#So Marinette can get the spotlight? | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

lc-holy · 3 months

Text

Conférence Masterclass 808 (Translation)

I've taken the liberty of translating the conference that took place last year with the writing director of Miraculous (Sébastien Thibaudeau). It was only made public when someone posted a video of the conference a short while ago.

In this conference, Sébastien Thibaudeau will talk about the creation of Miraculous and his work on the series. He is joined by Chloé Paye, a new scriptwriter working on Miraculous season 6.

Sébastien talks a lot and repeats himself a bit, so the summary can be a bit confusing.

I strongly advise you to go and listen to the video if you understand French. There are a lot of details I'm going to leave out, and Sébastien is very funny.

Photo belongs to mlbfanfr on twitter.

Please be respectful in comments or tags. If you want to debate on things related to this conference, please make your own post. I apologize if there are any mistakes, I'm French and I'm not fluent in English.

-12 years ago, Sébastien arrived at Zagtoon, a studio that was just starting out and had yet to produce and broadcast any series. The producer (Jérémy Zag) and Sébastien hit it off and decided to start working together. Zag decides to give Sébastien total freedom over his projects. Sébastien then decides to put the spotlight on scriptwriters, because in this profession they are unfortunately poorly paid and never stay on the same projects.

So they produced a cartoon called Kobushi. A little-known series that did rather well, even if it didn't stay on the "Gulli" channel for long. The scriptwriters and producer were happy with the end result, as it was produced in a very short time.

Jeremy Zag then proposed another project, which he thought was quite good, but which he was unable to sell to broadcasters. At the time, the project was called "Ladybug". No one was interested, as the project was aimed more at an adult audience than a children's audience. Sébastien had to make sure that the project could be broadcast on Disney and TF1.

There was only a "trailer" also called "Ladybug" (but you'll find the video under the title Ladybug PV) animated by Toei animation. At the time, Sébastien had not yet been hired by Zagtoon. It was Jérémy Zag who convinced Toei animation to work with them (no mean feat, since Toei animation doesn't work with anyone).

So Sébastien started working with Thomas Astruc (the man who wrote and created the "Ladybug" project). At first, he didn't want to work on this project because he found it complicated. Thomas wanted to make a series for adults, but at the time, it was very complicated to make a cartoon for adults. What's more, they didn't have enough money to take on such a project. Sébastien finally agreed, but there were some changes to be made, which Thomas accepted.

-What Sébastien appreciated most in this project was the romantic comedy, the love square between the two main characters.

To meet the requirements of the cartoon industry, "Ladybug" had to be set in a neutral universe, in other words, in an imaginary country or the USA, but Zag, who loves Paris, declared that the cartoon had to be set in Paris.

In the end, Thomas Astruc's entire project was discarded, leaving only the love story between the two heroes and the city of Paris, where the story was to take place.

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

-Sébastien explains how he writes Marinette's first dialogues: He says he talks a lot in real life, so he writes Marinette like him. She says out loud whatever she's thinking.

For Chat noir, he makes him tell his father's jokes. Something TF1 doesn't accept. The TV channel went so far as to refuse to validate the Bible (a collection of information on the series and episodes) until it had removed the sentence: “Chat noir makes jokes”. Sebastien has therefore removed the sentence, but will continue to make Chat noir tell jokes.

-The writing director's job is to get the producer, creator and broadcaster to agree. The series broadcast on TF1 and Disney are very different. TF1 wants series whose story can be told in a single episode, unlike Disney, which wants series whose story spans several episodes.

Sébastien and TF1 agree that Miraculous will be a series with one story per episode, a "Formula Show".

He cites the example of Dora the Explorer episodes, where every episode is the same: Dora goes on an adventure from point A to point B, she has to find 3 clues, then she meets Swiper, she sings a song to make Swiper go away, she uses the talking map to get from one place to another, then Dora manages to get to point B and the episode ends.

This episode format is used for children, to give them a reassuring framework, as they build themselves up through repetition. That's why series like Dora work so well with young children.

So Sebastien sold the Miraculous series to broadcasters as a formula show. A person gets angry, is akumatized, then marinette transforms into Ladybug then frees the person from the akumatization and… The End.

It's also for this reason that Marinette tries to confess her love for Adrien in every episode, but is unable to do so.

But he tried to go against what he had planned with TF1, by slipping little extra stories into certain episodes. Audiences were receptive to these slightly hidden stories. The TV channel even asked Sébastien if there really were hidden things in the series, but he denied everything. Thanks to the positive reception from the public, TF1 agreed to develop the characters of Marinette and Adrien and flesh out the universe a little more.

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

-Once the bible is written, they have to write a script. But first Sébastien, as writing director, needs to know the mood of the series, and to do this he calls on Thomas Astruc, the series creator. Thomas is a great fan of classical painting. A single painting can tell a complex scene with lots of detail. He wants the episodes of miraculous to be like these paintings, there will be very few shots, but in a single shot a lot will happen.

-Sébastien explains that one of the things Thomas wanted to convey in the series was emotion. They didn't want to do what a lot of children's cartoons do, which is to beat the bad guys and win at the end of the episode. They wanted to tell kids that it's normal to have negative emotions. We can also become better people, learn from our mistakes and so on. It also reassures TV channels by setting up scenes that are repeated in every episode: people get angry, people akumatize then people deakumatize, end of episode...

Once the TV channels had been reassured, they set about writing a script.

-Sébastien asks Thomas to write the ending, as they're not sure the series will work. They also wondered what the aim of the series was, and what they wanted to say to the children. The two of them sat down in an office and wrote the ending, which turned out to be just the end of an arc. He even adds that now that they've written a lot more, it's important for them to write in advance so that everything is clear to them.

-The first season was written by 19 authors, from home. He found it interesting that the series was written by several different authors, even if some of them didn't quite understand the premise of the series. One episode that Sébastien particularly appreciated was written by two “autrices” (I think it's weird to say “two female authors”, so I'll use the French word): the refletkta episode, with the story of Juleka who couldn't get into the photos. (Note that all the episodes were proofread by Sébastien and Thomas).

After that, they kept a few people on to work together on the scripts for subsequent seasons.

Sébastien explains that he keeps a close eye on the production of the episodes, to make sure that everything that goes into the picture is as faithful as possible to what they've written in the script.

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

-The kwamis exist thanks to Toei, who wanted funny little animals to sell plush toys. So the scriptwriters had to find a way to integrate kwamis into the story.

-(Again, Sébastien advises people to check out the Kobushi series if they can still watch it somewhere, or ask the leaker who leaked the whole of season 5 to give them the episodes (that's a joke, of course)).

-Sébastien talks about the Ikari gozen episode, which could have been a total failure because the storyboarder didn't fully understand the scenario. Sébastien asks Zag to redo the storyboard, which will add 10 weeks to the episode's deadline. The storyboarder admits that he's always done storyboards mechanically, without worrying whether the episode is good or not, whether the jokes are funny or not. Eventually, the episode was redone by the same storyboarder, resulting in the episode we all know today.

- They still have a lot to tell with Miraculous, to the point where they're wondering if they'll have enough seasons to tell everything they want to tell. Sebastien says there will be a season 6 and 7, and probably a season 8 and 9.

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

- Chloé Paye met Sébastien when she was looking for an internship. She had never worked in animation, and knew nothing about Miraculous. She tells us how the scriptwriting team works. Each time, all the scriptwriters in the room have to be convinced of the script. They can sometimes spend hours on details to get everyone to agree.

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

- The driving force behind the series is that there must always be a secret between Marinette and Adrien. The lovesquare can never be broken, otherwise there's no series. Sébastien knows that some people are worried about this. Will they continue the lovesquare for another 4 seasons or more? How will they evolve? Sébastien says not to worry, they know where they want to go.

-It takes them 14 to 16 months to produce an episode, but it's often much longer due to unforeseen circumstances. And they don't work on one episode at a time, but on several at the same time. One episode takes a long time because of the 3D animation.

One of the things that's complicated with Miraculous 3d animation is that they can only display 3 characters at a time on screen, whereas the series requires them to display many more characters. It's also very difficult to correct animation errors, as this takes a lot of time.

-The TV networks were very surprised by the success of miraculous. They didn't think adults and children alike would watch the series. The TV channels were a little confused because they usually make series for a specific age group, but since miraculous had people of all ages watching, they weren't sure what to do.

- Sébastien says he's very happy that miraculous inspires a lot of people to create things, like writing fanfiction, however he's not interested in it because he doesn't want to be influenced by certain fans who would love to see certain things in the series.

- Writing direction also means paying attention to how the characters speak. They all have their own way of speaking. For example, Adrien will never say "j’te parle", but rather "Je te parle".

- During the writing process, the writers sometimes act out scenes to make the dialogue more natural. This is what happened with the episode "Gang of secrets". They felt that, with the success of the show and the pressure it was generating, they needed to write something to relieve their stress. So they wrote about Marinette and the enormous pressure she was under to keep all her secrets. The final scene, in which Marinette tells Alya that she's Ladybug, came naturally when they performed it together.

#miraculous ladybug #ml writing team #Conférence Masterclass 808

591 notes · View notes

mostmagical · 12 days

Text

Pairing: Stranger/Stranger (Adrinette, but they don't know that) Words: 4k Summary:

“Can I kiss you?” It's costume theme night at the local bar, and Marinette finds herself a bit entranced by a pretty stranger wearing cat ears. She thought she would be content just watching, until Alya suggests she asks for just a little bit more.

Marinette chewed on the edge of her fingernail, trying not to be too obvious as she peered across the bar at the stranger on the corner.

They had met on the dance floor not too long ago, and she had been having trouble looking away ever since. He was attractive, despite the obnoxious cat-eared beanie tight over his blond hair, drawing her towards him in a way she really hadn’t felt in, well, ever. At least, not towards someone she barely knew. Not since the breakup.

The liquid in his delicate cocktail glass was dyed pinker by the spotlight he stood under, so she couldn’t tell if he was actually drinking anything as passion fruit-flavored as the color, or if it was just straight liquor. Her breath caught as he removed his hand from the water-beaded surface, lifting it to adjust the thick-rimmed specs he wore and reminding her of the sparkling green eyes she’d spied earlier.

Blond hair. Green eyes.

She wondered if it was some cosmic joke that this always happened to her.

Even the cat ears were suspect, but she was trying her best not to acknowledge that.

A hand landed on her arm, and she jumped before realizing it was Alya returning from the bathroom.

“Still staring?” Alya asked. She had forgone her eye glasses that night for the sake of ‘accuracy,’ providing Marinette a clear view of the humor glittering through her friend’s hazel eyes.

Marinette sputtered, readjusting the skewed heart-shaped sunglasses over the bridge of her nose. “Wh– What? Staring? Staring at who– I mean— Staring at what? Because obviously I’m not staring and even if I was I wouldn’t be staring at anyone, certainly not anyone handsome and charming and—”

Alya interrupted Marinette’s spiral with a laugh. “Right, right, right.” She shook her head, the red curls bouncing across her bare shoulders. “You weren’t staring at the guy you danced with earlier, and you haven’t been nervous and jittery ever since. I imagined all of it.”

“Yes.” Marinette nodded sagely. “Thank you, exactly. It was all in your head.”

Alya simply hummed, turning to get the bartender’s attention and ordering the two of them another round. With her friend distracted, Marinette couldn’t help but let her eyes wander again. The stranger was now scrolling through his phone. Oh no. Was he calling a taxi? Checking train schedules? Was he leaving?

Pain blossomed over her thumb and the taste of metal hit her tongue as she bit down just a bit too hard.

“Marinette!” Alya hissed, pulling Marinette’s hand away from her mouth and quickly wrapping it in a cocktail napkin. “What are you doing to yourself? Do you want to get kicked out?”

She was sober enough to feel the embarrassed flush cover her cheeks. “Sorry.”

Alya’s barely concealed eye roll was colored with humor. “You should just go over and talk to him.”

Marinette blinked owlishly. “And say what?”

“Ask him for a kiss.”

“What?!” She knew her shriek was loud enough to disturb the patrons on either side of them at the bar, but all she could hear over the pounding of the bass was the blood roaring in her ears. “Why would I do that?”

Alya just laughed. “Look at you” —she waved a hand at Marinette’s napkin wrapped finger— “biting through your nails because you can’t stop thinking about how hot you are for him.”

“I– I–” Marinette faltered, her mouth feeling like it was stuffed with cotton the more she tried to move it. “I am not.” At Alya’s raised eyebrows, she tried and failed to come up with another reason why not. “I– You know I’m not like that!”

“Normally, yeah,” Alya replied, shrugging, “but there’s nothing wrong with having a little fun, just this once.”

Marinette swallowed.

“And have you ever been so attracted to a stranger in your life?” Alya continued. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this wound up. Not since Adrien, or Luka, or– actually–” She stuck a finger in the air as if the thought had just struck her from above. “No, not Luka; it’s more like with Chat N–”

“Stop stop stop!” Marinette cut her friend off, throwing a hand over her mouth to stop up the words.

Alya licked her palm in objection.

“Ew! Hey!”

“You are so silly, M,” Alya laughed as Marinette pulled her hand away and dramatically wiped it on her shirt. “It’s not weird to have a crush on a superhero.”

Marinette chewed her lip, traces of the watermelon drink she’d had hours ago still tasting in the corner of her mouth. “You know it was more than that.”

A hand patted her shoulder. “Of course I do, but the point still stands.” Alya grinned, as sly as her own superhero persona would imply. “You deserve one night to not care. Treat yourself. You need to cut loose after, well, you know.”

Marinette couldn’t deny that since she had presented it, Alya’s idea was sounding more and more appealing. Though maybe that was the vodka talking. Or the desperation.

“He sure seems like your type after all,” Alya pressed, squinting her eyes as she studied him. “Tall, pretty, charming... blond.”

“Green eyes, too,” Marinette added, despite herself.

“What?” Alya laughed. She reached out a hand, flicking the frame of Marinette’s sunglasses playfully. “You could tell through these bright pink abominations?”

Her face warmed in embarrassment. “I may have, sorta, practiced discerning colors on my posters of Adrien with them before,” she admitted. She lifted her shoulders in a shrug. “His eyes look the same.”

Alya laughed again, full and delighted. “Marinette! Oh, there’s no one like you,” she said, grinning. “Now you really have to do it. I’m convinced it’s fate.”

It did feel almost divine.

Alya squinted once more, and Marinette wished her friend had listened to her when she told her to wear her glasses anyway. “He even kinda looks like—” She cut herself off with a hum, shaking her head. “You deserve to get out there again anyway. It’s been ages and I kinda think you need a rebound.”

Marinette wasn’t sure if she fully agreed with that statement, but she wasn’t exactly in the mood to broach the subject and down the mood.

“What if he laughs in my face?” she asked instead, sticking her lip out in a pout. It was meant to look cute, so maybe Alya wouldn’t push so much, but the fear was very much real. Sure, she and the stranger had had an amazing conversation, and their chemistry had been more intoxicating than her drink, but he was still that— a stranger. There was no telling what might happen if she walked up to him and asked for something so daring as a kiss.

“Marinette, look at me,” Alya said, placing both hands on either of Marinette’s shoulders. “You are hot. You are cool. And he is totally into you.”

Was there any explanation for the way her heart leapt straight out of her chest?

“Into me?” Marinette repeated. “What makes you say that? Are you sure?”

Alya smirked dangerously. “Well, don’t look now, but I may have caught him taking a few glances over here while your back was turned,” she explained.

Marinette, of course, looked. Her head turned at just the precise moment to catch his gaze in her own, and sure enough, the stranger’s jaw momentarily dropped upon making eye contact. He recovered quickly with a sweet smile, raising his glass in a cheers motion from across the bar.

Alya sighed, shaking her head. “Well, at least there’s another sign for you,” she said, amused. Grabbing Marinette’s shoulders again, Alya turned her back around to look at her face-to-face. “See? Repeat after me: I am hot.”

A bit dazed from the encounter, Marinette could do nothing else but exactly what Alya asked. “I am hot,” she repeated.

“I am cool,” Alya continued.

“I am cool.”

“He is into me.”

She choked, the last phrase a little rougher on liftoff than the others. “He is, guh– into me.”

“One more time, all together.”

Marinette closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath. She regretted it, as the smell of sweat and hops stung her nose. But the intake of air managed to ground her, all the same.

“I am hot. I am cool,” she chanted. “He is into me.”

“Yes!” Alya cheered. “Good job!”

The mantra was like a magic spell. Marinette opened her eyes, suddenly energized. Her stomach pitched a little, but it was full with excitement.

“Two cognacs,” the bartender announced, jolting Marinette from her reverie.

“Merci!” Alya picked up a glass, pressing it into Marinette’s hands with cool insistence. “Drink this, and then get over there!”

Marinette obliged, downing the drink in two big swigs. The alcohol no longer burned the back of her throat, settling in her stomach with a pleasant warmness. She replaced the glass on the bar with a firm clink, then sucked in another deep breath, wiping her upper lip with the back of her hand.

“Okay,” she said under her breath, hyping herself up. “Okay!”

“Go!” Alya gave her one more push, spinning Marinette around and pressing the heel of her hands into her shoulder blades. “Your prince charming awaits,” she sang.

Marinette stumbled forward, unsteady from Alya’s shove, but she quickly regained her bearings. Her blood pumped faster in her veins as she approached the other end of the bar. She swore she could feel every fingertip throbbing with her own pulse as she got closer.

Just a little kiss.

Plenty of people did that.

(Although, it wasn’t something she had ever considered doing herself.)

It wasn’t... weird to ask.

And like Alya had said, he was into her. The stranger probably felt the exact same magnetism she had. He would want to kiss her.

Right?

Steeling her nerves, she stood behind him, watching him swirl the liquid around in his glass. His head tilted towards where Alya stood by her lonesome on the other side of the bar, and Marinette’s heart skipped a beat in her chest as she wondered if he might be looking for her.

She smoothed down the synthetic purple wig as best she could, and adjusted the collar of her leather jacket. She almost wished she could dart off to the bathroom for a final appearance check, but she knew she would lose all her built-up confidence if she did. With butterflies brushing the insides of her tummy, she reached out a hand, tapping him twice on the shoulder.

The stranger turned, and she thought she might let herself believe his face really brightened when he saw her.

Nervously, she waved. “Hi.”

“Hey, Clara,” he said in a soft voice, somehow still audible over the loudspeakers. His smile was sweet and reserved. Her throat tightened up. “I was hoping you’d want to talk again.”

Marinette felt like the breath was stolen right out of her lungs. “You– You did?”

A hand reached behind the back of his neck in what must have been a nervous tick— yet another similarity to more than one of the loves of her life, oddly enough. “Yeah, I mean—” Was that a hint of red on his cheeks, or were her glasses fogging up again? “You– Uh, I loved dancing with you.”

The smile pinched her cheeks. “I loved dancing with you, too,” she said. “I had a lot of fun.”

“Wait a second,” Marinette said, her mind finally catching up to the last 60 seconds. “You called me Clara. I didn’t—?”

His mouth twitched into a grin. “Your outfit,” he pointed out. “Inspired by Clara Nightingale, right? From the ‘Heartbreak Disco Baby’ video?”

“You recognize it?”

The stranger’s face seemed to light up, even in the darkness of the bar. “Of course!” Marinette watched agape as his eyes scanned up and down her body, dare she say, appreciatively. “I’ve only watched that video about a million times and this is a perfect recreation.”

Pride swelled in her chest at the praise. “Thank you,” she replied. “I do take my costuming very seriously. My best friend even dressed to look like Sonia Auclair from that video.” She gave her loose hair a flip over her shoulder as she took the moment to seize up his outfit as well. “And you are—”

“Dressed at the very last minute,” he supplied bashfully. “I wasn’t exactly planning to come out, but luckily I had this beanie.”

“It suits you.”

His smile seemed genuine at her compliment. “You really think so?” he laughed, playing with the edge of the material. “Thanks.”

He was adorable. She bit her lip against the rising heat on her face.

“Heartbreak Disco Baby,” he repeated thoughtfully. “That doesn’t mean you’re a little heartbroken, are you?”

Adorable and considerate.

Now or never, she thought.

“Can I kiss you?”

As soon as the words left her mouth, her chest seized up. She said that. Oh god. She really said that.

The stranger’s face blazed a delightful shade of red, and Marinette wondered if they would match or clash were someone to compare the two of them. “Sorry,” he coughed. “I think I might have misheard you?”

She could run away. Back out right now, and save herself the mortification. Unfortunately, a flash of movement on the other side of the bar caught her attention, and she was met by Alya fluttering her fingers across the way. Marinette forced down a swallow.

“I asked to kiss you,” she repeated clearly.

When he only continued to stare at her, face crimson and eyes wide, Marinette slipped dangerously close to panic mode.

“Forget it!” she practically screeched. “You don’t have to do that—” She cut herself off with an awkward laugh. “I just— whew! Is it hot in here? I just— My friend over there told me I need to cut loose, and she told me to just go for it because I, well, I mean you’re very pretty— and we had chemistry…? Oh god, I said that— I mean, no, I stand by that, we do—” She covered her mouth, eyes wide in horror over her spew. “I swear I haven’t had that much to drink,” she admitted, rubbing her temples. “Sorry, I’ll go.”

“Okay.”

Marinette froze, slowly drawing her gaze away from the floor and back to the stranger’s face. “What?”

He rubbed the back of his neck again, the redness of his face having faded to a lovely pink that blended with the colored shades of her glasses. “Okay,” he said again. “I’ll kiss you.”

“You- You– uh. . .” Words didn’t seem to want to come to her rescue.

Luckily, the stranger did. He eased off away from the bar, facing her fully as he took her limp hand in his. With a gentle tug, he guided her to step closer towards him. “Is this okay?” he asked, his warm tone sending her heart fluttering.

She nodded almost too vigorously before she finally managed to rouse her tongue. “Yes, yes, it’s okay.”

This close, she could smell his cologne, a cluster of warm linens and nutmeg that sent a pang of recognition down her spine. His chest was firm and radiated a comfortable warmth that Marinette felt she could fold into. She followed his eyes as they dropped down to her mouth and back up again. Goosebumps raised over her skin as his hand glided up her arm, his face an image of patience. Until it changed to panic.

“Wait, oh no,” he gasped. “You’re not–”

“What?” She tilted her head in confusion, not really sure where this reaction had come from.

His mouth was a worried line. “Have you been drinking?” he asked. “Because I’m sober, and I don’t want to be taking advantage of you–”

Marinette cut him off with a snort. “I promise you, I am completely of sound mind, when I do this.”

Riding the sudden wave of confidence, Marinette mirrored his earlier movements, allowing her hand to trail up his arm and over his neck, warm skin beneath her fingertips. As she gently cupped his cheek with her palm, she pressed up on her tiptoes, rocking forward to sear her lips to his.

His breath fanned her mouth as he gasped into it, truthfully without a hint of the taste of alcohol, and his lips were pleasantly warm and plush against hers. She found herself quickly sinking into it, especially as a hand landed on her lower back and held her steady. Her other hand dove into the hair at the back of his neck, teasing the soft strands in rhythm with the glide of their kiss.

It was more than sparks and explosions and fire— all things she never expected she would feel while kissing a complete stranger.

She couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something achingly familiar— comfortable, her mind supplied— about the pressure of his mouth on hers, and the little hums she could feel vibrating over her skin. Despite herself, she cracked open her eyes and studied his face as he continued to kiss her.

Green eyes. Blond hair. Cat ears, puns, those lips. Her heart almost seemed to stop as she realized she knew exactly why the sensation was so familiar. She had felt this kiss before. It could only be Chat Noir, she realized, warmth flowing between her shoulder blades.

She pulled away, just a centimeter to breathe between them. “Mon Chaton?”

He blinked open dazed eyes, blinking at her as if waking up from a dream. “Chaton?” he repeated. His eyes widened. “My Lady?” His voice was breathier than she was used to hearing it, and it sent a thrill up her spine.

“It’s you.” She almost wanted to laugh. “No wonder we fit so well together.”

It only took a few seconds for her partner to recover from his dreamlike state. He grinned his cat-like grin. “We’ve always been the purrfect team, after all.”

“Oh my god,” Marinette groaned, pressing her lips to his once more to shut him up. However, his mouth remained shockingly slack against hers. She pulled back. “What’s wrong?”

Seemingly dumbfounded, he replied, “You kissed me again.”

Oh god. Oh, god. He didn’t want to kiss her now that he knew. She was such an idiot.

“I’m so sorry.” Hastily, she tried to push away from his chest, only for him to grab her wrists and prevent her escape.

“Wait, no. I just–” His mouth worked wordlessly, endless green eyes searching her own. “Are you sure you want to be kissing me? What about—”

“Adrikins!”

Marinette froze in place, the familiar voice sending a chill up her spine— one that was cold and bruising, rather than warm and thrilling tingles that her partner had sent up and down her back all night.

Her hands went limp, still caught in Chat Noir’s hold, as the spray-tanned arms of Chloé Bourgeois wound around his neck.

Chloé, dressed in a flowing gown that did not at all match the whimsical costumes in the bar, immediately launched into complaints, current company left unnoticed, or rather ignored. “Thank god, I finally found you,” she cooed. “I can’t believe you left me there with that cousin of yours and Tsurugi. Ugh.”

A pained expression flashed Marinette’s way before her partner turned his head to meet Chloé’s powder blue eyes. “You had Zoé, too, didn’t you?” he asked her.

“Ugh, you know I would rather it be just us two.”

Marinette was rooted to the spot. It felt as though her brain was misfiring in about a billion directions. And yet, somehow all those directions ended at the exact same destination: the stranger before her.

A stranger, she was realizing, that was not so strange after all.

In fact, this was probably a person she knew better than she ever thought she had.

Because if she added everything she knew up, carried the two, and multiplied by three, well...

It seemed like Chat Noir was Adrien Agreste and the two (three...?) loves of her life were actually just one.

Nervous green eyes peeked at Marinette, as if to check that she was still there. The redirection of his— Adrien’s, oh god— attention finally drew Chloé’s eyes east, and if Marinette thought she could make it out of this easily, she was quickly corrected when an appalled groan filled the air.

“Dupain-Cheng?” Chloé stuck her nose up in the air, somehow glaring at Marinette through only the corner of her eye. “What are you doing with her? I thought you two broke up.”

“It’s complicated,” Marinette said, at the same time Adrien burst out “Marinette?”

She took one look at his face before immediately casting her eyes away again, an angry red blush overtaking her cheeks.

What the hell what the hell what the hell.

She found herself almost wishing for an akuma alert to save her. Except, no. No, she didn’t, she realized, because she would still have the same man right there with her.

“Marinette?” Adrien repeated again, voice sounding almost far away, even in a room where her ears were already blocked from the loud music.

Shyly, she met his pleading eyes, pushing her sunglasses back up and onto the top of her head. His jaw all but dropped open as he watched her, recognition flitting through his eyes.

They were quite the pair, weren’t they? Marinette could have laughed. A pair of glasses and neither realized that they were talking to their own ex. And the fact that she had recognized Chat Noir’s kiss, but not Adrien’s... No. Nope. Not going to unpack that.

Chloé glanced between them, a look between disgusted and bored plastered across her face. “What’s with that reaction?” she asked. “Listen, if you’re getting back with this weirdo, I–”

“Chloé!”

Marinette had no idea where Alya had appeared from, but she had never been so happy to see her best friend throw an arm over the other girl’s shoulder. Chloé physically recoiled under Alya’s touch, attempting to lean away, but to no avail.

“Césaire,” she grunted.

Alya grinned, unbothered by the less-than-enthusiastic response. “Oh my god, it really is you! I could barely tell; forgot my glasses, silly me. How’ve you been?” she asked. “I want to hear all about the new campaign.” Over her shoulder, she threw Marinette a wink.

The realization that Alya was providing her a way out burst across Marinette’s skin. In a flash, she had wrapped her hand around Adrien’s wrist, bodily dragging him through the crowd and away from their classmates. He came along willingly, only slowing down to dodge around drunk patrons that stepped between them.

Eventually they found themselves comfortably alone in a quiet hallway leading to the bathrooms. The hallway was much brighter than the main floor, illuminating all of Adrien’s features in a way that she couldn’t believe she had missed before. Marinette looked up at him in question, squeezing his wrist tight between her fingers. “When did you get back?” she asked, too desperate for the answer to pretend like she wasn’t.

He looked worried. “Just tonight. I– I wasn’t sure if you wanted to see me.”

“Of course I did,” she murmured. She realized she had said it too quietly to be heard over the speakers when Adrien kept going.

“Everyone was asking questions.” He pressed a hand against his forehead, twisting her heart with it. “And just talking so much about my dad and England and... I don’t know. I– I had to get out.”

Her breath caught. She began running her hand up and down his arm to try and soothe him, saying, “I know, kitty, I know.”

“Zoé mentioned you and that’s when I realized I had to make a break for it.” He ducked his head shyly. “I should have figured I’d run right towards you.”

Marinette huffed out a laugh, her earlier conversation with Alya about fate and divinity seeming oh so relevant now. She let her hands rest on both his cheeks. “Yeah, seems like we’ll always be in each other’s orbit, doesn’t it?” she asked. “I just can’t seem to ever let you go.”

His eyes went shiny, and she wondered if he was about to cry. “Do you really mean that?” he asked, covering her hands with his own.

Her shoulders dropped with the tension she had been carrying. “Of course I do,” she replied, running her thumbs over the dark circles beneath his eyes. “I’m sorry about that night. I just didn’t want you to leave and I didn’t know how to say it.”

“I didn’t want to leave either,” he said with a watery smile. “Are you disappointed you didn’t get to kiss a stranger?”

She used her thumb to brush one errant tear away from his eye. “Considering I’d rather be kissing you, anyway?” she teased. “No, I’m not disappointed at all.”

His mouth twisted into a wry grin. “Not even about...?” He glanced back and forth down the hallway, as if checking for any listeners, only to look back at her with just an eyebrow waggle to voice his concerns.

Marinette giggled again. “Come here, kitty.” With a gentle tug, she guided his face down to hers, kissing him all over again.

If you enjoyed, consider dropping a kudos or comment on Ao3! <3

#INEVITABILITY #ml fic #ml fanfic #adrinette #ladynoir #miraculous ladybug #miraculous #love square #marinette dupain-cheng #adrien agreste #adrienette #my writing #i almost tagged this demisexual marinette because i feel like it's implied but it's not stated.....#IDK IDK IDK…#my marinette always is though 😳

104 notes · View notes

ggomos-maribat · 8 months

Text

6 | in which he orders a strawberry lemonade and peach iced tea

Part 6 of No Mr. Wayne You Can't Adopt Me! | Masterlist

Marinette was reminded that she somehow had the phone numbers of the Wayne family members when Damian called on a Sunday morning. Rubbing sleep away from her eyes, she answered with her summoned 'PA' voice. "Good morning, Damian. What can I do for you?"

She could feel the wave of hesitance from the other end of the line. "Marinette. I didn't want to call suddenly on a weekend but . . ."

"If there is something you need, I'll be happy to help."

"I'll make sure to pay you—any price, you just name it." Damian sounded a little nervous. Her curiosity merely grew upon hearing it.

"Firstly, I don't want you to think that my time is easily bought with money like I'm some automated assistant—"

"I'm sorry—"

"Secondly," she sighed, "You don't have to offer me payment every single time you ask a favor, okay? I'll be happy to help regardless of the monetary compensation."

"Yes . . . alright, I understand."

"Now, what's the problem?"

Damian coughed lightly. "It's about the oil painting piece I'm working on. I considered it a preposterous idea to ask my siblings since they don't know a lick of art to offer good constructive criticism. I have no intentions of asking Father and I don't want to disturb Pennyworth. I thought perhaps someone with a good eye for artistry can advise me.

"I've finished my painting but I think something is missing from it . . . or something is wrong. Unfortunately, I will barely have any time to remake another one so I plan to salvage this one with the help of your criticism."

Damian Wayne asking for criticism. Huh. Marinette's eyebrows raised. He continued before she could speak. "I will send you a picture shortly or if it's favorable for your schedule, you may come to the manor to get a look."

"Nope."

"Excuse me?"

She swung her legs at the edge of the bed and stretched. "Here's what's going to happen. You're going to bring your painting to Gotham Park. Bring an easel if you can. And you're going to wait for me there and I'll tell you what I think. Got it?"

"But—"

"Okay, Damian?"

". . . Yes, okay."

***

Marinette couldn't help but skip along the path on her way to the park. Since it wasn't technically a work-related meetup, she had decided to wear a light summer dress matched with a coat, a beret, and a pair of boots. She wouldn't tell Damian, but she was flattered he chose to come to her for help. Proud even.

She kicked a pebble aside. That means I'll have to do my best then.

She suppressed a laugh seeing Damian sticking out like a gloomy sore thumb in the park. He was hunched over on a bench, with the easel and canvas in front of him but facing away from her.

"You look like a lost kitten." The comment drew a frown from his face.

"It's a simple critique," he said quietly, "Why do we have to be at the park for it?"

"You dare question my methods, Monsieur?" She puts a hand on her chest in mock offense. "Now let's see it."

He turned the easel around.

The image was easy to put together: it was a painting of Titus, curled up in a nap near a window which traced a path of light that illuminated him like a spotlight. The striking point was the overall style of the artwork—visible strokes of warm and cool colors, swirling lines as the texture of the window frame wood, and Damian's signature cleverly disguised into the rough carpeted floor. It was easily a magnificent piece, one that transported Marinette to that same spot in the manor and basked her in the same warmth.

From the corner of her eye, she could see Damian looking back and forth between her and the painting. She could feel his uneasiness, having felt uncertainties about her craft as well, like when a thread became annoyingly loose or a design wasn't quite satisfactory.

"You're right." She tapped on her chin. "It's awful."

He stared at her.

"The choice of the colors are so contrasting that they just end up looking muddy when combined." She pointed to a part of the canvas. "And those proportions on Titus are just unrealistic, the painting focuses too much on the two subjects: the dog and the window, that they outshine the details of the surroundings, and overall? It's boring. No emotion invoked at all. You said there's no time to redo it but you're honestly better off painting a new piece even if it ends up unfinished."

Marinette wished she could take a picture of Damian's unhinged jaw.

"That's not . . . it's not . . ." He looked at his work again. "The colors are meant to contrast and I made sure their combination isn't desaturated. Titus' proportions aren't an issue because the shadows and negative spaces fill in the missing shapes, the subjects are meant to stand out but the details are also exaggerated, and it's not boring—it is meant to appear subtle and simple."

He turned to her, scowling. "You of all people should also know that art doesn't necessarily invoke emotion, rather it is more important that the artist communicates their personal meaning and the audience finds their own interpretation—"

He stopped suddenly and took a good look at her smiling face. At last, the boy catches on, Marinette thought.

"Oh," he mumbled. "I see now."

She nodded. "I brought you out here because I guessed it's much better to look at it under natural light. No offense, but the manor barely gets any of that, especially if you're looking at it inside your room."

Damian touched the edge of the easel, as if connecting once more with his creation.

She inched closer to the painting, bending down a little to examine the finest details he added. "You said you felt something was missing but I think it's as complete as it could be. It's beautiful, Damian, really. I'm happy you let me look at it."

Pink. His ears are pink. Marinette fought off another smile.

"Thank you." Damian looked away. "I've been wondering for a long time what to do with it."

"Are you going to ask for it to be put in the manor gallery?"

"If Pennyworth approves, yes. After the exhibit."

Marinette pouted. "What do you mean 'if Alfred approves'? Of course he will! If not, I'll buy this painting myself!"

His eyebrows raised. "You must know Pennyworth has some criteria for the manor gallery. Mar'i's drawing has only been put on the refrigerator door."

She laughed at that, imagining the scenario play out between the girl and the butler. She let her joy subside when she noticed Damian glancing at a building next to the park. Following his gaze, she spotted a newly-opened store that sold bubble waffles and drinks.

"If you do not like monetary compensation," Damian began, "Perhaps a drink will be more favorable? I heard that the place is in its soft opening."

A smile slowly formed on her lips. "Damian Wayne, are you asking me out on a date?"

"It's not a date!" He hastily denied. "It's a repayment."

"Mmhmm, sure why not? It's getting hot anyways." She sat down on the bench, crossing one leg over another.

He told her to wait there before jogging towards the store. Marinette took more time to admire the painting. Based on Bruce's stories, a younger Damian wouldn't be the type to gently ask for critique, nor one to make sure he did a favor in return. There was even a chance that if she ever recounted the day to her boss, Bruce wouldn't believe any of it.

But if Damian's being all soft and gentlemanly, I've no problem with it, she mused. Minutes later, she got a message from him: a semi-blurred picture of the shop's menu. She aimlessly chose her order and waited some more. He returned not long after with two bright-colored drinks.

"Are you sure this isn't a date?" She asked again.

"A date would require at least one of us to harbor romantic feelings for the other," he told her. "Therefore, it is not a date."

Well no, a date can be a prelude to any romantic feelings, she wanted to argue. But instead, she leaned towards him and smirked the cheekiest of her smirks. "How sure are you that I don't have any romantic feelings for you?"

He choked on his drink.

Marinette let him recover as he dabbed the corner of his mouth. "You have not given indication that you do." He avoided her eyes. "Also, you are legally not allowed to."

"Pfft, my contract with Mr. Wayne says 'thou shall not enter into a relationship with any of the Wayne children'." Her grin is stuck like glue to her face. "Not 'thou shall not flirt with Mr. Wayne's cute son.'"

"But—you . . . what . . . Why would you find me 'cute'?"

"I just do," she replied. "Why do you find Titus cute? Alfred the Cat?"

Damian started sputtering uncharacteristically, barely getting a coherent phrase out.

"Oh, you are just so fun to tease, Damian."

He scoffed loudly, then sipped more of his lemonade. "I'm glad I provide entertainment to your bland life, Ms. Dupain-Cheng."

"Yeah, thanks for that!"

It seemed that he couldn't top her comebacks so he changed the subject. "Finish your drink quickly. I'll take you home."

"A ride home!" Marinette gasped. "This is a date!"

"It's common courtesy. Pennyworth will be disappointed with me if I don't make sure you get home safe."

***

That same night, Marinette was delighted to see that the weather stayed fair, and the sky cloudless. Instead of taking her motorbike, she opted to take a stroll to her favorite fabrics shop a few blocks away from her apartment. Luckily her patterns of choice were all available despite being hard to get.

Unluckily, she noticed shadows following her as she heavy-lifted three bolts down the street.

Marinette tugged down her cap. She was close—just a hair's breadth—to saying, 'It's a bit too late to be stalking your assistant on her way home, don't you think Mr. Wayne?'

But she held onto her tongue and stopped at a well-lit area to glare at the big furry following her. "To what do I owe the pleasure, Batman?" She huffed at him.

Batman coughed, shielding himself with the darkness. "I need to talk to you."

She peered at the bright colors hiding behind him, sporting curious gazes filled with both wonder and excitement. "If it’s only you who needs to talk to me, why is the entire flock here?"

Actually, the others didn't even bother to hide. Black Bat was hugging the lamppost, Spoiler bounced on her heels and Red Robin carried a professional camera. Heck, even Red Hood was there, even though Crime Alley was miles away from the area.

She could feel the exasperation radiating off him, a truly tired parent, as he turned around to give his children vigilante partners a Look™️. In a second, they all grappled upwards, perching on their respective ledges and balcony railings as if they were an eager audience to a performance. (Marinette didn't miss the way Robin glanced her way before he went away).

Marinette arched an eyebrow. "So?"

Batman coughed. That awkward cough Bruce also does. Seriously, how come the world doesn't know his identity yet? "I would like to apologize. For intruding the office and catching you off guard and . . . throwing my weapon at you."

She gave it a minute. Just full silence and a hard stare.

Just to make him squirm.

"Okay," she said slowly. "And why did you think it was a good idea to do this in an empty street at twelve am?"

"You shouldn't be out so late at night anyways."

"What was that?"

". . . Nothing."

Stifled laughter rang from above.

She frowned. "Did Mr. Wayne agree to this? Couldn't you have done this at, I don't know, back in the office where it's safer and less creepy?"

"Wayne said you don't have overtime anymore this month," Batman grumbled.

"What, like you can't drop by during the day? No don't tell me—" She paused. "You're allergic to sunlight!"

He shifted from one foot to another. "Hn. I am not."

"You're a vampire."

"No."

"Don't worry, I won't tell." If her sore arms weren't occupied at the moment, she would've made a zipping motion with her fingers. Seeing Bruce in the spotlight of embarrassment was enough to make up for the incident. "Look at the time, I need to go now."

"We can escort you—"

"No thanks," she declined sharply while walking away. "Don't follow me home or else I'll personally ask Mr. Wayne to put a restraining order on all of you."

Marinette stopped again, remembering something, and without missing a beat, plucked something out from her sweatpants pocket. She grinned. "You forgot this."

With a flick and whoosh, the Batarang sailed towards the vigilante and stuck atrociously to the ear of his cowl.

#maribat fic #maribat fanfic #dc x mlb #mlb x dc #maribat #dc x miraculous #NMWYCAM #PA!Marinette #daminette #maribat damian wayne #damian x marinette

353 notes · View notes

theerurishipper · 4 months

Note

Am I selfish for wishing Marinette wasn't the protagonist? She doesn't really connect to the plot besides her love arc and I don't find it that interesting. Like a lot of female protagonists like the cast of Totally Spies the girls force to work for Jerry, or Bloom finding she's a fairy and has the dragon flame or Iris from lolirock who finds out she's Princess of Ephedia. Like you have all these ladies who's arc isn't just connected to just love like it's part of it but romance isn't central to their character they have more to them.

Like it's so weird honestly because I never really knew of a protagonist who just didn't connect with the story instead the secondary character has. His father the villain, he has fans and many who crush on him, he's a model but he's secretly also the famed ChatNoir, he's an abused child who want their parent attention, rich, and a little behind when it comes to social cues. Like? Are we sure he's not the protagonist is that why the show gives him such little contributions and makes others take what he's deserves. Like the book from early on s2, felix finding out his mother in the basement, Kagami learning early on the whole agreste situation and doing a whole play in front of Ladybug with Felix to convey the situation.

She's in every episode most MC's aren't always there sometimes they leave for an episode or two or have someone take the spotlight but she is there 24/7. Like I kinda want to know another character for a chance because I already gauged enough of her character to know romance is all there is to her lol. I don't know can't we have an Adrien central episode, Alya, Kagami, hell even Luka?

No wonder I think the cast are so bland to me because they just appear we don't really know them personally besides if they get akumatized.

Marinette to me is like if we're seeing the blushing female girl and the entire show from a Hinata perspective in Naruto just there to pine for a boy who aren't even that close.

You're not selfish for that, anon. We all have our different tastes. Personally, I like Marinette as the protagonist, but we all have different likes and dislikes.

I will say that the writing for Marinette as a protagonist is pretty lacking though. She doesn't have any connection to the main plot on her own and can only have any relevance in the final battle of her show by taking the place of some other character. The show is literally allergic to taking the focus off her for more than five seconds. Plenty of shows that have a single character as their main lead also devote few episodes to the developing the side characters.

For example, a superhero show like Miraculous would usually have an episode where Ladybug is incapacitated, and Chat Noir has to do the saving. But Miraculous can't handle not having Marinette be the one to save the day at all times, so Chat Noir is just always reduced to being the sidekick or the one who gets caught and has to have Ladybug save him. Like, even in episodes where it seems like Chat Noir will have a larger role to play, the writers can't help but have it be Ladybug who saves the day in the end. Even in episodes that seem like they are going to focus on Adrien, Marinette will have some B plot shoehorned in that will take over the entire episode until it seems like Adrien's conflict is the actual B plot.

Like you said, it's not wrong for the protagonist to take a step back in a few episodes and let the supporting characters shine. Miraculous' habit of shoving Marinette into the resolution for every other conflict but her own is detrimental to both her own character and every other character. It's just bad writing, honestly.

Thank you for your ask!

#ML Salt #ML Writing Salt #ML Writers Salt #Marinette Salt #Asks #Meta #My meta

78 notes · View notes

abittersweetraisin · 11 months

Text

Whenever i talk in favor of Chloé there have always been people telling me how she did nothing to deserve the miraculous, that she doesn't deserve a redemption, that she never showed any signs of wanting to be better. I don't agree and in this post i go in detail on why.

Since day one they've written her as a horrible person and I've never denied that. But i do say that there have been more than just signs of her being written as someone who could be better. I'm just not being blinded by hate. Let's recap some episodes... I'll try to be as brief as possible.

-Despair bear. How many of us know someone stinking rich? Maybe just from the distance? Do you really think that rich people allows their employees to talk to them the way Chloe's butler talked to her in that episode? Sure, when Chloé felt humiliated she yelled at him, but that doesn't take away that she had allowed him to get emotionally close to her. He knew her, what she had lived and how she felt. And she listened to him.

People say that her effort in this episode doesn't count because she only did it because it was convenient for her. She cared about Adrien. Even then it shows good in her. She cared about him. Adrien. Not his money, not his position, not his fame. This goes against what the writers forced on her later on season 3 finale when they said she only loved herself. - Zombizou. Oh, i love this one. People saying that she only apologized to Miss Bustier because of Chat Noir and Ladybug were there. Apologized only so she could get her miraculous again. Look at her facial expressions:

She even felt self conscious when she noticed Ladybug and Chat Noir watching them. And that wasn't an act. The character's acting is supervised by the show's director. Look how the show portrays when someone is lying, here is Lila in Protection:

And it's more than just the visuals. Go watch the episodes, listen to the music. Chloé apology do was sincere. I've also been asked "Then why didn't she apologize to Marinette?" Well, a truly shoehorned redemption arc would had her changing just like that, from one moment to the next. It feels more natural if it happens little by little, step by step.

-Malediktator. Last week i showed a video of Marinette choosing to trust Chloé with her miraculous. Let's now take a look at this scene:

Again, look at her facial expressions. She dreamed of being a hero along side Ladybug. She was so into the moment that she almost slammed against the chimney. She admired Ladybug. She wanted to be her. That was shown since season 1:

Again, more than once i've been told she only wanted the spotlight and Queen Wasp is brought as the source for that. Have we forgotten the Queen Wasp episode or are we choosing not to see what happened back then? Audrey couldn't even remember her daughter's name. She was praising Marinette, offering her the opportunity of a life time. Offering to take her to New York with her, when she hadn't even taken her own daughter with her. May the first stone be cast by whoever wouldn't truly feel jealous and hurt by something like that. Chloé had tears in her eyes. Audrey said the only exceptional thing about Chloé was being her daughter. Chloé replied (and i quote): "I'll show you how exceptional i can be!". It was then that she transformed into Queen Bee for the first time and it was after that that she did the thing where she put the train in danger so she could be the hero to save everyone. Wrong, yes. But again, this was a character that was just beginning a redemption journey. She didn't want fame, she was looking for her mother's love.

-Miraculer. Come on... How can people say she didn't try to be better? She was being offered power and she rejected that.

Yes, later she embraced the akumas, but till before season three's finale she had been written differently. That was a character that could truly become a good person. That didn't happen not because she didn't have the potential, but because the writers didn't allow that to happen. Let's not forget she's a fictional character. I mean, in Lilo and Stitch. Stich was genetically designed to want to destroy everything and even for a character like him there was redemption. It comes down to whether the writers want to write that path for a character or not.

Then Mayura tried again, she offered her the chance to retain the bee miraculous. If Chloé had truly only wanted the spotlight she could had accepted the offer. She wanted to be a hero and this time not to impress her mother. Not because she wanted the attention from the media. Come on, she's super rich. If she only wanted to be famous she could have easily made that happen. This scene was a huge mistake from the writers and they tried to patch it up with Miracle Queen episode:

They knew they were going to keep handing the same miraculous to same people. Alya has been even trusted with the Ladybug miraculous twice! So, of course they had to write the Miracle Queen episode to say "Look, she's bad, she can't be trusted." I don't know how much of the fandom didn't like that, so what did they do: "Chloé hate campaign" all along season 4. And now what they're giving us for season 5. And all this,... Why? For what? To represent people who will never change? That's an excuse and season 2 and most of season 3 are proof of that.

If after this recap you still think that she was never written trying to be better,... I'm sorry, but it would be that you don't want to see it, not that it wasn't there.

#chloe bourgeois #chloe sugar #mlb analysis #mlb malediktator #mlb zombizou #mlb queen wasp #mlb despair bear #mlb salt

272 notes · View notes

flightfoot · 3 months

Text

ML Fanfic Recs for 2023: 10K - 20K Words

So I’ve been going through and adding particularly good fics I’ve read throughout the year. Only Complete fics, of course. Enjoy!

Chat Noir and Marinette decide to fake date in order to get Buttercup jealous enough to confess. Why won’t that boy make a move on such a wonderful girl as Marinette? And why is he beginning to hope that Buttercup stays blind?

Adrien wakes up in Nino’s arms. Neither of them have any explanation for this, considering they were nowhere near each other the night before.

Marinette and Zoe uncover a ring stashed away in a closet. Why does it have an unusual effect on Chloe?

Felix isn’t careful enough when he goes snooping around the Agreste Mansion. Gabriel decides that he can’t let him roam free.

Kim bets Alix that she won’t be able to attend all of her friends’ weddings in a row. She has never been one to turn down a challenge.

All this and more below the break!

---

May I Introduce Myself, Your Highness? by @chocoluckchipz

Whether picking up a stray animal off the streets or saving a dying child at the market, Adrien had always strived to be the best version of himself. Truly, he would've been the perfect candidate to be snatched up by a kwami, were he an orphan, dying somewhere remote after a short life full of nothing but suffering and misery. Yet as it stood, the sole heir to the French throne had little to complain about. Apart from, perhaps, a complete absence of a love life. That is until a mysterious girl, wandering around his gardens at night, catches his attention.

I love Fantasy AUs. It’s a bit unclear what’s happening at first, but it all gets explained in the last chapter. Also don’t worry about the age gap between Marinette and Adrien at the start of the story, I promise it’s not a problem in the end.

---

do you think I have forgotten about you? by @roseinaugust

Based on the song 'About You' by The 1975. Memory Loss. Told in alternating time lines, one leading up to and one dealing with the aftermath of Marinette relinquishing the Miracle Box and the guardianship. Marinette struggles with her life after losing her memory, though there is a persistent voice that calls to her that always seems just out of reach in her memory.

Beautiful memory loss fic here, with seeing Ladybug’s and Chat Noir’s relationship before she gave up the Miracle box, juxtaposed with the present day, when Adrien is only a stranger to her. I could really feel how Marinette was struggling with navigating these new circumstances, with her friends seeming to expect her to remember, to be who she was to them, to Adrien especially, before, and her just... not knowing whether she can do that. It’s got a happy ending though, for those who are concerned about that.

---

Creative Lies and Destructive Truths by @azuriteartist

Alya and Lila are two sides of a never-ending fight. The fight between truth and lies, between honesty and deception, between justice and personal gain. And now they have the powers to elevate that fight to a city-wide level.

Can Alya stop the deception before it destroys the city? And can Lila stop the truth before it destroys her?

So everyone who’s been around my blog for awhile knows how much I love Alya getting the spotlight (I mean my sideblog alyaappreciation is dedicated to her, because frankly, she needs it), and azurite’s lovely fic here is no exception. Fu ended up giving Tikki to Lila and Plagg to Alya. There actually isn’t tension between them at first, they get along well to start with, but Plagg knows Lila’s lying about things and eventually pushes Alya to take action once they grow alarming, until the two of them are both accusing each other of being liars as superheroes, and the public doesn’t know what to believe.

I’m betting there’s more of this AU to come. I hope so, I love the consideration and agency it gives to both Alya and Lila.

---

How Marinette Learned to Stop Worrying And Love The Ball by @rosie-b

Hidden from the crowds thronging around the busy fairy portal in Paris's town square, a fae gate sits at the edge of the forest, locked, rusty, and full of ancient magic. Marinette thinks that this abandoned gate must not work anymore... but one day, a fairy disguised as a black cat steps through it.

Ah, Fantasy Soulmate AUs, my beloved XD. This ain’t the only one of this fic type I’m gonna be recommending. This is just a cute fluff fic without much strife. I love Marinette and Chat Noir being able to be childhood friends via his visits, even if he has to pretend to be her cat whenever he comes over, and I ESPECIALLY adore Alya being his chaperone and quickly becoming friends with Marinette in her own right. It ain’t a complicated plot, but it is a nice and warm fic.

---

Vengeance Noire by @phiellydinyia

After a horrific argument with his father, Adrien escaped from the mansion with his heart in pieces. In hindsight, it made sense why an akuma was sent his way. He shouldn't have let his emotions get the better of him.

But he never expected Plagg to be even more upset than he was. He never expected his own kwami to be akumatized. To become the threat of a city he swore to protect. And what's worse is the fact that Chat Noir can't jump in to save this one.

But Ladybug can. And that's why he has to find her as quickly as possible, suit or no suit.

I love some good Adrien angst, especially with a delicious side order of Plagg and Adrien’s bond with each other. Even as Adrien’s barely functional, though, he’ll do everything in his power to save Plagg, even if Plagg wishes he wouldn’t go quite that far.

---

the best laid plans (of bugs and bakers) by @mexicancat-girl

Paris is buzzing with the appearance of a new ladybug-themed hero, Scarabella.

Alya decides to use her second hero identity to help her best friend Marinette. A bit of her flirting with Marinette is bound to make Marinette's crushes jealous and finally ask her out! Her plan is fool-proof…!

Except when it's not. Not enough people are talking about Scarabella flirting with Marinette. How can Alya properly help her best friend if the news can't be bothered to cover Marinette's budding romance with Scarabella and only posts things about Marinette with Chat Noir?! So Alya puts her all into her plan, upping up her flirting each time she appears as the newbie hero Scarabella.

This totally does not backfire in any way.

I adore fics that center on Alya, I haven’t exactly been shy about that fact. This is a nice one for some Alyanette adorableness! (And some Scarabella and Chat banter, I really enjoyed reading that as well). “Fake” flirting to make crushes jealous tends to turn real very quickly, and this is no exception. It’s hilarious, Alya’s the last one to figure out that her romantic relationship with Marinette is very much real XD.

---

Control by @generalluxun

A fun and rebellious gesture by her friend Zoé leaves Marinette accidently in possession of something more precious than she ever expected to hold.

It's a blessing. It's a curse. It's life itself.

She has no idea what to do. There is so much wrapped up not only in WHAT, but also WHO. Her friends and partners can offer advice, consolation, and support, but in the end when you are both Ladybug and the Guardian you are the one in control.

This is a fantastic SentiChloe fic. Marinette ends up with Chloe’s amok and isn’t sure what to do with it, whether to try to give it to Chloe, whether to try and use it to make Chloe a better person, or whether to just hold onto it secretly. Along the way, she ends up getting into Chloe’s head, getting a better idea of Chloe’s mindset, what she thinks and feels when she does the things she does. I loved seeing her struggle with figuring out what to do, it ended up being a great character study for both Marinette and Chloe!

---

Within Your Heart by Inkyibis

It's Valentine's Day and Ladybug just wants to her superhero partner to find his love.

And what she wants, the Lucky Charm will create.

If only she could remember what it is she did last night.

Adrino fic here! Marinette’s drunk and feeling awful that her superhero partner is alone on Valentine’s (she’s in a loving and committed relationship with Alya), so she creates a Lucky Charm to help Chat find love! In this universe, Ladybug’s Lucky Charms have the power to create new rules for the universe to follow, such as making one that demands that if you have any magic in you, you have to tell the truth or else you’ll freeze. Or in Adrien’s case, that he has to wake up in the arms of his true love every day XD. It’s very sweet and I love both Adrien’s and Nino’s relationship, and the relationship between the rest of the Miracuteam members as well, even though that’s not the focus.

---

This Distance Between Us by @coffeebanana

After defeating Monarch, the search for the Peacock Miraculous brings Ladybug and Chat Noir to a hotel room in London. But it's hard to enjoy the victory when Ladybug can't figure out why Chat's been so quiet, why he seems so sad. How's she supposed to help if she has no idea what's wrong?

This is a great Sentiadrien fic, with Chat freaking out about it and feeling like he’s not worthy of Ladybug’s affections, but not telling her what’s actually wrong because he thinks she won’t want him anymore if she knows. Of course, he’s wrong about that.

Also there’s a pretty intense confrontation with Felix, pissing Chat Noir off is a bad idea.

---

Auspicious by The_Rabbit42

Entry #6 for AU April 2023: Reverse-Crush Kwami-Swap

Adrien is quiet and reserved whenever he's not consumed by stress. And between extracurriculars and modeling and his responsibilities as Mister Bug, he's often stressed. He appreciates his kitten, but he loves his bright and outgoing classmate. Not that she knows that.

Marinette's parents have always allowed her a good deal of independence, but she's felt her confidence skyrocket since getting Plagg. Simply being Lady Noire allows her to be more flirty and free. She likes her friends, but she loves her stoic and heroic partner. Not that he knows that.

This is just a lovely fic that’s exactly what it says on the tin. I like how Rabbit goes into what Lady Noire’s and Mister Bug’s dynamic is like here especially.

---

Of Crisp Days and Crispier Cakes by @scribeofrhapsody

Gabriel wants to not be sick. Adrien wants to make a cake. Nathalie wants a chill birthday. Maybe they can help each other. Maybe it'll be a disaster.

So this starts off as just the cute fluff fic of Adrien and Gabriel attempting to make Nathalie a birthday cake that the summary indicates, but soon evolves into a more action-filled drama fic when Gabriel makes the terrible decision to akumatize a cashier while sick... a cashier who happens to be in the same shop as Nathalie and Adrien. Who are willing to put their secret identities at risk in order to save each other.

---

After Irritation Do Us Start by @scribeofrhapsody

It was the most difficult decision of his life, but Gabriel did it. He let go of Hawk Moth. He moved on from Emilie. Now, all he wants is to enjoy life with his son and new wife. Unfortunately, a certain nephew of his seems to be determined to unearth what Gabriel needs to remain buried.

I love this look at what could have happened if during the season 3 finale, Gabriel had decided enough was enough and given up on being a supervillain, moving on with Nathalie instead. How much better things could have been if he’d just decided to stop - though Adrien still wouldn’t be happy to discover why Hawk Moth had suddenly stopped attacking.

Oh yeah, there’s an OC here called Gerald who Adrien’s puzzled by, since he’d never heard of this guy before the past year. At the end of the story you find out why he’s included in the story. It’s not a major thing, but it is kind of funny and fits well with the rest of the story.

---

Rocking the Cat-Eyes by @buggachat

“I like being a girl.”

“That’s the alcohol talking,” Marinette snorted.

“I’ve always been a li’l jealous,” Adrien admitted.

“... Of what?”

“That you get to be a girl,” Adrien murmured, “and I don’t.”

—

When Marinette and Adrien host Girls' Night at their apartment, Adrien is easily welcomed to attend as "one of the girls"... but has a bit too much to drink. Some drunken confessions are spilt, some assumptions are made, and most of all...

Adrien is confused.

This is a great Genderfluid!Adrien fic. Marinette actually figures out that Adrien’s not entirely cis before he does, and tries to let him know she’s supportive... but unfortunately Adrien comes to some incorrect conclusions...

Anyway it’s a lot of fun, and Adrien rocks a dress and makeup!

---

Desperation by OuzoAthena11

Marinette is at the end of her rope. There seems to be no hope for defeating Monarch, not now that he has most of the Miraculous and has figured out how to transfer their abilities to others.

Tikki has an idea: Awaken the memories of who Marinette was in the past to see if any of their knowledge across time and the multiverse could help.

But this means that Marinette might forever be changed, and so will Chat Noir, if he should choose to do this.

Little did they know that they knew each other in their past lives, and how frequently they crossed paths and even were a couple... well, that meant that they are soulmates.

Star Wars crossover fic here, with Marinette as Obi-wan and Adrien as Quinlan. I like how the reincarnation aspect was handled here, with Obi-wan’s and Quinlan’s memories being prominent and them “waking up” in a way at first, but those settling back down after a bit and Marinette and Adrien going back to being mostly themselves, but with a lot more life experience under their belts and some cool new abilities - which comes in handy for taking down Monarch!

---

Family by @unecoccinellenoire

“You know,” Nino grins, “if you need advice on being a big brother in a year or two I’m sure I could help.”

The bottom of Adrien’s stomach dropped out.

---

Adrien struggles with the concept of his father and Nathalie having children.

So this is a world where Adrien and Marinette managed to defeat Gabriel, taking his Miraculous, with them giving him an ultimatum: they won’t out him as being Hawk Moth so long as he doesn’t cause any more trouble and does right by Adrien. Gabriel does, in fact, move on finally to Nathalie, giving Adrien a lot of mixed feelings to deal with. He still loves them both despite everything, but he’s also angry at them and he definitely does NOT want them to have children, both because he thinks they’d like any biological child they had more (he’s also harboring guilt from indirectly being the cause of his mom’s death), and because frankly, they screwed up too much with Adrien for him to want them to inflict that on another child.

And then there’s also Adrien dealing with the realization that he’s a Senti on top of that and wondering why he and Felix look the way they do, what Emilie’s reasons were.

It’s mostly just Adrien getting to talk things out, navigating this emotionally fraught situation he finds himself in now that the dust is settled.

---

Galaxy In Your Eyes by @liiinerle

Arriving in Paris, Kagami almost immediately finds herself assaulted by a dark, infectious butterfly. When she wakes up, a ladybug-themed superhero is standing over her, and her eyes are like holes into an empty, vast, and incredibly alluring universe...

An AU where the two main Miraculous function differently from the norm.

Nice Marigami fic here! Or should I say, Ladygami - technically Marinette doesn’t exist, only Ladybug, who’s an immortal creation goddess, or something like that. But she still fights to protect Paris from Hawk Moth alongside Chat Noir, who is still a normal, squishy human underneath the suit.

Anyway, there’s a but of inspiration from Nimona here, with a lot of people being scared of Ladybug because she’s a bit... out there, especially when she shapeshifts to have like, 6 extra arms and a lobster tail. Kagami’s into it though XD

---

Stay Weird, Ladybug by @diadraws

Ladybug receives an invitation at the end of a patrol!

Contains some of my own headcanons, most notably: MIRACULOUS HOLDERS ARE CREATURES!!! They get actual animal traits when transformed instead of just a costume. My tumblr is diadraws where I elaborate some more on my headcanons which may add some additional context to this fic if you are interested!

CONTENT WARNINGS: *major* depictions of panic attacks, discussion of child neglect/abuse, and a minor emetophobia (vomiting) warning towards the end.

I’ve loved the comics and fanart I’ve seen dia create for this AU, with Ladybug’s and Chat Noir’s more animalistic designs, so reading a fic set in that AU was a real treat! It’s mostly just a Ladrien sleepover at Adrien’s house, but it’s very nice and cozy, with some good character development of Adrien helping Ladybug with panic attacks she keeps having.

---

Trapped by @consistent-chaos-corporation

Felix asks to visit Adrien as soon as his father is gone. Gabriel catches him snooping, looking for Adrien's Amok.

Everything gets worse from there.

Damn, poor Felix. He came to try and help Adrien, but instead Gabriel stole his Amok, forcing him to obey his commands, holding him prisoner in his basement for months. If you want some quality Felix whump, this is the fic for you!

---

When Secrets Come Undone by SortaArtsy

Ladybug promised not to tell Adrien... but she never promised not to confide in Cat Noir. What happens when Ladybug unintentionally vents to the one person who wasn't meant to know any of it?

****MAJOR SEASON 5 SPOILERS WARNING! ****

May not be season 6 compliant when it comes out.

This is a “Adrien finds out what everyone’s been keeping from him post-S5″ fic, and I think it’s handled really well! He feels very hurt, betrayed, and disbelieving initially about being a Senti and his father being Monarch (...mostly being a Senti, it ain’t that hard to believe that Gabriel was a supervillain), and is angry at everyone who kept it secret from him, but he still handles it well, going and talking to the people involved, getting their reasoning and perspective.

---

Wanted: Catnap by SortaArtsy

Adrien Agreste has barely been sleeping, trying to be everything expected of him. What happens when he spreads himself too thin? Sick!Adrien/ Cat Noir

Adrien’s just pushing himself so hard, trying to do his regular duties, until his illness forces him to rest. I love how concerned everyone is over him - even GABRIEL eventually relents and wants him to rest. It’s just cute and nice and fluffy.

---

Felix is Fine by SortaArtsy

Felix wakes up sick, but is determined to keep it under wraps. Kagami refuses to be fooled. Feligami fluff. Implied past trauma/ abuse, though nothing explicit. Set post S5 so there are SOME SPOILERS!

If you want a Felix sick fic, this story’s the fic for you! I like how Felix and Kagami actually talk about why Felix is so determined to keep the extent of his illness hidden, what caused him to feel like he needs to do that, and Kagami’s understanding about it. Colt sucks.

---

Our Tales Are Endless (That’s Why I Tell Them) by @joonapeach

Marinette lives a simple life - one surrounded by pretty dresses, fresh macaroons, and the calming view of Paris. It's a life she thinks she has always fit in.

And yet sometimes, when a certain boy comes by her shop with a flower and a new adventurous story, she can't help but wonder if there's something else she's missing.

This was a truly gorgeous story. It’s the classic “Marinette gives up the Miracle Box and loses her memories” storyline, exploring her life two years later. Even though she’s had time to heal and recover, she still feels like she’s missing something, something big. At least Adrien’s stopping by regularly to tell her stories about Ladybug and Chat Noir, even if she doesn’t understand why they resonate with her so well.

---

a winter so warm by @rosekasa

winters were hard for even the best of vampires, but at least adrien had marinette to keep him warm with her cuddles.

december was going to suck without her. so it was only to be expected to get extra cuddles in before she left, right?

(well, not really, considering those heating supplements he was taking, but she didn't need to know about that).

This one’s mostly just cute cuddly adorableness! It’s basically like all those “Marinette gets the Ladybug trait of needing to cuddle up to someone for warmth”, but with Adrien instead. And of course featuring Marinette being a very talented witch who just wants to help Adrien stay warm when she isn’t there XD.

---

The 8 Weddings of Alix Kubdel by The_Rabbit42

The bet is simple: with the Rabbit Miraculous, Alix will be speaking at all of her friends' weddings. No matter what age they tie the knot, she'll be there looking the same. From Alix's perspective, she's going to each ceremony and reception one right after another in a nonstop bender.

This fic’s a lot of fun! I loved seeing all the different weddings, as well as how Alix slowly felt more and more out of place, with going forwards in time. Some of the weddings could get, uh. Exciting as well XD. And while there’s been years in-between Alix’s appearances for her friends at the wedding, for Alix, it’s only been a few hours, if that...

---

and I thought I heard you sing by @into-september

When Hawkmoth has been defeated and unmasked, Marinette is left with two problems and no solutions.

First, that Adrien is further out of her reach than ever before, and no-one can tell her how to get to him.

Second, that Cat Noir is far more troubled than she knew, and the only thing she can do is wait for him at the place they agreed to meet.

It’s your classic “Hawkmoth’s defeated and taken into custody but that means Adrien’s in for a rough time” sort of fic. Everyone’s worried about Adrien and wants to give him what comfort and support that they can, but he’s being hidden away from everyone (which I mean, honestly that’s a good move), so that’s not really possible. Plus, Ladybug’s noticed that Chat’s having a tough time in his civilian life, which worries her.

---

Time Locked AU by PumpkinPatchworkQuilt

In Time Locked, instead of just fixing the damage it puts everything post akuma back to exactly how it was, people, buildings, memories, time. Since it’s more extreme than in canon it requires both The Cat and The Ladybug to complete the Cure,(and visually contains both as well). Because of this only those with a miraculous can recall the events and only those who cast the Cure will have any lasting effects from the fight and even then it’s limited to scars, phantom aches, getting a tad more muscle definition and of course spatial displacement in extreme cases.

Since technology is slightly resistant or incompatible with the miraculous magic, footage of right after the akuma attack will survive, on a technicality and as such only reappears when the time catches up the the recorded time, that could be minutes, hours, or days depending on how long it took to defeat the akuma.

First story: Alya’s Guide to Surviving a Magical Terrorist Which You Can’t Remember

In a world where the fight against Hawkmoth is kept secret from the public, one Alya Césaire sets out to bring the whole thing to light, (and possibly win a journalism award while she's at it)

This was an interesting AU, I loved the focus on Alya especially and her investigative abilities, figuring out that there was a battle between good and evil taking place in the background of everyone’s lives even though most signs of it are wiped clean after the battle’s over. And Adrien and Marinette pick up on her cleverness and want her to help! I love how much appreciation this fic shows for Alya.

---

Stitched Together by @nedjsmlfavs

Stitch Witch Marinette was just supposed to be having a nice, terrifying outing with her best friends. She never expected to find a magically trapped kitten, but here we are! Whatever happened to this poor little guy?

Poor Adrien, being transformed and chained up for ages, having no idea that he was gonna be rescued. But at least he got to have fun at Marinette’s place as a cat!

Most of this fic is adorable, though with some dark undertones lying in wait. After all, SOMEONE chained up that poor little kitty...

---

Love Remains by @kasienda

Marinette stood in the center of her own room. The pink walls were adorned with sketches and photos, and other unfamiliar souvenirs of her life. Her eyes jumped curiously from a hand made purse to a bowler hat decorated with a feather to a cork board covered in pictures of her friends.

She loved her room. Which made sense, she supposed. She had theoretically been the one to decorate it, but she didn’t remember decorating it. And now, the room was like a cave filled with treasure.

Because each little piece of it held a secret - some part of herself that meant something to her, a clue to what her life had been like before…

Before she had woken up in the arms of a boy wearing a magic black catsuit. His heartbroken sobs had caused something in her chest to twist painfully. She hadn’t understood why then, but from that very first moment she knew she had wanted to make things better for him.

She had no idea how to do that now that she understood what she had lost.

Sixteen years worth of memories.

The echoes of which were papered onto the walls and notebooks of her room just waiting to be rediscovered.

No one else seemed to share her excitement.

Unlike most “Marinette loses her memories” fics, this one isn’t super angst for Marinette - she takes it in stride. Now, everyone else, not so much. It’s really interesting seeing her contrast who she appeared to be before with who she is now, particularly when it comes to her previous self being in love with Adrien and not Chat, while she’s in love with Chat and not Adrien. Of course eventually she finds out certain things that makes that make a lot more sense. She isn’t so different from how she was before after all...

---

Betrayal by @jennagrinsoverml

MAJOR EPHEMERAL SPOILERS!!

Ladybug planned to use Viperion's power of Second Chance to get Chat's identity to Su-han without Chat knowing or agreeing.

Of course, then the world went crazy, and she didn't go through with it.

But when an akuma exposes Ladybug's plan to Chat, he doesn't know that. He just knows that his Lady betrayed him.

He deals with his feelings in the best, most mature way he can think of.

He disappears.

So I, like a lot of others, wanted more follow-up on Ephemeral, and particularly on the betrayal of trust it was for Marinette to try to trick Chat Noir into giving up his identity to a third party without his knowledge or consent (I wrote my own take on that at the time, called Transcient, that I’m proud of). This fic did a good job of exploring that, with Adrien reacting in a manner that made sense to me (repressing his negative feelings about the situation as much as possible and trying to justify it to himself, but still feeling terrible despite his own best efforts), and how Marinette realized that she messed up, since Luka keeping it secret that he knows hers and Chat’s secret identities caused her to be upset as well. It did a great job of exploring those negative feelings and letting everyone talk things out, explain their viewpoints, and rebuild their relationships afterwards, which is something I really value.

---

Swimming in Circles by @generalluxun

Life has moved on for Marinette Dupain-Cheng. She's not where she thought she would be seven years ago, but she's still in a good place. Classes, hobbies, friends, her life is full despite the lingering shades of her faded yet sweet middle-school romance. Then just as quick at the first time, someone drops into her life and turns her into an absolute mess once more.

Love and crushes might be her undoing, but she's got a little more experience this time to weather the storm. This fateful stranger stirs memories as well as emotions inside of her, and with a forthrightness her old self would be jealous of, Marinette takes the plunge.

So this is a Trans fic, with Marinette’s new crush being a trans version of a certain classmate who she doesn’t recognize, who’s changed a lot, for the better. I like how it deals with the baggage she has with that person, has her think that through.

---

Three’s company by @torvalvt

Kagami has been doing her best for years to ignore her feelings for her friends. It doesn't help that Adrien and Marinette insist on spending as much time as possible with her, even going so far as inviting her along on their dates together. If only the affection she felt for them wouldn't get in the way of their relationship. Because it is growing harder and harder to tamp down her feelings with how close they are getting to her.

This is adorable. Adrien and Marinette really want Kagami to join their relationship and she just doesn’t dare hope for it. If you want some adorable Adrigaminette from Kagami’s perspective, I recommend checking this fic out!

#ml fanfic rec #miraculous ladybug

75 notes · View notes

miraculouslbcnreactions · 7 months

Text

In Defense of Marinette

I like Marinette. While there are many valid criticisms of her writing, the same can be said for literally every other character and she's actually doing pretty well given that she's the main character. After all, in a show where consistent characterization is an ongoing issue, the one with the most screen time will probably be the one who's the biggest victim of the issue.

This is heavily exacerbated by the rule that supposedly governs Miraculous. Namely that, in each story, Marinette must make a mistake. Or, at least, so says the head writer:

I really do not care what this guy says on Twitter or anywhere else. I only care about what's in the show because, if you have to go outside the text to understand the text, then you have no idea how to tell a good story.

However, unlike many of the tweets that I've seen, this one isn't some BS bit of lore. It's a writing rule and it has substantial backing in the text. It's extremely rare to have an episode where Marinette comes out smelling like roses and that's a problem because Miraculous has over 100 episodes. In other words, to follow this rule, the writers have to come up with over 100 ways for Marinette to be wrong so of course she's going to come across poorly. Why would you do this to your main character?

It's extremely common for kids shows to have a "lesson of the day" element to them. Someone always needs to learn something, but I've never seen a show misunderstand the assignment so badly. Learning a lesson is not the same as doing something wrong.

It's been a while since I watched the 2010 version of My Little Pony, but it really leaned into that whole "lesson of the day" thing and it actually knew what it was doing, so I'm going to talk about it briefly to discuss things that Miraculous should have done.

The first thing to note is that MLP had an unambiguous main character - Twilight Sparkle - but Twilight was not the one who learned all of the lessons. She had a pet dragon and a crew of five friends who would, occasionally, be the ones to learn the lesson because there were lots of lessons that simply didn't fit Twilight's character. Instead of warping Twilight to make the idea work (cough cough Ikari Gozen cough), the writers just let someone else have the spotlight for a bit.

This is an excellent way to build out your cast and Miraculous had plenty of opportunities to do it. For example, Lila should not have been Marinette's issue. The fact that Lila hates Marinette could have certainly stuck around, but the one who takes her down and learns to investigate her sources? That should have been Alya. A liar is the perfect enemy for an investigative journalist, but a poor enemy for someone who shines as a battlefield commander and overthinks when she's given too much time.

Another way that MLP would teach lessons was to have someone other than Twilight or the main crew cause the issue that they then had to deal with. This leads to one of the best moments in children's television:

youtube

And, frankly? Marinette deserves a moment like this. That poor girl has been through hell and is never allowed to make the right call when it really matters. The show will even completely rewrite its lore to make her fail (see: Strike Back). That is such an awful thing to do to your lead! Shows about female empowerment should include women feeling powerful and, no, Lila and Chloe don't count!

Also, the show is literally about Gabriel taking advantage of people who are upset. You don't need to have Marinette make a mistake to shoehorn in a life lesson. Akumas are life lesson fodder and season 1 actually seemed to get this. I'm not sure why they switched gears to "Marinette is the star and, therefore, must always be wrong."

The final way that MLP taught lessons was to have Twilight do something wrong because having your main character do something wrong is a totally valid way to teach lessons. It just shouldn't be your only way because you know who is always wrong in children's media?

Villains.

They wrote Marinette like a villain.

And a large part of the fandom hates her for it because of course they do.

You're not supposed to like villains.

#ml writing salt #ml writing critical #marinette deserves better #Youtube #justice for my poor girl #she legitimately has a good base character and she's fun to write if you keep her consistent #The applejack thing crossed my dash a bit ago and I keep thinking about it and feeling sad for Marinette

137 notes · View notes

littlemissjellyfish1 · 3 months

Text

HEAVILY inspired by @meowbyacow60004 comic! Hope you don't mind my little rendition! (Lmk if you'd like me to take it down!)

The sound of heavy automaton footprints across the Parisian streets echoed against the buildings. Adrien continued towards Marinette's house, unwavering and never tiring. Asleep upon Adrien's cold, metal back; Marinette listened to the soft whirring of mechanical parts as she dreamt. Marinette jolted awake when an old lamp post flickered above her.

Noticing the change in her breathing, Adrien turned his head to look at her. "Oh, you're awake?"

Marinette rubbed her eyes and scanned the area as she spoke up. "Any reason for carrying me on your back?" She questioned.

"A few, princess," His calm and calculating voice answered. "It's midnight, no traffic, and I certainly can't let you go home alone."

Groaning, Marinette sunk her face into the nape of his neck. "You know what I meant, Adrien."

"Actually I don't, I'm just a machine," He feigned ignorance, walking along.

"Are you being satirical?"

"I wasn't designed to do this."

"So you are, then?"

"...Just a little. Maybe." Adrien smiled, a smile designed down to the last dimple on his cheek; that's what made it so uncanny and beautiful.

Letting out an exhausted sigh, Marinette felt the edges of her mouth curl up. "Good, it's like the old days."

Adrien cautiously walked across the old and fractured pavement as they inched closer to Marinette's house. "Are you being satirical, too?" He asked, breathlessly---inhuman.

Marinette shook her head into the fabric of his shirt. "Nope, I mean it." Marinette let the cool air surround her as she began to reminiscence. "I've been thinking these days...a lot." She paused, still for a moment before gripping the steel of Adrien's shoulder. "I'm sorry for avoiding you for so long."

It was funny: apologizing to a mechanical boy. Yet the ticking of his clockwork heart held enough emotion to burden Marinette with guilt, so she carried on. "I'm sorry I said those words to you. That wasn't your fault." Her grip tightened as tears welled up in her eyes. "I was the one who fell for you easily."

A short stop in the ticking, almost as if Adrien had paused his breath. Marinette spoke softly through her tears, "Your kindness...your little presents." She rubbed her eyes on his shirt, wrinkling and wetting it. "Your silly jokes, the murmur of gears in your body when I get close to you...everything..."

Not fully comprehending in the situation, Adrien began to set Marinette down. "Mari, we're here."

She let out a small "oh" and wiped the tears from her face. "Sorry...for ruining your shirt." Marinette let her hand linger over the wet spots on his back.

Cocking his head, Adrien smiled brightly. "Then what's my compensation?"

Marinette raised an eyebrow, face puffy. "Is this also a setting in advance?"

A small laugh escaped Adrien's mouth. "I guess not."

Pondering for a moment Marinette raised a question. "Okay---what do you want?"

"If it won't make you uncomfortable...how about an innocent kiss?" Adrien teased, causing Marinette to pout. "Just kidding! You don't have to; anything from you is fine!" He reassured her, waving his hands. "Even a smile can make me forgive-"

Adrien had tried to retract his statement, but he already felt small, calloused hands on his cheeks. It was a light kiss, just enough to make the pair ache for more, and yet still satisfy them for a time. Streetlights illuminated the scene like spotlights on a stage. Adrien felt a shiver run through every servo and circuit. For a moment--just a moment--Marinette swore his lips held warmth.

#miraculous #miraculous ladybug #machineboy!adrien #mechanic!marinette #adrienette #adrien agreste #marinette dupain cheng #ml steampunk au

70 notes · View notes

shysublimecoffee · 4 months

Text

I prefer not to sound harsh, but Miraculous has become a fandom where I find more enjoyment in reading fanfics than watching the show. It feels like there's a lack of effort or an attempt to justify and rearrange elements, often ignoring past seasons and assuming the audience won't notice. The handling of Derision is a notable example, with more astute critics than me delving into their dissatisfaction and the evident retcons.

I didn't anticipate the show going to such lengths as portraying Gabriel as someone deserving of a statue, and it left a sour taste in my mouth to see the hero endorsing it. Adrien/ChatNoir's portrayal has become quite pitiful, with a peculiar shift where Ladybug takes on a significant role in the Agreste Saga despite her absence from that narrative. Ladybug, who isn't even part of the Agreste Saga, is the one delivering heartfelt moments. The decision to sideline Adrien and put him out of commission is disappointing. It's his story yet she the one who has to make it about her. She gets to shine along with a cool costume to boot.

There's a palpable bias from Astruc against Chloe, evident in the show's treatment of her character. Despite her being manipulated by Gabriel Agreste, the narrative blames her for becoming mayor, and the absurdity of the situation is magnified when everyone in the story goes along with it. The inclusion of a scene in Revolution where Chloe is crying is perplexing and frustrating, as it seems to perpetuate the negative and irredeemable image the show consistently paints of her. The added layer of her mother being horrid to her intensifies my annoyance, especially when sympathetic scenes are presented in a seemingly contradictory manner.

I mean you want her to be the worst but yet she has scenes like this? Why not go all the way wtf. Why give her depth only to take it away and then make her be so demonized in s5 and act like she was like this from the start. When she's been a joke

I hate to be critical, but seriously, it's hard to ignore how the Miraculous universe is just dripping with untapped potential. Five seasons in, and the movie outshines the show effortlessly. It makes you wonder about the writers' team and their approach—seems like they're just coasting on low effort for profit, and somehow, it's working, thanks to Miraculous inexplicable popularity.

The show's been beating the monster-of-the-week horse for five long seasons, lacking any creativity in crafting interesting villains. Gabriel, honestly, feels like a starter villain, and if they're going to make him the big bad, can we at least get some villains with a bit more pizzazz? You know craft creative interesting villains? KNDS, Original PPG, Totally Spies they got it so why not Miraculous. It's so damn tiring seeing the same old song and dance with Gabriel 24/7 monologuing to his wife and releasing the akuma I thought Mayura would be important but she's barely there.

It's not even an excuse kids do deserve better entertainment so why should Miraculous lower its standards. Marinette is very weird to me as the protagonist because her lovelife is more focused over everything I gauged her well enough to know about her that the rest of the secondary needs more of a spotlight to be cast on them. I like her but am I the only one who just skips when she starts the whining about Adrien and her plan to again get together it was cute at first now I fast forward to the more interesting part of the episode because it irks me i'm tired okay... what other facet of her character do the writers focus on besides her love life? I hope I don't appear to salt on her but Imma tag it just in case. I think she's in neutral treading to dislike because how can I come back from her gaslighting her boyfriends I'm sorry I can't.

You know what I'm afraid of that if Lila gonna be the next big bad they'll just recycle everything from Gabriel onto her. We'll have the same akumatizations same monster of the week formula only this time it's Lila.

I trust more in the fanfic community to come up with a better substantial plot than Miraculous could ever be. I know romance is a big part but the lore is so damn little it's season 5 are they ever going to expand more in the later seasons lol.

I'm tired from writing this long. Imma go to bed now.

#miraculous salt #miraculous critical #miraculous ladybug #marinette salt

54 notes · View notes

gale-gentlepenguin · 11 months

Text

So I know Representation came out today. And any good fan would wait a week before reviewing it as we still have episode 23 to watch.

GOOD THING IM A DEGENERATE

Gale Reviews: ML Season 5 episode 24 Representation

spoilers below

-So as expected, Chloé didnt stay mayor long. But Apparently Ms.Bustier is running for Mayor and might win

-Oh its the Fencing teacher/ guy who was Darkblade. Well clearly Ms.Bustier is going to win

-And Adrien and Kagami are a power couple? But Adrien is watching the news report while they are in London. Something seems VERY off

-Ah, Gabriel is behind it. And Adrien HATES it.

-"By letting your father decide your life and selling your story through a fake narrative as usual." DAMN Plagg holds no punches

-Plagg appologized though.

-Kagami is also pissed about it

-HEY ITS FELIX/ARGOS

-Wait ... is that really my chaotic son? HEARTS ON WINDOWS.

-Thats adorable, WTF

-Okay so THEY got some development.

-Adrien deciding to just say f*** it. He is heading to paris and Telling Marinette he's chat noir!

-Marinette back in paris looks miserable. Poor baby girl. Also its a lovely dress.

-Marinette has been crying. I am going to kill Gabriel

-Marinette being strong for her friends to enjoy this dance. Thats really big of her.

-Unfortunately, Spotlight.

-Wait, how did Argos and Kagami get to Paris BEFORE Astrochat? Unless they left much earlier but even then. My bet is Argos made a sentimonster that would warp them places... but that seems like BS.

-KAGAMI KNOWS MARINETTE IS LADYBUG?! Since perfection. Damn.

-KAGAMI TOLD FELIX!?!?!?! FELIX?!?!?! Okay I am a bit salty about that

-OH S***! THEY KISSED. The Feligami stans are Eating today.

-Felix is dressed like Adrien? Oh I do not like where this seems to be going.

-And Marinette thought she saw Adrien and wants to go after him while her friends are thanking her for everything she's done. Way to ruin a good moment FELIX you ass!

-Side note, WHY is Marinette the only one in a dress? Like its a dance? Why couldnt everyone Have dressed up? Seriously, I know outfit renders are expensive. DID THE KITCHEN COST THAT MUCH?

-Marinette avoiding the Lesbian bee and accidentally interrupting the Bi artist and writer. Sure is Pride month in Paris.

-Okay this is just cruel. Marinette thinks she is having a break down over this. Side note. WHY ISNT ADRIEN ACTUALLY HERE YET? HE IS ASTROCHAT!

-Alya and Nino trying to comfort her. But she aint listening.

-Adrien and Kagami escaped and the parents are pissed

-Oh no Nathalie looks really bad right now. Poor thing. All she can do is watch videos of her true love Emilie

-He took the ring back, guess now that Nathalie is too weak to fight him. Which really brings up the question, WHAT HAPPENED in the last episode that Nathalie took such a turn.

-Gabriel is being a d*** as usual

-Nightormentor sounds like a cool name. And while I thought the color scheme is weird... its probably the best akumatized form Gabriel has taken. Sad but true

-AND OF COURSE RIGHT AS SHE LEAVES ASTROCAT ARRIVES. I know its plot convenience but thats bull s***

-"His father CANT have that much control of him" Oh if only you knew Nino

-And BOOM! Gabriel the bitch agreste arrives

-I am liking Rose so much recently. She is calling out EVERYONE

-So he basically has the powers of Sandboy mixed with Darkerowl

-the guy has the power to make you experience VERY intrusive thoughts. That is evil

-Chat noir is like "Hey ladybug gonna go beat up my father text me later"

-Dude Felix must be an Olympic speed walker

-Marinette is basically being nightormented without that bastard even being here. Felix, Kagami this is just a jerk move.

Duusu: "This is so sad" Felix: "Dont worry its for Our happy ending" Duusu: F*** yea lets keep it up

-Oh he made a sentimonster... wait. I know its not human but like a sentimonster MAKING sentimonsters. Feels even more f***ed up

-THEY ARE DOING A F***ING PLAY FOR HER!?

-OH MY GOSH! ITS THE STORY OF EMILIE AND AMELIE!

-Meanwhile, Chat noir is working through his daddy issues.

-Back to the play

-Oh this is interesting.

-Oh and we find out Felix's dad was a rich Cowboy. But also an asshole. (Oh right, this is a French Cartoon, thats why American's suck in this)

-Back to Adrien fighting his father

-This is Cathartic watching Chat noir beat Gabriel's ASS

-HE WAS GOING TO CATACLYSM HIS DAD! Adrien, my boy. Patricide adrien? Well Monarch is still alive, so I guess you think it wouldnt kill him. BTW, Monarch should have had ptsd from that.

-And Chat noir got hit, so his worst fear is... and cuts back to the play

-Oh the twins were infertile. Emilie returned to try and get medical help but still nothing.

-The peacock, that was the sentimonster reference

-Oh so THATS how Gabriel got Gorilla to guard adrien.

-Also yea, any doubt that they arent sentimonsters is dead now.

-ITS CHAT BLANC WITH BLUE HAIR!?

-Oh s*** that is f***ed up.

-"It will end if you give me your miraculous"

-"Take it." ADRIEN NO!

-Oh so thats why Felix's dad was an a**hole. Okay I will give this credit. That is something.

-Welp this explains why Felix might be a sociopath

-Felix revealing why he did what he did

-THE RESISTANCE! COMING IN CLUTCH

-THE TRAY!

-ALYA JUMPED ON HIS BACK.

-They got the akuma in a jar.

-Wait, Chat noir defeated an akuma without Ladybug. (sure he had outside help, but Ladybug has done that too). Good on him

-WELL S*** THAT WAS TRIPPY.

-Felix and Kagami asked for Marinette's help. so was that all the sentimonster doing so? I am lost

-Okay so, I may not LIKE exactly how they went about it. But I cant really hate them for what they did. They are just kids that want to pick someone they trust.

-Oh s***, Ladybug never cast miraculous cure. So Adrien has some perminant trauma from the fight with Nightormentor. He still sees the antichat visions (its not chat blanc, and its just reverse color pallet)

-Chat noir left. before he could tell her. Cause the nightmare messed with him

-WAIT DID TOMOE AND GABRIEL JUST LOCK THEIR CHILDREN IN STERILE ROOMS? WTF!

_________________________________________________________

Okay! This episode was A LOT.

Well there is no denying Sentimonster theory. Its confirmed. Its done. 100% GUARANTEE NO MONEY BACK.

It did explain a LOT about Felix and Adrien.

So I am still iffy on how it was handled.

Now this DOES NOT justify Felix's Actions. He was still an a**hole. And Kagami shouldnt have told Felix. Marinette is Ladybug. That was NOT her secret to tell.

BUT the play that explained what happened was very well done. It explained a LOT about the Graham de Vanily family and Felix's a**hole father.

I will say that I hated how tortured Marinette was during this. Felix and Kagami could have done something less cruel to lure her there.

I also greatly enjoyed Chat noir vs Nightormentor. very good catharsis and we have Adrien going through some additional mental trauma, inflicted by his father (I wouldnt call it Ironic, more of EXPECTED)

I give it 7.5/10

I will say its the most I have enjoyed the second half of this season since Emotion.

#ml #ml spoilers #gale reviews #miraculous ladybug #ml representation #ml representation spoilers #feligami

115 notes · View notes

mythicalgeek · 2 months

Text

How is Ladybug and Catnoir, awakening better then the show?

So I just watched the miraculous movie.

I stopped watching the show around season 3 mostly because I was getting into another media and honestly I was just so tired of the bad writhing and continusly being disappointed by something that had the potential to be great. So when I heard the movie was actually good I had to see for myself and... WTF!

How is an hour and 40 minutes long movie better then a 5 season show that had 8 years of planning only to fail so badly!!!

Don't get me wrong the film wasn't perfect (I liked the songs but I think it would have been better if the film wasn't a muiscal, mostly so they could've flushed out the story more) but it did so many things better than the show and it improved the characters, themes and narrative. Even with it's flaws it's a beautiful movie with a wonderful message about love, courage and gave me everthing I wanted from this series since I was a teenager.

Like Ladybug and Cat noir being equals and makeing one another stronger

Marinette/Ladybug being a better written heroine, starting out as a shy and lonely girl who finds her courage and inner power, removing the creepy stalker element to her character and she's still the protagonist but doesn't take the spotlight of Adrien/Cat Noir the deuteragonist when it's his time to shine. Also Tiki is so sassy in this movie and I love it. 💞

Cat Noir/Adrien getting a chance to shine and being treated better as a character and not only a trophy or sidekick for Marinette/Ladybug, but a kid who's dealing with the lost of his mother and strained relationship with his father, then finding freedom through being a hero and opening his heart to connection again.

I do wish we got more sences with him and Gabriel and that they kept the deleted sence were he tells marinette about his mother when she finds his locket (we see it in the montage but I wish we got the full sence in the film).

And I really wish we got to see his and plagues first meeting (and that plague wasn't just a fart joke 🙄) but overall the movie handled him well and did his character some well deserved justice.

Finally giving us the confrontation with Adrien and his dad we've been waiting for and actually makeing Gabriel care about his son and not just being an abusive asshole!

Gabriel is also a better written character and his redemption work's more in the movie than the show.

A well developed romance without all the creepy problimatic stuff, with excellent chemistry between our two leads and a lot of truely sweet moment's that build a endearing love story about two young people looking for belonging.

Like I said I wish they kept the locket sence because it would have added more to the love story but the romance is still done so well and made me so happy.😊

AND FINALLY THE IDENTITY REVEAL!!!! Starting out there romantic relationship with them being who they truely are and no secrets between them.

Even though I stop watching the series I still check in on it ever once in awhile, but I feel that I can finely move on from Miraculous because the movie did everything the show failed to do.

I love this movie and I'm so glad that this story finally got the justice it deserves. 🐞🐾

#miraculous awakening #ladybug and cat noir the movie #miraculous movie #adrien agreste #zagtoon #Netflix #ladynoir #animation #marinette dupain cheng #adrinette #ladybug and chat noir #adrien and marinette #miraculous tales of ladybug and chat noir #animated movies #miraculous cat noir #miraculous ladybug

20 notes · View notes

starlight-vixen-emiko · 5 months

Text

Disappear

Warning: The following fanfic contains salt! It contains everyone's favorite Cat hero getting rejected and Marinette having her agency. And me throwing the Mari///Chat ship into the trash where it belongs!

I dedicate this fanfic to my friend who converted from Mari///Chat to Vipernette. Because we both know what the best ship ever is! (*whispers* It's Vipernette!)

Well ok, it's kind of bad for me to dedicate this to her because this fanfic sucks I apologize! This fanfic went so much better in my head but I was thinking about you when I wrote this. Enjoy and Merry Christmas!

~~~~~

If Alya were here, she would tell Marinette she was once again the luckiest girl alive.

In Paris' latest Akuma attack, she crossed paths with Chat Noir and Viperion.

Viperion was composed and always had a mysterious look in his mint green eyes as if he were always calculating.

And Chat Noir.

Chat Noir…He was certainly full of himself.

Both boys kept her safe from the latest Akuma attack, and Marinette could finally catch her breath on the top of a tall building where she saw Paris was peaceful once more.

"Looks great, doesn't it Marinette?" Chat Noir said.

Marinette turned and saw Chat Noir and Viperion illuminated by the sunset. Chat Noir was giving his best toothy grin and doing his best to outshine Viperion, who had a soft smile as he held his harp close. Marinette admitted that, in his own way, Chat Noir was indeed cute, but he didn't interest her that much.

Viperion didn't seem bothered that his black cat friend enjoyed the spotlight. He just smiled at Marinette and played a gentle tune on his harp.

Marinette smiled as she fixed her hair. "Yes, it does."

But before she could enjoy more, she felt a particular sneaky cat making a move, and she instinctively took a step back and raised her arm. Chat Noir smiled at her.

"Just so you know, I can take you home, Mari," Chat said as she summoned a red rose in his hand.

Marinette took a moment to process this and then sheepishly smiled as she took another step back. "I can walk myself home. The weather is nice."

"But it would take too long," Chat Noir held out his hand. "You won't have to lift a finger if you choose me."

Marinette didn't need to ponder that decision long as she gave him a disapproving frown. "Sorry Chat Noir!" Marinette promptly walked away but stole a glance at Viperion before trying to find the exit.

"Could've sworn Marinette was interested in me," Chat Noir unapologetically said out loud.

Marinette internally sighed. She stopped momentarily and thought about what she wanted, but she wasn't sure if he felt the same. But now was an excellent time to seize the moment.

"Viperion!"

The snake hero's heart skipped a beat as his magical harp disappeared. "Yes Marinette!"

Marinette turned with a serious look on her face. She started running, and Viperion quickly understood. Marinette jumped into Viperion's arms. The snake hero quickly used his teleportation powers, and they disappeared in front of Chat Noir. To the cat boy's surprise, Viperion summoned pink rose petals, which Chat caught with his claws.

Chat Noir realized then that he should take a hint, but still…

"Can't blame a cat for trying!"

Viperion and Marinette were giggling when they teleported to the other side of the city. Marinette clung to Viperion as he held her safe in his arms. Everyone looked so small from the height they were at. But Marinette wasn't afraid. She gave Viperion a quick hug.

"Thank you for catching me," Marinette said softly. "And taking me to a whole new point of view!"

Suddenly, the wheels in Viperion's head turned, and he smiled at her, which Marinette thought was unbelievably adorable.

"I can take you somewhere else," Viperion said.

"Anywhere," Marinette said. "As long as it's with you," Marinette continued, not even trying to hide how flirty she was being.

They disappeared again in a green flash.

Marinette seemed a lot more relaxed as she stretched her arms and sat beside Viperion on a stone bench, and behind them was a bunch of pink roses swaying in the breeze as the moon shone above them. Marinette could live in this moment forever, the beautiful moon, the scent of pink roses, and the gentle sounds of Viperion's harp.

Viperion could live in this moment forever too. The snake hero would always play beautiful music for Marinette, even if he could never truly be with her because he is a hero. But as Marinette got tired and rested against him, Viperion smiled down at her and wondered. Why did she choose him?

Viperion's gentle harp filled her ears as she drifted off to sleep. Marinette didn't want to fall asleep at such a beautiful moment. Still, at the same time, if she was slipping and falling into beautiful dreams, then it felt right.

"You're amazing, Viperion," she mumbled as she closed her eyes.

Viperion gasped as he wrapped his arm around her to keep her secure. He ran his fingers through her shiny blue hair as she smiled and sighed while sleeping. It was the most beautiful music Viperion had ever heard. Still, he had to keep Marinette safe during the dark nights.

"I'll take you home, Marinette," he whispered.

He picked her up bridal style and used his powers to teleport into her bedroom. It was dark except for the moonlight shining through the balcony window, but still incredibly safe and filled with Marinette's creations. He gently laid her on her bed before pulling the lamp chord on her nightstand. Viperion smiled as Marinette looked like she was having the best sleep of her life, and he gently removed the strands of her hair from her face.

Viperion turned off the lamp as he decided to leave her to rest. But Marinette stirred in her sleep and rolled over, her smile a bit wider as she continued sleeping.

Viperion couldn't bring herself to leave her right now, and he summoned his harp and played her one last song. His magical musical notes circled Marinette and filled her entire room. He played longer than he should have and still felt melancholy when the song he created had to end. But he would play more music for Marinette and always be there for her, especially since she chose him. And he couldn't just walk away and forget about the beautiful melody that always supported him.

Viperion walked to the balcony door and looked at the full moon before turning to Marinette one last time.

"Goodnight Melody," he said before disappearing in a green light.

Marinette's dreams were full of magical melodies and adventures with the handsome snake hero. Still, Viperion couldn't help himself and teleported a pink rose in her hand before leaving again.

The beautiful music and the scent of a pink rose made this a night Marinette would never forget. Viperion held a single pink rose in his hand as he watched all of Paris as the stars sparkled above him.

#vipernette #the best ship!#lukanette #pro lukamari #my writing #my fanfiction

27 notes · View notes

immaturityofthomasastruc · 1 year

Text

IOTA Reviews: Jubilation

So far, Season 5 has been pretty decent for the most part. Sure, there have already been a handful of plotholes and retcons (to the point where I'm honestly thinking of starting a retcon counter in the future), but at the very worse, the first three episodes were below average at worst. But now we have to see how the Akuma of the day formula will play out now. Can it bring new life to this show, or is that nothing more than a pipe dream?

Let's get into the fourth (chronologically the fourth) episode of Miraculous Ladybug's fifth season: Jubilation

The episode starts off with Marinette going for a jog, and shockingly, it isn't in her pajamas, but rather, clothing appropriate for running. She stops to see an advertisement for the Alliance rings, and reminds the audience that she's totally not in love with Adrien anymore because it cost her most of the Miraculous. Marinette is about to continue running, when she sees her principal, Mr. Damocles, dressing up at the superhero, the Owl, while attempting to save a cat from a billboard... even though he learned his lesson all the way back in his spotlight episode, “The Dark Owl”. Before Marinette has the chance to save him from his incompetence, another girl dressed as Ladybug saves Mr. Damocles, though Marinette recognizes her as an old friend. Both “heroes” run off, but Marinette has an idea of who the fake Ladybug is.

Marinette: That fake Ladybug from this morning, I think it was Socqueline, a school friend from last year. Knowing her, I’m sure she means well. But I have to convince her to stop putting herself in danger like that.

So basically, we're repeating the civilian plotline of “The Dark Owl”, but this time, with two different heroes. I'm also confused as to why we've never heard of Socqueline until Season 5, especially if Marinette already knows her. It's not as egregious or forced as Zoe's introduction, but it's weird that Marinette has never brought her up, not even to Tikki or Alya.

Also, why the hell does she look like Marinette? It was at least understandable to reuse Adrien's character model for Felix because they were related, but these two are just friends, and Socqueline doesn’t even have the same name most fans use for the PV Ladybug, Bridgette. What, did you think changing her name would make the reference more subtle? Oh yeah, and even though we already have two Asian characters with the same surname, Socqueline’s last name is also Wang. Because just like the mayor and ice cream man sharing the same first name, this isn’t confusing in the slightest.

Socqueline works at a local arts and crafts store, and before Marinette can ask her for why she's pretending to be Ladybug, she pretends to be buying paint first... even though she could just transform into Ladybug, walk in and say “Hey, I heard you've been impersonating me, so stop it before you get yourself killed, idiot”. But then I guess we wouldn't get an explanation as to what Alliance can do. Like we saw in “Multiplication”, it's basically an Alexa in ring form that totally isn't a front for supervillain activity. Marinette and Socqueline talk about Adrien, and Socqueline assumes the two are a couple after Marinette talks about how close they are, when all Marinette does is recap the whole thing about his mother “disappearing” and that he doesn't want to be a model. Wow, you really know him, don't you?

Eventually, the conversation goes back to Socqueline dressing up as Ladybug.

Marinette: Well, it’s a good thing you’re not trying to be a superhero, because it’s very dangerous to do the same thing they do when you don’t have magical powers and supersuits!

Socqueline: Yeah… Well, what if it’s a relief for Ladybug to have people help her?

Marinette: No way would she want that. It’s too risky!

Socqueline: Yes, but you gotta know when to step in. That’s the only way you can change things in life!

Marinette: I know. You told me that last year, but in this circumstance, it’s Ladybug’s job to take risks, and no one else’s! Because if everyone takes risks, then Ladybug may have to take more risks in order to deal with their risks, which is even riskier!

Mr. Damocles: Sounds like someone’s jealous because she wants to be a superhero.

Marinette: I do not! I’m Marinette! I’m very happy to be a normal girl, with a normal life, AND SO SHOULD EVERYONE ELSE!

Admittedly, this is a decent argument for Marinette and Socqueline to have, but I feel like they're kind of oversimplifying it. Yes, it's obvious that Socqueline and Mr. Damocles can't do much to help Ladybug without any powers, but that doesn't rule out Ladybug getting other allies in the form of local law enforcement or even other heroes with high-tech gadgets like Batman. It's also strange that the whole deal with Marinette last season was that she wasn't willing to trust anyone like Cat Noir, so wouldn't it make sense to call back to that, and consider getting help from people in other ways, like moral support?

While Socqueline tries to console Mr. Damocles, some of the dinosaurs from “Rocketear” break out, so Marinette quickly transforms into Ladybug to catch them again, but while she does so, she accidentally brings Socqueline's Alliance ring with her. Turns out that, shock of all shocks, Gabriel is secretly monitoring the Alliance rings, and the data gathered from the step counter app registers the user as moving around far beyond human capabilities. Gabriel obviously assumes that Socqueline is Ladybug, and transforms into Monarch, where we see how the new Akuma routine will go for the season. Sensing Mr. Damocles' negative emotions from believing he can't be a superhero, Monarch uses Kaalki's Voyage to send his Akuma towards one of his masks. When it reaches Mr. Damocles, Monarch uses his Alliance ring to grant him Daizzi's Gift, turning him into Darker Owl.

Darker Owl is basically just the same as Dark Owl, but with some shinier parts, and instead of the campier Batman he was originally themed after, he has a sightly deeper voice, not unlike Christian Bale's interpretation of the character. Nothing special, but compared to reusing past Akuma designs, at least an effort was made to make him look different.

Darker Owl breaks into the paint shop, believing Monarch's claim that Socqueline is Ladybug. Using one of his gadgets with the Pig Miraculous' gift, he traps Socqueline in her fantasy to be recognized as a hero by the real Ladybug and Cat Noir. Before she was trapped however, she secretly used her Alliance ring to trick Darker Owl into revealing where the Akuma is.

Of course, like a concerning amount of episodes before it, we finally get Adrien's first scene, where he's just playing video games until he learns about the Akuma, transforming into Cat Noir. Both heroes arrive to stop Darker Owl, who has taken Socqueline as a hostage, and while Cat Noir saves Socqueline, Ladybug summons her Lucky Charm, an old fashioned alarm clock.

After Cat Noir saves Socqueline, both him and Ladybug are hit by Gift, where their shared fantasy is beating Darker Owl and finding Monarch's business card in Mr. Damocles' jacket. After the two defeat Monarch and get the Miraculous back, they grow closer together, and eventually... get married... even though they're still teenagers.

Okay, that's very concerning, especially since Cat Noir's “suit” is just the Cat Blanc model with green eyes, but it's not like they're going to become parents too, right?

Oh.

Ohhhhhh....

Ohhhhhhhhhhhh nooooooo.....

youtube

Yep. The writers REALLY didn't think this through. I get that it didn't really happen, but I don't get why they had to make the fantasy of Ladybug and Cat Noir being all about them starting a family when they can't even afford new models to show that they're older so they could avoid these implications.

Putting that aside, the fantasy is decently put together, but it's nothing special compared to something like “Perchance to Dream” from Batman: The Animated Series. I like the recurring surreal imagery with the alarm clocks, and the babies looking like dolls could be seen as a way to show how fake this all is. On the other hand, I don't get whose fantasy this is exactly. Yeah, it's implied that since the same Gift bullet was fired at both Ladybug and Cat Noir, they're sharing an amalgamation of their fantasies (Ladybug defeating Monarch and getting the Miraculous back and Cat Noir starting a family with Ladybug), but it feels like more focus is given to Cat Noir's fantasy even though he didn't even get to do anything before the Akuma showed up. They even have the scene with him hesitating to leave the fantasy when it should have been Ladybug struggling to reject it. In fact, I think the reason this fantasy sequence rings hollow for me is because it doesn't really connect to the idea that Marinette wants a normal life. Wouldn't it make more sense for Marinette's fantasy to be a world where Socqueline or Alya is Ladybug instead of her? You could easily alternate between Marinette's fantasy where she lives a mundane life and alternate it with Cat Noir's fantasy where he embraces the superhero lifestyle. It would have made more sense given that this was a Marinette-centric episode,

Even after the two heroes break out, it's Cat Noir who snaps at Darker Owl, not Ladybug. You could have easily had a scene where Cat Noir is the one who has to restrain Ladybug from getting too aggressive while fighting Darker Owl to show how reliable of a partner he is. Instead, well... remember how last episode, Cat Noir felt a lot of guilt for accidentally Cataclysming Monarch when Monarch let himself take the hit? Yeah, he almost Cataclysms Darker Owl out of anger. Yeah, he’s not thinking straight, and he stops at the last minute, but it makes him look like a real hypocrite. It also doesn’t really reassure the audience that he's now the only ally Ladybug has at the moment. This moment would have made more sense if the roles were reversed, with Cat Noir begging Ladybug to not hurt Darker Owl because Monarch was the one who taunted them with their ideal lives.

Ladybug purifies the Akuma, gives Mr. Damocles a useless Magical Charm, fixes the minor damage Darker Owl caused, Daizzi is sent back to Monarch's lair, and nobody ever acknowledges that Cat Noir almost killed a man.

After Socqueline apologizes to Ladybug, and Ladybug gives a vague statement of wanting Socqueline to find another way to help, she goes back home as Marinette. Sabine offers her an Alliance ring, but Marinette decides against it, mostly because of what happened earlier.

The episode then ends to Ladybug talking with Cat Noir about what happened with Darker Owl, how he got the power of the Pig Miraculous, and what happened in their fantasy.

Cat Noir: Ladybug, that power of Jubilation... it’s supposed to show us our deepest desires, isn’t it?

Ladybug: Yes.

Cat Noir: But that was... that wasn’t real, right?

Ladybug: Tell me about it. The wedding, babies, totally… fake.

Cat Noir: Are you sure?

Ladybug: Monarch… must’ve altered it somehow, to trick us. Yeah, that’s got to be it.

Cat Noir: Of course, otherwise, it would be totally super weird, wouldn’t it?

Ladybug: Right. Totally… super… weird.

Yeah, calling what you two lived through “weird” is an understatement.

Overall, this episode was just mediocre, and other than the climax, there wasn't much for me to talk about.

Socqueline as a character confuses me. Do we really need another member of Marinette's friend group, especially when you could have easily replaced Socqueline with another character? Seriously, someone like Alya, Mylene, Kagami, Zoe, or even Chloe would have worked better, as their personalities and motivations would fit a story like this. She's just an unnecessary addition to an already bloated cast of characters.

I will say I liked how the villain side of things was handled. In a world where the use of technology in our daily lives is more common, the idea of the Alliance rings being a way for Gabriel to monitor the public is pretty clever. I’m still confused as to why he even needs to use a Miraculous to give Akumas more powers when he can already do that with Akumas in the first place, but I like how the conflict seems to be ramping up.

I also don't get the point of this conflict, especially since we already did it three seasons ago. Back in “The Dark Owl”, it was unnecessary because Ladybug and Cat Noir were already doing a good job at fighting Hawkmoth's Akumas, but now, he's stronger than ever, and they need all the help they can get. Yeah, Mr. Damocles and Socqueline were endangering themselves by trying to help others, but at least they're doing something after everyone just gave up preparing for Monarch's new wave of Akumas in “Multiplication”. But then again, at least Ladybug didn't call either of them entitled for actually wanting to help people instead of focusing on their own selfish desires like the “hero” in Kamen Rider Geats.

Even the resolution feels tacked on. In “The Dark Owl”, the ending was similar, with Mr. Damocles choosing to stop trying to be a hero, but instead focusing on doing community service, helping people in his own way. Here? Ladybug tells Socqueline to help someone without endangering herself, and we don't get any follow-up on that, not even with Mr. Damocles. It feels more tacked on than anything else.

It doesn't help that despite the episode hinting at Marinette wanting a normal life, the actual highlight of the episode, the fantasy sequence, doesn't really connect to those wishes, as Marinette stays transformed the whole time. From an out of universe perspective, it's obviously because Cat Noir and Monarch can't find out who Ladybug is, but it's not clear why her fantasy is like that. You could have easily thrown in something like that rule they established last episode of Miraculous magic not being able to interfere with other Miraculous, so Monarch and Darker Owl have to make up their own ideal fantasy for Ladybug and Cat Noir to live in because they can't completely read their minds. Well that, and also, DON'T SHOW TWO TEENAGERS BECOMING PARENTS WITHOUT EVEN AGING, BECAUSE IT GIVES OFF THE VIBE THAT THEY HAD SEX.

This episode wasn't really terrible, more boring than anything else. At least I had something to talk about with the past three episodes, but here? Outside of the fantasy, there's not much else to say.

THE BIGGEST IDIOT OF THE EPISODE IS... MR. DAMOCLES

Even though he already learned his lesson three seasons ago, he still didn't get that a man of his age and physique wasn't fit to be a superhero. At least Socqueline was established to be in good shape for her age. On top of that, he easily gave away his cover (even if it was obvious, the joke before was that everyone else pretended to not know who he is) at the drop of a hat, and when he was supposedly confronted with Ladybug's civilian identity, he didn't think to just rip her earrings off, and spent way too much time talking before he zapped her with a Gift bullet.

#immaturity of thomas astruc #iota #miraculous ladybug #miraculous ladybug salt #ml salt #marinette dupain cheng #ladybug #cat noir #chat noir #gabriel agreste #hawkmoth #hawk moth #monarch #monarch miraculous #mr damocles #dark owl #darker owl #socqueline wang

94 notes · View notes

theerurishipper · 2 months

Note

What's ur opinion on the whole "Blame the writing not the character" thing for writing, cause I think miraculous and its Fandom is a weird case.

Normally I prefer approaching everything from the "Blame the character" angle because at the end of the day all a character is IS their writing (this also applies to good things oc, not just bad). Especially regarding their emotions I don't see much purpose in distancing everything one doesn like about a character from them by saying "Oh, it's just the writing. Disregard it, tahts not who the character truly is" cause at some point that just reads as.. kinda refusing to acknowledge who the character on screen actually is bc one doesn like it.

Miraculous is just a weird case. You can smell the meta decisions 10 miles against the wind - like Marinette and Alya for some reason being able to beat Adrien in battle and Cat Noir pre-s5 being "incompetent". You know exactly that this is not character based writing, Cat has to be weaker than Ladybug and Scarabella because they're girls and they have to look good. It's hard saying Adrien is a weaker fighter in all those cases, or when the temp heros need to be brought in, because you at some level know exactly that there is a meta reason behind it. And that makes it hard to discredit him for that just as much as it's harder to actually give the girls credit for their abilities. They shouldn't be able to beat him so easily, but they do because of their gender and this shows "rules". Just like there is no actual reason in-universe for why he's suddenly on Ladybug's level in season 5. It just is.

(kinda weird how the show also never gave Kagami credit for being a trained fighter either. I guess they thought they can't acknowledge her training either or else they couldn't get away with making Adrien weaker as Cat Noir. So they probably dead ass denied Kagami her special spotlight too for shallow reasons (but at least their consistent)

But on the other hand, I personally don't think Marinette and Adrien leaving in Kwamis choice without saying goodbye to each other is out of character the way most people say it and then just disregard it by saying "it's the writing, not the characters". Rewatching that two parter, it set up alot from the finale, and I don't think them leaving each other like that is out of character just a harsh reality check where we are at after s4.

They never came out of that season actually "better" partnership wise just because Adrien decided to stay by her side these two times and remained kind and supportive. That was decided to be the Cat's definitive job towards the Ladybug so that's what he's continuing to do but that doesn't really concern anything beyond that. In my opinion it is very much questionable how much Ladybug and Cat Noir are actually REAL FRIENDS and not just kind collegues the way Marinette wanted in s4 (with potential for real friendship under better circumstances).

That's also why Adrien gave himself up in the finale, no? If they were real friends he would have been able to ask for her help as she was the only one who could have kept him save because of her yo-yo. But they're just kind collegues, so he didn't.

And just because he stayed her teammate doesn't it mean he's still in love with Ladybug or that he still WANTS to be in love with her after all that pain it caused him. So he made a harsh decision thanks to Plagg and prioritized finally being happy and getting some stability, especially because Gabriel was being fake loving.

And Marinette's romantic feelings for Cat Noir and her acknowledgment of him all together have always been of shakey and chaotic nature. Her feelings for him really started whne she was at her lowest an thinking herself all alone while also being afraid of her feelings for Adrien.

This was from the get go an already dark orange sign for how genuine her feelings are (desperation is always an iffy foundation) and as others already said, she's never seeing more in him than the mask. How can you say you really love a person when you only acknowledge half of their personhood? Marinette only started taking interest in who Cat is when she started getting frustrated by him not reacting the way she wanted him to. If he had I don't think Marinette would have thought about wanting to know who he really is, it really came across like a frustration thing which explained why she was so reckless about it in Elation, and why she then left afterwards.

I don't wanna say she saw no purpose in him anymore after being rejected by him (that's too strong) but we already saw in season 4 that Marinette's treatment or acknowledge of Cat Noir very much reflects what use and purpose she sees in him, hence why he was basically reduced to an irrelevant footnote by the end of season 4. Yes, she wanted him there as teammate but thats it. It's still questionable in my opinion if she even noticed him not showing up anymore at the beginning of Kuro Neko since she reacts surprised when the reporter points out his absence and then claims towards Plagg Cat should be happy that he gets to have time off, as if she just convinced herself that she generously allowed him a week off instead of her having been so deep in team leader mode that she didn't even notice him not showing up anymore.

Marinette not noticing him having stopped showing up is a harsh characterization, but I wouldn't call it out of character in the broader sense.

So her leaving when he rejects her, because she doesn't want to be his friend and teammate but his girlfriend and he said no? Can't say thats out of character either because the show is also really consistent in her characterization that she doesn't see much value in being friends with Adrien either because she loves him, so being friends is the worst thing possible for her.

À décision being harsh and not what one likes doesn mean it's out of character and one should distance the event from the character in one's head.

I think Kwamis choice makes alot of sense, as does the focus on Adrinette instead of Ladynoir, and how the finale played out.

Which goes back to my original question. It's very obvious that there are 20. 000 meta reason controlling the narrative, but in my opinion only in a specific way. Everything still makes sense in my opinion, it just feels so CONTROLLED.

Marinette is a mouthpiece for the writers messages but even if I think the messages are fucked up and hypocritical, I can't say any of it was ever out of character for her?

You get what I mean?

Yeah, I get that. I myself approach it from the "blame the writers" way, but like you said, it's a blurry line. What tips me over ultimately is the fact that Marinette should have grown but clearly didn't. What she does isn't out of character for her for sure, but as far as the writers are concerned, she has grown and she is better, and all the stuff she's doing isn't really a bad thing. So, I can't in good conscience blame the character for being bad when the people who are bringing her to life are the ones who really believe all the stuff that's being said through her. She's supposed to have developed as per the writers' vision, but clearly, she hasn't. It's bad writing, and that really isn't the character's fault. That's how I see it.

Thank you for your ask!

#ML Salt #ML Writing Salt #ML Writers Salt #Marinette Salt #Asks

26 notes · View notes

comics-and-fanworks · 2 years

Text

ML Career Choice Part 3

Hi! I still don’t know how to tag so here’s my best attempt!

@its-maemain, @yasmin-rdz, @marsrize, @pasteile,

vixen-uchiha

TW for disasters and mentions of death, and Jason Todd swearing.

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

Marinette had never moved so fast in her life. She arrived to see her beloved city in ruins, and their was nothing her Miracle Cure could do. Buildings had collapsed, sinkholes had split open, and parts of the city had flooded. She could hear people screaming, crying, and everything in between. Buildings burned from electrical fires, and she felt like she was looking at hell on earth. People were dead, she knew it, it would be naïve to assume that no one died in an event like this. Her mind was already kicking into overdrive. People would need to be rescued, the dead will need to be buried, the injured treated, debris cleared, weakened buildings would need to be demolished, plans must be drawn and contractors must be hired. Gotham would get through this she’d make sure of it, so Marinette did what she does best, and made a plan.

Phase one was to take out unnecessary variables, so it was time for Hawkmoth, Mayura, and Chat Noir to go. With help from Tim she was able to hack into Paris’s CCTV cameras, and what she saw surprised her. Hawkmoth, Mayura, and Chat Noir all lived under the same roof, what were the chances. It didn’t surprise her that Adrien was Chat, when she thought about it the two were incredibly similar and were always defending each other relentlessly. She suspected he used his Chat Noir persona as an outlet to behave in ways he never could as Adrien. Jason was still furious, and she resolved to take Chat’s ring first (she did not need more destruction, and a large part of her brain was telling her that Jason would look amazing in a catsuit). Mayura would be second, and Hawkmoth would be last.

Pega-Bug had teleported into the Agreste Manor with the Red Hood at her side. The two quietly made their way through the maze of a house, Tim had disabled the house’s security systems and cameras, but the two still had to be careful. They were about to enter Adrien’s room, when a certain black cat kwamii met them holding a ring. Mayura’s pin was easy enough, she was passed out exhausted. Gabriel turned out to be tougher, as he hid the butterfly broach. After many minutes of searching, they found it hidden in a drawer full of plans on ways to restore his company. “He needs to let it go. His days in the spotlight are over after the shit he’s pulled,” Jason muttered. Nodding, Pega-Bug opened a portal back to Gothem, and the two left just as the sun was beginning to rise and the former cat was beginning to wake.

Marinette never thought she would do something like this, but with barely 24 hours after the disaster, she needed to make sure Gotham’s villains wouldn’t cause problems. In the abandoned shipping warehouse she stood before Bane, the Sirens, Penguin, and Killer Croc. She wasn’t in costume, she faced them as Marinette, not Ladybug. She could feel her husband’s eyes on her back, ready to swoop in the moment he thought she was in danger. Gotham was still well, Gotham. Supervillains were as common as the rain, and she had to make sure she could rebuild Gotham in peace.

“So why’d you call us here lady,” The penguin sneered. Marinette had to be quick, or Jason would start shooting. Mari took a breath, “As you all know, Gotham is in ruins right now, and I need people I can count on to keep the rest of the rogues under control until we can rebuild.” The villains looked at each other, unsure if they should trust the newest Wayne. “What’s in it for us,” Poison Ivy’s eyes narrowed, the Sirens were more inclined to help seeing as Selina and Bruce were sort of dating, but she knew the others would take more convincing. Ivy had a soft spot for the newest Wayne due to her push for more eco-friendly architecture.

“We’ll rebuild the botanical gardens since they sustained major damage, The Iceberg Lounge is currently underwater so we’ll raise that. Museums are refusing to send artifacts to Gotham so unless you wanna relocate Selina, we’ll have to fix those, Harley for you I’ll condemn Joker’s amusement park and remake it into Harley’s Fun Land. The sewers also have collapsed so Croc you have no way of moving undetected, and Bane your fighting rings are currently broken beyond repair and will need fixing. I can take care of all of that. I just need you all to take care of the rogues that don’t care, like Joker and Scarecrow.” They couldn’t deny that she had a point. After a moment of deliberation, Marinette and the Penguin shook hands. The Gotham Rogues would help her, as long as she kept her part of the deal. Almost as soon as she was out of the warehouse, she was scooped up by her husband, and spent the rest of the night reassuring him that she was okay.

Phase two was clearing the rubble and rescuing trapped people. Marinette was surprised with how smoothly this process was going, since multiple heroes (and even some villains with morals) arrived in Gotham to help. It took a major load off of her shoulders, because what would take a crew of 500 to clear in a month, Wonder Woman could clear in a day. She was also relieved to find out there were minimal casualties. Gothamites’ unique ability to sense oncoming Rogue attacks seemed to work with natural disasters as well. That didn’t mean there were no injuries. Thousands of people were hurt, ranging from scrapes and bruises to broken bones and everything outside and in between. This was nothing that Zatanna and the other magic users couldn’t handle, and Marinette found herself adding to the list of heroes and villains she would be sending gift baskets to.

It was at this time that the League of Assassins decided she should be kidnapped. Of course, with everything going on surely no one would miss her. SURELY she had nothing better to do with her time then sit tied to a chair with a sword to her neck and threats of death if she didn’t rebuild the city the way the League wanted it. She wasn’t really paying attention, so she may have missed parts of it. What she didn’t miss was that the Lazarus Pit was critically damaged. What would that do if it leaked into the soil? Apparently Ra’s al Ghul kept the original plans for the Lazarus Pit, but did not think to use it to keep the original architect alive. Marinette was debating on if this should be her problem or not, when her youngest Brother-in-Law and husband busted in. Damian was getting into a screaming match with his mother and grandfather, while Jason was checking on his wife. Marinette was so caught up in everything that she didn’t even realize her scuffle with the League of Assassins led to a broken arm, Tikki was gonna kill her.

Eventually, she got tired of the arguing and Jason freaking out. “THAT’S ENOUGH! I have too much on my plate as it is! Unless the Lazarus Pit is going to leak out into the environment and make the city a wasteland you’ll need to get someone else to fix it!” Everyone stood silent as Marinette crossed her arms and began to tap her foot impatiently. Talia nods. “That’s exactly what will happen.” Marinette sighed and marched over to the assassin holding the plans. She took the plans and began flipping through them, before pausing, “Did you really have to kidnap me? You couldn’t have started with that?” She sighed. They better have coffee down here, she was going to need it.

Three days later the Lazarus Pit was restored, but the same could not be said about Damian’s relationship with his mother. He was still upset about the League kidnapping his favorite Sister-in-Law, and Talia was furious that he was more loyal to Marinette than the League. Mari was the first person who really encouraged him to pursue his own interests and help him find his own path. She knew what it was like to have a lot to live up to in terms of being a Guardian and also being a hero, and she understood the pressure Damian was under. She didn’t want him to make the same mistakes she did, and decided to help him when she could. She helped him realize that his life was his, and he didn’t have to live to only fulfill others’ expectations. She was happy he was much more confident than she was at his age, and knew he wouldn’t end up falling into the “Everyday Ladybug” trap she did.

Speaking of the past, many of her old classmates reached out to offer help in redesigning and rebuilding Gotham. They were appalled that Gotham was abandoned, Alya in particular got in contact with Lois Lane, and the two made sure the story never left the headlines. The others helped the best they could too, using the influence they gained in their respective careers to hold fundraisers and supply drives to send to Gotham. Chloe even pitched in (she and Marinette and come to a truce in high school) and convinced her mother to make a new clothing line, and donate half the proceeds to the Rebuild Gotham Fund, “Dupain-Cheng, I mean Todd-Wayne- Marinette will want to work with someone when she makes her return to the fashion world. Would you rather that be you, the Style Queen, or another major fashion house? Ridiculous, utterly ridiculous!” Tom and Sabine were also determined to help their daughter, and with a little help from Nadja Chamack, The line outside their bakery was always wrapped around the block.

Only three people in Paris were refusing to help, and they were all currently holed up in the Agreste Mansion. Lila was still furious that she was thrown out of Marinette’s wedding reception (that she and the others crashed). How could this happen to her?! She, Lila Rossi, was supposed to be the successful and famous one! She was supposed to be married to a Wayne! SHE was supposed to be the one the world adored! Not Marinette! Unlike the other people in the room, Lila knew that after the stunt she pulled, she had no way of wiggling back into Marinette’s good graces. She also knew that since the public knew about what she did, it would be hard for her to run in the famous social circles she wanted to be in, since her reputation had been ruined and no matter how much damage control she did it would most likely stay that way. Lila was smart, and she always knew when to abandon a sinking ship, and she felt that now would be the perfect time to abandon the S.S. Agreste.

Gabriel was in a daze. His Miraculouses (Miraculousi???) were gone. He’d turned the Mansion upside down looking for the peacock broach and butterfly pin, but they were gone. What he did find in their place was a note, with two simple words on it: ‘I know.’ It was signed ‘L,’ and there was no doubt in his mind that L was Ladybug. He was also dealing with the PR nightmare that was his model, his son, and himself being thrown out of the wedding reception they crashed, not to mention the restraining order they got as well. The Wayne lawyers were a stone wall of legality, and no matter how hard he or his lawyers tried, they refused to budge and refused to let him try and smooth things over with Marinette. Unless something major happened his company would be bankrupt by the end of the year. For once in his life, he did not feel like he was in control.

Adrien was fully in denial as he sat in his messy room. He woke up to find his Miraculous gone, and a note from Plagg. It read, ‘Kid, when I first met you I thought you would be a great cat, and for a while you were. Things started going downhill fast though, you wouldn’t listen or work with Ladybug, you’d harass her constantly, and you would often refuse to help if you didn’t get your way. I tried to tell you, but you refused to listen. Then Lila came along and you chose to sit back and watch as she destroyed Marinette’s life, hell, you helped her. I thought you cared about Pigtails? I thought she was your friend? You sure didn’t treat her like one. You threw her to the wolves, helped destroy her career, then when the consequences of your, Lila, and your father’s actions came back to bite you, you continued to harass Pigtails to fix it. YOU CRASHED HER WEDDING RECEPTION AND DEMANDED SHE FIX YOUR MESS. That’s messed up. Don’t get started on that ‘She’s our Everyday Ladybug’ bs either. Just because someone’s a good person, doesn’t mean you can treat them like crap and expect them to take it with a smile. I’m leaving, of my own accord. Ladybug’s coming to pick me up, and I guess it doesn’t matter now so I’ll tell you this: Marinette and Ladybug are one in the same. You managed to treat the same woman like crap in two different personas. I’m happy Bug’s in Gotham now, and I’m happy she’s found herself a better cat.’ Plagg left him. Marinette was Ladybug. She left him. His Lady and his Everyday Ladybug were the same person, and she was married to someone else. A part of him knew he should never have told Marinette to take the high road, a part of him knew he should have acted better with Ladybug. He had always assumed that both Ladybug and Marinette would always forgive him, and that they adored him so it didn’t really matter, but now he could see how wrong he really was. As he watched Marinette and Jason helping at one of the makeshift hospitals set up in Gotham, he couldn’t help but notice a familiar ring on Jason’s finger. ‘Maybe she really has found a better cat.’

Phase Three was finally ready to begin! Some buildings were able to survive the earthquake, so those had been repaired first, but most of Gotham was lost in the damage. It had taken weeks (and a small graveyard’s worth of pencils) but Marinette had finally drawn up new plans for the city! It was difficult, but she was able to combine Gotham’s iconic gothic architecture with more sturdy, eco-friendly building components. When she pitched her idea to the city, it was a hit. Gothamites refused to be so reliant on the rest of the country anymore, since it was clear that in a crisis, they would not be helped. With people around the world chipping into a construction fund, they had the budget needed to make the dream happen, so with employees hired, the journey to rebuild Gotham finally began.

Marinette also made sure to keep her promises to the rogues she allied with as well. The botanical gardens were the first thing she tackled, and under a very happy Poison Ivy’s supervision she was able to rebuild and expand the gardens. She brought in wonderful plants from all over the world, and the building had some nice new laboratories as well. It’s crowning jewel was an exhibit of rare orchids from around the world. Next, she decided to tackle the Iceberg Lounge. After deciding that the old building was the lost cause, she rebuilt it, and improved upon the original idea. She added many flourishes like a beautiful crystal grand staircase, and a massive island bar with an aquarium inside. The top was made of strong glass, and acted as a main stage while there were smaller ones along the side. On the ceiling she added light blue lights and a mist maker, which gave the hanging crystals a sparkly, ice-like affect. When the Penguin saw it he shook her hand and said he should have hired her to design the first one as well. It quickly became the coolest club on the east coast. The Gotham Museum got some nice upgrades as well. The building had survived the earthquake with minimal damage, but that didn’t mean that it didn’t need some work. Marinette expanded it, and added a gemstone exhibit, a massive Ancient Egypt exhibit, and a famous jewelry exhibit. The last one was so she could keep an eye out for any missing Miraculous that might show up, but there was another reason as well. She was able to convince many museums to send artifacts, gemstones and jewelry citing Catwoman as the main reason. “It would certainly draw a crowd if you had a piece that was stolen by the most famous thief in the world,” she’d tell them. Sure enough, it worked like a charm.

The Joker put up quite a fight about his amusement park being destroyed, however he was no match for the new Gotham hero Lady Miracle (whom everyone suspected was Paris’s Ladybug) the Bat Fam, and a large chunk of Gotham’s Rogues. He was quickly defeated and returned to Arkham, which had thankfully survived the disaster. By now the city was about 50% complete, and she began work on Harley’s Fun Land. She added coasters, games, rides, a cruelty-free circus, and anything else Harley could think of. There was carnival food, bumper cars, a waterpark, and a Pie the Clown attraction. If you hit all of the dummies that looked like the Joker, you’d win a replica of Harley’s hammer. She was even there when Harley got to cut the ribbon and welcome Gothamites into their new theme park, and she and Jason got to have a romantic ferris wheel moment. She rebuilt the sewers, and added some improvements for Killer Croc. They were now deep enough for him to comfortably swim in, and had multiple entrances he could fit through all over the city. Much to his surprise and delight, she added a nice living space for him, and she even through in some comforts like a TV with various subscriptions, and some consoles with controllers he could use. Bane’s fighting rings were her final project, and she decided she wanted to help him branch into legal fights. Sure supervillains would still duke it out, but now it was regulated and there were safety standards, so he now had a legal source of income. This also meant she could expand the small rings, into an arena. They called it the Colosseum, and in no time at all fighters were lined up hoping to take on Bane. Opening Night’s main fight was Bane vs Kalibak, the Son of Darkseid. No one quite knew how she pulled that off, but she did get him to agree not to go to war with Earth if he lost. The packed house roared as Bane defeated Kalibak after an incredibly long and close fight. The king was back, and stronger than ever. With Marinette’s side of the deal fulfilled, the Rogues who had helped her made a pact amongst themselves: If Marinette needed help in the future, they would help her, and they’d make sure NO ONE harmed their favorite business partner.

After many months, Marinette, Jason, and the rest of the Wayne family stood proudly looking at the new Gotham. The rising sun shone and reflected off of the glass of the new buildings, and many more gargoyles stood watch over the city. It took everything they had, but Gotham was restored, a shining example of just what Gothamites were capable of, of what Marinette was capable of. In Marinette’s purse, Tikki was beaming with pride at her holder. Her Baby Bug has come so far, and still has so much to do. She was so happy her Chosen hadn’t given up, and that she had found her Cat. Tikki could practically hear Plagg purring in Jason’s pocket. As the Wayne’s press conference began, Marinette was given the mic to speak. She spoke of how difficult it was, but that they did it. The resilience of Gotham and the determination to heal, and how she was honored to help the city that had accepted her as one of its own. Finally, she ended her speech with,

“Well with that, Jason and I have some exciting news to share. I can’t see myself slowing down anytime soon, although it won’t be engineering, architecture, and fashion that’ll be keeping me busy. What I’m trying to say is... I’m pregnant!” And the excited cheers of the Gothamites rang out, the city couldn’t wait to be introduced to the newest, already beloved Wayne.

~~~~~~

Sorry it took me so long! I’m currently a college student so things have been a bit busy! Also thank you so much to all the people who have followed me, liked my work, commented, and reblogged! It means the world to me and I appreciate Y’all so much! Lemme know if I need to change anything or if I didn’t tag correctly!

#marinette deserves better #marinette dupen chang #lila salt #gabriel salt #adrien salt #class redemption #maribat #jasonette

400 notes · View notes