Thereal mistake is thinking that the majority, if not, allof Marinette’s mistakes and flaws HAVEto revolve around Adrien.
Both “Simon Says” and “Gamer 2.0″ bring up a conflict for Marinette that has nothing to do with Adrien - that fact that she takes on so many responsibilities and activities, and how overwhelmed she is. Does this get addressed or worked on? No. “Simon Says” drops the subplot in favor of the Agrestes, and “Gamer 2.0″ tells Marinette she needs to goof off and play games.
Her jealousy of Chloe being close to Adrien stems from their extended history together - that Chloe has bullied Marinette for years and Marinette has only recently started to stand up for herself. But is Marinette ever allowed to call Chloe out for what she did and receive any closure for the harassment she received?
No. She’s made to feel bad for being relieved that Chloe is leaving school. In fact, she’sthe one to help Chloe find closure regarding her mother, without so much as a thank you for her efforts, or an apology for anythingthat Chloe has made her go through.
And furthermore, Season 1 puts more emphasis on them fighting for Adrien’s affections rather than their own personal history together. Adrien isn’t needed here for this conflict to exist, he just exacerbates it.
Or how about her tendency to jump to conclusions/catastrophize? That mostly revolves around Adrien, but you can easily write an episode where Marinette catastrophizes over something else, like a project, homework, or superhero duties, things that she already stresses out over.
I shouldn’t need to write a mini-essay on why Astruc’s response here is dismissive and completely ignoring the point. Marinette canmake mistakes and canlearn lessons, but
A. they don’t all need to tie back to Adrien
B. tying it into her feelings for Adrien is tiresome and offensive to those in the audience that want Marinette to learn something about her culture
and C. ignores the fact that Marinette can learn lessons that aren’t inherently about “doing the right thing” or morals - she can learnabout her culture and heritage, is that not something worth learning? She can learnmore about her family history and where she came from. Is that not something worth sharing with an audience?
This is why I’m not watching the special or seasons 4 and 5.
She spun around on the expressionless Marinette in a rage, zeroing in on the cause of all her problems. Even now, the former hero still somehow looked so goddamn noble!
“You don’t deserve to be Ladybug!” She shouted, eyes wide and spittle flying. “You don’t deserve your Miraculous! You don’t deserve your life! You don’t deserve ANYTHING!”
Inspired after I read the movie companions for the first two Narnia films
Marinette gets the job of a lifetime working on costumes for the upcoming movie, The Silver Chair.
It is hard work with little sleep, especially for a heroine. So good thing it is taking place during the school holidays.
Marinette travels all over the world, truthfully telling her disappointed friends that she is working while on vacation.
Alya: don’t you think you should chill for a while? You look like you missed a whole week of sleep!
Well, she does have to help make thousands of costumes, so no. This is why Marinette’s best friend at work is the coffee machine.
Marinette makes a good impression on the costume team, including head designer Isis Mussenden. She even got to be the one to work with Ben Henders, the very cute actor playing Prince Rilian.
When Marinette returns to Paris, she does not brag about her job, only mentioning how satisfied she was that the costumes were without flaw and she had met the quota.
After one or two years, The Silver Chair is about to be released.
Chloe brags about getting to sit at the premiere viewing thanks to her world-renown mother.
Lila gushes about how the stars of the movie are like family who had asked her to play Jill Pole but she had to decline since she had already made a commitment to save endangered penguins up in the frigid north. However she will still get to sit at the premiere.
Marinette: penguins live in the Antarctic!
Nino is a huge fan of the Narnia chronicles and even buys the movie companion book to learn about the film making process. It is how he learns about Marinette’s job.
Because at the costume design section, Isis praises Marinette and there is even a picture of Marinette helping Ben into his knight suit.
Realizing Marinette had actually been on the set, Nino wondered why she never told them about it.
Ok, maybe he can understand considering that they might have pestered for her information about the movie the way they asked Lila.
Hang on, Marinette will probably be at the premiere.
Maybe once she sees that Lila was there herself, she will finally believe their newest classmate.
But in the meantime, he can respect her wishes and let her secret remain, at least till premiere day.
At the premiere, Chloé was surprised to see Dupain-Cheng. Immediately she began mocking her, asking if she was there as a waiter again.
However, the cast and crew (seeing Marinette as part of their second family) defend her from this rich brat, praising Marinette for being a talented designer and even bringing them homemade pastries that were to die for.
Audrey could see the odds were in Marinette’s favor, and that Chloe was an unwanted blot in the party.
As the director begins to ask Chloe to leave, Audrey swoops in. “You’ll have to excuse my daughter. She gets jealous whenever she sees Marinette’s exceptional talent.”
Chloe: mother!
Audrey: marvellous job, Marinette, as always.
Chloe: mother, you can’t be serious! She’s just a baker girl.
Audrey: who is renown for her talent. What are you famous for, Claudette?
Sensing danger, Chloe flushed and stalks away, trying to hide her tears.
To make herself feel better, she has to make others feel worse. Dupain-Cheng is surrounded by the crew so no hopes of sneaking over, especially when she won’t be welcome.
Hmm, what about that Lila girl?
Somehow Marinette always got the short end of the stick whenever they were together.
She headed over to the director. “You, where is Lila Rossi.”
Andrew Adamson scowled at Chloe. “Am I supposed to know who that is?”
Chloe ignored the cameras recording her bratty behavior. “Well, duh. She’s the one you wanted to play Joan Pill instead of that creature,” she waved her hand at the young lead actress.
Andrew’s scowl deepened. “I think you meant to say Jill Pole. And I don’t know any Lila Rossi, but if she is friends with you, I’m glad not to have been introduced. Good day.”
Chloe gaped, then rounded on Marinette. “Dupain-Cheng, explain yourself this instant.”
“What is there to explain, Chloe? I’ve been telling everyone for months that Lila’s been lying about her celebrity connections.
Chloe gasped then rounded on Ben Henders. “You, do you know a Lila Rossi?”
Ben: no.
Meanwhile, back in Paris….
Class are watching videos about the premiere (some official and some leaked), and are shocked. Lila had lied to them?
That kind of put a damper to their happy surprise about Marinette being one of the costume designers.
Lila’s phone was bombarded with texts demanding explanations.
Squealing, she immediately switched her phone off and tried to think of a suitable lie.
….
Lila said she was friends with the director of Narnia, but she never said his name. There have been more than one media series of Narnia. She can use that to excuse Andrew’s ignorance of her name.
As for Ben Henders…that was more tricky. She had claimed to the girls to be good friends with the actor, talking about the very movie itself. Hmm, maybe she can attribute his denial to Chloe’s abrupt and rude attitude?
Satisfied, Lila turned her phone back on, only to pale at what she saw. Since she took so long to reply, the others had done their own research and were now calling her fraud, that she now owed their money back (as if!), etc.
At the premiere, Chloe felt humiliated and overshadowed as all the celebrities ignored her.
At the Rossi residence, Lila began pleading to her mother that they should move because she was being bullied by the very same people who had sent Mrs Rossi video interviews of her contrasting opinions of Ladybug and demanding their money to be returned.
Chloe’s wondrous day started when Adrien approached her and said, “I have a gift for you.”
She was over the moon to hear that.
Her dear Adrikins got hera gift!
Suck it, Marinette! Suck it, Adrien’s fangirls!
He got HER a gift!
No one else!
This just proves that Chloe was his favorite, as she should be.
And as delighted as she was, when Adrien presented her with a bluepeacock pin, Chloe faltered.
Adrien’s smile was expectant, looking happy, until she wasn’t taking it right away. “Do you not like it?” Adrien asked.
“No! No, it’s just… Do you have something in yellow?”
“Nope. Only this one.” After a moment of consideration, Adrien tried to appeal to her, offering, “It’ll go with your eyes.”
“Thanks, Adrien,” she said through her teeth, taking it reluctantly. It was semi worth it to see Adrien’s beam, but that offered smile she had fell when he turned and walked away, leaving her with the blue pin.
It didn’t have ANY yellow on it. Like, ok, yeah, maybe the blue would go with her eyes, but red gems on all nine feathers? Or where are those more… pink?
Chloe stuck her tongue out at it. Between the blue and the pink, this should be more Marinette’s thing? But as Adrien gifted this to Chloe, there was NO WAY Chloe was going to pass it off to another. Especially her! This was hers! Hers and hers alone!
But, she couldn’t be seen in public wearing this. This blue and pink against her yellow jacket? No way. Matching with her eyes wasn’t enough. This, she’ll humor Adrien and put it on at home. Try it there, and then it can sit in her closet and gather dust. Maybe she can give it to one of her and Adrien’s future kids.
Satisfied with her plan, she stuffed it deep in her bag and headed for the first period. It was a shame she couldn’t go and shove this gift in Marinette’s face, but it is what it is. At least she got to enjoy the fact that Adrien was thinking of her.
.
.
.
In front of her mirror, Chloe hesitated.
She wasn’t wearing the pin yet, it was just held over her jacket, with Chloe doing a little double take just to see it against her jacket and to be sure. And gosh, it clashed with her so much. And the worse fact? No matter how long she looked at it, it matched with Marinette so much more and Chloe hated it.
The blue of the pin matched with her hair, when that dark hair would shine blue in certain lighting. And the gems on this pin were more pink! And it matched the pink of Marinette’s stupid pink pants! And those stupid pink flowers that she has on her shirt!
It was like a… reverse color coordination or whatever. Marinette did wear a lot more pink than blue, but it was undeniable that she did have those two colors as this pin did. It was almost like this pin had been made for her.
Did Adrien have this made?
Was he thinking of Marinette?
If it was more for her, why didn’t he have this pin be more yellow? Was it really intended for Marinette? Did she upset him so Chloe was getting this out of spite of her?
If so, Chloe didn’t know if she should be smug or irritated.
Irritation won, and just to be spiteful to the Marinette color coded pin, she put it on. Adrien gave it to her.Shewas the one wearing it now, not Marinette.
Only, as soon as the pin was in place, Chloe’s world seemed to turn on an axis and she felt dizzy and she felt disjointed. Shaking her head, she groaned as she grabbed her forehead. What had happened?
“Give it a few moments, you’ll get used to it,” Chloe heard her own voice say, startling her. She jerked up, looking up to see herself staring down at her with a gentle smile, though her eyes were pink instead of blue.
Chloe drew away in alarm, gaping. “Wha— what?!”
Her body just smiled, watching Chloe freak out before her.
“Wha-what is this?!” Chloe demanded. “Who are you! Some cheap copycat!”
“Chloe” chuckled. “Oh no, this is actually your body. It’s as true as can be.”
“My body?!” Chloe shrieked. Chloe paused then. If this was her body and something was in her body, then what was she? Chloe whipped towards her mirror and gasped. She wasn’t herself. She was some freaky looking toy that looked a little familiar but Chloe couldn’t entirely place what.
But she was light blue, had dark blue eyes against a black sclera, had white marks around her eyes, a yellow diamond on her forehead, and five long peacock-like tail feathers that had yellow and white eyespots on them. She had no idea what she was and she didn’t like it. She was so small. So alien. And just so…. Blue.
Chloe rounded on the body stealer, demanding, “I don’t know what you are! But you’ll give my body back this instant!”
“Ah, I can’t do that,” “Chloe” said, shaking her head. “You see, you are under the miraculous curse.”
Chloe frowned at that. Miraculous? Like, Ladybug and Chat Noir? “Did they curse me?!” she demanded.
“No. I did.”
“How?! Why?!”
“I am Duusu, and is my miraculous,” the body stealer revealed, lightly tapping the pin, which was now a platinum peacock with a gold tail and white diamond eyespots. “When you put it on, I got to see how terrible a person you were, and the miraculous cursed you instantly. You are now stuck as a kwami while I reside in your body.”
“That’s unfair!” Chloe snarled. “This is an attack! How dare you!”
“This is punishment,” Duusu said. “You are a terrible person. You’ve hurt people for your own amusement and gain. This is why you were transformed immediately.”
“Ridiculous!” Chloe spat. “Change me back!”
“Only you can change yourself back,” Duusu said.
“How?!”
“Redeem yourself,” Duusu answered. “Make it up to those you’ve hurt the most.” Duusu then paused and frowned thoughtfully. “But that’s a lot of people. Not even I know where you’d start.”
Chloe stared at her, trying to sort out Duusu’s words. “What do you mean make it up to?”
“Help out who you’ve hurt. Make an effort to be better. You don’t even need forgiveness, you just need an effort to be better.”
Chloe scoffed, “I don’t need forgiveness! Everyone loves me!”
“Marinette doesn’t,” Duusu revealed.
“Marinette’s stupid! And poor!”
Duusu hummed. “She’s decently wealthy. You don’t live across Notre Dame or own a whole building on a poor budget.”
“How would you know that?” Chloe asked, narrowing her eyes at her body.
“I have your memories,” Duusu revealed, “it allows me to live your life and be a better you, until you improve anyway.”
Chloe gasped. “You wouldn’t! You can’t do that!”
“I am and I will,” Duusu said, immediately going for Chloe’s phone. “And I’m going to start with the mess that is you and Sabrina. You two have a very messed up relationship.”
“Don’t you daremess up my slave!” Chloe cried out.
“See, that can’t fly anymore,” Duusu said, calling Sabrina. As Chloe moved to demand that she stop, a finger was pressed to her lips, silencing her. In a perfect Chloe fashion, Duusu said into the phone, “Hey, Sabrina. You got my homework sheet, right? Did you do it yet?”
“No,” Chloe breathed.
“Don’t work on it. Give it to me tomorrow. I want to do my own homework.”
“No!”
Duusu scoffed loudly. “No! This isn’t punishment, geez, get over yourself Sabrina. I just want to prove my own brilliance, I can do that much, can’t I?” Duusu paused, listening to Sabrina’s stammer, quick to flatter and promise. “I’m glad you see it my way. See you tomorrow.”
Duusu barely ended the call when Chloe shrieked, “You can’t make my body do homework! That’s peasant work!”
“It’s part of your current education system; does that mean you think yourself beneath an education? You do know that you need a good education if you want to get into politics and be the next mayor. You can’t always buy your way through school. And Sabrina won’t always be by your side.”
Duusu moved away from Chloe before the girl turned kwami could respond. Growling, she followed, snapping, “You can’t pretend to be me! You even have pink eyes! People will see straight through you!”
“Good thing you always wear sunglasses,” Duusu said, flashing her a grin as she brought them down.
“Bustier won’t allow it!”
“Bustier is your biggest enabler. She’ll allow it.”
Growling, she darted in front of Duusu’s face, tail feathers spread out angrily. “Fine! Who do I go to first to start helping them so I can get my body and life back?!”
Humming, Duusu answered, “I guess that’s who you hurt the most.”
“Fine. I’ll go to Sabrina.” She’ll help Chloe too. Maybe the key is getting that pin back.
“Hm. Not sure Sabrina is the right choice,” Duusu murmured, more to herself. “You have twisted things up a lot, but she doesn’t regard herself as being hurt by you too often.”
“Who would you recommend,” Chloe snapped, crossing her arms unhappily.
“Probably Marinette.”
“No!”
‘You were very close to breaking her. And that hurt has lingered despite her newfound courage. Mindful, yuo do have a whole class to choose from, but Marinette was your main target. She’d be the one you’d have to make it up to most.”
“No way am I ever going to help her!”
“Then pick one of your classmates, or help the city. You purposely upsetting people led to akumas, which did hurt the city.”
“How can I help the city like this?!” Chloe gestured to this tiny weirdo body.
Duusu just gave her a secretive smile. “I’m not under obligation to explain how a kwami body works and what comes with it. You’ll have to figure that out on your own. I’m just here to tell you why you’re punished and what you can do to get out of it.”
“How helpful,” Chloe grumbled.
“I always try to be!” Duusu chirped, her smile irritating Chloe all the more.
I’m not ready for this season to start I’m not ready to once again be put through hearing the white feminists lecture every week about why not redeeming the ignorant racist bigoted white girl bully is misogynistic, actually
