#when she's literally interviewed LADYBUG HERSELF | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

sariahsue · 1 year

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Let Me Count the Ways

Chapter Four - The Race

[Ch 1] [Ch 2] [Ch 3]

"Five minutes until you're on."

"Thank you, Luc." Chat Noir said.

Luc bobbed his head in acknowledgement and shut the door of the greenroom.

"Only five minutes?" Ladybug whined. "I do not need this right now. Why did we agree to do this interview?"

"Because Nadja asked us so nicely."

The greenroom wasn't very large, and Ladybug had been pacing from one end to the other for the past fifteen minutes. There were only three cushioned chairs, a loveseat, a square wooden table, and an empty bowl. (He'd eaten all the candy by himself when Ladybug said she felt too sick to have any.)

"I hate these things! I'm going to stutter and trip and everyone will think they can't trust us because how could someone so dumb protect them from evil?" She undid a pigtail, tied it again, and marched back over to the full-length mirror on the back wall.

"First off, they've seen us protecting them for years. We've done a good job, and they know it. That's not all going to be erased if you fall over one time." Chat Noir came over to stand behind her. "Second of all, you look fine, LB. Don't worry about it."

"Easy for you to say." She patted the top of her head to smooth out invisible stray hairs. "You always look amazing."

He opened his mouth and closed it again slowly, unsure how to respond to the compliment. It didn't look like she noticed his reaction or even what she'd said. She was checking out her hair from all angles and growing steadily paler.

"You're right." Playing it off as a joke was probably the best idea. And as a bonus, maybe he could help put her at ease. "Did you know that I was adopted?"

"What?" she asked, turning to him.

"Yeah, my parents paid the doctor to steal the most beautiful baby in the hospital for them."

She snorted and turned back to the mirror. "Did they? That explains a lot about you."

Wait. Was she still agreeing that he was good looking? If she kept that up, she wouldn't be the only one tripping their way onto the stage. He felt like he could float away he was so happy. "Yeah, my face is literally worth a fortune now."

"I'll bet," she said.

"Paris is lucky to have us," he said.

"Yeah, I guess." She picked up the tips of her pigtails and let them fall again. They felt limply to her shoulders.

Chat Noir swallowed. This was probably not a good idea, but he couldn't resist throwing in a compliment. "Lucky to have the two hottest people in this city for heroes."

Ladybug jumped forward and toppled into the mirror. He snatched it before it hit the ground and shattered. She wasn't so fortunate. She landed hard on her elbow with a yelp.

"Sorry! Sorry!" That had gone worse than he'd anticipated. He was expecting a blush or stutter at worst, and a playful shove at best. "I, uh– I shouldn't have–"

She rubbed her elbow and pushed herself to her knees. "R-Right, Nadja likes interviewing us so often because we're both so pretty. Sure."

"Attractive people are good for ratings," he said, trying to steer the conversation back in the right direction. "It's a proven fact."

She marched over to the table and picked up the bowl, then put it back down again in a slightly different spot, then went around and fluffed all the pillows on each chair. Anything to keep from looking at him and his dumb face.

Why was he so stupid? He should have just kept his mouth shut. Now she was more flustered. He was supposed to be helping her. But no, he had to make it worse for her. And she was already going through so much, even without the added stress of interviews and fame. She still hadn't been able to share what had been bothering her so much since the gala, and he knew that was still weighing on her, too.

Before he could think of a way to make her laugh or distract her again, Luc opened the door and poked his head in. "Time." He left, leaving the door open after him so they would follow.

Time. Chat Noir had run out of it.

"Sorry," he said again. He grabbed the door handle and held it open wider. "After you?"

"Let's just get this over with so I can go home and scream into my pillow and never see another human being ever again."

They walked silently down the short hallway to the wings of the stage. Nadja introduced her guests. The live audience roared applause. Ladybug squared her shoulders and set a wide smile on her face, leading the way into the blinding stage lights.

---

Two days later, the interview aired. Within minutes, it was the highlight of every Ladybug blog and chat room and tabloid in the city. A few details in particular had caught everyone's attention. Ladybug's persistent blush, how her eyes flicked to her partner every time he spoke, how mixed up her words seemed to be.

Instead of condemning her for her stuttering, the media found it endearing and were delighted. Headlines like "Ladybug in Love!" and "Has the Savior of Paris Finally Fallen for Her Feline Friend?" were all over the internet.

"I wish," Adrien said out loud. He was slumped in front of his computer, chin in his hands.

"You talking to me?" Plagg called.

"She was blushing during the interview and people are misinterpreting it, when it was really my fault because I made her uncomfortable."

Plagg shook his head. "You're right, kid. It really is all your fault."

Adrien didn't know what he meant. He just continued scrolling.

---

Tag list: @clawsout83 @trippingovermyfeet @tbehartoo

#ml #mlb #miraculous ladybug #miraculous #ladynoir

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miraculouslybroadway · 4 months

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Tales of Multibug & Vipercat:

Chloe’s Internship (But Really, Chloe’s Character Arc)

At first, she did not like it when Ladybug said she didn’t get the bee miraculous anymore.

Then, slowly, she began realizing why she didn’t get the miraculous anymore. She was no better than Lila, who she despised. Sure she never lied to make herself look better, but she lied to get what she wanted and to hurt others. It didn’t matter how good she was as Queen Bee (well, it mattered a little), if she wasn’t as good as Chloe how good was she?

So that’s when she found Marinette and apologized. Actually, she apologized to all of them. The ones who didn’t follow Lie-la anyways. She even tried apologizing to Sabrina, but Sabrina wouldn’t listen.

She was the one who came up with the idea for the Superhero PR department. It regulated anything public about the heroes, issued public statements from Multibug and Vipercat, and as the icing on the cake, could override any social media or blog posts (or even whole blogs) and erase them from the internet.

So yes, maybe she did enjoy getting to click the button to take down the LadyBlog.

But beyond that there was a whole world of legal things she was learning, and it was actually really interesting. She advocated for herself to get an internship, and even went through an interview process. (That was when Marinette realized she was serious about making a change.)

At first it was hard balancing that with school (who knew actually applying yourself meant working harder), but she got the hang of it. Surprisingly it was Alix who helped her the most. Because Chloe struggled the most in history (and Alix literally lived in a museum), Alix offered to be her tutor.

All it had taken was one gay joke from Kim for Chloe to realize that she didn’t like Alix like that. Actually, she didn’t like anyone like that. She liked the attention, but even with Adrien she never felt like that before.

Alix was the one who supported her through this discovery, and when she was ready Alix was the one who sat next to her when she told their friends. They were all gathered in Marinette’s room hanging out when she decided it was time.

She had to go to work soon, but she took a breath and spit it out.

Marinette was thrilled. She immediately tackled Chloe in a hug.

“Chill out Nette, it’s not that big.” She scoffed (but was secretly relieved). “Luka get your girlfriend.”

Once Marinette was settled again she smiled and exclaimed, “Chloe it is a big deal! You trust us enough to share with this with us!”

Rose was beaming. “Yeah Chlo! And of course we’re happy! You’re our friend and we love you!!!” Beside her bubbly girlfriend, Juleka nodded in agreement.

That was the first time Chloe felt unconditional love.

The second time was when Marinette invited her over one evening for “no reason.”

“I’m dyeing my hair.” She announced proudly when Chloe entered her room.

Beside her was Juleka, holding an armful of tools. Kagami was there too, and so was Marc and they were painting each others nails.

She raised an eyebrow. “Nette, I could’ve called a stylist.”

Marinette beamed. “Juleka needs practice, she’s trying to get her certificate, and I volunteered to be a practice model.”

“Same!” Marc added from off to the side.

“Don’t look at me I am leaving with my hair the same color as it was when I arrived. I don’t feel like getting on my mom’s nerves right now, I’m in a good mood.” Kagami blew on her wet nail polish.

“Well…Juleka if you need practice I want some blue in my hair. Or black. Or something.”

From behind her bangs Juleka was beaming.

So that they in between putting foils in each others hair that little group had a lot of fun. By the next morning Marinette was doting pink hair at her tips fading out of her already brilliant blue. Marc’s hair had a rainbow peekaboo (Juleka was very proud of her work). True to her word, Kagami’s hair was the same color, but her nails sported an assortment of glitters, chrome powder, and various reds. As for Chloe, her hair…well it was certainly different. Her natural blonde faded into blue, fading into black. She now sported bangs with some pretty well done added layers.

It was a bit of a surprise when she first woke up and hasn’t processed that she had gone through with it, but once she realized she had it was worth it. Juleka had really done a great job.

She got picked up by her driver, but as she headed to work she couldn’t help but smile to herself. Chloe knew she was a work in progress, but she knew she had found the right people to help her on the way.

#chloe bourgeois redemption #alternate universe #miraculous ladybug

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wiitchkins · 5 years

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“It was often joked about in the Dupain-Cheng Agreste Household that Hugo and Louis entered the world out of order, and that Louis was the more mature of the two.

In part, this was true. As much as Hugo presented himself as the cold, reserved and suave teen-model, behind closed doors the family knew that the boy was simply, a petty, overdramtic, occasiomally emotionally unstable hot mess prone to tantrums, poor romantic choices, and simply having too big a heart.

Louis, on the other hand, was an absolute enigma of a child with a widely varied skill set, level confidence and sheer intelligence and brain power that absolutely no 12 year old should ever have, lest they become simple too poweful.” - untitled fanfic backstory idk if this’ll make the final cut lol read the tags

#miraculous ladybug #hugo agreste #louis agreste #some further notes:#hugo is like. howl but like disaster overdramatic petty howl from the book and also that one scene in the movie where he dyes his hair wron #but also he has a ~heart of gold~ he's mostly just like a true romantic #louis is an absolute gremlin like he's well know as a literal prodigy but also he one time did fortnight dances at an interview #one time louis got nino to dab at a red carpet or something #he likes to hang out with auntie chloe cause she'll buy him like cool sunglasses and they'll go out in like matching fur coats it's wild #alya actively challenges him tho like. she's the one that calls him out on when he's just acting #emma agreste #also not to dismiss emma as simple the middle child but. the story is at least in part about her growth #so for now.#that's how she sees herself a lot of the time #my art

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taldigi · 2 years

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fashion club au thing i've been mulling over for a few weeks, utilizing concept characters.

>marinette is actually middle class in this au, her parents bakery isn't doing very good so they decide to move locations and she has to move schools.

>She went to dupont because it was close, but it was deffo like.. school in a really affluent area so everyone in her class was like heckin rich as beans. (livin in paris aint cheap)

>new house is small... but its comfortable and she at least has her own room. It's not as spacious, but she can climb out of her window and chill out and she has a few potted plants. kinda like that one concept art here:

>new school is way smaller, and is a more traditional school. individual desks. no giant open-air courtyard... Marinette isn't sure how to feel because new school + not being familiar with escape routes for ladybug-ing + no friends..

>there's a uniform (ew! thankfully she is allowed to wear her earrings because they are plain, and her ears are pierced). based it off her semi-final 3d look. Options for pants, shorts, and skirts are allowed.

>she sees a flyer for a fashion club. Tikki encourages her to go and make new friends and she meets Alina and Flora there. Shes initially uncomfortable and expected it to be bigger but they're just thrilled someone else showed up. Once they start actually talking fashion, Marinette warms up to them immediately.

>felix shows up too. He's not as interested in the fashion aspect, but he's good at numbers and has been friends with Flora since they were kids. His family runs a textile business, Sphinx Textiles, and supplies a lot of fabric for big name people: including Audrey and Gabriel. He often brings scrap fabric from his father's shop for the girls to use. He recognises her as a girl who's won the favor of both gabriel AND audrey and the girls loose it. Marinette is literally the coolest. and she's done WHAT for jagged???

>marinette leaves with a few more numbers in her phone and a positive feeling- sure, it was sad to leave her old friends back at dupont, but this is a new beginning and that felix guy kinda cute doe

>alina (concept alya) also runs a hero news site but because she never throws herself in danger to get ladybug's attention she dosent get the interviews so she dosent get the hits. her blog is way more information-oriented and often gets insights on post-akuma happenings and she's a lot more investigative than Alya (who does more social-media/top ten/gossip kinda stuff)

>felix (concept adrian) is chat still but because he's concept chat he uses his black hole to teleport to the scene way faster than Ladybug. So him going to another school isn't a roadblock. His dad (Richard) isn't hawkmoth but he's very cold. He's a richboi but not like.. super obscenely rich like the Agrestes are. (I would be interested in him being a lv2 villian after hawkmoth is taken down. Null my beloved) He boxes for sport and a lot of girls think he's pretty fly. He's only got eyes for ladybug, but... I dunno, this new girl is pretty cute doe....

>flora (concept chloe) is all about the accessories! pins, making wire jewlery, resin- but because the school has a uniform and minimal customization options, and such things are not allowed, she smuggles them to school. She's really shy but when things toggle one of her special interests, she will infodump.

anyway

#Fashion Club AU #digit's art tag #digit's miraculous tag #felix sphinx #Alina C.#Flora B.#Concept Felix #Concept Alya #Concept Chloe #marinette dupain-cheng #lowkey alya salt #Felixette

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nxrthmizu · 3 years

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Crash and Burn

fandom | miraculous ladybug

genre | salt, lila salt

pairing | n/a

w.c | 3.2k

author's note | hey remember that lila salt fic i promised? this isn't it but this is something i made today so yep. please accept this as an apology for yknow. me promising to write and. not doing it.

Enough was enough.

“Marinette, stop accusing Lila! She just wants to make friends!”

“Take the high road.”

“Be a good model student, Marinette.”

Enough. Was. Enough.

Marinette had the connections, the power, the choice to make Lila’s entire world crumble apart. The only thing that stood between the liar’s demise was the tiniest pinch of morality and self-restraint— And no, that self-restraint did not come in the form of Tikki. Even the kwami, who had to be an aggregation of all the good and nice things in the world, was fed up and ready to retaliate.

“What a joke.” Lila cackled, tossing a chunk of her sausage hair over her shoulder flamboyantly. The two girls were in the bathroom, with Lila smirking in front of the sink and Marinette a little distance away from her. “You can make my world crumble? What is this, a threat?”

“A promise.” Marinette corrected. “Stop telling lies. Come clean to every one. No more lying about knowing celebrities left and right, no more making excuses about not being able to take your own notes, no more making up ‘diseases’ just so your life gets a little more convenient. To be frank, I really don’t care what happens to you— But by making these empty promises to introduce my classmates to great ‘celebrities’, you’re ruining their futures. Stop.”

“And what are you going to do if I don’t?” Lila sneered, face twisted into an ugly grin. “You going to cry in front of the class? Try and convince them that I, the one they adore— That I am lying?”

“No.” Marinette’s eyes were clear when she met Lila’s. The clouds of self-doubt that used to hover over the bright, shining star inside her soul had now dissipated, letting the bluenette emit a confident, glowing appearance as she met the liar head on. “I’m just going to keep my promise.”

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Lila headed off to a modelling shoot after school, pleased at the prospect of spending more time with Adrien. There were a couple tendrils of Marinette’s words hanging behind in her mind— Did the girl mean what she said? Did she actually… Was she actually capable of causing Lila’s downfall? … Surely not. Marinette may have once been the ‘Everyday Ladybug’, but there was no way she was that competent, there was no way the girl was capable of plotting.

The Italian hummed, brushing away thoughts of the annoying bluenette from her mind. She was going on a photoshoot— One that was going cause the rise and burst of her career, the one that was going to make her name a globally-known one. Unfortunately for Lila, her plans were going to be derailed quite soon— In fact, as soon as Gabriel Agreste’s car rolled into the parking lot of the shoot location.

“Explain this, Mlle. Rossi.” Gabriel’s nostrils flared as he pointed to the tabloid article on his tablet. The Italian girl froze, the headlines seared into her eyes, big and black and bold, shooting poison right into the core of her body, paralysing her cell by cell starting from her heart. “What is the meaning of this?”

‘Adrien Agreste Reported To Be Harassed by Fellow Model’— The image under the caption was one that was clearly taken by a hidden photographer. The picture was framed with leafy foliage, which suggested that the camera was tucked up in a tree. Despite the distance, it was quite obvious in the image that Adrien was reeling away, disgusted and uncomfortable as a faceless woman in an orange blazer, back turned to the camera— Invaded his personal space.

The subtitle was the cream on the cupcake.

‘Witnesses State Gabriel Agreste Ignorant of Workplace Harassment’.

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As if things couldn’t quite go down a worser path, Lila returned home to a fuming mother and an unexpected visitor.

“Lila! You come here right this instant!” The diplomat demanded as soon as the front door opened, her daughter shrinking slightly at the tone and pitch that her mother was using. The last time her mother had been this angry— Well, it was when she got expelled from her last school. “I can’t believe what you’ve done! If it weren’t for your kind classmate, lord knows how long you would’ve continued with this!”

The Italian meekly followed her mother into the living room, eyes widening until they were as large as saucers, mouth agape at the last person she expected to see sitting on the couch.

Marinette smiled kindly, waving at the girl, looking every bit the part of the innocent, pure, kind child that every parent wanted to have. Before Lila could release a torrent of questions about what the hell Marinette Dupain-Cheng was doing in her living room, her mother charged on, beginning to take out her anger on her daughter while a literal angel sat on the sofa, cradling a box of pastries from her family’s bakery.

“Your friend here tells me that you’ve been taking absences from school to go on trips to help humanity!” Mme. Rossi exploded, waving her arms around madly. “She says she’s here to share her notes from the classes you’ve missed! You’ve never left Paris this year! What’s this I hear about flying off to the kingdom of— What was it called again, Marinette dear?”

“Achu.” Provided the bluenette helpfully, the diplomat’s expression instantly softening when she talked to the other teen in the living room.

“Ah, yes. Thank you, dear.” The woman turned back to her daughter, instantly snapping on a mask of anger in a matter of a fraction of a second. “What’s this about flying off to this kingdom of Achu to help homeless orphans with some random prince?”

“Um…” Lila piped up, wriggling as her brain churned at 200 lies per hour, trying to whip up a cover of some sort.

“I’m not done! Your friend here is such a helpful child that she even went as far as to ask her family doctor is there’s a cure for your… Lying disease!” Mme. Rossi practically roared, breathing flames as if she were an intimidating dragon, her daughter flinching away from the heat. “I’ve never heard of anything more ridiculous! And then there’s the fact that you lied to your classmates about having tinnitus?!”

“I actually do have tinnitus!” Lila cut in forcibly, widening her eyes to make herself look more pitiful. “I was just afraid to tell you because I didn’t want you to worry!”

“Bullshit!”

“Um… Sorry to interrupt, Mme. Rossi,” Marinette piped up, the diplomat instantly cooling down as she faced the bluenette, a soft smile tracing the Italian woman’s lips. “But it’s getting rather late and my parents would love me home soon. I also have some tests to revise for tonight, so I think I should get going.”

“Oh, of course, dear.” Mme. Rossi hastily got up to help the bluenette to the door, shooting a warning glare at her daughter— ‘Sit still and don’t you dare go anywhere’, the glare read. “Feel free to come over again anytime you want, dear. I’m not home often, but you are such a sweet child. I’m sure Lila could learn a lot from you.”

“Thanks for having me as well, Mme. Rossi. I really like your home. I left the pastries on the counter— Make sure to warm the curry puffs before you eat them.” Marinette returned the smile, bowing slightly to the older woman as a sign of respect.

“Thank you for the pastries as well, Marinette. I ought to visit your parents’ bakery sometime when I’m free.” Mme. Rossi opened the door kindly for the bluenette, waving the girl off with an affectionate smile. Her parents must be so lucky to have such a sweet little thing like her, Mme. Rossi sighed internally, turning the key so she locked the door. And she seems to be a high-scoring student as well.

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Lila seethed, having been grounded by her mother. As far as Mme. Rossi was concerned, there was a boarding school not too far away from their current residence, and by the next week, the Italian girl would be transferred over. Lila had never hated Dupain-Cheng as much as she did in that moment.

Still furious, the Italian snapped her laptop open, too angry to bother with the fact she might’ve scratched the surface. Clicking into the web browser, she started to type in the words ‘Ladyblog’— That was, before a news article caught her eye.

‘Jagged Stone Interview Reveals Underage, Obsessed Fan’.

What on Earth…

As soon as Lila clicked into the link, the news footage from the interview immediately begin to play. The date stamp on it showed that it had aired last night— Which meant that she would’ve missed it, since her mother was too busy yelling at her to turn on the television to watch Nadja Chamack’s daily news.

“As soon as I heard this rumour about some underage teenage girl claiming that she had saved my cat on an airport runway, I called Penny and asked her to book a slot for me to clarify this,” Jagged Stone said grimly, dressed in more formal attire as he sat in the comfortable, cushioned chair of the news station, with Nadja nodding equally seriously beside him. “Let me clarify— I’ve never owned a cat. I’m allergic to fur. The only pet I’ve had was Fang, and he’s an al-li-ga-tor. Not a cat. Whatever the girl is claiming, she’s obsessed and making up stories.”

“It’s also kind of bewildering that she saved it on an airport runway,” Nadja continued, shaking her head in disappointment. “That kind of thing only happens in dramas— It’s too dangerous for anyone besides authorised workers to be on airport runways.”

“Right, right!” Jagged agreed instantly. “The whole rumour is just really baffling.”

“M. Jagged, may I ask what kind of effect these rumours have on a celebrities’ career?” Nadja continued, leading the conversation on like a professional.

“Well, rumours that circulate around tend to have really bad effects, and the worse ones can hang around for a long, long time. Tabloids are often spun off from rumours, baseless and with no evidence. Those tabloids will never truly disappear, so they can leave a mark on a celebrity’s reputation as some people will believe anything— Even things they read from un-cited tabloids.”

“That is simply terrible. Have you ever had any cases of rumours created by underaged teens before this?”

“I’ve had quite a number, but none of them really got as big as this one. From what Penny has found from digging around, the teen girl managed to spread the rumour through her school and onto a once-popular blog.” Jagged explained. “Penny has also found out that the same girl has claimed that I’ve written songs for her to thank her for saving my cat! I would never write songs and dedicate them to an underaged girl— Trust me. If I could do such a thing, I’d already have written a dozen in honour of my niece— She’s my favourite designer.”

Nadja smiled at that sentence. “Then—“

The news footage cut off abruptly as Lila slammed her laptop shut, too upset to continue watching.

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On the other side of Paris, Alya was pacing around her room frantically, wondering why on earth Lila wasn’t picking up on her calls. She’d left at least four dozen messages to the Italian, who was absent from school that day. There had been a couple whispers here and there about why she was missing— Rose had suggested another impromptu trip to Achu.

Lila’s absence wasn’t the weirdest part of the day, however.

That award would go to Marinette, who walked into class with a smile, the slightest sprinkles of delight colouring her bluebell eyes when she spotted Lila’s empty seat.

Growing in frustration, Alya threw herself onto her bed, phone clattering onto the mattress with her. Within the next few minutes, however, her phone suddenly started exploding with notifications. Excited at the prospect of Lila finally texting back, Alya turned on her phone, only to be disappointed by the notifications all clamouring from the class group chat.

Kim had sent a link to the chat— Without hesitation, Alya clicked into it, frowning when she saw Nadja and Jagged appear on the screen. Throughout the interview, the colour on the Ladyblogger’s face only paled by the second until she was as white as a sheet, and if it were halloween at that time, she would’ve won the best costume award for being a ghost.

There must… There must’ve been a mistake.

A notification from Lila’s number made the blogger perk up, instantly clicking into the conversation— But her newfound hope didn’t last very long.

[Lila]

Hi, Alya. This is Lila’s mom. She’s currently grounded right now. Is there anything important you need to tell her?

[Alya]

Oh, nothing much… I just wanted to ask where she was.

[Lila]

She’s at home.

[Alya]

Okay, thanks.

Flopping onto her bed, Alya begin thinking, revising over the past few months like it was an old clip. Lila’s exciting adventures and interactions with celebrities of every kind— Lila going overseas and face timing the entire class— Lila letting her in on the secrets of being Ladybug’s friend…

… Marinette trying to tell them that Lila was lying…

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The class was awfully silent the next day. Adrien was absent as well— A social worker was looking into his home life as a result of the tabloid that arose. Things for the blonde could either get better or worse from then on, as the matters were still foggy and things hadn’t cleared up yet. The blonde maintained contact with his friends, however, calling and texting them whenever he could.

“Class, settle down.” Mlle. Bustier stepped into the class, looking very tense and uncomfortable. “Today, we will have a guest, so please be on your best behaviours, alright?”

Just as the teacher finished speaking, a tall, regal-looking Italian woman entered the classroom, a cowering principal and a meek-looking Lila in tow. The class brightened slightly at the sight of their friend— But by the way she wasn’t looking into their eyes… Things weren’t going to be good.

“Good morning. I am Mme. Rossi, Lila’s mother.” The woman begin speaking, her firm and no-nonsense tone instantly making every student sit straight, their eyes too afraid to look anywhere else but the Italian diplomat. “It has come to my attention that my daughter has been taking absences from school to do charity work— And I have to clarify that this is a lie. Lila has been doing nothing but holing herself up in her room, lying to me and saying that there are no classes due to akumas.” The Italian diplomat glowered at Damocles. “What’s even more baffling is the fact that neither her homeroom nor the principal bothered to check up with me despite a student having extended periods of absence with no note or email written whatsoever.”

The class was so quiet that they could hear the quiver of Mlle. Bustier’s trembling lip.

“In addition, I’ve been kindly told that Lila has claimed to have a lying disease, which is the most ridiculous thing I’ve heard this week.” It was impossible to miss the way the Italian diplomat was glaring daggers at both Mlle. Bustier and Damocles. “No one bothered to look it up online to see if it’s actual disorder, nor did anyone call me to confirm and ask for a doctor’s note, which is standard procedure.” Chills burst over the room, making every one shiver as the woman hissed out her words.

“Mme. Rossi, we didn’t want to disturb your busy schedule—” Damocles begin, only to be blown backwards from the sheer intensity of Mme. Rossi’s glower.

“M. Damocles, standard procedures exist for a reason. Unless you’d like to tell me about any other things you’ve been letting my daughter get away with?”

“N— No, Mme.”

The Italian diplomat continued on her war path. “My daughter also claimed to have tinnitus, am I correct?”

“Y— Yes, Mme.” Mlle. Bustier answered when it seemed like no one was going to.

“And I heard that the class seating arrangement was shifted to accommodate for that?” The homeroom teacher didn’t dare answer this time, for it seemed like whatever she said would be the incorrect answer. “And apparently, my daughter has also been faking broken wrists and requesting for her classmates to complete her work for her.” Mme. Rossi was practically breathing flames at that point, “And I am incredibly upset at the lack of action from the homeroom teacher.”

No one could breath.

“I have many concerns about the running of this schooling facility, and I expect to discuss this with M. Damocles privately after this. However, there is still something to be done.” Mme. Rossi swept her gaze towards her daughter, who found the floor incredibly interesting at that point of time. “Lila? Something you’d like to say to your classmates?”

“… I’m sorry for lying to you.” Lila mumbled resentfully.

“Louder, Lila. No one can hear you.”

“I’m sorry for lying to you!” Lila swallowed, bursting like an explosion that had finally been triggered, tears in her eyes and fists hatefully curled. “I’m sorry for lying about my diseases and injuries. I’m sorry for making you do my work,” She spat. “Sorry for causing any inconveniences.”

Mme. Rossi raised an eyebrow at her daughter. “Is that all?”

Lila glared at her mother, who was completely unfazed. “Oh, so you want an apology from me? Fine!” She turned to the class, a maniacal glint in her eyes as she sneered at the class, a few gasps puffing from around the room as they caught their first glimpse of the liar that resided in the ‘harmless’ shell of Lila Rossi. “I’m sorry that you are all such idiots that you all fell for everything. I’m sorry that Marinette has such terrible, untrusting classmates that turned their backs on her even though she was still a goody-two shoes till the end, even though she still wanted to help you sorry peasants. I’m sorry that you were all so goddamn gullible! There! Good enough for you?”

Shock was etched into the faces of every human in the classroom— Including Mlle. Bustier, M. Damocles, and Mme. Rossi themselves. Clearly, that part of the apology had not been part of the plan.

“Did I miss something?” Said a sweet voice, followed by the presence of a bluenette, her hair tied in a half-up. A royal blue blazer decorated her lithe form, accompanied by a smart-looking white blouse and a black plaited skirt. Formal had never looked so good on anyone— And if someone didn't know better, they'd think that the bluenette was a young lawyer, emerging victorious from her first successful case.

“Marinette!” Alya exclaimed.

“I’m sorry that you’re such an annoying, little, pest.” Lila bit in the girl’s face, disdain colouring her features as she ignored her mother’s enraged gasp behind her.

The bluenette simply smiled, unaffected by the liar who had crashed and burned like the liar once wished upon her. Marinette Dupain-Cheng stood at her full height, the perfect image of grace and poise as she maintained her composure, quite unlike her nemesis, who thrashed under her mother’s restraining hands.

“And I’m sorry that you didn’t take my promise to heart.”

this can count as adrien redemption depending on you cause ehhh i dont like how passive he is but i havent caught up with the recent episodes, he might have become better. idk.

also where the hell is my miraculous taglist i cant find it so eep. no tagging ppl ig oops

#miraculous ladybug #the tales of ladybug and chat noir #marinette dupain-cheng #lila rossi #lila salt #rossi salt #ml class #ml salt #ml class salt #marinette deserves better #badass marinette #lila rossi lies #lila's lies are exposed #adrien agrete #alya cesaire #cady writesss «

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miraculouscontent · 2 years

Note

By Gloob's trailer... the "Kuro Neko" episode will be one of "Let's Marinette act OOC and forget her *own* thoughts, so she will make a decision to be blamed for and give Chat Noir a excuse for a sad party" episode...

It literally looks like a Marinette/Ladybug salt fic set to animation. Ladybug being salty at Chat (bonus if it’s for actual reasons that refuse to be addressed; “she might have a point but sHe’S sO mEaN”), Adrien quitting because he’s sAd and uNdErApPrEciAteD, and a “new cat” swooping in that will somehow prove that Chat is objectively the best partner ever.

Also, I’ll keep most thoughts until the actual episode comes out, but--

- Really? Paris who shipped LadyNoir so hard that they were reading the Oblivio article during an akuma battle is now putting Chat’s worth into question? I don’t buy it. Either this is just contrived writing (the most likely option; I mean, we saw “Prime Queen”), the resolution for Paris realizing that the kiss wasn’t what they thought happened off-screen (shocker), or Shadow Moth’s sentimonster trying to create a divide between Ladybug and Chat. Heck, that would honestly be more interesting: Shadow Moth having a Volpina sentimonster to make an illusion of Ladybug for this interview (the interviewer has to be a sentimonster to fool the rest of their crew) and Adrien was - yet again - incapable of telling a real Ladybug from a fake one.

- If Ladybug picks Adrien for the cat because “he’s not in love with me,” that’s so damn sad. (but they’ll of course make it look hypocritical because “well YOU picked someone you were in love with when the idea was to pick a cat who wasn’t in love with YOU,” while also ignoring that Ladybug is ten times as professional as Chat even with her mistakes)

- lol, what if this episode doesn’t even talk about how “””great””” Chat is and it’s Ladybug choosing Adrien so she can “learn just HOW HARD IT IS to stay professional when you have someone you lOvE as a partner”? (Hot take, maybe having romance involved in heroism is either a bad idea altogether, it’s these crushes specifically that are a problem, or the solution is to make sure there are two people who aren’t in love with each other/incompatible orientation-wise?)

- What’s even the time frame for this stuff happening? A day? A week? “It’s been built up over multiple episodes!!!” Ah, yes, I’m so glad that Chat literally doesn’t have all information on things that are none of his damn business and is choosing to draw his own conclusions because Ladybug’s bitter at him. I’ll try to remember that every time I think about the times where Chat didn’t apologize for being wrong or fell for a fake Ladybug.

- Us over here, watching Marinette be stressed out, forced to break up with her boyfriend because of her hero duties, overwhelmed by the kwami in her room (giving her literally no sense privacy), and constantly having to prove herself to Su-Han whenever he pops up, then seeing that it’s Chat who gets the, “Guess I’ll just quit. :(” episode. Really? (The fact that it’s Chat and not Ladybug proves how dedicated she is to job and how dedicated Chat is to his own personal comfort. Remember how Marinette didn’t want to be Ladybug in “Origins” and Tikki insisted that Marinette had been chosen and was the only one who could do the job? And then Alya was taken out of the equation so Marinette was forced to take up the ladybug again even if she still didn’t want to? Yeah, hm...).

- me watching Adrien quit from the top of what is seemingly a rooftop ala “Syren”: okay but how are you going to get down after this?

- Woooow, Chat Noir quitting being the cat? I’ve never seen that before! Especially not in a special that also threw blame onto Ladybug for it and essentially forced her to immediately forgive all of his wrongdoings so she could have a partner! (At this point, he must just have a card for this. If he tries to quits two more times then he gets a free sundae.)

#category: salt #salt: chat noir #salt: adrien agreste #episode: Kuro Neko #other: ml spoilers #salt: writing

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thr-333 · 4 years

Text

Just Another Class Trip :)

Part 1

No, no ignore the smily face i assure you it means nothing foreboding, nothing foreboding at all.

Next >

---------

“It’s suspicious,” Marinette glares as they leave customs.

“What would that be, Mari?” Chloe yawns, not bothering to dedicate her limited remaining brain power apparently.

“Lila,” She whispers back, “She’s been so quiet all the way here,”

“What about how she weaseled her way into first class?” Chloe yawns again, sleep mask resting on her head.

“Or tried to steal your bag,” Kagami says with venom, her having saved Marinette from that disaster.

“Accused you of giving her the wrong flight time,” Adrien adds, somehow being full awake even after their long flight.

“Slipped metal into your pocket so security would go off,” Chloe downright glares at Adrien, but would never admit to the bags under her eyes.

“Came by and woke you up every time you fell asleep,” Kagami looks at her pointedly, shadows under her eyes being her only give away.

“Too quite,” Marinette whispers, the list going largely ignored as they approach the security scan.

“Just relax Mari,” Adrien pats her shoulder, not enough to break her concentration, “Lila will be so distracted by being in Gotham she won't have time for you,”

Adrien was wrong.

Of course he was wrong.

This is Lila they're talking about.

“Oh Marinette!” Lila all but yells as Marinette is placing her bag in a tray, “I’m so glad you didn’t go through with it,”

Marinette cringes, the security guards all looking her way as Lila dances off. She just sighs as she is escorted away by the airport security, to the protest of her friends and not much else.

“No sir I am not holding any firearms or weapons,” Marinette answers as monotone as possible, the security guard didn’t deserve her ire not matter how tiresome this was getting.

“We interview the source,” Oh no “Apparently you were discussing terrorist activities,”

“I was not sir, Lila must be mistaken,” Yep big mistake, I’m sure that's all it is , “I’m simply here for a class trip,”

“You’re wearing a bulletproof vest,”

Yeah probably should have left that one at home

“My parents are protective, they know how dangerous Gotham can be,” They were not fans of the horror stories Aunt Selina used to tell her from this city, “They insisted I have it as protection,”

While they most certainly wanted her to be safe the vest was more her idea. It was also more for enabling trouble than avoiding it. At least she was trying to be safe about secret crime fighting.

“Makes sense,” He sighs from across the table, checking through some paperwork, “You’re seventeen, here on a class trip right?”

“Yes sir,”

“Well if you’re here on a Wayne funded trip they probably did and extensive background check,” He pauses for a minute looking deep in thought, “Alright then, you can go,”

That seems kind of lax

“Are you sure?”

“We literally have super villains walking through here every other day,” True that, “You’re holding no weapons and have been endorsed by the Wayne's that's better than most people that have been in here,”

“Well if you’re sure,” Marinette stands awkwardly walking to the door as he waves her off, “Is there anything I need to sign, or…”

“Unless I want to fill out extra paperwork, no,” He seems so tired, Marinette wished she could get back at Lila for making his job harder.

“Have a good day then!” She smiles brightly, getting a small one in return.

She leaves, the security guards handing back her bag, fortunately not mentioning the miracle box or her Kwamis. She smiles brightly, even with Lila trying to ruin her trip she could still enjoy her time here in Gotham- and her phone buzzes with an Akuma alert.

With a sigh, Marinette ducks into the nearest bathroom, locking a stall behind her.

“Kaalki,” The Kwami zips out of her bag, “Tikki, Combine,”

With a flash of light followed by another she appears in Paris dropping Kaalki’s transformation.

She looks over the city, some Akuma attacking the Eiffel tower. At least they didn't seem to be the brainwashing type, she didn’t have Chat Noir there to help with crowd control.

With a flip she jumps, planning to kick the Akuma on the way down. They dodge and she lands in front of them instead.

“Well, well if it isn’t the bug,” The Akuma, in a horrible patch work costume mocks, a purple mask appearing over their face, “Hand over your miraculous!”

How about you come and make me Hawkmoth? I promise to stick that cane up your ass

Oh how she wishes she could say just that, but it wouldn't be very Ladybug of her. Why did the younger her have to have a stick up her butt?

“Not today Hawkmoth,” She says instead, making sure to put the practiced amount of enthusiasm into it, “Or any other day for that matter,”

“How are you going to save Paris without your little kitty cat?”

How are you going to beat me with that terrible fashion sense

Besides Chat Noir deserved a break. At least she hoped he was taking a break, he couldn’t tell because of secret identity reasons. It wasn't like she had any right to stop him, she was having a vacation in Gotham right now, and she was out all the time for work. She could manage without Chat for a while, he deserved that much.

“I will do whatever it takes to protect the people of Paris,” Ladybug remembers to answer the question.

“Hand over your miraculous now!” The Akuma lunges at her

I should have chosen a different persona

She dodges the beam of light that can’t mean anything good. Jumping back to get some distance.

Chat Noir had the right idea

She bites back the cutting remark on the tip of her tongue. Instead throw out her yo to wrap around their arm. The Akuma pulls it forward, sending her through the air. She leans into it swinging around to get a better vantage point, studying the monologuing Akuma below.

Maybe I can for Starling

She has created Starling as a vigilante identity to use in Gotham, if the class was ever in trouble. No not if, when . With a sigh she summons her lucky charm getting a table tennis paddle.

Although I’m only meant to use that identity as a disguise to protect the class

The only thing that stood out was the Akuma's hand, she'd have to gather more information before striking.

Maybe Starling can have a word or two with Lila, that could be fun

She drops down in front of the Akuma. They seemed to like monologuing, maybe all she had to do was probe a little bit.

“Why would you want to side with Hawkmoth?”

“This is my family's greatest heirloom it has been passed from generation to generation for centuries, some fool broke it and I was crushed having disappointed all my ancestors!” The Akuma holds up a broach type jewel, “But Hawkmoth- Hawkmoth brought it back and now my greatest and dearest treasure will forever be-”

Ladybug smacks it to the ground, crushing it underfoot.

The Akuma looks at her shocked, letting out a long drawn out gasp. Marinette does not meet their eye as she catches the Akuma. She throws the paddle she used to smack it out of their hand into the air to cast the cure.

I must be really jet lagged, I’m usually at least a little more creative than that, but it worked

She pretends not to see the reporters coming in for interviews, seeing the victim and their broach in one piece. She makes a speedy exit, needing to transport back to Gotham before the class get too ancy.

“I’m sorry the rented bus left a long time ago,” The attendant informed her, looking sorry for the dishevelled teen.

Marinette groaned, so much for running around the airport for thirty minutes with a dead phone. Thanking the attendant she sulks off to collect her bag instead, she’d have to figure another way to the hotel.

She spends another hour hunting down her bag. Chasing after leads of people who might have mistook it. Checking again with Airport security, who again pulled her aside for having a suspicious missing bag. Luckily the security guard before defended her, she brought him a coffee and two for herself.

“Maybe someone will return it?” Tikki whispers, her and Kaalki hidden in the folds of her scarf.

“It’s fine Tikki,” Marinette sighs, halfway through her first cup in under a minute, “I have replicas of all of them anyway, I’ll just grab some samples from the MDC fashion show,”

She’d have to stop by later, the outfits should have been transported last week along with most of her recent catalogue. The only problem was all the other necessities she lost. But that wasn’t a problem, she carried the miracle box in her backpack and that's all that really matters.

“And some of my… special outfits when we go back home,”

She had altered her current outfit to transform into her vigilante disguise. Her scarf pulled up and could be turned inside out into a mask. Her skirt could be transformed into a cape and hood combo. A zip down the middle of the skirt to split it for the cape and a zip up hood that lay flat along her skirt. She simply turned it inside out and wore it around her shoulders. Combined with a bullet proof vest it wasn't half bad, her belt full of weapons could always be hid under her skirt which was a big plus.

She sighs waiting for a taxi in the cold Gotham air, hating it more than most. Although she supposed superhuman strength was a fair exchange for extra cold fingers. Marinette fought to stay awake, she had also been holding Kaalki for so long she was starting to develop the ability to sleep standing up and would doze off randomly. Certainly helpful at times, but not right now.

“Hello,” Marinette is startled out of her drowsiness.

She looks at the hesitant young man before her, looking just as tired as she is.

“Hello?”

“Is something the matter?” Something sparks at the back of her mind, a feeling she often gets from Chloe whenever she is helpful.

Do I look that bad?

“Just a mix up with transportation,” She smiles, he clearly knows it’s fake.

“Do you need a ride?”

“No I’m-” She sighs, what could go wrong getting in the car of a random person in Gotham, “Yes, I do thank you,”

“Over here, I’m Tim by the way” He stifles a yawn, leading her towards a limousine, the door being opened by a driver.

“Marinette, here,” She hands over the extra coffee, “You look like you need it just as much as me,”

Tim looks at her like a god sent, taking the coffee as they reach the limo.

“Good call Alfred,” Tim whispers to the driver, slipping into the car.

“Hello miss, I am Alfred Pennyworth,” She shakes his hand, something stronger fires at the back of her mind, a true holder perhaps? But Chloe was a true holder right?

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng,” She smiles, trying to assess what miraculous would suit him.

“Best get inside Miss Dupain-Cheng,” She climbs inside at Alfred's behest, “Gotham is awfully cold for a Lady,”

She gets the feeling that is not chivalry.

“Where to Miss Dupain-Cheng?” Alfred asks, already in the driver's seat.

“Wayne hotel please,” She pulls her backpack onto her lap, still regarding Alfred suspiciously.

“Traveling alone?” Tim asks absentmindedly, still nursing his coffee cup.

“I’m here with my class, they left without-” No that's no good , “I got held up they went ahead,”

“Class… staying at the Wayne hotel…” Tim mumbles to himself.

“I believe what Master Tim is trying to ask is if you are part of the Martha Wayne foundation trip,” Alfred informs from the front seat.

“Yeah that,” Tim takes another scalding gulp of coffee.

“Yes I sent in the submission, I’m still surprised we got it,” Marinette had been thrilled at a trip to Gotham, it is where her Aunt Selina lives after all.

“You seem very responsibility Miss Dupain-Cheng,” Alfred complements, “Almost as if you could shoulder the weight of Paris,”

“I didn’t say where I was from,” Marinette tenses getting more than a little unsettled, he seemed to know something more.

“Not to worry, I have close connections with the Wayne's and was aware this years class was from Paris is all,”

“I see,” Marinette nods along, the possible meaning behind the comment still being concerning.

“We forgot your bags!!!” Tim suddenly yells, jumping up and making Marinette jump, they both curse in sync as they spill coffee on themselves.

“It’s alright!” luckily the coffee landed on her black tights, so no noticeable stains, “My bags were stolen,”

“Oh…” Tim relaxes back, “Wait… that's not alright at all!”

“It’s fine, I already have a plan to get some spare clothes and I just need to run to the store,”

“Right… to the Wayne hotel was it?” Marinette nods and Tim starts tapping away at his phone.

She fishes out some wet wipes from her bag, passing them to Tim, who looks confused until she points out the growing coffee stain. With a smile and a few more taps at the phone he takes them off her.

“Left behind and bags stolen, doesn't sound like your Lucky day,” Alfred presses, and he needs to stop, it could be chance, surely its just chance.

“I guess not,”

You don’t know the half of it.

“Well I hope the rest of your day is much better,” Tim bids as they pull up to the hotel.

“Thank you, and thank you so much for the ride,” Alfred opens the door for her to get out.

“Not a problem,” She waves them off, watching them disappear down the street.

They’re nice, probably wont ever get to see them again, thats a shame

“Dick! Holy fuck!” Tim kicks down the door of his brothers room, “I just met the nicest girl who's had the shittest day on earth,”

“First of all welcome back, how was your trip?” Dick greets hanging from the ceiling as Tim takes his desk chair, “Second, what are you talking about?”

“Met a girl at the Airport who didn’t have a ride, she gave me coffee,”

“That's enough to buy your loyalty,” Dick grins, Tim flips him off.

“Listen, she's part of that Martha Wayne Foundation trip and her class left her at the Airport!”

“What?!” Dick drops from the ceiling onto his bed, “Thats so dangerous, especially in Gotham,”

“Right?! She even had her luggage stolen!” Tim pushes the chair over to Dick, “And she was still so nice, even after an eight hour flight!”

“You said she was part of the Wayne foundation trip?” Dick asks, getting a nod from Tim, “Yeah, we are definitely seeing her again,”

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mc-lukanette · 3 years

Text

Anonymous asked:

That anon coming at you thinking you wouldn't have sources to back up your criticisms of the show has the same energy as a Karen asking to speak to the manager, not knowing the the underpaid, beleaguered employee they've been berating is the manager

pfffft.

me, flashing my nametag: ma’am, I’m going to have to ask you to leave

Anonymous asked:

Honestly the people who are honestly convinced Marinette never gets punished, Marinette never rejected Chat Noir, and that she was leading him on are seriously just watching the show with Adrien vision I don't know what to say.

Really these people go on hating Marinette for “being an obsessed Adrien stalker” but these Adrien stans are freaking obsessed with their favorite blonde boy and can only uplift Adrien by putting down Marinette. It is creeping me out!

My reply got long so I put it under a read more lol

The weird part honestly is that most of the stuff they get on her case for in terms of “stalking” is stuff that I would expect people to know of a celebrity they’re interested in in a TV show. The trend with them is usually that they can’t go anywhere without getting attention, so like--yeah.

the pictures (which disappeared in the entirety of Season 3 and only pops up in Season 4 at the writers’ convenience with no explanation) - can be taken from magazines/websites

the schedule (which got upgraded to a general non-Adrien-specific schedule in “Gamer 2.0″ anyway) - stuff I would expect to hear Adrien tell Nino at school while Marinette’s sitting behind him; if you wanna confess to a celeb or ask them out, better make sure you know when he’s free (plus, “Lies” has a camera crew literally just following Adrien around on his day),

stuff like his favorite macaron flavor - stuff I’d expect to hear from interviews

+ “stalker” is a very loaded term and I feel like calling Marinette one actually downplays the danger and cruelty of actual, real-life stalkers

other bonus/additional things:

“Copycat” - it was Alya’s idea initially to go get Adrien’s phone (and Tikki even broke into the locker without much of a fuss; Tikki’s supposed to be Marinette’s moral teacher); Marinette didn’t take it with intent, she panicked and made an impulsive decision (also, this is a narrative issue because they needed to ensure that Adrien didn’t hear the recording or else Marinette probably would’ve been rejected and could’ve moved on)

“Volpina” - required and encouraged by Tikki in order to check on the book; Marinette also wanted to reveal what she was doing in order to tell Adrien that Lila stole from him but she got increasingly angry at Lila insulting her hero self (while Adrien didn’t really say anything in defense of Ladybug, which was strange; also, semi-unrelated because it’s not brought up as an option, but Lila coming in suddenly and being adored by a bunch of students is suspicious and sounds like akuma behavior)

“Ikari Gozen” - this is more of a narrative issue I have with the episode than anything else (I’m not saying that Marinette’s in the right); Kagami was acting strangely and Alya was onboard with sabotage, and they (the writers) couldn’t find a way for Kagami to reveal that she wanted Marinette to be a friend without Marinette peeking into her phone (also, the hypocrisy of the narrative getting on Marinette’s case for invading people’s privacy while:)

Sabine lowkey threatened to look at her emails and diary in “The Bubbler”

Alya peeked into Chloe’s locker with her phone and the narrative had a very black-and-white view on it (Chloe bad, Alya good, since it took pressure from Chloe for Mr. Damocles to do anything; also, the school doesn’t have a rule about invasion of privacy???)

Chloe going into Marinette’s locker to sabotage the gift is treating by Miss Bustier as something for Marinette to just “forgive and forget,” and Chloe comes out on top in the end while Marinette apologizes to her (Chloe never apologized to Marinette herself)

Marinette was forced (narratively) to reveal what was in her private chest to a child in “Christmaster” (regardless of akumatization - that thing that was caused by Marinette doing basically what Alya did in “Stormy Weather” - Marinette’s personal things are none of Chris’ business)

The girls blatantly invade Marinette’s privacy in both “Gang of Secrets” (after lying to her that she could talk “when she was ready”) and “Backwarder”

“Oni-Chan” - Marinette’s worries about someone getting hurt because of Lila is literally what happens when Kagami gets akumatized; regardless of Marinette’s actions, her fears were valid and ended up coming true

“The Puppeteer 2″ - never would’ve happened if Alya hadn’t orchestrated a whole plan, if Tikki hadn’t tried to give Marinette “advice,” and if Adrien hadn’t tried to prank someone that he even said in “Riposte” got flustered easily

“Chat Blanc” - never would’ve happened had she not been under extreme pressure and a literal threat from her friends to not hang out with her anymore

And the gross part of all of this is that they (the fandom)’ll treat Marinette horribly for having a crush that’s so “extreme”/”awful” (which was made worse and then get mad at her when she can’t move on/get better all on her own. Like, pardon? This crush is apparently the worst thing ever but she’s also expected to do it all on her own while her “friends” keep pushing for the ship? I would think that the worse the problem is, the more help one would need.

#((omg I don't deserve you guys))#((thanks for the resend!))#type: salt #((Not to mention the people who say Marinette is ''awful'' for Adrien))#((or criticize her heavily for her crush on him))#((and then continue to ship the love square in canon. I don't get it.))

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zoe-oneesama · 2 years

Note

I noticed on your Season 4 Index that you’ve finished Robustus (congratulations on another completed episode!) which means the next one on the schedule is Prime Queen. Any opinions on Nadja, her akuma, or the plot itself that you’d like to share after you’re finished rewatching for SL? :3c

OHOHOHO You caught me at a good time because I JUST watched it yesterday and I have THOUGHTS!

This might surprise some people but this was actually my first viewing of Prime Queen. Yeah. I'm that behind. And I had a few preconceived ideas that turned out to be just...lies?

I thought Nadja had full intentions of doing a good interview but after Chloe calling in just to brag about herself and Alya trying to steal views (as well as throwing her off by having Manon there when Marinette's supposed to be watching her) I thought Nadja was pushed by Harlette to save the show by bringing up the Dark Cupid kiss to push the idea of LadyNoir being a couple.

NOPE! Turns out this was her plan all along! Harlette constantly brings up the "scoop" that NADJA pitched to her and the "supportive evidence" that she brought! Holy hell, that totally reframes the whole thing! The whole time Nadja tricked two teenage superheroes into an hour long interview with the intention of needling them about their romantic relationship?! That's so fucked up and I don't feel anything when her show is "cancelled" and she's a sobbing mess when she's akumatized because that's what you DESERVE Nadja!

Also the akuma seemed to ping pong between a dumb writer and a genius writer because there was some whiplash to Prime Queen's level of diabolical genius:

Dumb Writer: "Admit you're a couple live on 'tv' or I'll crash a train with Chloe Bourgeois in it!"

Heroes: "Ugh, FINE, sure, we're a couple, you happy now?"

Genius Writer: "Almost. Now that I've trapped you in a walk in freezer miles away, reveal your identities and give me your Miraculous or I'll drop the Ladyblogger, tied up and stuck in a sarcophagus, into the Seine to drown 💕"

Heroes: "Uhhhhhh- counter offer, we WILL do those things, but you don't get to watch because we put a pizza box over the only TV screen in the freezer."

Dumb Writer: "Hope you're not lying~" *punches with the arm that HAS THE AKUMA WATCH ON IT!

Like, girl, you HAD them! Why'd you turn stupid after turning brilliant?!

Another assumption I had was that Chat Noir kept trying to kiss Ladybug because he was hung up on the Dark Cupid kiss picture that he couldn't remember and wanted to make up for it. NOPE! He literally never brings that up again, doesn't seem concerned with it, and is just going along with Prime Queen's want for them to be a "couple". Yeah, sure, why do anything INTERESTING with a call back, that would only be fun or something and we can't have that here.

Moving on, I don't understand the show's In Universe Obsession with LIVE shows, it literally only made sense in "Stormy Weather" and "Ikari Gozen" because in SW that was an American Idol live finale to, what I'm assuming, was a season long competition where the outcome is determined by votes and in IK because it was a real time competition where the participants were normal people, not preselected competitors.

But "Kung Food"? "Troublemaker?" "Silencer?" and now "Prime Queen?" Why are these live? Is France television nothing but LIVE competition shows and interviews? Isn't that a huge liability risk, especially when the studio is KIDz+? Even if I went on a show with the best of intentions to keep myself PG, I might stub my toe and cuss LIVE ON TV, do they want to take that risk?

I'm basically trying to say that Nadja's big meltdown could've been avoided if it wasn't LIVE - Ladybug and Chat Noir could've recorded ahead of time, gone over okay and not okay questions, and then if Nadja goes off script, offending their guests to the point of leaving, she's not in the lurch and would have time to edit around it or find a solution. But no, because if all these multiple shows weren't LIVE it wouldn't be...as humiliating???? Just seems like things that professional "journalists" would predict and have contingencies for.

(It was funny that views went down as soon as Chloe was on the screen.)

The first half of the akuma becomes so frustrating because it comes across as Nadja being akumatized because two teenagers wouldn't "admit" to being in a romantic relationship when that was a rumor SHE STARTED! (Wait is this Glaciator 0.5?)

I dunno the legitimacy of this translation but like 👀

Maybe this was present in Season 1, but this is the first time I've noticed Chat Noir say "Cataclysm" several times without activating it, so, confirmed: Intent Matters. I look forward to a later episode debunking this idea because consistency doesn't live here.

They made a big deal of saving Chat Noir's cataclysm until the very end and then didn't even use it on the akuma - he used it on the freezer door AFTER the akuma was defeated, lol. Like, don't get me wrong, I get WHY, but it's just that they brought it up so many times that this felt like a "wah wah" moment in comparison to the build up.

And while I'm glad Marinette got to wrap up her Having-to-Ditch-Alya-with-Manon thing in a satisfying way, it is weird they didn't wrap up the whole "everyone thinks we're a couple" thing since the whole episode was stuck on it? Like, I guess I get it because the resolution is that there ISN'T one which is why we have episodes like Glaciator 2, but you get what I mean when it feels like within the episode there's no resolution? Especially since this is supposed to be back in the "watch in any order" era.

"Prime Queen" has some of the derpiest, creepiest faces. But it's "Red Bang Alya" so I know it's the less..good studio:

That's Chat Noir trying to be suave and go for a kiss

Manon without her buck teeth. She didn't have them when she was talking either

More than once Nadja's lips are off center in a way that doesn't seem intentional

Chat's bottom lip remains curled up like this while he schools Ladybug about the Subway System and it's W E I R D

Chloe and Alya both call in with the lights off for some reason, but it really makes Chloe's facial features get really creepy

Chat where's your NOSE?!

His chin is so BIG!

This episode is just kinda pointless. Extra pointless because for all of Nadja's sobbing about her career being over she sure did bounce back immediately with a literal rename of the EXACT SAME SHOW, which instead of feeling like a resolution just makes Nadja look melodramatic.

I also hate that when Alya says "LadyNoir is not a couple" that's listened to and is "setting the record straight", not when Ladybug HERSELF said that she and Chat weren't a couple. Gross.

So yeah. My struggle right now (since I'm in the writing phase) isn't not coming up with ideas on where to take the episode, it's that I have too MANY directions I could take the episode and need to nail it down. A lot of competing ideas are happening right now, so I'm narrowing it down so that we have some focus while also being a satisfying Season 4 Finale that leads into Season 5.

#prime queen salt #writing salt #ml salt #prime queen #an essay by zoe

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miraculous-sunflower · 3 years

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don’t steal adrien’s phone - a fanfiction by miraculous_carnation

hi yall! this amazing piece of art isnt unfortunately done by me- it’s by the ultra charming miraculous_carnation on ao3, so be sure to check her out! i’ve gotten her permission to post this here, so dont worry! enjoy the show!

Lila Rossi posed for the camera, putting on a flirty face, Adrien sitting next to her. They were at the Palace of Versailles, the place for their photoshoot. Lila hugged Adrien in a way that made him uncomfortable, running her hands across his back. The photographer, noticing Adrien’s discomfort, asked them to take a 5 minutes break.

Lila walked to where Adrien was sitting. “So, Adrien! The photos are going to look awesome, right? I mean, we look so in love!”

Adrien’s eyes opened wide when he heard her voice. “Um, Lila? I know I’ve said this a lot, but can you please stop touching me? It makes me uncomfortable, and I already have a girlfriend,” Adrien tried to explain.

Lila narrowed her eyes at his last statement. Ugh, that Maritrash. What did Adrien see in her?

“Oh of course, Adrien! I’d never want to do something that would make you feel uncomfortable,” she whispered, leaning towards his mouth. Adrien grew stiff. Luckily, the photographer called for them just in time. Lila rolled her eyes, but then put on a fake smile.

“Oh well, anyways, we better go back, Adrien! We have to finish the shoot!”

Adrien hated photoshoots with Lila. They were the worst. Luckily, it was only for another 30 minutes, because after that, he had an interview with Nadja Chamack on Face to Face.

Lila hid behind a bush, watching Adrien get up and head toward the photoshoot. Perfect. She ran over to the table and picked up his phone.

“Well, Adrien, let’s see who you really love,” she smirked.

“Welcome back to, Face to Face! This is your host, Nadja Chamack, live in Paris!” Nadja Chamack enthusiastically said while the audience clapped. “Today, we have a very important guest. He’s a model, born here in Paris, ladies and gentlemen, give it up for the son of world famous designer Gabriel Agreste, Adrien Agreste!”

2 seconds later, Adrien walked onto the stage, wearing a suit, created specially by his father, strutting in the way his father taught him when he was little. ‘Flash a flirty smile to the audience, then greet Nadja Chamack professionally’, his father’s words repeated in his mind. His father cared about his appearance and reputation, after all…

“Hello there, Nadja! How are you doing today?” Adrien politely asked. He wished he could be somewhere else,particularly running around as CHat Noir, maybe playing a game of tag with Ladybug…

“Oh, well I’m doing wonderful!” Nadja responded, snapping Adrien out of his daze. “Anyways, I’ve got a bunch of questions for you! First one, are you dating Lila Rossi, a fellow model from your father’s company? Are the rumors true?”

Adrien sighed. There were so many rumors about that going around, many of them created by Lila. She already convinced the class that they were dating, when he actually was dating Marinette.

“Sorry, Nadja, but that is incorrect. I am not dating Lila Rossi, but I am dating Marinette Dupain-Cheng, of who you may know.”

Nadja smiled at the name of her friend’s daughter. “Yes, I know Marinette, I commissioned her to create a dress for Manon for my sister’s wedding, and it came out beautiful! Everyone in the audience, go check out Marinette’s website!”

Lila Rossi was watching the Face to Face interview, fuming. She didn’t know he had an interview! How dare Adrien say that! She’d ruin his relationship with Marinette! She tapped into his phone, already knowing his password, courtesy of his father. Gabriel Agreste gave her access to all of his son’s social media accounts for safety reasons. She logged onto his Instagram account and made a new post, adding the photo of Lila kissing him on the cheek.

“So grateful for my girlfriend @lilarossi! Love you!”

She smirked. No way he was getting out of this one.

Nadja Chamack was confused. Apparently, a new post from Adrien on Instagram was posted just now, but how was it possible? Adrien was talking to her the whole time!

She coughed. “Adrien, it seems that there has been a new post on your Instagram,” Adrien looked shocked, “can we have the post on the screen?”

Adrien’s eyes grew wide as he saw the post. “Nadja, I didn’t post that! I couldn’t-”

“I know you didn’t, Adrien. You’ve been talking to me the whole time right now!”, Adrien let out a sigh of relief, “Is it possible your social media team did it?”

Adrien shook his head. “No, they don’t put out posts like that. They only put out posts that promote the brand!”

“So if it wasn’t your social media team, who was it?” Nadja said in confusion. There were several murmurs in the audience as well.

Adrien narrowed his eyes. “Well, I have a hunch. What is the post about?”

Nadja caught on with his thinking. “Oh, so you believe Lila Rossi posted this? How would she have gotten your phone?”

Adrien thought about what happened before the interview. “Well, you see, before coming here, I had a photoshoot with Lila. She probably took my phone then.”

Gabriel Agreste was watching from the safety of his home. Lila Rossi had not thought about this beforehand! She was going to ruin his plan and his brand! How dare she!

Nathalie walked in. “Sir, would you like me to delete the post and disable Adrien’s social media accounts?”

“Yes, Nathalie. Have Adrien’s social media team clean up the mess.” Gabriel sighed. The only good thing that came out of this was that he figured out his son was dating Marinette Dupain-Cheng. It was a good choice, as Marinette was exceptional.

Lila’s eyes grew wide at the revelation. She posted about herself on Adrien’s account when he was in an interview! It made her the prime suspect! Hopefully Mr. Agreste’s social media team could take the blame.

She dialed Mr. Agreste’s number. “Hello, is Mr. Agreste there?”

She was greeted with the monotone voice of Nathalie. “Excuse me, Miss Rossi, but Mr. Agreste has decided to terminate your contract on behalf of Gabriel. You will never model in his brand again. Goodbye.”

Lila gasped. How dare that dumb assistant! She was Lila Rossi! How dare Gabriel Agreste do that to her! She would ruin him!

“On top of recent events, Lila Rossi has lied about many things. She even got Marinette expelled once!” Adrien explained to Nadja, excited that he found a way to expose Lila.

Marinette was watching all of this from the comfort from her room, her mouth wide open. Well, she wasn’t super surprised, Lila would do something like this, but Adrien called her his girlfriend! Sure, they were dating, but she didn’t think he would announce it publicly!

Girl, are you watching Face to Face? Can you believe Lila lied?

Hold up, you’re dating Adrien? Why didn’t you tell me?

Girl, I can’t believe you didn’t tell me. I thought we were BFFs!

Marinette snorted at the latter. BFFs? Yeah, right. Alya literally announced to the class two weeks ago that their friendship was over and that her new best friend would be Lila. Go figure!

“Wow. As you can see, ladies and gentlemen, startling revelations about the newest Gabriel model has come through! Hold on, we have a new post from the official Gabriel Twitter account! Can we please have this on the screen?” Nadja exclaimed.

Adrien read the post, not surprised. Of course his father would try to save face. It wasn’t new. He was just happy he wouldn’t have to model with Lila anymore.

The audience and Nadja gasped when they read the post. “Wow! It looks like the Gabriel brand has officially terminated Lila Rossi’s contract!” Nadja had to act surprised because this was predictable from the fashion designer. Typical Gabriel.

“Well, folks! There was a lot of drama today, but that concludes today’s interview! I hope you come again for another episode of, Face to Face!” Nadja concluded.

Bonus Scene:

“Well, Adrien, you made a good choice with Marinette. She could take over the designing area of the company while you take over the business side. When will you marry her?”

“FATHER!”

“Well, kid, he’s not wrong. Pigtails makes pretty good bread. And oh how good it tastes with camembert! Oh my sweet gooiness!”

“Shut up, Plagg.”

#fuck off lila #yessir plagg #go nadja hehe #miraculous_carnation #lila salt #lila exposed #alya salt #kind of #ao3 #ao3 shoutout #gabriel is trying yall #but hes still fucked #lila is a dummy #more of a dummy than me #and im a real dummy yall

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angelofthequeers · 2 years

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Free to Be You and Me: chapter 2

Chapter 1 | Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don’t own ML.

“Of all the stupid –”

“Ladybug –”

“It all makes sense now! Why would she just take back a lie, especially if she went to all that effort?”

“Ladybug –”

“And now she gets to model with you and have cute, giggly interviews on TV and hang off you and do whatever she wants, all because of me – uh, Marinette –”

“Ladybug!”

Ladybug’s mouth snaps shut when Adrien’s voice pierces the haze of indignant fury that’s settled on her brain. What the hell was Adrien thinking, making a deal with the devil like that? And how is it fair that Lila gets to get Marinette expelled and still gets what she wants? Getting to parade around school with her shiny modelling contract, hanging off Adrien’s arm when he clearly hates it, except now he really can’t do anything about it? What happened to bad people getting what they deserved?

“Look, I really like you,” Adrien says with a stony face. “You’re cool and amazing and you work so hard to save Paris every day. But I won’t let you blame Marinette for this. It’s not her fault! She didn’t ask for Lila to frame her for cheating and stealing and physical assault. And I’d do anything for my friends!”

All Ladybug can do is blink mutely at the boy she loves. Did she just hear him right? Had he really just stood up for her…to her? The fact that he thinks so highly of her as a friend that he’s willing to talk back to a literal superhero…just wow. In that moment, all thoughts of romance and crushes aside, she doesn’t think she’s ever loved Adrien Agreste as much as she does now.

“I’m sorry,” she finally manages to croak once Adrien’s looked away and started to fidget. “I didn’t mean to imply that Marinette was to blame. She’s really lucky to have a friend like you.”

“I disagree,” Adrien says with a small smile. “I’m the lucky one. She hated me at first and she didn’t have to forgive me but…she did. She gave me another chance. I value her as a friend so much! And I’d do the same for all my other friends because they’re my friends. Do you know how amazing that is, Ladybug?”

The words “as a friend” don’t even spear Ladybug’s heart like they normally would, since she’s too busy swooning and trying not to melt into a puddle on the spot. When she’s finally regained basic motor function, she coughs.

“And you think you don’t deserve to be happy,” she finally manages to say, rocking cross-legged on her haunches to keep herself grounded after the bombshells she’s just endured. “You’re amazing, Adrien, and not because you’re a good-looking model. I hope you realise that one day.”

The smile she gets in return is pure sunshine. It feels good to have gotten those words out, like she’s bathed in tingly sunlight after curling up for a relaxing nap, even if she does wish that it could have been Marinette saying those words as far as Adrien knew. But to be honest, if she didn’t have this spotted mask on, she’d probably have spontaneously combusted by now. It’s a balancing act, really.

“Thanks, Ladybug,” Adrien says softly. “And thanks for being there for me. I don’t think I could’ve said that to any of my friends. They all think the world of Lila – except for Marinette, but I don’t want her to go off on a crusade on my behalf and get herself in trouble.”

“Well, it makes sense,” Ladybug says. “You know – that you could talk to me. You don’t really know me. I mean! I do like you, but we’ve only talked a few times, so I’m like a locked canvas! A blank diary!” She groans and silently wills Plagg to appear from wherever he is in Paris and Cataclysm her, while Adrien just laughs.

“I get it,” he says. “Don’t worry.”

“I’m not worried,” Ladybug says, although her high-pitched voice no doubt reveals just the opposite. “And what did you mean by that being the only thing you can talk about? There must be more, right?”

Adrien’s face falls. “There’s a lot more. But I can’t talk about it. You – uh, you know, someone I work with – she’d be furious. She’d never trust me again. Even though all I want is to be there for her, because she’s been acting really weird and spooked lately and she sometimes just sits and stares at me when she thinks I’m not looking. And I keep telling her to let me help, because she takes so much on her shoulders, and she refuses to let me help her. It’s killing me, Ladybug.”

Ladybug’s eyes soften at the way his voice cracks on her name. Oh, if she doesn’t know exactly how he feels, stuffed full of so many secrets that she just can’t share with anyone, not even her partner. Chat Noir doesn’t even know about the things that Ladybug tries to forget but can’t; not when she jolts awake in the middle of the night, sweating and crying, her vision full of cold white and unfeeling icy blue, leaving her frantically sneaking glances at Chat Noir whenever she can to reassure herself of warm noir and green instead of bitter blanc and blue.

“Um! Subject change!” She casts her eyes around desperately, before she’s forced to deal with what she’s keeping a tight lid on, and her eyes fall on the cover of Jagged Stone’s album that Adrien had asked Marinette-her to sign and then apparently hung in a place of honour on his wall. She opens her mouth to bring the conversation to Jagged Stone, the ironically ultimate safe topic in any conversation considering the utter lack of safety that oozes from him, but what comes out instead is entirely different. “I’m sorry I picked you as the Snake.”

“Huh?” Adrien follows her gaze to the Jagged Stone album cover, and his face falls. “Oh. You’re remembering Desperada.”

“It’s nothing about you!” Ladybug hastens to blurt out before Adrien can start to feel like an awful failure. “Some people just don’t suit certain Miraculouses! What I meant was…I’m sorry I put you in danger in the first place.”

“Oh.” Adrien blinks at her. “Why are you apologising? Do you do that to every other temporary hero?”

“No,” Ladybug says. “But you’re…special. I don’t remember any of the loops, but I’d think that I hated seeing you in harm’s way.”

“Actually, you were always super happy to be working with me,” Adrien says quietly. “I was the one who kept seeing you get put in harm’s way, and I couldn’t do anything about it. All I wanted was to make a good impression on you.”

Ladybug can’t help but laugh loudly at that. “Seriously? Trust me, Adrien, you did that ages ago. Why do you think I picked you in the first place? I kicked myself for not thinking of you sooner!”

“O-Oh?” Adrien’s cheeks flush dark pink. “Well, uh, I’m honoured. Really. Even if I made a complete mess of it.”

“Let’s just agree that the Snake wasn’t a good match for you and leave it at that,” Ladybug says firmly. Adrien laughs and nods, then lets out a massive yawn, and Ladybug jumps to her feet as the realisation of the time slams into her.

“Wow, how long have I been here?” she blurts out. “I’ve taken so much of your time and now you probably think I’m a total weirdo who swings by boys’ bedrooms at night and –”

“For the record, even if you were a weirdo – because you’re not, you’re Ladybug – I still wouldn’t mind,” Adrien grins sluggishly, and Ladybug melts because that might be the sweetest thing a boy has ever said to her. “It’s just been a lot lately. Photoshoots, Lila, school, fencing, super – uh…”

“Yeah, you’re some kind of everyday superhero,” Ladybug teases. Whatever Adrien had been about to say is clearly something he hadn’t wanted to let slip, judging by the way his eyes widened, and now Ladybug really has to go because Adrien’s super tired and Ladybug would feel like a total creep if she pulled some juicy secrets out of him just because he’s tired –

Focus!

“Something like that,” Adrien chuckles, then rubs his eyes and yawns again, and why does he have to be so damn cute?

“I’ll leave you to it!” Ladybug says immediately. “Get some rest, or I’ll have to come past and make sure of it!”

“That’s not exactly a good incentive, you know,” Adrien says. “The more you come past, the better.”

Heat floods Ladybug’s cheeks. “Um – bug out!” she practically shrieks. Before she can do anything else to embarrass herself, she grabs her yo-yo and yeets herself out of Adrien’s window into the fresh night air, now clear and free of rain.

Well. She finally had a conversation with Adrien that consisted of more than a few words. Now, if only she could do that as Marinette, her life would be so much less of a damn mess.

#aotq fic #aotq: free to be #miraculous ladybug #ml fic #ladrien #marinette dupain-cheng #adrien agreste

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goggles-mcgee · 3 years

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Too Late: Nadja & Alec (Commission for miner249er)

Second chapter of @miner249er ‘s commission!

Chapter Summary: The TVi News Special with hosts Nadja Chamack and Alec Cataldi

Previous Work

Last Chapter Next Chapter

“Don’t be bemused, it's just the news! I’m Nadja Chamack and I am joined today with Alec Cataldi. Today’s hour special brought to you by this studio is ‘The Protector Really Paris’s Protector?’ This has been a hot debate amongst blogs, forums, and many more platforms. We bring you not only the public opinion but never before seen footage of the Protector.” Nadja gave her standard intro and she tried to put as much energy in it as she could but as soon as the words left her mouth she felt sick. If the words had tastes they would have been ash. She knew her studio wasn’t the best, her akumatization was a shining example of that, but her studio teaming up with Alec Cataldi? That was bad news waiting to happen. They sprung this whole ‘special’ on her only hours before so Nadja hadn’t even been able to warn Sabine and Tom about it.

Ever since she was a little girl Nadja knew she wanted to be on TV. At first she thought she wanted to be an actor, she never thought she would become a reporter but when she did she fell in love with it. Following a story and being the one to let everyone know about it, it was a rush she sought for years. Then she had Manon, she still chased stories but she liked to think she had toned down the recklessness people told her she had before, but then Ladybug and Chat Noir showed up and her bosses demanded more of her. More shots of their fights, more close-ups of akumas, interviews with akumas, interviews with the victims, interviews with the heroes, the workload just got steeper and steeper. Of course Nadja was grateful for her city’s heroes, more than anything, Hawkmoth wasn’t just some silly villain like many thought, like her studio thought, he was a terrorist plain and simple and he had covered Paris in a blanket of fear.

Then one day he was gone, along with his accomplice Mayura, but with them was the disappearance of a girl that Nadja cared for deeply. Marinette Dupain-Cheng, she had met the girl when she was a tiny little thing, a little younger than Manon when Nadja had first visited Tom & Sabine’s Boulangerie Patisserie. Nadja had been just starting out at her studio at that time and she had just gotten through her first broadcast so she thought why not buy herself a little reward? A producer at the studio had actually been the one to suggest Tom & Sabine’s, she had been raving about their cakes and tarts so Nadja decided to see if they really were worth all the hype. No surprise here that they really were. What really made that day memorable besides the tasty treats was the little girl who came up to her and held out a hand to her shyly, she had never been great with kids but she did the only thing she could think of and put her hand out.

That was when she had gotten her first ‘Marinette Original’ as her parents had taken to calling her creations. It was a little hair clip with a bow on it, the bow was clearly taped onto the clip but it was precious all the same. She fondly remembered Sabine lightheartedly scolding her daughter for just making someone take something from her instead of asking if they wanted it but it was obvious the little girl didn’t fully understand. Nadja had laughed and laughed and had thanked the girl, she still had that clip, but now she had to keep it in a safe due to thieves who called themselves “modest collectors.” It pained her to see people forget the name Marinette Dupain-Cheng and only remember her as Paris’s last akuma, the Protector. It was hard enough trying to explain to Manon why mommy had to talk about Marinette on the news so much, it was harder to lie to her about when or if Marinette would come back.

Manon had taken to writing letters for Marinette to ask her to come back because she missed her. Nadja had to call into work that day, in the early hours of the morning, Manon had awoken from a nightmare and had been crying. Nadja had gone into her daughter’s room to console her when Manon caught her off guard by asking if the reason Marinette wasn’t coming back was because Manon had been bad the last time Marinette had babysat her. It had taken a long time to convince Manon that that wasn’t the case, and when Nadja got a moment alone she let herself cry and pray to anyone listening to bring Marinette back home to them.

“What do you think Nadja?” Alec’s voice ripped Nadja from her memories abruptly.

“Well-,” She started keeping her face calm though inside she was stressing, she hadn’t been paying attention to what Alec had been discussing.

“If you ask me those kids are as bad as Hawkmoth was! The talk about what happened in that classroom is all the evidence I need.” Oh so he was talking about Marinette’s classroom, or as they have been dubbed, The Akuma Class.

“That’s not evidence Alec, and you should know since you host one of the most watched shows on television, Alternative Truth.”

“That’s right Nadja! Where everything isn’t always true, but nothing is really false! But really, what is your opinion on the akuma class being the reason behind the akuma The Protector?” Alec asked as he turned to face Nadja, though not fully so the cameras would still get a good shot of him. “Many have said they were at school that day and the Protector was there to speak her truth!”

“I...I know I don’t speak for every akumatized person out there Alec, but I do know someone can be akumatized for anything. If the rumors of what went on in that class, in that school are true, then it’s no wonder Mlle Dupain-Cheng was akumatized. I don’t know if anyone would have been able to withstand that treatment.” That was the answer she settled on, she didn’t want to feed any fires and she certainly didn’t want her studio to know she knew what happened in the classroom since Sabine told her everything. Nadja swore she would do her best to keep it off-air, this was her best she reasoned to herself even if she didn’t believe it.

“Too true Nadja! I mean we’ve all seen how many times M Pidgeon got akumatized, or even Gigantitan. A literal baby. One has to wonder how sane Hawkmoth really was, which leads me to a juicy rumor! That our own resident hermit fashion designer Gabriel Agreste was the one and only Hawkmoth.” Alec announced with his usual flair and Nadja, not for the first time by any means, had to wonder how he didn’t get sued, or if he did how he never was scared of the possibility.

“That is quite the rumor Alec. Is there any legs for it to stand on?” She asked per her vague instructions given by the studio's director.

“Glad you asked Nadja! We have a video of The Protector going into the Agreste Mansion and after a period of time, leaving. Now we don’t know what happened inside but hours later we had you and your team there at the mansion along with other news stations when M Agreste and his assistant Mlle Nathalie Sancoeur were brought out of the mansion on stretchers. Then not long after, in your words,’ a dazed Mme Agreste was spotted coming out of the house.’ That was after the police search!” Nadja had to hand it to Alec, he sure knew how to run his mouth.

“I do remember that day. But how is that connected to Hawkmoth?” Now she was genuinely curious about what he was insinuating.

“Think about it Nadja, why would the Protector, an akuma who proclaimed to protect the innocent, go into the Agreste Mansion. Then later it is found that M Agreste and his assistant just so happened to be “attacked.” From the footage we have of the two on stretchers, they were in bad shape and the only one who visited them was the Protector! After that we haven’t heard from Hawkmoth or Mayura. Plus the Protector promised she would get rid of Hawkmoth for the people of Paris.”

“So you don’t believe it was just a random attack that happened at the same time that an akuma was loose in Paris?”

“I’m not saying that. I’m just saying that there are a lot of big coincidences. And I’m not saying definitively that Gabriel Agreste was Hawkmoth, but the rumors do make a compelling case! He had the time to himself to akumatize anyone he pleased, he had a partner, if we are inferring that Mlle Sancoeur was Mayura, and he had a motive. But again this is all speculation.”

“Speculation. Right.” Nadja could feel a familiar sense of dread in her stomach, in her chest, in her throat as she got ready to segway into her part of the special. Her and Alec would continue to go back and forth on their subjects but Nadja had been wary since they started. “Speaking of possible secret identities, recent evidence has shown us that...that may just confirm the popular rumor and theory that Marinette Dupain-Cheng, The Protector, was actually our one and only Ladybug.”

Nadja hadn’t wanted to believe it, that Marinette was Ladybug, not because she couldn’t see the girl as their hero, but because it made too much sense and that scared her. It scared her because it meant they had all placed their lives in the hands of a teenager, they had placed a responsibility that only adults should have to handle, on a child. They took a normal childhood away from her, or as normal as it could be with a villain who preyed upon emotions but the point still stood. It was weird, before Marinette had disappeared, if Nadja had seen a picture of her and Ladybug next to each other she would have said they were obviously different people, but now it was like a slap to the face because of how obviously Marinette was Ladybug and vice versa.

“Now, I know that it is a lot to process,” I’m still processing it, “but let’s go over the evidence and as promised viewers video footage of The Protector in action. This footage was donated to us by an anonymous source who had happened upon The Protector out in the open when she was akumatized. I want to warn everybody, the footage may be shocking to some viewers. Roll the clip please.” Nadja felt like the words shot out of her mouth before she could even think about them but she knew she was supposed to say them so why did they leave such a foul taste in her mouth? She couldn’t even force herself to watch the video a second time, her and Alec had to review every video or post they were going to show on the broadcast and she had barely kept it together then. Now? She felt like she was being held together by cheap scotch tape.

Even if she wasn’t watching the video she could still hear Marinette’s cries, her sobs, she lost the fight as she had a tear fall. She did her best to be discrete as she brought her handkerchief up to blot the tear away but that was a mistake. There on the edge of the handkerchief was Marinette’s signature, she forgot that she had been given it when Manon was born. It was a present from Marinette, the girl had joked it would be a help for all the tears she was crying because she had actually given birth and actually made a tiny human being. The same tiny human being who was distraught that not only was her favorite babysitter gone but Ladybug who she adored. That only caused more tears.

“Wow, you weren’t kidding Nadja...Nadja are you okay?” Alec asked, it was actually the first time she had ever heard or seen him care about anyone else other than himself and she didn’t even know if it was genuine or just for the cameras but it still got to her.

“I’m fine. I’m fine.” She stammered as she wiped her tears before giving the camera a practiced smile. “Now before we discuss everything in that video I will say we do have many more to share so stay tuned Paris!”

As soon as she was given the sign that they were on commercial Nadja couldn’t hold it in anymore, she let herself cry. She had tried to be so strong for Manon, for Sabine and Tom, but it was too much. She was vaguely aware of someone talking to her and pressing a box of tissues into her hands but what snapped her out was her boss’s voice. “Snap out of it Mlle Chamack we have a show to do.”

“Snap out of it?” She asked hollowly, out of her peripheral vision she could see Alec glancing between her and her boss before wiping his hands on his legs and pulling out his phone. “You sprung this on me. You knew I had connections to Marinette and her parents. That’s her name you know? Marinette Dupain-Cheng. She’s not just another akuma, hell she’s not Paris’s last akuma like you have named her! She is a teenager, a little girl! A little girl with a mother and a father who are probably sitting at home watching this wondering why their baby has to be seen like this!”

“The Protector is a public figure, Nadja.” Her boss lamely responded back.

“And what? That makes it right? I have worked here for a long time, I had been pressured to work harder, get the stories, get the results and I did. Never have I felt such shame. I love my job but you make me hate it. She’s a child for crying out loud! Do you not realize that? Ladybug was a child! And all you’re worried about is the story!” Nadja knew she must have sounded hysterical but it was so hard to reign in her emotions once she got started. She knew it wasn’t a rare occurrence nowadays but she hated feeling out of control. “She babysat my daughter, my daughter has been asking me everyday when Marinette, when Ladybug, will come back and I don’t have an answer. But she thinks I do because of how much I report on everything!”

“Nadja...I’m sorry. I didn’t think,” her boss began.

“No you didn’t. And you haven’t. But for once in your life think now. I can’t get through this the way you want me to. I know her, I know her parents and this is probably breaking them. So if you want me to continue reporting, let me do it my way. Or I swear I will take those job offers I have been getting recently and I won’t look back.” Nadja’s voice felt a little hoarse but she didn’t care.

No one spoke for awhile until an intern shakily told them that they would be back on-air soon. Then everything was back in motion. Alec hastily took a drink of his water while Nadja’s makeup artist came out to do touchups, she was very gentle, almost hesitant. Even though everyone was doing their best to relieve the tension in the room, Nadja’s gaze from her boss did not waver, not even for a second, even as he ran a hand over his face. There were murmurs going on, probably about the spectacle she created but she really couldn’t care less.

“...Okay Nadja...You do this how you want to. For what it’s worth, I am sorry.” He finally said.

“I appreciate that.” She breathed out. “When we report on her, please just...say her name. She isn’t the Protector, she isn’t just Ladybug, she’s Marinette Dupain-Cheng and she is still missing. Yes, she was Paris’s last akuma but that’s not all she was. Yes she was Ladybug. Our hero who did everything to keep us safe, even when she was akumatized. She is also a daughter, a granddaughter, a friend. Not an icon. Not a celebrity. So for the love of God have some empathy. Yes we are reporters but we are more than that as well.”

Again it was quite but then there was a chorus of murmured agreements, even from her boss and Alec. She gave a firm nod at everyone as she took a deep breath to steady herself for when the cameras would be turned back to them once more. This time though she would get to talk about Marinette as more than what every other news station, magazine, newspaper, and blog had been painting her out to be. Her and Alec would still do their parts, they would still talk about what they were assigned but Nadja was determined to put more humanity into the special.

“I’m sorry Nadja. I have never thought about it the way you have. I guess I was always in the mindset of the akuma being separate? If that makes any sense?” Alec admitted.

Nadja gave him a sad smile and patted his hand. “It’s okay Alec. I understand...when I was Prime Queen...I didn’t want to believe it was me. For a long time I refused to believe it was me, but it was. The akumas are people and I think it’s time we start acting like it.”

“Yeah...yeah I think you’re right.” Alec mumbled. Nadja wasn’t sure if her words truly did anything, everyone in the TVi studio knew how Alec was, but maybe now that Hawkmoth was gone, maybe everyone could move on and grow.

Nadja turned to face the cameras when the cameraman waved to get their attention and started his countdown, when she knew the cameras were on Nadja gave them the most sincere smile she could. “Welcome back everyone, Nadja Chamack here with Alec Cataldi as we continue our special, ‘The Protector Really Paris’s Protector?’ Before we continue on I would like to start off with I lied before when I said I was fine before the commercial break. I knew Marinette Dupain-Cheng, the one you all like to refer as her akuma name, before I continue on with the rest of my report I would like to tell you about her.”

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olivia-anderson-fanfic · 3 years

Text

Canary, Part 5

First

Tim tipped his head to the side as he considered the woman in front of him.

She had a slightly nervous smile as she pulled one of her earbuds out of her ears. “Hi.”

Her eyes flicked past him and, after quickly glancing back to make sure no one was about to attack him, he realized she was feeling cornered.

… probably because she was currently being cornered.

He hesitantly took a few steps to the side until he could lean against the wall. “I’m not here to hurt you or anything, I just want to talk,” he promised.

Her hand slipped out of her pocket. He was willing to bet that she had some kind of weapon in there.

Which was good, honestly. Gotham was a dangerous place for newcomers like her.

“... so, what’re you here for?” She asked when he didn’t say anything for a while.

He bit his lip as he considered her.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng, 27.

The first time they’d spotted her following them around, they’d assumed she was just another alias of Canary… but the fourteen aliases they had found for Canary so far had always had one thing in common: despite how far back it may have gone or how many connections she may have had, there was never anyone alive to corroborate her story.

She would have definitely done that this time since there was a 100% chance that the bats would notice her. Canary would have made sure that, no matter what, they couldn’t pop on over to anyone’s house and ask about her.

But Marinette had two parents. They were back in Paris, of course, but they still existed. Babs had spotted them walking to the grocery store just yesterday. They had a consistent call history with them dating back years.

He had entertained the idea that they could be paid actors… but Canary worked alone. She had informants and sponsors, sure, but partners? No. It had been nine years, if she was going to start working with people she probably would have done that already.

Marinette checked out.

… or, at least, she checked out in all ways but two.

“How did you get here?” Asked Tim.

Marinette frowned a little. “... plane?”

He shook his head. “We have footage of you at Roissy Airport, but you never arrived in Gotham.”

Her skin paled. “Must be a glitch.”

Okay. That’s definitely not suspicious at all, no way.

He raised his eyebrows. “I don’t think so, no.”

“Maybe you missed me.”

“With our facial recognition scanners? And three people checking it over?”

Her hand was back in her pocket and her eyes were flicking to the exit nervously.

“I’m not going to deport you or anything,” he added quickly. “Lots of people here aren’t documented and that’s totally fine, the immigration system is totally messed up… I’ll shut up about that now, that’s not helping... I just… want to know. Curious.”

“Paranoid,” she corrected with a hesitant grin.

“... cautious,” he said after a few seconds.

“Sure, if that’s what you want to call it.”

“It’s much nicer than paranoid, that’s for sure,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest.

She rolled her eyes and he smiled as some of the tension in her shoulders disappeared.

“The horse miraculous,” she said after a few seconds. “That’s how I got here.”

He sighed internally. Metas in Gotham. Not good. There was a reason that rule was in place. If metas -- even good ones -- started coming then there was nothing stopping the huge, otherworldly threats from following them over. They’d stick with their overdramatic fucks that need therapy, thanks, their gadgets didn’t exactly hold up against literal gods.

And then Marinette giggled. “You don’t need to look so scared. The weird old guy who holds onto all the miraculous… he doesn’t really use them, he just keeps them locked in a weird box thing. I just…” She shrugged. “I had something on him and he was more than happy to get rid of me.”

… well, that’s a little concerning, thought Tim.

Not exactly unexpected, though. She’d very publicly gotten a restraining order by Chat Noir around ten years prior and, while none of the other miraculous holders had come out against her, many of the ones that had revealed themselves as holders had already denounced her. Tim wouldn’t have been surprised if she had stalked more of them -- hell, she was stalking him and his family, clearly she hadn’t limited herself to Chat Noir.

But this raised his second question: “Why now?”

She cringed. “Well, I’d thought about moving a long time ago. No place in France was going to hire me with the whole ‘stalking one of their beloved superheroes’ thing… but I decided to stay for a while. I didn’t want it to seem like I was running away, y’know?”

He nodded his understanding slowly. That made sense. It wasn’t a decision based on logic, but not all decisions are.

She smiled awkwardly, rubbing the back of her neck. “Also, I kind of missed having superheroes, to be honest.”

Tim raised his eyebrows. He wasn’t going to correct her use of the word ‘superheroes’ instead of ‘vigilantes’, English was at least her second language and that would be rude, so he went down a different route: “I thought they still had their miraculous. It’d be stupid if they didn’t. Mayura is still out there and all.”

“As far as I know, everyone but Ladybug and Chat Noir gave up their miraculous. Everyone knows Mayura is just Adrien Agreste even if we can’t prove it. Nothing else makes sense,” she said with a shrug.

He bit his lip. “I thought that the secretary disappeared that day, though. Wasn’t it her?”

“Nathalie Sancoeur? I heard she moved to America,” Marinette said with a shrug. “But America hasn’t had any attacks, so no one in Paris thinks it was her. Adrien is probably just waiting until the miraculous holders drop their guards.”

He nodded slowly. He didn’t realize he was going to be gossiping and discussing conspiracy theories with a person who stalked heroes but, he had to admit, it was kind of fun. Reminded him of the good old days when he was just a kid who followed the bats around for fun.

… but that wasn’t how things were anymore. He had responsibilities now. Which he was currently not doing. Oops.

“I should get back to work.”

“I should get back to watching you work,” she half-joked.

He hesitated. “Is there any way I can convince you not to do that? Gotham isn’t Paris, it’s dangerous here.”

She grinned. “I stalked a guy who had a literal god at his beck and call. I can handle a few odd goons,” she said.

He bit his lip but nodded. “Call for help if you ever need it.”

“Fine. Fine.”

He got the distinct feeling that she wasn’t going to but he was going to give her the benefit of the doubt just for now.

He pulled his grapple gun from his belt and hooked it around the rooftop.

“See you later.”

“Well, you will see me later, I’ll --,” she began, only to cut herself off with a gasp: “NO!”

He quickly checked over his shoulder but he didn’t see anything. He turned back to her, questioning look on his face, only to see her devastated expression.

“Cedric died,” she said sadly, pointing at the ear with the earbud still in it.

…?

Marinette sat in a coffee shop, sipping at a drink as she worked on her computer.

Tim Drake had five coffee shops that he enjoyed. The tiny tweet she’d sent out a little over a week ago ensured that he wasn’t going to be allowed coffee at his place of work. So, he was likely to go and get coffee somewhere else. She was currently sitting at the one closest to WE.

… it was very expensive. She needed to drink her coffee slower.

She squinted at her resume with a frown.

She was pretty sure it was good enough to get in, but…

Marinette sighed lightly and let her head hit the table. Fuck. She hated this stupid job so much.

She heard the chair across from her scrape against the wooden floors and slowly lifted her head. She squinted at the guy in front of her for a minute.

“Hello,” she said carefully.

The brown-haired man smiled at her.

She glanced him up and down. He was clean in a slimy kind of way. He was too nice. His hair was coiffed perfectly, his suit neatly pressed, his face clean-shaven. People who had the guts to dress like that in Gotham were always the worst of the worst.

“Hi!” he said cheerfully.

She sighed. “You weren’t even going to ask if you could sit here?”

“You’ve been alone for a while. Figured it was safe to assume you didn’t have anyone.”

Cool. Cool cool cool. Her hand slipped to the dagger hidden in her hoodie pocket. She may not know what kind of bad he was, but he was definitely bad news.

“No, actually, I was just waiting for my friend to get off work so they could join me.”

“Oh! I’ll keep you company until they show up!”

Damn. She hated when people called her bluff.

She forced her most pleasant smile to her face. “No thanks. I have work to do, actually.”

“Applying for jobs, right?”

She paled.

“Sorry, but I was curious so I just peeked over your shoulder a little bit. I actually had a couple of openings at my job, and you seem like a good candidate, if you’d like --.”

“No!” She said quickly.

His smile didn’t waver, but his eyes narrowed just a little. “I was just offering you a job.”

“I don’t want to get a job this way. I prefer the formal interview process and everything,” she lied.

“Oh, well, my company is having interviews tomorrow and there should be an open spot around --.”

A hand came to rest on the man’s shoulder.

“Hey, bud, she said no.”

~~~

TheBetterCanary: @/BrucieWayne give me a hundred million dollars and ill stop doing crime

BrucieWayne: Done.

TheBetterCanary: i take it back five hundred million

BrucieWayne: Sure.

TheBetterCanary: a billion

BrucieWayne: Alright.

TheBetterCanary: what the fuck

~~~~~

Perma taglist: @nathleigh @peachmuses

Canary taglist: @jayjayspixiepop @unoriginalmess @miraculousfanfic127 @probably-a-hologram

#my little cousin stole my phone #:( havent seen it in days #its lost to the void #helpppppp #canary #maribat #timinette #timari #shutterbug #timmari #marinette dupain cheng #ladybug #tim drake #red robin

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