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.
This idea just popped into my head: what if Miraculous was a villain origin story? What if all the times where Marinette got treated like dog doo doo by her friends, society, and the narrative actually mattered?? What if all the times Marinette got needlessly traumatized were actually a prelude to a more dramatic mental break, a la Scarlet Witch??? What if Marinette went ape shit???? Here's my idea:
Marinette's descent into villainy starts the same way every other day of her life starts: Chloe and Sabrina bully her; Lila bullies her and none of her friends stand up for her; Chat Noir borderline sexually harasses her OR he acts like all the times he proclaimed his undying love to her never happened so he can avoid going on a date with her; the usual.
As Marinette goes into her room, she gets ready to cry herself to sleep like she does every night. And then, an idea pops into her head...
"Tiki, red spots on." "Marinette, no! You can't use the miraculous for evil! You know it always ends in disaster!" "Disaster for ME!!! I'm the one that always sufferers the most for mine and every else mistakes! No more... NO MORE!!! TIKI, RED SPOTS ON!!!"
Marinette transforms, but not into Ladybug. Her trauma and her 'selfish' desire to do what's good for her mixes into a new persona: Harlequin. Her outfit is a color flipped version of Ladybug's enhanced outfit from season 4, a black body suit with red spots.
Harlequin jumps out of her house and announces herself, "Bonsoir, citizens of Paris. You used to know me as the weak Ladybug, the failure superhero." Gasps can be heard from the late night citizens, wondering why their darling would call herself that. "But from now on my name is Harlequin, the strongest superhero in Earth! And I'll prove my strength by finding Hawkmoth and arresting him! CREATION CHARM!!!"
Harlequin digs deep with her power over creation, forcing her power to work for her the same way Hawkmoth forces his power to make akumas. She creates a magic compass that points in the direction of the Butterfly miraculous, and as soon as she arrives at the Agreste mansion, she knows exactly who has been making her life hell.
Gabriel is asleep when Harlequin crashes through his window and assults him. " Oh, you BETTER wake up!" Harlequin snatches his miraculous away and beats him into submission.
When Adrien walks in, he feels like he's in a nightmare. "Ladybug, what are you doing!" The boy screams as she continues to beat a corpse. "Happy Valentine's day, Adrien! Your abusive father, Hawkmoth, won't be bothering us anytime soon." As she walks out of the room to retrieve her kwamis, she turns back to face Adrien. "And by the way, it's Harlequin now."
Gabriel Agreste, AKA Hawkmoth, is dead. Suicide by cop, of course. It's not like anyone cares. Nathile is sent to a UN jail for life after her connection to Gabriel is found out. Adrien inherents his father's company and is to be allowed to live in the guardianship of the Gorilla until he becomes 18. Harlequin recreates the miraculous and brings them back home. But it's not a happy ending. It's just the beginning.
The next day, Lila is up to her old tricks. Afterschool, Harlequin drags her into the street in font of a local news station. "Bonjour citizens of Paris, Harlequin speaking! This girl, Lila Rossi, has been bullying an innocent girl in her class room for the last year. Lila has claimed an innocent girl cheated on a test, she claimed an innocent girl pushed her down the stairs, all sorts of lies really! She even claimed to be my best friend, although there's one hole in that story... Tiki, red spots off!" As Marinette reveals her identity to everyone in Paris, Lila's heart sinks. "The whole time I have been saving the people of Paris, the whole time I've been helping my friends, this wench has been bullying me! NO MORE! Tiki, red spots on!" Harlequin swings away into the distance...
The next day, Lila Rossi disappears. The people of Paris don't care, she bullyed their savior after all. Meanwhile, the akuma class' reputation is destroyed, each one becoming a social outcast.
The day after, Harlequin finds out that the Mayor of Paris has been breaking one two many laws. She decides that he, his wife, and Chloe are all going to go to a "nice family prison".
That's what she told the public. Harlequin used the bunny miraculous to send them back in time into the French Revolution. Chloe will never bully Marinette again.
The day Harlequin becomes the new Empress of France is met with cheers. She saved the world from Hawkmoth. She erased all crime in the country. She seperated France from the UN, so that they may be their own superpower again. Longue vie la Harlequin!
"Marinette, you need to stop! Don't you see that this is crazy?" Alya pleeds to her best friend. "Tell me Alya, where were you when I was being bullied by Lila? NEVER TELL ME WHAT I NEED!!!" Alya is sent away to the camps, where everyone who dare disagrees with Harlequin is sent.
Adrien is at a crossroads. If he chooses to love Harlequin, then his life will be full of joy and madness. Harlequin forgives him for all the wrong he did to her, and accepts him with open arms. Togather, they become the rulers of France... but their relationship is one of imbalance. Just as the Ladybug miraculous is so much more powerful that the Cat, Marinette is so much more powerful than Adrien. Everyday, Adrien thinks Marinette looks more and more like his father. He never says it out loud tho... He dosen't want to be punished again.
If Adrien rejects Harlequin, Kill Bill by Sza plays. Then Harlequin actually kills him.
As Marinette lays in her bed, she still cries herself to sleep. She has everything she could ever want... and she still has nothing...
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’.
