Awesome / Feralnette AU

Chapter 1: Enough Rope:

• Marinette's introduction proves just as impressive as her Establishing Character Moment in the original sketches, as she casually torpedoes Alya's invoked Shipping Goggles by pointing out her blatant Double Standards:
  Marinette: Ladybug says no to Chat's advances too, but you know, I'm SURE Adrien is just "shy." Or he "secretly likes it," or maybe he's just "playing hard to get." Yeah?
  Alya: ...That's not fair. It's different for LB and Chat.
  Marinette: Oh? Really? You have proof?
  • Followed by her just as casually pointing out the problems with their thoughtless approach:
    Marinette: Let's hope little Chaton has a plan for if Ladybug just happens to find out about the public confession through the Ladyblog. After all, if Chat Noir planned this... without her knowing, and she doesn't feel the same way... and he tries to force a favorable reaction by getting the public to pressure her into a relationship... Well, Ladybug might just be getting herself a brand new kittycat. Who knows. I've got plenty of fingers free for a ring~
    Alya: That, that's — that's not funny, Marinette!
    Marinette: Who's laughing? I imagine Ladybug doesn't listen to men who don't take no for an answer. So... if you really think Ladybug would accept Chat's feelings under these circumstances, then you should also accept that Chloé would have a decent chance at officially dating Adrien. Unless Lila is lying to push a wedge between Ladybug and Chat Noir on purpose. Ha ha~
• Marinette snatches a butterfly that was making a beeline for Kagami, then turns Hawkmoth's Breaking Speech right around on him:
  Hawkmoth: I can see your heart, Marinette. I can help you get what you want. What you need.
  Marinette: ...What I need?
  Hawkmoth: Yes, for the usual cost, of course.
  Marinette: What I want... is for you to eat sand and shit glass you stupid bug.
  Hawkmoth: WHAT?!
  Marinette: Calling me friendless, what a joke!
  Hawkmoth: YOU...!
  Marinette: Where's Mayura, Hawkmoth?! Where's your only friend in the whole world? Did you think no one would notice how sick Mayura was? How weak? How frail? Supposedly I'm the friendless one, but I'm not the one destroying my loved ones. God, but I bet you didn't even care about her! She was so sick! Is what you're doing really worth it?!
• Chat Noir shuts down Lila's attempt to spin Marinette's Shut Up, Hannibal! moment into 'evidence' of her secretly working with Hawkmoth, followed by Ladybug absolutely tearing into Alya when she accidentally reveals that she knows about her False Friend's 'condition':
  Alya: Lila told me that her disease acts up when she's really nervous—
  Ladybug: Really~
  Alya: —and you two are acting really intimidating! What's up with the grilling, there's no harm in a misunderstanding!
  Ladybug: Give someone enough rope and they'll hang themselves! Looks like you two proved that to be a tried-and-true idiom, huh? Alya Cesaire, in admitting you're aware of Lila's so-called lying disease, that results in aggressive, compulsive lying, and yet still publicly posting her claims as fact on a blog people often use as a source of information in times of Akuma attacks and life-threatening Akuma situations, you have compromised the authenticity, the credibility, and the integrity of your blog. I cannot, in good moral standing, support a blog that uses false claims to perpetuate a dishonest narrative around me and my partner, especially from a source that you say you know has a problem with discerning fact and fiction. This sort of mixing of truth and lies can lead to serious accidents. From this day on, the Ladyblog is blacklisted from my support and the support of my affiliates. We will not be working with you, your so-called friends, or anything involved with your blog and the making of these harmful lies.
  Alya: L-Ladybug...
  Ladybug: You can earn back my trust when your blog features legitimate articles again and no longer panders to social media and gossip. However, as it stands now, it's a safety hazard to those who think everything on your blog is fact. An event that was distinctly created for children, for fun, is now brimming to the thousands. Specifically, from people who want to see me and Chat. Your blog has put a target on everyone here for Hawkmoth to take advantage of, do you understand? Furthermore—
  (she flings out her yo-yo, catching an akuma that was flitting towards Lila)
  Ladybug: You kids ought to stay out of superheroes' ways. Hawkmoth isn't above real atrocities, in my experience.
• Chloé's out to deal with the local terrorist by tracking him down herself, and recruits Marinette to help her find him.

Chapter 2: Even a Worm will Turn:

• Felix turning Lila's own tactics against her by taking her claim to have previously worked with him and rolling with it, stating that the photos were never released due to her sub-par and unprofessional behavior.
• Right as White Knight's about to slash Rose, turning her into another one of his Brainwashed princesses, Marinette leaps in and whacks him with a desk, followed by sliding under another one for protection and kicking it into his face.
• Marc shielding Nathaniel, getting stabbed in his stead and revealing that White Knight's power does not work on anyone whose gender identity the magic cannot pin into the binary.
• Felix's What You Are in the Dark moment: he could just let Alya run off and get herself stabbed with her thoughtless attempts to get live footage, but follows her anyway, helping Chat Noir get her out of harm's way. And when she complains about it, he calls her out:
  Felix: I'm really sick of this shit already. You didn't listen to Chat Noir. You didn't listen to me. And from what I can infer, you haven't been listening to Ladybug, either. Isn't that the person you're doing this for, that you're a fan of?
  Alya: Felix, you don't have the full story of what happened recently, and in fact, neither does frickin' Ladybug!!!
  Felix: So you're pulling these stupid stunts, putting yourself and others in harm's way, for what purpose?!
  Alya: To get the chance to explain myself to Ladybug! She wouldn't even give me a chance to talk when she denounced my blog, the only blog she's ever publicly supported! She said I'm not authentic enough, that I'm not telling people the right things. I'm doing this so I can get the chance to talk to her again! To set the record straight, I have to!
  Felix: So you think this'll help! Diving into danger and relying on her to save you, again? You're putting her through this to save your own ass, or prove you didn't do anything wrong, when you must have, to get that kind of rejection from a public figure?
  Alya: Because I haven't done anything wrong! She overreacted about Lila! She overreacted about everything! She has to listen to me!
  Felix: Ladybug is the sole subject of your blog, the focus that keeps it popular and relevant, I'd wager. You don't get to decide when you've hurt her using her own image. If you've hurt her using her own personhood, hell, if you've hurt her on any aspect, it is not your call to prove her wrong. It's your job to apologize and promise to do better. It's your job to admit that YOU were wrong.
  Alya: ...even if she was wrong?
  Felix: Alya, we're not friends, but— would you treat anyone else like how you treat her?
• Felix protecting Chat Noir, physically holding White Knight's sword inside his own rent torso while calling out Hawkmoth:
  Felix: You listening, insect? You have a terrible eye for fashion. All those dresses were laughable. You try-hard.

Chapter 3: Birds of a Feather:

• Felix standing up for Marinette when she's being pressured to make Mylène's dream costume:
  Felix: IF she can do anything, I must remind. She has prior plans and those take precedence.
  Ms. Bustier: But Lila and I were hoping—
  Felix: Did I stutter? I think our education is a bit more important than some children's play, at least I would hope our own teacher would be vouching for studies over favors.
• While she clearly doesn't expect her words to make any difference, Marinette still calls out Bustier in her own way:
  Ms. Bustier: Don't forget, best behavior even on the worst days. It'll help to have that kind of persistently optimistic attitude in the long run, okay?
  Marinette: (Death Glares before sighing heavily, gaze going glassy) Why are you telling that to someone who's never gotten akumatized before, Bustier? It's redundant. I already know what you mean to say.
  Ms. Bustier: Marinette--
  Felix: A good teacher doesn't have to resort to yelling. I suppose this proves that she has better self-control than you, huh?
• Alya, of all people, shoves Lila to the ground and tells her off for threatening to out Felix with some very cruel implications, as well as calling her out for acting like a creepy Stalker with a Crush towards them when she herself had apparently dealt with a phone stalker. While Alya was off on Lila's motivations, it's still awesome to see her take a stand when she believes Lila is crossing a line and knock the liar down a peg (figuratively and literally).
• Marinette taking the fall for pushing Lila. Not only did she manage to shut down Lila's crap and protect Alya from being akumatized, but she also managed to wriggle her way out of making Mylène's costume for the play by getting herself banned from all extracurricular activities.
  • Chloé also gets some props for anticipating that Lila might try to get Marinette expelled again after the 'planted answer sheet' debacle, and heading her off at the pass by informing Principal Damocles that Dupain-Cheng is currently tutoring her, and that if he kicks her out of school, well... he'll have her dad to deal with. Lila clearly Didn't See That Coming, and is caught completely flat-footed by the principal blithely ignoring her attempts to control the narrative and casually revealing that expulsion is off the table with her favorite target.
• Amelie gets one during Felix's recounting of the mystery surrounding Emelie's disappearance. After her best friend vanished, Gabriel exploited his business connections with Amelie, trying to drive her into debt while lining his pockets with as much cash as he could bilk out of her. The Manipulative Bastard tried guilt-tripping her into enduring this financial abuse, implying that Adrien would be hurt if she didn't let Gabriel keep taking advantage of her. Big mistake; Amelie proceeded to push herself up out of her wheelchair, getting just enough leverage to throw herself at Gabriel and drag him down to the floor to kick his ass. And she proceeded to drag his ass into court, to boot.
• When it looks like Rose is going to ignore how Marinette, Kagami and Felix all specifically requested that she not tell Lila about Felix's ballet troupe, Felix calls her out for deciding she didn't need to pay their feelings a single bit of mind, all because she trusts Lila more than them. He also accuses her of being an Ungrateful Bitch, reminding her of how Marinette saved her from White Knight.
  Felix: You're texting Lila.
  Rose: Well I-! I don't want to let her down!
  Felix: So it's okay to let down Marinette? Even when she asked you to restrain herself? You know what, Rose? I wish Marinette had never saved you from that akuma. I wish she treated you the way you treat her, and next time, I'll make sure she doesn't come to anyone's aid, especially ungrateful little girls like you.
• Marinette intercepts another butterfly, slamming her injured fist against the ground in order to force Hawkmoth to literally feel her pain. And when he attempts to akumatize Instructor Dante anyway, she chomps the butterfly out of the air, chewing it up and spitting it out before calmly offering to see if she can't get the paint out of their costumes.
• Kagami confronts Adrien about how he's taken their relationship for granted, asking him point-blank whether he actually loves her. She gives him time to consider his answer, but makes clear that if he doesn't care about her in the same way she does for him, then she'll break things off then and there.
• Upon learning that Gabriel is such a Control Freak that he intends to force Adrien to continue dating Kagami even if she's no longer interested in the relationship, Felix goes tearing after the man and makes clear that he does NOT get to dictate his son or anyone else's love life, calling in Amelie to further hammer the point home.
• Marinette ruins Instructor Serbrus' attempt at sabotaging Dante's troupe by pulling an all-nighter and making a full set of beautiful ballet uniforms to replace the ones Serbrus destroyed, with the help of Sass and Tikki.
• Marinette and Alya's confrontation on the ruined stage after Battement escapes is both emotionally devestating and very much needed. Both Sides Have a Point here, and while Marinette is more successful at making hers clear, both have their moments:
  • On Marinette's end, she takes Alya to task on her Moral Myopia and Skewed Priorities, calling her out for acting as though her efforts to protect others are somehow more henious than Alya's reckless endangerment of others while Going for the Big Scoop:
    Marinette: Sure, let's have this conversation now. So, it's fine when you, the blogger, run off to follow dangerous akuma for social media, but if I run off to try to help people, it's time for me to be lectured?
    Alya: That — wait, that's not the same! I'm not trying to fight an akuma!
    Marinette: I wasn't trying to fight her either. I was trying to distract her till I realized she wasn't going to let me leave. The difference is that ever since you started regularly hanging out with Lila, you assume the worst of me.
    Alya: You know I'm trying to figure out my whole situation with Lila... and I don't think the worst of you.
    Marinette: No, no, you do. But to be fair, the entire class does. It's not hard to manipulate a group of people... Children especially. Probably why Hawkmoth prefers to take them instead of adults...
  • Her recounting of a past confrontation helps Alya finally connect the dots and realize how Lila was tricking her into thinking Marinette was responsible for all their problems. Painful as her Heel Realization is, it's also a critical moment for Alya's Character Development.

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Original Vignettes:

• The very first piece for the AU is Marinette crushing an akumatizing butterfly in her bare hands while ordering Hawkmoth to Bring It:
  Marinette: Oh go ahead and akumatize me - see what happens, Hawkmoth! Every leash has two ends! I just have to pull until I find where you're holding it!
• Verity Queen reveals to Chat Noir that she intends to use the connection Hawkmoth forged with her to track him down:
  Hawkmoth: Stupid Sabine. I'll break you down or take your akuma before you can even get close to me.
  Verity Queen: Oh, you can try. But I'll bet I'll defeat you before it's even lunchtime, and then I can give Marinette your Miraculous, so she can see with her own two eyes that she has nothing to be scared of, ever again.
  Hawkmoth: As if one of my OWN AKUMA could ever hope to DEFEAT ME!
  Verity Queen: As if YOU know how strong and unrelenting a parent's love can be! You have no IDEA how strong these feelings are!
  Hawkmoth: I DO!
  Verity Queen: You DO?
  Hawkmoth: (covering his mouth in horror) ...oh shit.
  Verity Queen: So you DO, as in... You have a child of your own? A child, I assume, you don't want to lose...?
• Kagami catches Alya stealing a gift bag from Marinette's locker and calls her out on casually invading her former friend's boundaries:
  Kagami: What are you doing in Marinette's locker?
  Alya: Nothin' you gotta worry about, Kagami. Just helping Marinette out.
  Kagami: Helping her with what, going through her stuff?
  Alya: She just needs a little... push.
  Kagami: I see. You and I share a similar issue, Alya — we assume Marinette needs us to represent her in any way. If you really want to earn her trust and love again, you need to stop assuming and let her do what she wants when she wants. She's her own person.
  • And when Alya blithely dismisses her, Marinette shows up, shuts Alya down, and reveals the gift was for Kagami the whole time.

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