#Ladybug and Chat Malice

[flightfoot]

Honestly i would say the backlash is more due to how the fandom (more especifically the saltdom) built this image of Marinette being this saintly figure who is so mistreated by everybody in the show while the rest get relegated either into her sheep or her enemies So seeing her making this decision seems like the perfect opportunity to turn the tables and knock off the pedestal so many people put her in.

And trust me, I also get annoyed at people who act like Marinette is this flawless character no never does anything wrong, but there's better ways to criticize her character and call out the people who do so guys.

Eh... that might be a factor, but I think it's a minor one. I'm seeing these complaints even in places that haven't been continually swamped with Chameleon salt (also did people think the Chameleon salt ever went away? It's still popular on AO3), like on reddit.

I don't think most of the calling out of Marinette's character and her decisions is just to even the scales or anything like that. The complaints I've seen are legitimate, even if I think the vitriol is sometimes a little too much.

Chat Noir HAS emphasized since Season 2, with Syren, that he wants to be brought into the loop on information. Ladybug HAS repeatedly kept things from him that she should have told him about, like that she told someone else her identity, and that she gave Rena Rouge her Miraculous fulltime and was having her help them secretly. She HAS lied to Chat Noir before in order to manipulate him into unknowingly giving his identity away to a third party. Not out of malice towards him, but because she was afraid that he would make a decision that could lead to Su Han taking his Miraculous away. But still taking that decision, and the capacity to know that there WAS a decision, out of his hands.

And then in the finale, she told him a major lie, because she was afraid of how he'd react to the truth. Not out of malice, mind you, but it's still taking away the ability to decide how to feel for himself. And with the lie she told, she ended up having the same effect as gaslighting on him (reframing the horrible way Gabriel's been treating him lately, that Adrien had identified as being horrible, as being either not Gabriel's fault or actively being evidence of Gabriel being a good father), whether or not you think that Marinette's positive intentions with her lie takes it out of that category.

These ARE legitimate complaints, and not trying to just like, do to Marinette what the Chameleon saltdom tried to do to Adrien and Alya (especially Alya, that girl has been dragged through so much racist bullshit). The criticism I've seen because of this is based in some sort of recognizable form of reality. There's a lot of negativity towards Marinette, but it's not absurd.

[ilikekidsshows]

Do you have any theory why anti-kuma always target Chat Noir and what does it even have to do with Butterfly Transmission concept?

---

Now that Cat Noir is no longer distracted by being attracted to Ladybug, he’d be too competent if he wasn't nerfed. The girl power fantasy demands all boys be incompetent, so he’ll get smacked with whatever the writers can think of to make him less effective. Or maybe the writers debuff him to make him less powerful and justify Ladybug calling in more allies, or just because they think it's funny. Maybe I’m reading maliciousness where there is none, but I have genuinely been getting really mean-spirited vibes from the way Cat Noir is treated by the narrative since season 4 and season 6 hasn't broken that trend.

Frankly, in universe, it might be a fun concept if Lilerise McButterfly was constantly trying to nerf Cat Noir because she's realized how dependent Ladybug is on his emotional support and is sabotaging his ability to be there for her. Like, Sitch in Time already went with this idea, how Shego figured out that Kim got so much invisible support from Ron that she was significantly weaker as an opponent without him, and so she created a timeline where they were separated to take over the world and it worked.

I mean, Lila already called out Marinette being the crisis friend in ‘Perfection’. All she wasn't correct about was when she applied purposeful malice into Marinette selfishly taking advantage of her friends to deal with her petty crises (which implies the writers think Marinette would only be in the wrong for this behavior if it was purposeful). She could very well twig on the fact that Ladybug is also using Cat Noir to manage her constant emotional crises.

The Butterfly Miraculous can give powers so it can also take them away, I guess. Now that would have been a cool concept for the New York Special with all the hero characters.

[theerurishipper]

So, as a child abuse survivor and someone who has been sexually assaulted by men who think they're entitled to take what they want Adrien is canonically a god damned dick.

He sexually harrasses Ladybug. When told NO he once let 2.161 million people drown because he was busy throwing a tantrum

Being a victim of abuse does not excuse the abuse of others.

He might not mean any harm but you know who else doesn't mean any harm? Gabriel. My goddamned mother.

Not meaning harm- lacking malice- does not mean harm is not caused.

People are going on about him being a rich white guy because anyone else acting like that in public would be considered an antagonist (in fiction), in jail, or have an active warrant for their arrest. And that's assuming they aren't killed for it.

First off, I am truly very sorry for your experience. No one should have to go through that.

But I still do disagree.

Adrien's pushiness when it comes to expressing his affections for Ladybug are in the same boat as Marinette being a stalker or Chloe being pushy with Adrien: it's a joke. You may find it to be a poor one, certainly, but it's a joke nonetheless. Miraculous relies on this kind of humor, it's not meant to be taken seriously. You can have issues with it, but imho acting like it's any kind of legitimate criticism of his character probably makes people like me less inclined to listen to any actual criticisms you may have.

I don't say this to trivialize your experiences, and if the joke is hurtful to you, you are well within your rights to dislike it or talk about how it's in poor taste to make jokes about these things, but that's all it is, a joke. It's absurdist humor. It's not meant to be taken at face value. It would be creepy if Marinette seriously had Adrien's schedule mapped out, tried to break into his house, or stole his personal items, but it's not supposed to be that way because it's a joke.

And as for your complaint about Adrien leaving people to drown, you can go ahead and blame Master Fu for that one. It's stated quite clearly in the show that the heroes couldn't do anything because everything is underwater. And he's staying there because he's waiting for Ladybug. Making up imaginary civilians who are drowning now isn't a good criticism. Ladybug spends a good amount of time underwater, but there's no-one there. There's no civilian begging for Chat Noir's help as they drown while he ignores them, so suffice to say that we're supposed to assume everyone is safe and sound. This is a kids show, so unless we're shown that people are in danger, we aren't supposed to assume they are.

And then let's talk about Adrien almost quitting.

I'll say it straight: he has every right to quit. He's a 14-year-old kid. This isn't his job. He's well within his rights to quit if he feels like this is detrimental to him. And it isn't about Ladybug not returning his feelings like you seem to be implying. This is about Ladybug keeping secrets from him and leaving him in the dark even though he's supposedly her partner. It took a situation like this for Master Fu to pull his head out of his ass and come give Adrien the tools he needed to do the damn job you're accusing him of not doing. How is he supposed to do anything if he isn't given then necessary tools and knowledge to do it? Should he just accept that he's being ignored and left in the dark? Accept his new role as Ladybug's unquestioning lapdog?

This is not Ladybug salt btw, this is Master Fu salt only, in this house we don't like Master Fu.

Anyway.

Literally look at why he tries to quit.

Adrien:(grimly) If you don't tell me what Ladybug is hiding from me, I'm done! Plagg: You can't do that! Adrien:(bitterly) Why not? No one'll know if I quit. No one'll care!

He doesn't think he's needed. He doesn't think anyone would care if he quits.

This isn't because of any entitlement. It's because he's being cast aside and left in the dark. It's because his partner (it's not her fault either, to be clear, it's Master Fu's fault) is keeping secrets from him even in this time, so he assumes he isn't needed and decides to quit because he feels like he's unnecessary and unwanted, and that no one will care if he quits. Adrien already has very low self-worth, and this is just adding onto all that already. If it is detrimental to his mental health, then he definitely has the right to step aside and quit.

So yeah. If this ask was to get me to change my mind, I'm sorry, but it didn't. You're entitled to your opinion, of course, but I think I've made my opinion on the matter clear.

[yolowritter]

In Defense of Gabriel Agreste

Oh dear Kwami, I can't believe I'm actually doing this... I can't believe that it feels necessary. Before we begin, I want to make a huge clarification. I am NOT supporting any of Gabriel's actions AT ALL, especially anything done in Season 5. That's abuse, that's child neglect, that's grounds for calling CPS. I will never excuse that kind of thing, and frankly this isn't what I'm here to talk about. I simply want to state my opinion on how canon has absolutely ruined Gabriel as a character, and give my own perspective on our local supervillain, including an understanding of his reasons and how Gabriel devolves the way he does in the actual show. This is a mixture of headcannons I've had that are somewhat supported by canon, and I hope you all enjoy my little analysis piece.

First off, let's kick things into high gear by discussing Gabriel's themes. From the get-go of Bubbler, it's blindingly obvious that he serves as the "strict parent" antagonist to Adrien's quest for freedom and self-expression. As an archetype, this works quite well in a lot of stories and media, so I was fine with it when I watched the episode. Through the rest of Season 1, we quickly come to realize that Adrien's mother (and Gabriel's wife) is "missing", due to some reason or the other. At this point some may suspect his relation to Hawkmoth, but there's no legitimate evidence to go off of so we put a pin on that. During Simon Says, specifically Chat Noir and Gabriel's little interaction, we get to see that Adrien does hold some repressed anger against Gabriel because of how overprotective the man is, and then comes the fond remark of Emilie's flair for dramatics. It's a line so many of us have discussed or used in fanworks, but rarely do I see people talk about how Gabriel delivers it. The usually stoic personification of dissapointment seems to finally have some emotion in his voice, for the first really important moment of his character. Combine this with the earlier talk between him and Ladybug, where he praises Adrien and seems genuinely proud of his son for keeping up with all the activities/modeling/etc. Therefore, we get a good general idea of who Gabriel Agreste actually is. A grieving father who has lost his partner to "mysterious circumstances", and is trying to protect his son from any kind of harm. Sure, he's going about it the wrong way and is definately overdoing it, but the act itself doesn't come from a place of malice. Keep this in mind as we move forward.

In Season 2, we start off with the episode Collector. And learn that Gabriel is Hawkmoth. Because of course he is, Adrien is one of the titular characters in the show, naturally the writers want to pull a Luke Skywalker at some point. "I am your father" and all that, we've seen it a million times before. Still, this brings up the question of why? Sure, Gabriel is an asshole. That's very obvious by this point, even though we don't have enough information to truly cast judgement on his reasoning for such behavior. But there's a significant gap between "overprotective single parent who stifles their child" and "local butterfly man who has beef with teenage superheroes". Therefore, this reveal immediately has alarm bells ringing as to what Gabriel's motive is. In a later episode, we have the Gorizilla Incident. And this is where he finally becomes a much more complex, much better character! Because Hawkmoth has captured Ladybug. She's right there, helpless, and all he has to do is either show up and steal her Miraculous, or just wait until she loses her transformation and then take the earrings. His arch nemesis, the person who has been preventing him from accomplishing whatever his goals are...is at his mercy. But...there's a problem. His son is also on the field of battle, and just jumped off a building. Wonderful! Without the slightest bit of hesitation, Gabriel releases Ladybug, therefore saving Adrien's life at the cost of the Miraculous. And much later, during Queen Wasp, Hawkmoth genuinely ponders if he's done more harm than good by trying to defeat the Heroes of Paris. (Side Note: I don't actually remember if we'd seen Emilie in the pod by this point, but whatever.) He would have quit, hung up the suit, and lived out his days as Gabriel Agreste. Miserably maybe, but he would have stuck to that choice. No more Hawkmoth. Until...he gets the chance to Akumatize a Miraculous Holder. And if you want to rewatch this scene, notice the mania in Gabriel's eyes. This extreme emotional reaction is the complete opposite of what we've seen from the man so far (dramatic monologues aside), and the chance at victory rips Gabriel's sanity away from him. Cue Queen Wasp, and later Scarlet Moth.

But I want to stick to this moment for a second. Queen Wasp takes place directly after Style Queen, in which Adrien gets turned into a gold statue. And sure, the show can tell us all it wants about how "he's been turned to dust" or some bs, but we all know Adrien is dead right now. And Gabriel knows it too. This is literally the reason why he tries to convince himself that he shouldn't be Hawkmoth anymore. Because he finally understands what kind of harm he's been doing. By this point it's like the 3rd time that Adrien is in immediate proximity to an Akuma and promptly gets bodied by said Villain, specifically because of Hawkmoth. I do not care what Season 5 says, Gabriel Agreste loved his son with every last shred in that broken, shattered fragment of a heart that was left after Emilie's death, and he shows it very clearly on multiple occassions. He even tries to connect with Adrien again, and has a genuine moment when they watch Emilie's movie together. Gabriel, for all his supervillainy and prancing about in a butterfly costume, seems to be healing throughout Season 2. So why does it only get worse from here?

Well...this is where my headcanons come in to fill the void. Obviously I could go on a tangent about the writers here, but I don't care enough to waste my breath on that again. Swiftly moving past that, I honestly think Gabriel suffers from Tunnel Vision during this show. And yeah that's not a "condition", but think about this for a second. Nooroo warns that there are terrible consequences for misusing a Miraculous in Origins, and the show...never follows up on this? Well, that's weird. Unless the consequences are mental. A deterioration of the self, in a way. Consider: a good portion of the fandom already talks about Gabriel and Hawkmoth/Shadowmoth/Monarch as different people sometimes. What if that's literal? What if that's the consequence? Gabriel was depressed, desperate and heartbroken after Emilie's demise, but according to a cutscene from Miraculous Rise of the Sphynx (and I swear to God why didn't they put this in the actual show???) Gabriel and Nathalie actually spent around a year looking for the Ladybug and Cat Miraculous before deciding to use the Butterfly. It was Gabriel's last resort. And look at how Hawkmoth acts in Season 1. He's...well, he's acting. Playing the role of a villain to lure them out and defeat them, knowing full-well (at least after Stoneheart) that Ladybug can fix pretty much anything he destroys if she wins, and he can just do the same if she's defeated. Gabriel has a safety net, he's acting the part of an evil villain, complete with dramatic monologues and "curse you Perry the Platypus" moments after ever defeat. Then in Season 2, he knows the jig is up. The stakes are too high and this Hawkmoth bs is hurting the one piece of Emilie that he has left...so Gabriel decides to quit.

And this is where the corruption comes in. During "Feast" in Season 3, Hawkmoth re-states his goal of "taking all the Miraculous!" Uh...hold on just a second. Didn't Gabriel only need the Ladybug and Cat? Yes, exactly. That's why the events of the show even happen to begin with. So why has it now changed to all the Miraculous, if the rest are useless in terms of bringing Emilie back? Well, Gabriel's thirst for power is slowly corrupting his mind. Hawkmoth is officially in control by this point, and it gets much, much worse from here. With Mayura at his side, Hawkmoth has a real person to care about, and take care of. Nathalie supports him, keeps Gabriel afloat in this ocean of despair that they're both slowly drowning in.

But what happens when Mayura can't be there anymore? What happens when Gabriel (now as Shadowmoth) spends hours upon hours inside that dark lair, deliberating his victory? It becomes his sole focus. What tiny specks of humanity were still left inside of this hollow shell called Gabriel Agreste have been devoured by a beast that hungers for only one thing. Power. Emilie is no longer loved by him, barely even remembered to begin with. Now instead of genuine heartbreak over his wife's loss, Shadowmoth is using her as an excuse to keep going. He rationilizes it all to himself, saying "this is for my family" and "they will understand" to hide from the very obvious fact that neither Emilie or Adrien would ever stand for this. His ambitions have stripped Gabriel of all sense and sanity, leaving behind a madman simply wearing his skin. The last time we ever see even a flicker of clarity in his head is during Glaciator 2.0, when Adrien is about to be Akumatized. But this is also the biggest indication that it's almost too late for Gabriel, because has to think about it. Sure, he doesn't actually Akumatize Adrien, but even since Chat Blanc it's become perfectly clear that he can and will go through with that to get an advantage over Ladybug. Here, Shadowmoth considered Akumatizing him anyway, even with just the usual chances of winning.

And in Ephemeral (I'm pretty sure, could be just before or after), Nooroo's worst fears have finally come to pass. Gabriel affirms that he wants to destroy the entire world using the Wish. And then re-shape it into one where he's the top dog, by extension making the Agrestes like the Supreme. Gabriel has gone completely off the rails by this point. I'd even argue that the person he was only a few months ago (don't get me started on that timeline btw) is dead. Gone, burried six feet under along with his wife, because Gabriel Agreste would never do something like this. Monarch just makes everything even worse, especially with Evolution. Just like Nathalie said, he had the perfect chance to warn his past self about the Peacock being broken. Step in the portal, detransform, explain that he's Gabriel, then tell them "hey so the recipe to fix it is on this page of the Grimoire, you need to do this before Emilie makes Adrien" and that's it. But he just ignores it completely because of his obsession, hence proving the point I'm trying to make.

To circle back to the beginning of this post, I am perfectly fine with how Gabriel's character devolves and spirals into madness across the show. It's a cool plotline, could have been really interesting if the writers bothered to explore it but even with only what we have, I'd say it adds a ton of depth to his character! Or...would, if they bothered to explain this! Like seriously, you can pretty easily infer than something of the sort is happening, especially in later seasons. Just give Nathalie or Nooroo one or two scenes where they are worried about Gabriel going insane! Especially Nooroo, give the poor guy a few lines trying to warn Shadowmoth like "Master, please! You need to think about what you're doing! Can't you see this isn't you anymore?" or something of the sort. Sure, it doesn't have to be so on the nose, but you get my point! Instead they did nothing with this amazing idea that's already there because they wrote it by accident! And guess what? Gabriel goes from a sympathetic villain in Season 2 to an utter maniac who locks his "beloved" son in an insane asylum during Season 5!

Like are you kidding me??? What alternate universe did I get dropped into where this is the "logical" followup to Hawkmoth's storyline? One of the only things Gabriel even had going for him in terms of complexity was his genuine love towards Adrien! And like I said, I'd be fine if this how they wanted to make things and play the "tragic villain consumed by a lust for power" card! For Nooroo's sake, it's dangling right in front of them like a carrot on a stick! But instead of making the slightest bit of effort and explain that this is happening, or that it's an intentional plotpoint for Gabriel's character, their innaction just reduces him to a one-dimensional "evil because he's the villain" cardboard cutout! Believe me, I love unapologetically evil characters, who do the worst things for funsies! But Gabriel Agreste can never be that type of bad guy because you set up an entire storyline about his poor wife who died because adoption is apparently illegal in this universe! Don't get me started on Emilie Agreste, she's getting a rant of her own soon enough! But come on, would it kill you to at least try and give your villains some depth???

Thomas, do you want me to have a stroke? An aneurysm? To keel over dead like Gabriel's character development? Should I maybe put a fridge in my basement for good measure? And do not talk to me about the "tell Adrien how good a father I was" bs the finale had in it! Just- just don't touch that with a ten foot pole! But...I will admit, there is a very interesting direction they can take Gabriel's character now that he's dead. Because sure, he's now a one-dimensional asshole that screamed in his basement a lot before beating up a cat(bug)girl and dropping dead, but hey! Gabriel Agreste can haunt the narrative now! Have Lila use reunion to talk to him! Have Marinette be tormented by the stupid promise she made! Have Adrien be conflicted over how Gabriel treated him! Give us an existential crisis because "the hero who defeted Monarch" doesn't match up with the abusive asshole Adrien has known for the past year! Gabriel Agreste's character has been utterly trainwrecked by the writers' refusal to explain anything about him beyond a superficial "boo hoo my wife keeled over". Yeah buddy, so what? You can at least be interesting about it!

Anyway, I'm going to go cool off and make another draft for how to fix this idiot's character development. Or you know, give him some in the first place because he's lost it all. I'll see you all soon with an "In offense to Emilie Agreste" post, but until then, Stay Miraculous everyone!

[fionatheapplebee]

Welcome to my blog ! 🎐

𔓘 I don't mind nicknames you can call me whatever you want !

Are you ready to unveil the secrets of the universe ? ( my mind ) . oops let me get my fairy dust ready ...

(∩｀-´)⊃━☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ ˚.⁺⊹ .ᐟ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧𓏲 ๋࣭  ࣪ ˖⋆✴︎˚｡⋆

Well here are some clues to uncover my top secret identity !

𔓘 the day I blessed the world is july 4th .

𔓘 My hobbies are reading, writing, sewing, crafting, fashion, music, avoiding my problems and self sabotage, dissociate, taking insta worthy photos but never posting them, shopping and buying stuff I can't afford ( actually I don't but , I dream of buying )

𔓘 I love Movies as well especially dps and the breakfast club they both took my heart and don't forget pride and prejudice ! shows especially 2000s shows , Gilmore girls , Brooklyn 99, love and deepspace, miraculous ladybug, Ouran highschool host club and my little pony .

𔓘 I love all colors .

I love blogging, playing casual games, reading, girl rotting, drawing, study fashion and biology and yapping all day long !

𔓘 I adore poetry, poems and literature especially arabic , english and japanese literature , books and novels .

𔓘 A big fan of Lana Del Rey, Mazzy star , Jane Birkin, Fiona apple, Ghostly Kisses, Hole, Brittany Murphy, Twiggy, Natalie Portman, Sofia Coppola, Keira Knightley، Fleetwood Mac, malice mizer, buck tick, kamijo and HIM .

𔓘 so obsessed with fashion, twee, whimsical goth, 60s icons french movies ,dolls ,ladybug and chat noir ,Rory and Jess ,glitter clothes !

Right, so what will you find here ?

𔓘 My personal thoughts

𔓘 Pinterest finds

𔓘 Aesthetic stuff

𔓘 Pretty things

𔓘 my Pinterest יִ

https://pin.it/tImKcb1HT

𔓘 my everskies : eilaria יִ

[gameguy20100]

Why Alastor works where other's fail.

So anyone who follows my blog knows that I have a large distaste for the growing amount of characters who act like villains but always get sob stories in an attempt to make me feel sorry for them. The most glaring example being Felix Fathom from Miraculous Ladybug

I'm expected to feel bad for this character and feel sympathy for him but his actions are indistinguishable from the villains of the story.

Yet, I don't in fact, I hate him. And I was sure I'd hate this archetype until I watched Hazbin Hotel. And Alastor, despite being a similar type of character swiftly became my favourite.

So what makes Alastor a good character and Felix fail as a character for me? Well, a big part of it is Alastor is a lot more fun to watch.

Pretty much every scene he's in Alastor steals the show completely. With a combination of his VAs impeccable performance, the animation distorting in various ways to enhance his creepy effects, and of course that constant smile. Felix doesn't have anywhere near the level of charisma and charm to make it work.

Probably the biggest factor is who these characters direct their hatred and malice towards.

In Alastor's case, while he's clearly not a good person his actions do actually benefit Charlie and Vaggie. The protagonists of the show and ideally the characters you root for. Who does Alastor antagonise? Vox, a character who is depicted with every negative stereotype of CEO's ever, and Adam, the main villain of the story. While he does rile up Lucifer, the bitterness is mutual and hilarious.

Felix on the other hand? He claims to be against Gabriel, but his actions end up helping him and making the lives of two people who have done nothing to him, and in Adrien's case outright love him and do everything he can to help him, suffer. I'm sorry but if a character causes the hero to do this

They are a villain.

But another major factor is simple. Alastor isn't annoying. What do I mean by that? Well, despite Felix's claims to love Adrien he's caused him quite a lot of trouble. The main instances being gaslighting his friends by pretending to be him and insulting them, then betraying Ladybug making his life as Chat Noir much harder. Yet he's never punished for it and we have to listen to him whine about his daddy issues. Alastor does let slip that something else is going on but he never whines about his "Tragic past" If anything he seems to want to make sure nobody finds out, he even threatens Husk for even mentioning it.

Nobody likes seeing bad people go unpunished or go on about how hard they have it. Oh? You blew up a building because your child died? Cool motive, still terrorism.

Felix however never shuts up about how hard he has it, and make it everyone else's problem to the point where I lose all sympathy for him.

Yes Felix, your life is so hard and tragic. Now can we talk about the time you did this?

Or this

Or THIS?!

Sexual assault, giving a terrorist magical artefacts and betraying an innocent girl, framing your cousin in the process, and Genocide. But you know... he had a hard childhood.

So maybe I don't hate the archetype. Maybe it's just a bad idea to try and make a character's archetype go against everything they've shown.

In Alastor I see a monster who's taking down other monsters and the narrative shows him as that,

In Felix, while the story wants me to see a tragic anti-hero, all I see is a spoiled brat.

[princess-of-the-corner]

I've seen several fic authors reference this idea that ML season 2 was meant to set up a Miraculous Civil War thing.

No clue if that's true but I found the idea interesting and also realize you actually can do that very easily with some episode shuffling and more evenly divided focus, IE:

Episode 1 - The Collector This remains largely the same except Chat does become aware there's a third party that Ladybug knows of but he doesn't.

Episode 2 - Riposte Essentially the same, this is just to get Kagami introduced early, though Ladybug seems oddly... anxious compared to usual.

Episode 3 - Sapotis This is where things start to change a little. Mostly in that Chat starts quietly expressing frustration at being kept out of the loop even if he & Rena get on well.

Episode 4 - Anansi The next verse is the same as the first in this case, as canon, just that Chat is getting more & more grouchy, & Plagg agrees but cannot tell him anything.

Ladybug's penchant to run off is also being noted by others; the reason is that that Marinette now has a 'responsible adult' available, so she's sort of defaulting to Fu even as Ladybug, hence her earlier OOC anxiety in Riposte.

Episode 5 - Frozer His efforts to both wine & dine Ladybug and press for info at what is going on. But because of Marinette's respect for adults she can't bring herself to tell him. This leads to both the 'date' with Kagami & Chat acting as brisk as he does during the battle.

Episode 6 - Style Queen Close to canon but with some notably major if subtle shifts.

Gabriel outlines he's been experimenting with his recent Akuma & determined how to make his strongest & most effective one. He needs someone with a vast idea of their own power, intense emotions beyond the norm and no morals. Luckily the worst person he knows is coming to Paris & she will be his magnum opus!

Other changes including Chloe arguing with Nathalie after her mother leaves & then going to find Adrien, followed y Marinette & Alya when Style Queen transforms and goes for Nathalie first. She want meant to evacuate Adrien before Audrey transformed so yeah that plan failed & she's dusted despite Gabriel trying to order Audrey to focus.

This focus issue comes up again soon when as canon she's captured Ladybug but is now turning on Adrien who is still not golden & about to transform. Gabriel tries to make her focus, but is failing & realizes he underestimate her malice & will. Chloe seemingly talks her out of killing Adrien & Ladybug... Except all Audrey does it dismiss Ladybug and kill Adrien.

The rest of the episode goes largely as canon save that Audrey is blitzing much of Paris for funsies as she's gone rogue. When Plagg destroy the Eiffel Tower we see her reforming into a bigger more pissed off Style Queen before her items broken.

Finally, the biggest shift? The one that causes the dominoes to start falling?

Adrien passes up the chance to get taken back by Ladybug, offering a polite kiss on the hand & follows Chloe. Both cos he's still a bit frustrated & also because he can see Audrey yelling at Chloe already.

Thus he sees her pick up the box and is there as Chat Noir to collect it that night, fade to black.

Episode 7 - No Queen Wasp When Ladybug goes back to get the Bee Miraculous (flashback) we see Chat is there too, intent on making up for his absence he asks what she's looking for. Not wanting to seem irresponsible, Ladybug lies.

This leads Chat to hide the Bee Miraculous & then return it to Chloe who while unhappy Ladybug won't be pleased with her, really wants to be a hero.

Plagg: You sure you can work with that brat? Adrien: I work with a lot of brats (Gives Plagg a stare) Plagg: Hahaha... You meant other models right Adrien? Adrien!

We see Chloe get the Miraculous back & Pollen being surprisingly chill with all this & its followed by Chloe deducing Adrien's identity because, "Who else but you would care about me?"

The next segment of the episode proceed mostly as canon but when it seems Chloe is going to reveal herself, Adrien grabs her arm and guides her to his dressing room.

We see her breakdown over the act her mother doesn't love her & Adrien... Can't really offer much, but suggests she go out for a 'run' to clear her head & maybe something will come up (An Akuma)

She does so & is seen by Alya only as QB & this leads to Ladybug trying to track her down, which becomes a discussion, then argument, then a fight.

Chat Nior joins, admitting he's at fault but also angry he's been kept out of the loop which LB defends because its not her call, which QB thinks is crap on both of them cos one implied LB supported her being a hero & the other is keeping her friend in the dark.

Hawk Moth has regained hope at seeing the fight & almost can't pick who he wants to Akumatize so he goes for the one with the most anger, Chloe.

But, she manages to fight it off in rather epic fashion as well that conveys just how terrifyingly powerful an Akumatized Miraculous Holder would be.

QB staggers back and insists she will be a hero, not even Ladybug can tell her to quit that, then topples off the roof and slinks off while Chat & Ladybug part in confused frustration.

We also see Ladybug comforting Chloe at one point, mistaking the conversation they're having for one about Chloe's mother which could lead to her attempt to mend their relationship.

Meanwhile Gabriel schemes, ranting about the power he felt, about the cracks in the armor and how he has a whole new canvas with which to create.

Fu is unhappy but decides if the person can resist an Akuma they will be a tolerable ally for now, as he 'suspects' he knows who Chat chose & can retrieve Pollen if things don't work out.

We see more of Marinette pushing for Chat's inclusion and discussing her own concerns about how much she's come to rely on Fu.

As well as some of Fu's motives for keeping things so quiet - The less people who know the better, he's paranoid & cautious, Ladybug's magic is better suited for his skills & Chat's schedule makes him hard to get ahold of.

Its integral that him being cut out if not malice, but its already created distrust & its going to take time to mend that. It will be hard given Fu's paranoia & frustration with Chat essentially stealing a Miraculous.

_____________________________

After this it becomes a bit less clear, especially as I would ideally want to bring Kagami & Longg in as well, but this I feel is a strong enough set up for a potential "civil war" angle.

Because the episodes/season that would follow would involve Gabriel not merely sending Akuma but actively trying to drive wedges between the heroes & sew doubt in public.

The situation with hidden identities VS no hidden identities creating friction within the expanded hero group & sides even being picked in public as the dispute becomes more public with stuff like Prime Queen.

Which I think would lead to an eventual shift as well when some identities do slip between them and Hawk Moths game begins reaching its final conclusion, with Volpina being brought back into the fray.

Some of the specifics sort of vary to me, but I think there would be a clash between the Miraculous team, but also some changing sides based on key revelations. Namely, the substitute heroes finding out Ladybug & Chat's identities, but the pair refusing to hear it until the matters resolves causing some to switch sides.

IE, Nino goes with Adrien once he finds out he's Chat Noir, and either Kagami goes with Marinette cos friendship or respect for Ladybug, or Chloe does a surprise switch, possibly due to guilt or shifting dynamics.

Who switches and why would likely depend on whether the issue is meant to bleed into season 3 or if season 2 resolves it. IE, is this a one off conflict that sets up Heroes Day (Or a similar season finale worthy event) or is Heroes Day/Finale the tipping point that splits the team in half for the duration of season. Either way identities are revealed at the end, its just a matter of how the rest shakes out.

NOTES:

Despair Bear still happens, but its also tied to Adrien basically saying, "You can't be a great hero as QB & a bad person as Chloe" as she tries to balance her own issues, pleasing her mother & being a hero.

Malediktator also may tie into some things, like with Chloe trying to befriend Marinette but also have her be mean cos hey Marinette wanted she & her mom to get along & respects Audrey this makes sense right? Leading to rejection that leads her to wanting to leave Paris & a resolution between Chloe & ladybug even if the latter doesn't realize it at first, that also chills things between Marinette and Chloe.

Fu may or may not make it out of this season with his memories intact, depends n how many season 3 elements that could be swapped out, but that's the gist of it.

Also even if the 'civil war' did persist into or basically serve as the central focus for season 3, it'd not strictly stop cooperation over Akuma or Sentimonsters. It'd be more of a undercurrent rivalry situation that may lead to some odd seating arrangements now that everyone's gone up a year.

Honestly I feel like a civil war for the Team should happen at some point because like. Mari tries her best but she's made a LOT of mistakes and hurt them all in the process.

I don't mean this in a 'fuck her' way but in a like. They're going to butt heads and be understandably frustrated and I don't think Mari will change immediately because she's stuck in a 'yeah this hurts but it's for the Greater Good™ mindset' that she won't get over until something REALLy gets to her.

[aalissy]

Protective Marinette

Whoops! May have missed yesterday's chapter, however, I hope you like the two chapters for today <3. Lemme know what you think and stay tuned for the second chapter coming up!

AO3

Marinette gnawed on her lower lip, her mind racing a mile a minute as she and Chat Noir whizzed through Paris. She had been out buying fabric when suddenly, the akuma alert had rang. Instantly, she had ducked inside a dark, quiet alleyway to transform but it had been too late. 

The akuma was right where she wanted to be, lurking in the shadows. It glared over at her and extended its fist, a wave of dark black energy crackling. 

Marinette winced, attempting to dart out of the way, but surprisingly, Chat had already spotted her and had whisked her away from danger. Without hesitation, he had scooped her up into his arms and leaped across rooftops, putting distance between them and the chaos below.

He smiled down at her as he held tightly onto her. “It’ll be alright, purrincess. I’m gonna get you home.”

Marinette gave him a stiff grin back. She needed to get somewhere safe to transform. But she couldn’t do that. At least... not here. Not yet.

As Chat neared the sanctuary of her house, her feeling of hope was short-lived as the akuma, attired entirely in dark black, caught up to them. She appeared in a burst of malevolent energy in the shadow of a nearby building. Her eyes gleamed with malice as she targeted the two of them. 

“Give me your miraculous, Chat Noir,” the villain hissed, glaring over at him. Her fist bubbled with a wave of darkness as a blast of energy burst out towards them.

Luckily, Chat managed to dodge the strike, allowing Marinette to breathe a sigh of relief. Slowly, he set her down on the floor gently, extending his baton as he prepared to fight the akuma. "It’ll be alright, Marinette. I'll keep her distracted from you in the fight. Ladybug will show up soon to think of a plan and get you to safety. I’m certain of it."

She fought the urge to laugh bitterly. Ladybug wouldn’t be able to show up anytime soon. Not while she was still stuck out here with this akuma. The only way they were going to get out of this mess was if she figured something out. And quick.

Darting her eyes around, Marinette wracked her brain as she tried to think of a plan. Chat stalked into the shadows towards it, using his baton to strike at the akuma as they fought against each other. 

Her frown deepened as she watched the fight, trying to think of something. Anything. It was then that she saw something. A spotlight was resting on top of a nearby building. She hadn’t seen this akuma leave the darkness once since it had gotten akumatized.

Quick as a flash, Marinette ran as fast as she possibly could. She heard Chat shout her name but ignored him, using a trashcan to jump up and grab onto the ledge she needed. Pulling herself up, she rolled over to the light she needed. Flicking it on, Marinette aimed it directly at the akuma.

As Marinette flicked on the spotlight, a beam of bright, white light pierced through the shadows, illuminating the rooftop where the akuma and Chat were battling. The akuma, caught off guard by the sudden brightness, shielded her eyes and hissed with pain, momentarily distracted from the attack.

Chat quickly seized the opportunity, launching a swift and precise strike with his baton, knocking the akuma off balance. Marinette, heart racing with determination, kept the spotlight focused on the villain, preventing her from regaining her footing.

"Marinette, what are you doing?" Chat called out, both impressed and puzzled by her actions.

"I'm using the light to weaken the akuma," Marinette shouted back, her voice echoing across the rooftop. "It's vulnerable to the brightness. Keep pushing!"

Encouraged by her words, he intensified his assault, his movements swift and strategic. The akuma, already struggling to defend itself against the combined onslaught of light and agility, faltered further, its dark energy wavering.

Marinette's hands trembled slightly as she maintained the spotlight, her focus unwavering. She knew they had to end this quickly before the akuma regained her strength. As Marinette’s eyes narrowed, she saw that the akuma’s fist was still tightly clenched shut.

“Chat!” she called out to him. “I think the akuma is in her hand!”

Nodding up at her, Chat landed a final, decisive strike. The villain staggered backward, weakened and vulnerable as she fell down to the ground. Seizing the opportunity, he quickly leaped forward, grabbing the akuma's fist and smashing it into the ground, destroying the amulet that she had been holding onto.

A wave of purple energy fluttered around the akuma as she transformed back into a normal girl. Slowly, Marinette let out a breath she hadn't even realized she was holding. Chat turned to her with a triumphant grin. "You did it, Marinette! That was brilliant!"

Marinette smiled back, relief flooding through her. "We did it, Chaton. Together." Her eyes widened once again as she spotted the black butterfly flying away. She pointed over at it. “Wait, Chat! Don’t let that get away! Ladybug will still need to purify it!” 

He saw what she was pointing at and quickly captured it into a jar. Marinette sighed with relief. At least she would be able to do something as Ladybug. Smiling softly at Chat, she clambered her way back down to meet him. “Any chance you could take me back home now? I’m a little exhausted.”

“Of course, purrincess. You did ameowzing, by the way. That was a brilliant idea. As soon as I get you back home, though, I’m afraid I’ll have to leave you. I have to get this akuma to Ladybug. Hopefully, she’s alright.”

Leaning into his arms, Marinette let Chat pick her up. Her eyes fluttered closed on another sigh. “I’m sure she is,” she murmured. As much as she’d like to clamber back into bed, she had one last thing to do as Ladybug. At least their trek back to her house would allow her enough time to come up with an excuse about where she was.

[scrambledsun]

Fanfiction idea!

Gabriel Agreste finally succeeds at Akumatizing Marinette!

Only to realize what a terrible idea it was.

It's the worst akuma Paris had ever encountered, and the most terrifying one. It lasted for nearly seven days. Each day, more grueling than the last. Depending on how it's written this can either make or break the remaining heroes, ie chat noir once he realizes the gravity of the situation. Since there's no ladybug to bother and the temp heroes have no choice but to look towards him since he's the senior, must get his ass in gear.

After the lengthy, taxing, and traumatizing battle. It's over. And not with them defeating Marinette, but by nooroo deciding to let her go, for now.

Because the whole time that shit show was happening Hawkmoth was busy wallowing in agonizing pain. The power was far too much for him to control, unable to make the Akuma do what he desired. And when he tried to force them to, he was met with blinding pain. When he tried to retract the Akuma, he found more pain. When he asked nooroo about it he got no answer.

Meanwhile nooroo, after akumatizing so many people, with underwhelming results, and little inspiration, finally finds someone noteworthy. Marinette was perfect. The repressed emotional pain was a treasure trove for him. He used it to get back at everyone that made her feel that way. He relished in sharing his inner malice with her. Constantly being disrespected by Gabriel Agreste, a mediocre mortal, scarred his godly psyche. And he wanted vengeance.

He only relented when he was sure Gabriel had no power over him anymore. His body was to weak now.

And nooroo wanted more.

Now he had his own mission, for Marinette to be his new holder, and bring back the order of the butterfly. Now tikki not only has to help Marinette recover, but also stave off the corruption caused deep with in the girl's soul.

Just look at this guy! You know he had to be worshipped at some point, and he probably misses it. Let the poor thing get his licks in!

But I'm not interested in the show as much as I'm interested in the Fandom. If anyone wants to write or help me write I'm open to it!

[yourdemonhostasmodeus]

Borrowed Time (Miraculous Fic)

Hiii! So this is a miraculous fic I'm currently working on. I haven't written loads but I'm so proud of this work and want to share it! It's super angsty, and wholesome, and all of the things we crave in this fandom LOL Anyways enjoy the description and prologue!

Summary:What happens when love is the catalyst for destruction? In this alternate tale of Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir, Marinette is haunted by her failures and burdened by the choices she can never take back. As Shadybug, she walks a darker path, wielding the Ladybug Miraculous in a world teetering on the edge of collapse. But even in the shadows, hope flickers—and so does the connection she shares with Chat Noir. Together, they must navigate their fractured partnership, untold secrets, and the delicate balance between love and catastrophe. Will they rise as heroes—or fall as the harbingers of ruin?

About the Story:This is not the Miraculous you know. Marinette isn’t the perfect hero, and her transformation into Shadybug showcases a complex, flawed, and deeply human side to the beloved character. My take explores darker themes, intense emotions, and the weight of guilt, love, and redemption. If you’re looking for a fresh, dramatic reimagining of Miraculous, this story is for you. I’d love to hear your thoughts or answer any questions you have—don’t hesitate to dive in and join the journey!

Trigger Warning:

This story explores darker themes, including intense emotional turmoil, guilt, trauma, and destructive relationships. Scenes may include depictions of violence, psychological distress, and morally ambiguous decisions. Reader discretion is advised. If you are sensitive to these topics, please proceed with caution. Your mental well-being comes first!

Prologue: Chat Blanc

The ruins of Paris stretch out before me, silent and suffocating. The city that once pulsed with life and laughter is gone, replaced by ash that clings to the air like a suffocating fog. Buildings that stood tall and proud are now jagged skeletons, leaning precariously as if bowing to the chaos that destroyed them.

And at the center of it all stands him.

Chat Blanc.

His silhouette is backlit by the cracked, blinding moon, its fractured light spilling over the city like molten silver. His white suit gleams, unmarred by the destruction he’s caused, and his eyes—those piercing, crystalline blue eyes—lock onto mine. They’re beautiful in a way that makes my stomach churn, as if the boy I once trusted, once believed in, is still in there somewhere, buried beneath the monster he’s become. For the third time, I approach him in an attempt to end this all and save our realities.

“Marinette,” he chimes, his voice soft, almost tender, as if he isn’t standing in the ashes of everything we’ve ever loved.

Hearing my name on his lips sends a chill down my spine. It’s the way he says it—not with malice, not with anger, but with a devastating intimacy that makes my heart clench.

“Kitty,” I whisper, my voice shaking as I grip my yo-yo tightly. It hums quietly against my chest, a faint, reassuring pulse, but it’s not enough to steady me. “You’ve been akumatized! You have to stop!”

He tilts his head, his smile softening into something almost… affectionate. “Of course you’d say that,” he chuckles to himself, stepping closer. “But you don’t understand, do you? This is me, Princess. The real me. The one who isn’t bound by rules, by expectations, by weakness. The one who finally knows what it takes to be happy.”

I flinch as he steps closer, but I don’t move back. I can’t show him fear, even as his presence presses down on me like a suffocating weight. “Happy?” I choke out. “This—this isn’t happiness! Look around you! You’ve destroyed everything!”

He stops, just a few feet away, and his smile falters. For a moment, something flashes in his eyes—something raw and almost human—but it’s gone in an instant, replaced by that chilling calm.

“I destroyed it for us,” he says simply, his voice steady and unnervingly calm. “All of it. Every building, every person, every star in the sky. Because they don’t matter, Bugaboo. None of it matters if we aren’t together.”

My breath catches, my heart pounding so hard it feels like it’s going to break through my ribs. “What… what are you talking about?” I whisper, my voice cracking. I can barely find the words. “No, don’t tell me! Just—just let me help you, Chat Noir.”

“Don’t say that,” he replies, his voice low and trembling, laced with something I can’t quite name—anger? Pain? Desperation? “Don’t try to fix me, Marinette.” His gaze bores into mine, sharp and unrelenting. Everytime he says my name it’s like a dagger in my chest. “You don’t need to. I already know exactly who I am. I know you better than anyone. Better than you know yourself.”

I shake my head, taking a shaky step back. “No… no, you don’t. You can’t—”

“I love you, Marinette!” he shouts, his voice breaking, and the ground trembles beneath us. The shattered remnants of the Eiffel Tower groan as they shift, threatening to collapse entirely. “I love you so much I would destroy the universe if it meant being with you!”

His confession cuts through me like a blade, leaving me breathless. I don’t understand. I can’t understand. How does he know me? Why does he love me? And how could that love lead to this? How could he possibly know my identity?

“This isn’t love,” I manage to say, my voice trembling. “Love doesn’t do this. It doesn’t destroy—”

“It does if it’s strong enough,” he interrupts, his voice low and dangerous. “It does if it’s real.”

He steps closer, his movements slow and deliberate, and I freeze, unable to move. My yo-yo feels heavy in my hand, useless against the weight of his presence.

“You can end this,” he says softly, his tone coaxing. “You don’t have to fight anymore. Just give me your Miraculous. We can be free, m’lady. Free to be together, without anyone to stop us. Isn’t that what you want?”

“No!” I shout, my voice cracking. “I don’t want this! I don’t even know who you are! I’m not your Shadybug. Please…please just let me help you Chat Noir. I don’t want to fight you!”

His expression falters, pain flickering in his eyes for the briefest moment before his smile returns, softer this time. “You don’t know me?” he murmurs, his voice trembling. “Then let me remind you.”

Before I can react, he closes the distance between us, his arms wrapping around me in a crushing embrace. I stiffen, my breath catching in my throat, but he doesn’t let go.

“Ahhhh I’ve missed you,” he whispers, his voice breaking. “Even if you don’t remember, I’ve missed us.”

Tears spill down my cheeks as his words sink in, the weight of his grief and his love suffocating. “I’m sorry,” I whisper, my voice cracking. “I’m so sorry for whatever happened to you.”

He pulls back just enough to look at me, his hand cupping my cheek. His thumb brushes away my tears, his touch impossibly gentle. “It’s not your fault,” he says softly. “None of this was ever your fault. You’re perfect. But we can fix it, Marinette.We can make the perfect world. Just trust me. Give me your Miraculous.”

My gaze falls to the bell on his collar, cracked and glowing faintly. For a moment, our eyes meet. Just a moment. And in that moment, I see it—a flicker of green through the icy blue. A plea, wordless but undeniable.

My breath catches. He doesn’t say anything, but he doesn’t have to. I know what I have to do.

I clutch my yo-yo, my heart breaking as I whisper, “I’m sorry.”

The yo-yo strikes true, shattering the bell. The akuma bursts free, flitting away into the void as I kick myself away from Chat Noir. The light of purification starts to spread, but it stops—it stops.

When I open my eyes, I’m alone.

There’s no ruined city. No glowing moon. No Chat Blanc. No akuma.

Just an endless, empty void, stretching out forever. I turn, searching, but there’s nothing.

No voices. No sounds. No one.

I collapse to my knees, the silence pressing in on me like a weight I can’t bear. Tears fall freely, and for the first time, I scream—not in defiance, not in hope, but in despair.

Because everything—everyone—is gone. And I’m the only one left.

[bruised-muses]

🐞🐞🐞 hiiii omg I didn’t even know there were ladybug emojis—anyway! I’m so invested in the loveybug AU and the snippets you’ve posted are amazing. What else are you willing to share…👀

thank you so much for asking!! i present to you half a hundred words of loveynoir

---

“You’re more clumsy today than usual,” Loveybug commented, with no malice in her tone, simply a curious observation. “Not that you don’t look cute, but, well,” She gestured out the window, where [redacted for plot purposes] were rapidly flying toward the building. 

Chat paused. “Usual? We’ve never met, unless there’s something you’re not telling me.”

---

tbh i went the easy way with a villain but this isnt about that this is about them and theyre adorable!! hes still so suspicious of her i love him!! i love her!! honestly theyre lucky its an easy villain because they could Not fight a new villain rn lets be real

[selenityshiroiml]

So much salt directed at Marinette and implying that the series is glorifying her actions and that it's a poor example.

If you walked away from the special thinking that the series is trying to push that a) Marinette's actions were supposed to be a good thing and b) that Marinette herself thought she had done the right thing then you weren't paying attention.

Marinette is clearly unhappy about the lies she told. She questioned the choice multiple times. She asked multiple people's opinions on if she did the right thing and not ONE PERSON AGREED (although none of them stopped her, either). Everytime she made a choice to reinforce the decision the scene direction implied it was a torn decision (often with a half and half shot of her face as Ladybug/Marinette further emphasising that she has an internal conflict both as herself, as Ladybug and between herself and Ladybug). The scene direction and music was somber and played the choice off as a negative. She is unhappy about lying to Adrien and massively conflicted over it.

Nothing about that special was trying to show Marinette's choice positively. And this is not new. Marinette is OFTEN called out for poor decision making by the narrative or by her emotional state. When she hasn't trusted others things have gone wrong or she has gotten distressed and these situations resolve when she gets help. When she acted over the top with her crush on Adrien it always blew up in her face until she fixed what she had done and he, instead, reacted positively to her being more natural.

These things are not always resolved in the same episode. And, clearly, this season is setting up for a longer arc where Marinette will eventually have to face the consequences for these choices. Even before that it is likely that it will impact her relationship with Adrien as Marinette, her relationship with Chat Noir as Ladybug and, likely, her friendships with the team both in and out of costumes. She is probably going to make more difficult choices going forward to maintain the lie and it going to continue to be conflicted and unhappy about it, further causing her stress and anxiety.

And when it comes out it is not likely to be pretty. Adrien is going to be very understandably hurt and confused.

But Marinette is not doing any of this out of malice. She is a very upset 14 year old girl who just watched her boyfriend's father (who she may not have liked but was probably not aware of the extent of his abuse of Adrien) effectively commit suicide after revealing himself to be a terrorist. She is probably not processing any of that very well and, on top of that, she has the weight of the world on her shoulders with Paris relying on her in a way that no child should have to carry. That is not someone who is going to make an effective and rational decision on how to share that entire set of traumatic events with the person who will be most hurt by them. Especially when she loves him and doesn't want to cause him pain.

She fucked up. But she is not doing that with a goal of hurting Adrien. She is not doing that with a goal of controlling Adrien. She is not doing that with probably any clear goal or aim other than sparing Adrien the pain of knowing that his father was a terrorist.

But she is still going to cause him pain. Because when it comes out that she lied (either from discovery of Ladybug's lies or from realising that Marinette knew or both) it is going to hurt Adrien twice over. Because two people he trusts and cares about (Marinette and Ladybug) deceived him. And, regardless of their lack of malice, it's not going to be easy to accept.

Obviously they are going to eventually resolve things. But writing her actions off as irredeemable or as being portrayed as an example to emulate is ridiculous.

Protaganists are allowed to be wrong. Kids can tell when protaganists are making wrong decisions, even without being told, when the character is clearly not happy about it. People can make mistakes and be forgiven for them (and this is an important thing for kids to learn because otherwise they a) won't admit to their own mistakes and b) won't try to make positive changes if they get in trouble).

And, yes, it's also important for kids to know that forgiveness isn't always guaranteed. And my deepest wish is that, eventually, Adrien will NOT be required to forgive Gabriel for the things he did (although I'm not sure this will be the case). But Marinette is not likely to be (nor do I think she SHOULD be) an example of this concept. Because making a fucked up choice in a fucked up situation when you are clearly traumatised is NOT automatically unforgivable.

[calico-kiwi]

The Coffee Trials

Chapter 2: a different brand of strange

Fandom: Maribat (Miraculous Ladybug x DC)

Tags: Tim Drake/Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Original Character, fluff & Shenanigans, no plot & no update schedule

Work Summary: Both Tim Drake and Marinette Dupain-Cheng are incredibly successful and busy people. Two people who both view coffee as their lifeblood. When they find themselves needing each other to obtain ultimate coffee rights at their favorite cafe, two total strangers become allies. And friends. And perhaps eventually… something more.

Chapter Summary: Marinette finds that her normal day goes 0 to 100 (more of a 70, really) very fast. She certainly didn’t expect this to be the outcome of visiting her new favorite cafe…

Links: ao3 work, ao3 chapter, First Chapter, Previous Chapter, Next Chapter

Read below the Keep Reading!

Marinette was having the very rare kind of day one would consider “normal”. Or, as normal as a former child soldier/superheroine and the current Guardian of the Chinese zodiac’s Muraculi could have whilst living in the cesspool that is Gotham.

It was simultaneously relaxing and unnerving.

She’d had a tremendously productive day. It started with her actually getting up and out of bed at a respectable time, followed by a virtual meeting with Jagged and Penny to discuss his latest commissions. 

For the past several hours she’d been answering emails and sketching some basic concepts to pitch to Jagged. It wasn’t until very late into the evening that she realized she had, one, not eaten yet, and two, not had coffee yet.

In fact if not for Tikki gently reminding her that despite the fever dream that was her life she was still human and needed to eat, she wouldn’t have realized at all. 

Blinking at the clock that hung above the desk in her office, she realized it was already past eight at night and frowned. “When-” Marinette started.

The tiny floating red deity just giggled. “You were in your work trance silly,” Tikki said, patting her chosen on the head. “You really should eat something though.”

Marinette stretches in her chair and nods. “Food does sound good,” she mumbles, closing her eyes. “Oh!-” she exclaims, eyes flying open. “Why don’t we go to the cafe?”

Tikki moves so she’s floating in front of her chosen, her big dark blue eyes sparkle as the kwami smiles. “You just want to go because Skye will let you have the reaaalllyy caffeinated drinks now.”

Smiling sheepishly, Marinette replies, “Maybe. But you can’t deny they have a good chicken wrap!”

Tikki simply fondly shakes her head as Marinette gets out of her chair and grabs her phone.

“Tikki, can you let the other kwamis know we’re heading out while I grab my stuff? I think most of them are in the kitchen and living room.”

As Tikki zips across the room and towards the kitchen, Marinette hears the kwami reply, “Sure thing Mari!” before phasing through the wall.

It’s not long before Marinette enters Carrie’s Cafe and Bistro. She was immediately greeted by the smell of coffee and a warm welcome from Skye, who was currently working the register.

“Hey Mari, welcome back! What can I get for ya?” Skye asks, a smile accompanying their cheerful demeanor.

While the friendliness wasn’t out of place for Skye, they had an unusual excitement about them. Something about the way they were smiling was almost ‘Chat Noir right before he starts some shenanigans’ in nature.

Marinette shook off the thought, however. She smiled back at Skye, answering, “I’ll take a chicken wrap, a chocolate chip cookie, and a chocolate eclair, please. And um, the most caffeinated Skye Special you have if you don’t mind.”

Skye’s smile gains a tone of playful malice as they push the card reader closer to Marinette.

“Why of course I wouldn’t mind. I’ll ignore the fact you didn’t say the ™ in Skye Special™, but only cause you’re new to this whole system here,” Skye teases.

As Marinette inserts her card into the card reader and enters her pin, Skye continues.

“Though I’m glad you remembered the whole ‘must order at least one item from the menu’ part of the deal. Can’t just be giving away free coffee, Carrie would kill me. And it’s not like I can charge you for it either, y’know?”

Skye hands Marinette the receipt, and soon the fashion designer once again finds herself thrown into a work frenzy on one of the cafe’s sofas. Something about the place just seemed to calm her down and clear her head.

Or maybe it was the fact she had finally eaten and was sipping a truckload of caffeine. But who’s to say?

Not long into her visit to the cafe, she hears the front door open and Skye greeting a customer. A quick glance away from her sketchbook and laptop reveal a very tired-looking man in his early to mid-twenties.

His hair was black and slightly wavy, and despite the fact he was wearing sweats and a crewneck Marinette could still tell he had an impressive build. Not that she was looking. * ahem *

However, it was only a few moments later that Marinette found herself looking up at the very person she had been staring at just a few moments ago.

He simply stood there, and with how severe his eyebags are (seriously, they’re bad enough to rival her own) Marinette was half convinced he’d fallen asleep standing up with his eyes open.

She simply waited for the stranger to say something since he was the one to walk up to her , but before she could ask if he needed anything, he said, “Um, hey, sorry to disturb you but there’s something I kind of need to talk to you about. Mind if I sit?”

Marinette blinks up at him, and it takes a few seconds for his request to process. She gives a nervous glance towards Skye, who’s still hanging out behind the register, and receives a smile and thumbs up from the barista.

She hesitantly answers, “Uhh, sure,” throwing Skye another sideways glance while the stranger sits down.

“So-“ he begins. “Skye told me you passed The Coffee Trials. Which is great, congrats! But um, not sure if you’re aware of this, Skye only serves one Skye Special™ per shift. And-“

The stranger pauses again to stare down at Marinette’s drink, which was sitting on the coffee table in front of them.

“You kinda stole my drink.”

All Marinette can think to say back is, “Who are you?”

She watches as the stranger goes through visible phases of shock, confusion, and finally, acceptance.

“Oh. Oops. Well hi, my name’s Tim, it’s nice to meet you,” he says, awkwardly offering a handshake which Marinette slowly accepts.

At the sound of a muffled groan, the two turn their heads just in time to catch Skye facepalming and shaking her head.

Skye simply tells them, “Ignore me. And also Tim’s awkwardness.”

“Ok then. Hi, I’m Marinette. What’s this about stealing your drink?” she asks, quirking an eyebrow.

Tim runs a hand through his hair and collapses against the couch. “Skye’s given me, well both of us, I guess, a bit of a choice. I’m guessing from my experience with her, she’s either going to have things stay the same, or have us follow through on her little plan. 

They’re an impossible person to bribe or bargain with, and once they've got an idea for shenanigans in their head, hell would sooner freeze over than if they don't enact those plans.”

Narrowing her eyes, Marinette snatches her coffee off the table and takes a sip. “Does this ultimatum, because that's what this sounds like, an ultimatum, have the power to revoke my coffee privileges?”

Grimacing, Tim nods. “Short answer, yes. Since only one Skye Special™ is allowed per shift, it’s first come first serve between the two of us. And I guess Carrie, but she doesn’t usually stop by during Skye’s shift so she’s a bit of an outlier.”

“Wait-“ Marinette starts. “So what’s the other option? Skye is either going to keep it how it is, or…?

Rubbing at the back of his neck with one hand and nervously tugging at the collar of his crew neck with the other, Tim’s eyes darted towards Skye.

“About that. I actually have no clue. She basically sent me over here so I could drag you back to the register. They said they would only tell me their ‘proposition’ if both of us came over to her.”

Marinette sighed. She knew something was up with Skye today. Looking back over to Tim she asks with a deadpan expression, “How much do you wanna bet she has a dramatic speech planned?”

Tim smirks. “Five bucks says she’ll have visuals to really drive home the point.”

If it weren’t for the informality of the situation, Marinette would’ve found herself embarrassed by the snort she let out at Tim’s statement.

Closing her laptop and stuffing it along with her sketchbook into her bag, Marinette stands. “Let’s go see if you win that five bucks.”

As they approach, Skye’s smile widens. “Ah, I knew you were capable of simple tasks, Timmy my boy. Not that there was ever any doubt.”

Tim scoffs and playfully shoves the barista, causing her to let out an incredulous ‘Hey!’

Once the two settle in front of Skye, the latter breaks into a smirk. “So, assuming this doofus-“ Skye says, jerking their thumb at Tim, “Has filled you in, Nettie, who’d like to hear my oh so generous, proposition, shall we say?”

With Marinette’s insistence to go on and Tim’s nod, Skye situates herself so she’s once again sitting on the counter, legs swung over the side.

“I’m cutting you both off.” The sentence is short, said without a hint of hesitation, and Skye tells them with such conviction the decision seems ironclad.

It’s so devastatingly inconceivable the five words make both Marinette and Tim’s hearts drop to their stomachs and disintegrate in the acid there.

The two stand there dumbfounded for a few seconds, processing. It’s only broken when Tim’s hands, previously shaking, fly to his hair raking through it while a strangled gargle claws its way out of his throat. It’s soon followed by the small pitiful whimpers falling from Marinette’s lips. His hysterical and frantic cry of, “WHAT?!” overlaps with Marinette’s desperate pleas.

“Don’t worry,” Skye assures, holding up her hands in a placating manner. “I’m not fully cutting you off.”

With that piece of information, both their shoulders sag in relief, and their eyes lose the panicked wild looks they were holding.

“Oh thank fuck !” Tim exclaims. “Don’t fucking scare me like that Skye.”

Marinette, who shares similar sentiments, add, “You little shit. There is a very small amount of topics you do not make jokes like that about with me. Coffee is very high on that list.”

Skye just smiles cheekily. “Sorry, I couldn't help it. Playing devil’s advocate is the epitome of devious chaos.”

“Also, maybe not be the best way to phrase it, but the statement was still true. I am cutting you off. From Skye Specials™ only though. From now on, unless you can accomplish the task I will see before you two, you’re banned from Skye Specials™.”

Tim's jaw hangs open, and Marinette’s brows are furrowed, lips pursed.

“Why not just keep it as it is?” Marinette points out. “The limit can stay one Skye Special™ per shift, it will be on a first come first serve basis.”

Skey shakes their head. “And where,” they say, looking Marinette in the eyes before letting their stare move to Tim’s, “is the fun in that?”

Whipping out their phone, Skye clicks a few things before turning it so it faces them. It’s rotated so that it’s landscape, and Tim lets out an unbelieving bark of laughter at what he sees.

He barely makes out Marinette’s whispered, “Guess I owe you five bucks.”

“I have prepared a Google Slides,” Skye says proudly. “It’s very simple.” She points to the slide being displayed, presumably the title slide, and Marinette stares at the words ‘The Coffee Trials’. The subtext underneath the bigger centered title reads, ‘Trial #2: Creation’.

“As you can see, I’m implementing this as the second installment of The Coffee Trials. You will have to work together to, drumroll please…” Despite no one giving a drum roll, Skye still clicks on their phone to unveil the next slide with exuberant enthusiasm and a single jazz hand once the slide is revealed. “Make The Motherload yourselves!”

The next slide has only a picture of The Motherload and a textbox with three confetti emojis.

“Ignore the low-budget slides, I didn't have enough time to put into this. Anyways! Onto the rules-” With another tap on their phone screen, Skye reveals the next slide, which contains a numbered list.

“Rule one, you are given an indefinite amount of time to try and recreate The Motherload. Simple enough. Though you don’t have to have the exact measurements or method of making it, the ingredients all have to be the same, and it has to taste similar as well. I’ll give leeway on all other aspects, though.

Rule two, you are allowed to show me one attempt per week, and by per week, I mean Sunday through Saturday. You don’t have to wait seven days between each attempt.

Rule three, once per week, per week having the same meaning as rule two, you are allowed to ask for a hint. The hint given will always be an ingredient, and if a hint is asked for and can be given, but there are no more ingredients to confirm, you will each be given an espresso cup full of The Motherload to drink and appraise. 

This is the one exception to the fact you are cut off from Skye Specials™, and you are only allowed to drink the sample, as well as look at it. Without any high-powered tech. No cheating by examining it beyond a simple look.

Rule four, not only must you adhere to all prior rules, but you may not ask for or receive outside help, and to enact the two previous rules, those being attempting to confirm your creation or gathering hints, it must be triggered by the both of you .

That’s right, I’ve saddled you with a group project.”

Marinette is lost for words. She looks over at Tim who seems similarly bewildered.

“That's basically it. Any questions?” Skye asks, face the embodiment of innocence.

Tim looks a bit shell-shocked, Marinette realizes. She quite agrees with the reaction, however.

“I don't have enough caffeine to be able to think about or deal with this right now. I don't have enough sleep to deal with this absurdity. And my whole life is dealing with absurdity.” 

Tim’s nodding along with every word Marinette is saying, and oh isn't it great she’s not the only one thrown off by this.

“Well, I think the both of you should sleep and mull this over with well-rested heads. It’s quite a lot to spring onto someone this late, I guess.”

Tim numbly nods, and he and Marinette find themselves walking out of the cafe together, Tim holding the door open for her as they exit.

“Well that ,” Tim begins, “is a type of strange I didn't think I’d have to deal with today.”

Marinette giggles, smiling up at the man beside her. “A different brand of crazy from the usual,” she concedes. “Though it’s a nice change of pace from some of the regular crazy I’ve had to deal with.”

Smiling back down at her, Tim adds, “You’re not wrong.”

They stand there together, staring at each other, for a few seconds, before Tim clears his throat. “You know,” he says, cheeks suddenly the slightest bit pinker. “If you’d like, I can give you my number in case we end up actually going through with Skye’s nefarious plot.”

Surprised by her willingness and excitement, Marinette breathes out a, “Sure,” before handing over her phone.

It’s only after Marinette’s home and ready for bed that she contemplates just what had happened at the coffee shop. Or how it was unfairly hard to think of it without her mind circling back to Tim.

There are too many thoughts in her head to try and confront why looking at Tim’s contact made her smile.

He’d only put in his contact name; Tim, his number, and a short sentence in the notes. ‘u owe me $5.’

> Next

AN: Forgive my many spelling mistakes, I have the horrible tendency to only write for this fic in the dead of night. i have this fic on ao3, but I realized I never posted it to tumblr as more than a link. if you wanna keep up with it, but dont wanna subscribe to it on ao3, just ask to be added to the taglist either through this post or an ask to my blog and I'll keep you updated!

[wordsofrowan]

The Shadow Court

Chapter 15 - Consumed by Shadows

Under the shimmering glow of the moon, Chat Noir stealthily made his way back to his, dimly lit room, his mind consumed not only by frustration but also by a seething anger that threatened to consume him. With a swift and forceful motion, he shed his heroic facade, he began pacing back and forth in his room. "Can you believe her, Plagg?" he exclaimed, his voice dripping with a volatile mixture of disbelief and rage. "I presented her with irrefutable evidence that Marinette is colluding with that wretched Shadow Moth, and yet she dares to treat me as if I am the villain in this twisted tale!"

Perched on Adrien's shoulder, Plagg trembled slightly, sensing the explosive energy radiating from his holder. Plagg couldn’t believe what he was hearing from Adrien. Plagg didn’t know when it happened but this definitely wasn’t his kitten anymore, "Ladybug does have a point, Adrien. What you offered her wasn't concrete proof. And you do tend to disappear frequently during those wretched Akuma attacks."

Adrien's frustration reached its boiling point, causing him to snap at Plagg with an intensity that sent a shiver down the kwami's tiny spine. "Yeah, that's because I am Chat Noir! I have every damn reason to not be present! I’m the one busting my ass to save Paris!" His words reverberated through the room, filling the air with a palpable tension.

Plagg, his eyes wide with fear, attempted to reason with his enraged holder. "Have you ever considered, Adrien, that Marinette, considering the countless times she has been targeted by those accursed Akumas, might be grappling with some deep-seated trauma?"

Adrien's anger surged like a raging inferno, and he lunged toward Plagg, his piercing gaze filled with a violent intensity. "Why are you defending her now?" he hissed through gritted teeth, his voice dripping with malice and venom as he punched the wall beside him, leaving a small dent in the wall. Plagg felt sick to his stomach.

Taken aback, Plagg cowered slightly, his voice trembling as he defended himself. "I'm not defending her, Adrien. I'm simply attempting to help you see reason!" His words were barely a whisper, barely audible amidst the tempest of Adrien's fury.

Adrien's voice turned icy and menacing as he silenced Plagg with a forceful wave of his hand. "Silence, Plagg," he growled, his tone laced with a chilling threat. In an instant, Plagg's mouth sealed shut, his frightened eyes widening in horror. Throughout his existence as a kwami, he had encountered holders who had misused his powers, but the terror he felt at that moment surpassed anything he had ever experienced. "I don't wish to hear your voice any longer. You are my kwami. I alone dictate what is right and wrong," Adrien declared, his words punctuated by a violent outburst that echoed in the room, leaving an unsettling silence in its wake.

"And just so we're clear," Adrien continued, his voice a volatile mix of command and menace, "you are forbidden from leaving my side in public, and you are forbidden from departing my room when we are here. Do you understand?" His words hung in the air, heavy with the threat of consequences.

Plagg, his trembling intensifying, could only nod, a deep sense of powerlessness washing over him. He yearned to warn Marinette or Tikki, but Adrien's explosive and violent nature left him utterly helpless, a captive within his own existence. He could only hope and pray that Marinette would unearth the truth before Adrien's inner darkness consumed him whole, for the storm that raged within Adrien threatened to consume everything in its path.

He paced back and forth, his steps echoing in the silence of his room. The image of Marinette, entangled with Jay and serving the nefarious Shadow Moth, haunted his thoughts. He couldn't bear to see her caught in the web of darkness any longer. He had to find a way to free her from the clutches of evil and bring her back into the light.

But it wasn't just Marinette who had fallen prey to the machinations of the darkness of this world. Ladybug, the hero he had admired and loved from afar, had also become entangled in this twisted game. Adrien couldn't fathom why she had turned her back on their shared duty, why she had forsaken the very essence of what it meant to be a hero.

His heart ached with longing and frustration. He yearned for the Ladybug he had once known, the one who embodied hope and unwavering determination. He needed her to see the truth, to understand the consequences of her actions. If only she would submit to him, to his guidance, then everything could be restored to the way it was supposed to be.

As Adrien stared at the photographs of Ladybug and Marinette on his desk, a flicker of determination ignited within him. He couldn't sit idly by while his loved ones succumbed to darkness. He had to find a way to break through the barriers that held them captive. They were his and he would not allow them to continue to disobey him and insult him in such a way.

His mind raced, searching for a plan, a strategy that would bring about the change he so desperately sought. But time was running out, and the stakes were higher than ever. Adrien knew he had to act swiftly and decisively.

Plagg hovered in the dimly lit room, his emerald eyes filled with regret. How had he failed to notice the darkness that had taken hold of Adrien's heart? As a kwami, it was his duty to guide and protect his chosen Miraculous holder, but he couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt for not intervening sooner. Was this because he was ill-suited for the Black Cat Miraculous, Plagg wondered was this darkness in Adrien his fault. 

He had always known that Adrien wasn't like Marinette, the true holder of the Ladybug Miraculous. But Plagg had never anticipated the depths to which Adrien would sink. The weight of his father's influence and the shadows that lurked within his own soul had consumed him, twisting him into something unrecognizable.

Plagg had tried his best to impart wisdom to Adrien, to teach him about boundaries and the importance of autonomy. But it had become painfully clear that Adrien had become entangled in a web of darkness that even Plagg couldn't fully comprehend.

The kwami sighed, his tiny form slumping with defeat. He had underestimated the power of the darkness that resided within Adrien. The allure of his father's teachings had clouded his judgment, leading him down a treacherous path.

Plagg's mind raced, searching for a solution, a way to break through the barriers that held Adrien captive. He knew he couldn't give up on his chosen holder, not when the fate of Paris hung in the balance. But the task ahead seemed insurmountable.

With a heavy heart, Plagg reflected on the lessons he had tried to teach Adrien, the moments they had shared. He wondered if he had failed him and if there was something more he could have done to prevent this descent into darkness.

The guilt gnawed at him, consuming his thoughts and filling him with a sense of failure. How had he let things escalate to this point? He couldn't help but feel that he had failed not only Adrien but also Marinette and Tikki.

As a kwami, Plagg had a unique perspective on the lives of his chosen holders. He had witnessed Adrien's reckless behavior and his disregard for the consequences of his actions. Plagg had tried to intervene, to guide him towards a path of responsibility, but his efforts had often fallen on deaf ears.

The memories flooded back, each one a painful reminder of missed opportunities. Adrien's blatant disregard for Akuma's attacks and leaving Ladybug to fight alone. His relentless pursuit of Ladybug, even as she repeatedly made it clear that she did not return his affections. And now, his misguided attempts to force his feelings onto Marinette.

Plagg couldn't shake the feeling that he should have done more, that he should have been more assertive in his guidance. He had seen the warning signs, the cracks in Adrien's façade, but he had allowed them to go unchecked, hoping that Adrien would find his own way.

Regret washed over Plagg, his head drooping with a sense of defeat. He should have protected Marinette from the pain she had endured. He should have shielded Marinette from the turmoil that Adrien's misguided affections had caused. For the first time in a long while Plagg cried. He wanted to run to flee to Tikki, but given Adrien's commands that was no longer an option. Plagg felt alone and lost. He figured this must be what Nooroo and Dusuu were feeling as well.

XoXo Rowan

[digitalgate02]

I keep thinking that, from all the problems i had with Chat Blanc episode, none of them were related to Chat Blanc himself.

It was indeed a hint that Adrien lacks malice, and his whole corruption was because he let his anger and emotions take control over him, so he got akumatized and lost control over his "evil" powers, destroyed the world and then became desperate to fix everything, which led him to really try to steal Ladybug from the past's Miraculouses for himself and then get it to grant him a wish to fix EVERYTHING.

Thus why he became the most terrifying villain ever to me. Lacks malice, yet gets corrupted by his own despair.

[heartfulselkie]

It's them! Raging feral catboy and mighty warrior buggirl! Aaaahhhhh!

They look so good in your style! Ladybug looks so noble while Chat Blanc just looks like her sending malice lazer beams with his mind (I especially love his little gremlin smirk in the bottom left hehehe)

I'm going to get this tattooed on the inside of my eyelids

Fan art of @heartfulselkie ‘s fic bell the cat, whose angst with a happy ending tag is most precious to me

This was mostly me trying to figure out how to draw either of them in this au. And trying to remember how to draw semi realistic humans