#minor adrien salt?

[stormiclown]

I know I might get bashed like hell for this but I don't care: Chat Noir and Ladybug are realistically the weakest Cat and Ladybug miraculous holders of their respective legacies.

And it's not just them. Every single Parisian hero of the current generation, from Rena Rouge to Viperion, are significantly weaker in terms of skill and power than their predecessors.

This isn't their fault entirely, as Ladybug and co have more disadvantages than the heroes that have come before them and there are those who don't take the job seriously [Chat Noir and Queen Bee].

They're Very Young

The first most glaring issue is the fact that they are still minors. The most consistent rule of the show is that a miraculous being used by a child is like the free trial version of a streaming service. Five minutes after using their special power, they will de-transform and will need to feed their kwami to resume their transformation. Unlike Hawkmoth and Mayura who can keep up their transformation even after using an akuma/amok, Ladybug and Chat Noir have to proceed with caution because they aren't grownups which limits their ability to fight all out. This is especially the case with Chat Noir and Ladybug as they are the main superheroes and characters used to emphasize this rule.

If the wiki is to be believed, then previous Ladybugs like La Déesse Coccinelle, Piao Chong, Tentomushi, Jeanne d'Arc (in the mlb universe), and Mudangbeolle were all adults according to their respective time periods and didn't have the same restrictions that the current Ladybug has. The same could be said about previous foxes, bees, turtles, snakes etc.

They Lack the Necessary Training

The second drawback that Marinette and Adrien have are their backgrounds. More specifically, their comfortable lifestyles. Marinette in particular, went from a clumsy girl who lived a normal life to a beloved superheroine in just one day. Not that there's anything wrong with that on a character level, but on a logical level it makes sense for her to be ill prepared for the duties of a hero at first. She was thrusted into it suddenly with no training [something I see is regularly addressed in crossover fanfictions with Batman and the DCU] or any background in combat, the latter she had to learn on her own. Though it's hinted at that Sabine is an exceptional fighter, it's pretty clear that she taught none of it to Marinette.

Adrien at least has some combat training in the form of fencing which is evident in the way he uses his staff like a fencing saber. But as someone who has been fencing since I was seven and been up against many talented opponents, Adrien strikes me as mediocre at best. He beats Kagami in Riposte sure, but by real fencing standards Adrien would be slaughtered by someone who had been trained their entire life to be an Olympic worthy fencer [Kagami].

I'm bringing this up because literally every past Ladybug, Black, and others have experience in combat, were vigilantes in armies, were warriors before using their miraculous, or fought in actual wars therefore becoming hardened veterans. In this category Adrien [again, even though he's mediocre] and Kagami are the only heroes of the current generation who have previous training in the form of a combat-oriented sport. Though, in my opinion, Kagami as Ryuko is the only hero that can hold a candle to her predecessors.

Alya, Nino, and Chloe are also very weak in this regard due to the aforementioned reasons above. They all have comfortable lifestyles and were thrusted into the world of heroes without any training or focus. Chloe nearly ran into a wall because she wasn't paying attention and Alya needed to be guilt tripped into giving the miraculous to Ladybug by Trixx. You can make the argument that the miraculous costumes make up for their lack of actual experience, which is 100% valid, but I can also argue that having battle training or any sort of athleticism can make a hero even more effective. I don't know if this is an unpopular opinion, but Kagami will always be the most effective and skilled temporary hero as evidenced by her being able to piece together her transformation phase, her attention to detail, her impressive battle awareness and her ability to right her mistakes [jumping into the fight without listening to Ladybug's plan in Ikari Gozen] with her quick thinking. Say what you will about her, but Kagami is objectively the best candidate to be a permanent hero, especially since Chat Noir has been demoted to sidekick/temporary hero status.

[Kim is also an athletic person, but his skill is in swimming, which isn't helpful unless he has an aqua form, which he doesn't so ehh]

They Have Little to No Knowledge of Their Own Powers

The third thing that the heroes have going against them is their lack of knowledge about their powers. By this point in the series, the heroes are just going with the flow and figuring things out for themselves as they go along.

As we know, these are the first heroes since the Order of the Guardians was destroyed. This context is important because in Feast, we learn that countless grimoires and Miracle Boxes burned away or eaten.

The miraculous date back to Ancient Times so there had to have been thousands of years of documented information about the miraculous of the Chinese Miracle Box. I'm not even going to say it's an assumption. It has to be a fact that there were secrets about each miraculous including how to train each Guardian that would have been extremely helpful to Ladybug and the others if they had access to it. Master Fu is responsible for tens of thousands of years' worth of knowledge being snuffed out in just one night.

This puts the heroes who wielded a miraculous after the Order was destroyed at a significant, almost sad disadvantage to those who were heroes before the Order fell. It's highly likely that after gaining their miraculous, previous heroes had access to the archive in which they could learn to utilize their powers to their absolute fullest potential. Whereas with the current heroes, it feels like they can only use a fraction of their miraculous's abilities.

Another problem with their lack of knowledge is the time separating Ladybug and Chat Noir from their predecessors. Bo Rua and an unnamed Vietnamese Black Cat were the last LadyCat duo before Feast swallowed the Order, with Adrien and Marinette being their immediate successors. However, Master Fu was confirmed to be in his 180s when he relinquished the Miracle Box to Marinette and Austruc confirmed Bo Rua and her partner to be in their early twenties, meaning that Bo Rua and LadyNoir have over 200 years separating them, confirming that their knowledge was lost over time after they died and can only be recovered by speaking to their spirits like in Reunion [which I have several complaints about]. Master Fu is obviously lacking knowledge about the miraculous to a severe degree, so it makes sense for Chat Noir and Ladybug to as well.

I'm not bashing Adrien and Marinette and co for being objectively weak because it makes so much sense. They lack proper training, they're kids with set limits on their powers, and they don't have access to crucial information that would've probably led them to defeat Hawkmoth by now. Sure, the two of them [more so Marinette] are the strongest heroes of their generation but if you put them up against their forebearers, they would be massacred with no difficulty whatsoever.

The show would be 100 times more interesting if this was acknowledged, which would lead to the introduction of the previous holders in a more natural and useful way.

[If I missed anything, any reblogs with your personal opinions on the matter will be very appreciated]

[aliensunflower-fics]

CHANGING FACES  Chapter 2: Tikki’s Decision

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After years of dealing with each other Lila Rossi win's when she convinces Hawkmoth that Marinette is Ladybug. In order to throw off suspicion and keep the Miracle Box safe Marinette and her supportive parents leave Paris and head to Gotham of all places. In this new place away from her friends and her unhealthy routines Marinette is forced to confront herself and change for the better. Helping her on her journey is a surprising new friend and potential ally. When Alya missing her friend learns about the chance to win a free trip to Gotham she convinces the class to work hard to qualify. When her new life clashes with her old one will Marinette be able to hold on strong to her new confidence or will she crumble under the pressure?

( This fic will be for the most part comedic, fluffy, and sweet, with only a bit of seriousness to tie it together. With only the mildest salt because I don't think the class or Adrien are bad people just that they can be naive and selfish thanks to the canon writing. I hope you enjoy reading this work and have fun with me on this journey. )

CHAPTER 2:

Tikki’s Decision

Tikki was old, she had been around centuries, longer than humans had even existed. She had been the kwami to many humans and she had seen their struggles and triumphs. Tikki loved humans, she loved how deeply they felt things, how passionate and wild they were, how they created the strangest things with their wild minds. And yet Tikki had to admit that despite how old she was, despite how much she’d seen, and despite how much she loved humans. She didn’t always understand them.

Feelings especially were not always easy for Tikki to grasp. Marinette would talk about her ‘gut feeling’ and then would act in irrational ways Tikki could not fully understand only to somehow be correct and wind up barely slipping out of a dangerous situation. Or sometimes Marinette had ‘hunches’ strange ‘clues’ she said she had ‘picked up’ from others around her. Tikki always thought it was just Marinette's over-creative mind yet she was proven wrong time and time again when it turned out her friends were indeed plotting something. Truthfully… Tikki had at times failed as a kwami and as a friend to Marinette because she could not fully grasp the depth of human emotion. When Marinette had needed Tikki’s love and support and for her to just listen and understand she had instead gotten one of Tikki’s signature lectures about positivity and her duty as Ladybug.

In truth Tikki could now see the scars and mistakes from the pressure and poorly imparted lessons etched into Marinette’s mind. She had been one of her youngest ever holders when Fu had chosen her. Only 12 years old but full of bravery, creativity and heart Tikki knew immediately she would be an amazing Ladybug. Sure she’d fumbled a little to start, but she quickly found her feet and Tikki and Fu’s expectations and hope for the young girl soared.

As Marinette grew Tikki had encouraged Marinette to remain ever happy, ever positive and ever helpful and kind. Tikki had failed to see how her chosen was giving away pieces of herself in order to live up to the expectations. She had little time for herself and asked for little in return and the people she loved while not malicious or cruel in their intent were all too happy to keep asking more from the girl. Maybe if things had stayed as simple as they were when she was younger things would have been okay, but when are things ever so easy.

The appearance of Lila Rossi and the escalation of Akuma was a simultaneous attack on both parts of Marinette’s life. And in her infinite ignorance Tikki had only seen the threat the Akuma posed and encouraged Marinette to listen to Adrien and simply ignore the liar. Tikki had seen so many liars through the centuries each and every one a dangerous poison she knew and yet still she told Marinette that her duty was to Ladybug that a liar was no threat. The lies of Lila had almost led to Tikki losing her chosen Hawkmoth influence. And yet when Marientte escaped akumatization Tikki had done the cruelest thing imaginable and only worried about Ladybug.

Lila Rossi and the Akuma did not stop after that day. Each year it only got worse Lila did not fully ruin Marinette’s relationships her classmates and friends were never fully swayed but Lila was able to use them like tools to make Marinette’s life harder she encouraged them to ask more from Marinette to leave her out of things to distance themselves. Marinette did not lose them but in a way she lost something more she lost the support and relief they once supplied. And between Lila’s schemes her friends ever increasing demands, the training Tikki made Marinette get with the amazons, the bakery, her duties as guardian and akumas Marinette was burning out before Tikki’s eyes and still the kwami foolishly spouted off her lessons on positivity.

At only 16 Marinette had already given so much, had already sacrificed so much, she was already under so much pressure. And then a few weeks ago it had gotten worse. They had beaten an easy to Akuma and with no timer ticking down Ladybug had stayed to answer some questions on the hunt for Hawkmoth, after she was done she’d begun her journey home when Tikki felt the presence watching them. It wasn’t an akuma but it was one of Hawkmoth's corrupt butterflies following them. Tikki was able to send a message to Marinette via there connection and the young Ladybug quickly changed courses leading the butterfly on a wild chase before double backing to the safety of the bakery. Tikki and Marinette had both shrugged off the incident believing Hawkmoth had used the easy as bait to lure Ladybug out and then try to follow her home. But later when Tikki felt the presence again getting close to Marinette home she barely had time to dive into Marinette’s hair and whisper in her ear the situation.

Hawkmoth’s surveillance was hell. Luckily the butterfly needed to leave often to create akumas allowing Marinette to transform but it made everything high risk. In those 2 weeks under the watchful eyes of Hawkmoths butterflies Marinette had been forced to play the role of a normal girl she had to bite her tongue to keep from talking out loud to Tikki, had to smuggle cookies even more secretly to the the hungry kwami, she was unable to use Kalki to attend her weekly training with the Amazonian’s and having to miss out on patrols. After Trixx was retrieved while in Ladybug mode after an akuma they were used more than a few times to help get out of tight situations. Luckily Hawkmoth’s spy butterfly respected bathroom privacy.

But the real question was why? Did Hawkmoth suspect Marinette of being Ladybug? Or was he trying to wait for an opportunity to akumatize her? Perhaps he had figured out she was the guardian somehow? The uncertainty left them unable to properly plan a proper counter. Sure they could use Trixx’s illusions to show Hawkmoth a vision of Marinette and Ladybug together but that could potentially just make him more suspicious or interested in her. And so they waited biding their time and trying to plan the best way to throw Hawkmoth off.

After 2 long weeks of being under Hawkmoth’s watchful eyes there was finally a day of freedom. The butterfly that had been watching Marinette had finally left, and better still her parents were celebrating one of their cakes making it into their favorite baking magazine and were taking Marinette out for a fancy dinner to celebrate. Trixx, Tikki and Marinette celebrated by getting all dolled up to enjoy a night out with Marinette promising to order something extra sweet for dessert that she could sneak to the Kwami. Trixx was overjoyed at getting to go out with the two as a reward for their hard work. Things felt like they were getting better.

But dessert never came. In the middle of their meal Sabine’s phone had rang and the look on her face said it all. By the time they got home the Bakery was already too far gone. Tikki felt Marinette break at that moment. The pressure, the expectations, every tear she had not been able to cry before, every smile she’d been forced to wear, everything was crashing down on the young Ladybug and for once Tikki felt it she felt how EXHAUSTED her chosen was. But worse she felt Hawkmoth’s eyes on them once more and with Marinette so unstable Tikki was scared of what her Ladybug would do, would she rush into the flames? Transform to try and save the miracle box? Or maybe she would finally break enough for Hawkmoth’s butterfly to turn her? That was likely was Hawkmoth desired. Tikki knew what she should say to Marinette, she should tell her to be positive, she should tell her to be strong, to think of Ladybug. But Tikki could feel it now, her lovely chosens exhaustion the way her bones ached for rest and her mind raced and so instead of telling her to be strong to be Ladybug to be positive Tikki told Marinette it was okay to cry, she told Marinette to hold on to her parents and to weep with them, to let herself feel this loss, she told her not to think of being Ladybug or the guardian that the box would be fine and that right now she just Marinette and that she would eat any evil butterflies that dared come close.

It had all moved so fast after that. The fire had eventually been extinguished though not much remained of the once proud bakery. The Dupain-Chengs got permission from the fire fighters to search the rubble for anything that had survived. They had pulled out Sabine’s wok completely scorched but she was happy to see it anyway and joked about it being indestructable. There was also a small fireproof safe containing the families secret recipes, an old photo album and some copies of important documents and passports Tom had playfully stuck his tongue out at his wife as he gloated that the safe had turned out to be a smart investment after all the small woman only smiled. The final thing to survive was the Miracle box, still hidden safely in the massive old metal sewing machine. It was scorched black now but Marinette held it close to herself anyway not caring that the soot was ruining the lovely dress she was wearing.

After they had found all they could in the rubble the family got a ride by Nadja to a hotel to spend the night. The little family had barely gotten to their little room when Tom got a call from the police about the security tapes across the bakery and how they showed proof of robbers entering the bakery and then leaving with the blaze starting not long after. After that call more came in with everyone they knew trying to check in on them, Marinette was too tired to answer and her parents seemed to notice stepping out into the hall to let her rest. Barely a minute later Marinette slipped into a dreamless sleep and Tikki finally emerged from her hiding spot with Trixx following her lead.

“Hawkmoth did this, didn't he?”

Tikki could only nod. “So what now? This is a direct attack against our guardian surely we can’t just let this go right?”

Tikki bit her lip and then glanced at the door where she could hear Marinette’s parents talking.

“My chosen has been carrying so much for so long Trixx… I think it's time for me, for all of us, to break some rules.”

“Wait! Really?! You Tikki the goddess of goody two shoes is saying we're gonna start breaking rules?!”

“I- Yes… Our guardian needs support. All Fu’s rules have done is hurt her and leave her isolated. I can’t let this continue.”

Trixx cackled their snout wrinkling up in amusement. “Plagg is gonna love this!”

“Yeah… He is.” Tikki felt herself smile.

As the door opened and Marinette’s parents entered, Tikki stole all her bravery to face them head on.

“Hello, Mr and Mrs Dupain-Cheng my name is Tikki, I am the Kwami of creation and I think that we need to have a talk.”

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( Thanks for all the support and kind words in chapter 1 I’m happy to see that there is interest in my fics! I’ll do my best to post new chapters every week or so! )

[xhanisai]

You know what really grates on my nerves?

When people say that Adrien deserves to get hurt or heartbroken for not ‘noticing’ Marinette and her feelings all this time and when people say that Ladybug deserves to get hurt or heartbroken for not dating Chat Noir right away or something like that.

It is such a vile thing to say or agree on- especially when Adrien and Marinette thinks of the world of each other and their alter egos. Adrien has asked a few times about Marinette’s feelings to her face and her nerves always got the best of her and she never admitted the truth; he trusts and values her word. So it isn’t his fault that he doesn’t know her true feelings for him. 

And Ladybug, despite not accepting her partner’s romantic advances, absolutely adores him! She trusts him with her life and the civilians of Paris. She loves giving him adorable nicknames and treats him with care when she can. Regardless of what she feels for him (even if us viewers know it’s romantic love), Ladybug doesn’t have to go out with him and she shouldn’t be punished by the fandom for that. 

Anyways, these two mean the world to each other on all sides of the lovesquare and they’re not aware that their feelings are reciprocated (regardless of which side). They also NEVER go out of their ways to intentionally harm or hurt the other and always push things aside and prioritise each other when needed.

Do they have a bit of a communication issue? Yes, but they are teenagers and are working on it and they will clear that obstacle. The problem is that they are both too selfless so they don’t like to burden others with their feelings. They will grow and become better people :)

Overall, what I’m trying to say is that lovesquare adore one another and if you genuinely believe that Adrien or Marinette have to be punished for not being aware or acting on the other person’s feelings, you’re a piece of shit and I feel sorry for the people around you :)))))

[mari-monsta]

the ppl in my notes who have not seen adrien get hate for being weird i wish i was you because this website was borderline unusable a year or two ago because of how vocally people hated adrien for being weird actually

[comics-and-fanworks]

Idea for you class salt after the class is out of school and in the real world.

Marinette's phone gets broken so badly she needs a new number. She only tells a few her new number no one from her old class has it.

Some of her old class goes to bakery to ask why she hasn't called them back when they called her. They get told her phone got broken and all that.

The class member goes okay tell her to call me when it gets fixed or replaced it is important.

Only her parents forget and when said class member comes back later is told that but is also told Marinette has a new phone now. But not a new number.

Classmate rushes out to call her so she can fix their problems like always only it goes to voicemail as the person whom has her old number is like I don't know this person calling me. It goes on and on till it gets bad and the person with the new number goes to the police with worry over the threats they are getting.

Should I be worried for myself or the person they are trying to reach

It comes to a head when alya talks max into hacking the location of the phone and they go to have a talk with Marinette only it's not her

Thank you so much for the request! It's my first one so I went a bit overboard and wrote a lot! So sorry it took me so long to get to this! I'm taking organic chemistry over the winter so that has been kicking my ass. The first draft was deleted, so hopefully, this is a better version! Thank you for your patience with me!

TW: swearing, minor threats of violence

~~~~~~

"Well shit," Marinette's day was already bad, but this was just throwing salt into the wound. She had started her day with her phone blowing up with requests from her (former) classmates and friends. Ever since she returned from College they had gotten right back to their usual B.S. "Mari I need a new dress for a meeting with Prince Ali," "Marinette! I told my team you'd design some sick jackets for us and you'd have them done by our next swim meet!" "Girl! I need three new outfits! Adrien and Lila are taking me with them to a fashion show and this is my chance to interview some top designers! Oh sorry, you're not invited." She was up to her neck in demands and requests, to the point she was seriously considering closing her commissions, not like her former friends paid her anyways. THEN Hawkmoth decided that she hadn't suffered enough, she had to deal with Volpina, Frozer, AND Prime Queen and it was not even lunchtime. Volpina was easy enough to take down, why Lila was akumatized is anyone's guess. Frozer was a bit trickier, and since Chat had no plans of showing up she had to bring in Ryuko and Viperion. The trio ended up fighting Prime Queen, who was convinced that LadyNoir would still happen and the Cat Hero's absence was due to a lover's quarrel. Marinette was finally able to return to the alleyway she had transformed in... only to find her shattered phone. It must've fallen out of her suit's pocket (she had redesigned her costume since returning to Paris, she wanted a more mature, fashionable look) when she was rushing to get to the battle.

"Great! Just Perfect! This is just what I need now!" She sighed picking up the shattered phone. There was no way this was salvageable, the impact of hitting the ground had practically broken the thing in half. Tikki knew her chosen was stressed, between being Ladybug, being the Guardian of the Miraculous, building a blossoming fashion empire from scratch, and having to deal with her former friends' constant demands it was only a matter of time before she lost Marinette to Hawkmoth's akumatization. The goddess recognized that this was just the opportunity she needed to help her chosen, and she would start by helping Marinette cut off the people hurting her most. "Marinette! I have an idea! Why don't you get two phones? One can be your work phone, and the other can be your personal one. That way you won't have to worry about your work stuff getting lost in your personal stuff. You can get new numbers for both too!" Marinette looked at the Kwamii with some confusion, "Why would I need to change my number?" Tikki sighed, "Marinette, they haven't been very good friends to you, they haven't even been your friends for a while now. Think about it, your former classmates don't talk to you unless they want something, they expect you to use your connections to benefit them but won't return the favor, and they promise you and your time to other people without your consent.  That isn't right babybug, friends don't treat friends like that. They don't even pay you for your time, effort, and the cost of materials!" Marinette knew that Tikki was right, but she was still hesitant, "But..." "Would Kagami text you expecting you to make her something and refuse to pay? Would Luka text you telling you that he promised another musician you'd make their wardrobe by their next concert? Would Kagami and Luka use your work to get ahead, and then refuse to extend the favor? No, they wouldn't! Those are healthy friends babybug, you can give them your new number, I know they'll understand!" Marinette thought about it for a moment and decided that Tikki was right. With a renewed conviction she made her way to the nearest tech store to begin to take control of her life again.

Adrien was frustrated, he had been texting and calling Marinette all afternoon but she wasn't answering! That wasn't like his princess, so something had to be going on, but there wasn't an Akuma on the news, Ladybug, Viperion, and Ryuko defeated the three earlier today. He did feel a little guilty that he didn't go to help, but he was busy! He had modeling shoots all morning and then joined Lila and Alya for lunch discussing their upcoming trip. The topic eventually turned to the Wayne Gala that was approaching as well, with both models confirming they had been invited. Well, Lila had only been invited because she was an official Gabriel representative, but she didn't need to know that. The brunette was currently making a big show of bringing Alya as her plus one, which brings Adrien back to his current predicament. When he arrived home, his father told him that he had to invite Marinette Dupain-cheng as his plus one no matter what. Both Agrestes had been shocked when she had rejected Gabriel's offer to join his company, but her answer had been reassuring, "I greatly appreciate your offer but cannot accept it in good conscious. Adrien has been my friend for years and I would hate to potentially harm his, the company's, and my reputation by accepting. I am worried it could be misconstrued as me gaining the position, not by my own talent, skill, or merit but because I had a connection to someone with considerable sway." His father didn't seem to pick up that the last bit was about Lila, but seemed content. In fact, Gabriel had complimented Marinette's business savvy and remarked how good it would be if she followed in his footsteps by building a fashion house from scratch. He had mused that it would be even better to have the two great fashion houses merging together instead of just taking Marinette in as a designer. Now that Miracle Design Clothing (MDC) has risen to compete with the likes of Gabriel and Style Queen, his father had decided now was the time to begin winning Marinette over.

Adrien would never admit it to his father, but he had his own motivations for being so on board with the plan to invite Marinette to the Wayne Gala. They were now in their mid-20s, and everyone in Paris wanted to know everything about the Agreste Heir's love life. Lila had hinted multiple times that Adrien was dating her, so much so that the media was beginning to spin her narrative. However, Adrien wasn't entirely out of the running yet. He knew that the Wayne Galas were always a media frenzy so if he, a fashion empire heir, showed up to the Gala with Marinette, a rising star in the fashion world, on his arm the media would quickly assume they were dating. It was a brilliant plan, Marinette was charming, beautiful, intelligent, and incredibly talented. His father held her in high regard, and he knew that if Gabriel approved of him dating anyone, it would be Marinette. Besides Adrien had a trick up his sleeve, he knew Marinette was in love with him, or at least that was what Alya had told him. She told him about Marinette's crush right before the ravenette left for college, hoping to embarrass her former best friend. Their old class still believed what Lila had said about Marinette being a bully. In their get-togethers they would often mock the designer's success, reassuring Lila that the only reason they talked to her was to get stuff from Marinette. While it upset him a little to know Marinette was being taken advantage of, a larger part of him felt like she deserved it since she didn't listen to his advice about Lila. Oh well, it was her own fault. Adrien was brought out of his thoughts by Alya's shriek.

"OH MY GOSH! The Waynes just announced the Designer they got their Gala outfits from, and it's Marinette!" Adrien choked down a laugh at the sour expression Lila wore, as Alya continued to read, "The article says that Marinette and Timothy Drake Wayne met while they were in college, and he thought her designs were so incredible that he referred her to Bruce Wayne himself! She's considered a family friend and received their order along with an invitation to the Gala! Why didn't she tell me any of this??" 'Maybe because you only talk to her when you want something' Adrien thought as their former classmates began to text. Alya was trying to call Marinette, most likely to scream at her for not letting Alya in on such a big story, but she couldn't get through. "Ugh! Marinette is ignoring me! Who does that stupid bitch think she is?" Lila's eyes sparkled as she saw a chance to jump in and control the narrative, "I know right? You'd think she'd be more grateful after I introduced her to Timmy- oh I've said too much," She batted her eyelashes and made a show of covering her mouth. "YOU introduced Marinette to the Waynes? Girl you've gotta give me the details!" "Well, Marinette was going to college in Milan, and I happened to be there for a modeling shoot," That part was actually true, Adrien was sick and couldn't make that shoot, "We happened to bump into each other at a cafè, and Marinette apologized to me for how awful she was to me in our youth. She told me that the only reason she did what she did was that she was jealous and felt threatened by me, you were right Alya." That was how Lila worked, she mixed a little bit of the truth with what someone wanted to hear, which caused the lies she told to pass by noticed. "Anyways we had lunch and caught up, she was showing me some of her amazing designs," as much as it pained Lila to admit it, Marinette was truly talented. In fact one thing she regretted was not working harder to deceive Marinette back when they were still in school, if she had known Marinette would be so successful she would've fought like hell to take the spot of Marinette's Best Friend away from Alya. She would've been MDC's top model, instead of having a stagnating career as just another practically nameless model for Gabriel. "I remembered my dear friend Timmy, we met when my mother was stationed in Gotham, he had told me that the Wayne family needed suits and dresses for their upcoming Gala and that Gabriel was too busy." Another partial truth, Lila didn't know any Wayne, but she knew Gabriel was too busy being Hawkmoth to make their outfits. "I gave him Marinette's number as an olive branch because I had thought she changed, but I guess she was lying. Oh and Alya? Adrien? Please don't mention my friendship with the Waynes, I don't want people thinking they can get to them through me." Lila smirked as both Adrien and Alya promised her they wouldn't say anything.

When Marinette told them she was cutting off her former friends for good, Tom and Sabine were over the moon. They knew about the Lila situation and all its complexities after the faux fox tried to infiltrate the bakery and convince them their daughter had stolen her necklace. They almost fell for it, until Tom remembered that Marinette had been helping him in the bakery during the time Lila said their daughter took the necklace. He had sternly told Lila that there was no way Marinette could have done it, and even offered to show her security footage that proved Marinette was not the thief. Instead, the brunette stormed out of the bakery, and Tom and Sabine knew they had to talk to their daughter. After a bit of gentle prodding, Marinette broke down and told them everything. She told them about Lila, her classmates, and Adrien, and she told them about everything they were putting her through. They were horrified, and that feeling was solidified after Lila got Marinette expelled. After their daughter's name was cleared, that useless principal was trying to dodge removing it from her record, until Sabine threatened to contact the school board about how their daughter was expelled without an investigation. They did everything they could, but it seemed Lila had everyone else in her pocket, and it seemed to stay that way once Marinette returned from college. She had swung by the bakery and explained that her phone had been shattered while she avoided the akumas, and she was taking this opportunity to change her number and cut those leeches off. Sabine and Tom promised that they would say nothing because it was only a matter of time before her former friends wound up at the bakery because of the radio silence from Marinette.

The chiming of the doorbell confirmed their fears. In stormed Marinette's old class, with her former friend Alya leading the pack. They could see Lila hiding in the back, and decided it would be better to say nothing. "Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Dupain-Cheng! We have a problem and thought you could help us. We've been trying to get in contact with Marinette all day, but we can't reach her and we wanted to make sure she was okay." Sabine smiled as she tried to hold in her rage. They weren't here because they were concerned, those brats wanted something. It would appear that Alya and co didn't know that Marinette's parents knew Lila was lying or what they did, so Tom decided to answer in a way Lila couldn't twist. "Oh, she came by earlier today and let us know that her phone was broken. She dropped it during one of the Akuma attacks, and it was pretty smashed up. She told us to let you know if you came by since she would be off the grid until it was fixed. It might be a while though, it was almost as bad as the time it got caught in the bread mixer!" His answer seemed to calm the group down, typical clumsy Marinette strikes again. "Ok, well can you please let her know to reach out to us once her phone's fixed?" The two nodded and promised they would, and watched as the group of adults left. Sabine turned to the freezer, "They're gone! You can come out now!" The two chuckled as their daughter slowly poked her head out of the walk-in freezer, ready to dash back in at a moment's notice. Yeah, they're glad Marinette was finally cutting those people off and the bright glow in their girl's eyes confirmed it.

The Gala was in a few weeks, and Marinette was STILL radio silent. Adrien was pacing back and forth in his room, trying to figure out what to do. Her social media was most likely controlled by an assistant like his was so he couldn't message her there, he couldn't get into her studio without an invitation or employee badge, and he realized he had no idea where she lived so he couldn't even pay her a visit or send a letter! "I don't know what to do! No one has heard from Marinette and her parents promised they'd talk to her about it!" "Maybe she finally got tired of your bullshit and decided to cut you and the rest of those users off," Plagg snapped from somewhere in his room. After The Paint Incident, Plagg's attitude towards him seemed to change. He snapped at Adrien more, called Adrien out on his behavior, and started giving Adrien harsh (and desperately needed) advice. Other than that, Plagg was getting on his case about slacking off on his duties as Chat Noir, claiming that his behavior was a disgrace to the legacy of the Cat Miraculous. Adrien was getting fed up with him, hadn't the stupid cat heard the saying 'if you can't say anything nice don't say anything at all?' "Marinette wouldn't do that! We're her friends!" "Some friends. And some friend YOU are. You knew Lila was lying and let her wreck Marinette's school life, get her expelled, and continue to lie to everyone. You told Marinette to shut up and take it, news flash kid, the high road does not mean stay quite and let people hurt you! YOU currently know that YOUR friends only care about what they can get from her and that Lila is planning to pull some bullshit at the Gala, but all you're concerned about is making sure karma doesn't bite you in the ass!" Plagg roared. It was hard to argue with the little god without sounding like a hypocrite, but Adrien was going to try. "Well... When Marinette agrees to go to the Gala with me I can fix everything! She likes me, so we can get together, and I can get Lila to apologize! Once everyone knows they're on good terms things will go back to how they should be!" Plagg was paying more attention to the cheese he was juggling, but he did glance back at Adrien, "One, IF she decides to go with you. Two, she may not even feel that way it's been years. Three, How are you going to get a narcissist to admit to wrongdoing? Four, How does Lila apologizing change how your ex-class treat Mari when that's how they treated her before Lila showed up?" Adrien chose to ignore Plagg and tried calling Marinette again.

Alya was STRESSED. The Gala was coming up and she needed a new dress that would wow everyone and make her stand out from other reporters. She had already secured her Press Pass, and because she was Lila's plus one she could actually get into the Gala. The only other reporters with that privilege were Clark Kent and Lois Lane, close friends of the Wayne Family. Lila offered to get her a Gabriel Original but she turned it down, both girls shared a sentiment that Gabriel's designs had really been declining. "I think it was the loss of his wife. She was his greatest inspiration, and especially with Hawkmoth on the loose, I can understand not wanting to leave your house. Maybe he's just out of touch," Lila had told her, and Alya agreed. What she needed was a Marinette Original, something to show she was in with both designers. She was thinking of something fox-inspired, to pay homage to her time as Rena Rouge. She'd talked to the other girls about why Marinette had never told her she would be designing for the Waynes, and they reassured her, "Well, maybe she thought you wouldn't be interested or were too busy?" Rose offered. "You didn't really report on fashion until Adrien and Lila took you to that fashion show. Maybe she thought you wouldn't be interested." Juleka suggested. "Als, you're overthinking it! Mari didn't tell you because she couldn't! A family like the Waynes has wicked good lawyers, they probably made her sign an NDA." Alix concluded. They were probably right, Marinette would have told her if she could have, and Alya needed that dress. So there she was at Tom and Sabine's bakery again, asking about Marinette. "Oh, she just called this morning! The damage was too severe, so she had to get a new phone." Sabine told the young reporter, who thanked her lucky stars. As she left the bakery, she sent a text 'Mari's back!'

Adrien nearly dropped his phone when he got the text from Alya, before excusing himself to run upstairs and call Marinette. The phone rang, and rang, and rang, before the call was answered, "Hello? Who is this?" A woman's voice answered, but certainly was not Marinette. Adrien was floored, he was sure he dialed the correct number. "Um hi. I'm looking for Marinette Dupain-Cheng. I'm a friend of hers and was calling to speak to her." "Oh really? Well if you're her friend maybe you can explain to me why the second I had this number activated my phone was bombarded with calls and texts demanding things from dresses, to invitations to some Gala, and all kinds of other demands." Wait, had Marinette changed her number? No, she wouldn't have. "Listen, lady, I don't know if you find this funny but I KNOW Marinette wouldn't change her number. If you're her assistant you better give the phone to Marinette NOW or I'll see to it personally that you're fired!" Marinette should really have taken care to not hire such incompetent people. It was unfitting of an eventually-to-be Agreste. "I don't know who you think you are but I will make one thing clear: I DO NOT KNOW A MARINETTE DUPAIN-CHENG!" The line went dead. Adrien pressed the redial button, and felt his stomach drop as the call didn't go through, he had been blocked. From the way the group chat was blowing up, he could guess the others were getting the same response. Lila was going on and on about how Marinette was abandoning them in their time of need, and adding fuel to the fire. Adrien decided he was going to do damage control. He had thought a bit about what Plagg had said and realized that he needed to show Marinette that he was still on her side, besides it would be tougher to get everyone to make up if they were mad at her for something her crappy assistant did. He sent the chat a message, 'Guys relax. The woman on the phone wasn't Marinette but has her number, so she's probably a new assistant! Miracle Design Clothing has really exploded since the Waynes announced she made their outfits for the Gala so Marinette probably hired some help and the lady didn't know who we were. We can try again later.'

Lea Dubois was having the roughest week in all of her fourty-three years. She had gotten a new phone, since she her old one was stolen, and decided to get a new number with it. Not even a couple of minutes after activating her phone it began blowing up with calls and demands for a Marinette Dupain-Cheng. After a particularly snobby boy threatened to get her fired from a job she didn't even have, Lea decided to do some snooping and figure out who this Marinette Dupain-Cheng was. Googling the girl's name directed her to a Miracle Design Clothing website, and after scrolling through she found a tab labeled, "Founder." Clicking on it, she saw a picture of a smiling young woman with shiny black (almost blue) hair and sapphires for her eyes. She was a truly gorgeous woman, and from what Lea read very talented. That explained the demand for clothing. She decided to check social media next, and quickly found articles about how the rising star had been personally invited to the Wayne Charity Gala! That explained all the calls from people claiming to be Marinette's friends and demanding to be taken to the Gala, to that one girl who demanded an interview and a dress for the Gala. Lea went through the messages that quickly went from demanding to insulting and toxic, and thought to herself, 'I see why that girl changed her number, I hope she knows these people aren't her friends.' She decided to look up the people who had called her, and see what she could find out about them. A girl named Alix and a boy named Kim were both athletes, although both played for the minor leagues of their respective sports, but it did explain the requests for jersey designs. A boy named Ivan and two girls named Juleka and Rose had been calling about outfits for their next concert, apparently they were in a band called Kitty Section. Lea vaguely remembered that it was a popular group, before their lead guitarist was kicked out and went solo. Two girls named Sabrina and Mylene had asked her to create costumes for a production in the Théâtre du Châtelet, a boy named Max called asking for a suit for his new tech reveal, and another boy named Nino asked her to design a couple of album covers!

A few other people called, but they seemed to be genuine friends. One standout was a boy named Nathaniel who had called twice, once to congratulate Marinette on her work with the Waynes and invite her to an event for his comic. The second time was to apologize to Lea when he found out Marinette had changed her number. He had also apologized for the harassment his (and apparently Marinette's) former friends had been throwing at her. He explained that when they were younger, Marinette didn't know how to stand up for herself, and was pressured by her teacher to constantly put her needs on the back burner to help her classmates. Nathaniel told her it had gotten better when Marinette left for college, but now that she was back in Paris, things had gone back to the way they were. Instead of their teacher, the role of pressuring her had fallen to three people, Lila Rossi, Alya Césaire, and Adrien Agreste. That last name caught her attention, could that have been the bratty boy who threatened to fire her? "Sweetie I hate to do this to you, but if you have time could you meet me in person? We have a lot to discuss, and I'm beginning to worry for Marinette." Nathaniel had agreed and had said he was bringing a couple of Marinette's friends, her real friends. "They've been harassing us too, maybe we can look into getting a restraining order or something." And that was how she ended up in a cafe sitting at a table with some of the most impressive people she'd ever met. There were Nathaniel Kurtzberg and Marc Anciel, the power couple of comics. She hadn't read comics since she was a little girl, but her nephews talked nonstop about the Ladybug comic the two had started in collège. Olympian fencer Kagami Tsurugi, and hit rock artist Luka Couffaine. There was academy award winner Zoé Lee and fortune 500 company founder Chloé Bourgeois.

The group exchanged pleasantries and got right to business, "So we heard from Nathaniel that you got Marinette's old number and that your phone has been blowing up with all the shit she used to get," Luka said. Lea nodded, "Yes. They refused to believe that she'd changed her number and one man even threatened to get me fired! I don't know what job he thinks I have that he can influence, but I digress. " "Ugh. That sounds like Adrien alright. I swear it was like a switch flipped in his head during Collége, he's acting like I used to," Chloé had come to terms with the kind of person she was, and had taken the steps to apologize and change for the better. A part of that was she swore never to touch a Miraculous again, she had become aware enough to realize that when given that much power she would be tempted to fall back into her old ways. "It's telling that their first reaction to being cut off is to harass an innocent person instead of reflecting on their actions and what lead them to that point," Kagami said, "I think we owe you an explanation since you have unfortunately been dragged into this." Lea nodded, that sounded good. "They weren't always this bad, well they weren't always this blatant about it. For a long time, Marinette was happy and popular, hell even when I bullied her she didn't seem bothered. Then Lila Rossi transferred. That girl is the type to convince people that two plus two equals five, you know what I mean," Lea nodded, her ex had been like that. "Well anyways, Marinette saw through her bullshit and called her out for it, so Lila declared war. Before anyone could process what happened, Lila had convinced the class that Marinette was the Devil's spawn. She even managed to get Marinette falsely expelled, and while that was reversed, it was the moment Marinette realized she couldn't rely on her classmates. Alya was an up-and-coming journalist and her best friend, but if she couldn't bring herself to fact-check this girl's stories..." Chloé paused to take a sip of her drink, and Lea thought of something, "Maybe Alya did fact-check and knew Lila was lying. I did some research before I came here, and I know that Alya ran the Ladyblog. I also know that her videos featuring Lila are her most viewed videos, but when I looked at the comments I noticed that a ton had been deleted. Maybe she knew but saw how much attention her blog was getting, and chose to ignore Lila's lies, or maybe she believes them, I don't know." The group continued to chat about their situation and were snapped out of it when the door to the cafe was flung open.

Alya was gonna kill Marinette when she found her. How dare she hire someone and not tell them who she was?! How dare she do that to her friends?! Doesn't she realize they need her? It didn't take much to convince the others, specifically Max, to ping the location off of Marinette's number and track it down. If she was going to be bitchy and ignore their calls and messages and hire some dumb assistant to annoy them, they were gonna make her pay! They had tracked her location to a cafe in the fashion district and were waiting for the last of the group to arrive. "I don't understand why she's being so petty," Lila whimpered, fighting back tears, "You all have been nothing but kind to her even when she's been such a nasty person!" "I don't understand it either," Sabrina said, "It's like a switch flipped in collège or something." Well whatever it was, they weren't gonna let her get out of this! Once Kitty Section had arrived, the group stormed into the cafe ready to give Marinette a piece of their minds! To their surprise, Marinette wasn't there. Their old friends turned enemies were there and sitting with them was a middle-aged woman, was she the one who had been answering from Marinette's number. "Where's Marinette?" Alya demanded. Chloé and Kagami lept to their feet. "She isn't here, and unless someone is dying you are not getting in contact with her!" Chloé was a lot less polite about it, "Wow, I'm surprised none of you got the memo. You've been cut off!" The older woman turned to face them, and Adrien snapped at her, "You! Are you Marinette's assistant or something? Get her here now!" Oh, that was it, Lea walked right up to him, ready for war. "I will do no such thing because I am not her assistant! I did not even know who Marinette was until you people began blowing up my phone with demands! I have never met more selfish people! And you," she pointed at Lila, "I've heard all about you and what you've done to that poor girl!" Lila began to sob, wailing about how she didn't do anything, and that she had been trying to mend bridges with Marinette by introducing her to the Waynes.

"Woah, Woah, hold on! You did NOT introduce her to the Wayne Family," Luka stood up and walked over, Lea noticed how Kitty Section seemed to shrink under his gaze. "Marinette met the Waynes at a fashion show in Gotham that Jagged Stone took us to. She met Selina and the two hit it off like a house on fire," Luka pulled out his phone and showed off pictures of a much younger Marinette with a woman who could have passed for her mother. "Notice the date? She was in high school when she met them. Here she is at Selina and Bruce's wedding. Know why she's there? She designed Selina's dress." The dress was a stunning white with elegant black lace. The top resembled the head of a cat, and if you looked close enough you could see little cats and bats hidden within the lace. "Marinette's been the Wayne Family's go-to designer for YEARS. Hell, the Waynes were at her graduation party, and the opening of Miracle Design Clothes Studio, and have been to every major life event she's had since she met them." Luka showed them More photos of Marinette and the Wayne family. "I don't know how you could introduce her to people she's known for years," Luka said, "Not to mention Stephanie tells me they're desperate to either adopt her into the family or have her marry into it," Marc added. All eyes were on Lila now, she had told them all that she'd introduced Marinette to Timothy Drake Wayne and that was how Marinette got the job, but with all this evidence it was clear her lie was dead in the water. Lea turned back to the group, watching as the realization crossed their faces that Lila had lied, and had most likely lied about various other things. Turning back to the people she had met she said, "It was very nice meeting you all. Please pass on my concerns to Marinette, and let her know if she ever needs friendly advice, she knows what number to call,"

The Wayne Gala was very... Awkward for Adrien. After their failed attempt to confront Marinette, Lila got exposed, and in the excitement, it came out that he knew about what she had been doing. Simply put he was excommunicated from the group. They figured that if they cut him, Lila, and Alya (who had doubled down on Marinette being the problem until it came out she knew Lila lied and had said nothing to protect her views) out that they could apologize to Marinette and she'd take them back. Their pleas on social media brought attention to the situation, and Marinette's friends and parents were more than happy to tell the world what happened to their favorite designer. When he, Lila, and Alya walked into the Wayne Gala, they turned heads but not for the reasons any of them had hoped for. People were polite to their faces and when speaking to them, but Adrien could hear them whispering behind his back. He needed to talk to Marinette, if he could smooth things over with her then maybe, just maybe this could be salvaged. However, the Wayne Family seemed to personally take offense to his plan, because whenever he saw Marinette (and she stood out in an absolutely jaw-dropping sparkling red mermaid cut dress) she was whisked away before he could say anything. First, it was Selina, who lead her over to some of his father's former clients and proudly told them the story of how she met the young designer. Then it was Bruce Wayne himself who came to introduce her to the Kents, who much to Alya's dismay didn't even glance her way. Finally, it was the Wayne Kids who were determined to dance with Marinette all night, Adrien swears Jason was smirking at him. Eventually, she broke off from the main party with Tim and the two were chatting on the balcony. This was as close of a chance as he would get.

Marinette was having an amazing night! She met so many amazing people and made so many new contacts! She even set up an interview with Lois Lane! She could feel Alya fuming on the other side of the room, and tried her best not to think about it. She knew Adrien, Lila, and Alya were at the Gala, and she knew what had happened a few weeks before. While she was happy Lila was finally exposed, she had moved on. She got to dance with each of the Wayne siblings, but her favorite dance had to be with Tim. When Selina had introduced her to him, their reaction to each other was to freak out. Tim was over the moon to meet the designer he'd followed for years, and Marinette was ecstatic to meet the young Wayne CEO (whom she may have had a bit of a crush on). The two had exchanged numbers and talked constantly, building up a close friendship. As time went on her crush on him grew as well, but she was too nervous to risk their friendship and say anything. Eventually, when she thought her feet were going to fall off, Tim led her over to the balcony. There they talked quietly about anything and everything when a cough interrupted them. There was Adrien, with a charming smile, but Marinette had learned not to be fooled. "Hello, Adrien. Enjoying the Gala?" Marinette asked, she knew he was up to something, and from the way Tim looked at him, he could sense it too. Marinette decided to take control of the conversation, "I heard what happened. With Lea Dubois and the phone number and everything. To put it lightly that certainly wasn't your best moment." "Well, I... I never thought you would change your number, so it kinda threw me for a loop. Anyways, I wanted to apologize for the part I played in all of this. I really dropped the ball and it lead to you getting hurt I never intended for that to happen," "Yet you continued to let Marinette's former friends use her for free things?" Tim butted in, holding up his phone and showing various text messages between Adrien and his friends. Adrien's face darkened, "How the hell did you get those?!" Tim just threw his head back and laughed. "I'm a tech prodigy. Finding texts is a piece of cake. I started looking after Nathaniel told me about what happened in the cafe. I also found the texts between you and your father, and no I won't let you use my girlfriend as a publicity stunt. We were gonna announce our relationship tonight-" Adrien turned around and stomped off before Tim could finish his sentence. Marinette sighed, he really hadn't changed. Turning back to Tim she asked, "Since when are we in a relationship?" The raven-haired boy blushed a little, "Well Unofficially since your graduation party, but neither of us knew it at the time. Officially now... If you want. If not that's cool and we can just pretend this never happened. Damn Adrien! I had a plan for this but he had to show up and ruin it!" Marinette chuckled and brought Tim's hand up to her cheek, smiling up at him fondly, "Officially now is fine with me."

[darklydeliciousdesires]

Sky Full of Stars - Chapter Eight.

Previous chapters - One Two Three Four Five Six Seven

Tag list - In the comments

Words - 3,827

Warnings - 18+ content throughout. Minors DNI!

Sparks skittered, catching at her edges, reducing her to embers as she shook hard, hands grasping at the soft, dark blue nylon that bound each of her arms to the bedposts. It was a completely new experience for her, being bound like that, especially by a man so skilled in the art of shibari. The process had taken time, but as his fingers had expertly worked the rope over her skin, tying each intricate knot tightly into the chest harness tie, extending down to her arms, he’d covered her in kisses and licks at the same time.  

It was pleasure beyond comprehension, to be lavished to kinkily by somebody she loved so much. Lying on her back at his complete mercy, arms spread wide, she gently juddered at the feeling of his mouth sucking her clit, two long fingers burrowed deep in the soaking clutch of her walls, all while gently working her lubed up glass dildo in and out of her ass.  

Little bursts of bliss skipped over her nerves, an electric green stare gazing up at her intently, lips pulling at her bud firmer, his cheeks hollowing as he grunted, low and carnivorous. “You taste so amazing, baby, and you look so hot, all bound up. Like it, don’t you?” 

He expected her to form words?  

Her soft whimper was answer enough, Adrien smiling against her, releasing the suck upon her clit to beat the tip of his tongue across it rapidly. He had every intention of teasing her a little, but couldn’t resist the eroticism of letting her come against his tongue, her walls clamping around his fingers, little bliss filled cries filling his ears as she tensed and felt glimmers prickle up her spine one vertebrae at a time, her legs closing around his head as she shook from the force of it.  

Barely giving any time to recover, he pulled her legs to drape over his shoulders, daggering into her soaking sex fully, enjoying her still fluttering walls pulsing hot around his cock. Leaning to her, he sucked each nipple in turn, feeling the rope knots brush his chest as her back arched elegantly like a bow, Jade losing herself entirely to the bliss of having both holes stretched.  

Eventually, the glass phallus was abandoned, replaced by the incredible sensation of a very well-lubed cock parting her narrow passage. It hurt, taking something so wide, her little winces keeping him inching in slowly, thumb moving to her clit, rubbing slick little circles that sent warm wells of pleasure pouring golden beneath her skin in no time at all.  

“Harder, please.” she panted, his mouth pressing kisses full of fevered desire at her neck, three fingers plunging into the sodden clasp of her cunt.  

They kissed with fiery heat, his teeth gently biting the plush of her lower lip, his groans all smoke and salt as he breached her deeper, pulling back to do it again, but hard, drinking her soft wails down like wine. “You take it so well, honey, being all full of me.” 

He dragged her slow, faster, slow again, watching her arch against him as she whimpered, the lock of her inner muscles around his fingers telling him she was close. Removing his thumb from her clit and gentling his fingers, he began edging her, her release torridly swelling, then ebbing. She flexed at him uncontrollably, her walls hot and slick, his cock twitching as he rutted and pulled back again, heart hammering at the pure sinful carnality.   

She was reeling, the hum of energy coursing and gathering momentum without release, her clit bobbing against his thumb when the contact returned, Adrien removing it again for a few seconds to allow her to cool down. Building her again, the glimmers built to skitter once more, the ropes creaking as she tugged against them. 

He arrowed a little deeper within her, his groan gut-wrenching as he felt the head of his cock pulse within the tight constriction, fighting his own urges to chase the release he held back from, slowing, waiting until it abated before he speared her again.   

He had her mewling softly, clenching on him again as her hips shuddered, little bubbles of pleasure effervescing up her spine as her muscles flexed against her bindings, the stretch of the nylon audible, scintillating, the rope marking her flesh as she continued to struggle in her constriction. Electric tingles danced over her body in response to the tightness of the bindings, feeling herself built to teeter, flames blazing beneath her goose pimpled skin. Once again, her release was edged, Adrien giving her less time to cool off before doing it again, and again, and again… and again. 

She was pushed to the very limit of what her body could handle, her breathing rapid, her eyelids fluttering, almost completely lost to the moment. Especially when slipped his fingers from within her, feeding them into her mouth and clutching her jaw in his big hand, before moving his grasp to her neck, tightening just enough to impede the blood flow and make her giddy. The act was sexy enough in itself, but the fact she trusted another man to hold her neck like that was what truly made him ache from the arousal of it, his cock beginning to fuck her with rapid finesse.   

He kept on edging her, tightening and releasing the pressure at her neck, watching her movements very carefully, knowing he had to look after her through everything he was inflicting. He knew from experience there was a fine line between what could and couldn’t be tolerated.   

“What’s your name?” he asked, slowing a little, the grasp on her neck loosening.   

“Jade.” 

“And your safe word?” 

“Storm.” Short and easy enough to remember, her absolute favourite type of weather.  

“Good, you’re not too outta your head with it yet. You’re taking it really, really well, baby. I love you so much.” He leaned to kiss her, glad that she was still mentally capable of continuing. If she couldn’t answer basic questions, that was the time to stop, regardless of if she had uttered her safe word or not to him.  

Her head was spinning, but not enough to need a break or cease, Jade moaning softly as he began building her up again. Those soft noises gained more volume the further her body rocketed towards the light, her thighs trembling madly as once again, he edged her, holding her right there on the precipice, the coil in her rocking back and forth over the edge of nirvana. 

He took her to the very epicentre of sexual paradise, before at last, her golden surge of light finally broke his horizon as he let her have what she’d ached for, her orgasm shining through her, his hips staccato as his voice broke on an almost helpless sounding groan, filling her with thick ribbons of cum. 

His aftercare began with immediate effect, untying her bindings, stroking every red rope rub that marked her skin, lifting her from the bed and taking her from the bedroom to the bathroom. They stood beneath the hot deluge of water once in the shower, wrapped around one another while sharing kisses, still coming down from the incredible sexual high that took its time in ebbing away.  

“Why are you even sexier when you’re wet?” she asked, fingers combing through his soaking hair. 

His eyebrow twitched, mouth broadening into grin. “I often wonder the same about you.” The wink he followed his words with had her in a fit of giggles, pulling him close, more kisses shared.  

Once out and dry, they found their way into comfortable clothes, resuming their place in the lounge, bundled up in blankets while they chatted and drank wine. Outside, the snow poured from the sky in a pretty deluge of white.  

“Get out of here, really?” she spoke, after hearing that his mother had an interest in her music.  

“She stood there looking blissful while singing along to Pisces. Word for word, too,” he revealed, Jade absolutely delighted by the revelation. 

“Even the screaming parts?” 

He laughed at even the thought of Lois attempting that. “No, but when my dad heard that bit, he suggested you might have a demon.” 

Her giggling shriek filled the room right to the ceiling, clapping her hands together before reaching for her wine glass again. “He might be right.”  

“She said she wants to meet you too, while we have time off from being anywhere but here.” It made nerves bloom in her tummy, but she instantly agreed to it. They knew how serious they were about one another, so why not get the meet the parent's thing done as soon as they could? That meeting took place just five days into the New Year, one which sadly their father’s couldn’t attend, Patrick away at a guest lecturing spot and Steven locked into surgery.  

A meeting of the mothers was good enough, though. 

Those respective mother’s both arrived early at Shuka in SoHo, the agreed meeting place, Lois sitting at a table by the window idly sketching while she waited and kept an eye on the door. At seeing a woman walk in who bared a striking resemblance to the girl her son was so enamoured with, she took a wild shot. 

“Gemma?” 

The attractive woman with the curtain of shiny, black hair turned from where she was standing waiting to be seated, her smile widening. “Lois?” 

“Yes, hi!” Beckoning her over, she stood to greet her with a hug and a cheek kiss. “Oh, mother of pearl, your daughter is the image of you!”  

Taking her thick, faux fur jacket off, Gemma seated herself adjacent. It was something she was very, very glad of, her genes being so dominant that her darling first born looked little like her sperm donor. He was never her father in her mind. That honour fell to one man, her beloved husband, the man who had loved her raised her since day one. “We’re told that often. It’s so nice to meet you, I have to say! We had some of your photographs displayed a few years ago at my museum, but unfortunately, I never got the chance to meet you when you came! I appreciated them though, very much so.” 

Lois inclined her head, nodding a little. “Thank you, that’s kind. Yes, I was bowled over when I was displayed at the Guggenheim. My son mentioned you curate there for the Asian antiquities. How fascinating! What drew you to the far east, artistically?” 

Their offspring had predicted it right off the bat, that their mother’s would instantly find an easy connection through art. “God, the variety of beauty created over three millennia, each as varied and intricate at the years that befell it, yet there is a consistency there that I find fascinating,” Gemma explained, the waiter arriving with them to take her drinks order, Lois already furnished with a vodka and grapefruit juice. “Bloody Mary please, hon. Extra Worcestershire.” 

“I have to say, your accent is an utter delight,” Lois noted, “half London, half New York.” 

“Oh, I know!” she laughed, “People always give me this perplexed look, wondering where exactly it is that I’m from. My buba has it a little, too, but my twins not so much. They’re very broad New York, only nine when we came back.” 

“Yes, Adrien mentioned that Jade’s siblings were twins. I sometimes lament that we stopped with him, but my god, it’s hard, isn’t it? Nobody can adequately sum up the toils of motherhood, and you’ve done it three times over!”  

“As likely my girl will, too. Twins are generational in my family. My younger brothers are twins, my mother was a twin, her mother before her, too. And yes, motherhood has been my most demanding role to date,” Gemma revealed, thanking the waiter who furnished her drink, asking if they were ready to order food or not. “We’re still waiting on our kids, so give us a little while yet, love.”  

Just then, said kids arrived arm in arm, looking so loved up their respective mother’s felt their hearts pinch. 

“Oh, look at them,” Lois cooed, waving to her son, “what a beautiful couple.” Both women stood to greet their offspring and be offered introduction before they sat down again, Gemma feeling a little unbelieving that she was sitting across from the man whose films she enjoyed so much. The man her daughter also viewed with nothing short of all-encompassing adoration.  

It might only have been early days, but god, they looked so in love. After the whole mess she’d ended up in with Ivan, Gemma was relieved to see her finally putting it all behind her and moving on with somebody new. That somebody new was handsome, polite, well spoken, down to earth and very naturally charming, the elder of the Burton women very taken with him right from the start.  

As for Lois? 

“Here, I took this on the way out the front door this morning,” she spoke, handing her phone across the table to Jade. “That’s what I painted while listening to Black Electric Wasteland.”  

Taking the phone, she held it near, then far, reaching towards her mother and make a motion with her hand. Gemma sighed, removing her glasses from atop her head. “Buba, get an eye test!” 

“Don’t need one, I just want to pick out the details better,” she spoke, placing the glasses on and studying the painting, her face lighting into a smile. Her music had inspired the art of a woman she admired greatly. It bowled her over completely. 

“Baby, that’s bullshit. You know you need one,” Adrien spoke lightly, nudging her with his elbow, prompting her sheepish glance away from the phone. “You wore Jen’s to read the tour itinerary half the time.”  

Gemma was impressed at seeing him call her out gently. Not many people challenged her daughter’s stubborn streak.  

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” And she conceded? Instantly? Who was this woman, and what had she done with Jade? “Lois, this is stunning. The colours, the way you literally made the tone of the album come to life on a canvas, it’s amazing! Oh my life, you’re so talented!” she complimented, receiving a small smile of appreciation.  

“That’s kind of you, thank you,” she replied graciously, pointing at her phone, “and if you scroll right, you get to see the most adorable picture of Adrien when he was two!” 

“Mom,” he groaned, looking a touch pained. “Please don’t say it’s a naked one.” 

“It isn’t, but come on! It isn’t like she hasn’t seen you with your clothes off! Don’t be such a prude.” 

How Jade kept the massive guffaw of laughter in her chest from booming out of her mouth at that, she didn’t know, knowing her boyfriend was the furthest thing from prudish. Swiping right, she squeaked instantly, looking at the picture of a tiny Adrien taken out in the rain, a look of pure joy on his face as he beamed a grin out from beneath the hood of his coat. “Look how cute you are!” she cooed, turning the screen to him. He shook his head, turning to Gemma to inquire a little further about her current work projects at the museum.  

As first meets with at least half of the parents went, that afternoon was a hit, both women separately texting their offspring to express how much they’d enjoyed getting to know their new love. After their meet, the pair headed straight to another bar and then onto a restaurant for dinner, both acutely aware that people were discreetly taking their picture throughout.  

“Hey, come on. Unclench your jaw,” Adrien spoke, squeezing her hand.  

She took a breath and a big gulp of wine, sighing with a small growl. “I should be used to it, and I am, but I hate that people take so much interest in my private life. Our private life, now.” 

He nodded in understanding. It had annoyed him in the beginning, too. “You’ll learn not to notice eventually. It’s just something that comes with the territory. Trust me, when people get used to the idea of us being together, they won’t bother taking so much notice either. They always enjoy peering in when it’s all shiny and new.”  

It was all shiny and new, Jade focusing upon the man sitting across from her rather than those around them directing their phones to capture their evening. He came back to hers that night, leaving in the morning to head up to his house, having a few days overseeing the continued renovations. Jade couldn’t wait to see it, but since it was, as he had said in as many words, a complete building site at that time, her introduction to the home would be delayed until conditions improved.  

Spending time in their own lives away from their relationship was very indicative of the people they were, not needing to be clung to one another at every available moment. They did make a little more time for one another, however, ever conscious that once they returned to work, it’d be a month and a half before they got to see one another again in mid-March. After that, their schedules would allow even less, with Adrien busy shooting two projects with a month between each, Jade doing three back-to-back.  

There’d be a three-month gap between seeing one another, and while both accepted that it was very much the way it went, they didn’t relish in it. Their month of January being in the same place at the same time was spent stocking up on time together, working it in around seeing their family and friends.  

They occasionally went out, but mostly were quite content to abscond to the privacy of Jade’s apartment, very much enjoying the new relationship honeymoon period, relishing in getting to know one another much better than they already did. Adrien noted it all, everything he loved about her, the little things he found so adorable, silly insignificances that made him smile. Like when she occasionally put unnecessary S’s on the end of her words. 

“Gorgeous, sexy mans!” 

“Oh look, it’s rainings!” 

Or the way she so delightfully assigned gender to inanimate objects. 

“Baby love, where’s red handled knife?” 

“He’s in the sink. But don’t cut that bread yet! She needs to cool!” 

Another thing they very much enjoyed was the fact they’d met in one another their complete sexual match, the spice amping up instantly at even the mere suggestion of things turning sexual. Take one otherwise quiet Tuesday morning, for example, Adrien still half asleep as he stood in the kitchen, waiting for the coffee machine to brew a pot, smiling to see Jade saunter in. She looked so gorgeous, her hair braided back, no makeup on, wearing her bra and a pair of his boxers. 

“Morning,” he croaked, leaning to kiss her, enjoying the sensation of her hands running up and down his bare chest a few times.  

“Hey sexy mans.” Reaching past him to the shelf, she grabbed a jar from the centre, twisting the lid off and scooping out a dollop of coconut oil, melting it in her palms and smothering her face with it as he gave her a look of mild incredulity. “It’s really good for the skin,” she revealed, her mouth beginning to widen, “as well as other things.” 

Moving behind him, she hopped up onto the counter in the narrow space, her arms sliding around him as she began laying kisses against his shoulder. He still had the bulk he’d gained for his role in Predators, and she loved it, but would take him any way he came.  

“What are you doing back there, Moo?” he asked, arching an eyebrow as her hands began to glide down over his abs.  

“Wait and see.” Her hands continued to travel further; her mouth planting kisses against his neck. He was already semi-hard by the time she shifted his sweats down, letting them rest below his hips, her hand curling around his cock and beginning to stroke. His breath caught in his throat, thinking that her plans for him that morning would definitely leave him feeling more awake than the coffee that slowly dripped into the pot. 

He could see his reflection in the shiny gloss of the black tiles opposite, watching the sight of her hand pumping slowly, her nails circling his nipples until they pebbled, giving one a hard pinch at the exact moment her tongue flickered against his neck.  

“God, you look so hot, especially when you’re turned on,” she purred, nipping him softly, her hand trailing up to grasp beneath his jaw, tipping his head back to furtherly exposed his throat.  

“Mmm, wow, your cock is so hard. Almost seems a waste, knowing you could be splitting my wet little pussy with it now, baby. You can do that later, though. This is all about you, and how hard I’m going to make you come all over my hand.”  

A shuddered breath fluttered over a moan, almost a whimper, his pulse jacked up as his cock twitched within the oiled slick of her grasp. “You’re a fucking demon of a woman, Burtie,” he groaned, making her snicker softly. 

“I am,” she agreed, “that’s why you love me.” Running her tongue in a slow lick up the side of his neck, it ended in a soft bite upon his jaw, Adrien making a noise of pure sin as her fingers swirled the head of him, at a loss to do with his own hands, reaching back to grip the counter he leaned against. The noise arrowed right to her apex, sharp arousal slicking her folds, but as she’d stated this was about him, not her.  

His hips bucked forward with the next twist of her hand, Jade sensing his need, tightening her grasp around him. “Such a beautiful, big cock,” she whispered, nipping his earlobe, letting it slide out from between her teeth while her nails flexed upon his neck. “Come apart for me, let me hear those groans.”  

Her words evoked it just as much as her hand, the sensation of bliss darting through him, a gritted moan pouring from his mouth as he spilled thick and hot over her fingers, heart hammering torridly within his chest. Kissing the centre of his back, she hopped down, leaving him breathless as she washed her hands, Adrien pulling his sweats back up as he basked in the afterglow of a very intense orgasm.  

“I was gonna hit the gym for an hour this morning,” he spoke, pulling her close once she’d dried her hands, “but the only cardio I have on my mind now is bouncing you on my dick.”  

“I like the sound of that.” she beamed.  

The coffee sat in the pot for a while longer that morning.  

[princess-of-the-corner]

ML Plot Point: Lila

I change almost nothing about S1. This applies to most thing in S1 tbh. Just minor details so that I can keep things consistent on later seasons.

I still haven’t decided if I’d have her stay during S2. On one hand I really loathe the fact that canon just had a supposedly major character fuck off for an entire season. On the other hand, I have no clue what I would have her do during that season. At the very least, I would show her  FaceTiming the classmates to set a few things up for S3.

S3 is when the big changes happen. I’m having Alya believe Lila over Marinette for one single reason: Lila knows oddly specific details about Heroes’ Day that she shouldn’t know, and Ladybug hasn’t shown up to prove she’s lying. This, in Alya’s mind, means that she has to be friends with Ladybug. The audience knows it’s because she got akumatised willingly, but Alya doesn’t even know she was present. It also recontextualises Alya’s decision to believe Lila. It’s not Marinette vs Lila, it’s Marinette vs Lila AND Ladybug.

On top of that, one of the specific things Lila tells Alya is that Rena Rouge was the one who messed up and got the rest of the temps akumatised (which is kinda true, but not really her fault) and that Ladybug is thinking about benching her permanently. Lila does not know that Alya is RR, but she does see how that particular lie affects Alya and uses it for all its worth.

This goes on for a while, with Lila subtly trying to make Marinette’s life more miserable until my equivalent of the Ladybug episode happens (I’ll elaborate on that one in another post) late in the season and Alya figures out that she’s lying. After that episode I would only have three to four more episodes, all of which have major shit happening, so few people really have the time to care about her.

Then the S3 finale happens. Hawkmoth tries to do his shit with Chloe and it fails, so he goes to Lila. He akumatises Lila into Hoaxer (my beloved) and lets her go wild to distract the heroes while he and Mayura attack the Guardian.

In S4, Lila starts getting wrecked by both Chloe and Alya. The rest of the class catches on over the season, with most of the Chloe salt episodes getting changed to Lila. On her part, Lila starts to realise that HM only saw her as a pawn and that she has gotten way in over her head. It culminates in Safari, where an akumatised Nathalie hunts her down after she and Gabriel find out how she acted towards Adrien.

In S5 a lot of shit goes down, and she decides to cut her losses and go into hiding. She runs away from home and takes the name Cerise (because even canon’s biggest nonsense can get a wink and a nod). Only getting involved when alya tracks her down to get information about Monarch.

Lila’s entire thing is trying to be more important than she actually is. She has her interesting moments in S3, but after that, she’s just a repeat akuma that people find more annoying than dangerous or interesting. In the end she willingly goes into the background.

She goes out, not with a bang, but with a whimper.

-

Honestly in theory I like the ‘go out with not a bang but a whimper’ thing, but canon dropped the ball HARD on that and this is a lot better.

[nobodyfamousposts]

For real, Lila is just so unbelievable inconsistent that even when just "Chameleon" dropped the entirely salt fadom was created just a few days after it first aired. And when "Ladybug" came... it became clear that the writers didn't even try to make her believable to the viewers.

Part of the problem (something I should have included in the essay proper) is that the characters aren't shown responding to Lila's lies whether or not they believe them. Or even once they know she lied.

The episode "Chameleon" had Bustier let the students rearrange the classroom. Let's ignore for a moment that Bustier let the students pick their own seats arbitrarily. This was initially done to accommodate Lila's claimed disability, but this becomes moot when Lila claims the tinnitus is cured in order to move to the back to sit with Adrien in a particularly frustrating case of musical chairs. The problem is that tinnitus can't be cured AND is known to come and go. And even if it could just magically go away, Lila as a minor is not in a position to self-diagnose on the spot and Bustier should need the confirmation of a health professional before just removing the aforementioned accommodation. What this ultimately means is that if Bustier did believe Lila's claim of having tinnitus in the first place and take that claim seriously, there are multiple reasons why Bustier shouldn't have just let her move seats again.

The episode "Oni-chan" had Lila lie about her ankle and Chat believe her, but other than a "HOW DARE" moment, he didn't really do much afterwards. In addition, there was the Firefighter who checked Lila over only to find no injury and who was present when Chat accused her of pulling him away from the fight. Neither Chat nor the Firefighter address it again.

As @zoe-oneesama and many others have pointed out, the episode "Ladybug" had Lila claim to have fallen down stairs. The Principal and adults present immediately believe this claim but they don't get Lila checked out by a medical professional the way that they should for someone who had such a serious fall. They don't send her to a hospital or even have the school nurse check her out to ensure that she even has an injury. They don't even call Lila's mother, which is the most basic of things a school should be obligated to do regardless of whether or not the child was actually injured.

What it comes down to is that the characters need to either question Lila's lies or believe them, and if they believe them, they need to respond accordingly. But they don't really do either. Nobody aside from Marinette so much as questions Lila. Meanwhile, everyone else believes Lila or believes IN Lila but don't follow through on that belief the way they should, especially in the case of the adults and supposed to be "responsible authority figures".

It's inconsistent, and it's all so incredibly CONVENIENT in its inconsistency.

[theerurishipper]

Just saw a post that said MLB is bad because it portrays Adrien as a victim (poor little white rich boy meow meow) and boyyyyy am I gritting my teeth about it. I wasn’t even in the salt tag, tumblr just recommended it to me for no reason

(It also said that the show is sexist which to be fair, yeah, it is sexist but to blame an abuse victim who has been brainwashed his entire life via mind control is a bit much)

MLB is bad because it portrays the abuse victim as a victim????

??????

I genuinely do not understand the idea that Adrien is somehow less of a victim because he is rich and white. In fact, I utterly loathe the very idea. It's such an awful thing to say, that someone's abuse does not matter because they are rich and white. But I'm not surprised, cause I have seen a lot of that victim blaming rhetoric in this fandom from a few Adrien salters who'll go like "Oh he's rich and white and privileged so it's up to him to grow a backbone, he has no excuse" and other deranged and rancid shit like that, and even people who've said with their whole chest that Adrien's abuse doesn't matter because he's a white boy (tbf they are a very very small minority but they're there).

And they may have said the show was sexist, but I doubt they really understand why the show is sexist. Here's a hint: it's not because the abuse victim is a white boy. That's such a ridiculous thing to focus on. My advice is to just block them and move on, they ain't worth your time and attention anon.

Thank you for your ask!

[starryknightwrites]

Does anyone else think the Miraculous writers let a few loud minorities impact their writing to the point of stunting it?

*Leak Spoilers Ahead*

I think there's a reason why Season 1 and 2 are more beloved than the rest. The showrunners let their audience get into their heads and they took all the wrong advice- in the last two seasons especially. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but it's difficult to ignore at this point.

A part of the fandom thinks Marinette is a creepy stalker? Let’s explain that away with an unnecessary but sympathetic backstory we never alluded to before, stretch it out for several episodes and make what used to be comedic teen girl hijinks super traumatic so no one can ever interpret it in bad faith again.

 A part of the fandom thinks Chat Noir is an entitled sexual predator who is a brat to Ladybug? Let’s cut his screen time and make sure he never disagrees with her again (unless he’s under a spell we can blame it on) so that he’s the perfect love interest and no one can ever interpret his normal human reactions in bad faith evermore.

A part of the fandom thinks Adrien is so passive he needs to replaced? Let’s have him apologize for his compassion first method and maybe throw a chair or something to prove himself. In the name of love.

A part of the fandom is harassing us about redeeming Chloe? Let’s make it painfully clear how evil she is in a glorified salt fic so that no one can ever interpret her in good faith again.

When people misunderstand your intentions, you don't scramble to "fix it" and try and make things black and white for easier digestion. You stick to your "problematic" guns, dammit. In trying to be perfect and play to everyone, you appease exactly no one.

I think this is partly an unfortunate side effect of the social media era of television. Showrunners never used to interact this much with fandom. Public forums like Twitter are a double edged sword because nowadays they’re a necessity for marketing, but everyone has access to you on there. Every Tom, Dick and Jane with an opinion and no boundaries can rage at you to their heart’s content at all times of day. And it’s easy for us to say “Well, why didn’t they just walk away/delete Twitter?” but even Tumblr users with 80 followers will lose themselves a bit on a bad anon day. I can only imagine dealing with that hundreds and hundreds of times over while also having the pressure of writing the trajectory of a worldwide acclaimed television show on your shoulders that EVERYONE has an opinion about that they are more than happy to rant at you. I think more of us might crack than we expect. And TA cracked.

People with a following have spoken time and time again about how they were unexpectedly affected severely by public ridicule and toxic parasocial relationships on social media. It’s terrible for anyone’s mental health and I think the Miraculous show runners are no exception. The pressure and the push and pull got to them and I think we’re seeing the results of that here. It’s good that TA is stepping away from the show- at least in part from what I gather- after Season 6 because I don’t think it’s healthy for Miraculous or him if he stays onboard. He’s seeing the show now through a filter of all its criticism, of a hundred random takes, and it just comes across incredibly stunted, unnatural and resentful in his writing. Like walking on eggshells and being bitter about it the entire time.

I understand they want to take input from their audience and feel pressure to write the show "correctly", but sometimes fandom ideas- especially the saltier ones- are worse. Sometimes you should just ignore criticism, no matter how loud and long it’s screamed at you, do your thing and hope for the best. At least you'll reserve your energy and passion that way and someone's going to bitch regardless. Sometimes you should write that salt fic just to get your frustrations out and then delete it.

[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 :)

[starlit-dreaming]

[ch4] élémentaire

Fandom: MLB Ship: Eventual Felinette, MarcNath & Chlogami, Past Lukanette TL;DR: HBIC Marinette + Rich Marinette + ML Salt Fic + Canon Divergence

0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | [4] | 5

Note: ngl, this chapter kinda took my ideas and ran it through before i even realized it. i had only 2 main ideas and it ended up getting better than expected -- it even fit the theme of the chapter LMAO

4 words: karma is a bitch

ALSO I DIDNT FORGET THE TAGS THIS TIME!!!!!!!

Tags: @jjmjjktth @smolplantmum @always-on-a-sugar-high @fan-written @vixen-uchiha @fanfics-and-fangirling @marvel--unsolved @starlightshield @lady-bee-fechin @draco-kasai @weirdo-with-no-beardo @idontwannaexistsopleasekillme @blep-23

————————————————————

iv. jacinthes bleues

————————————————————

Even though they’ve been classmates for years at Dupont, Nino couldn’t really consider himself to be friends with all of them. Maybe the guys, but certainly not the girls.

So, despite how friendly Rose has always been even when they were attending Notre Dame, he didn’t actually know her well enough to feel comfortable calling her a close friend despite their shared circles. He knew nothing of her involvement in any of Marinette’s plans unless Marinette or Alix talked to him, and apart from info gathering, he couldn’t think of any other reasons on how she factored into Marinette’s plans. An insider job, perhaps?

Rose still wore a pink ribbon, her unspoken sign of her allegiance to Marinette, so… they were in the same boat. They both fell for Lila’s lies and were trying to make it up to Marinette. Rose was a much better actress than he ever realized.

“What a screwed up situation we’re in, huh?” Nino asked wryly, leaning back into his seat. They were both in the library, working on their assigned project for their history class in the peace and quiet.

“I wouldn’t say that,” Rose said with a smile, though her eyes narrowed at him. “If anything, it’s a minor setback.”

“If that’s how you wanna call it…” he frowned, trailing off as he looked at the textbook. “Y’know, there’s no shame in admitting—”

“We are both in very different situations, Nino,” Rose sharply stated in a sweet tone of voice. “You let yourself be fooled. I let myself be complacent. There’s a difference.”

He didn’t get why Rose seemed so on edge, but it was probably for the best if he let the conversation drop. Out of everyone, Rose was the worst person to be stuck in an argument with, especially because she had that effect on people in making them feel as if they kicked a puppy.

It didn’t seem all that different to him, though. They were both in the same situations, just different end results.

Still, Rose was also the most observant person in their group who could easily pick up on a wide range of information, and her grudges were long-lasting. He’s not gonna argue about technicalities.

“You’re slouching,” Rose started frowning.

“I know,” he awkwardly admits.

“You can’t avoid it forever,” she gently said.

“I know, Rose.”

At this, she sighed, “If you don’t do anything about it, I will.”

It wasn’t a threat; it was a promise.

He doesn’t say anything in response to that, because he knows. Everyone is doing their part, no matter how hard it might be, and he’s been stalling.

But what he’s about to do is going to hurt either way.

His relationship with Alya is on the line — if she doesn’t believe him then… they might break up. He knows that the likelihood of their relationship surviving into adulthood is pretty slim, but he doesn’t want to lose her over a liar, he knows that much. If he says nothing, he’s letting her be manipulated; if he says something, it’s over even if he doesn’t want them to be. The only possibility of it going great is if Alya hears him out, which is definitely going to be a 50-50 chance.

And if Adrien doesn’t believe him, he might go crazy, but it’d be bearable — Adrien and Lila kinda have a thing going on. Adrien’s already pretty clueless about a ton of stuff, even more so when it comes to girls flirting with him, but with how he lets Lila hang off of him all the time, he wouldn’t be surprised if he was blinded from infatuation.

“If I were you, I would talk to Alya first,” Rose smiled sweetly. He’s not sure if it’s genuine kindness or if it’s part of her own plans, because it’s Nino’s problem to begin with, but it’s good advice nevertheless. “It’ll be easier to convince Adrien, but harder with Alya. If you do end up arguing or breaking up over this, then she’ll have time to come around and apologize.”

Adrien would be easier to convince.

As much as he thinks his feelings for Alya might be tipping into love, his girlfriend’s got a short temper and he can’t deny it. She was easy to rile up, and it does get hard to communicate with her when she’s adamant about being right.

“…yeah, you’re right. Thanks, dudette.”

—————————— 

“For the record, this is a terrible idea.”

Alix knew that her words would do nothing to deter Marinette from seeing this meeting through to the end, but she has always been her right-hand man and stating the obvious is her job. Honest to a fault, some might say, but frankly that’s the way Marinette prefers it. Despite their past disagreements, it will always remain the same.

Despite what happens, Marinette leads, and Alix follows.

“Oh, believe me,” she dryly chuckles, shooting Alix an amused look. Alix didn’t see why this was so amusing to Marinette, but maybe her suffering was the funny thing here. “I know it is.”

Standing tall before them was a very familiar building — a rather sizable hotel. It was overly fancy and had long since lost its charm, and yet it was the only place that Dupont could get a free field trip at on short notice: Le Grand Paris.

Despite knowing that it’ll be far from pleasant, it was necessary. There was no set precedent when it came to disbanding a faction and rebuilding it in later years, but this felt like a matter of formalities.

It was during the faction meeting that Marinette disbanded Méticuleuse, and so she herself needed to correct her past action — even if it never really stopped her followers from still following her unofficial guidelines.

The first step of doing so was holding a faction meeting, and that required a proper apology to Chloé Bourgeois (yeah, the irony of this fact wasn’t lost on Alix — Mme Bustier has consistently been badgering Marinette to apologize to Chloé despite being innocent, and here she was, doing exactly what Mme Bustier would be ecstatic to hear). Before they could move forward, they all probably need to air out their grievances, which was going to be the worst.

At least it was only Chloé who was going to be complaining.

(Félix technically needed to be there as well, but he was a special case considering that he isn’t attending Dupont and wasn’t even in France to begin with.)

So, apart from Marinette and Alix, it was just Chloé and Sabrina, and Claude Sainté-Pierre who was acting as Félix’s proxy (as he always did) who would be in attendance.

‘She’s going to be insufferable,’ Alix sighed, already feeling slightly irritated at the thought. “Would it be too late to ask you to swap me out with Rose for the meeting?”

“Absolutely,” Marinette smiled serenely, looking at Alix with a clear statement of “you’re not getting out of this that easily” — which, fair. Alix knew what she was getting into when she agreed to remain as her second. “Besides, Rose has more pressing matters to attend to from what I’m aware of, while you just have your daily bets and competitions with Kim. Ondine can easily help you get out of that by asking to spend more time with him.”

Ah. An unexpected bonus. That was also the reason why Kim didn’t seem to complain too much when Alix told him she had to bail on their race for the day, if Alix put two and two together.

Alix knew that Ondine was popular and reliable, and they both get along well enough (and Alix can say for certain that Ondine’s too good for Kim), but she never really stopped to think of her beyond that. Kim and Ondine were still in that phase of figuring out their maybe-relationship, so Alix did actively try to avoid thinking of Ondine more often than not purely because she wanted nothing to do with that.

‘It sure is convenient that Kim’s definite-girlfriend is in our group,’ Alix nodded. ‘I’m tired of all his demands for a rematch.’

“We should probably go in now,” Marinette sighed, sealing Alix’s fate for the next few hours.

‘On second thought… never mind.’

—————————— 

‘I would do anything to get out of this,’ Claude Sainté-Pierre thought, a fake smile plastered on his face as takes a sip of water.

They were sitting at one of the private tables of Le Grand Paris — something normally offered to celebrities and VIP guests. Chloé’s butler had assured them at the start that no classmates of theirs will be allowed to take a foot into the building before bowing and taking his leave.

The butler and the whole secret meeting was a bit much, but Claude was somewhat used to it. His parents were on the wealthy side, yet his family didn’t have a butler or anything — a regular cleaning service and security system, yes, but not their own wait staff. Allegra’s family had no qualms about employing maids and their own personal chef, and Allan’s family may have been similar to his, but Allan’s family had their own home studio and an indoor cinema.

Marinette’s probably the only one who would get it — Félix had the chance to go to her house when they were younger, and they didn’t have any hired help. At the bakery, yeah, but not within the house.

The sound of a glass cup thumping against the table brought him back to the conversation at hand.

Or rather… the lack of conversation.

They were seated at a table for six, with Claude kinda sitting across from Alix. Chloé was unfortunately next to him, while an empty chair remained on his other side. Empty seat, Claude, Chloé, Sabrina, Marinette, and Alix — the typical setup to prevent a faction leader from sitting next to another leader. It was mostly to prevent them from being fixated on the other person, since it often led to distractions.

Marinette and Chloé argued, Chloé and Félix would make snide comments against each other, while Marinette and Félix would, well… Claude’s not sure what to call it, exactly. It wasn’t flirting, but it also wasn’t really arguing or getting along.

Just talking, he supposes, which would make this meeting far less awkward.

“I believe you have something to say to me, Dupain-Cheng,” Chloé stated with sharp narrowed eyes, smiling.

Everyone knew that Chloé only stopped referring to Marinette by her first name ever since she stepped down from her position. Claude was under the impression that it would’ve changed once he heard from Félix that Chloé finally won.

Marinette maintained her smile, her lips twitching just the slightest bit as she relaxed her shoulders and fixed her stare on Chloé.

“Congratulations, Bourgeois,” Marinette stated. “You were right; I was wrong. You won.”

He expected as much.

For reasons beyond his comprehension, the Akuma Class believed the liar girl over Marinette for the better part of the year or two — he wasn’t paying too much attention to them, just Marinette given how haggard she was from overwork. It was even more noticeable with how their peers on the student council would always talk about her worriedly.

“I know I am,” Chloé had scoffed, leaning back into her seat as she regarded Marinette with a rather cold look. “That’s not what I was talking about.”

“And what exactly do you want to hear?” Marinette asked incredulously.

Looks like he wasn’t the only one who was confused — even Sabrina and Alix seemed surprised over the statement. Sabrina should’ve known everything about Chloé, and for her to be thrown off by this just goes to show that Claude really was wrong about the Charmante Faction Leader.

“What I want,” Chloé seemed to glare, “is an apology.”

“For what?” Marinette’s brows knit, clear confusion on her face. “For being naïve by not believing you?”

“That, and for your deplorable behaviour,” Chloé practically sneered. “It was disgusting, watching you act beneath your station.”

Alright… now she was definitely matching Claude’s memories of her. Claude was starting to think that maybe Ladybug was actually making a bigger and better positive impact than Adrien Agreste, but he stands corrected.

“Right,” Marinette dryly stated. “You’ve always been the type for extravagance like all the others who prefer to indulge in their wealth. How dare I show such a shameful side of me, for preferring to disregard status. I’d prefer to call it moderation, however. Ah, what was it again? Moderation is key, isn’t it?”

“Ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous,” Chloé wrinkled her nose in distaste. “Moderation,” she scoffed, looking at her nails as if to ignore Marinette. “Well, look where moderation brought you. Acting like a mere commoner, lowering yourself as if you were a feeble servant to our peers, becoming not only a doormat, but also becoming a stalker!”

Oh… oh.

Claude suddenly had a feeling that maybe, just maybe, this was becoming personal. It was no wonder why Chloé wasn’t finding delight in Marinette’s defeat right from the get go — something that all of them had been expecting — she was pissed because of Marinette’s former fangirl crush on her friend.

Judging from the look of dawning realization on Marinette’s face, she got the memo.

“I’m sorry,” Marinette stated, looking away from Chloé. She was ashamed, he could tell that much. “I shouldn’t have let myself get so obsessed with the idea of Prince Charming. For what it’s worth, I have made strides to improve myself for the better.”

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” came Chloé’s clipped reply. “Adrikins is innocent and naïve — he needs someone to snap him out of it like I tried to do for you. I’m waiting until he finally opens his eyes on this whole Liar Rossi thing, because with how much he cares for the simpletons of our class, he’s going to realize that she’s the worst type of person to associate with. What he doesn’t need is to get dragged into your fantasy and unresolved issues — despite the distance, he is still my childhood friend.”

“I get it,” Marinette stated with gritted teeth. “When I realized how kind he was, he…” she sighed, shoulders slumping. “He matched my idea of a perfect prince.”

At this, Chloé leaned back into her seat once more, giving Marinette a glare. “You weren’t using him to get back at Félix for leaving, were you? Considering how similar they look.”

Oh, jeez… Claude didn’t want to hear any of this conversation for plausible deniability, but now he has no choice. This was definitely going to bite him in the ass later, because, well, for starters he’s the only guy here and if Félix says anything, it’ll get traced back to him. Sure, Alix was nonbinary and didn’t care about pronouns, but she was loyal to Marinette to begin with so no worries about breach of privacy there. Félix was unaware of the Marinette’s crush on him from back then, but there’s no doubt he knows now.

(It didn’t help much that Claude was probably the only one in the Quantic Kids who picked up on this whole crush situation. He never said anything to avoid getting on Marinette’s bad side, besides, he thought Félix was only nice to Marinette due to being all businessman-like.)

“Of course not,” Marinette huffed. “Yeah, I wanted to forget Félix, but I didn’t even realize that they were cousins until he came back. Félix is a common name, and I didn’t remember his last name beyond Graham until I saw the film with Adrien’s mother.”

“Hmph. Fine. I’ll accept that for now,” Chloé said, pursing her lips. “I won’t apologize for my words and actions. I’m still far too upset at what you’ve done to him under the guise of friendship to even want to.”

“As long as we’re done airing out our grievances, that’s fine with me,” Marinette smiled. “Now, can we finally move onto what we’re really here for?”

“Hold it,” Chloé cut in. “Sabrina, call our guest.”

“Yes ma’am,” Sabrina complied to the command, pulling out her phone.

“A guest?” Marinette blinked. “You never mentioned that another person was joining us.”

“Why would I waste my time on that when you’re going to be meeting them anyway, Marinette?” Chloé rolled her eyes. “Just wait.”

Claude, who left one of his hands in his hoodie’s pocket with his phone, finally ended the call with Félix before Sabrina could call him herself.

——————————

Nino’s not sure if it’s because he knew, deep down inside, that this was going to happen, but it’s a strange feeling nevertheless. He thinks that maybe he’s heartbroken, maybe numb, but he knows that he’s upset because he did cry in the restroom for several minutes after it happened.

Like ripping off a band-aid — hurts and then it’s fine for a while. Not great, not terrible, but fine.

As much as he didn’t want to, it’s either stick with the herd, or save the rest of his class from further manipulation.

It does hurt, though, knowing that he and Alya won’t be spending time together any more, that she’ll give him back his stuff and he’ll give hers back as well. He’s going to get bombarded with questions from the guys, and he’s not sure if that’s something he’s capable of handling emotionally at the moment.

“Nino…?” Adrien hesitantly called out, frowning with his brows pinched in concern. “Are you okay?”

He doesn’t think he is. On the bright side, he won’t be akumatized until maybe later. Can’t really say the same for Alya who just stomped off, but he expected that.

“Alya and I broke up.”

It was a quiet statement, simple, straight to the point. For the past several minutes, he’s been staring at his phone, trying to decide whether to actually drop Alya’s number like she yelled at him to do.

Huh. How long did he keep Adrien waiting? He hopes it wasn’t too long.

“What?!” Adrien shouted, eyes blown wide as he was very obviously taken aback by the news. “Why?! Don’t you two love each other?”

“We… had a fight,” Nino admits, not really wanting to rehash the last 15 minutes of his study period. But Adrien was his best friend, and he was also Alya’s friend, and Nino wasn’t gonna blind side him by making him feel awkward about hanging out with one over the other. “Rose and I finished our project early during our study period, so I went to go look for Alya.”

He should probably thank Rose for pushing him into doing it, otherwise he wouldn’t have, and then it’d be too late to do anything. She did look worried about him, when she caught sight of him heading towards the restroom, but she was with Juleka who’s been looking really pale lately.

Rose definitely knew how the conversation with Alya was going to turn out, and while he is upset at her for that fact, he knows that it’s not actually her fault.

“Uh huh…” Adrien nodded, looking increasingly worried. “What’d you two talk about?”

“It was about Lila,” he breathed, and he could see Adrien perking up at the mention of the girl. It made him feel terrible, having to break the news that Adrien’s crush isn’t as great as everyone thinks she is.

“What… uh, what about her?”

Like ripping off a band-aid, he had to remind himself. Taking in a deep breath, then letting it go as he steeled his resolve.

“I told her that Lila’s been lying to us. To all of us,” he looked away, not wanting to see Adrien’s heartbroken face. “And Alya… she didn’t believe me. She accused me of still liking Marinette and that’s why I’m siding with her. Stuff about how…” his eyes burned with unshed tears. “Lila’s been telling her a bunch of lies. About how I’m always looking at Marinette when Alya wasn’t looking, that she thought she saw me talking to Marinette after school the other day, that I was standing really close to her, like we were gonna…”

Nino took in another breath, letting it out with a sigh, willing to keep the weight of the heartbreak off his shoulders. He didn’t want to deal with getting akumatized for the day — it always made him feel worse in the aftermath.

It’s already been a bad day.

“What…?” he regrets looking back at Adrien, seeing a look of horror crossing his friend’s face. He hopes it’s for the situation that Nino’s in and not because of Lila’s lies. He didn’t know if he could handle something like that so soon after the breakup with Alya.

“I didn’t expect it either,” he smiled wryly, feeling all the bitterness bubbling up in his chest before suppressing it with a tired chuckle. “I thought that maybe…” he shook his head, his vision blurring. “Well, I guess Lila’s lies were stronger than our relationship, stronger than everything we’ve been through together, apparently.”

And oh, did that admittance hurt. Alya chose to doubt him over Lila, choosing a liar over her own boy—ex-boyfriend. She didn’t want to hear him out, claiming that he wanted to cover his unfaithfulness by throwing Lila under the bus.

“Nino, I’m… I… I know that’s not true—”

“Thanks for believing in me,” Nino gave his best friend a pat on the shoulder. “But I kinda expected this would happen if I talked to Alya about it,” he shot Adrien a weak smile. “I know you like Lila, just… be careful, yeah? I just… I don’t want you getting hurt like I did.”

Adrien said nothing. Nino didn’t blame him. Poor guy was still in a state of shock from what Nino could tell. It did make him feel better, knowing that he still had Adrien on his side if not Alya.

“Thanks for not calling me delusional. I… I know I said that I’d come hang out with you and Kitty Section today, but uh… I’m… not really up for it right now,” he gave Adrien a side hug. “Kinda don’t want to be around anyone from school.”

Maybe he’ll stop by the Dupain-Cheng Bakery on his way home. He could really use the warm hugs he’d always get from Sabine and Tom, and maybe a warm, freshly baked chocolate croissant. They always knew how to make him feel safe and at home whenever he’s had a bad day, and maybe they might have some advice for the heartbreak and—

Ah shit, Nino was definitely crying now.

“See ya tomorrow, dude,” he tugged his cap down and headed off.

Breakups are the worst.

[celestiall0tus]

Miraculous Movie Thoughts

So, I think it's been a hot enough minute and the dust has settled that I'm ready to share my thoughts.

Minor spoilers ahead with minimal salt:

Overall, I thought the movie was good. I did call it a masterpiece and I do stand by it in terms of characters (which I'll get to). Nonetheless, the story was decent, pacing felt fine, and I actually felt something. So, kudos, Zag (not you Austruc)

Now, the part of the movie I really loved, the characters.

I loved Nino and Alya. They are amazing besties. And I loved that Nino was a skater too. Really showing his inner turtle.

I genuinely enjoyed Marinette more in this. To me, she felt so real. This could be some mild projecting as I was that freaky outcast girl in high school, but I felt that level of insecurity from her. Seeing her genuine growth into a confident young lady was just so refreshing with the cherry on top being when she told Chloe off, not taking any of her shit. Like, fuck, 👌

Which brings me to Chloe. I honestly liked this version of her. Yeah she's a bitch and a bully, but it has a different feel than the Chloe in show. I haven't placed it yet, but it was nice seeing.

Adrien was a bitch ass white boy and I loved it. Maybe I spend too much time around the same kind of crowd who think they're all that, that they are the funniest, coolest people when they are just a little too sure of themselves, but I loved it. And I did enjoy seeing the discourse with his father and him mourning his mother.

Which, speaking of the father, this was the Gabriel I wanted all along. I honestly loved his character and actually fucking felt his break down when he saw that chat was Adrien. his song was fun and just so energetic. I loved that he didn't pull his punches and fucking cared about Adrien. Also, he had the best line in the whole fucking movie:

I will set the world on fire and lose myself to the flames

Like, hell yeah bitch. That's the type of villain I just love.

We needed more of Nathalie. You can't just tease me like you did with the ending and the few bits of her that we got. If I don't see Mayura in the next movie in all her glory, then the disappointment will be strong.

Plagg was Plagg. He seemed like a cat to me. I know y'all didn't like the fart jokes but I couldn't care less about them. Tikki was slightly unhinged and I loved it.

The biggest gripe I have is the songs. Not to say that Mari's song VA was bad, but it was such a jarring transition each time to it and the voice did not match at all. It made it impossible for me to watch the songs because of it. I did suffer through the love duet, but I didn't like the decision to give her a different singing VA.

Otherwise, it was a solid experience. hawkmoth being unhinged, but sympathetic and giving a damn about his son. Marinette and Adrien feeling real to me (and I say real in the sense of how I approach characters with grounded realistic perspectives). Supporting cast and villains were cool and story was simple. Overall, a really good time.

[emsylcatac]

Like in all honesty not even salting, just a genuine question. How can you tolerate an abuser like Gabe winning in the end and getting praised after everything he's done? Having Adrien not know what happened to his dad? Or that he is a senti? I'd love to be wrong but thinking these things will be solved in the next season are wishful thinking. So yea how can you stand that?

Because I can see beyond what was seemingly just presented to us!

Gabriel wasn't redeemed in the finale, it's an illusion. One easy way to see this is that he's praised and celebrated as a hero based on a lie: we know Gabriel was Monarch and didn't sacrifice himself and did the wish. The other characters will find that out sooner or later. If Gabriel was redeemed from a storytelling point of view, him being celebrated wouldn't be based on a lie but be genuine. They'd have had him agree to Marinette's help and see the wrongs he did, but he didn't and still made the wish. That isn't redemption. The statue is too on the nose to stay too. (Also in the movie he's also seemingly redeemed so if you're the same anon as before I feel like the movie redeemed him more so I'm surprised by that)

Him "winning" (not that he exactly won per say) is an interesting plot choice, and what I get behind with it is that he won knowing Chat Noir wasn't there to fight with Ladybug. So if he had to ever win I think it's a good way to go about it. Sure I'd have preferred to see the fight as we envisioned it, Ladybug and Chat Noir fighting him. That would have left me satisfied where the finale left me confused - but that's also what makes it interesting because we don't know yet what the writers have in store for us and that's exciting

I can't say I'm okay with Adrien not knowing anything, but I have good faith he'll know eventually when Marinette will think he's ready (or when it's revealed to all of Paris 🫣). If he never finds out then yeah I'll be pissed but it seems too big of a thing for him to never find out, I can't see the writers choosing to keep secret when it opens up a lot more possibilities for angst and drama and all 👀 we just need to be patient

So yeah, I can stand all of that. Maybe the movie is satisfying for some because it gives Chat Noir almost a bigger role than Ladybug which lots of fans have been begging for, or because you get a Hawkmoth/Chat Noir reveal, because every minor plot point is conveniently dealt with very quickly and that it isn't a slow burn, etc. But if the journey feels empty, I don't want it. I'd rather go somewhere unexpected but enjoy the journey than getting where I want but finding the journey hollow and empty (though the movie isn't what I want but I guess it is for Zag stans) 😉

[knifedancer]

Winds of Change - Salt Ending

You've selected the SALT ENDING!

Trigger Warning: obsessive behaviors, implied mania.

Go Back | Dark | Hope | Bittersweet

~~~~~~~

When the storm finally cleared, Felix left his amok-made shelter behind and carried the weakened, unconscious girl in his arms to safety. Through thigh deep flood waters and around piles of debris. Past knocked over cars, damaged storefronts, and other stupefied survivors. It took almost an hour but, at last, he found a hospital that had most of their operations in functioning order. While doctors and nurses attended to Marinette, he never let her out of his sight and remained steadfast at her side – her dedicated protector. He had managed to contact Adrien – who had already been evacuated by Gabriel against the model’s wishes – Felix was sending periodic updates to his cousin when service was available. The storm had taken out many of the towers nearby and the remaining network was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of users attempting to check in on those in the affected area. The medical staff assured him that the young designer was simply concussed, chilled, and lightly injured but, thanks to his quick actions, would make a full recovery. After being treated for his own minor injuries, Felix breathed a shaky sigh of relief once they were alone. Taking a seat at her bedside and delicately holding her smaller hand in his, the blond gazed into her pale face. She was still unconscious, but a kindly nurse had suggested he talk to her so that she would know he was there. "You scared me back there... I thought we lost you," he could feel two sets of paws tap comfortingly against his leg from within her discarded satchel he had dutifully carried for her. In the hours since her reveal, Felix had built somewhat of a rapport with Tikki. Her bright blue eyes spoke of a wisdom developed over many millennia, yet she still retained the hopeful exuberance of a child. He was no longer surprised that she had caused the storm to develop into, what meteorologists were calling, a ‘frakenstorm’ that behaved more like a hurricane without a discernable eye. Experts could never know it was caused by a tiny pocket goddess that simply wanted to protect her holder. It certainly gave Felix a newfound respect for the power of Creation! Through their interactions, he had come to realize that Ladybug's kwami was as kind and caring as the bluenette laying before him. Now that he knew the girl behind the mask, he could not imagine a more fitting candidate to fill her spotted shoes. Felix had known Marinette was a bastion of light in this dark world but, now knowing her identity, he finally realized just how bright her very existence was... How cleansing and purifying, that even the shadows deep in his heart seemed to have fled in her presence. While Argos had protected her part-time and had distanced himself from her out of respect for his cousin, he found that just a scant few – if apprehensive – hours in her presence had changed so much. The bluenette inspired people around her to be better versions of themselves and damn if he wasn't now among them! He squeezed her hand gently as he murmured, "I know your enemy's identity, but you'd never believe me. You don't trust me – not that I blame you with how atrocious I've acted." Felix chuckled and brushed a piece of hair from her brow with his free hand, reflecting on each of their interactions with a new perspective. "I will find a way to build that trust with you and then we'll take him down together. I swear it."

He silently hoped that he could earn her forgiveness as well. ~~~ Chat Noir’s POV: Four Months Later ~~~ Chat Noir reflected on the past few months of his life while Ladybug and Argos playfully sparred on the dark Parisian rooftop. In the time following the disastrous trip to China, the peacock holder was seen joining the fight against Monarch in Paris. Ladybug and Chat were wary at first but, as battles became harder and more complicated, Argos remained a constant companion to the two heroes. Two months on, Chat's doubts were dispelled after witnessing Argos sacrifice himself during a particularly hard battle, taking a fatal blow for LB. The cure had brought him back and healed his wounds, but the black-clad hero could still vividly recall the pool of blood and feathers in the street... So much blood. After watching his cousin die such a gruesome death, the cat boy now understood firsthand how LB had felt whenever he had lost his life to an akuma. Both he and his lady had had tears in their eyes after that fight. Chat recalled the spotted heroine had swung down to Argos' recovered form in a fury while her earrings' timer blared. She had screamed at him and jabbed a pointed finger into his chest with each word of the lecture, before pulling him into a tight yet desperate hug. The peacock user had looked shocked and contrite as he hesitantly returned the embrace; supporting her as she shook from silent sobs. That wasn't the only time he sacrificed himself either, just the most jarring. To the consternation of both heroes, the purple-suited teen seemed to have become even more of a shield than Chat had been! A slowly building camaraderie had formed between the three as he also began to join them on patrols. He had proven himself to be smart, reliable, respectful, and strong. A true holder of the Peacock. 'Felix seems to be truly becoming a good person,' Chat thought to himself. Adrien had been disappointed to discover that his cousin would remain in hiding in his civilian form, wishing to get closer to Fe without the mask as well. He understood though: Argos' identity was essentially public knowledge at this point. Monarch could attack him or Amelie or even put Adrien in danger if they were seen together. At least Chat could be closer to the taciturn blond. Adrien had caught Felix watching over Marinette in his Miraculous form as well, camouflaging himself in the shadows on rooftops or sending a small sentimonster spy so as not to call attention to himself. Adrien had asked Felix to help protect her from danger months before and, while Argos had done so occasionally, his efforts had redoubled since their aborted senior class trip. It was suspicious and odd for him to take such an interest in someone… But then the model had seen Argos slipping the injured bluenette away to safety at the beginning of an akuma attack only a couple weeks after their return from China. He had given chase as Chat, hissing and ready to protect his princess, but instead found out his cousin was just looking out for her. Marinette, now nervously sporting a small feather-shaped pin on her jacket lapel, quietly confirmed to Adrien later that day that Argos had decided to become her version of Le Gorilla since Felix saved her from that horrible storm.

Oh, how he hated that pin. It was as if Argos had marked her as his hen, she willingly wore another man’s symbol! Not that he could tell her that her beloved model boyfriend was also a superhero… Still, Adrien could not stand that pin! He wanted to rip it right off her lapel and throw it into the Siene. Marinette was his, not Felix’s! Worse, Chat had even caught the two of them on her balcony several times… That was his spot! He growled in anger, his eyes glowing a toxic green as the young designer laughed at some joke Argos had made while they leisurely sat on the deck chairs under the stars. Quite a few rooftops sported deep claw marks by daybreak and Plagg had started giving him concerning stares... The model was seething possessive livid not entirely thrilled with the idea but was grateful that his girlfriend – the best girlfriend a boy could ask for – would at least be safe while he was distracted being Chat Noir. He hadn't even had the chance to spend much time with her... He wasn’t even allowed to see her while she was in the hospital! His father seemed not to approve of their relationship. She was beneath them, a simpleton, a passing interest that would fade. She was too clumsy and would be an embarrassment to the brand. Agreste Sr. wanted someone perfect, wealthy, well-behaved, easily controlled. Instead of flat-out forbidding Adrien from seeing her, Gabriel simply made his schedule impossible to get away. Months of cancelled dates, interrupted phone calls, and missed anniversaries...they hadn’t even had their first kiss yet! At least he could see Mari at school...even if Lila seemed to constantly get in their way now, separating them every chance he got near the young designer. The model ignored the way her eyes dimmed as he was pulled away or made yet another excuse.

'Thank goodness Felix was there for her in my stead and quietly supported her through her recovery,' the boy thought blithely. Although his cousin was being too friendly…

Adrien would make it up to her eventually!

Sure, Gabriel kept setting him up on those dates with debutantes of respectful families. Floosies he was forced to ‘wine and dine’, pose for photographs, give them special treatment and gifts… Adrien was just doing it to appease his father. Marinette definitely understood! So what if he hadn’t been able to see or text her much in the last few months? When was the last time he had texted her anyway? Last month? She understood why he couldn’t be there to help her with her recovery; of course, she would understand he was doing all this for them.

He just needed to work even harder to convince his father to accept them, to see how great Mari was!

Yeah, it was just a matter of time! What’s a few months apart when they have a lifetime ahead? And once he became a legal adult, they could finally move to that island he always dreamed about… The cat hero was drawn from his increasingly discordant thoughts by the sound of Argos and Ladybug sharing a laugh after their match, trading lighthearted quips. Chat smiled as the two exchanged a warm look that he understood all too well. 'I'm glad they've gotten close. It's good that she's found someone. She deserves to be happy.'

And maybe this means Felix will leave her alone now…

With a soft lovesick sigh, he turned his toxic green eyes towards the darkened T&S bakery in the distance. 'My lady will always hold a special place in my heart, but I have Marinette now...'

‘She’s MINE, no one else’s.’

~~~~~~~

Go Back | Dark | Hope | Bittersweet

[princess-of-the-corner]

This line is honestly one of my favorites that I’ve read in a fic, because it show’s why salt fics are dumb: (Marinette knows! She's too weak and forgiving, but these people have been her friends since childhood! What kind of person was she, if she were to dump them because of Lila of all people?! That would be, like, letting Lila win! And it would be being a bad friend too! And it would make Marinette a hypocrite! )

Lol honestly though

So many saltfics criticize the class for 'dropping Marinette in favor of something new and shiny'. But like, they're also having her drop all of them after a single day of this.

Like seriously. One bad day where everyone pays attention to the new kid instead of her? Oh no how terrible. And they're such terrible people for *checks notes* believing someone who claims to have a disability and doing minor things to accommodate her. And clearly disbelieve Marinette for no good reason when she *checks notes again* hysterically accused a student of faking a disability to get attention(and made it very clear that the fight was about Adrien when he offered to sit in the back)