#show!adrien

When Adrien has his outburst and quits being Chat Noir, the ring ends up in the hands of someone new after a crow picks it up and brings it to a human who feeds him regularly. (Crows do that with humans who are nice to them, sometimes.) This person is Célestin Rivage, a trans boy who is an up and coming fashion designer. He’s active on social media calling out the industry’s problem with underpaying workers, using sweatshops, and other awful practices in the fashion industry, someone Marinette follows and thinks is nice but doesn’t have a crush on. She wants to be a sustainable fashion designer who makes things that last and that contribute to the anti-fast fashion movement in France, so she follows his Tiktok and YouTube, uses some of his tips on how to spot poor craftsmanship and signs a garment was made with unethical labor, etc.

Célestin is not sure he’s the right choice for a superhero. As he tells Plagg, he’s got real concerns about if he can do superhero duties, schoolwork and his part time job correctly without neglecting some aspect of it. But since he’s moved to Paris and Paris has akuma attacks, it would be immoral not to jump in and try to help while he’s here. Ladybug shouldn’t have to do everything by herself. So he jumps into a fight against an akuma, they win, and then he takes off the ring and holds it out to her, explaining he’s not right for this but he trusts her to find someone who is. He trusts her judgment. But Marinette… well, she just had a fight where someone took the threat seriously, didn’t clown around and had her back for once. She sees someone who views having a miraculous as an incredibly serious thing. After having dealt with Chat’s nonsense, that’s wonderful.

Ladybug tells Célestin to keep the cat miraculous for the time being. She’ll look for another candidate to give it to long-term. For now, though, she trusts him to do the job correctly, since he takes it seriously. The bigger issue she has is Alya speculating on the Ladyblog that Ladybug and Chat Noir broke up or that Ladybug is cheating on Chat Noir with the new black cat. Exhausted with Alya insisting the two are dating and not listening to anything Ladybug has ever said about not being interested in him, Ladybug stops giving her interviews and instead, with Célestin’s help, sets up her own social media accounts and personal site in order to be able to speak to people directly. She talks about how Chat has harassed her, touched her without her consent, repeatedly ignored her boundaries and made her life harder. Paris’ opinion of him turns sour at the same rate as Adrien at school gets snappier and shorter tempered with the people around him. Marinette’s crush on Adrien fades as she sees him defending Chat Noir, arguing with other people and generally being less and less mature in ways that are distinctly repulsive instead of charming. Lila decides to go for a different model she’s charmed online who isn’t defending sexual harassment, Chloe is too busy trying to figure out what’s going on with Adrien to bother Marinette, everything is looking up.

Then Adrien gets akumatized. It’s a combination of having his hero persona disliked by everyone, seeing Ladybug be happy with someone else, and the fact that she said she wasn’t romantically interested in him. He manages to suck at being an akuma because the person he goes after, immediately, is the new Chat, Chat Minuit. He thinks this man somehow stole his girlfriend despite all evidence to the contrary, and yells out that he was Chat Noir and Ladybug is his. Ladybug has never been more disappointed or repulsed in her life. Unfortunately for him, Alya livestreamed most of the fight. Now people know he was the douchebag Ladybug had been complaining about, and they’re mad, so Gabriel, if only because he likes money and this is bad for his company’s reputation and profits, shuffles Adrien off to a private boarding school away from angry, dangerous people who hate him enough to want to hurt him. (Yes, Adrien is a minor and shouldn’t be threatened by adults, but sadly, we’ve seen adults IRL threaten minors. It’s wrong but it happens. The fic just shields him from it because no minor, even a shitty one, should be threatened by adults with physical or mental harm.)

Alya apologizes to Ladybug for everything and vows to make amends. Marinette excels at pursuing her fashion career without having to worry about carrying around Chat Noir’s deadweight and instead has someone to lean on when it comes to superheroics. Célestin ends up being the permanent new holder of the cat miraculous and finally overcoming his ongoing fears of not being a good enough person. Now the fight against Hawkmoth can go on but with two competent superheros, not just one.

This is the accessible version of this prompt.

The special-text version can be found here.

- - -

Hi Rjalker, I'm kinda back! So after who knows how long since I wrote my prompt about Serrah, and the show's ending of the fifth season being a dumpster fire like always (actually, even worse than usual, I seriously miss the finales like the ones of the first and second seasons), I decided to write this because... something. I myself aren't sure, but I guess I will just write something different than cosmic entities trying to fix the universe (or doom it because their existence requires the universe's own oblivion) because I'm not planning to rewrite the entire plot of this idiotic show.

I will be honest and say that this is a completely new territory for me, so if you spot mistakes and see something that needs to be changed, please do so.

So, have fun?

Occurs after Strikeback (season 4 finale).

My try at an Akumanette prompt.

Pronouns: lon/lones/lones/loneself (same as she/her/hers/herself)

TW: mention of sexual harassment, and a character experiencing touch revulsion

-----

It was so hard.

It was so hard for her.

Marinette thought as time kept moving too fast, yet it felt like everything was crawling to a halt.

Everything was becoming too hard, too difficult, too unbearable.

It was so painful, dealing with it. Being Marinette. Being Ladybug. Being the Guardian.

"Marinette, how did you forget to go to our planned party?"

Because Ladybug's job is too important than Marinette.

"Marinette, is there something bothering you? I heard you've been skipping classes."

Forgive me mama, papa, I can't schedule for when an Akuma strikes. That's the sacrifice I must make.

"Marinette, cheer up! We will defeat Hawkmoth in the end!"

Yes, Tikki, in the end. And what about my life?

"Marinette, I know that Chloe is a bit too much but..."

I know, Ms. Bustier, I must forgive her, for I am Marinette and I am nice, forgiving, no matter how many times I and others get hurt by her.

"Meowch Bugaboo! You know that you always have me!"

Leave me alone. Don't call me by that. Don't come closer to me. Don't flirt with me. Don't touch me. Don't try to kiss me. Leave. Me. Alone!

"You still are in denial about Adrien, Marinette?"

I didn't want this, Alya. Your question isn't funny. I don't love this. I don't want these feelings. I hate them. I despise them. They were why I lost the other kwamies. Love only hurt me.

"You must be responsible, Marinette!"

It's difficult to be responsible. It hurts to be responsible. I don't like this. It's so painful. So suffocating. So tiring. So dark. So cruel. I don't want more even if I have to take more. I want to be alone. I want to be left alone. Alone. Only alone. No one to nag on me about something. No one to have me deal with their problems. No one to guilt trip me and shame me for not doing what they want.

I want to be alone, with only myself being the only company I need.

"Hello, Solitude. I am Hawkmoth. I will give you the power to be alone, free from responsibility, at the price of giving me the Ladybug and Black Cat miraculouses."

It was so wrong to accept. She knew it. It would be admitting defeat, admitting that evil had won in a way. But why bother? She was so tired. So exhausted of fighting, fighting when everything she tried to do backfired on her.

What's the worst to happen if the accepted? Surely, Alya and that harasser Chat Noir can deal with it. They seemed to never run into real problems or face truly permanant consequences.

Oh how jealous she was.

"Yes, Hawkmoth."

And Marinette ceased to be. ---- When lon opened lones eyes, Solitude felt it, the desire burning from lones being.

"I want to be alone. I don't want anyone else with me."

That was it. Simple, yet clear. To be alone on lones own. Lon only wanted to be alone with loneself. No one to bother lones with anything.

No responsibility, no demands, nothing but simple, and sweet solitude.

Yet it just wasn't so easy.

"What is this?" lones expression looked repulsed.

Something was wrong, something was feeling off.

Solitude's body felt something uncomfortable, disgusting, hateful.

Something that just felt like something was touching lones body. Something that just refused to leave lones alone.

What is this? Lones body feels heavy. Breathing and moving feels difficult.

Nothing was touching Solitude, yet the feeling only grew stronger, the repulsion and hate for this thing that was seemingly crawling all over lones, seemingly invading lones blood and skin only continued.

Solitude hated this. It felt so wrong, so awful, so utterly-

"Marinette!"

A voice screamed as lon saw... a girl closing towards lones. Rose? That was her name, right?

Immediately, lon jumped away, as if burned by her presence, almost screaming and attacking her and the others that came alongside her.

How dare they come so close? How dare they call lones Marinette? How dare they try to touch lones?

"Leave me alone!"

Solitude ignored their pleas to come, to wait for Ladybug to help her, to fix her, to heal her.

There's nothing to heal or fix. Nothing wrong with Solitude. Solitude isn't Marinette. There's no need for Ladybug to heal lones.

The awful feeling seemed to diminish, it wasn't as bad as before. So this sensation of pure disgust relates to lones presence with others? Or when others enter lones comfort zone without permission?

Solitude felt that this was the correct answer.

Then, Solitude might go to a place far away. ---- Lon was on the top of the Eiffel tower for nearly half an hour now.

It was a calm area, and there was no one around lones from what Solitude can feel.

Yet...

The sensation of something surrounding lones body still persisted.

Solitude couldn't comprehend it. Nor did lon like it one bit.

What's going on? Why doesn't this feeling leave lones alone?

Lon could feel it, something was seemingly demanding for lones to do something. Something that Solitude doesn't want to do, and it is getting almost physically painful to deal with.

What is this? Why is this happening? Solitude wanted to be alone. Is that really so much? What is causing this? Who? Why?

Lon would like it if they stop continuously touching and crawling all over lones bod-

"Hello, mademoiselle!"

A voice that feels extremely, horribly familiar resounds, and Solitude feels all sensations go overdrive.

Chat Noir was so close-

So close, too close, that repulsive smirk, that leering look, that uncaring posture, too dirty, too repulsive, too hateful.

Lon hates it. Hates him. Hates that person. He will touch me, he will ignore my boundaries, he will torment me, will not leave me alone.

For just a moment, Marinette's memories resurfaced, and nothing but pure rage and hatred consumed lon vision.

A blast of pure, unbridled energy of repulsion and exclusion consumed the part of the Eiffel tower they were in, practically erasing it from existence, and that hero harasser being thrown away, far away so he couldn't violate lones boundaries anymore.

Solitude's body shook from the sheer disgust lon felt, lones mind already making possible connections to why lon felt so much worse with that guy around.

"Is it because Marinette suffered the most due to him?" Solitude thought in rage.

Is that why? It made sense, right?

But before lon could fully calm down, the sensation returned once more.

Why? Why? Why don't they leave lones alone!?

"Good job, Solitude! You've lured Chat Noir! Now go and take away his miraculous and Ladybug's!"

Lones heart raced with pure rage as Solitude felt the connection linking lones with Hawkmoth.

It's this guy...

Lones eyes seemed to look somewhere, what Solitude felt to be Hawkmoth's direction.

This guy was who was crawling over lones body using that link...

Hate and energy, already twisted due to the corrupted magic, twisted even further as it followed Solitude's desires.

If only he didn't exist... if only he and Chat Noir didn't exist...

Then Solitude would be already happy, alone with nothing bothering lones...

Solitude must destroy them first... And make sure not even a shadow of them remains...

---

End?

Or at least until I might write a sequel.

In Rocketear, after Nino explains that he is Carapace and that Alya was Rena Rouge, Adrien is thunderstruck--

Not by the convoluted idea that consumed him in canon that knowing Ladybug's identity will guarantee that they would be a couple--

Not by the "injustice" of Alya and Nino "getting to know" each other's identities in a world-ending disaster scenario where Ladybug had no choice but to retrieve them together--

Adrien is struck by the fact that... His best friend was Carapace.

His friend was Rena Rouge.

Two of his best and only friends had become temporary heroes.

Marinette is done. It’s… it’s too much. The Miraculous gives you the attributes of the animal it’s based after, right?

Her fingers are slow and hesitant as they click-clack across the computer, and a quick Google search tells her that cats are repulsed by the scent of lemons and eucalyptus.

And a dig through her drawer tells her that Nana had bought her plenty of perfumes during that period where she didn’t really know who Marinette was as a person.

Now, whenever Chat Noir leans in for a non-consensual kiss, he leaps back and hisses. When his hand is on her shoulder, her wrist, even their classic Pound It!, he quickly flinched back as if burned.

It’s interesting, though, how Adrien is struggling to remain within a five foot radius of Marinette before needing to flee suddenly (a pity, too, because he sits almost right in front of her). And Marinette’s upset about that, but that’s a minor side effect to being free from Chat Noir’s advances, the harassment, the assault, all of it.

She’s a pet owner with a spray bottle, and she’ll keep spritzing until Chat Noir gets the hint.

And as soon as she can handle being around him, she’s taking that ring.

Since Adrien isn’t coughing up petals, he assumes that it’s because Ladybug returns his feelings…

...When in reality, it’s because he doesn’t actually love her.

Lila's mother is aroace. She adopted Lila, she loves her very much despite Lila's massive flaws as a person, and she's in a queerplatonic relationship with another aroace woman.

Adrien doesn't get how that works, doesn't think people can really be aroace, and mislabels Lila's mom a lesbian (An allo lesbian, specifically, but Adrien doesn't know that term). Lila tries to correct him.

When he makes the mistake of saying to Lila that romance is the most important thing in existence and all that he lives for, and her mom sounds like a monster if she doesn't love anyone at all, he angers the most charming person in school, who can absolutely make his life a living hell.

So she does.

(Some parts edited a bit for clarity, and more firmly criticizing the misogyny. The end line edited to not make it seem like other characters calling Adrien out is bad, since no one is obligated to redeem a character like Adrien.)

Gabriel is worried that Adrien's sneaking out and continual attempts to shake his control are the beginning of a rebellious phase, which would be disastrous for Adrien's image and marketability and could impact the company's bottom line.

As a result, he sends Adrien to therapy, in an attempt to regain control over his wayward son.

At first, Adrien is less than thrilled, but his therapist, when he looks her up, looks a lot like Ladybug, with eyes like his mother, and because those are the two people he fixates on, he finds himself going along with his father's plan out of a need to have glimpses of both in his life.

It's not healthy, but it's enough to keep him in the room, which is a start.

His therapist, a young recent graduate named Euphrasie, is good at handling Adrien.

She redirects him when he over-focuses on Ladybug and tries to get him to focus on who he is and who he wants to be - after all, he didn't have something he wanted to be as a little kid canonically, and he grew up with only Chloe (and by extension, Sabrina) for friends. He needs to learn to stop fixating on Ladybug and the idea that loving her will solve all his problems, and focus on caring about himself and learning to solve his problems by himself, whenever he can.

And if anybody else were telling him that, he'd say no, but Euphrasie seems to him like the mom he wished he had. He may only do the bare minimum, but he at least will, for her, try.

Over time he builds up a fondness for her.

Because he doesn't try very hard at protecting his secret identity, she puts together that he's Chat Noir, and she worries about him getting hurt or captured by Hawkmoth.

What Adrien doesn't realize is that, by venting to her and taking her advice to try to broaden his interests, listening to new music, making his own fashion choices no matter what his father says, and spending time watching new media with his friends, he's actually genuinely begun to love her. She's almost like a mom to him.

So when one day she calls him out, very bluntly, for his sexual harassment of Ladybug, it hurts. It feels like a knife twisting into his heart. It feels like betrayal. It hurts to be told by someone he loves and trusts that he's doing things that are bad, that disappoint her. He always thought it was a joke, that parents being disappointed was worse than them being mad, but Euphrasie is disappointed in him, and it's a million times worse than if she'd been mad at him. She believes she can do better, she knows he can improve, and she asks him why he hasn't.

She gets him to admit, both to her and to himself, that he knew his behavior was wrong, and he was doing it because he thought it was fun. Admitting this out loud to her is the hardest thing Adrien's ever done in his life, especially because her disappointment is as clear as day.

She coaches him on how to apologize to Ladybug, and how to process his emotions in a way that's not only good for him, but everyone around him, too. He sexually harassed Ladybug for fun because it gave him control over something in his life, when he had little control over anything else. He did to her what his father did to him so that he would be able to laugh and have fun at her expense.

Knowing why he'd done it didn't make it any better or less terrible, didn't excuse him in nay way, but it did give him a road map on how to do better and become a better person. If he felt like he didn't have any control, if he was angry at his helplessness, then he should talk to someone, even just a friend or a diary or journal, not let his anger convince him to make other people feel just as bad as he did.

Somehow, Ladybug and Chat Noir find out why Hawkmoth wants their Miraculous (though not necessarily what he intends to wish for). However, when they ask their kwami (and/or Master Fu) about it, the response is one of confusion.

As it turns out, the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculous do not have any sort of wish-granting properties at all.