclown]

Ladies & Gentlemen : Head-cannons

[Someone suggested I should this so here we are]

-Stephan was definitely chased around by people who only wanted to be his friend to get a leg up in higher class society, so he always avoided them and made himself seem unpleasant. He’s likely never had any real friends before Francois DuPont.

-His type is artistic people with multiple talents. He won’t entertain anyone who is all talk and no effort as shown when he rebuffed Lila and shut down Adrien.

-For their first date, Stephan would most likely take Marinette to an amusement park, fashion museum, or a fancy night dinner.

-If Stephan were to ruin Adrien’s life, he would do it socially as his father would frown at trying to ruin Gabriel’s company. But he has no qualms about trying to outshine the company.

-Stephan’s father was the one who taught him everything about social manipulation and intimidation tactics. He had to get his attitude from somewhere.

-Stephan loves Marinette’s designs, but loves modeling them for her even more.

-Marinette is his first girlfriend and the first person he’d ever been curious about. Whenever they spend time together, they usually go to parks and hang out at her internships.

-Before going to Francois DuPont, Stephan only used manipulation for himself and only his vindictive side if he was provoked or disrespected first. Now with Marinette and his friends, he’d use his social charm to protect them from others.

-He’s an Aquarius, that’s for sure.

-For model work, he is actually very active to the clothing designing process more than the modeling part, though does enjoy it.

-Any person who tries to harm Marinette can say good bye to their social life. Messing with Stephan is basically like committing social suicide.

-Marinette is unaware of the threats toward Adrien and finds Stephan to be amazing.

-She secretly resents Adrien for never standing up for her whenever Lila started on her BS.

-Despite his morally grey methods, all of her friends support their relationship because deep down, Stephan is a good person.

-I can imagine him being the new Cat hero if Adrien were removed from the team.

-In his conquest to destroy anyone who is a threat to his plans or happiness, he has shown resourcefulness and wits, as shown when he patiently (found) compiled a bunch of clips of Chat Noir’s less than noble moments and used his platform to promote the evidence in order to shake Paris’ faith in the hero. Yeah, his reach is wide spread. I wouldn’t get on his bad side.

-He’d have no problem getting Lila blacklisted from the fashion and photography industries if she tries anything funny.

-Lila may be a charming liar, but Stephan is a charismatic genius, capable of wrapping an entire school around his fingers, charm an entire city as the new hero, and bring about social demise to anyone who tries to cross him.

-He is a very attentive and caring boyfriend who is always willing to listen and can pick up on any questions that show if Marinette is upset.

That’s all I have for now. I might add more later.

[hattafan2593]

Prompt For Miraculous Ladybug Fanfic

A character (member of the cast, OC, or even Marinette) basically calls out Alya for being inconsistent with her stance on Marinette's crush on Adrien, as well as her stance on Marinette's opinion of Lila. One minute she's chiding Marinette for letting her "jealousy" get the better of her, the next she's pushing Marinette into yet another scheme to get with Adrien, regardless of whether or not she actually wants to be involved.

There are a lot of people who view Marinette as a creepy stalker - and I do see where they're coming from, some of the things she does in the show makes me raise my eyebrows - but whether you're a fan of Marinette or not, Alya is making her issues worse. If Marinette is a stalker, then Alya is enabling her bad behavior, then later chastising her for action she herself encouraged.

So which is it? Is Marinette's crush problematic or not? If Alya genuinely believes that Marinette is so obsessed with Adrien that she would make things up and be a bitch to someone she barely hangs around purely out of spite, then the crush is clearly a problem, and she needs to stop with the schemes. If it's not a problem, then Alya needs to consider that Marinette's dislike of Lila is more than just simple jealousy.

[theerurishipper]

Just saw a post that said Adrien is a love bomber... are we really throwing buzzwords around for the sake of salting on Adrien, the abuse victim? Love bombing is an emotional manipulation tactic, and it is usually paired with the cycle of abuse. Adrien is not abusive. He is not emotionally manipulating Marinette. He is showing her affection. I guess we're demonizing showing our loved ones any sort of affection now...

Yeah fr, people will throw around all kinds of words istg. This is the definition of love bombing:

Love bombing is a tactic in which someone “bombs” you with extreme displays of attention and affection with the intent to manipulate you. Although being showered with "love" can seem positive at the beginning of a romantic relationship, love bombing can lead to gaslighting and abuse. Psychologists caution it might be a tactic used by a narcissist or sociopath in an attempt to control you.

Anyways, Adrien doesn't do this. In fact, this is what Gabriel does to Adrien. From this article:

In a relationship with a pathological predator, love bombing is combined with intermittent reinforcement to create a sense of instability and longing in the victim. Intermittent reinforcement (in the context of psychological abuse) is a pattern of cruel, callous treatment mixed in with periodic affection. The abuser hands out rewards such as affection, a compliment, or gifts sporadically and unpredictably throughout the abuse cycle. This causes the victim to perpetually seek their approval while settling for the crumbs of their occasional positive behavior.

This is exactly what Gabriel does. Whenever it seems like Adrien is rebelling against him because he is tired of Gabriel's neglect, Gabriel will offer him a little concession. Adrien is rebelling against him? Fine, let him go to school. In this way, Adrien doesn't rebel against his father anymore, and Gabriel can keep him under his control, because now Adrien will continue to believe the best of his father and will continue to try and earn his love. Another example is in Gorizilla. Adrien gets tired of Gabriel stopping him from seeing his mother's movie, and sneaks out. Later, Gabriel allows him to watch the movie, and throws in a little bit of gaslighting in there, essentially blaming Adrien for not being open with him and making him feel guilty, when it's his own fault his son didn't open up to him, which is because he's a neglectful asshat.

This is Gabriel and Adrien's relationship. Adrien stays with his father and tries so hard to please him, because Gabriel has instilled in him that love is something conditional that is to be earned. And whenever it seems like Adrien is breaking away from this mentality, Gabriel will do something "nice" for him, which will bring Adrien right back, because he's an abused child who wants to believe the best of his father and wants his love and affection.

Again, to quote the article:

As author Adylen Birch writes, “Creating fear of losing the relationship and then relieving it periodically with episodes of love and attention is the perfect manipulation.” Much like the way a gambler at a slot machine becomes addicted to playing the game for a potential win despite the risk of major loss, a victim in the abuse cycle can become attached to the idea of getting a return on their investment in the relationship despite the toll it takes on their well-being.

There's actually an example of this in the show. From Illusion:

Adrien: Speaking of which, Dad, I'm not really comfortable with having my face on all these rings. That's actually why I didn't want to be a model anymore, to avoid that. Do you understand? Gabriel: Of course, I understand, my son. But that's the point; it's just an image, it's not you! And since this image frees you from your obligations, we, the Agrestes, are able to spend more time together. But if you'd rather everything went back to the way it was before, just say the word. Adrien: (wears the Alliance ring on his index finger) You're probably right.

Gabriel even explicitly says what he's doing, which is holding the threat of going back to their previous relationship over his son's head to emotionally manipulate him. To refer back to the article, he creates the fear of losing the relationship in Adrien, and then makes a big deal of showing that he cares so much about Adrien and his future, and he makes him breakfast. This is love-bombing. And so, Adrien goes along with whatever Gabriel wants as long as he doesn't lose it. And so, he continues to do what Gabriel wants, which is to accept the Alliance rings and his image being used in ways he doesn't want. And true enough, Adrien goes back to defending his father after he finally worked up the courage to confront him for his shit in the beginning.

Adrien: My father? But Nino, he's changed, he's making an effort, and it's the first time he's coming to school!

I could go on, and there are several examples of this in the show, but then we'd be here forever. But I highly recommend that article. I just read it, and it is literally Gabriel and Adrien, oh my god. It's very informative and I think we should all be aware of this.

But anyways, back to your question anon (sorry for the tangent). Adrien doesn't love bomb. Adrien is just very affectionate. He doesn't withdraw affection from anyone, he doesn't make them settle for scraps. He doesn't try to manipulate anyone, he doesn't gaslight anyone, he doesn't try to make them seek his approval. Adrien is always kind and loving towards everybody he cares for.

In fact, Adrien does the exact opposite. He fawns over others, and he tries to earn their love and approval. This is because of Gabriel's abuse. And to accuse him of love bombing is so disgusting. Honestly, people just throw those words around like candy. But then again, I've seen what the side of the fandom that might have said this usually says, and it's usually the same victim-blamey abuse apologist rhetoric, so I'm not even surprised.

Thank you for your ask!

[nobodyfamousposts]

Do you have any Gabriel salt fics? I sometimes feel like you salt more on Adrien than him

Of course I salt on Adrien. It's like adding a bit of salt to a bland dish to give it flavor because it's still worth the time and effort even if you don't particularly like it otherwise.

Gabriel is just shit. There's no point trying to add salt to make it appetizing. I've written entire essays on how much of an idiot he is. I expect nothing from this character.

But if you want to know my stories that make fun of Gabriel or call out his stupidity or horribleness...

Gabriel's Lament - where Gabriel makes the Wish and it doesn't go well for him. Plagg manages to take some revenge, however little he can get.

Take Out The Trash - Dolls AU where Gabriel tries to throw Littlebug away and she does not take kindly to this.

My-Crack-Ulous: The Movie Trailer - Just crack that pokes fun at the setup and Gabriel in general.

Papa's Day - Another Dolls AU where Gabriel sucks as a Dad and Adrien realizes he's a better one.

My-Crack-Ulous: Akumaid - More crack and Gabriel suffers.

Dolls at Play - More Dolls and more callout specifically at Gabriel.

Guardian Assistant Kevin - Where Villain Assistant Kevin takes Marinette as a client and calls out a lot of things including Hawk Moth.

Banned Movie List - More Dolls where they watch movies and get ideas.

Akuma-ed - More Dolls where Gabriel tries to akumatize the Dolls and it does not work out for him.

Oneshot where Gabriel messes with human-turned-Chaton and Adrien does NOT approve

The Hero of Paris - a one shot pointing out how stupid it was for Gabriel to transform on a TRAIN.

...

So yeah, a number of them are Dolls AU, but they really don't like him and he deserves it.

I've also got Gabriel essays and a tag I've often used literally called "Gabriel Is An Idiot"/"Hawk Moth Is An Idiot", but not sure if you want those.

[baenyth]

First Half of Miraculous Season 2 Done. Here's my thoughts:

The Collector: A pretty good start! They made the teens smart while still being dumb teens!

Despair Bear: Chloe needs a therapist, arguably moreso than a redemption arc and especially a downward villainous spiral. Also Dangit Grandpa

Prime Queen: Wow, this was a lot more chill than expected. Even Cat Noir was left aghast at what Nadja was doing, Nadja seemed to be pressuring Ladybug and Cat Noir more for views than anything else, and I'm not entirely sure Akuma personalities can be trusted.

Befana: Fun fact: This was the episode that got me into Miraculous in the first place because of how shocking it was. And then I discovered even more. In hindsight from watching the other episodes, it was relatively darker, but mostly because it's Marinette's friends and family that are getting G-rated killed instead of random civilians like every other episode.

Riposte: Kagami is here! I don't see too much chemistry with her and Adrien yet, but she's cool and I like her and feel like I could be friends in real life. Also this feels like a relatively uncommon trope, but I wish "X is blatantly a woman but no one notices" was spedran through by someone with brains.

Robustus: Pretty good, all things considered. From what I've heard about Miraculous lore, creating sapient or at the very least semi-sapient AI isn't that uncommon for weirdness hotspots, and I'm putting Max in the list of characters I think should have figured out Ladybug and Cat Noir's identity. (There's four now!)

Gigantitan: It turns out my favorite parts of Miraculous are the slice-of-life bits instead of the superhero bits the show is about! We got to see more of Marinette's friends! Alix! Mylene! Julie! The Eeby Deeby herself! Also it was really sweet to see Adrien's bodyguard calm down just by looking at the kid. Adrien's true daddy.

Dark Owl: No wonder these two aren't allowed to know eachothers' identities, considering how much of a loose tongue Marinette has!

Glaciator: Alright, it's finally time to talk about the sins of Marinette and Cat Noir, considering the fan content I osmosed before watching the series was heavy salt stuff, and I wanna see how much it holds up. So far Cat Noir has acted as if he's already dating Ladybug previously, and in this episode he got mad at Ladybug for not showing up at a date when she herself said she might not come due to having other plans. Isn't he supposed to be used to not-showing-up disappointment as Adrien due to his dad? Is it different because he's Cat Noir? Is this a breaking point? No matter, he eventually calms down and is ultimately the less bad member of the relationship. Marinette, meanwhile, doesn't have as many misdemeanors to her name but they're a lot worse. She stole Adrien's phone to get rid of an embarrassing message and got away with it too, what the hell, and also owns the schedule. Although I don't believe she stalked Adrien and made it herself due to how busy she is as both Marinette and Ladybug, that's just weird and wrong. I'm reluctant to call her a stalker, but her actions are still wrong. Ultimately, this relationship is going to need a lot of therapy and counseling to not crash and burn. What were we talking about again? Oh yeah. The ice cream episode. I think the ice cream guy can be wrong and he doesn't understand that.

Sapotis: Silly little fun episode, also it introduces the first new Miraculous holder! I'm honestly fine with it so far if it means more screentime for side characters. I honestly really like seeing Marinette's classmates. They're neat. Also I was this close to putting Alya on the list but she proves time and time again that she doesn't actually know Ladybug's identity.

Gorizilla: In this episode we are introduced to Adrien's deranged parasocial fanbase. I'm starting to understand some of his father's decisions at this point. This is what I was talking about with the schedule, by the way. These obsessive stalker creeps make Marinette look reasonable, and I wouldn't be surprised if the one guy who I'm pretty sure becomes Party Crasher discreetly stalked Adrien to get his schedule. Restraining orders need to be filed.

Captain Hardrock: One of the funniest episodes, up there with Dark Cupid. Also Luka is here! And he already has great chemistry with Marinette! And more Rosie and Julie content even if it's crumbs!

[darkwitch1999]

@darkwitch1999, I got a question. It’s a little bit of Marinette salt, but what was Noelle and Devin’s worst experience with Marinette/Ladybug?

Well, @princessbutterflysposts. In an alternate reality where Marinette/Ladybug is an even worse bitch than Chloe, Lila, or even the Parisian Mean Girls quartet, I can imagine any one of these scenarios happening that would cause Noelle and Devin to hold a grudge.

Devin Nolan

During the first year of junior high, Marinette almost turned him into a social pariah just because he comes from a wealthy family and she saw him talking to Chloe ONE TIME! Apparently having money and telling Chloe to "fuck off" meant that he was another spoiled rich brat according to Marinette's perspective.

Fortunately, it didn't take long for Devin to convince everyone that he was nothing at all like Chloe. Though Marinette just switched tactics and used his cold, aloof personality as an excuse.

Ignores Devin's intense fear of being touched. She claims that Devin is just being "angsty" and "overdramatic" and doesn't take his phobia seriously.

Whenever Devin shoves her off or hits her whenever she touches him, she plays the victim card, making it seem as if Devin was a jerk despite her being the one clearly in the wrong.

Marinette mocked Devin's psychological fixation on being perfect when she found Devin having a panic attack in an isolated area of the school after he had gotten a 99% on a test. Didn't even stop to consider that as a red flag of psychological trauma/abuse. Again, claiming that he was being "overdramatic".

Ladybug tried to recruit him into becoming a superhero when someone he was close to got akumatized, but when Devin refused because he wasn't interested or comfortable with becoming a superhero, Ladybug had the audacity to call him "selfish".

Devin eventually gave in when Ladybug wouldn't stop pestering/gaslighting him for his help. Jokes on Ladybug, when Devin saw an opportunity to talk the akuma down, he de-transformed right in front of the akuma and revealed himself. He had to endure a harsh lecture from Ladybug about how what he did was "dangerous" and that she could never trust him with a miraculous again.

Devin wasn't even fazed by Ladybug's rant. The whole time she's lecturing him he is all like ("Yeah, don't ask me to do this shit again!").

Noelle Odeja

She's best friends with Lila....need I say more? Well, alright then.

Noelle played a horror-themed practical joke on Marinette on Halloween by putting fake dismembered body parts in her locker. Immediately, Marinette made it seem like she was being "victimized all over again" and compared the prank to the ones that Chloe and Kim played on her last year despite Noelle's joke being tame compared to what those two pulled.

Marinette's "Liars and Cheaters are losers" mentality has made her unsympathetic to Noelle's family problems. Thinking that Noelle's father is a horrible person for having an affair when she doesn't know how abusive Noelle's mother is towards her husband.

Every time Noelle brings up her parents arguing at home again, the first thing that comes out of Marinette's mouth is "What did your Dad do this time?".

The scar near Ronan's eye? "He probably deserved it!" Bitch, the woman blinded him just because he was defending his son from his transphobic mother!

Noelle wore a dress to school on the ONE day a year she wears a skirt or dress (Picture Day) and Marinette won't stop telling her how she looks "better" or "prettier" in dresses and that she should wear them all the time, ignoring the fact that Noelle expressed her distaste for wearing dresses and skirts.

Since Ronan and Gabriel Agreste are old friends and Ronan does photography work for him sometimes, Marinette is always trying to exploit this to her favor by trying to convince Noelle to help her with the "Adrinette" plans. ("Uh, hell no.")

Noelle's brother, Michael, offers free nail paintings to Noelle and her friends. Naturally, Marinette is not on the friends list and thus does not get the privilege of having awesome nail polish art done on her nails like everyone else.

In retaliation, Marinette called in a fake anonymous tip to the police that Michael was in possession of illegal drugs. No surprise that the police didn't find anything but because the studio that Michael worked at knows about his history of substance abuse, he had to pass a drug test to avoid getting fired.

Though Noelle couldn't prove it, something just kept nagging at her that Marinette was responsible for the bogus report.

Ronan had gotten akumatized after having a horrible fight with his wife. Noelle was present when her father got de-akumatized and she had to listen to Ladybug give her father a speech about "forgiveness" and that he should apologize to his wife. Noelle had to summon every ounce of restraint that she had to not punch Paris's "beloved superheroine" in public.

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

If there was a cult club out there that was all about hating Marinette, I bet that these two would join in a heartbeat.

[ravennm84]

Making Your Own Luck

Quick story I wrote while thinking of Plagg’s love of cheese, Tikki’s love of cookies, and the different ways we associate with good and bad luck. Sprinkle in a little Lila salt and you’ve got some wonderful brain candy to tide you over until the next story. Warm-Fuzzies and enjoy!!

There were more than a few abilities that kwamiis had that normally weren't used. Kaalki could improve her holder's horseback riding ability. Pollen could help flowers grow when she spent enough time in an area. 

Tikki's power over luck and good fortune was very well known. But it wasn't only her lucky charm, but her ability to take away luck. Now, this wouldn't give someone bad luck, that's Plagg's thing and had started the whole black cat crossing your path superstition. It would just set a person's luck to zero, and their actions afterwards would determine if it turned good or bad. This is where the concept of karma and the saying 'making your own luck' came from.

Normally, these were abilities that kwamiis kept to themselves or would become a side effect of being active for an extended period of time. Tikki was able to control that ability easily… until her holder came across that Italian rat, Lila Rossi. Oh, how she wished for the chance to reset that girl's luck and let karma determine her punishment. It would be so easy, just a second of physical contact and all her luck would disappear. Then everything she did would continue to build and grow, not that the little Goddess had to guess which way it would go.

 Then, one glorious Tuesday morning, Lila accused Marinette of stealing her orange pen. Tikki had been eating her blueberry and lemon curd macaron while reclining on a silk scarf when the girl snatched the purse she was in. Marinette tried to get it back, horrified when Lila opened the latch and shoved her hand inside. 

The purse jostled roughly to one side, causing Tikki's cookie to fall to the floor as the stolen pen slid out of the girl's sleeve and into the purse. What happened next occurred so quickly, that she would always claim, while ignoring Plagg's jokes and side eyes, that it was a complete accident. Tikki grabbed the pen, touching Lila’s fingers as she pushed away and fazed through the bottom of the purse. With all the chaos of Lila keeping the purse out of Marinette’s reach and Mme. Bustier, demanding that everyone calm down, no one noticed the kwamii fly under the desks, drop the pen under Lila’s chair, and return to Marinette to hide in her backpack. 

"...but she took my pen, I saw her put it in-"

"If that is the case, you tell me and I will handle it," Bustier said sternly, displeased that her lesson had been interrupted and her pregnancy hormones giving her a shorter fuse. "Give Marinette her purse back, now." She did, barely hiding her smirk. "Marinette, may I please take a look inside your purse?" 

Hands shaking from the adrenaline, having a flashback of the last time her bag had been searched, and worried about Tikki being found, Marinette wanted to say no. It was only when she spotted Tikki out of the corner of her eye, head poking out of her backpack and giving a reassuring nod, that she handed over her purse.

A few seconds later, Bustier handed the purse back and cast a disappointing scowl at Lila. "I believe you owe Marinette an apology." 

Shock broke through Lila’s façade as she sputtered. "But… but she took my favorite orange pen. I swear I saw-"

"Isn't this it?" Nathaniel asked, causing everyone to turn and see him pick the pen up from under their shared desk. 

Sputtering a bit more, Lila clenched her jaw before giving Marinette a terse "sorry" before stomping back to her seat. 

Plagg knew exactly what his Sugarcube had done, he'd felt the slight spike of power after the cookie had shattered on the floor and that brat had shoved her hand into Pigtail's purse. The embarrassment of apologizing in front of the class was just the start. He knew the girl wouldn't accept defeat so easily, and the consequences would keep growing. 

And he was not disappointed. 

Lila tried to trip Marinette in the cafeteria, and ended up stubbing her toe on a table leg hard enough to cry real tears. When she attempted to switch their homework assignments in Mendeleiev's class, the teacher not only spotted the switch but proved it in front of everyone by comparing handwriting. That got Lila a week of detention. 

Then, at the end of the day, Lila accidentally dumped her water bottle all over Marinette’s head and backpack. Despite acting oh-so apologetic and reminding everyone about her weak wrist, she wasn't getting the support or assurances of "it's not your fault" that she expected. Many glared at her while others ran off to get towels to help Marinette. Realizing that she miscalculated and did too much on a single day, Lila made a hasty retreat outside. Only to get absolutely soaked when a car sped through a puddle on the street. 

Plagg laughed his little whiskers off from that one. But he knew it was just starting. He couldn't wait to hear about what happened away from school. 

~oOo~

The following morning, Lila looked like she'd been dropped into Dante's Inferno and spat back out just in time for school. What happened didn't even have anything to do with Marinette, so she couldn't blame it on her. That just annoyed her all the more.

While storming home wet from the puddle, she kicked a pebble that hit a bird, then a flock of birds swarmed her while she ran for two blocks. She shoved a neighbor out of the way when she got to her apartment building, and the door flew back and cracked her in the nose. It bled for over ten minutes. 

She went to the mall for some retail therapy, coupled with a five finger discount, and was caught immediately. Her mother was called and she was banned from the mall for life. Greta was not happy with her daughter and gave her extra chores as punishment. While Lila was muttering mean and disrespectful things about her parents while cleaning the bathroom, she didn't account for the volume of her voice or the bathroom tiles echoing what she said. Her grounding was extended. 

All this made Lila’s mood particularly volatile when she arrived at school that morning. Not bothering to pay attention to what was around her, she gave Mireille a shove out of the way, making the girl stumble down the stairs. A couple seconds later, Lila slipped on the wet steps and fell all the way to the bottom. Her classmates saw the whole thing, and although they were miffed that she pushed someone, they still helped Lila to the nurse to get checked out. Nothing broken, but there were multiple new bruises to match her black and purple nose.

In class, Marinette had to resist the urge to stare at the hot mess her bully had become in a single day. The rest of the class had noticed too. Nathaniel decided to move up a row to sit with Ivan. Rose and Juleka cast wary glances in her direction whenever Lila started muttering to herself. Even Mme. Bustier had to tell Lila multiple times to stop talking with the threat of detention. 

By the time lunch came around, Marinette made sure to be with one other person at all times. With how unhinged Lila was getting, she didn't want to risk being caught alone with her. Luckily, Ivan, Rose, and Juleka wanted to talk with her about the new designs for Kitty Section, so she was covered. 

Lila noticed how the class was starting to avoid her. Fighting off the urge to curse and scream at them, she took a few deep breaths to clear her mind. She'd been rushing too much for the last two days, she knew that. Trying to compensate for her failure was only bringing more attention to herself and the sheep were noticing that something wasn't right. She had to slow down and make them come to her.

For the next few days, Lila backed down. She smiled at her followers, paid attention in class, and would occasionally look at her phone in distress and act like she was fighting off tears. By Monday morning, things were going better for her. She'd avoided getting in any more trouble with her mom and teachers, she'd texted a fake apology to her classmates, and admitted that she was going through something that was causing a lot of stress. When some of them asked what it was, Lila timidly said that she was too nervous to say anything else. She knew they would bug her and assure her that she could tell them anything. 

Monday morning, just as she planned, everyone was encouraging her to trust them and tell them what was bothering her. Seeing that Bustier and Marinette weren't in class yet, she knew now was the time to strike.

Squeezing her eyes shut as she harshly pinched the inside of her elbow to bring tears, she started weaving her story. "It's just, someone's been bullying over text. It's so bad. She keeps telling me that I'll lose all my friends and that I should just kill myself," she said between forced sobs as she dropped her head into her hands. "And it never stops. Sh- she texts all day and into the night. And when I tried to show my mom, the messages were gone. I don't know how, but it's like my phone got hacked and the messages disappear after I've read them."

Max mentioned that there are self deleting message apps, but he wasn’t familiar with them. Then he looked at her searchingly. "You keep saying 'she', that would indicate that you are aware of who is behind this?"

Doing her best surprised face, Lila shook her head. "I can't say, none of you would believe that Marinette would-" she gasped and covered her mouth. "Oh no, I really shouldn't have said anything."

Lila watched as the sheep exchanged surprised looks while Adrien glared at her, but he wouldn't say anything. His father would have made sure of that. 

"You're saying that Marinette, our class rep, has been bullying you over text?" Alix asked, unease evident in her tone.

She shook her head while turning up the water works. "I knew I shouldn't have said an-anything. She's your friend, too."

"You said she's been doing this constantly?" Mylene asked, eyeing her carefully as Lila nodded. "When did she last send you one of those texts?"

Sniffling, Lila rubbed her eyes to give herself a second to think. It felt like these were leading questions, like they knew something she didn't. Meaning they'd probably spent time with her over the weekend and would have noticed her messaging Lila constantly. But since everyone was here and Marinette wasn't…

"Right before class. It- it asked if I was dead yet." Another sniffle and she was sure the class was wrapped around her fing-

"Marinette was right! You are a liar!"

Lila was so surprised by Kim's outburst, she forgot to keep crying and stared at everyone as they glared at her in disgust and moved away from her.

"I can't believe we almost bought that crap you were selling!" Alix turned away, face turning red in anger.

"But- but it's the truth! I-"

"There is a .03% chance of what you said being true." Max interrupted, staring down his nose at her. "At this point it is better that you admit it."

Casting a desperate look around the classroom, she was surprised that no one looked supportive. Even Adrien looked absolutely done with her. Realizing the jig was up, she let her expression morph to anger and annoyance as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Wow, I'm surprised you idiots figured it out. Usually you do exactly what I say after faking a few tears. I'm curious, what gave me away?"

The sudden change in the Italian girl gave them a bit of whiplash, but Nino answered her. "You ruined Marinette’s phone when you dumped your water on her. She isn't getting a new one until this Friday. No way she could have been messaging you at all."

"Huh, I guess it was worth dumping that on her, even if you idiots started to notice." Then she shrugged and stood from her seat. "Oh well, good to know for my next school, this place was getting stagnant anyway."

Kim blocked her way. "You're not going to get away with-"

"Shut it, you stupid jock. I've already got Bitch-stier and Dumb-ocles eating out of my hand. When I tell them you're ganging up on me, all of you will get detention while I walk free." Sidestepping her soon-to-be former classmates, she gave them a sarcastic wave and smile as she bid them "ciao" and opened the door…

To come face to face with a furious teacher, principal, and her mother!? What's she doing here? Did they just hear what I said?

The thought barely finished when her mother reached out, literally grabbed her by the ear, and dragged her out the door. The class watched in shock as Mme Rossi screamed and lectured her daughter all the way to Damocles' office. 

They would be informed days later that Lila had been sent to military school in Italy. In lycee, they heard rumors that she had been arrested for stalking a local celebrity in Venice. During university, Alya found an article about Lila Rossi being sentenced to 30+ years in prison for attempting a ponzi scheme. It had failed terribly and her victims got all their money back, but Lila would have to serve 5 years for each of her victims. 

Not that it mattered to them anymore. The class was too busy with their own lives and futures to put much thought into some lying brat that they went to school with for a little while. 

Bonus:

Tikki fought her grin as she watched Lila being dragged away by her ear as she and Marinette came up the stairs. Sighing with relief, she was about to enjoy a well deserved treat when she heard a familiar snicker behind her.

"Nice going, Sugarcube. Couldn't have done it better, myself." Plagg cackled as he passed her a cookie before indulging in a wedge of cheese he'd brought with him.

She grudgingly took the cookie before looking away from him. "It was an accident, I touched her hand when she tried planting that pen in my holder’s purse. What happened was her own doing and not my fault."

"Su~re. And the fact that she interrupted your cookie time and dumped your macaron onto the floor had nothing to do with it?"

The look she gave him had Plagg laughing on the inside. Only on the inside.

"That was a perfectly baked, blueberry macaron with a tart, lemon curd filling. I only got one bite before it got dumped to the floor. A price had to be paid."

Plagg watched with great affection as his Sugarcube took a bite of her sweet treat. Oh yes, he'd learned millennia ago not to interrupt cookie time. Just like Henry the VIII, that Lenin guy in Russia, and a few others. They had experienced the wrath of the goddess of creation when interrupting cookie time, though Plagg was the only one to know why things went so bad. It made him smart enough never to do it again.

Taglist:

@2confused-2doanything @7-sage-7 @aadnrsstar @abrx2002 @awkwardromances @bayball @babylovebug18 @botanicalfoxx @back-cats-and-broken-mirrors @caffeinetheory @cheshire5210 @chocolateherringtacofan @city-of-all-tunas @classycollectorreviewworld  @corabeth11 @chocolatechipcookiesandcamembert @darkened-flame @delightfulcookiesrecipespizza @fandom-trapped-03 @ghostmaster83@iamblinkmarvelarmy @interobanginyourmom @izang @jesussavedevenme @kazedancer @kitten12113 @lady-phoenix-of-tardis @lilypotter2018 @lunataravler @ladylupuscrow @maskedpainter @ miraculouslydumb @nerd-nowandforever @naruwitch @ola-is-dead @pandacatxd @plushbookworm @plz-excuse-my-inner-ravenclaw @pheonix-biach @pandora-fucking-box @raiderofthelostbooks @ramos123 @rowanrouge @rowanyx @ren121 @seesea22 @seraphichana @sashakoi @shypeacekitten @smartlanceisreal @tazer6787 @that-girl-sakea @thecrazyfantrollshasmoved @the-smallest-kittenz @tishwinchesterannabethjackson @t1dwarrior-of-earth @ulmban @with-forward-motion @wonderbat91939 @zoiechance

[marinettesaltprompts]

Hi! So, I’ve been writing a few bits of Marinette salt, some involving my OCs in Mendeleieve’s class calling her (And sometimes Bustier, Damocles) out, and season 5 really helped with that. Finally, it’s good for someone 😅

Anyway, this prompt centers around the class discovering Marinette’s stalker-like tendencies when it comes to Adrien thanks to a certain redhead. Nathaniel and Marinette were assigned to work on a group project together and went to work at Marinette’s house… In her room. While pulling out his supplies, Nathaniel dropped his pencil, and it rolled under Marinette’s bed, where he found numerous photos of Adrien that don’t look like they were taken from a magazine. He finds more, and more until he comes across a spreadsheet of some elaborate plan to get a date with Adrien and finally… The schedule. His friend is a stalker. Before Marinette can return, he takes pictures, hides everything he found and gathers up his belongings with the excuse he has a family emergency at home. Really, he just needs to get out of there.

The next day at school, Nathaniel drags Marc somewhere private and tells him what he saw, and of course, Marc tells his classmates. They’re horrified by the photos on Nathaniel’s phone and set out to confront Marinette right in the middle of class for what she’s done. Adrien is disturbed, Bustier is taking Marinette’s side and berating the class for exposing something so private, the Girl Squad (Sans Alix) is a little torn, and the rest are on Adrien’s side because they weren’t aware that Marinette was doing these things. And all the while, Mendeleiv’s class is calling Marinette out. The ending is up to you, maybe someone gets Akumatized, I don’t know.

(Honestly, this is just word vomit and I’m not really sure about this)

For a supposed "word vomit" prompt, it feels really thought out! I love how you chose to utilise Nathaniel (at least in regards to how Miraculous keep pushing him more and more to the sidelines each season) and I appreciate how open ended you left the idea in case someone gets inspired by your post!

Thank you for sharing your prompt! Hope this blog will inspire you with more ideas to come up with!

[coffeebanana]

TRICK OR TREAT!!!!!!

*nervously opens door a week later and shakes meagre candy bowl*

okay this is a core four scene from a fic that never came to be but i like this little bit so it might as well see the light of day!

Once they’d all dropped off their bags, the group reconvened in the kitchen.  Nino broke the silence. “So, uh…we have lots of food.” Marinette nodded slowly, still eyeing the immaculately stocked fridge with wide eyes. “Lots of food.” They all continued to stare. Frankly, this was more time than Adrien had ever spent looking inside a fridge. He was used to having meals prepared for him, and even having constant access to a fridge at all was pretty new to him. Plus, even in London he tended not to linger in the kitchen, preferring to grab something quickly and sneak back to his room before he risked running into Félix. “We have lots of ingredients,” Alya amended, her words earning a round of nods. “But does anyone actually know what to do with them?” Adrien’s stomach growled. I sure hope so. Nino glanced at Alya. “I mean…your mom’s the chef?” “And?”  “Um. Nothing.” He turned back to the fridge. “Well,” Marinette said, “it can’t be that hard. I mean, I know how to cook in theory—how to use a knife, the stove, that sort of thing. I just didn’t plan for this. Like, how are we supposed to decide what to make? How do we find a good recipe? Do we even have spices?” “I saw some salt and pepper on the dining room table,” Adrien said. Alya patted his shoulder. “Oh, sweetheart. Those aren’t spices.”

[imthepunchlord]

Just a random question, but do you like adrien and marinette being the main duo, or do you think two other people would've been better?

Yes and no.

It's kinda complicated.

So, with my long break from Miraculous, clearing out my salt mines, and doing a gradual rewatch of the show with fresh eyes and enjoying the nostalgia of what used to be, I can say I am reminded on why, we as a fandom, enjoyed them as leads and as a pair.

There was some yin-yang potential in their dynamic, specifically playing off Lady Wifi introducing the Head vs Heart idea.

Marinette's an Empathetic Head. She's observant and perceptive, the planner and quick thinker, typically, she responds logically to what's presented to her. But she does feel deeply for others, and that empathy and kindness drives her to step up and help others.

Adrien in turn is a Reasonable Heart, at least, meant to be. He works off his feelings, goes with his gut, his wants; but he's also meant to be the emotional reason, knowing what to say to ground those that are getting caught up in themselves, offer support and direction, one they didn't consider or see before.

It nicely places off that theme that there's a little bit of the other in the counterparts, which is why the two halves have those dots, a little bit of yang resides in yin and vice versa.

And between the fluff and the snark and the support/loyalty they do offer each other, that potential for them as partners and users for the Cat and Ladybug is there.

Unfortunately, the writers' bias and stubbornness ruined that dynamic. What's meant to be a partnership of equals never becomes equals. Adrien never steps up as a leader and shares the weight of responsibility, and Marinette never feels like she can ease back and trust others to handle things, making her feel like she has to solve everything and be THE solution.

There's also the factor that they decided to prioritize the romance over the friendship, which did not really help Adrien as a hero as he focused more on his romantic pursuits than being a hero, flirting at the wrong time, not taking anything seriously... it was a bad look. And then Adrien and Marinette as civilians, despite being stated to be friends, I kinda question if they truly are. Adrien never actively goes to hang out with Marinette on his own, most of the time, there's a social expectation for them to hang out as civilians, or a favor is involved.

One of the aspects that has a romance work is having a good friendship to be that foundation. But the writers don't value friendship, not between actual friends and not between the love interests.

And the third issue is their means of growth.

Thomas, unfortunately, echoed the idea that girls grow through suffering. So Marinette's growth is just having the narrative against and giving her a hard time and she just can't win no matter what she does. Damned if she do, and damned if she don't. And I got to see that she developed anxiety and has an Atlas Complex and is very stress and just...

And with Adrien, he's just stagnant. He doesn't get involved in his own plot. He doesn't step up to the responsibility of being a hero, nor does he seek to share the weight of leadership. He's handed things on a silver platter, is allowed to be upset and petty and recklessly use his power.

And all of these factors just throws a big wrench into the potential of their partnership and them as leads and as the Cat and Ladybug heroes.

Better writers can make them work. And I bet there are a lot of good fanfics out there that have made them work.

I can see that potential and promise there. It's just really poor execution that ruined it.

I also will say, personally, I do think narrative wise things would flow better if they had a kwami swap at the start. Though, this is largely working the direction canon did go and I can see how a kwami swap could've combated that.

Plagg is set up to be the ideal foil to Marinette and have her grow, as she's too much of a giver, overthinks, piles too much on her plate, and struggles to put herself first. Extra bonus that they could've been a hilarious duo to see.

Tikki's big appeal with Adrien is that she would've gotten him involved in his own plot. Would've pushed for him to figure out who he is, what he wants to do, to be more involved if not be the leader, and to think more before he acts. And there could've been some good fluff as Tikki fills the void his mom left, as she can be very affectionate and supportive.

There's also the factor that Adrien needs someone to straight up tell him when he did something wrong or uncool. Anything that's a vague hint that Plagg occasionally gives just goes over Adrien's head or is ignored.

And there is that big appeal of shifting up the dynamics. Canon's issue is that Marinette and Tikki are initiators, while Adrien and Plagg are reactors. Mixing up these dynamics would've done wonders for their characters and interactions.

So, yeah over all, they can and could've worked as leads and holders of the Ladybug and Cat. The writing just really screwed them over. Though, I will say, doing different leads for Ladybug and Cat isn't an impossibility either.

[trashyangelic]

Does anyone wanna take this prompt for Miraculous Ladybug? [If so please tag me or msg me if your going to take this.]

Ideas for Prompts:

Salt/Bashing: Lila Salt, Bustier Salt, Damocles Salt, Alya Bashing, Adrien Bashing Sugar/Redemption: Nino Sugar, Chloe Redemption, Akuma Class Redemption Pairings: Chloe/Nino, Lukagami, Felinette Others: Bad Teacher Caline Bustier, Lila Rossi Exposed, Jealous Adrien, Endgame Felinette

Let's say Lila got exposed by Marinette's Circle Squad (as in Nino, Chloe, Kagami, Alix, Sabrina, Max, Kim, Rose, Nora Cesaire, Juleka, Luka, Felix, and Aurore) while Marinette had stayed home cause her parents is not letting her go to school cause of victim blaming that they got angry on Bustier telling her about their daughter 'to be an example' which really pissed Sabine off.

Sabine is willing to do this to keep her daughter happy but also suing Bustier, Damocles, Lila, Alya, and lastly Adrien even though she didn't want to but she heard enough from her daughter that he is bystanding this whole situation and telling her little girl to 'take a high road' advice which is a horrible advice.

Instead of expelling Lila like she wanted to do she must remain in the school and learn to be an outcast after being outted last Friday when her mother found out about her crimes and trauncy from her classmates but also participating classes by doing her own homework and attend two months of detentions. The police and the School Board Member found something interesting on the school footage then show it to Mrs. Rossi that her daughter is willing to assist terrorist.

As Lila is remain house arrest along with the restraining order from The Dupain-Chengs but also being banned from their bakery except her mother who is a regular customer that comes to the bakery once a while.

As for Bustier and Damocles both got sued by two parents from Marinette after all the stress they gave her she has to go theraphy. Chloe volunteered to be Temporary Ladybug as Dame Taches (Lady Spots) while Marinette goes to theraphy for a good reason for her health being Ladybug for too long was a bit stressful and need a break so she can be the Dragon Miraculous while Kagami became the Temporary Black Cat.

As for the Black Cat Miraculous it was taken away from Chat Noir/Adrien by Ladybug last Sunday about his incompetnent behavior it is now Kagami's job as a temporary Black Cat as Kuroneko. Now for the Bee Miraculous it was lent to Nora Cesaire since she was the only one that Marinette can think of doing instead of Alya since Nora knows the truth what her sister did to Marinette.

Chloe called Amelie Graham de Vanily and Felix to come over to Paris but stay in her hotel than in the Agreste Mansion but told them the whole fiasco with Adrien being passive and other stuff. Chloe also suggested to Marinette to give Felix the Fox Miraculous he will be the Temporary Fox Hero. Since Sabrina has the dog miraculous with her just in case.

Now for Adrien he finally found out thanks to Lila that Marinette likes him. But its far too late for him since Marinette is over with him and her parents doesn't want him near their little girl anymore.