Forgive me if this ends up not being good
I really support her
I don't know if this is a trigger or not but: body-shaming mentioned, criticism, bullying, struggles of being a hormonal teenager while being an involuntary superhero, cheating, shit college boyfriend, not smut but mentions of sex, IDK?
hope you enjoy
Now Marinette is 17
She's angry
Upset
Sad
Cat Noir left
No, it wasn't entirely her fault, but yes, she's made mistakes
Who hasn't?
She's a teenager for crying out loud
Why do people keep expecting her to be perfect?
She's trying her best
As a hero who's been forced into this with no real mentor or choice, she wasn't given the right to make mistakes
Nor was she given proper instruction
She learned martial arts and fighting techniques from muscle memory, trying(and sometimes failing) desperately to not die, and from mini gods and ghost apparitions
She's died
Watched the people she loves die
She's heard rumors from other classmates
People shame her left and right
The media criticizes her every chance they get
"New Headlines: Ladybug slowing down?"
"Can Ladybug function without Cat Noir?"
"Questions rising about how Paris' now single savior will be able to survive"
"Wasn't it Ladybug's fault that Monarch got the miraculous? Even if it was temporary"
"Maybe Paris needs new protection"
"Ladybug's performance dwindling"
The list went on and on
From the news to social media
Even with things that weren't related to Hawkmoth
Some people care more about Ladybug's body shape than any other important issues
"Is it just me or has Ladybug been taking steroids?"
"Sorry, but Ladybug is too buff for me. Not feminine enough? Isn't she supposed to represent girl power or something?"
"How come she's so short? I stood next to her once and she didn't even reach my shoulder. Not to mention she was out of breath and bloody. Ruined my favorite shirt and didn't even apologize. #concerned for my safety and disgusted"
"Never thought Paris' savior would get boob implants. Must be desperate to get Cat Noir back."
"Not realistic. Muscles aren't curvy like that."
"Skip leg day. Too bottom heavy"
To say the least, people can be, for lack of a better term: mean
Now on top of saving Paris Marinette had more body image insecurities
Not even just now
First, she had always been "too short for people"
Then, she was "too flat"
Then puberty kicked in a little harder
It was up one cup, next thing she knew she was having frequent chest pains from the sudden new "developments"
Breasts can be a pain sometimes
She inherited her father's genes, having a significant increase in muscle mass in comparison to frame and size with strenuous physical activity
Did I mention she was a superhero who frequently had to bench press cargo trucks daily??
That muscle mass also meant weight increase
Obviously.
Guess who got picked on for that?
RANDOM TIME SKIP BUT STILL IN CONTEXT
Later on
Her first college boyfriend:
Wes Glenn
She loved him
After opening up to him and him to her, Marinette finally thought she could at least take a breath
BTW she's 19
She put so much effort into that relationship
She didn't pressure him and tried her best to set boundaries
She didn't want to seem selfish, but she surely wasn't naive
Until
She and Wes went further than kissing
Not entirely since Marinette wasn't ready, but deeper than a couple of kisses
Wes also saw some exposed skin and the scars that decorated those areas
Mari heard from Wes' best guy friend about what Wes had said behind Marinette's back
About how Marinette was "a lot heavier than I would have liked"
Or how she "went too slow for me"
"Too scared to suck me off like a real woman"
She didn't want to believe it
But she wouldn't let herself be foolish
So she went to confront Wes
She stopped by her apartment first to refresh
She didn't expect Wes to be there
On her bed
Having loud sex with her fashion professor
Who was twice Wes' age
In her sheets
With god knows what on her pillows
After feeling what felt like her heart shattering, Marinette threw them both out
Literally
One in each arm
She cried for 18 hours straight
One whole year of her life wasted on some douchebag who was good at covering up the fact that he only wanted Marinette for her money and body
Why did the universe hate her so much?
She knew she messed up when she had a crush on Adrien all those years ago.
But she recognized that.
Accepted that it was wrong.
Made verbal and physical efforts to never do that again.
Was that not enough?
And having to have managed to save a city time and time again, many times by herself.
Who doesn't make mistakes when they're a teenager?
Maybe........
Maybe she deserved it.
