#the police have marinette’s back | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

comics-and-fanworks · 1 year

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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."

#vixin-unchiha #adrien salt #lila salt #maribat #marinette deserves better #marinette dupain cheng #class salt #timinette #tom and sabine sugar

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rosie-b · 8 months

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Guilty by Association

(3939 words)

Marinette respected Adrien’s strength and courage more and more every day. No matter how many times people threw nasty words or literal tomatoes at him; no matter how many companies refused to work with him anymore; no matter how clear it was becoming that he would never be forgiven for his father’s crimes, he chose to greet new people with a smile and hope that this time, someone would recognize the kind heart hidden behind his hated name.

She wished she’d had the chance to meet him before she’d accidentally ruined his life.

Written for the @mlwritersguild September event 'back to school' and inspired by @ladyofthenoodle's fic oh, look now, there you go with hope again

You can read the rest below or on AO3!

Ladybug was going to have to do something about Adrien Agreste.

It had been nearly four months since she and Chat Noir had defeated Hawk Moth, publicly revealed the villain to be Gabriel Agreste, and freed Adrien Agreste from suspicion by making statements vouching for his innocence—well, they’d hoped to free Adrien from suspicion, anyway. But somehow, the public didn’t seem to get the message, no matter how many times Ladybug and Chat Noir swore that Adrien hadn’t known about his father’s dastardly deeds or how many times Adrien witnessed against his own father, submitted to another court-ordered investigation, or chose to remain in the public eye just to reassure them that he had nothing to hide.

She wished she’d had the chance to meet him before she’d accidentally ruined his life.

She'd known of him before, or at least, she knew his face. But until Volpina, a jealous model at Gabriel’s brand, had stolen a certain grimoire from the Agreste mansion and cast a new light on the famous designer who lived there, she’d never given Adrien a second thought. She’d rescued him from akumas once or twice, but he was quiet and reserved; he received private schooling at home, so she hadn’t had the chance to really meet and get to know him.

And then she’d busted through the attic window of his home and, along with her partner, tore the brooch off his father’s chest in front of Alya Cesaire, her camera, and the entire world. Thanks to her, he was a target for the public’s wrath and ire now, a scapegoat whose only crime seemed to be having been born into the wrong family.

But Ladybug knew even that wasn’t exactly what had happened.

After she’d defeated Gabriel; after Chat Noir fled, still shocked, to go find Adrien and warn him that the police were coming; after Nathalie Sancoeur tried to plead with Ladybug to let her boss go free and showed her the woman he was fighting for… after all that, Ladybug had decided to speak to M. Agreste alone while he was in police custody. She had some important questions to ask him. He didn’t answer any of them, but what he did tell her revealed the nightmare Adrien’s life had always been, even before his mother died, from the moment he’d been made.

Sentibeings were a new concept to Ladybug. She hadn’t even known there was a Peacock Miraculous, much less about its strange abilities, until her unpleasant chat with Adrien's father(?).

She hid the rings her enemy had given her in her purse, where Tikki could keep them safe, while she tried to think of a way to give them to Adrien without wrecking his life even more. But she failed every time she tried to come up with a solution or plan to enact.

She’d escorted Adrien to and from the courthouse countless times by now, serving as a de facto bodyguard while the Gorilla was under inspection for his part in M. Agreste’s crimes, but each hesitant conversation she’d started with Adrien never led to the topic she needed it to.

She hadn’t even managed to tell Chat Noir yet. She was going to, of course! But she still hadn’t wrapped her head around the concept of human babies being formed out of magic, herself, so how could she possibly explain them to him?

Besides, Chat Noir had been going through a rough time himself. She didn’t want to be the one dropping yet another problem in her troubled kitty’s lap.

All the same, she needed to pull out her old Ladybug courage and tell Adrien, or at least give him the rings, before any more time could pass. And now that school was starting up again, it seemed she would finally have her chance, because one Adrien Agreste had signed up for classes at François-Dupont.

The time for procrastination—er, deliberation! Because she certainly wasn’t procrastinating—had passed. Today, at lunch, Marinette would walk over to Adrien’s table, tell him Ladybug wanted to meet with him outside, transform, go talk to him, and finally, finally be rid of the secret rings weighing her down.

There was only one problem with her plan, Marinette noted as she picked up her tray in the cafeteria. She couldn’t see a way to get Adrien’s attention; he was already surrounded by people. Had he made this many new friends already?

This is good, Marinette told herself as she felt a stab of what couldn’t possibly be jealousy in her heart. He’s been so lonely ever since his father got arrested. I’m glad that he’s finally made some friends!

She sat with Alya at their usual table and absentmindedly carried on a conversation as she waited for an opening in the crowd of students around Adrien. She had to give him the rings, and it had to be today! She’d already wasted too much time.

The crowd of lackeys seemed to be still growing, something Chloe sniffed and made a rude remark about as she proudly declared herself to no longer be friends with “that super-ridiculous son of a supervillain.”

But suddenly, raucous laughter tore through the crowd, and taunts and jeers rang through the cafeteria as the students parted, leaving Adrien alone, shame-faced, at the table. They’d overturned his tray of food, leaving parts of it oozing down his shirt, through his hair, and on his face. Marinette’s stomach dropped as she realized what had really happened. She’d been a victim of bullying, too, but never a target of so much hatred from so many people! Even when Chloe had been at her worst, Marinette had at least known that she still had people who genuinely cared about her, friends who stood up for her on her hardest days.

Adrien didn’t have anyone like that. All he had was one superhero who stuttered through pleasantries with him on occasional walks to the courthouse and a city full of people who went out of their way to make it clear how much they all hated him.

Marinette had to do something to make this nightmare stop before it got any worse! For now, people were only throwing mean words and food, but how long would it be until they threw something a little more solid? Adrien was hated by everyone, even by the police who proved his innocence to the court. It was only a matter of time until he got seriously hurt.

Clearly, now was the wrong time to give Adrien the rings. A janitor was already escorting him to the nearest bathroom to get cleaned up, and from the look on his face, he thought the grossest part of Adrien was inside him, not stuck to his shirt.

She couldn’t really go with her original plan even if she wanted to. Adrien was in most of her classes, but the only thing she could accomplish by talking to him during them was getting both of them detention with Ms. Mendeleiev. No, she would have to talk to him after school.

But then again, what good could Marinette Dupain-Cheng , the ‘miraculous’ Ladybug, really do? What could she possibly say to him to help ease the pain of finding out he wasn’t human in the way most people were? What could she do to convince Paris of his innocence that she hadn’t already done as Ladybug? What good could she ever hope to accomplish, or was she doomed to only make things worse?

She dropped her pencil in history class that afternoon.

Adrien picked it up and gave it to her with a stiff smile and bloodshot eyes. She noticed them with a pang, distracted and almost completely forgetting to say thank you. By the time she blurted the short phrase out, Adrien had already turned back around, and he jumped in surprise when he heard her voice. Kim led the class in a round of snortling laughter as the tips of Adrien’s ears turned red and Marinette buried her face in her hands.

It rained after class.

Marinette stood under the school’s roof for shelter as she waited for a break in the downpour. Her mind wandered again to the problem of how to help Adrien. He had such a good heart! Why couldn’t anyone else see it?

As she stood there thinking, someone walked up behind her, their footsteps getting louder until they suddenly came to a halt.

“Excuse me, you’re Marinette, right?” The soft question, hesitant as it was, startled her out of her thoughts.

Marinette’s heart jumped into her throat as she recognized the voice and realized it was Adrien behind her.

“Ah! Adrien, yes, Marinette I, plight. Right! I didn’t scare you, I mean you scared me, ugh!” She groaned and slapped her forehead.

“Sorry,” Adrien said in a small voice. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. I can just go.”

Marinette’s hand shot out to grab him as he took a slow step forward, and she dragged him back under the overhang, spinning him around to face her. With a petrified face, Adrien let her move him, flinching as she drew her hand back and began to speak.

“You don’t have to apologize! I just scare easily, and words my mess sometimes. I should— wait. Are you afraid of me?” she asked, her face falling as she watched Adrien flinch again and boldly try to deny it.

“No, no, I’m fine! You can do whatever it is you were going to before, I promise. I won’t stop you,” he said, looking right in her eyes with a brave expression that didn’t reassure Marinette at all.

She stared at him. “It’s okay if you are scared. I would be, if I were you. What happened at lunch, what’s been happening to you ever since your father—” she broke the sentence off when Adrien’s gaze jumped to something in the distance over her head.

He was afraid of her. He thought she was like the other kids at lunch, the ones who’d ruined his outfit and made him into a laughingstock just because he was an easy target, the boy the city loved to hate.

Was Adrien’s courage finally giving out? Was he losing the hope that had been so inspiring to Ladybug these past few months?

It should have been impossible. It felt wrong, and the world seemed to shift under Marinette as she peered closer at the boy in front of her and realized that once more, she was too late to save him, too late to protect him from being hurt.

She’d failed again, but this time, she might still be able to reverse the damage. He’d seemed so happy to meet everyone at school, and she knew from a conversation she’d had with him as Ladybug that he’d hoped to make friends at François-Dupont. It wasn’t too late for that, at least. Even if no one else trusted him enough for it, Marinette would love to be Adrien’s first real friend!

She took a deep breath and spoke again, softly this time, so that she wouldn’t scare him.

“Look. I know how it feels to be bullied, and you’re going through a worse form of it than I did. And I don’t know, maybe you’re going to leave here and start homeschooling again, to be safe. I wouldn’t blame you! But if you do want to stay at François-Dupont? You'll need someone in your corner, so let me volunteer. As a friend, that is! Uh, what do you say?”

She stuck out her hand and grinned hopefully, watching as Adrien looked at it warily.

Just then, a group of upper-class students walked through the school’s doors, laughing and talking among each other as they headed outside. But when one of them noticed Adrien, he stopped and pointed him out to the others as he threw a mean joke at him.

“Hey, Hawk Moth Jr! Why are you still hanging around the school? Do you need daddy to come pick you up, or are you going to akumatize someone to transport you home since you're too rich to walk in the rain?”

They all laughed like it was the funniest joke ever told, which it easily wasn’t, and someone else followed the first boy’s lead in taunting Adrien. He didn’t cower from the group, but Marinette could see that he’d clenched his fists, and his knuckles were turning white.

“No, no, it’s Ladybug he’s waiting for. He’s got her so convinced he’s innocent, I bet she’ll do anything he wants her to! That’s why she’s always defending him on the news,” a girl scoffed.

Marinette saw red.

“Hey! Mind your own business! Ladybug’s defending Adrien because he’s been proven innocent, three times, by three separate investigations and judges! She’s defending him because it’s the right thing to do. Which isn’t anything you bullies would know about,” she sniffed, grabbing Adrien’s fist and gently prying it open so she could hold his hand.

The first boy laughed. “Marinette, don’t let his cover-boy looks fool you. Adrien Agreste is just as bad as his father. I don’t know why Ladybug is bothering to defend him. If he were really as good as she says, maybe she’d leave Chat Noir and date Adrien, instead,” he remarked, and the group laughed even louder.

“Marinette, you don’t have to defend me. Just let them have their way, let them make me into their victim, and maybe they'll stop seeing me as the villain,” Adrien whispered in her ear, lightly beginning to pull his hand out of hers.

“No!” she shouted, grabbing his hand even tighter. Adrien flinched. “I mean,” she said, loosening her grasp, “No. You’re all wrong, about Adrien, and about Ladybug, and—”

A crazy, stupid idea struck her. It tumbled out of her lips before she could give it a second thought.

“You’re wrong, because Chat Noir isn’t dating Ladybug. Adrien is,” she said smugly. “She knows he’s innocent because if he were on his father’s side, he would’ve tried to take her earrings while they were on one of their secret dates. But he didn’t, plus the investigations should, you know, reassure you. But I understand if you’re not smart enough to understand that.”

The group of bullies stared at Marinette and Adrien, trading their gazes back and forth between the two.

“Marinette,” Adrien hissed, his cheeks turning red at this new claim.

It was a lie. Ladybug had been dating Chat Noir in secret for almost a year now, but if this was what it took to help Adrien, she’d continue to deny the truth for however long it took for the public to wake up to reality.

“I don’t think that’s true,” the girl said.

Marinette raised her chin challengingly. “Oh, yeah? Then why don’t you ask Ladybug the next time you see her. I’m sure you’ll trust her if she finally comes clean, right?”

The group hemmed and hawed as they kicked the ground and muttered to each other.

“Maybe, if her story matches up with yours. But if it doesn’t? You’ll have to admit Adrien was just lying to you.”

“I didn’t—” Adrien began, but Marinette cut him off, still high on the surge of confidence her idea had given her.

“He didn’t lie. You’re the one who got duped, by the city’s insistence on blaming the innocent!”

Marinette stared the group down until finally, the leaders turned to leave, and the rest followed suit.

The sudden shot of courage Marinette had had gave out, and she sagged against Adrien. He was trembling, lightly enough that she only noticed it now.

“I'm sorry,” she told him. “They just made me so mad! I wanted to do something to help.”

“Ladybug and I aren’t dating,” he said in a wavery voice. “H-how did you come up with that idea?”

She frowned. “They suggested it,” she said. “I just twisted it to fit my argument. I, um, met Ladybug a few times before. I’m sure she won’t mind pretending to date you for a while, until people finally start believing her that you didn’t help Hawk Moth.”

“We can’t count on that,” Adrien breathed. “Marinette, I’m pretty sure she and Chat Noir are dating. It isn’t fair to make her lie and say she’s dating me instead, and anyway, she hates lying! She’ll never go with this.”

Marinette smiled wryly. It was true that most of the time, she avoided lies like this one, but it was for the greater good!

“She’s been checking up on you every night, right?” She looked up at Adrien, raising her eyebrows. Ladybug had said as much in one of her interviews. It was hardly a secret.

Adrien nodded.

“So, ask her when she comes by tonight. I think you might be surprised by how far she’ll go to help you. It’s the least she can do after ruining your life,” she muttered.

Adrien pulled himself up straight. “She didn’t ruin it,” he said insistently. “She saved me along with the rest of Paris. I can’t really complain about the rest of it. I just happened to be unlucky enough to be Hawk Moth’s son, is all. But she couldn’t do anything about that.”

Marinette sighed. “I guess you’re right. So, you’ll give the fake dating thing a try?”

“I don’t see any other options,” Adrien said, but he smiled at her. “If Ladybug doesn’t mind doing this for a little, then do you really think Paris will finally believe her that I’m innocent?”

“I certainly hope so,” Marinette sniffed. “If not, then they’re all a bunch of dummies and you and I should leave Paris together. Anyone who thinks you’re a villain for that long isn’t worth the time of day.”

Adrien tsked. “I don't know about that. But I hope you’re right! I want to stay in public school; I want to make friends and be normal and not worry about my last name ruining everything for me. And… I think you’re very brave, to be willing to trust me the way you have. If you meant your offer, I would very much like to be friends with you, Marinette.”

He said her name so sweetly it made her heart begin to melt.

“Of course friends I will you with! I mean, I’ll be your friend, Adrien! And I’m willing to bet that my friends will be, too, once they see how good you really are. I’m going to reintroduce them to you tomorrow,” she decided.

“Do you really mean it?” His eyes found hers, searching them like he was trying to see into the depths of her soul. “You have every reason to back out, you know. I’m afraid that anyone I get to know might just become another target for those other kids. And you’re so kind,” he said in wonderment. “I don’t want that to happen to you, especially if you already got bullied by them before! It might be better if you just pretend you don’t know me at school.”

Marinette blinked, feeling a little insulted. “I would never do that! Not being your friend, letting you face those bullies all by yourself, just doing nothing, that’s how good people let evil win! Besides, if you think I would be better off not knowing you, why did you bother starting this conversation, back when you walked up behind me?”

Adrien flushed and rubbed the back of his neck. “I thought there wasn’t anyone around to see! And besides, it’s raining, but you don’t have an umbrella. I was just going to offer you mine,” he said, pulling out a folded black umbrella. “That’s all. You can take it and leave now. You’ve already done a lot to help me, and I won’t ask you for any more unless you really want to give it.”

Marinette’s cheeks warmed as she looked at the unexpected gift. After the long, torturous first day he’d had, even before Marinette had defended him, Adrien had still been planning to be nice to her? He was going to offer her his umbrella, and then walk home alone in the rain?

She reached out for the umbrella. Adrien started to hand it to her, but instead she folded his fingers over the handle and pushed it back towards him.

“I didn’t mean to make the class laugh at you earlier,” she said, quickly, before he could turn to leave. He kind of looked like he would, like she’d just utterly rejected him and was going to take his advice and forget all about him. “I just wasn’t thinking clearly, and I was a little surprised that you gave me my pencil back. I wasn’t expecting you to come back to class after lunch, honestly. I think you were very brave. And foolish! You shouldn’t let them make fun of you like that,” she scolded. “You should stand up for yourself. I won’t always be able to save you in time.”

Adrien smiled at her. “You saved me today! But you don’t have to worry, Marinette. For a while today I thought that maybe I should give up, that nobody was ever going to want to be my friend. But you reminded me that there’s always hope, even when you forget to look for it. I can’t thank you enough,” he said, delicately taking her hand in his and pressing a light kiss to it.

Marinette fought the blush that was forming on her face. She had a boyfriend!

“Welcome you,” she said. “I mean—!”

“It’s okay,” Adrien laughed. “I understand you just fine, Marinette. Here, take the umbrella, okay? Or if you still won’t, then let me walk you to your house! We can share the umbrella, it’s big enough for both of us.”

“O-oh,” Marinette stuttered. “You don’t have to!”

Adrien pulled out the umbrella and opened it.

“I want to,” he said. “You’re my friend, right? And friends take care of each other. You can think of it as a thank-you for your crazy idea earlier.”

“Hey!” Marinette laughed as she stepped under the umbrella. “It wasn’t that crazy, was it?”

Smiling, Adrien brushed his shoulder against hers as he led her out into the rain.

“I think it was just crazy enough,” he said with a fond smile. “I know we just met, but I feel really lucky to know you, Marinette.”

“Me too,” Marinette said, letting a soft blush flood her cheeks as she looked up at Adrien.

She’d finally done something to help him! She still hadn’t figured out the rest, like the rings, but she’d bought herself time. For now, being Adrien’s friend was the most important thing she could do.

When they reached the bakery door, she pushed it open and called to her parents.

“Maman! Papa! I want you to meet someone! I made a new friend,” she said, meeting Adrien’s eyes with a smile as he stepped out of the rain and into the warm house.

It might have taken her a long time, but now she knew—as long as her gambit paid off, everything was going to be okay.

#ml au #post-HM defeat #adrienette #adrinette #ml fanfic #rosie-b writing #miraculous ladybug #ml leak free #miraculeakless

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alienqueeenrando · 1 year

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Fashion Disaster, But Maybe Not

Mari POV

Even after leaving Ms. Bustiers’ class, anytime one of my ex-friends had a problem, Bustier would look to me to fix it. Before transferring to Ms. Mendeleiev’s class I was planning on debuting my first fashion line with a fashion show. My brand MDC was taking off and I wanted my friends to share in my success. I planned on having my classmates model for me but then Lila came along and most of them now thought I was a mean bully.I had;Nino, Alya, Adrien, Rose, and Juleka. Kagami and Luka also believed me but since they were both home-schooled, they couldn’t really do anything. I was upset that most of my ex-friends thought I would bully someone, especially since I was bullied by Chloe for years. Instead of letting it get to me, I decided to continue with my show. Rose, Juleka, and Adrien would model, Alya would live to stream on her blog, and Nino would provide the music. I set up in the park near my house. As I was setting up I heard footsteps and assumed it was Rose and Juleka. “I think we should begin soon so you can go ahead and get ready,” I turned to see Ms.Bustier and the rest of my ex-class. “What do you want?” I was confused as to why they were there. “Well I saw you were setting up a fashion show and thought this was the perfect time to apologize to your classmates by letting them into your show,” Bustier said as if she had any right to tell ME what to do at MY fashion show. The class looked at me expectantly as If I owe them anything. Even Lila looked as if she thought I would agree to this. face.“No!” I blurted out. “No? Now Marinette you know you’re supposed to be an example for your class, stop being selfish and let us into your show” Ms.Bustier. I had enough. This teacher not only let my class walk all over me but expected me to let them, expected me to plan trips and fundraise by myself, she left me alone and she still expects me to coddle to my ex-classmate's whims! No way am I letting her dictate my life anymore. “No, My former classmates are not going to be allowed in MY show. I have nothing to be sorry for. They turned their back on me and now they want me to let them into the fashion show I worked hard on, no way!” I yelled. “Now Marinette you are my star pupil and you should be helping your classmate and not acting like a spoiled child” Bustier chided me. I smirked before answering “You are no longer my teacher if you remember and they are no longer my classmates, even if I were still in your class. This is not a school event and you have no authority here. So leave before I have the police throw you out. This is a private event, meaning invite only and none of you have an invite” I pointed toward the exit. Bustier and the class looked stunned. “Kindness and compassion are honorable but not when you use them as an excuse to not punish bullies for their wrongdoing,” Said a voice behind me. I looked and saw Kagami along with Luka beside her. “ You Ms.Bustier are not fit to be a teacher and I will be sure to complain to the school board about your incompetence,” Said Kagami glaring at Ms.Bustier and the rest of her class. “Hey, rockstars” greeted Jagged Stone walking up to me. “Congrats on your first fashion show, little lady,” said Jagged. “Hey Jagged, Why to talk to that bully when you can talk to Lila?” asked Kim. “who? I don't know any Lila” replied Jagged confused. The class looked confused and looked to Lila for an answer. “And Lila I texted Ali and it seems he’s never heard of you or your charity before” Added Rose. The class was shocked and no one moved for a second. “Now class Lila has a disease and you shouldn't blame her” Said Bustier trying to calm the enraged teens. Then a woman came towards us "Lila, you are grounded. How dare you lie to me! . "screamed Lila’s mother. “There seem to be a few celebrities that want to sue you for defamation” Lila’s mom seethed. I continued with the fashion show. The rest of Bustier’s class tried to get back in my good graces but I didn’t forgive them, not yet at least. Maybe I’ll forgive them but for now, I just want to hang out with my real friends.

#bustier salt #lila salt #class salt #alya sugar #miraculous ladybug

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jasmine-the-fox · 26 days

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I'm better in Japan then in Paris

Picapollo made this really good request over on ao3 and I can't wait for you guys to read this amazing story i have made for you guys.

Anyways! Please enjoy!

Marinette smiled as she floated on the floaty bed in her pool. She was relaxing in the sun as she faintly hears her husband cooking on the barbecue as they wait for there guests to arrive "Mari! You sure you don't want something to drink?" her husband asked making her turn to look at him "I'm sure Izu! Why don't you instead come join me? The others aren't going to be here for a while and it seems like a waste to cook right now" Mari said making her husband Izuku Midoriya also known as pro hero Deku to smile towards her and enter the pool after closing the barbecue.

"I was just working on a few things that need to cook for a while so were fine" he said as he swam to her side, Mari had met Izuku two years before graduation. Kagami had brought her to Japan, she was so happy and excited when a villain attacked but Deku came to save her... that was how there relationship began making them very happy together. Because of Mari's life in Paris, she decided to keep her relationship a secret which Kagami was alright in doing since she knew they were dating.

As a result... no one in her class knew she was dating Izuku at all... which was a good thing because had lied about getting cheated on by someone and within the hour of saying that the class attacked the guy online for cheating on Lila. As a result, it was for the best to not let them know and instead let them believe she was single and in love with Adrien... especially after they stopped being her friends after Lila lied about Mari sending her death threats... so it was better than Izuku getting contacted about the lies so they break-up.

Izuku did know about Lila and her lies of course but she just wanted him safe until she can live in Japan with him which her parents were alright with only after she graduates... and now here she was two years after graduating and she was married to her husband for a year now. Her parents were able to open a bakery in Japan that had become very popular and Mari opened three stores so far... and let's not forget there sweet two year old son Kazuki that they named after his godfather Katsuki Bakugo who is also Izuku's childhood best friend.

Currently... the BBQ was to have a little party to celebrate Kazuki's second birthday... and also for Mari to surprise everyone with the fact that she's pregnant again... not even Izuku knew as she wanted to surprise him. A while later little Kazuki began to wake up from his nap "Where's the little birthday boy!? I need to see him now!" shouted Katsuki making Kazuki squeal of joy as Katsuki came over with a gift bag and then picked him up to hug him "Hey Kacchan! glad you could make it" Izuku said while Mari giggled.

"How was that mission over in America?" she asked as Katsuki entered the pool with Kazuki in his arms "It was tough since two pro hero's bailed a day after we started" he explained making Mari huff in anger while Izuku sighed "My hero suit also got trashed so i'll need a new one from you Bug" he added making her smirk and nod as Tikki giggled. Before Mari left for Japan... she had located Hawkmoth and Mayura, she threatened Gabriel and Nathalie with going to the police if they didn't hand everything relating to the miraculous over... while promising to help bring back Gabriel's wife.

After getting everything, she went and took Adrien's ring and then left without leaving a trace of her. She did this so to keep the miraculous safe from Adrien... but Gabriel swore that he, Nathalie and Emily would keep Adrien under control and not try to find her to take back the ring from her. Now here she was, safe and happy with her life... and she didn't care about anything that was happening over in Paris at all "Did anyone message about being on there way here?" Mari then asked making Izuku smiled.

"They should be here soon. Ochako said she and Tenya were just buying some sweets and some wine to enjoy after Kazuki goes to bed later today but the others were on there way" Izuku said making her smile and nod to his words as sure enough there friends were slowly coming to join them by the pool... including Inko and Mari's parents making her smile and greet them with a bright smile. Kagami walked into the yard a little while later with her husband Felix... Adrien's cousin but Mari was very happy to see the two of them so they could celebrate Kazuki's birthday... and her little surprise.

Meanwhile... back in Paris...

Adrien has been upset for the last two years... as it had been two years ago when his miraculous was taken from him by Ladybug. He couldn't believe she would take the ring and still not reveal who she was behind the mask! He just didn't find it fair... not only that but after graduation... Mari had left Paris. Her parents refused to tell them where she went other then she left to be happy and wouldn't be coming back... after that her parents began to leave Paris from time to time leaving the bakery to a few employes they hired, he asked why and they simply said that they opened a new bakery somewhere and would go to check on it.

He tried contacting Mari like the others did... but she had them blocked so they couldn't call or text her for anything that they needed or wanted to know about her. Right now the class was meeting up at the park for old time sakes and to catch up, when he arrived at the park he discovered that everyone was already there but Lila, Chloe and Sabrina... and they looked upset for some reason. He went to join them and quickly found Nino to talk "Hey man. Why is everyone looking upset?" he asked making Nino sigh "Look around... who isn't here?" he asked making Adrien look confuse before looking around and then it clicked.

"Marinette... she isn't here" he whispered making Nino nod "I found out with Alya from Chloe that she was in Japan now... married and had a son... today is his second birthday" Nino explained making Adrien look down "So she... moved on from us? She really isn't coming back?" Adrien asked making Nino sigh "Seems like it... turns out Chloe got invited to the party so she, her sister Zoe and Sabrina aren't here because of it" he explained making him nod in understanding. He had tried asking Kagami to hang-out with him but she refused saying she with Felix were going to Japan for a while.

He was now certain she had also been invited to the party... finally Lila arrived with a big bright smile. At that moment Adrien got a notification from Chloe's social media accounts with a post she made... it was of Marinette with her husband hero Deku celebrating not only there son's birthday... but the fact they were going to have another baby. Everyone had checked but Lila as she was focused on talking about herself... and then it happened... something that Adrien was certain Mari had always wanted to see happen with her very own eyes.

Lila's downfall... has arrived... because of her latest lie...

"I just wish you guys could meet my husband! But being the pro hero Deku he's really busy saving lives right now!" she said making there eyes widen... and then Juleka slapped her "You bitch! Your really are a LIAR!" she screamed... at that moment... everyone else began to scream at Lila. Adrien kept quiet as Alya revealed Chloe's post about Marinette being married to hero Deku making Lila freak out and try to lie her way out of it... claiming that the guy she married didn't look like him and she must have been tricked... but it didn't work... and then... her eyes landed on Adrien... and she smirked.

He went pale at her expression... and he couldn't stop her in time...

"Fine then! But this time i'm telling you the truth when I say that Maribrat wasn't the only one who knew i'm a liar! That's right Adrien also knew from the very start and he didn't try to stop me from lying or stop you from hurting your 'Everyday Ladybug' at all!" she said before running away as they went silent... and then turned to him "You knew?" Nino asked in horror. Adrien tried to speak but nothing came out and this time Kim spoke "YOU FUCKING KNEW SHE WAS LYING TO US... AND DIDN'T TRY TO WARN US!?" he shouted making him flinch.

The group ganged up on him and pointed out how he could have told them at any point in time and they would have listened to him... but he didn't and now they lost Mari possibly for good and there was no way of them fixing anything with her now. He tried to claim it wasn't true, that they could ask his friend Kagami or Juleka's brother Luka to talk to her but they weren't listening to him at all and continued to scream at him at how he caused all of this to continue for years and hadn't tried to fix things even after they had all graduated.

And now... it was all far too late... Lila had left to go who knows where to lie to people once more... Mari was married and has a family and here they were in Paris... suffering because they lost an amazing friend forever...

And while they believed it was all Adrien's fault... they all knew that deep down... it was there own fault for not looking into Lila's lies from the start...

#miraculous ladybug #crossover #bnha #salt fic #miraculous salt #class salt #lila salt #Marinette x Izuku

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miabrown007 · 9 months

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Felonies and Other Love Languages

Adrien Agreste: rich, lonely, freshly aware of the fact that he's expected to take over not a fashion, but a drug empire. Marinette Dupain-Cheng: broke, angry, freshly aware of the fact that bringing down drug empires is a blast. But where would she be without her team, Alya and Nino, and her very good friend, Luka? Not to mention the team’s newest addition, the kind, the funny, the ultra charming Chat Noir. If Marinette likes him, that’s alright, though. It isn’t like she’s dating Adrien Agreste for real. It’s all just part of her ten-step plan to make the Agrestes meet their demise.

Chapter 3 - Pandora’s Box (12,708 words, 3/32 chapters)

Adrien would like to walk along the edge of the curb with his arms outstretched. Like he used to when his mother was there, her palm hovering a breath away from his, ready to catch him anytime.

Instead, he scurries between patches of light on the crushed stone path of Place des Vosges. He doesn't understand why being late fazes him.

He shouldn’t even be here.

He should be up at the office, checking the CCTV footage with Kim to notify the police about the break-in. Or he should be at dinner, informing his father about today’s mishap. He shouldn’t be sneaking out under the disguise of meeting Chloé for drinks. And he definitely shouldn’t, under any circumstances, be searching for Carapace’s hooded figure in the shadows of the park.

In his head, Adrien knows that. But he follows his heart. And his heart rounds a corner with a leap, only to come to a halt in front of a well-lit fountain.

“I thought you wouldn’t come,” Carapace says, his eyes shining brightly over his green facemask. He has his arms crossed over his chest in what seems to be a futile attempt at keeping himself warm in the spring chill, dressed in nothing but a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles T-shirt.

Adrien doesn’t hold back his grin. With his own mask in place, it’s not like Carapace can see it. “You know what they say about curiosity and the cat.”

It’s a stupid joke, but if he made up a cat-themed persona for himself, he intends to commit to the bit. Plagg would surely be proud of him. (Even if, realistically speaking, Adrien knows that house cats, much like fathers, are never actually proud. Still, he likes to pretend that what they share is special and goes beyond owning a Blue Ribbon pedigree.)

“You expect you’re walking into your doom and still show up? Admirable,” Carapace chuckles, unaware of the truth those words actually hold. “Now come on, the others are waiting for us. I promise we don’t bite.” He starts on one of the paths leading out of the park, muttering under his nose, “Well, most of us.”

Adrien decides he doesn't actually want to know what Carapace means by that. In his hurry to catch up, the gravel almost slips out from under Adrien’s sneakers, but by some miracle—or years and years of athletic training—he keeps himself upright. “What did you say, who are these people we are meeting?”

The light of a street lamp glinting in Carapace’s glasses as he spares Adrien a glance. “I didn’t.”

It’s more than fair to receive the same non-answer to his question as Adrien had given earlier that day. Still, his chuckle is nervous. He fights the fidgety feeling that urges him to double check that the GPS on his phone is switched on.

“Don’t stress about it, they are friends,” Carapace adds in a softer tone as they exit the park on the northern side and stop in the shadow of the arcades. “We’re almost there, so I’ll have to ask you to put this on,” he says, handing Adrien a baby blue knitted scarf.

“There’s a dress code? This place must be really fancy,” Adrien laughs as he takes the piece of fabric and wraps it around his neck.

Carapace blinks at him, twice, before a chuckle leaves him too. “No, it’s— It’s for your eyes, actually. Just a precaution until we know we can trust you.”

Thank god it’s pitch dark and he can’t see the way Adrien flushes.

“Yeah, I— I knew that. Obviously!”

With much more reluctant motions, he re-ties the scarf around his eyes. He had considered swapping his contacts for glasses—for the sake of an even less Adrien Agreste™-looking disguise—but now he’s glad he’d dropped the idea. Blindfolding himself with them on would be a pain. Actually, merely existing with glasses and a facemask on is a pain, as Adrien was forced to discover this afternoon after much experimenting with the concept.

So, contacts, and anxiety over being only fashionably late it was.

“Sorry, it’s part of the protocol. Let me spin you right round here for a second,” Carapace says, his voice lighthearted. He grabs Adrien by the shoulders and turns him around a few times, until he has no idea what is up and what is down. “Thank you for choosing the Rena Rouge entertainment park, we hope you had a good time,” he says, in the worst imitation of a carnival pitchman.

Still, it somewhat eases the knot in Adrien’s stomach that’s as tight as Nathalie’s hairdo on any given day.

“And now, this way. We’re almost there,” Carapace says, grabbing his upper arm and guiding him forward.

The irony of their first meeting going almost exactly like this—only with their roles reversed—isn’t lost on Adrien, but at this point, he just follows the instructions. He's pretty good at that.

Losing his sight serves to draw his attention to his other senses. He’s acutely aware of the silence stretching between them, the noises of cars and buzzing electric advertisements on shops’ façades.

The pavement under his feet takes a sharp turn, and the city’s noises melt into the background, signalling their approaching arrival. Adrien can’t decide if that or his still spinning head is the reason he feels like he’s going to throw up his supper.

“Who is Rena Rouge?” he asks, despite his nausea.

The beam is evident in Carapace’s voice, even over the sound of a door opening and closing behind them. “Oh, Rena Rouge? Just the most amazing, passionate, talented girl in the whole wide world, who, coincidentally, also makes the best colombo.”

"Your girlfriend?" Adrien guesses.

"For the time being," a cheeky voice slices through the vanilla and pastry-flavoured air.

Carapace comes to a sudden halt. "Hey, what‘s that supposed to mean?"

"Well,” presumably-Rena Rouge says, “we are getting married sometime in the future, aren't we?"

"That's like, the worst way to put that, babe," he argues but laughs along nevertheless.

There’s another giggle, one that eases the trembling of Adrien’s stomach. "Um, guys. The plan."

"Right, the plan!" Rena Rouge confirms, as if she has completely forgotten they are, indeed, in the middle of something that is starting to feel suspiciously like a hostage situation.

Adrien, who at this point would really like to see his surroundings, shifts on his feet. "So, what's the plan?"

Suddenly, someone removes his scarf, two bluebell eyes staring into his soul. "You are the plan, Chat Noir!"

[read the whole chapter on AO3]

#miraculous ladybug #ladynoir #ladybug #ml fanfic #chat noir #miaraculous writing #heist au #faoll #felonies and other love languages #enemies au #in which Chat Noir joins the team dead set on terminating the Agrestes. nothing goes wrong

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starsfic · 2 months

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Punished

So I was re-reading LadyBugOut by @miraculouscontent and I had a thought that occurred to me when I was reading this chapter. In the very next chapter, it's mentioned that people could hear Miss Bustier and Marinette arguing and the class jumping to the latter's defense. It wouldn't surprise me if this got reported to Mr. Damocles, even if said reports didn't come from the class (which some probably did, let's be honest here, someone told their parents).

Caline had been what had been best described as a rough two days.

First had been her attempt at regaining peace in her classroom by asking Marinette, very politely, to delete BugOut, followed by the confrontation by her students. Second had been Ms. Mendeleiev’s rather harsh pointing out of her faults. After all that, Caline had tossed and turned all night, trying to decide what to do.

She wanted to deny that Mendeleiev was right. Her methods had worked for years, after all, at least from what she saw. She wanted to believe that she was wrong. Marinette was just lashing out, acting out, definitely not acting like the wonderful good example Caline knew she could be. But the thought of that brought up the memory of her students’ angry faces and Max’s cold words, and she felt sick to her stomach.

She still wasn’t sure what to do now that she was back in school. She still felt sick, although that might’ve been the lack of sleep in general. Caline glanced up and felt her stomach twist at the sight of her classroom door.

First, she needed coffee. Next, she needed to at least teach for the day and then figure out what to do.

However, her plans were stopped by a clearing of the throat.

Mr. Damocles hovered behind her, staring at her. “Ms. Bustier, can I have a word with you?” He sounded strange, almost angry.

“Oh,” She forced down the twist in her stomach and tried for a smile. “Of course, Mr. Damocles-”

“In private.”

Her stomach twisted even harder but she managed a nod. “Of course, sir.” Hopefully, this wasn’t what she thought it was. Maybe he just wanted her thoughts on something? The school dance was due to come soon and God knew how many emotions rose up during that time.

Damocles led her upstairs to his office. He opened the door for her and Caline stepped inside, sitting down. She faintly tasted bile at the back of her throat as the door shut, and he walked past her to his desk. There, he folded his hands, staring her down.

“May I help you with something?” she had to say then, praying that it wasn’t what she thought it was.

“No.” Mr. Damocles frowned, unfolded his hands, and then refolded them. “Ms. Bustier,” he finally said. “I recently received some reports from students’ parents.” Oh no. “I must note, none are from the parents of those in your class.” He pulled out a folder and set it down. It made a small thunk and Caline felt sweat start to bead up. “However, they are all concerning a fight-”

“I wouldn’t really say it was a fight,” Caline had to speak up then. “I was just trying to-”

“Make Ms. Dupain-Cheng delete a blog that has developed into an important resource?” Damocles flipped open the folder and turned it to her. Caline reached out, flipping through the pages. Through most of them were the words that had come from her:

“I advise that you take it down.”

“I’m positive you could take it down with one click if you had to.”

“The blog itself going down would have the best chance of fixing things. It will make it feel like this whole thing has been a mistake.”

“...I can explain-”

“I must advise you that, if it were more than a simple public blog, I would have to go to the police for this,” And that made her freeze. Mr. Damocles stared at her, his brows furrowed tight, and Caline realized that, no, he was actually angry. “However, as far as I know, BugOut does not have any special government protection. It is, however, an important resource.” His hands clenched tighter together. “That does not even mention that you crossed a line by telling a student what she can and cannot publish on her own social media.”

The sweat rolled down her skin. Was it just her or was it hot in here? “I felt like it was more important to protect my students,” she said, her claim sounding weak even as she said it. “Alya and Lila were being hurt by what it was saying.”

“Was Ms. Dupain-Cheng threatening them? Posting humiliating pictures of them? Doxxing them?” Damocles shook his head. “No. Ladybug was simply posting the truth, as she has the right to do. Her intention was not to harm, but to protect herself.” His brows furrowed tighter and tighter. “Next time, I would consider what it was actually doing before speaking up.”

Caline looked down at that, feeling her face grow hot. “So, am I being punished?” she said, gripping her knees and forcing back the bile in her throat.

“Yes. I want you to apologize to your class, especially Ms. Dupain-Cheng,” Well, that took the choice out of her hands. Something was pushed into her vision, and she looked up. It was a brochure for some kind of training. “This is for a training course on setting boundaries between educators and students,” Mr. Damocles said. “I would recommend you take it.”

Bustier was almost impressed. A few months ago, he would be trying his best to not make waves, at least with Chloe. She just wished it wasn’t aimed at her. “Thank you, Mr. Damocles,” She took the brochure and took in a deep breath. “I… apologize.”

He opened his mouth, probably to say that she didn’t need to apologize to him, but Caline was already up and moving. The sooner she moved, the sooner she got away from his anger.

The sooner she could forget the hot shame that welled up, deep inside.

#Miraculous #Miraculous Ladybug #ML #Caline Bustier #Denis Damocles #Bustier salt #my writing #fic #fanfic #fanfiction

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awriterbutnot · 8 months

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What if Marinette Had a Retired Police Dog Part 3

Master List Part 2

Damian really did not want to say goodbye to Marinette yet, but as the sun dipped behind the buildings Marinette had to return to her hotel

Standing in front of the doors of her hotels they said their goodbyes

Marinette: Thanks for the great time Damian. Captain and I had a blast

Damian: I’m glad to hear that and really the pleasure was all mine

Damain bend down giving a kiss the back of Marinette’s hand

Marinette felt the blush grow on her face

Marinette: Will I be able to see you again?

Damian: Of course, Angel maybe we can meet again tomorrow I can bring my dog Titus.

Marinette: Sure here’s my number I can text you when I have free roam

Damian: I’ll be waiting Goodnight Angel, Captain

Damian gave a little salute to the German shepherd

Captain gave a bark in goodbye while Marinette gave a little wave before heading into the hotel

Damain watch her walk away with a dreamy smile on his face until he couldn’t see her anymore.

Turning around Damian was met with the sight of his brothers all with teasing smiles on their face

Damian now scowling: Shut up morons

Dick: We didn’t say anything baby bird

Damian: Your face did

The rest of the way home was spent teasing Damian about his lady love and Dick dramatically called her

Once Marinette had settled down after their day out she settled on her bed and made a call that was meant to be made earlier in the day

Dialing the number, she looked up earlier she waited for the person on the other end to answer

Receptionist: Hello, thank you for calling Wayne Enterprise, this is Cheryl how can I help you?

Marinette: Hello, I’m sorry for calling you so late, but I’m going to be in the French school trip group coming to tour the building tomorrow and I just had a quick question

Cheryl who was told by Dick earlier about Damian’s little girlfriend knew exactly what to do

Cheryl: No problem sugar let me transfer you over to your tour guide. He can answer any question you might have.

Cheryl put Marinette on hold before she could protest about bugging the tour guide and made a call to Dick’s cell phone

Dick: Hey Cheryl, what do you need

Cheryl: Hey Dick, so that girl you were telling about called me, with a question

Dick: No way. Connect her

Cheryl: Right away

Dick to his brothers: Guess who’s on the phone

Jason: Damian’s girlfriend?

Dick: Ding ding ding we have a winner

Marinette from phone: Hello?

Dick: Yes, hello this is Mr. Grayson. How can I help you?

Marinette: Hello, I’m Marinette and I’m so sorry for calling so late, but I had an important question to ask.

Dick: Don’t worry Marinette, what’s your question

Marinette: Well, you see thanks to unforeseen circumstances my dog is actually with me on the trip. He’s not a service dog, but he’s really well trained and well behaved, and I was wondering if I could bring him with me on the tour. If the answer is no that’s totally okay

Dick *thinking*: Omg she’s adorable

Dick: That’s completely fine. We have employees bring their dogs to work all the time. One more dog in the building won’t make any more trouble

Marinette: Really thank you so much. And again, I’m soooo sorry for calling so late. Have a goodnight

Dick: You too, I look forward to seeing you and your dog tomorrow

Dick: OMG! Baby Bird your girlfriend is sssooo adorable she was so sweet and shy and polite. I swear if I was talking to her in person, I would have squeezed the life out of her

Damian: Don’t you dare. You would just freak her out and make her never want to talk to me ever again

Tim: So you want to see her again?

Jason: It’s sound like our Demon Spawn has found his true love

Damian could feel his face turn red

Damian: Shut up you idiots

Marinette: Good news Captain you’re going to be able to come on the tour tomorrow

Captain gave Marinette a lick on the cheek to show that he understood and was happy about it

Marinette: Goodnight Captain. Goodnight Tikki

Tikki: Goodnight Marinette. Goodnight Captain

Marinette wrapped her arms around Captain snuggling her face into his fur as Tikki laid down on top of Captain

The next day

The class all gathered down in the lobby Marinette and Captain came down last but on time

And of course, since Marinette looked happy and had Captain with her Lila had to throw a hissy fit

Lila: What are you doing Marinette. They probably don’t allowed dogs at Wayne Enterprise

Ms. Bustier: She’s right Marinette you shouldn’t bring your dog with you. Captain will have to stay here.

Marinette: But Ms. Bustier I made sure to call ahead of time to make sure it was okay. And you wouldn’t want Captain to be locked into a small room all day would you

As Marinette said that Captain looked to Ms. Bustier with the biggest puppy dog eyes he could muster

Ms. Bustier looking into Captain eyes and just couldn’t say no

Ms. Bustier: Fine, but he’s your responsibility Marinette, and I don’t want to see any funny business between either of you. If I see either of you step a toe or paw out of line, Captain will be spending the rest of his time in your hotel room. Am I understood?

Marinette: Yes Ms. Bustier! Thank you so much.

Marinette gave a big smile to her teacher before heading back to the class. Standing in the back of the group little away from every one.

Marinette: Don't worry Captain we just have to get through the tour then we can go meet up with Damian again, and we get to meet his dog Titus this time.

Captain gave her another quick kiss on the cheek when he heard somebody approach them

Adrien: Marinette why do you have to cause so much trouble. Captain would have been perfectly fine in the hotel room for a day

Captain forced his body between Adrien and Marinette not wanting the rude boy near his girl

Marinette: well good morning to you too Adrien. I don’t see how having Captain with me is causing any problems. He literally only interacts with me. And for your information Captain would not be okay in the hotel all day today and then have to do it again tomorrow. Yesterday I made sure to call all the places we’re going to over the trip to find out of Captain could come along or not. Since we’re spending all day tomorrow going to different museums, he won’t be able to come with us it would be cruel to lock him up all day 2 days in a row

Adrien: But he’s still upsetting Lila, you know could happen if she gets too upset.

Marinette: I don’t think a butterfly could fly across the Pacific Ocean Adrien, much less in the time frame we’ll be here

Ms. Bustier: Okay everyone let’s all get on the bus

Marinette: you better go-ahead Adrien. You probably want to go sit with your FRIENDS

Adrien catching onto what Marinette was hinting at gave her a small glare, but still ran to catch up to Nino, Alya, and Lila

Captain pressed his head into Marinette’s side and Tikki did the same.

Marinette: Thanks guys I’m okay

Marinette put one hand on Captain’s head and the other on top of her purse

#captain the retired police dog #damianette #damian x marinette #maridami

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r8cs · 2 months

Text

Chat Noir the Police intern

I would love to see Chat Noir in a side quest while Ladybug Is busy being guardián, helping Roger Raincomprix, The Cops, to solve a case. Like being an intern for a day.

Bc they both have "Serving the City" as a career, and Roger just wants Chat to think how important their job is and Chat Noir only wants to help and learn from his elders as much as he can.

So one day, they are both alone ready to start a raid without backup nor enough equipment in a small apartment.

He uses cataclysm to break in and grabs his hand as a gun while searching the place, following his partner's example.

While in a moment, Bang! A shot blew by Chat's side, and when he realizes where the criminal' hiding he catches where he's pointing at next, and rushes to guard Roger.

They make it, and take custody of the evidence, the convict, the stuff, and Chat let the backup take care of it.

Later, Plagg points out the bullet marks in his back that now has to hide and heal, and sleep face down for at least 2 weeks (but he doesnt want them to heal, it looks so cool)

And Marinette sees the news of it proudly.

#They both respect eachother and their while dinamic is braggin about their community work #miraculous ladybug #adrien agreste #miraculous lb #chat noir #ladybug miraculous #plagg

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ggomos-maribat · 2 months

Text

Soul-Stitching: The Heir and the Guardian

Masterlist

Chapter 2: the innocent and the guilty | AO3

CW: Mentions of trauma, childhood trauma, and bullying

This is in no way an accurate depiction of a real court trial!! My inspiration comes from k-dramas, Ace Attorney, Danganronpa and Legally Blonde!! Similarities to real-life cases a purely coincidental!! Thank you!!

It is often noticed by any visitor of Paris that the city has changed in the few years of war with a magical terrorist. The sullen mood is palpable, even more so as citizens begin to file into the Court of Cassation. The fight with Hawkmoth has concluded since one year ago already, yet the topic is rarely brought up, only made known through hushed whispers. At least, that is what Clark discovers after spending a casual day in the city.

He adjusts his glasses whilst looking up at the graying pillars of the building. It's an important case to cover, both as a reporter and a member of the Justice League—easily two birds with one stone. Clark is no Bruce Wayne but he can be a detective of his own. That's what a journalist is already, anyways. And judging by the flock of Parisians entering, it seems that this trial is important to them. He sees faces of unspoken trauma, some out for a sort of vengeance, some quietly remembering what it was like during the reign of akumas. When he finally takes his seat inside the grandiose courtroom, there is nothing but an air of somberness.

The layout is as per usual: the judge high up, front and center; a witness stand beside him; a jury off to the side; and two tables on opposite sides for defense and prosecution. The things most different are the bulky cameras standing at the edge of the room, manned by the local reporters to document the entire thing. The important people have not arrived, however, and in the meantime, Clark decides to scribble on a small notebook.

The facts of the case are baffling, persuading Clark that he has to see the trial himself. To make a sound judgment, he doesn't need only evidence but the people's opinion as well.

A sharp hush washes over the courtroom as the double doors at the front open up. The judge, a sharp-nosed old man, heads the parade, followed by the prosecution and the defendant escorted by police and the bailiff. The accused walks with conserved grace although her hands are bound in thick handcuffs. The prison uniform falls loosely around her thin frame as she looks around curiously.

“Monsieur Blanchard.” The judge pinches the bridge of his nose. “Where is our defendant's lawyer?”

“It seems that Kingston has backed out of this one, Your Honor,” Blanchard replies, not hiding a snicker in his tone.

“Then who—”

“Wait, wait, I'm here!” The doors from the back fly open, turning many heads. In runs not the pot-bellied Kingston, but instead a young man fixing his tie with one hand and carrying a bulky briefcase in the other.

“I'm here. Sorry I'm late.” The man smiles sheepishly, as if he had just been tardy for a class. But his grin is unfairly charming, shining brightly like the sun.

“A—Adrien Agreste?” The judge does a double take. “You are the defense attorney?”

“Yes sir.” Adrien’s grin widens. He proudly shows off the badge clipped to his suit, and a license that Clark is certain is fake. “It's my first ever case but I hope I do well.”

Murmurs go over the crowd.

Even the defendant herself looks genuinely surprised at his presence.

Clark doesn't know if the judge is an idiot, or just doesn't want to prolong the trial any further, but the old man simply accepts Adrien's position as the defense representative. Meanwhile, Adrien is still beaming—not even in the confident manner like in the belief that his win is guaranteed. His expression is quite innocent, like he doesn't quite grasp how heavy the situation is.

“We will begin now.” The judge swings his gavel. “Respectable citizens of Paris, we are gathered here today to hear the case of Mlle. Marinette Dupain-Cheng, who is on trial for terrorizing the city for six long years as the supervillain Hawkmoth. The prosecution may now give its opening statement.”

“Thank you, Your Honor,” Blanchard clears his throat. “On the eighteenth of June there was a series of calls coming from Rue Lepic, reporting suspicious behavior from an apartment complex. Specifically, bright beams of ‘magical’ light, multiple loud noises, and white butterflies coming out of a window. This suspicious person was found to be Mlle. Dupain-Cheng, an occupant of the unit in the fifth floor, however upon the inquiry of the police she was uncooperative. After multiple complaints, a search warrant was ordered and police found multiple pieces of evidence in Mlle. Dupain-Cheng's apartment.”

“If you direct your attention to the screen here . . .” Blanchard motioned with his hand. “We found several blueprints depicting ‘an underground butterfly lair’, a list of akumatized civilians, and detailed plans to obtain Ladybug and Chat Noir's miraculi. Ladies and gentlemen, I don't think much explanation is needed; the defendant is undoubtedly the villain Hawkmoth!”

An uproar reverberates in the courtroom which the judge silences again.

“That does seem conclusive.” The judge nods. “Does the defense have anything to say?”

“Yes.” Adrien takes the floor, holding up a piece of paper and putting one hand on his hip. “I think we're missing one big point here.” He points at the TV screen, which switches to a masked photo of Hawkmoth. “This is Hawkmoth! He's a grown man and no way a young woman, much less my client. You say that you found evidence in my client's apartment, which could just be circumstantial evidence. The butterflies? My client might be an entomologist.”

“I must object, Monsieur Agreste, but these are baseless arguments.” Blanchard raises an eyebrow. “We all know that the miraculi grant a ‘glamor’, a magical protection that makes holders unidentifiable with the mask on. This has been explained by Ladybug and Chat Noir a few times, and we have also witnessed its concealing power when their ally holders were revealed by Miracle Queen.”

The mustached prosecutor huffs. “And as far as I have gathered, the defendant does not dabble in entomology. Rather, she's had a keen interest in fashion designing.”

“As seen in the revealed holders’ profiles, the glamor does hide their identities but it does not change, in any way, their build, gender, and age,” Adrien argues.

“Even so, we cannot be certain that the defendant is not behind the terrorist's mask. The magic must work in ways we do not understand; Mlle. Dupain-Cheng must have manipulated her appearance to a greater degree. The other documents—the blueprints and plans, are the supporting pieces of evidence.”

“That's another point I want to make,” Adrien begins, “There is limited information about the miraculi that is publicly known. We're going off by statements Ladybug and Chat Noir have made previously, but you cannot convict anyone of being Hawkmoth without their presence right here, since only they can give the confirmation about who's the villain and who's not.”

The crowd stirs at the mention of the two heroes, which Blanchard seemingly notes. “Unfortunately, those two have gone missing in action ever since Hawkmoth ceased attacks one year ago, effectively denying the people of Paris a formal declaration of the end of the battle as well as the identity of the villain. Ergo, we truly do not know if they've defeated him, if he was rightfully punished, or if he had only retreated into the shadows without the heroes ever finding his real identity.” He scoffs. “But today, we have a suspect and clear evidence right in front of us. Why must we wait for these ‘heroes’ before we act?”

Half of the people make sounds of agreement, while others direct their annoyance at the defense attorney. For the umpteenth time, the judge brings down his gavel.

“Yes,” the judge sighs, “Monsieur Agreste, we have tried coordinating with the mayor to contact Ladybug and Chat Noir for this case, however there is no sign of them. Our concern in this case is the defendant's identity regardless of whether the heroes would deem her guilty.”

“But—”

“If you have a way to bring the heroes to the witness stand, I will be happy to postpone this trial.”

Adrien pouts and shakes his head, clearly unequipped with such a method.

“The prosecution will now present further arguments.”

“Very well, Your Honor.” Blanchard sweeps his gaze towards the other table. “I would like to call the defendant, Mlle. Dupain-Cheng, to the witness stand.”

Everyone watches the petite girl as she is guided to the stand beside the judge and swear the oath. Unlike the majority in the position of an accused, she doesn't wear a gloomy face, or worry, or fear. Marinette's expression is just . . . unfazed. Almost cheery, even. In addition to that, she's eerily calm—no nervous ticks or excessive babbling.

“Mlle. Dupain-Cheng.” An air of exasperation surrounds Blanchard when he stands in front of the defendant, as if he has gone through this a thousand times. “Will you be cooperative in answering my few questions for you?”

She gives a small smile. A smile. “Yes, of course. I'll try my best.”

“Right . . .” Blanchard reads off a piece of paper. “First, regarding Monsieur Agreste's statement. Have you been practicing entomology recently?”

Her eyebrows furrow. “No, not really. I've just been designing.”

“In that case, how would you explain the butterflies witnessed by your neighbors and found in your apartment?”

“I've been keeping them there.”

“For what purpose?”

“I can't tell you.”

Blanchard doesn't say anything, as a way of telling everyone: ‘see how difficult it is to get through her?’ He switches to another topic. “How do you explain the blueprints and akuma plans found in your apartment? They tie you directly to Hawkmoth.”

“Yes, they're incriminating, aren't they?” Marinette chirps. “But you should understand that I can't tell you the reasons. They're just there.”

“Are you Hawkmoth?”

“No, of course not.”

“Do you have anything to say to at least prove you're not? Evidence?”

She thinks for a moment. “Something tangible? No, nothing I can show you.”

“Do you have companions in your apartment who may have planted those papers?”

“No, I live alone.”

Blanchard turns to the judge. “As you can see, the defendant denies the accusation, but ambiguously. Since she doesn't provide a clear alibi, we can only rely on the current evidence which points to her guilt.”

Marinette is quickly ushered away from the witness stand and Adrien is given his turn to speak again.

“It is reasonable for my client to deny those accusations . . . because masquerading as a villain isn't her at all. Let me tell you that all of Marinette's friends and family will vouch for her kindness; in both le collège and le lycèe, she was an excellent student academically, and a dedicated volunteer in her extracurriculars. Not to mention, she regularly sells her creations for charity. If you look at her school records, her worst offenses are just tardies; she did have a case of theft which, under the proper investigation, you would find she was framed for and one instance of expulsion that was retracted. Nonetheless, this girl couldn't have been an emotional terrorist in any way.” Adrien takes a deep breath after his spiel.

“There are other concerning points in her behavior. Several of her former classmates as well as her parents, have recounted Mlle. Dupain-Cheng disappearing at random times, which always coincided with the instances of akuma attacks,” Blanchard rebuts.

“My client becomes anxious during akuma attacks. It's just a coincidence.”

“Unfortunately, the defendant has been seen interacting with suspicious individuals as well.” Blanchard clasps his hands behind his back. “Your Honor, may I call another witness to the stand?”

With the judge's permission, a civilian is called into the stand: a woman just about the defense's age, wearing a pencil skirt with her long sleek hair cascading down her back. Clark swears he hears Adrien mumble ‘ew, hell no’ using his superhuman hearing.

“This is Mlle. Lila Bianca Rossi,” Blanchard introduces, “Former classmate and acquaintance to Mlle. Dupain-Cheng. She has some . . . notable observations about the defendant.”

Now Clark knows he hadn't imagined Adrien's comment. The defense attorney has his jaw clenched tightly, with no concealed disdain for the witness. But Marinette's expression doesn't mirror his; she only has her head tilted in confusion. With a hint of amusement perhaps.

“Mlle. Rossi, please enlighten us with the defendant's apparent change in behavior during collège and lycèe,” Blanchard requests.

“I regret standing here to testify against my classmate.” Rossi throws a look of pity at Marinette, folding one hand on top of the other. “But she had this . . . this shift in attitude all of a sudden. I was a transfer student in our school, Francois Dupont. From the way our classmates looked up to Marinette, I can tell that she's the consistent role model. But then—no one knows why—but she suddenly became distant and irritable. She even verbally harassed some of us even if we didn't do anything to her.”

“Is there anything about her that leads you to believe that she is Hawkmoth?”

“I saw something, a couple of times, in the park near her family's bakery.” The witness frowns. “There's a strange car that passed by a bench she was sitting on and . . . it looked like she was talking to someone inside. It didn't look like any of our classmates’ cars, and they looked pretty secretive about it.”

“Do you remember anything about these people who talked to the defendant?”

Rossi taps her lips. “I'm sorry, monsieur, I don't remember very clearly. The first instance was a man . . . I think, and after that it was a middle-aged woman. I do remember the woman wearing glasses and this bird-shaped pin on her chest. It stood out against her blue jacket.” She fiddles with her thumbs. “At—at first, I didn't think much of it and I didn't want to pry into Marinette's business, but now that I think about it, it was very suspicious.”

“Does this mean, Mlle. Rossi, that you speculate that woman to be Mayura?”

“I—I can't say for sure, but if you ask me, that seems to be the most likely explanation.”

Blanchard nods understandingly as more murmurs litter around from the audience. “For the information of everyone here, by the way, I have questioned the defendant about this matter prior to the trial. Like earlier, she denies everything the witness recounted.”

He faces Adrien. “Even if it is ‘unlikely’ for someone like the defendant to become a villain, we should acknowledge that people can have ill intentions despite a saintly image. Moreover, even if Mlle. Dupain-Cheng is not Hawkmoth as you claim, it is an undeniable fact that she is associated with him.”

Adrien heaves out a long sigh, stepping beside Blanchard in front of Rossi. “Monsieur Prosecutor, may I interrogate your witness?”

Blanchard nods. “Be my guest. As long as she consents.”

“Mlle. Rossi.” Adrien's tone drips with his strange dislike for the woman. “I don't even know how you ended up as a witness here and to be honest your crimes need a separate trial of their own—”

This earns indignant gasps from the audience.

“—but for now, let's dissect your testimony. You said you witnessed my client here speaking with suspicious people. When exactly was this?”

“Lycèe. Seconde,” Rossi coolly replies.

“Do you remember the appearance of the car that approached my client?”

“It was black . . . fancy with tinted windows.”

“A Bugatti, would you say?”

“Yes, yes a Bugatti. I remember it was that kind of car.”

A tight smile graces the lawyer's face. “What made the encounter you witnessed suspicious?”

“Before the car came, Marinette kept looking around as if she didn't want anyone to see. I never heard what they were talking about, but it seemed pretty serious. They were always whispering and when the car left, Marinette pretended as if nothing happened and went straight to her house.” Rossi shifts around a little.

“Is this your only basis for treating it as something suspicious?”

“Well—”

“Does that mean, Mlle. Rossi, that any two people conversing secretly are already planning magical terrorist attacks?”

“I—I just thought it fits Marinette's identity as Hawkmoth!” Rossi defends.

“It fits conveniently with that explanation, but it also fits with my explanation.” Adrien shrugs. “During this time, seconde—we were fifteen—my father, the designer Gabriel Agreste, started secretly commissioning the defendant here as a design collaborator for his brand. My father wanted to keep it under wraps because it's the only way to make her agree. Unfortunately, they can only discuss the details in person and through Father's assistant, Nathalie, because Mlle. Dupain-Cheng's email has been repeatedly hacked by her harassers and competition. They were particularly fond of taking the Bugatti around the city even if it was so conspicuous. If you request it, Your Honor, I can definitely retrieve the documents of that same agreement right now.”

Clark notices that Adrien throws a pointed look at Rossi when he utters ‘harassers’.

The judge hums. “We will cross check this as evidence later.”

“Of course.” Adrien nods. “Now that we've established that Mlle. Rossi had just misunderstood the situation, I think she's now pretty useless as a witness. What do you have to say, Monsieur Prosecutor?”

The judge quietly relays his disapproval at Adrien for being rude to the witness, but motions at Blanchard to speak.

“I believe I've yet to present the most incriminating evidence.” The look in Blanchard's eyes is menacing. “This morning, we did one final search inside the defendant's apartment. And we found this.”

The screen flashes to show a familiar purple brooch: two pairs of wings emerging from a shiny jewel. It draws out the loudest reaction from the audience yet.

Adrien gawks and turns to his client, who shrugs and shakes her head.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the Butterfly miraculous. The very magical artifact Hawkmoth used to control Paris with fear. We have found this in Mlle. Dupain-Cheng's bedroom and it has her fingerprints on it as well.”

“How certain are you that it's the real thing?” Adrien questions, rubbing his head.

“It is unusable at the moment. If you look closely, there is a crack at the bottom, which must be why it is deactivated,” Blanchard says, “We are in the process of reaching out to a magic user who can verify its properties.”

“You have used the evidence and my client's past behavior as bases for her guilt, but I have a question for the prosecution.” The defense lawyer looks agitated now, as if the brooch is one thing he hasn't accounted for. “What could be my client's motive for terrorizing Paris? Why did she stop?”

“As you saw earlier, the defendant can be quite uncooperative, so it's difficult to deduce a motive or an explanation for the disappearance for now. If you are so convinced that Mlle. Dupain-Cheng is not Hawkmoth, do you have another candidate for someone who might be?”

Adrien shares a look with Marinette. “Um . . . er—no . . .”

“Though I cannot present what her motive might be, I have a clue in the reasons behind Mlle. Dupain-Cheng's actions. Her resortion to villainy may be a product of repressed childhood trauma.”

Adrien visibly stiffens and pales.

“I have done my own investigation and found that Sabine Cheng and Tom Dupain are not the defendant's biological parents,” Blanchard declares. “She was brought into the foster system at the age of eight, and then adopted at nine. According to her former psychologist, she does not have any memories prior to her relocation to Paris, which may be from a traumatic experience. It is not impossible, then, that she may have psychological . . . tendencies, prompting her manipulation of others’ emotions through the Butterfly miraculous.”

“That's not—”

“Definitive? I agree, but the chance is not zero.”

Clark is stunned down to his core. The judge and the jury were unswayed by the defense's counter arguments—they had just declared Marinette guilty, and the length of her sentence is currently in the talks. He has watched the entire trial to gain clarity on the case, but he’s becoming more perplexed by the situation. Marinette Dupain-Cheng's behavior is already strange in itself, but so is Adrien's. It seems that he has purposely withheld information—he doesn't even try to argue with Blanchard's closing statements or fight for a lighter punishment.

He adjusts his tie. He still can't wrap his head around a single girl terrorizing Paris for six years, but the evidence is pretty solid. And said girl doesn't even mind being thrown into prison at all.

He even catches the conversation after the verdict was announced: Adrien apologizes to her, but she merely pats his back, smiles, and tells him that she's off to a long vacation. She says it so casually, that Clark doesn't believe it's a crazy woman speaking.

Clark stands up to approach Blanchard and get a more detailed statement, but he suddenly stops in his tracks.

He hears them before the doors burst open. Oh no.

“We'll take her from here.” Batman strides into the courtroom, flanked by Wonder Woman, the Flash, Zatanna, and Green Arrow at his sides.

←Previous Chapter | Next Chapter →

Fun Fact! Instead of Marinette, it was actually Adrien who started to dabble in entomology after Hawkmoth's defeat Taglist: @noisydreamlandkoala

#tw child abuse #tw suicide #maribat fanfic #dc x mlb #mlb x dc #maribat #maribat fic #daminette #marinette dupain cheng x damian wayne #tw blood #ggomoz #maribat damian wayne #maribat marinette dupain cheng #SS:H&G

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artzychic27 · 5 months

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Akuma Class getting kidnapped, inspired by this video

youtube

Marinette: You think you’re scaring me? I face Akumas on a weekly basis, so you ain’t got shit on me! Oh, you’re pulling out a knife now? See my face? You bitches don’t scare me.

—

Adrien: Wait, I gotta pee! Can we stop for a moment? These are nice seats and I don’t wanna mess them up. Also, can we get McDonalds? I haven’t eaten since breakfast. Can I get a Happy Meal?! Wait… Never mind, I don’t have to pee.

—

Alya: These ropes are too tight! I can’t text on my phone because you guys tied these ropes too tight and they’re cutting off my blood flow! If my hands shrivel up and fall on the floor, it’s on your because you won’t let me text freely.

—

Nino: Yo, this music sucks, you got bad taste. At least let me wear my headphones. Why do you want me seeing and listening to my surroundings? What kind of kidnappers are you? Did you even think this through?

—

Chloé: After this, I’ll be the kidnapper, because I’m rating this one star. The car is so last year, there’s a stain on the seat, and this music is dreadful. Oh, now you’re pulling out your knife? Did you at least clean it? Ugh, I’ll probably get tetanus or something.

—

Sabrina: This car is kind of dirty; how often do you wash it? And those windows are so smudged, so how do you see anything out of them? That’s really dangerous, you know. Also, I noticed one of your tires is a little flat, so you might wanna get that checked out. Can we stop by an auto shop?

—

Nathaniel: I’ve only been here for like three minutes, and you kidnappers smell like sweaty feet standing on a moldy-ass bath mat, and I’m gonna throw up all over the seats and floor, and it’s gonna look like that scene from The Exorcist unless you roll down the window and let me throw up outside.

—

Alix: *Kicking the kidnapper’s seat* Untighten the ropes. Do it now! Do it now! I can keep doing this because my tiny body is filled with white hot energy! Untighten my ropes! Now! Now! Now! I had coffee earlier! Now!

—

Kim: *Breaks free of his ropes* LATER, BEYOTCH! *Opens the door and rolls out* JUMPING NOW!

—

Max: Look, kidnap and stab me if you must, but you must now this kidnapping is one of the worst ever. Also, that euro you took out of my pocket is mine, and I would like it back, please and thank you.

—

Rose: Hey! You said this was a candy truck! Where’s the candy? I’m suspicious! I’m calling the police! Gimme your phone!

—

Juleka: Can you guys adjust your mirrors a bit? I can see your faces, and I don’t feel like getting car sick.

—

Myléne: I refuse to get in that van, not only because it’s guzzling gas, but for the fact that there is a hideous stain on that shaggy floor, and I like these pants, thank you.

—

Ivan: I am very mad at you guys, right now. As you were shoving me in your car, you hit my head up against the roof of the car, and it still hurts, and if I get a concussion and pass out, that is all on you.

#miraculous ladybug #miraculous #crack #akuma class #incorrect quotes #no one asked for this #Youtube

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nuvolisa · 7 days

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Land where I land

It’s unusual for Jim to call him at the Police Station for anything. Even during the worst of cases, the officer has always tried to not get him involved or to come to him once everything was settled.

So, when he calls late at night, Bruce knows that something isn’t right. No villain attacks, no escapee from Arkham, no robberies, and no bomb threats: does Jason need to get bailed out of jail again?

Jim Gordon’s voice is somewhat sarcastic as he speaks over his desk’s phone. “You’ll find out when you see it.”

Bruce is not looking forward to it.

It’s late, too late for any sane and law-abiding citizen to be out at such an hour. What could’ve possibly happened to cause such a mess that he needed to get involved? Couldn’t Jim just have used the Batsignal if things were that bad?

Instead, when he enters the building, the old commissioner is snickering. Bruce is definitely not good with emotions, but he thinks he’s making fun of him. He doesn’t find it funny.

“What's going on?”

Bruce Wayne is confused, confused as to why the officer is so cheerful, confused about why he would call him here in the first place. Did he find his job that amusing?

“We’ve found this girl… well, let’s just say that she basically landed right on the back of an officer, and seemed to be confused, likely she’s an immigrant.”

Bruce was stunned.

“You called me here… for a kid who’s lost?”

James Gordon places a hand on top of his shoulder. “Do you know any French?”

This was going to be a long night.

There is a woman in the interrogation room, talking to what looks like a girl not older than fifteen, at least from her height. From behind the glass, he can’t see very well.

“Sophie, come out for now,” says Jim on the interphone, and the CPS worker obliges, waving tenderly at the girl she’s been interrogating.

Sophie Dallway comes to the other side of the interrogation room and fixes her skirt. Bruce notices that she must’ve dressed up in a hurry, but he understands: it’s quite late in the night.

“Did she tell us something?” asks Jim with a small amused smile under his mustache. Bruce’s on the verge of exploding.

“Not much, to be honest. She keeps telling the same story, she has no idea how she got here and what happened. She insists on letting her go, that she’ll find a way.”

“We can’t do that,”

“I told her that, she just started shaking.”

Jim looks down. “Good,” he says, sarcastically. Then he turns around to face Bruce, “Your turn now.”

“What?”

“Go in there and talk to her, Wayne.”

“But why?”

Jim shoves him out of the room with a half-hearted pat on the back. “You’ll guess soon enough.”

The interrogation room is surprisingly dark. The small yellow lamp hasn’t been changed since probably the 1960s and the empty metal chair doesn’t help to give a welcoming environment to a child. He can barely make out her silhouette, but he trusts Jim, he has to.

He opens up the folder on the metal, icy-cold table, and starts reading. “So, your name is…”

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng,” she completes the sentence for him, hesitantly.

Bruce is already lost, he doesn’t know what to say anymore. “You’re from Paris, is that correct?”

"Yes," she replies softly, "but I don't know how I ended up here in... Gotham, is it?" Her voice is tinged with confusion and a hint of fear, well hidden behind her thick, native French accent. He doesn’t fail to notice the urgency in her hand movements.

He scans the document one more time. Everything she has said to the CPS worker seems rather unfamiliar, he can’t for the life of him understand why he’s been involved in this case. He closes the folder and looks up sternly.

At that moment, it finally clicks. The teen is here, sitting in front of him, and she has two dark black pigtails that look almost blue under the light. Her eyes are two perfect sapphires with the tint of a calm sea. Her lips are in the shape of his mother’s, small and heart-shaped, and don’t hide the small pointy canines that Damian has. Despite the dark and gloomy atmosphere, the girl brightens the room, even with the terror easily readable in her pupils.

Bruce feels like fainting.

Marinette is rambling about needing to go back to Paris, but her words don’t fully reach his ears, it’s all rumbling background noise. The only thing he can hear is his racing heart, threatening to dig a hole and come out of his chest.

“Who are your parents?” he asks, with a stoic face, interrupting her quite abruptly. Bruce immediately notices his faux pas: he can’t let this overwhelm him, he can’t afford to be emotional anymore.

“Tom Dupain and Sabine Cheng,” she answers, her eyes low on the ground. “They’re bakers…” she whispers. Bruce manages to catch it. The names are unknown to him.

“Do you have a number we can call?” he asks, but she shakes her head.

“No, I have their numbers saved on my phone, which is… back in Paris.”

This feels like a joke. He wants to turn around and ask Jim if it was Clark’s idea, but he realizes that whatever this ordeal is about, this poor girl, who looks so much like a carbon copy of himself, is disoriented and scared.

Bruce has a sympathetic look in his eyes. “Do you remember what happened right before you got here?”

Her voice is soft, it reminds him of someone.“I was in my room, getting up for school when I just… there was a blue light and I was here.”

He notices immediately that she is lying: her eyes look at her right, and she instinctively starts touching her face, her earrings, her neck. But why would she? Wouldn’t it be better for her to give the entire truth so that they can just send her home?

“That’s… peculiar,” he comments, trying to indicate that he doesn’t believe her. Not that he doesn’t believe she has just popped out of nowhere, which would be nothing compared to the sheer amount of strange things that happen in Gotham, but that she’s not telling the whole truth.

Her smile contorts into an embarrassed expression. “I know but… I can’t tell you much more.”

“Why?”

Marinette awkwardly fixes her posture. He can’t believe that such a petite girl, who wears pink ribbons and a pastel t-shirt for school, looks actually so much like him. “We… can’t really talk about what’s happening in Paris. Mayor’s decree. Technically, it’s the former mayor’s decree, but it’s still valid.”

That’s concerning, to say the least. He turns around to gesture to Jim that this is something they have to discuss. But what could possibly be happening in Paris that needs to be hidden from the rest of the world?

“I understand your fear, Marinette. But why is there an information block in there in the first place?”

The girl freezes. “I can… I can’t tell you,” she murmurs. His heart contorts at seeing the expression on her face, the same of a small puppy who has been abandoned. The irony of it doesn’t go unnoticed.

“You can. You’re not in Paris right now, so any decree doesn’t affect you. I’ll make sure to protect you, don’t worry,” he says, trying his best to reassure her. Bruce is very good at faking confidence and charisma; but at real compassion and genuine affection? He’s hopeless.

Marinette still looks like she is being tortured, like she has seen a ghost. Yet, she starts explaining what exactly happened in the last two years. He understands her hesitance: magical jewelry, possessed people, domestic terrorism. This city is in dire need of help, and he knows what he will be talking about at the next Justice League meeting.

As he hears the girl explain and analyze the villain in detail, every doubt clears from his mind. That is certainly his daughter. If her overall look wasn’t enough, the way she describes accurately every move and every action taken by the villains to terrorize her city would convince anyone that this is his long-lost kid. From the way Hawkmoth lured in citizens using complex schemes, to the way Mariposa’s attacks are far more well-organized and diligently planned.

His mind starts wandering as the girl keeps on telling Paris’s story. Her skin is pale and reveals on her arms burn marks, old cuts, and bruises. She’s incredibly small and thin despite being the daughter of a baker, and it makes a lot of questions pop up in his head. She doesn’t have the body of a hero, but she sure has the mind of one.

The papers that the CPS worker gave him tell him that she’s fifteen. He tries to think who the mother of this girl could be. It was too early for both Talia and Selina, and the timeline doesn’t match with Vicky Vale either. He looks at her once more, and it hits him like a brick.

It couldn’t be. But also, it is the only possibility. He doesn’t want to believe his own mind, but logically he already knows who it is. Zatanna Zatara. It is impossible to ignore now: she looks exactly like her. A drop of sweat runs down his spine. Why didn’t she ever tell him?

Come to think of it, he hasn’t heard from the woman for fifteen years. His head hurt. Does that mean that Marinette has… No, it’s best to think about this later.

“Sir, are you okay?” she asks, seeing that he doesn’t seem responsive to her story. The sweet tone of her voice makes him feel another gut of pain in his chest.

He shakes his head. At that moment he realizes he hasn’t even told her his name. He wants nothing more than to dig a hole, crawl in it and die. He thankfully can’t hear Jim Gordon laughing his ass off in the other room, or else he would try to jump out of a window, no gear on.

“Yes, sorry. Call me Bruce, by the way. There’s no need for such formalities, I’m here to help.” He offers her a smile that looks so forced it could make her vomit.

She doesn’t look any better. “Can you help me go home, Bruce?” she pleads, eyes filled with tears and determination. Her voice, however, betrays her.

“I’ll see what I can do,” he replies. He needs to get out of here and fast. Bruce doesn’t know whether to strangle Jim Gordon or kiss him.

The contents of his stomach threaten to come out, and he quickly comes out of the room, trying to keep up his usual stoic demeanor. As he reaches Jim’s office, his eyes look bloodshot, and he has to consciously stop himself from trembling.

The old man is smiling smugly from his desk, and as he looks up from the paperwork he’s throwing around, he says: “So?”

Bruce tries his best to not scream, not yell at him ‘What the actual fuck, Jim?’, not throw the entire paper bin on the ground. His voice isn’t as cold as usual.

“Can we get a DNA test done?”

Jim’s laugh echoes in his ears, and it feels like mockery. Bruce desperately wishes he slept that night.

Sophie Dallway downs her coffee and makes her way to the room, a tad bit more awake than she was before. She looks at the necessary paperwork, and this looks like a complicated case, judging by how much she has to sign.

But as she pushes open the door, she’s met with silence. No one is there, Marinette Dupain-Cheng is gone. Bruce has already lost any trace of his daughter, mere minutes after meeting her.

#miraculous ladybug #marinette dupain cheng #bruce wayne #bio dad bruce wayne #maribat bio dad bruce #batman crossover #miraculous tales of ladybug and chat noir #ao3 fanfic #fanfiction #mlb #batman #dc

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mochinek0 · 1 year

Text

Daminette Decmeber 2022: 24-Joke (Meme)

Lila smiled as she sat on top of a red Chevrolet Corvette. It had been so easy to lie to Alya and tell her it was hers. It had been in the same place all week.

'This is going to show everyone I'm still relevant. Gabriel never should have let me go!'

Alya smiled as she quickly took pictures and then brought up her live feed to show how amazing her best frined was. There had been some haters on there criticizing her blog and saying mean things about her friend. She was about to prove them all wrong.

"Get off of my car, Lila!" a voice shouted.

Alya turned herself, with her phone, to see Marinette with her arms crossed and her hips cocked.

"Your car?" Alya shouted.

Lila laughed, "You would never be able to afford this car. You're just a baker's daughter."

Alya and Lila laughed. Marinette glared at the pair and pulled out her car keys. She waved the keys in the air, before pressing a button and showing who the true owner of the car was. Lila turned bright red, having her lie exposed by the same girl again.

"Get off my car, Liar, before I call the police on you." Marinette demanded.

Lila quickly got off the car.

"How can you afford something like this?" Alya asked.

"My husband got it for me for my birthday." Marinette smiled, "I doubt you'd be able to afford something like this."

"I'm a fashion model and designer for Gabriel!" Lila exclaimed, "I'm gonna be in the fashion show! He personally asked me to be his model in his collaboration with that new designer, Zara."

Mari laughed, "Oh yeah. You're definetly still a liar."

"I am not!" Lila cried.

Alya looked between the two and then down at her phone. She had forgotten she was live, but the comment section was flying! They were laughing.

"Fakers!"

"I told you that Lie-La girl was full of shit!"

"Have you looked up her other lies?"

"Did you hear her claim the car was hers?"

"Wasn't she fired from Gabriel?"

"Haven't seen her anywhere but on this blog."

"This isn't a live stream; It's a LIE stream!"

"LOL"

"HAHAHA"

"LMAO"

Alya glared at the comment section and quickly shut down the live stream.

"Marinette!" a familiar voice called.

"Adrien!" Marinette cried back, happily.

Adrien quickly hugged Marinette, "You think your husband would mind if you give me a ride to the fashion show?"

"Of course not." Mari smiled, "You're my model after all."

'Adrien's her model? What about Gabriel?'

Alya turned to Lila. She could see she was upset. Alya turned back to ask what was going on.

"Hands off my wife, Agreste!" another voice shouted.

Lila and Alya stared at the new man. He was tall, broad-chested, had olive skin, forest green eyes, and jet black hair. He was dressed in a black suit and tie.

'That's Marinette's husband?'

"Damian!" Marinette cried, quickly rushing over and kissing him, "Adrien needs a ride to the show. I can't leave my model behind."

Damain looked at Adrien, who was pleading. His eyes kept shifting to the other woman nearby.

"Fine." Damian stated.

"Yes!" Adrien shouted.

"Back seat!" the Wayne commanded.

Adrien smiled and saluted, "Yes, Sir!"

Marinette unlocked the car and Adrien was quick to jump into the back seat.

"Why don't you let me drive, Angel?" Damian asked, "I know your nerves."

Marinette handed the keys over. Both Waynes climbed into the front seat and drove off, without another word.

"Oh, no!" Lila quickly cried out, "I'm going to be late to the show! I have to be there early!" before running off.

Alya smiled, as she proudly showed off her media badge. She hated reporting fashion. She never had the passion for it, but Lila had helped her get the job. She couldn't wait to see her on the runway, but walk after walk, she saw didn't see her. She knew she had seen Natalie so that only confirmed that Gabriel and Adrien were backstage with Lila.

Alya smiled and quickly took pictures as Adrien walked out.

'There he is! Lila should be coming out next!'

Adrien stood at the end of the runway and picked up a mic.

"Let me introduce you to the one and only designer known as Zara!" he announced, "Marinette Wayne!"

Alya almost dropped her camera.

'No! No! That can't be! Lila wouldn't have lied to me! She told me she was working with Zara...but she also said that was her corvette. Lila....lied to me.'

"Thank you for all coming to the fashion event and we will see you all next year!" someone announced.

Alya quickly looked around. Marinette and Adrien had already left the runway. She looked around and saw that many people were getting out of their seats and heading next door to the after party. She had so many questions for them. Why had Lila not modeled? Why was Adrien working with Marinette and not his father? Lila had said that Adrien wasn't even speaking to Marinette; that he hated her, but that wasn't true from what she saw earlier.

Alya pulled out her phone and opened up her blog. Thousands of subscribers were gone. Her eyes teared up as she read the comment section.

"Thx @chuckleslamby for recommending me this blog!"

"OMG! Did you see that @FennicGod?"

"@TrashySpacePanda"

"@Spiltteacorner"

"That was as funny as they said it would be! LOL!"

"If you need a good laugh, always the best place!"

"Comedy blog GOLD!"

"Fake ppl who act like they know everything. Almost as good as the ppl who get karma!"

Alya bit her lip to keep herself from sobbing. These weren't the loyal followers she had expected. These were people who loved to laugh and make fun of her and Lila. They knew everything had been a lie up to now and she had been so blind to it all. That was the moment she knew that was why she didn't have a real journalist job.

Alya watched from nearby as Adrien spoke to Marinette and her husband, like nothing had ever changed, since college. She didn't know Marinette had gotten married. Gabriel Agreste was even talking to her like she was a big deal.

"I'm so proud to see the wonderful designer you have blossomed into." Gabriel spoke.

"We loved having you both at the wedding." Marinette smiled, "Thank you for helping me, again, with my wedding dress. You both have done so much for me."

Adrien hugged Marinette again, "I'd do anything for you."

Damian quickly pulled Marinette into his arms, "What you can do for me, is stop grabbing my wife."

Marinette giggled, "Adrien's always been a bit touchy with me." earning her husband's famous glare thrown Adrien's way, "Don't worry, Habibi. Adrien knows I can hurt him if he touches somewhere he's not suppose to."

"And your husband would kill me if I did." Adrien winced.

"True." Damian smirked.

"Adrien only gets hugs and head pats." Mari declared, "Besides, I'm sure Adrien will have a new person to hug and cuddle since he'll be an uncle."

Damian and Adrien looked at her confused.

"Congradulations." replied Gabriel.

"Thank you, Gabriel." Marinette answered.

Damian kissed her head, "You are 100% correct?"

Mari nodded and leaned intot her husband more.

"I don't get it." Adrien frowned.

The fashion designer chuckled, "I'm pregnant."

Adrien pulled her back into his arms and shouted, "I'm an uncle!"

Gabriel smirked as Damian rolled his eyes, before pulling Marinette back to his side.

"I'll help!" Adrien exclaimed, "I'll move to Gotham and-"

"You can help spoil, but I think that's it, as far as 'Uncle Duties' go." Marinette giggled, "Damian will be doing everything else."

"Right." Adrien blushed.

Nothing was like Lila had told her. Marinette was happy with her life. She had a loving husband and a child on the way. Adrien still seemed to be a big part of her life as a brother figure. Alya walked out of the party and saw Lila sitting on the steps, looking miserable.

"I should be happy you look like shit." Alya commented.

Lila turned and glared at her, as she sat on the steps in her glittery black corset dress.

'She's never looked at me like that before. Why? Is it because I know she lied to me?'

"It's what I should say for you lying to me so much." she stated.

Lila rolled her eyes, "What do you want then? A prize? A trophy? The 'You Fucked Up' award?".

'This isn't the Lila I know. This girl is bitter. Did she lie because she knew Marinette was happy? Is Lila unhappy? Did I ever know the real Lila?'

Lila sighed, "Like I told that bitch in college, I only tell people what they want to hear. It was easy to fool you all to doing what I wanted you to do. I didn't expect it to come to an end, tonight."

'A fool. That's all I am to her? Not even her best friend?'

"Including yourself?" Alya growled out, rushing back inside.

Lila stood up and began to walk home. Lila ignored the tears pouring down her cheeks.

'Yeah. I lie to myself the most.'

Lila had tried her hardest to get backstage and into the event, but had been caught by Gabriel Agreste. She had begged him to let her be in his fashion line. She never expected him to tell her he had signed over Gabriel to Marinette and merged the company, years ago. The Gabriel brand no longer existed; it was a apart of Zara, now. He couldn't pull any strings for her as Marinette and Adrien had restraining orders on her, he reminded her. Marinette ran the business, completely. She was the brains and artist behin the brand. He would submit deisgns every now and then, but other then that, he had been vacationing the last couple years.

Lila slumped against the door as she made her way into her apartment and sighed.

'So much for my grand re-entrance.'

TAG LIST: @maribat-calendar-events @animeweebgirl @a-star-with-a-human-name @meme991001 @vixen-uchiha @abrx2002 @alysrose-starchild @fandom-trapped-03 @dood-space @moonlightstar64 @saltymiraculer @marveldcedits20 @09shell-sea09 @icerosecrystal @animegirlweeb @insane-fangirl-of-everything @blueblossombliss @nickristus-dreamer @megawhitleycalderonpaganus

#daminette december 2022 #daminette december #lila rossi #alya cesaire #lila salt #alya salt #marinette dupain cheng #marinette wayne #adrien agreste #adrien sugar #damian wayne #lila rossi exposed #liar #consequences #failing blog #alya learns the truth #gabriel agreste #mochinek0

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