Oh yeah. Sorry it’s called Karmic Backlash and it’s focused on giving Marinette karma for what she did in TKOL.
It also lead to a sequel one shot called The Path of Lila’s Karma, which is follows Lila on an alternate path. I really want to write another sequel with my AU! Lila who’s a good guy. But I don’t want to write it down because how bleak the original story is and I haven’t finished the AU now.
I’ve got to warn you, it’s a brutal story. If you don’t want to see Marinette hurt a lot, I wouldn’t recommend the story. Have a happy Mother’s Day!!!
Heard about it but I indeed don’t want to read more than I have as no offence to Marinette salters and those that didn’t like the Karma of Lies: I will say that I’m biased as a fan of the fanfic but Marinette has no reason to deserve karma.
yes she didn’t help Adrian but she basically told him to let the police handle it and knew that he refused to help when their classmates were being scammed. All she did was say that she wanted nothing to do with any of them. What happened to the classmates with their reputation was nothing she had done as the school came to their own conclusions and the epilogue the author wrote revealed it died down.
about the ending where she said she had no evidence to take Lila down but warned her as she saw her fate; Lila as the epilogue revealed did lead to her own downfall and underestimated her luck.
feel free to disagree me on this and not like the fanfic if you don’t like it but this is my take on it. Please don’t argue in the comments.
MLB Alya Cesaire Salt Prompts/Fics Recommendations
A Bakers Daughter by @ladyanput
This doesn't actually have a title
“You’re not walking away from this, Marinette! If you need harrassing Lila like this, you’ll get arrested! Get it in your head! Adrien doesn’t want you! He would never want a baker’s daughter, someone so useless and uninspiring! You’ll never reach great heights, Lila does! Lila has more talent grace in one pinky, than you have in your entire being! You’ll always be a nobody and you need to learn to deal with that.”
All This After a Monkey Tries to Steal Marinette’s Purse by @cornholio4
“Dad, I can explain…” Alya replied while trying to think of an explanation that sounded somewhat believable.
“I sent Marinette to our house to wait for either of us, I want you home within half an hour to take over for the babysitting duties that you were supposed to be doing anyway! I will try and be home shortly to have a talk with you!” Otis told him sternly and Alya looked down sadly having to tell Nino and Adrien that she has to get home with them looking concerned.
FACT CHECK by @spooky-z
“Marinette, aren’t you ashamed of yourself? Act like nothing is wrong. I didn’t know you could be that cold and calculating.” She caught everyone’s attention again, especially Marinette.
Marinette sighed, her elbow resting on the table, she laid her head on her palm. There was an air of boredom around her. Chloe, Sabrina and Nathaniel with unimpressed looks on their faces.
New York Special Salt: Confrontation by @nobodyfamousposts
Adrien was shaking at this point, but forcing himself to remain steady.
“You both knew Marinette liked me. Fine. Sure. Apparently she was having trouble telling me this. That’s okay. You knew she felt this way and was having trouble telling me. I get that.”
He glared.
“What I don’t get is why it was necessary to go THIS far instead of just TELLING me what was going on yourselves?!”
Exposed by @miraculousbelladonna
She is still absolutely going to have words with her bestie later, but she doesn’t think twice about posting the life changing video onto her blog.
All she’s thinking about is how it’s so cool that she’s the one who found Ladybugs identity. It’s so cool that she’s the one who’s revealing it. It’s so cool that her best friend, Marinette, is Ladybug. Her views are going to go through the roof. Television channels are going to be talking about this, they’re going to be calling her and asking to use her footage.
As the students protest for the return of Principal Damocles and Miss Bustier, Lila feeds Chloe lines to make them look incompetent in front of the camera, her revenge against them for expelling her
Chloe: right, you want me to re-hire the man who leaves during school hours just to do community services, modified public property to become his own playground headquarters and didn’t even hear out your case Dupain-Cheng before expelling you when Lila framed you
Marinette: you framed me too!
Chloe: that was Vanisher remember? And as Ladybug said, akumas don’t deserved to be punished while being under Monarch’s thrall. Oh, and you want Miss Fairytale to return. Does no one find it odd how our studies are centered on fairy tales instead of actual literature? I may not like you Dupain-Cheng but surely even you notice how it is strange for a teacher to judge and sentence first before learning the real cause. Didn’t Miss Bustier scold you in private after you lashed out over my silly prank, but was all for accusing you of cheating in public? Isn’t that why Stoneheart was even in school in the first place? And to love our enemies instead of punishing them, I suppose if she had it her way, we would be trying to reach out to Monarch and Lila and welcoming them to a forgiveness party.
The reporters exchange glances.
Caline and Damocles ducked their heads under the public lashing.
Alya: and since when have you cared about Marinette, Chloe?
Chloe: since I heard that the rest of you actually tried to get Gabriel akumatized. The man was trying to be better and closer to Adrien, but thanks to you all, he’s decided to send Adri-traitor back to London where he can be free from all of your bad influence
Nadja: Marinette, is this true?
Marinette: it’s not true! I mean it is, but we were trying to find out how Monarch gave miraculous abilities to akumas.
Chloe: by antagonising a man still mourning his wife. What an excellent idea. Do you still think the school system was so perfect before?
Marinette belatedly realized what Chloe said and looked to Adrien in horror. “Adrien, is this true, you’re moving?”
Chloe: aw he didn’t tell you yet. You should have, Adri-traitor. We both know your dad might decide to bump your flight earlier at any time
Adrien: it’s true. I didn’t say anything because I’ve been trying to find a way to stop him
Chloe: and since his dad’s decision is based on all your ideas, that’s why he decided to go solo here
Adrien: no, it’s not
Nino: what have I done?
Chloe clapped her hands. “Anyway, that’s enough loitering. Security, escort the two fired people from my school or else they will be sent to detention for trespassing. Everyone else, back to class. You can strike if you want, but just remember your parents will be notified of your naughty behavior, both present and past. Oh, and you’ll all still get detention for disrupting other classes with your noise.”
Where after Marinette fails to reveal Lila as a liar, she is scorned by every member of the class, even Adrien waits until they all leave to give his "disappointed" speech and to call her petty. She responds with the above quote and walks out ready to rain hell on her class
Marinette uses every one of her connections, Jagged Stone, Clara Nightingale, the Waynes, Clark and Lois Kent and beyond and takes to social media
Post after post of what Lila has claimed, backed by proof of this being impossible, entire threads of what each member of the class did in "retribution" , the class is scorned by their idols, meanwhile Ladybug goes on live with Nadja
(Adrien, as Chat sees LB while the consequences come crashing down on the class, he pleads with her to try and save the class, to make everything "right" again only to be told off and have the ring taken right off his finger
Having just taken the Black Cat Ring back from Adrien, she publicly announces that none of her temp heroes will ever receive any Miraculous ever again
Shadowmoth tries to take advantage of this by akumatizing the entire class into The Akuma Class, a horrific blob monster with all their previous powers
But LB distributes the Miraculous to heroes she has been in contact with, The BatFamily, Young Justice, and assorted JL members
They take down the Class Akuma hard
And thats what happens when Marinette is truly petty
Marinette was on the ground, after having been shoved around by her classmates. Lila had been filling their heads with lies for weeks about how Marinette had been bullying her and hurting her after school. She had lit the match and the class had been taking revenge against their 'friend's' bully. As a last ditch effort, while they all ripped her homework, destroyed her belongings and sketchbook, and pushed her around, she tried to reveal Lila again. She had proof and an alibi for the most recent accusations. She yelled that she hadn't been out that night. She had even been babysitting for Alya and Nino so they could go on a date, but that seems to have slipped their minds in their rage.
When they were done, they left Marinette there bruised and surrounded by her destroyed things. She was numb, not quite processing what had just happened. When Adrien was still standing there, Marinette clung to hope that maybe now he would say it was time to do something. After all, Lila had just gotten her attacked. But her last tiny hope was snuffed out when Adrien went on and on about how disappointed he was that she had tried to reveal Lila again. Disappointed that she hadn't sat there quietly and let them hurt her. Marinette could hardly believe it, but she supposed that was more in character for him. All he cared about was the limited freedom his father gave him and standing up to Lila, even to help a friend, would endanger that so he wouldn't do it. Just as he finished his tirade, Marinette felt something inside her snap. "I am so disappointed in you Marinette. They would have stopped eventually, but now you have turned them all against you. If you had just stayed quiet, we could have all stayed friends. But you were too petty." Marinette stood up quickly, glaring at Adrien. "You want petty, Adrien? I'll show you petty."
Marinette was fuming. They had all betrayed her for some pretty words and promises that would never come. Meanwhile, Marinette could and would have easily helped them. But now they had burned that bridge, and Marinette would rain hell fire down on them. And she would be able to do it in a single night.
She jumped online and started posting on every social media she had. Post after post of not only Lila and her lies (with the proof that they were only lies), but also what the class had done to her. Photos of the bruises from the altercation. Of her destroyed homework and property. She showed everything, but that was only the start of her plan. If they thought that was mean, wait until they saw what happens next.
She also showed her parents what had happened, and they had initially wanted to press charges and have all of the class arrested for assault. And while Marinette was angry, she didn't want to send them to prison. Not yet anyway. They attack her again, and that could change. She convinced her parents to sue for damages instead. That way they are still held accountable, but they don't go to prison. Even as angry as she is, there is still a tiny seed of compassion in her for her old friends. But that was where the compassion ended.
She went back to her room and opened her laptop again, seeing that her posts and threads were quickly picking up steam and going viral. She could see her classmates trying to defend themselves in the comments, but it wasn't going well for them. Now on to the next phase of her plan. Her classmates had applied to many different internships and summer jobs with their top idols and most had gotten the positions. Lila had taken responsibility, saying she had called in some favors with her famous friends.
But the reality? The reality was that despite everything, when Marinette heard about the applications, she had reached out to her contacts and given glowing recommendations for her classmates. That is what had gotten them the internships and jobs. Not Lila, Marinette. And now, if Marinette could give that too them, she could take it away. She called everyone. Jagged, Clara, the Wayne family, Lois Lane, and many others from around the world. She told the story of what had happened several times that night, but it worked. They all agreed to pull her classmates from the accepted applicants and reject them.
And while she was talking with Bruce Wayne, she called in another favor. This time in regards to his more covert activities. She had a feeling that this plan of hers may result in an akuma, or more likely multiple akumas. Obviously she couldn't use any of her old temp. heroes if this happened. She had already been training with the Justice League and the covert team known as Young Justice. Several members of the two teams had been selected as new miraculous holders and were ready to come if needed. She hadn't thought she would need to use that offer until it was time to defeat Hawkmoth, but she called in the favor anyway. Bruce agreed and soon there would be a small team of heroes ready and waiting for the fallout that was sure to come.
For the final stage of her plan, she decided to reveal not just to the class, but to the whole city, that Lila had been lying. She went on the official Ladybug twitter account, and sent a message to Nadja asking for a live interview that very night. Nadja got back to her within a minute and agreed to have the interview in an hour. Ladybug wanting an interview was big news and the TV station was happy to oblige.
As Marinette made her way to the TV station as Ladybug, all over the city, her classmates were panicking. They had seen the posts and initially thought nothing of it. Who cared what Marinette thought, and then they really read the posts and saw the proof of Lila's lies and began to grow concerned. But they would apologize to Marinette and this would all blow over, it was just a single thread on Marinette's page, it wouldn't be a big deal. That was until they saw the posts going viral. People were commenting and sharing it everywhere, calling out the class on their behavior. And these weren't just random people call them out. These were big names in every major industry. Which just made it go more viral.
The class tried defending themselves in the comments, but no one was listening to them, or taking their sides. As far as people were concerned, they were horrible people who attacked Marinette for no good reason. Just as their panic began to reach their peak, the rejections started coming in. Programs and internships that had accepted them only weeks ago, now sent them letters rejecting them. The letters said that the person who had recommended them for the positions had come back and retracted their recommendations because they had attacked the person who gave the recommendations.
With growing horror, the class realized that not only was Lila a liar, but that Marinette had been the one with the connections that got them these positions. And she had taken no credit, letting Lila claim that it was her doing. And now everything was falling apart all around them. Adrien watched as the Gabriel brand stock tanked and his fans turned on him quickly for not defending Marinette. He hadn't thought Marinette had this kind of pull. But in a single evening she had ruined everything for the class. As if things couldn't get worse for them, everyone's TVs and phones that had been watching all of this unfold were now playing a special interview from Ladybug.
Adrien and the class watched in horror as Ladybug went on the record, clearly stating that not only had Lila lied about being her friend, but was also akumatized several times and was suspected of being a willing accomplice to Hawkmoth. Adrien knew he had to do something. This wasn't right, and LB should know that. But he could get her to stop. To change her mind, retract her statement about Lila being a liar, and get everything back to normal. He would have to throw Marinette under the bus on live TV to do that, but it was her own fault and he would try to make it up to her later. She would forgive him, and realize she was in the wrong eventually. So he transformed into Chat and raced to the station.
He got there just as they were wrapping up a commercial break. They were just about to go back on the air when he arrived. He rushed up to Ladybug and begged her to make things right. "I don't know what Marinette told you, but she must be exaggerating. This is too much and you know that. But there is still time to make this right again. We just have to tell everyone that what Mrs. Bustier's class did was justified and Marinette was the real aggressor. Then everything will go back to normal." He had expected Ladybug to agree, but instead she simply glared at him, before grabbing his arm and yanking off the ring.
Adrien was stunned and yelled at her, demanding the ring back. The TV crew stood in shock, forgetting to get prepared to return to air. "Adrien. Of course it was you, I should have known. No I will not say any such thing. I'm not a coward like you. I know when to stand up and say enough. That class made their bed and now they have to lie in it. They don't get to torment people and expect everything to just go away. Now they will suffer the consequences of their own actions."
With that, Ladybug went back to the interview, which just returned to air. Nadja was still stunned, so Ladybug took the lead. "I have just retrieved the Black Cat Miraculous from Chat Noir. He was unworthy of wearing it and has since been retired. And this goes for all of the temporary heroes as well. They are all retired. If I can't trust them to have my back, then they don't deserve a miraculous. They will never again wear a miraculous." She of course didn't mean Luka or Kagami, they hadn't done anything. She would reach out to them individually to tell them in person, and help them come up with new hero personas so no one was suspicious.
Just as the interview ended, the akuma alarm went off. Just as she expected. Ladybug left the stunned studio crew behind and rushed outside where she saw a grotesque amalgamation of her classmates' akuma forms. Hawkmoth had sensed the growing despair from them all, from Lila being revealed to the city, and the class' world falling apart, and took advantage of the situation. For once, he felt grateful to Ladybug, sure her announcement had something to do with this. Not that he could make out much, with so many minds under his control at once. But one thing was clear. They wanted to go after Marinette. She caused all of this tonight, and they were placing their anger on her. And Hawkmoth would be happy to oblige.
But it wouldn't last long. Thanks to Marinette planning ahead, she went to where the zeta tube let out and found her back up there. Several heroes like Aqualad, Nightwing, Super Boy, Miss Martian, Beast Boy, and many others all stood waiting. She gave them all a miraculous that they had practiced with previously, and gave Aqualad the Black Cat miraculous, thinking his cool headed nature would help keep its destructive power in check. With her new team by her side, they faced the villain they decided just to call Amalgamation.
Within a few minutes, they had defeated the group akuma. When she worked with a real, practiced, team of heroes, it wasn't nearly as hard to do. She should have done this ages ago. The class was deakumatized and Ladybug didn't give them the time of day. She and her team simply left. She retrieved the miraculous and the heroes went home. Meanwhile, Marinette got to watch the fallout. The class was in shambles and desperately tried to apologize to Marinette the next day, but she didn't listen to any of them. They had lost out on jobs, internships, their futures in their favorite industries were in question, and they got slapped with a hefty lawsuit for the damage they had done to Marinette's property the day before. Everything was ruined. They had wanted petty? Well they got it. And this is what happens when Marinette gets petty.
Hiya, big salt fan here but I’m curious if there are characters you don’t salt for? I’m not really into Marinette salt since the show does that enough but I’m curious on your thoughts
I would never salt for Zoé, I think she's wonderful. I don't really salt for Marinette, because I honestly feel complete apathy towards her, though I find many of her decisions questionable. I sometimes salt for the class as a whole because of their weird shipping, gullibility, and mob mentality, but I rarely have problems with the more minor characters in the class as individuals.
That entire class is full of idiots and fake friends. Marinette has the patience of a Saint. We all know she could’ve just up and left and said “F*** ‘em.”
Especially to Alya.
Seriously, Revelation’s theme song should be Bebe Rehxa’s ‘F.F.F’.
author's note | hey remember that lila salt fic i promised? this isn't it but this is something i made today so yep. please accept this as an apology for yknow. me promising to write and. not doing it.
Enough was enough.
“Marinette, stop accusing Lila! She just wants to make friends!”
“Take the high road.”
“Be a good model student, Marinette.”
Enough. Was. Enough.
Marinette had the connections, the power, the choice to make Lila’s entire world crumble apart. The only thing that stood between the liar’s demise was the tiniest pinch of morality and self-restraint— And no, that self-restraint did not come in the form of Tikki. Even the kwami, who had to be an aggregation of all the good and nice things in the world, was fed up and ready to retaliate.
“What a joke.” Lila cackled, tossing a chunk of her sausage hair over her shoulder flamboyantly. The two girls were in the bathroom, with Lila smirking in front of the sink and Marinette a little distance away from her. “You can make my world crumble? What is this, a threat?”
“A promise.” Marinette corrected. “Stop telling lies. Come clean to every one. No more lying about knowing celebrities left and right, no more making excuses about not being able to take your own notes, no more making up ‘diseases’ just so your life gets a little more convenient. To be frank, I really don’t care what happens to you— But by making these empty promises to introduce my classmates to great ‘celebrities’, you’re ruining their futures. Stop.”
“And what are you going to do if I don’t?” Lila sneered, face twisted into an ugly grin. “You going to cry in front of the class? Try and convince them that I, the one they adore— That I am lying?”
“No.” Marinette’s eyes were clear when she met Lila’s. The clouds of self-doubt that used to hover over the bright, shining star inside her soul had now dissipated, letting the bluenette emit a confident, glowing appearance as she met the liar head on. “I’m just going to keep my promise.”
──────── ⋆⋅❉⋅⋆ ────────
Lila headed off to a modelling shoot after school, pleased at the prospect of spending more time with Adrien. There were a couple tendrils of Marinette’s words hanging behind in her mind— Did the girl mean what she said? Did she actually… Was she actually capable of causing Lila’s downfall? … Surely not. Marinette may have once been the ‘Everyday Ladybug’, but there was no way she was that competent, there was no way the girl was capable of plotting.
The Italian hummed, brushing away thoughts of the annoying bluenette from her mind. She was going on a photoshoot— One that was going cause the rise and burst of her career, the one that was going to make her name a globally-known one. Unfortunately for Lila, her plans were going to be derailed quite soon— In fact, as soon as Gabriel Agreste’s car rolled into the parking lot of the shoot location.
“Explain this, Mlle. Rossi.” Gabriel’s nostrils flared as he pointed to the tabloid article on his tablet. The Italian girl froze, the headlines seared into her eyes, big and black and bold, shooting poison right into the core of her body, paralysing her cell by cell starting from her heart. “What is the meaning of this?”
‘Adrien Agreste Reported To Be Harassed by Fellow Model’— The image under the caption was one that was clearly taken by a hidden photographer. The picture was framed with leafy foliage, which suggested that the camera was tucked up in a tree. Despite the distance, it was quite obvious in the image that Adrien was reeling away, disgusted and uncomfortable as a faceless woman in an orange blazer, back turned to the camera— Invaded his personal space.
The subtitle was the cream on the cupcake.
‘Witnesses State Gabriel Agreste Ignorant of Workplace Harassment’.
──────── ⋆⋅❉⋅⋆ ────────
As if things couldn’t quite go down a worser path, Lila returned home to a fuming mother and an unexpected visitor.
“Lila! You come here right this instant!” The diplomat demanded as soon as the front door opened, her daughter shrinking slightly at the tone and pitch that her mother was using. The last time her mother had been this angry— Well, it was when she got expelled from her last school. “I can’t believe what you’ve done! If it weren’t for your kind classmate, lord knows how long you would’ve continued with this!”
The Italian meekly followed her mother into the living room, eyes widening until they were as large as saucers, mouth agape at the last person she expected to see sitting on the couch.
Marinette smiled kindly, waving at the girl, looking every bit the part of the innocent, pure, kind child that every parent wanted to have. Before Lila could release a torrent of questions about what the hell Marinette Dupain-Cheng was doing in her living room, her mother charged on, beginning to take out her anger on her daughter while a literal angel sat on the sofa, cradling a box of pastries from her family’s bakery.
“Your friend here tells me that you’ve been taking absences from school to go on trips to help humanity!” Mme. Rossi exploded, waving her arms around madly. “She says she’s here to share her notes from the classes you’ve missed! You’ve never left Paris this year! What’s this I hear about flying off to the kingdom of— What was it called again, Marinette dear?”
“Achu.” Provided the bluenette helpfully, the diplomat’s expression instantly softening when she talked to the other teen in the living room.
“Ah, yes. Thank you, dear.” The woman turned back to her daughter, instantly snapping on a mask of anger in a matter of a fraction of a second. “What’s this about flying off to this kingdom of Achu to help homeless orphans with some random prince?”
“Um…” Lila piped up, wriggling as her brain churned at 200 lies per hour, trying to whip up a cover of some sort.
“I’m not done! Your friend here is such a helpful child that she even went as far as to ask her family doctor is there’s a cure for your… Lying disease!” Mme. Rossi practically roared, breathing flames as if she were an intimidating dragon, her daughter flinching away from the heat. “I’ve never heard of anything more ridiculous! And then there’s the fact that you lied to your classmates about having tinnitus?!”
“I actually do have tinnitus!” Lila cut in forcibly, widening her eyes to make herself look more pitiful. “I was just afraid to tell you because I didn’t want you to worry!”
“Bullshit!”
“Um… Sorry to interrupt, Mme. Rossi,” Marinette piped up, the diplomat instantly cooling down as she faced the bluenette, a soft smile tracing the Italian woman’s lips. “But it’s getting rather late and my parents would love me home soon. I also have some tests to revise for tonight, so I think I should get going.”
“Oh, of course, dear.” Mme. Rossi hastily got up to help the bluenette to the door, shooting a warning glare at her daughter— ‘Sit still and don’t you dare go anywhere’, the glare read. “Feel free to come over again anytime you want, dear. I’m not home often, but you are such a sweet child. I’m sure Lila could learn a lot from you.”
“Thanks for having me as well, Mme. Rossi. I really like your home. I left the pastries on the counter— Make sure to warm the curry puffs before you eat them.” Marinette returned the smile, bowing slightly to the older woman as a sign of respect.
“Thank you for the pastries as well, Marinette. I ought to visit your parents’ bakery sometime when I’m free.” Mme. Rossi opened the door kindly for the bluenette, waving the girl off with an affectionate smile. Her parents must be so lucky to have such a sweet little thing like her, Mme. Rossi sighed internally, turning the key so she locked the door. And she seems to be a high-scoring student as well.
──────── ⋆⋅❉⋅⋆ ────────
Lila seethed, having been grounded by her mother. As far as Mme. Rossi was concerned, there was a boarding school not too far away from their current residence, and by the next week, the Italian girl would be transferred over. Lila had never hated Dupain-Cheng as much as she did in that moment.
Still furious, the Italian snapped her laptop open, too angry to bother with the fact she might’ve scratched the surface. Clicking into the web browser, she started to type in the words ‘Ladyblog’— That was, before a news article caught her eye.
‘Jagged Stone Interview Reveals Underage, Obsessed Fan’.
What on Earth…
As soon as Lila clicked into the link, the news footage from the interview immediately begin to play. The date stamp on it showed that it had aired last night— Which meant that she would’ve missed it, since her mother was too busy yelling at her to turn on the television to watch Nadja Chamack’s daily news.
“As soon as I heard this rumour about some underage teenage girl claiming that she had saved my cat on an airport runway, I called Penny and asked her to book a slot for me to clarify this,” Jagged Stone said grimly, dressed in more formal attire as he sat in the comfortable, cushioned chair of the news station, with Nadja nodding equally seriously beside him. “Let me clarify— I’ve never owned a cat. I’m allergic to fur. The only pet I’ve had was Fang, and he’s an al-li-ga-tor. Not a cat. Whatever the girl is claiming, she’s obsessed and making up stories.”
“It’s also kind of bewildering that she saved it on an airport runway,” Nadja continued, shaking her head in disappointment. “That kind of thing only happens in dramas— It’s too dangerous for anyone besides authorised workers to be on airport runways.”
“Right, right!” Jagged agreed instantly. “The whole rumour is just really baffling.”
“M. Jagged, may I ask what kind of effect these rumours have on a celebrities’ career?” Nadja continued, leading the conversation on like a professional.
“Well, rumours that circulate around tend to have really bad effects, and the worse ones can hang around for a long, long time. Tabloids are often spun off from rumours, baseless and with no evidence. Those tabloids will never truly disappear, so they can leave a mark on a celebrity’s reputation as some people will believe anything— Even things they read from un-cited tabloids.”
“That is simply terrible. Have you ever had any cases of rumours created by underaged teens before this?”
“I’ve had quite a number, but none of them really got as big as this one. From what Penny has found from digging around, the teen girl managed to spread the rumour through her school and onto a once-popular blog.” Jagged explained. “Penny has also found out that the same girl has claimed that I’ve written songs for her to thank her for saving my cat! I would never write songs and dedicate them to an underaged girl— Trust me. If I could do such a thing, I’d already have written a dozen in honour of my niece— She’s my favourite designer.”
Nadja smiled at that sentence. “Then—“
The news footage cut off abruptly as Lila slammed her laptop shut, too upset to continue watching.
──────── ⋆⋅❉⋅⋆ ────────
On the other side of Paris, Alya was pacing around her room frantically, wondering why on earth Lila wasn’t picking up on her calls. She’d left at least four dozen messages to the Italian, who was absent from school that day. There had been a couple whispers here and there about why she was missing— Rose had suggested another impromptu trip to Achu.
Lila’s absence wasn’t the weirdest part of the day, however.
That award would go to Marinette, who walked into class with a smile, the slightest sprinkles of delight colouring her bluebell eyes when she spotted Lila’s empty seat.
Growing in frustration, Alya threw herself onto her bed, phone clattering onto the mattress with her. Within the next few minutes, however, her phone suddenly started exploding with notifications. Excited at the prospect of Lila finally texting back, Alya turned on her phone, only to be disappointed by the notifications all clamouring from the class group chat.
Kim had sent a link to the chat— Without hesitation, Alya clicked into it, frowning when she saw Nadja and Jagged appear on the screen. Throughout the interview, the colour on the Ladyblogger’s face only paled by the second until she was as white as a sheet, and if it were halloween at that time, she would’ve won the best costume award for being a ghost.
There must… There must’ve been a mistake.
A notification from Lila’s number made the blogger perk up, instantly clicking into the conversation— But her newfound hope didn’t last very long.
[Lila]
Hi, Alya. This is Lila’s mom. She’s currently grounded right now. Is there anything important you need to tell her?
[Alya]
Oh, nothing much… I just wanted to ask where she was.
[Lila]
She’s at home.
[Alya]
Okay, thanks.
Flopping onto her bed, Alya begin thinking, revising over the past few months like it was an old clip. Lila’s exciting adventures and interactions with celebrities of every kind— Lila going overseas and face timing the entire class— Lila letting her in on the secrets of being Ladybug’s friend…
… Marinette trying to tell them that Lila was lying…
──────── ⋆⋅❉⋅⋆ ────────
The class was awfully silent the next day. Adrien was absent as well— A social worker was looking into his home life as a result of the tabloid that arose. Things for the blonde could either get better or worse from then on, as the matters were still foggy and things hadn’t cleared up yet. The blonde maintained contact with his friends, however, calling and texting them whenever he could.
“Class, settle down.” Mlle. Bustier stepped into the class, looking very tense and uncomfortable. “Today, we will have a guest, so please be on your best behaviours, alright?”
Just as the teacher finished speaking, a tall, regal-looking Italian woman entered the classroom, a cowering principal and a meek-looking Lila in tow. The class brightened slightly at the sight of their friend— But by the way she wasn’t looking into their eyes… Things weren’t going to be good.
“Good morning. I am Mme. Rossi, Lila’s mother.” The woman begin speaking, her firm and no-nonsense tone instantly making every student sit straight, their eyes too afraid to look anywhere else but the Italian diplomat. “It has come to my attention that my daughter has been taking absences from school to do charity work— And I have to clarify that this is a lie. Lila has been doing nothing but holing herself up in her room, lying to me and saying that there are no classes due to akumas.” The Italian diplomat glowered at Damocles. “What’s even more baffling is the fact that neither her homeroom nor the principal bothered to check up with me despite a student having extended periods of absence with no note or email written whatsoever.”
The class was so quiet that they could hear the quiver of Mlle. Bustier’s trembling lip.
“In addition, I’ve been kindly told that Lila has claimed to have a lying disease, which is the most ridiculous thing I’ve heard this week.” It was impossible to miss the way the Italian diplomat was glaring daggers at both Mlle. Bustier and Damocles. “No one bothered to look it up online to see if it’s actual disorder, nor did anyone call me to confirm and ask for a doctor’s note, which is standard procedure.” Chills burst over the room, making every one shiver as the woman hissed out her words.
“Mme. Rossi, we didn’t want to disturb your busy schedule—” Damocles begin, only to be blown backwards from the sheer intensity of Mme. Rossi’s glower.
“M. Damocles, standard procedures exist for a reason. Unless you’d like to tell me about any other things you’ve been letting my daughter get away with?”
“N— No, Mme.”
The Italian diplomat continued on her war path. “My daughter also claimed to have tinnitus, am I correct?”
“Y— Yes, Mme.” Mlle. Bustier answered when it seemed like no one was going to.
“And I heard that the class seating arrangement was shifted to accommodate for that?” The homeroom teacher didn’t dare answer this time, for it seemed like whatever she said would be the incorrect answer. “And apparently, my daughter has also been faking broken wrists and requesting for her classmates to complete her work for her.” Mme. Rossi was practically breathing flames at that point, “And I am incredibly upset at the lack of action from the homeroom teacher.”
No one could breath.
“I have many concerns about the running of this schooling facility, and I expect to discuss this with M. Damocles privately after this. However, there is still something to be done.” Mme. Rossi swept her gaze towards her daughter, who found the floor incredibly interesting at that point of time. “Lila? Something you’d like to say to your classmates?”
“… I’m sorry for lying to you.” Lila mumbled resentfully.
“Louder, Lila. No one can hear you.”
“I’m sorry for lying to you!” Lila swallowed, bursting like an explosion that had finally been triggered, tears in her eyes and fists hatefully curled. “I’m sorry for lying about my diseases and injuries. I’m sorry for making you do my work,” She spat. “Sorry for causing any inconveniences.”
Mme. Rossi raised an eyebrow at her daughter. “Is that all?”
Lila glared at her mother, who was completely unfazed. “Oh, so you want an apology from me? Fine!” She turned to the class, a maniacal glint in her eyes as she sneered at the class, a few gasps puffing from around the room as they caught their first glimpse of the liar that resided in the ‘harmless’ shell of Lila Rossi. “I’m sorry that you are all such idiots that you all fell for everything. I’m sorry that Marinette has such terrible, untrusting classmates that turned their backs on her even though she was still a goody-two shoes till the end, even though she still wanted to help you sorry peasants. I’m sorry that you were all so goddamn gullible! There! Good enough for you?”
Shock was etched into the faces of every human in the classroom— Including Mlle. Bustier, M. Damocles, and Mme. Rossi themselves. Clearly, that part of the apology had not been part of the plan.
“Did I miss something?” Said a sweet voice, followed by the presence of a bluenette, her hair tied in a half-up. A royal blue blazer decorated her lithe form, accompanied by a smart-looking white blouse and a black plaited skirt. Formal had never looked so good on anyone— And if someone didn't know better, they'd think that the bluenette was a young lawyer, emerging victorious from her first successful case.
“Marinette!” Alya exclaimed.
“I’m sorry that you’re such an annoying, little, pest.” Lila bit in the girl’s face, disdain colouring her features as she ignored her mother’s enraged gasp behind her.
The bluenette simply smiled, unaffected by the liar who had crashed and burned like the liar once wished upon her. Marinette Dupain-Cheng stood at her full height, the perfect image of grace and poise as she maintained her composure, quite unlike her nemesis, who thrashed under her mother’s restraining hands.
“And I’m sorry that you didn’t take my promise to heart.”
this can count as adrien redemption depending on you cause ehhh i dont like how passive he is but i havent caught up with the recent episodes, he might have become better. idk.
also where the hell is my miraculous taglist i cant find it so eep. no tagging ppl ig oops
