Fanfic / Miraculous Ladybug Salt-Shots

Miraculous Ladybug Salt-Shots is a collection of one-shot fanfics in the Miraculous Ladybug universe by Mirabelharem and MiraculousWeirdo.

Each one-shot features a different 'Salt Fic' scenario, in which Marinette confronts or must deal with some kind of issue, ranging from Fair-Weather Friends turning upon her courtesy of Lila, Adrien acting entitled to her as Chat Noir, having her generosity for granted and so on. Some scenarios are much more horrific than others, and the way she handles these challenges varies as well. Some tales end with her setting things right with the help of her parents or others she trusts, while one reveals that she's actually a demonness from Hell whom Lila is trying to convince that Humans Are Bastards.

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This fanfic contains examples of:

• Accusation Fic: As is common for the 'Salt Fic' genre. The severity of each accusation and how it is accounted for varies from one story to the next.
• Adaptation Relationship Overhaul:
  • Generally speaking, Marinette naturally tends to be more critical of whomever the target of a given story is, taking them to task for their flaws and failings.
  • In It Was Always You, Alya, Chloé has been dating Sabrina, so she doesn't treat her as cruelly and isn't interested in Adrien. This doesn't stop Alya from incorrectly assuming she has a thing for him and accusing her of being jealous.
  • The Devilous Duo reimagines Lila and Marinette as demons; Lila is utterly infatuated with Marinette here, having followed her to Earth solely to try and convince her to return to Hell and start tormenting humans again.
• Adaptational Sexuality: Several one-shots in the collection make Marinette either bisexual or a lesbian, usually pairing her off with Luka and/or Kagami.
  • One notable example is It Was Always You, Alya, where Marinette falls for Alya after she protects her from Chloé, only to gradually realize she was Loving a Shadow the whole time. The same story pairs Chloé off with Sabrina.
• Adults Are Useless: How accurate this is depends on the adult in question:
  • During The "High Road" Doesn't Work On Everyone, Alix declares that Adrien could have informed a teacher about what was going on. Another, unidentified student chimes in with "Definitely not ours, though, she wouldn't do anything."
  • Nothing Comes For Free has Marinette complaining about how Miss Buster is worse than useless, thanks to her grooming her as an Extreme Doormat and encouraging the whole class to take advantage of her, while also refusing to do anything about Chloé's bullying. Principal Damocles and Mayor André also contribute to the problem due to their flagrant corruption. On the flip side, Sabine and Tom step up to defend their daughter, getting all three punished in the process.
  • "Being A Good Example Isn't So Easy, Is It?" suggests that Bustier is outright incapable of managing her class without somebody like Marinette doing all the heavy lifting for her.
  • Averted by Anatis in Spots of Change; Marinette specifically sought out an adult as her replacement, and Anatis makes very clear that she's not there to make friends or placate people.
• All for Nothing:
  • In A Price to Pay, Adrien believes he can get everything he wants out of life by pulling a Face–Heel Turn: Hawkmoth's Wish will bring his mother back while retconning reality so that nobody remembers his reign of terror or Chat Noir's betrayal, and he can force Marinette to be his girlfriend. However, the Wish is granted in a way that results in Emilie divorcing Gabriel and disowning Adrien, Marinette remembers everything, and Adrien is left with nothing but the sinking realization that his Control Freak father has lost control of everything but him.
  • It Was Always You, Alya: Marinette impulsively claimed to have a crush on Adrien in order to avoid confessing her feelings for Alya before she was ready. This wound up completely destroying their friendship thanks to Alya's dogged efforts to help her hook up with him, ignoring all signs that Marinette didn't really want to pursue him. By the time the truth comes out, her feelings for Alya are long gone.
  • Masked Hearts has Adrien thoughtlessly throwing his years-long relationship with Kagami away in order to ask Ladybug out again, having learned absolutely nothing from all the times she'd rejected his advances before.
• All Take and No Give:
  • Nothing Comes For Free presents Marinette's relationship with Miss Bustier and her classmates in this light, as she reaches her breaking point and laments to her mother just how bad it's gotten:
    Marinette: T-they expect me to do everything! I have to make the girls their dresses for prom! I have to make a banner for Kim and Alix! Rose's birthday is up soon and they expect me to just give her a dozen macaroons for free! An — and I can't say no or else they'll be angry at me! Then Madame Bustier wants me to organize a field trip — all by myself! I — I can't do all of that! That requires a lot of time and money — and I don't have most of that! I don't know how much money I spent on them and I don't get repaid! I spent too many nights staying up and making them clothes, snacks, and ect for them — all with my money! They — they don't understand that it's not for free! They know that I can't say no! Then there's Chloé, no matter how many times I told Madame Bustier that I don't want to be in her class, that Chloé bullies me — she still insists that Chloé could learn a lot from me, that I need to be a good example! I can't! I'm tired of being a good example, I'm tired of being a doormat. Chloé won't change, no matter what. I know that her mother doesn't like her and doesn't spend time in her life, but that doesn't excuse her actions! Not to mention that one train incident. Chloé's a terrible person, she worked with Hawkmoth before, and it's impossible for her to change — especially when she isn't trying to change herself! I don't want to be their Everyday Ladybug anymore!
  • My Compensation centers around Alya foisting off her babysitting duties on Marinette while pocketing the money for herself. She also bums "free" pastries and other baked goods from her parents' bakery with no intention of ever paying them back.
  • "Being A Good Example Isn't So Easy, Is It?" highlights the same issue with Miss Bustier, who finds herself struggling to manage the class by herself after Marinette transfers out and leaves Chloé as the new representative, since Chloé refuses to do any work whatsoever.
  • Broken Reflection of Love has Adrien start dating Marinette as a "stand-in" for Ladybug. While he showers her with gifts as "compensation" for all the times he cancels or runs out on her, he offers her absolutely nothing regarding emotional connection, and casually walks out on her after she refuses to start dressing up in Ladybug reds for him.
• Armor-Piercing Question:
  • What Makes You Think I Still Love You? has Marinette pick apart Adrien's insistence that that they're "meant to be together" because of how their Miraculous are supposedly a "matched set" in this fashion:
    Marinette: I could give someone else my miraculous — then that would make you both meant to be. It doesn't matter who has them, as long as someone's wearing the Cat and Ladybug Miraculous, they're meant to be, right?
    Adrien: Well—
    Marinette: If I gave Lila the Ladybug Miraculous, then you're both meant to be, right?
    Adrien: I—
    Marinette: If Alya had the Ladybug Miraculous, then you're both meant to be, isn't how that works?
  • In The "High Road" Doesn't Work On Everyone, Adrien is taken aback when Alya asks him if he was amused by keeping them unaware of Lila's true nature:
    Alya: Answer me honestly, Agreste. Do you get some sort of twisted pleasure from watching us listen to the bullshit coming out of her mouth, completely aware of her lies?
    Adrien: W-what, no—
    Another Classmate: It sure seems like it.
    Alya: Did you laugh behind our backs because we're so gullible? Or do you just not care? As long as you have friends, and you're not included in frame, everything is okay.
  • Reflection has Ladybug ask Nadja and a crowd of LadyNoir shippers if they'd still be insisting that she should hook up with her crimefighting partner if she was somebody they actually knew and cared about as part of their everyday lives:
    Ladybug: If I was your mother, anyone close to you and you knew my identity — would you continue to ship us? Even if I have a relationship of my own. Would you still ship us and tell me to get together with him even when I don't want to date him and see him strictly as a partner?
  • Spots of Change has Anatis, the new Ladybug holder, bluntly inform Alya and Chat Noir that her predecessor quit because of how Chat Noir sexually harassed her, along with being mistreated by her False Friends as a civilian. She then mockingly asks if they were hoping Ladybug had quit for a reason they could mock and belittle:
    Anatis: What? Is that not what you wanted to hear? Hm? You wanted to hear that Ladybug gave up for some weak reason, didn't you? You didn't think that the Ladybug is a fucking human being like the rest of us. That she struggles like every other person alive.
• Backhanded Apology: When Adrien discovers that Marinette remembers the original reality in A Price to Pay, he entreats her to help him figure out how to "fix" the fallout of his father's selfish Wish.
  Adrien: So you do remember! You have to help me! Yes—I know it was rude to hurt you, but you have to understand! I'm sorry, will you forgive me? Is that what you wanted to hear? I'm sorry! Just please help us make my mother love us!
• The Bad Guy Wins: A Price to Pay opens with Chat Noir betraying Ladybug in order to help his father make his Wish, convinced that they'll both be able to get everything they want without anyone being the wiser.
• Balancing Death's Books: A Price to Pay has Marinette warn Adrien that the Wish will claim the life of somebody else in exchange for bringing Emilie back. Sadly, neither one cares, and it's heavily implied that Gabriel intentionally Wished that somebody from Marinette's family would be sacrificed.
• Be Careful What You Wish For: Central to A Price to Pay: While Adrien and Gabriel assume that nobody will ever be able to connect them to whomever's life was sacrificed in order to fuel the latter's wish, since the latter's reign of terror as Hawkmoth will be retconned out of existence, the Wish claims its price by having Gabriel involved in a fatal car accident. And while the Wish brought Emilie back to life, Gabriel didn't Wish for her to stay with him, having taken her presence completely for granted... and subsequently being blindsided by her divorcing him for his callous disgard for causing another man's death, similarlly, Adrien assumed that he and Marinette would end up together, and doesn't understand why she is angry for his betrayal and the fact his father killed hers in the new timeline.
• Betrayal by Inaction: The "High Road" Doesn't Work On Everyone has the whole class learn that Adrien knew that Lila was a Bitch in Sheep's Clothing when he tries to lecture Marinette for getting the Manipulative Bitch in trouble. Nobody is happy about this.
• Bittersweet Ending: Most stories in the collection end on a happy note, focusing more on the catharis than anything else; however, some feature a bittersweet tinge:
  • Karma may have hit Gabriel and Adrien HARD in A Price to Pay, and it's heavily implied that an even greater storm is coming for both. But their selfish actions have still altered reality itself, and there's no going back to the way things were before. Tom Dupain-Cheng is still dead, and bringing him back would require another Wish that would bring its own fallout.
  • It Was Always You, Alya has Marinette realizing that she was Loving a Shadow the whole time, and that her efforts to keep Alya from learning about her crush before she was ready to confess were completely pointless: Alya latched onto the notion of "helping her" hook up with Adrien and demonstrated just how little she respected her "bestie" and her boundaries.
  • Broken Reflection Of Love ends with Marinette's friends convincing her to break up with Adrien after he walks out on their last date, leaving her depressed over just how little her old crush cared about her or her feelings.
• Blaming the Victim: In A Price to Pay, Adrien watches his father beat the shit out of Marinette and rip the Earrings off her bloodied earlobes, condscendingly declaring that she wouldn't be suffering if she'd just handed them over from the start.
• Calling the Old Man Out: Advice From Your Favorite Designer involves Marinette criticizing Jagged Stone for abandoning his family and urging him to do better.
• Caught Monologuing: Briefly referenced in The Fake Ladybug; when Chat Noir suggests they cut straight to fighting, Hawkmoth acknowledges that "Villains never win when they monologue."
• Contrasting Replacement Character: In Spots of Change, Marinette steps down as Ladybug and passes the Earrings on to Anatis. Unlike her predecessor, Anatis is an adult; while she takes her duties just as seriously as Ladybug did, she also refuses to put up with Chat Noir's temper tantrums, bluntly calling him out for being a Spoiled Brat. She's equally straightforward with Alya, making clear that she considers her to be nothing more than a Paparazzi.
• Convicted by Public Opinion: Seen in A Price to Pay. While Gabriel successfully bribed his way out of facing legal consequences for causing the car crash that claimed Tom's life, the public still sees him as responsible. Adrien also faces scorn for standing by and defending his father's actions.
• Didn't Think This Through:
  • In Bitter Victory, Lila takes over as the new class president without considering that everyone will expect her to actually take her new responsibilities seriously, or that they'll constantly be comparing her work to everything Marinette accomplished in the same role.
  • Maribug: After rumors spread that Marinette is dating Ladybug, Adrien flags down the superheroine and asks her out, expecting her to break up with her girlfriend in order to hook up with him. It doesn't occur to him that Ladybug might not want to break things off, or that she might inform her girlfriend of his treachery.
  • "Being A Good Example Isn't So Easy, Is It?": Bustier lets Marinette step down as class representative and transfer to another class, ceding the role to Chloé, who was the representative before Marinette. She fully expects to be able to offload her responsibilities onto the Spoiled Brat the same way she did Marinette, only for Chloé to casually remind her that all she has to do to get her fired is go crying to her father.
  • Where You Stand: Lila overhears Marinette and Nino confronting Alya and leaves the scene, then decides to wander back in and act all innocent and confused, like she doesn't already know exactly what's going on, simply because she wants to watch Alya squirm. Marinette takes the opportunity to challenge Alya to research Lila's claims right then and there — and when Alya balks, Nino starts the search himself, leaving Lila completely dumbstruck upon realizing her lies are about to be exposed.
  • A Price to Pay has Adrien betraying Marinette and siding with his Control Freak father, believing that everything will magically work out just the way he wants in the new reality created by Gabriel's selfish Wish. He also stood by his side after his father caused a fatal car crash, and tries to convince Marinette that she needs to help them "fix" the unexpected consequences of their Wish. It's only at the end that he abruptly realizes that not only does Gabriel have absolutely no motivation to change his ways or become any less of a Jerkass, he's lost many of the outlets he used to have for his controlling nature... aside from his son.
  • Masked Hearts has Chat Noir chomping at the bit to make Ladybug keep her promise for a mutual identity reveal once they'd defeated Hawkmoth. He's so eager that he drops his transformation immediately after the Final Battle, in full view of the crowd that had gathered to witness and film the event. On top of this, he instantly asks Ladybug out despite how Adrien had spent the last two years dating Kagami. In full view of his soon-to-be-ex-girlfriend, no less.
  • The Fake Ladybug: Lila convinces a New Transfer Student named Elayne to pretend to be the superheroine and back up her Celebrity Lie. Alya gleefully films and broadcasts this all live on her Ladyblog. Naturally, it doesn't take long for Hawkmoth to show up.
• Disappointed in You:
  • Adrien fully intends to give Marinette one of these speeches in Emotionless over how she exposed Lila's true nature. He starts delivering one in The "High Road" Doesn't Work On Everyone, but is interrupted by their classmates confronting him over his Betrayal by Inaction.
  • In Bitter Victory, Caline lectures Lila on failing to "set a good example" as the new class president, telling her how disappointed she is and that "I expected better of you."
  • My Compensation has Otis declare that he's beyond disappointed in Alya after learning how she not only foisted her babysitting duties off on Marinette, but racked up a debt at the Dupain-Cheng bakery.
  • "Being A Good Example Isn't So Easy, Is It?" has Marinette use this on her former homeroom teacher after Bustier begs her to come back and wrangle the class for her again.
• Doublethink: Where You Stand points out how Alya engages in this. According to her, Marinette is a hopeless Stalker with a Crush whose obsession with Adrien makes her a Green-Eyed Monster towards Lila... yet for all that she'll criticize her "bestie" at a moment's notice, she's also more than happy to support her efforts by coming up with all manner of Zany Schemes. And whenever Marinette resists, she insists that she just needs to be pushed. Marinette and Nino point out the blatant discrepency, asking her to pick a side and stick with it.
• Dramatically Missing the Point:
  • In Emotionless, Adrien's takeaway from Marinette declaring that her crush on him is long gone is to wonder why she's claiming her feelings have changed, even while planning to lecture her about how disappointed he is that she publicly exposed Lila's deceptive nature to everyone.
  • Love Isn't Something That's Deserved: When Chat Noir learns that the akuma they're fighting was akumatized after being rejected, he promptly agrees that the girl was just "Playing Hard to Get like Ladybug". While the Dogged Nice Guy realizes his mistake after being purified and having a heart-to-heart with Ladybug, Chat Noir sits by and listens to the whole conversation with the point sailing clear over his head. She tries to impress upon him that he's Loving a Shadow, but Chat Noir insists that means they should reveal their secret identities already. The only thing she says that gives him any pause is when she points out she could already be dating somebody as a civilian, to which he asks "Uh, are you?" That said, the final line implies he might finally be starting to grasp that he has issues with boundaries.
  • In What Makes You Think I Still Love You?, Chat Noir's reaction to learning that his own father was Hawkmoth is to promptly detransform and reveal his own identity, declaring that Hawkmoth's defeat means he and Ladybug can finally be together. He doesn't understand why Marinette gets so upset at learning he'd rejected her as a civilian because of his obsession with her alter ego; after all, he's changed his mind now that he knows who she is! He also keeps addressing her as Ladybug even after she reveals that she never even wanted to be Ladybug and was only staying a superheroine because Paris needed her around.
  • ...How Could You?: Alya and Nino lock Marinette and Adrien into a closet while pretending they're being attacked by a supervillain, sending Marinette spiraling into a panic attack. When they open the doors to see Adrien comforting her, they take this as evidence that their Zany Scheme worked and preen over their supposed success, not understanding why both are so furious with them. Even after Adrien reminds them that he's currently dating Kagami and Marinette reminds Alya that she'd told her that she'd given up on her crush, Alya declares "It's not good to lie to yourself."
  • A Price to Pay has Adrien completely failing to grasp why Marinette hates his guts so much after he betrayed her trust, helping his father make a reality-altering Wish that resulted in Gabriel killing her father in a car accident, then bribing his way out of legal consequences for his actions.
    • The same story also features Adrien trying to convince his mother that even if Gabriel was responsible for the car accident that killed Tom Dupain-Cheng, that doesn't make his Gabriel responsible for Tom's death. Not only does his reasoning sound bizarre to Emilie and anyone else unaware of the Wish, it also illustrates Adrien's inability to understand that this was the price — that he and Gabriel were responsible for Tom's death and the Wish claimed its due in a way that ensured they'd be held accountable for the life they'd traded away.
  • Both Chat Noir and Alya do this in Spots of Change. Chat Noir's initial takeaway from Anatis praising her predecessor is that she knows Ladybug's secret identity, and he starts throwing a fit about how unfair it is for her to know something he's always felt entitled to. Alya, meanwhile, hears that Ladybug stopped wielding the Earrings because the responsibilites got too overwhelming and asks if that makes her a deserter.
• Ear Ache: In A Price to Pay, Hawkmoth rips both of the Earrings straight off Marinette's ears, in full view of his son. Adrien "comforts" her by reassuring her that they'll end up together in the new world that will be created by his father's Wish.
• Entitled Bastard:
  • Nothing Comes For Free explores the fallout of Caline Bustier exploiting Marinette and teaching the whole class to do the same.
  • My Compensation paints Alya with this brush. Not only was she expecting Marinette to handle all of her babysitting duties for free, pocketing the money she was getting paid by her parents for her supposed services, she also mooched "free food" from the bakery, believing she'd never have to pay for anything since she was "besties" with their daughter.
  • In A Price to Pay, Adrien doesn't just expect Marinette to fall at his feet swooning over him after he betrayed her and helped his father rewrite reality. He fully expects her to help him "fix" the unexpected consequences of said Wish, although she retained all her memories and knows exactly what he did.
  • Spots of Change: Both Chat Noir and Alya aren't happy over Ladybug quitting and want her to come back, regardless of her feelings on the matter. Anatis bluntly makes clear that that's not happening.
• Entitled to Have You: Several stories deal with Adrien/Chat Noir acting this way towards Ladybug. Notable examples include:
  • Love Isn't Something That's Deserved has him insisting that the Villain Has a Point after learning they're a Dogged Nice Guy upset over being rejected. While the former akuma comes to his senses and realizes the error of his ways afterwards, Chat Noir completely misses the point. He continues trying to convince Ladybug to return his affections, right up until the very end.
  • In What Makes You Think I Still Love You?, Adrien expects Marinette to swoon into his arms after forcing a mutual reveal, even after she points out that she's currently dating Kagami and Luka after he previously rejected her. He insists that they're meant to be together because they're Ladybug and Chat Noir, until she throws that "logic" back into his face by asking whether that destiny would be transferred alongside custody of her miraculous.
  • Maribug has Marinette play along with rumors that she's dating her alter ego in order to protect her secret identity. Adrien starts harassing her in both identities for more information, culminating in him attempting to convince Ladybug to break up with her girlfriend so they can be together.
  • A Price to Pay has Adrien pull a Face–Heel Turn and helping his father make his Wish out of the arrogant belief that he and Marinette will end up together in the new reality. He still fully expects this to happen even after learning that her father was the one killed in order to bring Emelie back, acting as though it's completely unfair for Marinette to be upset with him for his betrayal.
  • Masked Hearts has Adrien dating Kagami for two years, which does absolutely nothing to mitigate his sense of entitlement towards Ladybug. The moment Hawkmoth is defeated, Chat Noir abruptly drops his transformation and expects Ladybug to do the same, just like he expects her to hook up with him despite how she knew he had a girlfriend.
• Evil Is Petty: In A Price to Pay, it's heavily hinted that Gabriel wanted the cost of his Wish to be extracted from Marinette's family, to punish her for how she'd opposed his plans for so long.
• Expendable Alternate Universe: A Price to Pay features Adrien taking this attitude towards the original timeline. He knows that his father's wish will retcon reality, and outright embraces this and all its implications. After all, this will ensure that nobody ever learns about the crimes he and his father committed, allowing them to get off scot-free which they are wrong, as the wish ensures they are linked to the life that was sacreficed.
• Extreme Doormat: Not only does Caline Bustier pressure Marinette to cater to her classmates and bullies, Nothing Comes For Free reveals that she isn't her first victim. One of her previous students was eventually Driven to Suicide after being forced into the same position.
• Face–Heel Turn: Adrien pulls one in A Price to Pay, betraying Ladybug and helping his father get his hands on both Miraculouses needed to make his reality-warping Wish.
• Foil: Love Isn't Something That's Deserved features a nameless Dogged Nice Guy who got akumatized after being rejected by the object of his affections. While he cackles over Chat Noir agreeing that the girl in question owes him her love, he has a Jerkass Realization after being deakumatized and runs off to apologize. This contrasts sharply with Chat Noir's complete and utter failure to grasp the idea that Ladybug hasn't been "playing hard to get", or that he's not entitled to her returning his feelings.
• Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse:
  • In What Makes You Think I Still Love You?, Adrien claims that Marinette can't blame him for refusing to respect any of her boundaries or take no for an answer because he "grew up watching anime" and didn't know how to make her fall in love with him the way that he wanted. Marinette just fixes him with an unimpressed look and informs him that she's already dating Luka and Kagami.
  • Referenced during Marinette's rant in Nothing Comes For Free; she acknowledges that Chloé's mother dislikes and neglects her daughter, but declares that doesn't give Chloé free reign to act like a Spoiled Brat.
  • A Price to Pay has Adrien attempt to justify his betrayal by insisting that he just wanted his mother back. Marinette retorts that he got her back, at the cost of her own father's life and reality being rewritten to a Self-Inflicted Hell.
  • In Broken Reflection Of Love, Luka points out that Adrien can't blame his thoughtless treatment of Marinette on being sheltered, as Gabriel actually treated his wife with love and respect.
• Gold Digger: Golden Temptations has Lila accuse Marinette of being a "sugar baby". It's largely Played for Laughs, as this gets all of her rich friends to seriously consider how much they'd like to spoil her rotten, with Kagami outright asking her if she wants to be one.
• Gone Horribly Right: The stories where Marinette leaves her role as Class President/Representative, such as Bitter Victory and "Being A Good Example Isn't So Easy, Is It?", feature this blowing up in the face of the people who kicked her out. Bitter Victory has Marinette replaced by Lila and Lila not being able to handle the workload, while Good Example has Bustier growing overwhelmed since Marinette switched classes and Chloé refuses to do any of the work.
• Hourglass Plot: Bitter Victory has Lila trading places with Marinette once she becomes the new class president. Suddenly, the Manipulative Bitch finds herself struggling to manage everyone's impossible expectations of her, while Marinette is free to do whatever she pleases... and Lila eventually realizes that the other girl tricked her into taking her place.
• I Have No Son!: In A Price to Pay, Emilie disowns Adrien, wanting nothing more to do with her ex-husband or son after seeing their complete Lack of Empathy or concern for human life after the car accident.
• If You Ever Do Anything to Hurt Her...: My Girlfriend has Marinette dating Zoé, which Chloé begrudingly accepts. When this is finally revealed to their classmates, Chloé grumbles, "You better not break her heart, Dupain-Cheng."
• In Love with Your Carnage: Implied in The Devilous Duo. Lila raves about how Marinette excelled at torturing damned souls, and is hellbent on convincing her to return and pick up her pitchfork once more.
• In Spite of a Nail: Played for Drama in It Was Always You, Alya. Despite crushing on her new friend, Marinette still claims to have a crush on Adrien when Alya puts her on the spot. This gradually ruins their friendship, as well as Marinette's feelings for her, as Alya repeatedly pushes her towards Adrien against her will.
• It's All About Me:
  • Adrien is especially bad about this in A Price to Pay. Tellingly, the closest he comes to anything approaching a Heel Realization is when it hits him that his poor decisions have ruined his life.
    • Gabriel too as he sees no point in Emilie being alive if she doesn't love him.
  • In Masked Hearts, Adrien simply does not care about Kagami even after they've been dating for two years, taking her completely for granted in favor of continuing to chase after Ladybug.
  • Broken Reflection Of Love has Adrien start dating Marinette as a temporary substitute for the object of his affections, unaware that they're the same person. Despite their supposed Relationship Upgrade, he continues taking her for granted, expects her to overhaul her whole wardrobe to cater to his whims, and walks out on her when she refuses to do so.
• "Just Joking" Justification:
  • Kim attempts this in You're Just Like Chloé, claiming that he and the others bullying Sabrina were only joking around with her.
  • In Masked Hearts, Chat Noir publicly detransforms and immediately asks Ladybug out, forgetting that he's been dating Kagami for the last two years. When both Ladybug and Kagami call him out on this, he tries claiming that he was joking around.
• Lack of Empathy: This is one of Gabriel and Adrien's shared Fatal Flaws in A Price to Pay. Father and son alike only care about getting what they want, heedless of how others might get hurt in the process. Even those they supposedly "love", as Adrien doesn't bat a lash at Hawkmoth ripping the Earrings right off Marinette's earlobes. This utter lack of regard for anyone else catches up to them in the new reality.
• Laser-Guided Karma:
  • Nothing Comes For Free is about how Bustier offloaded a lot of her work on Marinette, forcing the "Everyday Ladybug" to keep peace in the class and so on. Ultimately, Bustier winds up out of work entirely after the school board sacks her for incompetence. Principal Damocles also loses his job, and Chloé's father is forced to step down as Mayor while his daughter is sent to juvenile prison.
  • My Compensation has Alya's parents learn that she was taking advantage of Marinette by making her handle all of her babysitting duties, as well as scamming "free pastries" from the Dupain-Cheng bakery. She finds herself grounded, banned from the Ladyblog and spending time with Nino until she's repaid everything she owes with her new job paycheck.
  • "Being A Good Example Isn't So Easy, Is It?": Bustier pawned off many of her own responsibilities onto Marinette while enabling Chloé's bratty behavior. After Marinette transfers to another class, Chloé replaces her as the class rep, forcing Bustier to reap what she's sown and deal with somebody who's more than happy to get her fired if she tries exploiting her in the same way.
  • In A Price to Pay, Gabriel and Adrien expect to be Karma Houdinis thanks to reality being altered by the former's selfish Wish. However, the Wish ensures that the blame for Tom Dupain-Cheng's death is firmly laid at Gabriel's feet by having him cause a car accident. Though he bribes his way out of facing legal consequences, he's still Convicted by Public Opinion, and Emelie is so disgusted by their Lack of Empathy that she divorces Gabriel and disowns her son.
  • Masked Hearts has Adrien continuing to lust after Ladybug even while dating Kagami, fully expecting his crimefighting partner to hook up with him once Hawkmoth's taken care despite already being in a relationship. Not only do both girls call him out on this, with Kagami publicly breaking up with him, she proceeds to ask Ladybug out, subjecting him to the exact sort of humiliation he'd thoughtlessly tried to inflict upon her.
  • Spots of Change: After Chat Noir and Alya drove Marinette to quit being Ladybug, her successor Anatis makes clear that she will NOT tolerate any of their selfish antics, calling the former out on his constant harassment of Ladybug and the latter out on being a Paparazzi.
• Leave Him to Me!: Played for Horror in The Devilous Duo, when Marinette declares that while Lila can have the souls of the rest of their classmates, Alya belongs to her.
• Loves My Alter Ego:
  • Illustrated nicely in What Makes You Think I Still Love You?, where Adrien expects Marinette to swoon into his arms after their mutual identity reveal, pointedly calling her "Ladybug" rather than using her actual name.
  • Used for Dramatic Irony in Broken Reflection Of Love: Adrien starts dating Marinette solely as a substitute for Ladybug, and walks out on a date after she refuses to dress up in her alter ego's colors.
• Loving a Shadow:
  • In Love Isn't Something That's Deserved, Ladybug tries to explain to Chat Noir that he doesn't actually know her well enough to be anything more than infatuated with the concept of her. Chat Noir just takes this as evidence that they should reveal their secret identities to each other, caution be damned.
  • After Ladybug and Chat Noir reveal their secret identities to each other in What Makes You Think I Still Love You?, Marinette is dismayed to learn that Adrien was the one who'd been doggedly harassing her all along, and that he only wants to be with her now that he knows she was his crush.
  • A Price to Pay: After witnessing her husband's complete lack of remorse over how he'd caused a fatal car crash, complete with laughing triumphantly after he'd bribed his way to a victory in court, Emilie realizes that Gabriel is not the man she thought she'd married and promptly divorces him.
  • It Was Always You, Alya has Marinette start crushing on Alya after she defends her from Chloé. Over time, however, she comes to realize that her "bestie" has No Listening Skills and is a pushy Know-Nothing Know-It-All.
  • Broken Reflection Of Love plays this two ways: Adrien's obsession with Ladybug causes him to neglect his girlfriend, while Marinette is forced to face how their "relationship" is All Take and No Give.
• Mama Bear: In Nothing Comes For Free, Sabine is furious to learn how Caline Bustier has brazenly taken advantage of her daughter's generous nature and encouraged the rest of her students to do the same.
• Never My Fault:
  • When Marinette calls Adrien out on refusing to take no for an answer in What Makes You Think I Still Love You?, Adrien blurts out that she can't blame him for being a Dogged Nice Guy:
    Adrien: B-but, you can't blame me! I grew up watching anime and I didn't know how to pursue you, to make you love me!
  • Where You Stand has Nino and Marinette confront Alya over her flipping back and forth between calling the latter a "jealous Stalker with a Crush" and pushing her towards Adrien with Zany Schemes. Alya refuses to take any responsibility for the latter, claiming that "I came up with them, but you did it!", ignoring how she never gave Marinette any choice in the matter.
  • In A Price to Pay, Adrien attempts to Invoke this on his father's behalf, trying to convince his mother that Gabriel can't be held responsible for any of the actions taken by the Gabriel native to this reality. He completely ignores that this reality only exists in the first place due to Gabriel's selfish Wish.
• Nice Job Fixing It, Villain:
  • Invoked by Marinette in Bitter Victory, when she thanks Lila for taking over her duties:
    Marinette: Y'know Lila, ever since you became class president, I've felt free. I wasn't their everyday Ladybug anymore and I'm okay with that. They don't ask me to make them clothes anymore. They don't ask me to bring them free snacks or anything! I was tired of being a good example too. I'm free, I'm finally stress-free! I never felt better. Lila, you did me a favor. And Lila, I have to thank you for that. Without you, I would've been the same doormat Marinette. You've opened my eyes, Lila.
  • Played for Laughs in Golden Temptations; when Lila accuses Marinette of cozying up to the richest kids at Francoise Dupont in order to play "sugar baby", she unintentionally stokes their desire to start spoiling her, much to Marinette's bewilderment.
• Not Helping Your Case: When Anatis calls out Chat Noir in Spots of Change for how he'd constantly harassed Ladybug until her only recourse for escaping was quitting outright, the only "defense" he can muster is claiming that "[she] never said no!"
• Not What It Looks Like: Played for Drama in ...How Could You?; Alya and Nino lock Marinette and Adrien into a closet while faking an akuma attack, causing Marinette to have a panic attack. Upon opening the door, Nino lets out a wolf whistle and asks if Adrien remembered to use a condom.
• Older Than They Look: Deliberately Invoked by Ladybug in Reflection after being peppered with questions and theories about her age, as she highlights how nobody knows just how old she is or what her Miraculous is doing to hide her identity.
• Operation: Jealousy: In Masked Hearts, Chat Noir informs Ladybug that he's started dating somebody. Despite her sincerely congratulating him, he proceeds to smugly ask whether she's jealous, and is visibly disappointed when she bluntly reminds him that their relationship is strictly professional.
• Our Demons Are Different: The Devilous Duo presents a scenario where Marinette and Lila are both demons from Hell. Marinette had a soft spot for humans, so she abandoned her post and went up to live peacefully among them; Lila then pursued her and tried to show her that humans aren't worth it by demonstrating how easily Marinette's new human friends would turn against her. Lila succeeded, and Marinette renounced humanity after experiencing the cruelty of Alya and the rest of the class. The story ends with Marinette and Lila catching Alya and planning to torture her.
• Outside-Context Problem: In The Devilous Duo, nobody at Francoise Dupont is aware that demons actually exist, much less that two of their students are disguised demons. When Alya spots Lila and Marinette in their true forms, they initially assume that they've been akumatized.
• Playing Hard to Get:
  • Invoked by Chat Noir in Love Isn't Something That's Deserved, as both he and the akuma claim that any women who don't respond positively to being pursued romanatically are only playing hard to get with their would-be suitors. The akumatized victim eventually realizes otherwise; Chat Noir only starts to have a Jerkass Realization about his behavior at the very end.
  • Spots of Change has Anatis inform Chat Noir that Ladybug was not doing this, and that his refusal to take the hint was part of the reason why she quit.
    Anatis: You don't understand when a lady says no that she actually means no! That doesn't mean to try even harder! She's not playing hard to get! She doesn't fucking like you! She never will! Get that information through your incredibly thick skull!
• Plot Parallel: In A Price to Pay, Adrien's sense of entitlement to Marinette's love is mirrored by Gabriel taking Emilie completely for granted. Both assume that the respective objects of their affections will be fully devoted to them in the new reality created by Gabriel's selfish Wish, and are shocked at the revelation that Emilie divorced her husband and disowned her son out of disgust over their complete disregard for human life.
• Punished for Sympathy: After Gabriel caused a fatal car accident in A Price to Pay, Adrien is scorned for how he defends his father and insists that he hadn't done anything wrong.
• Rage Breaking Point:
  • You're Just Like Chloé: After Chloé heads off to New York with her mother, Marinette watches the class start picking on Sabrina. Her frustration builds over over the course of a week before she finally snaps and calls them out on being just as bad as the Rich Bitch, especially since they only found the "courage" to start standing up to the Beta Bitch once Chloé was out of the way..
  • In My Compensation, Alya has been making Marinette sub in and watch her little sisters for her without paying her anything. When Marinette witnesses her enjoying a picnic with the rest of the class — a picnic that Marinette wasn't invited to — she decides that enough is enough and calls Alya's parents.
  • Anatis hits hers in Spots of Change when Chat Noir attempts to remove her Earrings while ranting about how Ladybug has to come back. She promptly flips him over, pins him down and spells out how he was responsible for driving Ladybug to quit in the first place, and that if he steps out of bounds again she'll strip him of the Ring.
• Reality Warping Is Not a Toy: Marinette warns Adrien of this in A Price to Pay. He refuses to believe her, arrogantly assuming that reality being retconned will ensure he and his father get to escape any punishment for their actions.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Frequently.
  • After getting exposed in Emotionless, Lila casually focuses on telling Alya that as an aspiring Intrepid Reporter, she really should have taken the time to look into her claims:
    Lila: How could I lie to you all? Simply, it was fun. If not a little boring, you all were too easy. You ate up my lies like starving wolves. False hopes? Alya, all I did was tell you what you wanted to hear. After all, nobody likes the cold truth. Truthfully Alya, how can you blame me? You're supposed to be the journalist, not me. How can you be a journalist if you don't search up what's true or not? A simple google search would've given me away. Instead, you didn't. And that's on you, not me. Do better. (Alya gapes at her while she grins) You're so focused on yourself. Don't you feel some guilt for leaving your friend over me, the new kid? Honestly, when I told her that I would take you all away from her, I didn't expect it to be this easy. As I said before, boring. You're really selfish.
  • You're Just Like Chloé has Marinette call out most of the class for being Dirty Cowards, pointing out how none of them tried "retaliating" against Sabrina for being a Beta Bitch until after Chloé moved away.
  • In Love Isn't Something That's Deserved, Ladybug confronts Chat Noir over his gross sense of entitlement towards her and refusal to listen when she tells him she's not interested.
    Ladybug: You're my partner, but you're constantly pushing my boundaries. The flirting is inappropriate, I don't mind the puns, but you say them at inappropriate times. The nicknames, I don't like being called M'Lady- I don't belong to you. Bugaboo is a no too. Ladybug is my superhero name while I'm wearing the Ladybug Miraculous, just as yours is Chat Noir, nothing else. Even when I tell you not to call me that, you still do. Chat Noir, you have me wondering if you're a child or just disrespectful, maybe both.
    Chat Noir: I—
    Ladybug: Love is a gift, Chat Noir. Real gifts aren't compensations, they aren't rewards, they can't really be deserved, but you sure should treasure them.
  • After their mutual identity reveal in What Makes You Think I Still Love You?, Marinette rips into Adrien for how he refused to take his heroic responsibilities seriously, to the point that he skipped what turned out to be the Final Battle with Hawkmoth:
    Marinette: And let me get started on Chat Noir, your alter ego. You treated our duty of protecting Paris as a joke. You didn't care if civilians were to die. 'Oh it's fine, M'Lady's cure can fix it!' Adrien, just because I can fix it, that doesn't mean that the victim doesn't remember the pain. Or their family members or friends seeing their friend die. I didn't hate your flirting at first, but then you started flirting and bringing flowers at the wrong time. For God's Sake, it's like you don't care! And don't get me started about your pouting. You really get upset during Akuma's attack because I reject you! Adrien, I don't know who Chat Noir is under the mask! You could've been an old man for all I know — the masks protect our identity! When I rejected you the first time, why didn't you get it? When a woman says no, it doesn't mean to constantly pursue them! It means no as in you need to back off!
  • In The "High Road" Doesn't Work On Everyone, Adrien attempts to lecture Marinette in this fashion, only to find himself on the receiving end instead from the rest of the class:
    Alix: Lila kept telling her lies because she knew that she could keep getting away with them. With Adrien Agreste on her side, she didn't have anything to worry about. You enabled her lies, so kept spilling all of them out her mouth. You knew and didn't say anything. The only reason you're saying it now is because it's not affecting you. Since Lila is getting expelled, there's a possibility that your father might pull you out of school for bad influences. You don't care about us. You only care when it's putting you at stake and you’re lonely. You said you were on Marinette's side, but were you really? You could've told a teacher or something.
  • ...How Could You? has Adrien call out Alya on her refusal to listen to Marinette, as well as reaming her and Nino out for their ill-considered plan to "help" him and Marinette hook up despite knowing he was already dating Kagami.
  • In Maribug, Adrien attempts to convince Ladybug to dump Marinette and start dating him, unaware that they're the same person. While she initially tries to let him down gently, she really lets him have it once it becomes clear that he doesn't give a shit how Marinette will feel about any of this:
    Ladybug: Er... I'm sincerely sorry, Adrien. But I'm not interested in you, I have a girlfriend — who is also one of your friends.
    Adrien: But you can break up with her!
    Ladybug: Adrien, in case I have to remind you, that's your friend. Does she know that you're trying to pursue me?
    Adrien: W-well, she'll understand! Marinette is an understanding person!
    Ladybug: I told you before, the answer is no. I'm in a happy relationship. ...I find it disgusting that you're doing this. Marinette does not know what you're doing at all. She doesn't know one of her friends is trying to actively get together with her girlfriend. She'll know by the end of the day. You should be ashamed of yourself, Adrien Agreste. Bug out.
  • "Being A Good Example Isn't So Easy, Is It?" lets Marinette tell Bustier off after her former teacher falls into a Pose of Supplication and begs her to transfer back:
    Caline: Please! You're my only option, Marinette! Chloé doesn't do anything that you do! She does nothing! You need to come back! Please, I'm begging you! I don't know how you take care of them! But I need you!
    Marinette: Aren't you ashamed? You're literally begging me to come back to your class because you can't handle them. You're a teacher, not me. I left the class for a week, and your mental state is bad. I've dealt with that for more than a year, but you never thought about how I felt, or even cared. I was their everyday ladybug. I hate that title. I'm disappointed in you, Madame Bustier. You're a teacher, you need to set a good example. Right now, you're failing at doing that. You always told me to be a good example, yet you can't listen to your own advice. Being a good example isn't so easy, is it?
  • In Where You Stand, Marinette reveals that she regrets befriending Alya:
    Marinette: Alya... when I first met you, I thought the best of you. If I had know that you would've turned on me this quickly for a girl you've only known for a month — I would never have befriended you. If I had known that getting roped up into your plans would ruin my reputation at school — I would never have befriended you. If I knew that a few lies were all that it took for you to betray me... I would rather that you never defeneded me from Chloé that day if I'd known you would do this.
    Alya: Marinette—
    Marinette: No, let me speak. I'm tired of you always speaking over me. Telling me to do things I don't want to. Lila and I will never be friends. You don't see me forcing you and Chloé to be friends. People don't have to like each other! I'm not petty enough to not like Lila because she's close to Adrien. She's a liar! That's why I don't like her. I hate liars! So don't you dare lie to my face and claim I'm jealous again. Not when you encourage my behavior one moment then get on my ass for it.
    Alya: Mari—
    Marinette: I know that you know that this isn't over a boy. I would never get this fussy over Adrien. We both know it. Newsflash, not everything is about Adrien! My world doesn't revolve around Adrien! My personality isn't just about liking Adrien! I like Adrien, who doesn't know that at this point besides him!? It's fruitless, he'll never like me. I know that Alya. One moment you support me, the next you don't. Am I only someone that you can laugh at when I embarrass myself- someone that you'll betray in a heartbeat? If not, it sure as hell seems like that.
  • A Price to Pay has several, as Marinette tears into Adrien several times for his betrayal. But the standout example may well be Emilie kicking Gabriel and Adrien out of her home upon their arrival in the altered reality:
    Emilie: Gabriel, I divorced you after you left that poor girl without a father and turned a wife into a widow! How can I be with such a corrupted man?
    Gabriel: W-what?
    Emilie: You paid for them to be in your favor. For you to win the case. Even though the evidence clearly showed that it was your fault. I will never be with a man like that. You had the audacity to laugh when it was over. I realized you weren't the same person that I married that day.
    Adrien: W-what did I do?
    Emilie: Have you both lost your memories within a day? I would say you both lost your minds... but I believe that has already happened. You both aren't welcomed here. I will call the authorities if you both are still on my property in two minutes.
  • In It Was Always You, Alya, Marinette spells for her how she fell out of love over time:
    Marinette: I thought I knew you. I thought that you wouldn't betray me, that you wouldn't be swayed by some lies. You're a journalist, Alya. I had so much faith in you. That's why I fell in love with you in the first place. But... when you kept trying to set me up with Adrien — when Lila came into the picture... that's when I realized that I didn't know you as much as I thought. You don't trust me, Alya. That's why you easily believed Lila's words even with the evidence I provided. No... you just loved hearing what you wanted to hear — like Lila said. People can't resist what they like to hear. That applied to you and everyone else in the class.
    Alya: I-I didn't know—
    Marinette: Of course you didn't know, Alya. You could've searched it up with a simple search like I said. Knowing how easily you'll turn on me made me realize that we can't be friends. You all purposely excluded me because I didn't get along with Lila. What type of friend does that? Clearly not good ones. It's also best if I just transfer to a different classroom, who respects my boundaries. Who actually wouldn't trust a person's words without hearing both sides of the story.
  • Masked Hearts lets Ladybug and Kagami tag-team Adrien after he publicly reveals himself as Chat Noir and immediately asks his crimefighting partner out despite how he's already dating the latter:
    Ladybug: You have a girlfriend. Your girlfriend is also here. Yet you tried to ask me out. Do you have any respect for my boundaries and hers? Kagami is an outstanding person, Adrien. I don't understand how you could just — just do this. Knowing that you're Chat Noir makes everything much worse.
    Kagami: I knew something was off. You were always hiding something from me. You weren't even being subtle. I let it go because I thought it was because of Gabriel Agreste. But no, it turns out that you're actually Chat Noir. The incompetent, lazy waste of a superhero. You don't care about me, Adrien. I was the closest thing you could get to being with Ladybug. Even now, you try your pathetic attempts at getting together with her. Even when I'm right here, your girlfriend. She still rejected you. Was it worth this, Agreste?
    Adrien: W-wait, girls — it was just a j-joke! You know how I am!
    Kagami: We're over, Agreste. I hate the thought of being together with you when you're pining after someone else. I'm not a rebound. I would never lower myself like that. I'm glad to know that our relationship was nothing but a joke to you.
  • Spots of Change has Anatis take Chat Noir to task for his incompetence, Skewed Priorities and constant harassment of Ladybug, spelling out for him that he was one of the main reasons why Ladybug chose to quit in the first place. She also bluntly calls Alya a bullying Paparazzi and makes clear that this will be their only interview.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: In The Devilous Duo, Lila and Marinette both have red eyes in their demonic forms. The story ends with their eyes glowing as they catch Alya before she can run off to warn her classmates about their intentions.
• Rejected Apology:
  • Emotionless features Alya attempting to apologize to Marinette after learning she'd been telling the truth about Lila, only for Marinette to shut her down, calling out her and the rest of the class for dismissing her warnings as petty jealous.
  • Marinette also rejects Adrien's Backhanded Apology in A Price to Pay, as he outright admits he's only apologizing in a half-assed attempt to placate and convince her to help him "fix" his father's ill-considered Wish.
• Removing the Crucial Teammate: Bitter Victory and "Being A Good Example Isn't So Easy, Is It?" both revolve around Marinette losing her position as the class president/representative and being replaced by Lila/Chloé, respectively. In the first story, Lila learns that it's an utterly thankless position, and everyone is bitterly disappointed at her failure to live up to the high standards Marinette set; in the latter, Chloé outright refuses to do any work whatsoever, calling Miss Bustier out for shunting her duties and responsibilities off on Marinette for so long.
• The Reveal Prompts Romance: Averted; while Adrien clearly expects this to happen in What Makes You Think I Still Love You? and Masked Hearts, finding out that he's Chat Noir has the opposite effect on Marinette/Ladybug.
• Revenge by Proxy:
  • After Chloé leaves Paris to join her mother in New York in You're Just Like Chloé, several students start harassing Sabrina for having served as her Beta Bitch, subjecting her to a barrage of petty pranks, tripping, and general nastiness. This goes on for a full week before Marinette hits her Rage Breaking Point and confronts them over their hypocrisy.
  • In A Price to Pay, Gabriel wishes that the price for resurrecting Emilie would come from Marinette's family to "punish" her for getting in his way for so long.
• Ripple-Effect-Proof Memory: In A Price to Pay, Adrien, Gabriel and Marinette are the only humans who remember the original reality after Hawkmoth makes his Wish. This helps ensure that Adrien can't escape the consequences of his betrayal, though Marinette points out that she has plenty of reasons to despise him based off his actions in this reality alone.
• Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!: Chloé's reliance upon this bites Bustier in the backside during "Being A Good Example Isn't So Easy, Is It?".
  Chloé: Look, I'm not like Dupain-Cheng, I'm not a pushover. And I'm not stupid either. I'm a student, you're a teacher. These are things that teachers are supposed to do. Planning field trips? That's a teacher's job. Sure a class representative can give their input, but that's it. All this other stuff is your job, not mine. I could have my daddy fire you anytime with a little tears. You're fortunate that you're even teaching right now. If you come to me one more time talking about Class representative's duties, I'll have you fired. Remember that, Caline.
• Screw the Rules, I Have Money!: A Price to Pay has Gabriel bribe his way to victory in court after causing a fatal car accident that claimed the life of Tom Dupain-Cheng. He even openly gloated upon being deemed "not guilty", much to the disgust of all who witnessed it... including his wife, who divorced him.
• Self-Proclaimed Love Interest: Adrien/Chat Noir does this very, very frequently, due to his belief that Ladybug has no choice but to give in to his advances eventually.
• Shaming the Mob:
  • In You're Just Like Chloé, Marinette calls out her classmates on bullying Sabrina, pointing out their rank cowardice in only confronting her after Chloé has left Paris and how they've been acting like the very thing they're claiming to despise, turning on her like a pack of rabid dogs.
  • Reflection features Ladybug taking Nadja and a mob of shippers to task for obsessing over the notion of her getting together with Chat Noir despite her repeatedly making clear that she's not interested.
• Shared Family Quirks: Played for Drama in A Price to Pay, where Adrien proves to be just as self-centered and entitled as his father.
• Shipper on Deck:
  • Frequently deconstructed with Alya, who's intent on "helping" Marinette get together with Adrien even when she doesn't want her assistance.
  • Reflection has Ladybug calling out a crowd of Parisians on how nobody cares whether or not she wants to be romantically involved with Chat Noir.
    Ladybug: I could be fifteen years old. I can be in my mid-thirties. I can be eighty years old and my miraculous just make me younger. I could be thousands of years old. But that doesn't matter to anyone, does it? I'm a superhero. A superhero for others to look up to. For others to ship me with my partner.
    Nadja: I don't understand. What do you mean by that, Ladybug?
    Ladybug: I could be anyone. I could be your sister. I could be your mother. I could be your boss. Your co-worker. Your wife. Your best friend. Your daughter. How would you feel if someone close to you were getting shipped with a person that they said they had no romantic interest in?
    Nadja: I—
    Ladybug: You'd be disgusted, right? Angry even. You just don't understand why people keep shipping her with someone that they don't like. Why people keep pushing them to be a couple when the feelings are clearly one-sided. Even when she says no. But it's fine. It doesn't matter that we don't know the ages of either hero. Since one hero is clearly interested in the other, they're meant to be. Right? If I was your mother, anyone close to you and you knew my identity — would you continue to ship us? Even if I have a relationship of my own. Would you still ship us and tell me to get together with him even when I don't want to date him and see him strictly as a partner?
• Shipping Torpedo:
  • Toxic Friends has Sabine and Tom expressing concern about Marinette's crush on Adrien, mainly because Alya and her other friends are encouraging her obsessive-compulsive disorder.
  • Despite being fully aware that Adrien is dating Kagami, Alya and Nino lock him in a closet with Marinette in ...How Could You? in an effort to force the two together.
  • Maribug has Adrien attempting to sabotage and sink the titular ship so he can get together with Ladybug in either his heroic or civilian personas.
  • Played With in Her Melody; while Luka and Marinette aren't dating, Juleka knows about his interest in her, and tries to discourage Lila from asking for his number by claiming he's already in a relationship without naming names. Lila refuses to take the hint, suggesting that Juleka is pining after her brother's girl and that she could help them hook up to get her out of the way.
  • Played With in Masked Hearts, where Adrien starts dating Kagami. While he winds up going steady with her for two years, this doesn't stop him from trying to twist their relationship into an Operation: Jealousy against Ladybug, or from instantly asking the latter out after Hawkmoth is finally defeated. In front of a crowd that includes Kagami. Not only does this torpedo any chance of Adrien being with either girl, Kagami proceeds to ask Ladybug out right in front of him.
• Skewed Priorities:
  • In both What Makes You Think I Still Love You? and Masked Hearts, Adrien barely acknowledges the fact that his father has just been unmasked as Hawkmoth; he's far more concerned with the idea that Hawkmoth's defeat means he and Ladybug are free to reveal their secret identities to each other.
  • Spots of Change has Anatis call Chat Noir and Alya out on theirs; Chat Noir effectively drove Ladybug into retirement with his constant harassment of her, while Alya's main priority is trying to milk drama and scandal out of said retirement.
• Slap-Slap-Kiss: Miss I-Love-You features Felix and Marinette having an argumentative but ultimately loving relationship.
• Sure, Let's Go with That: In Maribug, Marinette decides to play along with the presumption that she's dating Ladybug in order to protect her secret identity.
• Tabloid Melodrama: Referenced in Spots of Change; Alya attempts to twist Anatis' testimony about why her predecessor quit into an attack against Ladybug, trying to paint her as somebody who deserted her duties. Anatis calls her out for putting words in her mouth and declares "No wonder you're known for being a tabloid."
• Take This Job and Shove It: Spots of Change explores the aftermath of Marinette deciding she can't handle being Ladybug anymore and passing on the Earrings to Anatis.
• Taking Advantage of Generosity:
  • In Nothing Comes For Free, Bustier exploited Marinette's generous nature by dumping several of her responsibilities and duties as a teacher on her student's shoulders, forcing her to cater to her classmates' whims and pressuring her to Turn the Other Cheek with Chloé.
  • My Compensation has Alya pawn off her babysitting duties on Marinette while pocketing the money her parents are paying her. She also racked up debt at the Dupain-Cheng bakery, taking over seven hundred Euros' worth of pastries without paying.
  • Spots of Change has Marinette decide to quit being Ladybug entirely due to being sick and tired of being exploited as both a civilian and a superheroine, transferring to another school. While she doesn't name names, Anatis informs Alya that this stress was one of the reasons why she quit.
• Tempting Fate: In The Fake Ladybug, Adrien observes that Elayne is fortunate that there isn't an akuma coming after her. Before he can even finish his sentence, Hawkmoth shows up, mocking the supposed heroine for revealing her identity.
• Toxic Friend Influence:
  • Naturally comes up in Toxic Friends, where Alya and the rest of the Girl Posse are aware that Marinette suffers from OCD and exploit it for her own amusement, encouraging her crush on Adrien to unhealthy levels and snickering at her suffering.
  • Downplayed in My Compensation; While Alya has only gotten worse since Lila came into the picture, Marinette acknowledges that Alya was already mistreating and taking advantage of her before Lila came along.
• Turned Off By The Jerkass:
  • A recurrent theme with Adrien/Chat Noir. Time and again, his refusal to take no for an answer and constant harassment of Ladybug, insisting that the two of them are "meant to be together" because he wants to be with her only serves to ensure that Marinette wants nothing to do with him.
  • In Maribug, Adrien tries to convince Ladybug to break up with Marinette and start dating him instead. Ladybug makes clear how unimpressed she is by his duplicity.
  • A Price to Pay has a double example: not only does Marinette want nothing to do with Adrien after his betrayal, Emilie divorced Gabriel out of disgust over how he bribed his way to "victory" in court and gloated about getting away with causing Tom's death.
  • In It Was Always You, Alya, having to deal with Alya aggressively pushing her towards Adrien ultimately killed Marinette's crush on her "bestie".
  • Masked Hearts: Ladybug is utterly disgusted when Adrien reveals his Secret Identity and promptly asks her out following the final battle, completely ignoring how he's been dating Kagami for several years.
  • In Broken Reflection of Love, Marinette gives up on her relationship with Adrien after he walks out in the middle of their last date.
• The Unapologetic:
  • Lila's reaction to being publicly exposed as a liar in Emotionless is to casually declare that she had fun stringing everyone along, even if it was frankly a little boring due to how easily Alya and the others trusted her.
  • Nothing Comes For Free has Marinette hang a Lampshade on how Chloé never feels any remorse or regret for any of her bullying, especially since she never has to face any consequences for her actions.
  • Downplayed in A Price to Pay; while Adrien technically apologizes to Marinette for betraying her and getting her father killed, it's an extremely Backhanded Apology, and he complains about her forcing him to make it the whole time.
• Uninvited to the Party: In My Compensation, Lila holds a picnic for the whole class, excluding Marinette. For Marinette, the worst aspect of this is that Alya not only knew about the party but took advantage of her "best friend" by making her babysit Ella and Etta while she attended.
• Unwanted Assistance: A recurring theme with Alya involves taking her to task for how she "helps" Marinette by forcing her into Zany Schemes. ...How Could You? specifically revolves around Adrien calling out her and Nino for driving Marinette into a panic attack by locking them into a closet together.
• Unwitting Pawn: The Fake Ladybug has Lila convince another girl to pose as Ladybug so she can introduce her classmates to her "bestie" as a civilian. While she promises to pay Elayne handsomely for her service, she naturally doesn't do anything to help her once Hawkmoth shows up.
• Was It Really Worth It?:
  • ...How Could You? has Adrien posing this question to Alya and Nino near the end:
    Adrien: Tell me, was it worth it? Was it worth the panic attack that Marinette suffered? Was it worth the damage to our friendship? ...Actually, I don't even know if we're friends. We talk, yes. But you both are never there for me. You both ignored Marinette's wishes and pushed her to do something she didn't want to do. I'll hear from you both when you both are sincerely sorry.
  • In A Price to Pay, Marinette tries in vain to warn Adrien that the cost of making a Wish on their Miraculouses is simply too high. After he tracks her down in the new reality and begs her for help "fixing" the consequences, she scoffs at him:
    Marinette: I hope it was worth it, Adrien. Your mother is alive, all of your family is breathing. It's such a shame that the cost of your wish cost the life of my father. I'm disgusted that you think I'll ever forgive you. Only a fool would forgive you... and I played as the fool for way too long, Adrien. Gabriel wished for Emilie to be alive — he never said anything about her returning his or your affections.
  • Masked Hearts has Kagami ask Adrien whether he thinks it was worth throwing their relationship away in order to ask Ladybug out again:
    Kagami: You don't care about me, Adrien. I was the closest thing that you could get to being with Ladybug. Even now, you try your pathetic attempts of trying to get together with her. Even when I'm right here, your girlfriend. She still rejected you. Was it worth this, Agreste?
• We Used to Be Friends:
  • ...How Could You? concludes with Marinette telling Alya and Nino not to approach or talk to her again, while Adrien questions whether or not they were anything more than False Friends in the first place.
  • After confronting Alya about her Doublethink in Where You Stand, Marinette challenges her to actually research Lila's claims... and when Nino steps in and starts searching instead, declares that her friendship with Alya is officially over. As far as she's concerned, Alya has already proven just where she stands, and it's never been with her.
  • Marinette also breaks off her friendship with Alya at the end of It Was Always You, Alya, having realized she was Loving a Shadow from the start.
• What the Hell, Hero?:
  • In Advice From Your Favorite Designer, Marinette calls out Jagged Stone for being a dead-beat dad who effectively abandoned his son and daughter.
  • The "High Road" Doesn't Work On Everyone has Adrien confronting Marinette for exposing Lila, only to have this turned upon him as Nino and the others take him to task for refusing to warn anyone.
  • ...How Could You? features Marinette and Adrien denouncing Alya and Nino for locking them in a closet during a fake supervillain attack to help them confess their feelings for each other.
• You Are Better Than You Think You Are: In Toxic Friends, Marinette's parents gently encourage her after realizing that Alya and her False Friends have been taking advantage of their daughter's obsessive-compulsive disorder.
  Marinette: I-I'm not... I'm not a bad person, am I?
  Tom: Of course not sweetie, you're just being misguided. You're a good girl, you're just hanging out with the wrong crowd.
• You Are What You Hate: Seen in You're Just Like Chloé; after Chloé leaves Paris, most of the class starts taking out their frustrations on Sabrina until Marinette confronts them, pointing out how they're picking on the former Beta Bitch since she doesn't pose any real threat to them.
• You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: Chloé reacts this way upon hearing Adrien declare he's got a crush on Marinette in It Was Always You, Alya.
• You're Just Jealous:
  • In My Girlfriend, Alya doesn't realize that Marinette isn't jealous of Lila's supposed closeness with Adrien until the whole class learns that she's been dating Zoé.
  • Alya's reliance upon this is picked apart in Where You Stand, as Marinette and Nino confront her over the fact that she still acts as a Shipper on Deck for Marinette and Adrien despite her supposed belief that her "friend" is so envious.
  • It Was Always You, Alya has her accuse Chloé of being envious of Adrien's crush on Marinette, unaware that in this particular story, Chloé has no interest in her childhood friend and has been dating Sabrina the whole time. She also attributes Marinette's dislike of Lila to this as per usual, unaware that Marinette has been crushing on her the whole time.
• Your Soul Is Mine!: In The Devilous Duo, Lila intends to claim the souls of all her classmates should she successfully convince Marinette that Humans Are Bastards. She succeeds, though Marinette stipulates that she wants Alya for herself, since Alya's betrayal hurt her the most.

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