Adrien starts dating someone who has the personality of Cleo De Nile. Meaning, she's a dramatic diva but she's loyal and caring to her friends. Even when she forgets herself sometimes.
Adrien is a bit of a gossip, though he'll never admit it. However, him wanting to gossip was how he found out how out of the loop the class were. When he tried talking to Nino about what happened with Zack or Sam, he would have no idea who he was talking about. He brushed it off at first, thinking he just hadn't met them. But when he went to talk to him about the drama between Mary and Gwen, two of the most popular girls in school, he still had no idea who he was talking about. It was then, he realized just how much the class didn't talk that much to others outside of each other. The only person he saw talk and actually hang out with others not from the class, was Nathaniel.
Since his failed attempts at gossiping with Nino, he never tried again or ever really brought up things outside of the class. So, when he started talking to Cleo, one of if not the most popular girl in school, he never thought to tell Nino. Nor when he and Cleo started dating.
Eventually, months later, the others did find out. Alya was planning an outing for the four of them where halfway through, her and Nino would leave Adrien and Marinette alone so she could confess. However, Adrien declines because he had a date with Cleo. They were shocked, which lead to him explaining that they've been dating for months and it slipped his mind to tell them.
Obviously, Marinette is heartbroken finding out that he's dating someone but this also leads her to stalk and dig up everything on her. After a week of following her around, she concludes that Cleo is a shallow mean girl who somehow tricked Adrien into dating her. Thus, starting the "war" between her and Cleo. To Marinette, she's rescuing Adrien.
Like she did to Kagami at the movie premiere, she starts harassing Cleo. However, luck seems to be on her side because each of Marinette's attempts either backfires or fails. It reaches a boiling point when she tries again in the lunch room, only for Cleo to avoid it again. They then make eye contact and glare at each other, but Marinette was startled when Cleo loudly called her out. When Marinette was carrying out her plan, a few people were already looking at her like she was a weirdo. Now that Cleo had called her out in front of the entire cafeteria, everyone was paying attention.
Embarrassed, Marinette quickly ran out. She didn't expect her to confront her let alone in front of others. She thought that just like with Kagami, they would glare at each other and silently understand that they were at "war" with each other. The class comforted her while asking what happened, since they weren't paying attention until Cleo had called her out. Marinette didn't really explain anything and instead focused on the confrontation that happened in front of others and how she felt.
Adrien, who just got back from a photo shoot, walked in to see the class surrounding Marinette. When they explained that Cleo was "mean" to her, they expected him to comfort Marinette and be upset at Cleo. Instead, he asked "what did you do?", to Marinette. He knows Cleo and knows she wouldn't be mean to someone out of nowhere, unless they did something to her first.
They were taken aback at first, until, one of the guys pointed out how they didn't know what lead up to the confrontation. Everyone then turned to Marinette wanting to know what happened and that maybe it was a misunderstanding that they could clear up. Marinette stutters and is unable to come up with something because telling the truth wasn't an option. She knows how bad she'll look. Alya and Adrien instantly realize that she didn't want to say because she was in the wrong. Alya was disappointed and Adrien was annoyed. Adrien rolled his eyes while telling her to stay away from his girlfriend, and the others were coming to the same conclusion Alya and Adrien came to. They may not know what happened but whatever it was, she clearly deserved Cleo being upset with her.
A long time ago I read this short fic where Marinette sacrifices herself when making a wish, and she and all the miraculous end up in DC universe. She sees a villain destroying things and interferes, taking them down and casting the miracle cure, fixing everything. The league confront her, thinking she was a kid cosplaying, until the saw the miraculous. In their world, miraculous ladybug is a comic. Blah blah blah, she stays with Bruce and becomes a hero there, and the miracle box is locked up safely while Marinette keeps the ladybug miraculous.
Instead, it's less of a sacrifice and more of her not being careful with her wording. Once she and the miraculous end up in DC, she wanders around for a bit. When she sees the villain causing chaos, she interferes despite the kwamis warnings. Facing off against the villain, she immediately gets injured. Unlike akumas, who mainly fight to disarm and rarely try to kill, the villain had no problem instantly going for the kill.
Then the league show up and take out the villain. After, they look to her for an explanation as to what she was doing, fully ready to scold her for interfering. Marinette then explains to them about the miraculous and being the guardian. They're skeptical, but when she uses her miracle cure, they know that she's at least somewhat truthful. However by the look on her face, they can tell the miracle cure didn't work how she wanted it to. Marinette was in shock that the cure not only didn't heal her, but didn't fix any of the damage from the fight.
Marinette gets taken back to the watch tower's med bay so she can be healed and they can get more information out of her. While this was happening, word spread of a girl with supposed magic jewelry she's in charge of. Jon and Damian hear of this and go to sneak a peak of her. Upon seeing her, they instantly recognized her from the show miraculous ladybug. Jon was the one who had found the show and really liked it. He got Damian to start watching with him because, well, magic jewelry that turns you into an animal themed hero.
Damian was never that into it but continued watching for the sake of Jon. Jon really enjoyed the story, but as the seasons went on, Marinette's character got worse. He initially thought she would face consequences for her bad decisions and choices and grow as a person, but instead she was rewarded for everything. It was like one step forward then six steps back. Eventually he just dropped it, not being able to watch anymore. When he heard season six was announced, he thought about getting back into it and watched some episodes. Safe to say, season six has got to be the worst version of her.
As they're discussing what to do, Tim and Conner find them. As they explained who Marinette was, Tim started looking up the show. From some of the clips he's watched of the show, he also concludes that Marinette shouldn't have the miraculous. However he points out that it might be a different Marinette. Just like how they've met different versions of themselves from different universes, she could be the same. Right now, they don't know if she's the same one as in the show or an alternate one where she never made any of those decisions. They decide to explain everything to batman and the others and go from there.
Once word gets around to the adults, they become more on guard towards Marinette. Only slightly though, not fully understanding what she was capable of or what she might have done. Bruce and Tim spend hours watching every episode of the show and come to the conclusion, that it was worse than they thought. Now knowing what type of person Marinette could be, all they needed to do was identify if she was the same one from the show. Currently, she was in the med bay and would have to stay there for a couple of days, so, they would have time to subtly question her. Luckily, she seemed like a terrible liar.
Bruce then goes on to confirm to the others how bad she could possibly be and to not tell her about her story being a show in their world. Marinette was very open and honest when telling them her story. Being a detective, Bruce was able to tell that, while she was telling the truth, it was a warped version of it. One where she was the victim and the one who was burdened the most. When he got enough information from her to confirm that she was exactly the one from the show, he planed a way to get the ladybug miraculous without her putting up an unnecessary fight. The miracle box had already been safely locked away the first day she came to the watch tower.
When he gets the miraculous away from her, him and the rest of the league decide to send her to foster parents who are aware of her backstory and specialize in weird situations like this. The world is a weird place with mass resurrections and people being displaced out of time, so, Marinette's situation isn't that unheard of. Without the miraculous, Marinette was just a normal girl, she needed help, but sill a normal girl. They wanted her to have to have as normal of a life as possible since there was no way to get her back to her world. They could try wishing for her to go home but there was no way of knowing how that would affect their world. It simply wasn't worth the risk.
Bonus:
(literally added this last minute because I recently rewatched Barbie princess power)
Back in the world of miraculous, the world had been reset. Emilie still died but Gabriel was able to move on, realizing that Adrien needed him. Just like before, he wanted to go to public school and Gabriel allowed him. Meanwhile, Tom and Sabine had a daughter, socqueline. While socqueline didn't like Chloe, she had nothing against Adrien. If anything, she kind of pitied him for not having many friends. The most problems Adrien and the class have are everyday teenage drama. There were no akumas, miraculous, or villains, or at least ones wielding a miraculous.
One day, while out in the garden, Adrien helps a butterfly and it gives him a kiss. Later, he realized that the kiss gave him powers when he fell from a tree and instead of falling, he started floating. He starts practicing with his powers but doesn't jump into heroics. Before, being chat noir was a form of freedom. He loved helping people and defending the city, but it was also a way for him to get out of the house he was usually trapped in. Now, he was basically a normal teenager who occasionally modeled for his dad. He didn't have to sneak out or bargain with his dad, he had as much freedom as he wanted. He was also aware that being a hero wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. But when a Mr. Freeze knock off started attacking the city, he knew he had to act.
Gabriel knows he hasn't been a good father to Adrien. He's aware of the cold and callus way he's treated him, but he does love him. So, in his final moments, he wishes for Adrien's happiness.
To Marinette, everything happens in the blink of an eye, and the changes aren't noticeable yet. She and the kwami's are the only ones who remember the original timeline. The kwami's however, have the advantage of knowing the current timeline as well. Unlike Marinette, they adjust to the new reality and have the memories of it.
After destroying the basement, Marinette makes her way toward Adrien and Kagami, mainly Adrien, to tell him that Gabriel was a hero. When she gets there though, she only finds Kagami. When asked where Adrien was, Kagami gave her a confused look. Instead of answering she points out that she has more important things to do, like addressing the situation to Paris. Reluctantly, she leaves to hold a press conference to address everything.
The speech is the same, Gabriel is a hero and the butterfly miraculous is lost but she will never give up recovering it. After she detransforms she gives the ring to plagg so he can give it to chat noir. Plagg is silent through the interaction. He's upset because the person, he's flying back to isn't Adrien. In this timeline he's never met him and he never became his holder.
When the class decide to have a party to celebrate Shadowmoth's defeat, Marinette asks about Adrien. Assuming she meant the situation as a whole, they talk about feeling bad for him but that he luckily has his aunt and cousin. Marinette was confused why they brought them up but brushed it off in favor of asking where Adrien was. She wanted to be a good girlfriend and be there for him. They all look at her for a second before one of them speaks up, "Why would he be here?"
When Marinette makes it home, she starts pacing, wondering what was going on and if this was an akuma. Tikki then reveals that she and her friends had never met Adrien. She explains that in this timeline he never went to her school. She begins to spiral, trying to figure out why Adrien wasn't there. Tikki interrupts her, pointing out the wish Gabriel made.
To Marinette, Adrien's happiness meant spending more time with his friends and going out with her. So, to her, him suddenly being gone doesn't make any sense. She then starts looking up Adrien's instagram to see how he's been doing, fully expecting him to be miserable. Only to find that he's not only very happy with is life but different from the Adrien she knew. His hair was a bit longer with dyed streaks and the clothes he was wearing was very different from what he would usually wear. To top it off, to her horror, Adrien was dating someone.
In this new reality, Gabriel had sent Adrien off to live with Felix and Amelie a year before he became hawkmoth, not wanting him to be in danger. Not being with his father meant he didn't have to model anymore, which gave him more time to be regular teenager and explore who he was. Gabriel was fine with it as long as he didn't endanger himself or cause a PR disaster. Him and Felix have a close relationship since they spend almost every day together. He has a different but still supportive friend group and while exploring what he liked, (a bit of a spoiler for another fic I'm working on) he learned he actually did like fashion. His fashion sense was just a lot different from his father's. He started making his own clothes when he couldn't find what he wanted. One of the first things he's ever made was his Glorp Cat hoodie.
He went to Gotham for a couple of months as an exchange student so he could have a change of scenery. He wanted more inspiration for his designs and to him Gotham was the perfect place. There he came up with more designs like his Stained Glass Set, Crystal Witch set, and obviously his Black Bat Shawl. It's also where he met Damian Wayne. They became friends, bonding over the different ways they express themselves, with Damian through painting and him through fashion. Eventually he had to go back but they kept in contact, frequently texting. At some point they both realized their feelings for each other and started dating.
Adrien does hear about what's happening in Paris with the heroes and hawkmoth and does worry for his father. The only time he visits is with his aunt and Felix on the anniversary of his mother's disappearance. While Felix steals the rings and replaces them, Adrien is completely unaware of his plan. When all three of them are back in London, Felix decided it was time to reveal that they were sentibeings and the rings importance to his life. Adrien is in shock of the reveal but is glad to have Felix and his aunt, so he doesn't feel so alone. When Felix steals the peacock miraculous and hands the rest to Gabriel, he leaves and doesn't return. He doesn't care for the situation he put the heroes in; he got what he wanted. The way he sees it, it was her fault for trusting him anyway. When he got to Paris, it didn't take long to work out who ladybug was, and it only took a couple of days for her to stupidly trust him completely. So, two weeks later when strike back happened, she immediately sought him out to be a holder. The only thing Felix wanted was the peacock miraculous, so that no one could just snap him or his cousin out of existence.
At some point, Adrien starts having dreams of people he's never met and even being one of the heroes of Paris, wielding the cat miraculous. He wants to brush them off as just dreams but because they are so specific with details even, he couldn't make up, he tries to figure out the meaning behind them. He tells Felix about them and together they start investigating them, writing down every detail. They had thought about reaching out to Nino since he seemed like his best friend in the dream, but that idea was abandoned, because what would you even say to someone you technically haven't met. Plus, in his dreams, there was always this weird girl in the background just staring at him, which he learns from Felix is Marinette. In his dreams, he watches as if he was there with them, seeing himself and everyone else. So, he saw when she snuck his phone back into his bag that she had clearly stolen and how she chases off any girl that gets close to him. He easily deduced she was a fangirl, which brought him back to the second reason they couldn't contact Nino.
This girl's best friend was dating him, and they seemed like a package deal. So, if they got in touch with him, he would tell his girlfriend and she would tell Marinette. Though the chances of her having the same type of dreams as Adrien were slim, they still didn't want to risk it since she was a fangirl. Even if she didn't have her memories, it didn't mean she still wouldn't be obsessed with him.
They were stumped until Duusu saw what they were doing and casually said that those must be his memories from his other life. Confused, Duusu then goes onto explain that she has the memories from this timeline and the last, meaning the wish was made and someone rewrote reality. By this point Adrien already knew that Gabriel was Hawkmoth from Felix. Was he disappointed, yes. Surprised, no. But knowing that he could've gotten a hold of the miraculous and made a wish was terrifying. But then, if he did make the wish and he still has his memories, does that mean his wish went wrong, since he's still fighting the heroes. Whatever the reason, Adrien isn't apart of it and has no plans to get involved. For now, Adrien and Felix focus on what they will say to the public if Gabriel is brought down. People will no doubt point fingers at Adrien and question if he was involved.
All that planning however, was for nothing. When he was brought down, Ladybug then went on to say he was a hero. This baffled them, why would ladybug cover for him? Then they remembered who ladybug was and, in the memories, she was a fangirl completely obsessed with him. They thought she wouldn't have her memories of the previous timeline, but seeing cover for Gabriel made them think otherwise. She has nothing to gain covering up for a terrorist, unless she was doing it out of a twisted sense of love for Adrien. Realizing this, they both understood that their plans dramatically shifted. Marinette had all the miraculous at her disposal and from Adrien's memories, they wouldn't put it past her to use them to get Adrien back. Whether she used them to track him down or use hers and the cat miraculous to make a wish, they had to be prepared. Adrien refused to go back to the life he used to live, he loved the one he currently had. Even through the memories he could see he was never happy, just content.
They decided they had to get the justice league involved. It's one thing if she decided to directly come after Adrien, that they might be able to handle on their own. But with the cat miraculous being in her reach, they wouldn't put it past her to simply take it from her partner and make a wish. They're not in Paris to stop her, so, warning more experienced heroes who would know how to handle the situation about ladybug, made the most sense. Once they get in touch with the league and let them handle the situation, that left them preparing for if she decided to come directly for Adrien and the inevitable fall out when it's revealed that Gabriel was shadowmth.
Marinette arrives at school to find everyone talking about Lila. When she asks Alya about her, she sees the "interview" she did with her, claiming to be best friends with ladybug. This paired with seeing Lila taking Adrien to the library, enrages her. She follows them and the rest happens like in canon.
What Marinette didn't pick up on; was the way everyone was talking about Lila. Her friends weren't fawning over her; they were just discussing what she had said to them. As they talked more about it, they started realizing how some things didn't add up. Alya was looking over the "interview" in annoyance. She did the interview because Lila could answer what people outside of Paris thought of their heroes. Instead, she got a ten-minute video of her talking about herself and how she was best friends with ladybug. When Marinette asked her about Lila, all she did was state that she was new and how she talks about her adventures. Not once did she fawn over her.
After the mess of Volpina and Collector, the class briefly talk about Lila. Marinette was the only one not there because she was running late that morning. They all agree that nothing she said adds up and that she's clearly lying. Adrien and Rose suggest that maybe she's doing it because she's new. Either way, none of them care because she's lying about knowing celebrities, which isn't a big deal. That morning was the only time they talked about Lila before moving on, because it really didn't matter.
During Chameleon, Mrs. Bustier is the one to rearrange their seats, not wanting them to get distracted because they would sit next to their best friend or girlfriend/boyfriend. They have no reason to doubt that Lila has tinnitus because all she's lied about is knowing celebrities, not her medical history. Plus, it's not really their place to verify if she was lying or not about it, that's Mrs. Bustier's job.
During lunch, Marinette goes on about how much of a liar she is to Nino and Alya. Alya can tell that for the most part this was about the seating arrangement but lets her rant. While this is happening, the others are enjoying their lunch and not circling Lila. Marinette then starts telling them about how she followed them to the park, which they then interrupt and tell her that they know that Lila lied and how weird it was for her to follow them. They know she lied about knowing celebrities but there's no way of knowing if she's lying about her health, and they don't really want to test it. Marinette, wanting to prove that she was, throws the napkin at her. Lila catches it and immediately cries about her wrist, which they all see as clearly fake.
Still, they all look at Marinette because if she really was hurt and it wasn't obvious, then she really could have injured her further. Marinette then runs off to the bathroom, upset that they weren't "taking her side". The rest happens like in canon except for them crowding Lila. Adrien tells her to ignore Lila, seeing as she annoys her so much, saying that it wasn't that big of a deal.
After two weeks, Lila shows up again (because she can't skip school for months at a time with no one questioning her). Marinette once again, calls Lila a liar in front of the class and predictably, Lila starts "crying". They go back and forth for a bit with Lila saying Marinette was being mean to her for no reason and Marinette poorly defending herself. At this point everyone's had enough and is annoyed with them. Alix is the one to speak up first, telling them both to be quiet. Lila proceeds to "cry" more and Marinette justifying calling her out. Alya cuts her off, saying that they already knew she was lying and that they had told her that. At this revelation, Lila completely drops the act and silently watches them.
Marinette: She still tries to manipulate you guys, like when she wanted you to carry her things and buy her lunch.
Alix: Which we didn't do.
Marinette: Well......she's still dangerous. What about the video she did for Alya's blog. That will ruin her reputation when people find out that it was all lies.
Alya: What are you talking about?
Marinette: That interview she did claiming she was best friends with ladybug.
Alya: I never uploaded that.
Marinette: what?
Alya: I never uploaded it. There was no point since she only talked about herself for the majority of it before claiming to be best friends with her. It was such an obvious lie, it was like something my little sisters would come up with during one of their games.
Marinette: But...... you still talk to her like she isn't lying to you
Alix: Well yeah, how are we supposed to treat her? Like the plague and avoid her at all costs, ignore her existence? So, she lies about knowing celebrities, who cares. Her possibly lying about injuries and ailments she has, yea that's not cool, but even then, all she's done so far is get our seats switched and get out of P.E. Was having our seats switched to accommodate her for a possibly fake ailment annoying? Sure, but it's not that big of a deal. We see each other all the time, it's not like we couldn't talk after class.
Alya: Honestly, I don't know why you're so hung up on this but let it go. We all know she's lying and she's not really good at trying to manipulate us into doing things for her, so just drop it.
Throughout this conversation, Lila was silently listening to them. Having the "interview" she did brought up annoyed her, but finding out that it was never uploaded surprised her. She remembers it clearly, ladybug yelling at her for lying about being friends with her, that she had seen the post on the ladyblog. Either ladybug was lying about seeing the video on the blog or she saw it but didn't know it was never uploaded. Either way, now knowing that it was never uploaded drastically narrowed down who ladybug could be. She definitely goes to this school and at least has to be somewhat close to Alya to have seen the video.
An AU where Adrien and Marinette don't get together.
Adrien realizes that his feelings for ladybug were more admiration and that he's really not ready for a relationship. He recognizes that he desperately wants someone to love him the same way he'll love them that he's willing to make himself small and minimize his own feelings. Him minimizing his own feelings is nothing new since that's what he's been taught from a young age, further confirming to himself that he shouldn't be in a relationship any time soon. It would be unfair to not only himself but his partner, and if they wanted, they could easily take advantage of his need to please them and put their feelings first.
When ladybug had come to him saying that his father was a hero and that he loved him, he stared at her for a minute and questioned if she's always been this blind or just stupid. He calmly pointed out to her that they were in a padded room his father had locked him in and how someone who loves you wouldn't do that. He doesn't know why ladybug was shocked by what he said. It was like she was expecting him to be happy when she told him that Gabriel was a hero and loved him, completely ignoring where they were at the moment.
Now that Gabriel was gone and it was just him and Nathalie, he decided one of the first changes he was going to make was going to therapy. He had already made his decision months ago but with Gabriel still alive then, he knew it would never happen.
Nathalie was surprised by Adrien's decision to go to therapy and his entire demeanor in general. Yes, he was grieving, but he was handling it better than she thought he would. And as he went to therapy, he only got better. He was fine talking about Gabriel and how he felt about him. He was honest and would say that he might have saved everyone, but he was a terrible father. He still loved him, but he couldn't forgive him. Seeing him openly talk about his father that way and be comfortable with it, made her doubt keeping Gabriel being shadowmoth a secret from him. The only reason she had agreed and went along with Marinette was because she thought he would be heartbroken. Looking at him now, she can see that he's doing just fine with the knowledge that his father was terrible.
Kagami and Felix were feeling the same way as they watched Adrien live his life happily. They too thought he wouldn't be able to handle knowing that his father was shadowmoth, but watching him openly trash talk him with Nino, they begin to think they underestimated him.
During this era Marinette is bolder when she tries to set up dates between her and Adrien and trying to confess her feelings. Not because she's grown more confidant, but because she's grown desperate and impatient. In her mind, this is the perfect time to confess her feelings. To show him how much she truly cares and would always be there for him, just like on the anniversary of his mother's disappearance. She didn't want to tell him about his father being shadowmoth because she knew he wouldn't be able to handle it. Initially, she did find his reaction when she first told him about his father as ladybug to be out of character, but she brushed it off as him in shock. What she didn't take into account was him going to therapy and going back and forth between wanting to be with friends and wanting to be alone at times.
Since going to therapy, Adrein's been encouraged to find an outlet and hobbies he'd enjoy. He dropped a lot of things Gabriel had forced him to do and tried just about anything that interested him. This leads him to running and meeting Sublime. Marinette, seeing their friendship blossom, freaks out and decides she has to do something about it. When Sublime asks him about her behavior, instead of brushing it off as Marinette just being Marinette, he states that he doesn't know either. With him getting therapy and discovering himself, he's come to realize that he doesn't really know the girls. He likes them well enough; he just doesn't know them as well as he knows the guys. Alya's the only one he really knows well and that's because she's Nino's girlfriend and hangs out with the three of them. Marinette is the one he knows the least despite her hanging out with him, Alya, and Nino. Whenever they hang out, she doesn't talk to him, just stares and anything that does come out of her mouth isn't coherent. They're classmates and share friends, but he doesn't really know her.
Sublime is on edge with this new information. If Adrein had said he knew her, it would have comforted her. It still would've been weird that she was following her around, but in a way, she would have been comforted by the fact that Adrien could vouch for her and reassure her that she meant no harm. But with Adrien saying he barely knew her, she was weary that she would hurt her.
When Marinette tries to convince Sublime of her being an akuma, she's already on guard, uncomfortable, and just wants to be away from her. When her prosthetics break, she's in shock and heartbroken, but doesn't try to rationalize Marinette's behavior as her liking her. After the battle with the akuma, her dad carries her back to the locker room (her prosthetics are still broken). Marinette "cries" and tells her about just wanting to be friends, which Sublime doesn't believe. She doesn't know why Marinette did any of this but she doubts she did any of this to her current friends. This leaves Marinette and Sublime not as friends but not as "enemies" either. Sublime wants nothing to do with Marinette and wants her as far away from her as possible.
Sublime, of course, tells Adrien everything that had happened and he's appalled. Again, he doesn't know Marinette well, so what little he does know about her is from the others and catching glimpses from afar how she seems to help others. Hearing that she broke Sublime's prosthetics is very different from the person Nino, Alya, and the others described. Not only that but why did ladybug suddenly show up to something that clearly wasn't an akuma attack in the beginning? This whole situation painted Marinette in a terrible light to Adrien. Like Sublime, he has no idea why she would do any of that and now he questions if he should also keep his distance from her.
I actually kind of like Marinette's fox design but I think what throws me off is that she herself isn't interested in her own culture, so why does her suit have elements of it. Like, canonically she doesn't care about her heritage, which is a shame, so why does it suddenly make an appearance in her design.
The class go on a trip to Gotham. They end up being held hostage with others during a tour by [insert Gotham villain that I'm too lazy to pick]. Even though he wants to, Adrien doesn't transform. He's in Batman's city and facing his villains, which are very different from his own. He doesn't want to do more harm than good and get in the way. He's faced a number of weird akumas but never a crazy person who has no problem killing anyone, and they're not being controlled. They're doing this simply because they can. So, he relies on the daytime vigilante, Signal, to save them, but if he had to, he would transform.
Marinette, did not think the same. She didn't want to risk her class or Adrien being in danger. Tikki warned her against it because she's never fought anything other than akumas. She told her to wait and have faith in the Gotham vigilantes. She brushed her off, telling her that it wouldn't be any different from the fights back home and that the Gotham vigilante would probably love the help.
Signal quickly arrives and seeing one of the hostages being held at gun point, keeps the villain talking while he comes up with a plan to get the hostages out. Ladybug then makes her entrance, knocking the gun out of the goon's hand. Everyone stared in shock at this new person before things quickly spiraled out of control. They immediately start firing at signal and ladybug. Flustered, ladybug quickly dodges and hides behind cover. She's never been shot at with actual bullets before.
Signal looks at her like she's insane and tells her to get out of there. She refuses and continues to fight alongside him, or at least she tries to. Frustrated with her lack of progress while watching signal take out the majority of the goons, she summons her lucky charm. She comes up with a plan and tries to get signal to go along with it, but he refuses, telling her that it was reckless and again tells her to go. Instead of listening to him, she continues with her plan. The plan worked but at the cost of the hostage's wellbeing. Thankfully no one died but some were severely injured.
Marinette could only stare in shock at the damage and injured people. With thunderous steps, signal made his way to her and told her off for putting the hostages in danger. She's quick to tell him that this never happens in Paris, catching him off guard. Unknown to her, the exact same outcome happens in Paris. The people have become so used to her recklessness that as soon as an akuma appears, they immediately clear the area and seek shelter. Signal is caught off guard because he was under the impression that she was a newbie inspired by him and the others and decided to join in the fight. He didn't expect her to be a hero with her own city, and that scares him. If what he saw was how she normally handled her villains, he couldn't imagine how Paris was fairing. Frantic, ladybug is quick to reassure him and herself that all she has to do is cast the miracle cure and everything will be fine.
Upon casting the cure, the lucky charm disappears in a burst of ladybugs and then, nothing. Nothing happens, no one is healed, nothing is repaired, everything is still the same. Signal gives her a pointed look as she starts silently panicking. Her earrings beeping remind her of her timer and she quickly runs away, leaving signal with her mess. Once alone with Tikki, she asks her why the miracle cure didn't work. Tikki then explains that the cure only works with akumas or other magic. When dealing with akumas, the cure completely reverses damage, heals, and even brings people back from death if they died because of it. When up against other magic, it's less affective. The damage reversed is minimal, people are somewhat healed, but if someone dies then they can't be brought back. Who she fought was a completely normal person. Insane, but normal. They didn't have magic and they weren't an akuma.
Sometime later, Marinette is haphazardly rummaging through her bag and doesn't notice a pair of glasses falling out. These glasses being the horse miraculous she brought with her so she could teleport back to Paris if she needed, instead of using the cosmic upgrade. Tikki tries telling her about it but goes unseen because of her hurried movements. She quickly runs after her friends, wanting to catch up with them and leaving behind the glasses. They get kicked around a bit before landing in front of a pair of feet. Duke, who was out with friends, picks up the glasses and inspects them for any damage. Before he can inspect them more closely, he's called by his friends. He tucks the glasses safely in his pocket and heads over to his friends.
The class are so used to putting Marinette and her feelings first that they're surprised when other people don't.
It was the school play and Adrien decided it would be fun to join. He didn't want to be any of the main characters, so, he auditioned for the part of a background character. Marinette also wanted to join so she could be close to Adrien and auditioned for the part of Mrs. Gold, Adrien's character's wife. To her, this would create a perfect moment between them where he would realize his feelings for her and confess. Her plan was ruined when Adrien got the part and she didn't. Instead, it was another girl from a different class. Despite Tikki warning her against it, she decided to sabotage the girl so that she would have to be replaced. Things quickly spiraled and it ended with costumes, props, and some of the set ruined. With cameras and witnesses pointing to Marinette, there was no way to explain away any of this. Despite being caught, she did feel guilty. She never meant for things to spiral this out of control and ruin everything, so, she apologized.
The class, watching from the side, expect the teacher and the students to forgive her now that she's apologized, because that's what they do. Except, that doesn't happen. Instead, the teacher acknowledges her apology and gives her two weeks detention while banning her from the theater room. Both Marinette and the class are surprised at this. Usually when Marinette messes up or crosses boundaries, she apologizes while looking guilty and they forgive her. Seeing that not play out in front of them, catches them off guard. However, it also makes them start questioning things. No matter what Marinette did or how many boundaries she crossed, they always forgave her. But, thinking about it now, they're not sure why. Despite them saying they forgave her or that it was fine, they didn't really feel that way. Once she apologized, they would see how guilty she looked while on the verge of crying and decide not to push anymore. To not make her more upset, they would bury their feelings and pretend everything was fine.
Thinking about it, they don't really know why they do that. They have no problem telling each other when they've crossed a line and holding each other accountable. For some reason, it's only Marinette they have trouble confronting.
For Marinette's part, she's not doing it on purpose or maliciously. She's learned that as long as she shows that she feels guilty and apologizes, then she'll be forgiven and everything will be fine. Her parents and her friends accepting her apologies and never holding her accountable, reenforced this.
Seeing the teacher acknowledge her apology but still hold her accountable for her actions, shifted something for them. They're realizing that Marinette shouldn't be the exception and should hold her accountable like everyone else. They hold each other accountable all the time, even when they look like they might cry. It's how they've learned where each other's boundaries are or when they've really dropped the ball on something. They're not doing Marinette any favors by constantly backing down when confronting her just because she's about to cry, and it shows when she repeats exactly what she promised she wouldn't do again weeks later.
Rose's birthday party was supposed to be a fun time but was ruined when Marinette decided she had to use this as an opportunity to confess to Adrien. She went around to each of the girls trying to rope them into a plan to create the "perfect moment". All of them refused, not wanting to be involved and just wanting to have fun. Alya was the one to tell her that if she wanted to confess then she should just talk to him. Marinette, despite Tikki's protests, went ahead with a plan she had come up with. The plan went wrong resulting in decorations and tables knocked over, the cake ruined, even a small fire broke out. Everyone could only silently stare in shock as they slowly turned to look at Marinette, who was at the center of the chaos. Seeing the looks everyone was giving her, Marinette teared up and quickly ran away.
The next day, Marinette sheepishly made her way to Rose and like every other time, she apologized while looking extremely guilty. Despite her looking downright miserable, Rose held firm. She thanked her for apologizing but expressed that she needed space for a while. Shocked, Marinette frantically expressed that she could make it up to her. Rose turned her down and made clear that the only thing she wanted was space from her.
Remember when Marinette did that photoshoot with Adrien for her website.
After the photoshoot, her website immediately gains traction and people start placing orders. Marinette is overwhelmed but is determined to get the orders done. However, she is terrible at time management and often completes orders at the last minute. Other times she completely forgets about it until someone reminds her. No matter what though, she always completes her orders, with the exception of a few late ones.
Then the reviews start coming in. People complain about the stitching being messy and coming out easily, like it was rushed. For some, their items were late and when they got them, they easily ripped or weren't what they ordered. Others thought that the clothes were bland. Overall, everyone thought that her clothes were nothing special. The only reason it gained so much attention quickly and why most of them bought anything, was because they saw The Adrien Agreste modeling the clothes. If it wasn't for him, they wouldn't have looked twice at anything on her website. Now people are wondering how she got Adrien to model for her when her designs aren't anything special.
After Adrien is made an orphan, a social worker is then assigned his case to find him a suitable home. Nathalie is granted emergency custody because of how close she is to Adrien and wanting to make him more comfortable. She can obtain full custody of him, but she would have to first prove to the courts that she can provide him a stable home. But if the social worker was honest, that was never going to happen and they were glad. They had worked on plenty of cases where children were abused and upon meeting and talking to Adrien, it was obvious to spot the signs of abuse and neglect. Not to mention reading the police report where he was found in a padded room. When they asked why and how he was in that room, his answer told them a lot about how Gabriel treated him. When talking to both Nathalie and Adrien separately about what went on in the house and what their relationships were like, it painted a very clear picture of Nathalie being in love with Gabriel. As much as she loves Adrien, it's clear it's not as much as she loved Gabriel. The last thing Adrien needed was for his guardian to be in love with his abuser.
Still, the social worker keeps their professionalism and doesn't say anything. The first person they go to about custody is Amelie, since this is her nephew, it makes sense that she would be the most likely to take him in. Everything during the meeting was going great. She didn't even like Gabriel, which reassured them that she wouldn't try to excuse his actions to Adrien. Just as they felt like they found Adrien's guardian, things quickly fell apart. When they mentioned Adrien still having to attend his mandatory therapy sessions, she questioned why. No amount of explaining to her helped either, it was like she didn't understand that her or her son's love alone wouldn't completely remedy the situation. After that, Amelie was no longer the ideal guardian for Adrien, she wasn't completely written off since she was still better than Nathalie. The next on the list was obviously his grandparents and the social worker really hoped that they would be a good fit. Their hopes were crushed almost immediately. It was not even ten minutes into the meeting when they started fighting. They had to break up the fight before someone was akumatized, but even when things settled down, it was clear that neither would be a good fit.
They didn't feel comfortable with Johnny and Gabrielle because they still view Gabriel as their sweet and loving son. Their version of him will clash with the man he'd become and Adrien knew. And Adrien is in a vulnerable place, so, it would be easy for them to accidently convince him that he was overacting. They're not malicious people; they just don't know the man their son had become. Emil and Milly were a definite no; they were not letting Adrien go into an abusive household. At this point the social worker is frantic and pulling their hair. It seemed like no matter where they turned, no one was a good fit for Adrien, and at this point they were wondering if it was best if he left Paris all together. Coordinating with his therapist, they found that his girlfriend is controlling and all their friends, even Nathalie for whatever reason, don't see the signs. Adrien is very honest during his sessions, but in good faith, he always tries to rationalize and excuse the things his girlfriend does. During one of his sessions, he explained how his new friend Sublime had become friends with his girlfriend and how she's been really busy lately, so, they don't get to hang out much. From everything they've heard about her and reading between the lines, they put together that his girlfriend didn't like that he was making friends on his own that she didn't know, did something to Sublime, and now she's making excuses, so she doesn't have to be around them. It was heartbreaking to hear that the friend he made distanced herself because of something his girlfriend did.
They already thought she was a bit of a red flag in the beginning. Every time without fail, she would always be there with Adrien for every meeting, whether it was with them or relatives. And anytime Adrien would tell her that he was fine on his own, she would convince him otherwise or show up anyway. At this point, the social worker was desperate, trying to find any other living relative to take in Adrien. They didn't want to leave him with Amelie, but at the moment she was looking like the best choice. In their frantic search they came across a distant relative, Robert Robertson the third. From the look of it, it looked like his family had cut contact long ago with everyone else. So, when they called Robert informing him of the situation, they weren't surprised he didn't know he had any other family. Professionalism was thrown out the window when they pleaded for him to come to Paris and at least meet Adrein and hear them out.
For Robert, after defeating shroud, things calmed down and went back to a relative normal. He started taking care of himself more and he and Chad started dating and moved in together. He was surprised when he got a call from a social worker practically pleading him to come to Paris and take in Adrien. He didn't understand the full situation, but from what the social worker briefly explained, it wasn't good. He talked about it with Chad and they both agreed that they would take in Adrien. While Robert had no experience with kids, Chad often babysat and watched over his niece, sometimes for a couple of days. They were both nervous, but they didn't want to leave him in a shitty situation. When they arrived in Paris, the social worker immediately rushes them off to meet Adrien while shooing away a blue haired girl.
Meeting Adrien went better than either of them expected. Adrien, for his part, was visibly nervous but excited to be meeting family he didn't even know he had. Although awkward at first, they easily slipped into comfortable conversation. Though, both Chad and Robert could tell Adrien had been conditioned to act a certain way and pretend that he was ok. When they asked about his interests and things he liked to do, he was clearly unsure but responded with things he used to do. It was like he was expecting them to be disappointed or upset that he didn't know what hobbies he would enjoy and instead went with ones he was no doubt forced to do. When he briefly talked about fencing, they could tell he liked it but wasn't something he would have picked out for himself. After their meeting, the social worker had pulled them aside and informed them of everything, even pulling out their and Adrien's therapist's notes. When they got the full picture of Adrien's situation and the people around him, they both agreed that it would be best if he left Paris.
It also made sense why the girl they saw earlier was so insistent on being with Adrien. Originally, they had thought she was an overprotective friend, but now they realized she was the control freak girlfriend. Over the next few days, Robert and Adrien got to know more about each other and really bonded. Since Chad and him were set on taking him in, he had told him about working at SDN and both of them being heroes. This not only made Adrien look up to them but deepened their bond as well. Robert had told him of his father and how he's praised as one of the greatest heroes, but to him, he barely knew him. When he was around, he was strict and demanding, always pushing him during training. He was a great hero but a bad father. Seeing Robert have complicated feelings for his father, still love him but acknowledge that he wasn't a great father, made him feel relieved. For the first time, he's met someone who he can relate to. In that moment, Adrien had shared something with Robert he had never told anyone before. When he was told that his father died, he felt relieved. He felt that for the first time he could finally breath, that he couldn't hurt him anymore. He loved his father but at the same time, he hated him for everything he'd put him through.
At this point Robert tells Adrien that they're not going to stay in Paris. They don't think that this would be the best environment for him to stay in. His abuser was hailed a hero, even having a statue erected in his honor, and unlike Robert, he's in a very vulnerable place where he can be easily gaslit into thinking that how he feels about his father is wrong. Adrien knows that what he's saying is true. Thanks to his therapy sessions, he's become more comfortable with his complicated feelings towards his father and realized the toxic environment he's in as well as his relationship with Marinette. Any time he would try to talk about his feelings towards his father or what he's learned about himself in therapy, she would undermine it and reenforce that he loved him, disregarding the pain he put him through. He couldn't talk about it to any of the others either because it would always get back to Marinette, and she would again talk about how much his father loved him and did everything for him. Eventually he gave up and just kept it to himself. It was like she thought he couldn't handle thinking his father was anything but a good person. Still, even if he didn't have much attachment to Paris anymore and wanted to leave, he still had a duty as chat noir to bring down chrysalis.
More than anything, Adrien wanted to leave and start anew. So, with some hesitation, he told Robert about him being chat noir and how he couldn't leave without taking down chrysalis first. Robert was shocked but if this is what was holding him back, he was all for taking down a villain. He informed Chad of the situation and immediately they got to work researching and looking for clues. They told Adrien to ask Ladybug what she had so far in her investigation for chrysalis, but that was a dead end. He told them that when he asked, she seemed surprised by his question and told him that her and Rena were handling it, ultimately avoiding answering the question directly. Robert and Chad took that to mean that she had nothing, why she wouldn't admit that is beyond them. Eventually, they had found chrysalis's hideout by tracking the akumatized butterflies' origins when they were sent out. Robert and Chad suited up, though Robert didn't have his mech, he brought his pilot suit just in case.
As all three of them made their way towards chrysalis, Adrien tried calling ladybug so she could be there for the fight, but she wasn't picking up. They decided to ambush chrysalis, giving them no time to akumatize anyone. Chad had cut off their exit and burned all the butterflies. Adrien had expected the fight with chrysalis to be difficult, but with Robert and Chad, it was surprisingly easy to take them down and get the miraculous. Finally seeing the person behind the mask, Adrien couldn't help but feel like he had met her before, but couldn't place where. Once Cerise was apprehended, she started saying how Tomoe and Nathalie should be arrested as well and how ladybug was lying about Gabriel. She felt that if she was going down, she would take the others with her. Of course, no one believed the ramblings of a terrorist, but Adrien felt that she might be telling the truth. He never voiced it but he's always felt that something was off when ladybug described the fight between her and shadowmoth.
It didn't take long before ladybug arrived, with the amount of cameras and reporters on the scene. She immediately confronted him, saying he was reckless and demanding to know why he didn't call her. He pointed out that he, mecha man, and flambae had come up with a plan and he did try to call her. Looking at her yoyo, she saw multiple missed calls from him. Embarrassed, she quickly told him that she was doing something important. Said important thing was her going to Adrien's social worker and trying to convince them that Robert and Chad wouldn't be good guardians for him. Once she saw that they were going to get custody of him and that they wouldn't stay in Paris, she started looking into them, trying to find anything on them. Once she found Chad's criminal record, she rushed to the social worker, presenting it as proof as why they shouldn't get custody or even be near him. However, they already knew that, they had looked into both Robert and Chad before reaching out. Despite his past, Chad had showed improvement since entering the phoenix program and even took down shroud with his team. He showed no signs of going back to being a villain. They rolled their eyes at her attempt to convince them that Nathalie would be the best choice as his guardian. In no way was she a good choice, especially after accidently overhearing that she and Marinette were apparently keeping a big secret from Adrien. They overheard that Nathalie wanted to tell him, but Marinette had convinced her not to. They were completely shocked and appalled. If this secret was so important and you wanted to tell him, why are you, the adult, letting this little girl tell you otherwise.
At this point ladybug realizes that he's not alone when mecha man and flambae stand next to him. She immediately shifts to be more diplomatic and thanks them for their help in taking down chrysalis, while holding out her hand, silently asking for the miraculous. Chad and Robert share a silent look before reluctantly handing it over. They didn't like her attitude towards Adrien and they didn't trust her with the miraculous, but they had no reason to refuse handing it over to her. When everything was over, Adrien couldn't help but think about what Cerise had said about ladybug lying about his father. He shares his concerns with Robert and Chad, who have no problem looking into it. What Robert found was that Cerise had multiple identities, one of them was Lila Rossi, a former classmate of his. Adrien realized that was why she looked so familiar. Now knowing that they were the same person only convinced him more that she was telling the truth. She lies to manipulate and hurt people, so, if she was suddenly taken down, why wouldn't she, for once, tell the truth in an attempt to do damage one last time. It made no sense to lie about shadowmoth's accomplices and ladybug covering it up when no one believed her, unless she was telling the truth. Wanting to find out the truth, Adrien confronts Nathalie about his father being shadowmoth and her role in it. Nathalie, already feeling guilty, confessed everything to him, from her role as mayura to being asked to keep it a secret. The only thing she didn't reveal was ladybug's identity. Heartbroken, Adrien asks if anyone else knew, which she then told him that Marinette, Felix, and Kagami knew. When he asked why, she told him that they didn't want to make him sad hearing that his father was shadowmoth.
Adrien couldn't help but scoff that that was the reason they were keeping a life altering secret from him. He took a deep breath and said that if she truly cared and wanted to do right by him, she would turn herself in and confess everything to the police. With the security footage of her confessing turned over to the police as well as her confessing to them herself, it didn't take long for it to get out and become known to the public. It caused a huge uproar and backlash towards ladybug, but the one thing everyone questioned was, where was Adrien during any of this? That's when his case came to light and how during the fight between ladybug and Gabriel, he was locked in a padded room. Everything was out in the open, from the abuse to his social worker trying to find him a suitable guardian. People were sick that ladybug could stand there and say that Gabriel was a hero when he was their tormentor, and not only that but look Adrien in the eyes and say that his abuser was a hero and that he loved him, all while he was in that padded room.
While all this was happening, Robert, Chad, and Adrien were packing their things to go home. While Robert felt that ladybug shouldn't have or be anywhere near the miraculous, he was aware that rushing in and taking them wouldn't do them any good, besides Adrien was their first priority. All they can do for now is keep an eye on her.
Three months had passed since Adrien moved with Robert and Chad. He felt better now that he wasn't in Paris anymore. He goes to a new school, made plenty of friends, and even has the freedom to hang out with them whenever he wants. Plagg was also with him, since he refused to leave him. At first he thought he would have to give him up, but Chad, Robert, and Plagg thought otherwise. His relationship with his friends back in Paris was ok. He broke up with Marinette, which caught the entire group off guard and made them upset. He doesn't blame them, because he realized that's how things have always been. Whenever Marinette was upset, everyone dropped everything to comfort her, even when it wasn't really deserved. Once they calmed down, he explained everything. They were horrified and felt guilty, since they talked about how his father wasn't that bad after all because he sacrificed himself, unknowingly going along with Marinette and contributing to essentially gaslight him about his dad. He didn't hold it against them because they didn't know, but he points out how unhealthy their friendship with her was. They, without question, always put Marinette's emotional wellbeing and comfort first. The last he spoke to them, they told him that they were keeping their distance from Marinette and hoped that he was doing well.
Robert and Chad easily settled into a routine with Adrien and the team welcomed him as a new addition. They were at work in the break room when prism had showed everyone news from Paris. It was a press conference of ladybug stating that she promised to take down the new butterfly holder and take back the miraculous. Robert and Chad stood there shocked, they literally handed her the miraculous, how did she lose it!? Listening to her ramble on about the new holder, they regret just not taking the miraculous.
Another fic I remember reading and was thinking of a rewrite for.
It was the copycat episode except Adrien tells Nathalie about his phone missing and she uses her tablet to track it. She tracks it back to the bakery but doesn't tell him and instead asks if he visited at all. He says no and it doesn't take a genius to figure out how it got there from his locked locker, so, she calls the police. Adrien is unaware that any of this is happening, so, when Alya (I think) rushes into class the next day frantic about Marinette being arrested, he's just as surprised at the rest of the class. They find out it was because of her stealing Adrien's phone and they get mad at him. They blame him and say that he wanted to get her in trouble.
My idea would be to keep it the same except the them getting mad at him part, obviously. Instead, Alya rushes in frantic about Marinette being arrested, shocking everyone. When they find out about her stealing Adrien's phone, everyone is shocked except Alya who blames Adrien. She thinks he was the one to call the police and that he was overreacting because it was just a phone. At first, hearing that Marinette was arrested for stealing his phone, Adrien thought it was a misunderstanding. But hearing Alya blame him for her arrest made him think otherwise. He then remembers the conversation he had with Nathalie in the car and realizes that she really did steal his phone.
Everyone else is quick to get between them and stop Alya from yelling at him. Once she's calmed down, Adrien shares his side and how he didn't know anything. With everything cleared up, they all understand that Marinette stole his phone and realize Alya knew about it. Alya looked sheepish as she explained that Marinette took it to delete a voice mail she accidently sent him. Everyone is baffled at the reason and Adrien asks why they didn't just text him asking him to delete the message without listening to it. The entire situation rubbed everyone the wrong way. Sure, Alya didn't tell Marinette to steal Adrien's phone, but when she found out she did, she didn't do anything. She didn't tell her that it was wrong or go to Adrien, instead she brushed it off like it was some quirky thing she did. This whole situation made them question Alya and Marinette. If Alya brushes off Marinette stealing a phone, what else has she done that Alya doesn't see as a problem. Marinette was caught this time but there could have been other times she wasn't.
I don't really know what you could do with this idea or how to work it into a salt prompt, but the idea that both Marinette and Lila's reputation is terrible.
Among the class obviously it's not, but outside of them it is. Marinette in her jealousy goes after any girl she sees as a threat to Adrien's attention. She's completely ruined projects, dumped buckets of paint on girls, and even almost injuring one of the girls when she almost tripped down the stairs because of her. Everyone found Lila annoying the moment she arrived at school. She constantly inserts herself into people's conversations and makes them about her and how great her life is. Whenever someone politely steers the conversation away from her or just doesn't go along with praising her, she immediately starts fake crying calling them mean and trying to make them look bad in front of others. It never works, of course, since her acting is atrocious.
The only reason anyone outside of that class found out about the beef between Lila and Marinette is because of Nathaniel. Nathaniel isn't that attached to the class since he's always left out and forgotten, so, he's made friends in other classes. He, like everyone in the school, isn't really invested in the drama between the girls but does find it interesting. Marinette was relentlessly calling Lila a liar and was upset that none of her friends believed her. But with the details Nathaniel had shared, they all understood that she started all of this because she's jealous of Lila getting close to Adrien and sitting next to him. Sure, she's probably also annoyed that she's lying to her friends, but they all know how Marinette is.
During the ladybug episode, when Lila screams, it draws everyone out of their classes, not just Bustier's. They all watch as Marinette is accused of pushing Lila down the stairs and stealing her necklace. They learn from Nathaniel, as it goes around, that she was first accused of cheating on the test. She instantly blamed Lila and they were both sent to the principles, which is how it escalated to this. The thing is, they could see both sides to this. None of them know Marinette well enough if she would cheat on a test, but they do know that in her jealousy she's willing to do a lot of things to drive a girl away from Adrien. So, they could absolutely see her in an emotional state, not thinking, push Lila down the stairs or steal a necklace.
Lila is annoying and makes everything about herself. She constantly needs to be the center of attention or she'll throw a tantrum. When she doesn't get her way, she tries to frame others as mean, making herself the victim. So, they can also see how Lila could be making everything up in an attempt to frame Marinette. It's no secret that the girls didn't like each other, with Marinette calling her out every chance she got and Lila spinning it to make her look bad. What they don't understand is, if Lila was making all of this up, why would she go this far to get rid of Marinette? It was pretty clear that her friends didn't believe her, so, all she had to do was keep up the "poor me" act.
In conclusion, both girls have a terrible reputation, and they can see both girls doing what the other accused them of. That being said, all they do is watch, never interfering. Both girls aren't well liked, and no one has ever had a good interaction with either of them. So, no one speaks up in defense of either girl. Whether Marinette gets in trouble or Lila, they don't really care. The drama between them is like a really bad show, you're not going out of your way looking for it but if it's on, you'll watch it. It's interesting but they're not invested, so, they don't care what happens.
Marinette being late is an established part of her character before she even became ladybug. So, even when sometimes she's running late because of her hero duties, most of the time it has nothing to do with it.
With that in mind, whenever the class plan a hang out, it always falls on one of them to remind Marinette. Most of the time Alya was the one to call or go get her. After doing this repeatedly for every hang out or plan they make, they all got tired of it. So, when they planned a movie picnic, they all decided no one would get Marinette. They planned the movie picnic on monday, saying they would go on saturday. That gave her an entire week remember their outing. Through out the week they also talked about it and asked her if she remembered, which she brushed them off and assured them that she did. When saturday came, Marinette was nowhere to be seen. They only sighed in disappointment and went to the movies without her, they weren't going to wait around for her.
Meanwhile, Marinette was in her room relaxing, having completely forgotten about the outing that was planned and talked about the entire week. It wasn't until she went downstairs and her parents questioned why she was still there and not out with her friends, that she remembered the movie picnic. She rushed to the theater, only to find that the movie they planned to watch was already over. She then made her way to the park where she found the others.
The class were having a fun time and talking about the movie when Marinette ran up to them out of breath. She repeatedly apologized and while they nodded their heads and said it was ok, they all got the feeling that this would keep happening since they're not reminding her anymore. And with each new outing, event, or project planned, she was late to most of them. Sometimes she was on time and was there, but most of the time she was late, either because she completely forgot what they had planned or she wasn't paying attention to the time. The most annoying is when they planned a party or were helping each other with a personal project, like Nino's short film for a contest, and she would volunteer herself to make a prop or decoration. By this point, they were used to her being so late that she missed most of whatever they had planned, so, whenever she would volunteer herself for work, they always prepared a backup in case she was late or didn't show at all. Even to things like that she would show up late and sometimes empty handed, having completely forgotten to bring whatever she had promised to make.
Marinette, after having to hear her friends talk about fun moments they had during their hangouts, starts feeling left out and voices it to them. The class don't really know how to feel about it. They're not purposely leaving her out or isolating her, she's just so late that she misses a good chunk of their hangout or misses it completely. They want her there, but they don't want to go back to hovering over her just to make sure she gets there. They're not her parents. They can admit though, that this is partially their fault. Marinette had grown so used to them reminding her of whatever they were doing or the time, that she didn't put much effort into remembering or keeping track. So, the only thing they did was tell her that there was next time and to check her phone and keep track of everything, because they weren't going back to corralling her to make sure she gets to where she's supposed to be.
I know people talk about Chloe's redemption arc being ruined, but lets be real, Astruc was never going to give her one. But if they did give her one, I feel like it wouldn't have been Chloe. To me, a redeemed Chloe would be sassy, a bit vain, and a little self absorbed. A lovable jerk who occasionally bumps heads with Marinette. But with how they write the characters, they would have definitely stripped Chloe of everything that made her Chloe and reduce her entire personality to being nice and helping Marinette.
Ladybug sucks! is what everyone thought when she ruined their reputations and essentially their lives in Paris. It started with her making a comment after Juleka's akumatization, "You and your friends get akumatized a lot". The comment came out of nowhere, catching both Juleka and chat noir off guard. Though she and everyone around them had brushed it off, chat knew better. As Adrien Agreste he had to watch what he said or he will he get taken out of context, and seeing how ladybug made the comment in front of a crowd and cameras, he knew how badly it could've ended for Juleka. He gave her the benefit of the doubt, thinking she simply said it without thinking. Still, when they were far enough away from the crowd and cameras, he gently told her how carelessly making comments like that could harm someone. However, she only rolled her eyes and told him not to worry. This continued however, when either Juleka or one of the others were akumatized, she never failed to comment how often it was them. This was often done in front of crowds or cameras, so, it didn't take long for her comments to spread. People started whispering and giving them looks, but most brushed it off. Afterall, Mr. Ramier was akumatized at least once a week over pigeons.
Still, they could feel the weight of everyone's stares, no matter what they did or where they went. Everything blew up when ladybug had defeated hawkmoth and talked to the media about it. She revealed that Gabriel was hawkmoth and that Tomoe and Nathalie were his accomplices. Everyone was in shock that it was THE Gabriel Agreste who was behind everything. It was then one of the journalists spoke up and asked a pointed question, " You've made comments about Adrien Agreste and his friends akumatizations before, do you suspect they're involved in any way?". Everyone goes silent waiting for her response, and ladybug doesn't disappoint, " I cannot confirm whether they were or were not involved in any way, but rest assured I will work tirelessly to keep you all safe and to retrieve the butterfly miraculous". That one sentence was all the proof everyone needed to condemn them. People immediately turned on Adrien, his friends, and anyone associated with them, and against their parents' wishes, they were even taken into the station as suspects. For hours they were questioned about their involvement and the location of the butterfly miraculous, which went nowhere because they were innocent. The officers were visibly frustrated, not getting a confession out of them, and they were equally irritated, being badgered and not wanting to confess to something they didn't do. Eventually they were let go, and this only made things worse. People were convinced that they worked with Gabriel and seeing them released from custody made them think there wasn't enough evidence to convict them because they covered their tracks.
None of them could leave their houses because of the endless harassment they faced to the point where some people wanted to physically assault them. They had to continue their schooling online, including Luka and Alya and Nino's siblings. The Agreste mansion had become a mess with people regularly trashing it, going as far as to throw bricks through the windows. Adrien had never been more grateful to his friends and their family for taking him in as one of their own. It had actually been a while when he last stepped foot in that house since he hadn't lived there after freshmen year. When they started high school, Adrien had begun taking control and standing up for himself. He blackmailed Gabriel so he would be able to have more freedom, and with that newfound freedom he started sleeping over at his friends' houses. Slowly, the sleepovers turned into him staying for weeks at a time, staying with one of them for two weeks before rotating to one of the others. Before he knew it, he essentially lived with his friends and most of his clothes were at their houses. Their parents had eagerly accepted him living with them, feeling like it was the least they could do. They were all aware of his home life and wanted nothing more than to take him from there, but with Gabriel having money and connections, they knew it wouldn't go in their favor.
They spent months in their houses, never leaving and eventually completed their senior year. They all imagined their graduation differently, being surrounded by friends and family while having a big party. Instead, they gathered at Nino's house, having a small celebration as to not attract attention. As they talked about everything that's happened over the past few months, Adrien reveals that he was chat noir. Since they weren't at risk of being akumatized, at least for now, he revealed himself because he felt terrible for not being able to stop ladybug. Everyone was shocked, but no one blamed him. Ladybug is her own person and she chose to make the decisions she did. He revealed that months before everything went down, she had called him out to meet, saying she wanted to discuss something. It turned out to be a trap and he found himself paralyzed and stripped of his ring. Hearing this, they now understood why he was depressed for a while. He essentially had his friend taken from him and could do nothing as ladybug smeared his name, calling him unworthy to the media. "Well if we're revealing identities, I was Carapace" "And I was Rena Rouge", Nino and Alya reveal. Like the flood gates were opened, one by one everyone started revealing themselves. Right away, everyone noticed that they were all once heroes, even Zoe being the replacement for Chloe. What are the chances that Zoe, Chloe's half sister, would be chosen as her replacement.
Alya immediately starts thinking about connections and what made ladybug choose them, because this can't be a coincidence. As she was looking around at everyone present, she puts it together, "Holy shit, Marinette is ladybug!". She then went on to explain that all of them were chosen by ladybug, minus Adrien, because they were friends with her. How, conveniently, when they started high school, she no longer called on them, even in battles were she clearly needed more help. Adrien confirms this when he adds in that around that time, he had asked her about calling on them, but she only snapped at him responding that she didn't need their help. The guys and their parents were confused though, why had Marinette stopped calling on them? The girls then revealed that they had stopped being friends with her. They explained that Marinette was obsessed with Adrien and would do anything to get close to him. At the time they thought it was cute and even helped her with some plans, but as they grew older, what they found cute in sixth grade became disturbing. So, they stopped coming up/helping with plans and putting their foot down whenever she tried to convince them otherwise or obsess over him. At first, they tried talking to her about, trying to get her to just talk to him, but she would always argue that she couldn't and how they were against her. Eventually, it got to a point where all they would do is argue whenever they'd hang out with her. So, they gave her an ultimatum, either she stopped obsessing over Adrien or their friendship was over.
They haven't talked to her since. They knew firsthand how vindictive she could be, but they didn't think she would go this far. After the girl's explanation, the guys are shocked because Marinette's a lot more unhinged than they remember. However, looking back they can't say they were really friends with her. They only hung out with her as a group and even then, they never really talked, and she only came to them when she needed something. It's why when they got to high school, they never noticed that she wasn't at any of their hangouts or that they never talked again. It only made sense that when she stopped being friends with the girls, she cut them off too. Even with the full picture and finally getting an answer as to why ladybug did this, they still can't do anything with this information. No one would believe them, Marinette made sure of that. In the eyes of the people, they are guilty. Plus, it would be reckless for them to reveal ladybug's motive for smearing them, exposing her identity in the process, when the butterfly miraculous is still missing. For all they know, someone else could find it becoming shadowmoth 2.0. Even with this information, they can't do anything. They can't clear their names, and they can't get justice for themselves, that's what's most frustrating to them. "We need to leave Paris", Adrien states.
It was no secret that Adrien wanted to leave Paris as soon as he graduated, but the rest of them thought they would at least stay for a while before branching out. However, now that's ruined and there's nothing they can do to change that. "There's nothing left for us here. With everyone believing we're terrorists, no one will give us a job. This isn't just about us either, think about what your parents, siblings, and loved ones have to go through because of all this", he continues. He wasn't wrong, their parents faced discrimination at their jobs and Ella, Etta, Chris, Luka, and Marc were dragged down with them for being related or involved with them. They had to face the facts, and the facts were they had no future in Paris anymore. As they discussed where they would move, they all decided to go their separate ways since they all had different goals in mind but promised to keep contact. Everyone was set on where they were going, like Alya and Nino's families going to Metropolis, Nathaniel and Marc's to Central city, and surprisingly Adrien to Gotham. They looked at him like he was crazy when he said that and tried to convince him not to, but he was set on going. They made him promise that at any point if he needed help, he would reach out to them immediately.
It had been a couple of years since Adrien had moved to Gotham. He worked an ordinary job and lived in an ordinary apartment, but to him it was something to be proud of. He and the others had kept in contact and had get togethers when they could, but it was hard when they were all busy and their schedules didn't always line up. During his first year in Gotham, he had unexpectantly run into Bruce Wayne. He recognized him not only from the media, but from gala events they attended as kids. As kids, gala events are extremely boring, and though Bruce was three years older than him, they were some of the only kids there that weren't rude and often snuck off to play. He expected Bruce not to remember him but was surprised when he did. They reconnected and after months of getting to know each other again, they started dating. They kept their relationship a secret to not attract the media's attention. Over the years of them dating, Adrien had felt that he was who he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. However, he knew before they could even talk about marriage, he would have to talk about what happened in Paris. As far as Bruce knew, he left because his father's abuse had tarnished any good memories he had left there. Which wasn't a complete lie but wasn't the full truth. Feeling unsure, he called his friends to ask for their advice. Having met Bruce plenty of times, they encouraged him to tell him. They reassured him that Bruce wasn't the type of person to run from him after hearing his past, and if he did, they wouldn't hesitate to book the first flight to Gotham and kick his ass.
Bruce was having a similar dilemma. Reuniting with Adrien was one of the best things to happen to him, and for a while now, he's wanted to propose. However, he hesitated, being committed to Bruce Wayne was different to being committed to batman. Though Alfred and Dick repeatedly told him that he would accept it, he didn't want to risk losing him. Adrien was everything to him, he easily accepted Dick as his own and he already lived more in the manor than in his apartment. So really, this should be easy, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it. Eventually, with enough threats and bullying from Alfred and Dick, he commits to telling Adrien everything when he comes over for dinner.
During dinner, both were visibly stiff. It wasn't long before they both cracked, talking at the same time. Both laughed at the moment but recognized the seriousness in the others voice. Bruce, wanting to hear what could be troubling him, asks Adrien to speak first. Adrien takes a deep breath before explaining everything about his past. From the moment people were suspicious of them because of ladybug's comments to the moment they became pariahs and the police wanted to arrest them. How he didn't want to go public about their relationship not only for privacy, but because he didn't want to drag him or Dick down once people found out what he was accused of. Bruce could only stare in shock in what Adrien was explaining. When he finished, he immediately went into detective mode. He asked questions trying to get as much information and details as possible, already coming up with ways to help clear his name. Adrien answered his questions but left out some details that would give away Marinette's identity, which he noticed right away. He noticed the careful wording when Adrien was talking and instantly put together that he knew ladybug's identity. He urged Adrien to share more details, but he refused, saying that there was nothing he could do.
This is when Bruce revealed that, yes, he can do something, not only as Bruce Wayne, but as batman as well. He sees that he's still hesitant to spill her identity and convinces him that it would be for the best. Someone who was willing to stand by and let innocent people be accused and almost convicted for a crime they didn't commit, shouldn't be a hero let alone have access to powerful magic artifacts. Deep down, Adrien knew he was right, so, without holding back, he told him everything about Marinette. From how she was as a person and her break down in friendship with the girls to his time as chat noir and being stripped of it. With this, Bruce now had the full picture of why he and his friends left Paris and reassured him that it changed nothing between them. In fact, now that there were no more secrets between them, he decided that this was the perfect moment to take out the ring he had been fidgeting with and propose. Of course, Adrien said yes, but he still worried for him and Dick. Once the media was made aware of their engagement, they would dig up his past and drag them all through the mud. Bruce wasn't worried though, he already had a plan.
Once their engagement was announced, an interview detailing Gabriel's treatment of Adrien and what he went through being falsely accused was released shortly after. The interview was done by Clark; someone Bruce trusted and knew wouldn't spin it to make him look bad. A week after, another article was released from the daily planet by Alya, this time it was the interviews of the rest of their friends, and it ended with her statement. People were shocked that not only was THE Bruce Wayne getting married, but that his fiancé had gone through something so horrible. He and his friends were branded as terrorists and were essentially forced to move so they could have a future. With his past revealed and the interviews out, people started digging for more information. They found the press conference of ladybug after defeating shadowmoth where she reassures the public about finding the lost miraculous and how she can't confirm if Adrien and his friends were in involved or not. People immediately noticed her wording, not confirming or denying their part but it also didn't sound like she was investigating it. People looked through the other interviews she did after that one where she was asked the same question, and again she said the same thing. Even looking at interview's months after everything went down, she still continued to say the same thing, that she couldn't confirm or deny their involvement. At this point people began to suspect that she was doing it on purpose, that maybe she had some sort of vendetta against them in her civilian life and wanted to get back against them, because how do you still not know anything about their involvement? What kind of hero doesn't investigate potential accomplices of their villain, and from the interviews of Adrien and his friends, it sounded like it would have been really easy to clear them anyway.
Eventually, everything got so big that a documentary was made, adding fuel to the fire. The documentary was all the information and interviews put together in one piece, even adding in new interviews with Adrien and his friends, giving more context to things and adding new information. With its release, it reached a wider audience, even reaching Paris. Nino was proud of the work he did, feeling like this was the closure he and the others needed. That they could finally move on without their past looming over them.
Back in the batcave, Bruce is looking into the miraculous and everything that happened in Paris over the last couple of years. He discovered that someone had found the lost miraculous, and given the fact they've been akumatizing people, they have clear intentions of being the new shadowmoth. The first akuma appeared two years ago. It's reappearance caused a mass panic, which ladybug was quick to calm. Just like all those years ago, she had reassured the public that she would keep them safe and defeat the new holder. However, after the first akumatazation, another one didn't happen for six months. As he dug deeper, a pattern emerged where someone was akumatized and months would pass before someone else was akumatized. He noticed that with each new akuma, they were stronger and smarter. They started out clumsy but with each new akuma they got better and started making their akumatized object harder to reach. He theorized the holder was learning, waiting for their moment to strike. He was proven right when he looked into recent news in Paris and saw that akumas appeared every day, most of the time having multiple akumas through out the day. Watching a recent fight between an akuma and ladybug and her team, it was clear that this new holder was more vicious than Gabriel ever was. The akuma didn't hesitate, taking advantage of an opening and attacking one of the heroes. The dragon holder, taken off guard and unprepared, was killed instantly. The akuma then made a distraction and ran off with the dragon miraculous. By the time ladybug tracked down the akuma, it was clear the butterfly holder had taken the miraculous and went back into hiding.
Bruce had already thought that Marinette was unfit to wield let alone be anywhere near the miraculous, but seeing the people of Paris suffer because she clearly didn't have anything under control, made him more determined to go. He had already planned on going to retrieve the miraculous, not trusting her with them. Once he informed the others what he was doing, Adrien protested, Dick wanted to go with him, and Alfred went to pack his bags. He made it clear to Dick that it was too dangerous for him and that he had a more important job, which was being with Adrien to keep his mind of this. He looked to Adrien and reassured him that he would be fine and come home in one piece. The last thing he wanted was for Adrien to worry himself sick over him, he wanted him to focus on planning the wedding and nitpicking details. With everything in place and his bags packed, he kissed Adrien and Dick goodbye and headed off to Paris.
Ok, I posted this like forever ago in Marinette critique, but to summarize, I read this one fanfiction a long time ago where Marinette confesses her feelings to Adrien and he rejects her. Not in a mean way, just in a "I'm sorry, but I don't feel the same way". Marinette then doesn't show up to school for a while and Adrien wonders where she is, but no one in the class will tell him. Turns out, after he rejected her, she tried to kill herself and she's been in the hospital since. Adrien then feels guilty for rejecting her and realizes his feelings for her.
Now, I've recently been thinking about this fic again and coming up with ideas on how it could go differently.
Instead of all of them keeping Marinette's attempt from Adrien, they all find out at the same time after not seeing her for a while. All of them are shocked and upset with themselves for not noticing that she wasn't ok. Adrien feels guilty because the last interaction he had with her, was him rejecting her. Nino notices his distressed state and asks him what's wrong. When Adrien tells them of the rejection and his guilt, they're quick to reassure him and tell him that he had nothing to feel guilty for. Marinette was clearly going through something they didn't know about, surely, she wouldn't try to kill herself over a rejection.
Once Marinette is awake and allowed visitors, they go almost every day, bringing flowers and showing their support. During one of these visits where it's just Alya with her, she talks to her about going to therapy and talking about her issues if she doesn't feel comfortable talking to her or her parents. This is when Marinette talks about the pain she felt when Adrien rejected her and her heart being shattered. In Marinette's delusional mind, this is all perfectly normal and a justified reaction to being rejected by "the love of her life". Alya is horrified that she is casually admitting to trying to kill herself because Adrien didn't like her back. If her and Nino broke up tomorrow, she'd be sad, yes, but she'd cherish the time they were together, they'd still be friends and it wouldn't be the end of the world. Clearly, Marinette didn't think the same when Adrien rejected her. She doesn't know what to do in this situation, but she knows she should at least tell her parents. When she visits Marinette's parents, she tells them what she was told and begs them to ask her the reason behind her attempt. They know Alya wouldn't lie about something so serious, and because she looked so distraught and torn up about it, they decided to ask Marinette, silently hoping it wasn't true. Again, Marinette is delusional and sees nothing wrong with what she did, so, confirms to her parents her reason for her attempt.
Alya debates telling everyone else. On one hand, she feels like they deserve to know because they were all worried about her, and now knowing the reason was because of a rejection, made her attempt, while still sad, less sympathetic in a way. On the other, Adrien had already blamed himself and she feels like she would just be confirming his fears. In the end she decided to tell them, and they reassured Adrien that he had nothing to feel guilty about. Now knowing everything, they can't help but feel awkward when thinking of Marinette. They didn't know what to do or how they were going to act when she inevitably comes back to school. But it tuned out they worried for nothing. They heard from Alya, who had asked Marinette's parents, that they were taking her out of dupont and getting her some help. So, at least for a while, they wouldn't see her.
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