Fanfic / Juleka vs. the Forces of the Universe

Few things in life are certain. But to Juleka, several things have recently become crystal clear.

First off: she wasn't meant to see Ladybug detransform. And she definitely wasn't meant to see Adrien transform into Chat Noir the very next day, either.

And Marinette and Adrien — Ladybug and Chat Noir — would make a terrible couple. Not only does he send her anxiety spiking to the point she can barely speak, Ladybug is constantly rejecting Chat Noir's advances, begging him to stop flirting with her... while he blithely ignores her wishes. And Adrien barely acknowledges Marinette’s existence beyond calling her 'just a friend'. Literally the only way Juleka can see him wanting to date her is if he knew she was Ladybug, which clearly isn't the best foundation for a relationship.

But Alya is dead set on making her ship sail. And if she won't listen to her 'best friend's' pleas to quit shoving her towards further humiliation, why would she ever listen to Juleka...?

Clearly, another approach is needed. And so, Juleka sets out to help Marinette avoid getting Strangled by the Red String by pointing her towards another option: her brother. And if the universe itself tries to force Ladybug and Chat Noir together, well, 'destiny' can go screw itself.

Juleka vs. the Forces of the Universe is a Miraculous Ladybug fanfic by goldenlaurelleaves which diverges from canon in the middle of Season 3, as Juleka discovers the secret identities of two of her friends and decides to save Marinette from being forced into an unhealthy relationship.

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This fanfic contains examples of:

• Actually Pretty Funny: Ladybug bursts out giggling at the sight of Purple Tigress having their hair covered in cheese by Fondoom, as well as how strange their voice sounds while wearing nose plugs. As annoyed as they were by how the fight was going before Ladybug showed up, they still wind up joining her in her laughter.
• Adaptational Jerkass:
  • Alya repeatedly insults her 'best friend' behind her back here, attempting to convince the rest of the Girl Squad that she's completely incompetent and needs them meddling in every aspect of her life.
  • Adrien's tendency to casually ignore Ladybug's repeated requests to stop flirting and joking around is highlighted, and he goes straight into The Load territory against Shipper, since Shipper is pushing his preferred narrative of forcing them together over her objections.
• Adaptational Superpower Change: Purple Tigress has the power to turn invisible.
• Advertising Campaigns: A recurring plot point is Juleka dealing with the massive amounts of promotion Gabriel does, resulting in Adrien's face being plastered everywhere. One chapter ups the ante with Andre starting his own advertising campaign to promote his new LadyNoir-themed ice cream, with Adrien playing Chat Noir.
• Armor-Piercing Question:
  • When Alya tries summoning the Girl Squad to the park to take advantage of one of Adrien's photoshoots, Marinette is resigned to responding... until Juleka asks her outright "Do you want to go?" She then follows this up by asking Marinette "What do you want?"
  • Juleka counters her brother's insistence that he's giving Marinette space to make her choice by pointing out that stepping back is making the choice for her:
    Juleka: How can she choose you if she doesn't know you're an option?
  • During her second encounter with Master Fu, Juleka breaks through his insistence that Ladybug and Chat Noir make a wonderful team this way:
    Juleka: Well, I'm inclined to believe what Ladybug says and... well, you saw what just happened! She keeps saying no, and he can't take a hint! And he didn't even help with the akuma! What kind of team is that?
  • Purple Tigress gets one against Chat Noir when they ask him whether things would be any different if they were the one chosen to use the Earrings instead.
    Tigress: What if I had been the one chosen to be Ladybug? Would you and I be destined for each other?
    Chat Noir: What— but— you— she— no. No. It's different—
    Tigress: I don't see how.
    Chat Noir: (strained laughter) Look, I'm flattered and all but you know I love—
    Tigress: Don't be. (Chat Noir's smile falls off his face) I'm seeing someone. And you're not my type. Not even close. All I'm saying is, magical jewelry seems like a pretty flimsy foundation for true love. Much less destiny.
  • Marinette gets one consisting of a single word when her classmates are debating theories about whether or not one of the temporary heroes will be made a permanent addition to the roster:
    Alya: But none of the other heroes were ever made permanent.
    Adrien: Exactly. It's always been Ladybug and Chat Noir! The black cat and ladybug from the start. Creation and destruction. Yin and yang.
    Marinette: So?
    (Stunned Silence as Adrien stares at Marinette as though she'd grown a second head)
• Bad Guys Do the Dirty Work: How does Juleka deal with Ms. Bustier scheming to pair up Adrien and Marinette? By getting Chloé involved.
• Bluff the Eavesdropper: Alya claims that Ladybug and Chat Noir were doing this in an effort to desperately handwave away one of their arguments over his continued harassment of his 'partner'.
• Can't Stop the Signal: Downplayed during the Side-by-Side incident; while the show cuts to a commercial before the recording ends, the majority still plays, including the part where Ladybug reminds Chat Noir that she's told him that she's in love with somebody else.
• Caught on Tape: Juleka records Chat Noir and Ladybug's argument over how they've kissed under duress and ensures others learn about it by submitting it via fanvid to an episode of Side-by-Side.
• Comically Missing the Point: Downplayed. When Juleka mentions to Master Fu that Marinette can't get a single sentence out straight around Adrien, their response is to sigh about "young love". However, they're taken aback when she details many of the other problems with their lopsided relationship, and awkwardly retreat.
• Complexity Addiction: Alya goes all out for Operation Fairytale Ball, dividing the scheme up into multiple phases involving every member of the girl squad.
• Condescending Compassion: Alya treats Marinette like she's a hopeless space case who doesn't understand her own mind and can't accomplish anything without her generous support.
• Contrived Coincidence:
  • To Juleka's frustration, she finds the group repeatedly running into Andre's cart whenever they go out for sweets, despite how one of his main gimmicks is that people have to search for wherever he's set up.
  • She also finds herself questioning whether Adrien is somehow the only model Gabriel employs when he launches an all-encompassing ad campaign for Adrien the Fragrance.
• Control Freak:
  • Alya, who expects Marinette and the rest of the 'Girl Squad' to jump at her every command and cooperate with every Zany Scheme she concocts to force Marinette and Adrien together. She also openly declares that Marinette is incapable of managing her own life, insisting that she needs to be pushed in order to accomplish anything.
  • Chat Noir also shows shades of this in regards to his 'partnership' with Ladybug. Particularly when it comes to the existence of other heroes — he hates her having any kind of back-up, as that makes her less reliant upon HIM. (And, consequently, means that she's not tied up in having to appease his ego and jealousy in order to have any backup at all against akumas.)
• Cordon Bleugh Chef: A Running Gag with Andre is how many of his 'soulmate sweets' have unappetizing flavor combinations, like the peach and mint he keeps trying to push on Marinette, or cherry and black licorice. Juleka starts to question whether he even has taste buds.
• Crazy Jealous Guy: When Ladybug brings Purple Tigress into play, Chat Noir glares at them before deciding they likely aren't that much of a threat due to their gender.
• Deconstruction Fic:
  • Takes Canon to task for its treatment of the Love Square, highlighting how the dynamics between Marinette/Ladybug and Adrien/Chat Noir are both unhealthy and static, with the series refusing to develop the core relationship because Status Quo Is God.
  • The series' reliance on Shipper on Deck to push the Love Square is also deconstructed, along with how Marinette is constantly shown to be miserable due to her inability to make any headway with Adrien, yet is not allowed to step back and reevaluate her feelings thanks to Alya and other forces continuously pushing her towards him.
• Detrimental Determination: During "Juleka vs. the Forces of Alya Césaire", Juleka notes that Alya's insistence on sticking to her theories and seeing things through no matter isn't just hurting Marinette; it's hurting Alya as well.
• Didn't Think This Through: Hawkmoth sends out a dragon-themed sentimonster to back up Darkblade. One that comes with a shatteringly loud roar. He fails to consider how this will impact Darkblade's brainwashed victims, who are clad in full suits of armor... and all the acoustics thereof.
• Does Not Like Spam: Juleka isn't fond of olives, and is disgusted when she snags a slice of pizza from her brother and finds out too late that it's loaded down with the offending fruit.
• Dramatic Irony:
  • Juleka is furious when a total stranger declares that Marinette and Adrien "really are made for each other", incredulously wondering if they know the pair. The audience, meanwhile, knows that the stranger is Master Fu.
  • Alya defends Purple Tigress's obvious bond with Ladybug to Adrien, informing him that it's only natural that they'd have a different relationship than the one Ladybug has with Chat Noir. She does so unaware that Adrien is Chat Noir, and seething with jealousy over said bond... just like her, as she wishes she was best friends with Ladybug. Which is ironic on another level, given how she was Marinette's bestie, but has been gradually destroying their relationship with her insistence on being a Shipper with an Agenda for both her civilian and superheroine identities.
• Dramatically Missing the Point: When Purple Tigress tells Chat Noir that "You don't own [Ladybug]. And she doesn't owe you her love. So stop acting like it and step up and do your job," Chat Noir responds by stepping up his efforts to "prove" that he and Ladybug don't need other heroes to help them... by deliberately sabotaging their battle plans and nearly Cataclysming Tigress. When Ladybug confronts him about this, he blames them for it.
• "Eureka!" Moment: Juleka struggles to figure out the full significance of Marinette's ice cream order. While the blueberry seems obvious, she doesn't understand the pistachio until it suddenly hits her that Viperion wears green.
• Exact Eavesdropping: While hiding in a broom closet, Juleka overhears an argument between Ladybug and Chat Noir where he continues to insist that the fact they've kissed means that they're meant to be together forever, regardless of the surrounding circumstances.
• Exact Words:
  • Juleka counters Andre's insistence that peach and mint is the perfect flavor combination for Marinette by asking if he gives those flavors to others. When he affirms as much, she states that he can't really claim those are made for Marinette if he has other customers, and that ice cream is for people to choose.
  • While trying to comfort Marinette, Juleka reassures her that she can count on her. She later realizes the full weight of that promise when Ladybug offers her the Tiger Miraculous.
  • Juleka starts doing this regularly when meeting with the rest of the Girl Squad and the topic of Marinette's love life comes up, responding to questions with vague phrasing that can be interpreted as her still supporting Alya's Adrinette ship.
    Rose 🌹💗: and then Adrien and Marinette will live happily ever after!!!!! right girls?
    Queen of Darkness 🦇: everything will work out
• Faux Horrific: Andre and Juleka's friends react with utter shock and horror when she places an order at his ice cream cart rather than letting him put together his 'sweetheart combo' for her.
• Foil:
  • Alya and Juleka have the same goal: helping Marinette hook up with one of her crushes. However, Alya pushes her agenda against Marinette's wishes, treating her 'BFF's' discomfort as something to brush off — clearly Marinette isn't capable of making her own decisions or accomplishing anything on her own! By contrast, Juleka is more concerned with Marinette's happiness, even questioning her own motives before seeing how she's legitimately more relaxed and comfortable around Luka.
  • Adrien and Luka serve as Marinette's potential Love Interests. While Luka cares deeply for Marinette as a person, Adrien hardly seems to acknowledge her existence as more than just part of the girl squad and one of his friends from school. He also forces Ladybug to endure his flirtations as Chat Noir, insisting that they're meant to be together regardless of her resistance. Luka, by contrast, wants Marinette to be happy even if that means letting her go.
  • Purple Tigress becomes one to Chat Noir, by virtue of being a Miraculous Hero who takes their duty as one of Paris' protectors seriously, listening to Ladybug and working alongside her and other heroes in a functional partnership. As opposed to Chat Noir, who takes his 'partnership' with Ladybug as evidence that she has to become his romantic partner eventually.
• Green-Eyed Monster: Name-dropped by Juleka when she describes Chat Noir's reaction to being introduced to Purple Tigress.
  • He only gets worse about this over time, with his pettiness coming out on full display once Ladybug asks one of the other heroes to start covering her patrols for a while. Juleka mentally name-drops the trope again while describing his reaction to a photograph of Ladybug laughing alongside them:
    But through her curtain of hair, she caught sight of Adrien. Like everyone else seated in the front rows —excluding Chloé and Sabrina who seemed to be skipping class entirely — he was turned towards the back to be more part of the conversation. But unlike everyone else, he looked less than thrilled by the topic of conversation. Sure, he had his usual, bland, model smile pasted on his face. But his smile was tight, and his eyes were hard. There was that green-eyed monster again...
  • During the conversation that immediately follows, Alya also expresses envy of said "temp hero" having a close relationship with Ladybug, clearly wishing that she had such a dynamic with her idol... unaware that she was besties with her civilian alter ego, but has been straining their bond through her treatment of Marinette.
• Grew a Spine: Over time, Marinette gradually learns how to stand up against the people pushing her around more and more.
• Guile Heroine: Juleka sets out to become one, figuring out how to deal with each challenge set before her.
• Heel–Face Door-Slam: While not a villain, it’s heavily implied that Master Fu had finally realized the mistake he'd made with trusting Adrien, and intended to correct it, only for the universe to rip the opportunity out of his hands by having Miracle Queen unleashed on the exact same day he was going to talk to Marinette about it.
• Hypocrite:
  • Alya attempts to cover for the Caught on Tape incident by claiming Ladybug and Chat Noir knew somebody was recording their conversation, and were trying to hide that they're secretly dating so that Hawkmoth wouldn't find out. Not only is this blatantly lying, Juleka notes how that doesn't line up with any of Alya's behavior — if she sincerely believed they had good reason to hide it, why would she constantly be championing her ship and posting 'evidence' of it?
  • Chat Noir treats the mere existence of other male heroes as though Ladybug is somehow cheating on him by calling them in for help. Yet he’s more than happy to flirt with heroines and treat them the same way he does Ladybug.
• I Ate WHAT?!: As payback for Juleka teasing him about his crush, Luka brings home a pizza filled with olives and doesn't warn her, leaving her to find out the hard way by taking a bite.
• I Have This Friend: In a variant, Marinette confides her troubles post-Miracle Queen by referring to her duties as Ladybug as a job, talking about the unexpected retirement of most of her coworkers.
• I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: To Juleka's frustration, Luka is willing to nudge Marinette towards Adrien out of the belief that she'll be happier with him.
• Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: Each chapter is named Juleka vs. the Forces of whatever she finds herself pitted against.
• Insistent Terminology: Roarr refers to eyeliner and makeup as "war paint".
• Instantly Proven Wrong: While observing how the school dance is being held in the gym, which smells like a locker room, and the presence of hawk-eyed chaperones aiming to prevent anyone from getting too handsy, Juleka dismisses the idea that anyone could possibly find this romantic... right before Rose gushes "This is going to be so romantic!"
• Intimacy Via Horror: As one of her many plans to get Marinette and Adrien to hook up, Alya plans to exploit this trope by forcing Marinette to watch a scary movie while seated next to Adrien.
• Keeping Secrets Sucks: Over the course of the story, Juleka starts feeling the weight of all the secrets she's holding onto more and more. Especially after Alya grows suspicious and starts blaming her for all of her schemes failing, putting Juleka in an increasingly precarious position.
• Let No Crisis Go to Waste: Adrien has this attitude when it comes to akumas, to the point of actively hoping there will be an attack at the dance just so he can harass Ladybug some more.
• Like Mother, Like Daughter: Juleka notes that much like her mother, she's not afraid of a little chaos and anarchy, especially for a good cause.
• Love Freak: As much as she adores Rose, Juleka notes that this is one of her biggest problems — Rose is so in love with the idea of love that she's fallen hook, line and sinker for Alya's insistence that Marinette and Adrien are "made for each other".
• Loves My Alter Ego: Deconstructed with Adrien, who willfully ignores Marinette while trying to force Ladybug into a relationship with him as Chat Noir, not caring one whit about what she actually wants. Juleka swiftly realizes that the only way she could see him ever paying attention to Marinette is by figuring out her secret identity.
• The Millstone: Chat Noir increasingly shows himself to be this, such as when he outright refuses to help against Shipper, sitting up in a tree and agreeing with the akuma, instead of doing his job and fighting it.
• Moment of Weakness:
  • At several points, Juleka attributes moments where she snaps and directly confronts others to this, berating herself for letting her frustrations get the better of her.
  • Downplayed when Juleka briefly considers shoving Alya off of the Liberty's gangplank and into the Seine after a tense confrontation. She doesn't go through with it, but muses that 'If she were a better person, she wouldn't be having these thoughts. If she were a worse person, she probably would have already given into the temptation and pushed her into the river.'
• Mythology Gag: After learning their secret identities, Juleka muses that the only way she can see Adrien taking an interest in Marinette is if he learned she was Ladybug, unknowingly referencing the Bad Future seen in "Cat Blanc".
• Never My Fault: As far as Adrien/Chat Noir is concerned, the only real issue with his constant harassment of Ladybug is that she's not giving him what he wants. He's also quick to blame Purple Tigress for how he nearly gets them killed in an akuma fight by almost hitting her with Cataclysm.
• No Listening Skills: If you're not telling Alya what she wants to hear, expect to go completely ignored. The same applies to Adrien, especially when he's prancing around as Chat Noir.
• No Sense of Personal Space: Chat Noir actively ignores the personal boundaries of Ladybug and any other heroines, passing it off as part of his 'flirting'. He very clearly doesn’t care how uncomfortable this happens to make them.
• Not Helping Your Case: You would think that since Chat Noir feels threatened by the mere existence of other heroes, he would attempt to prove his superiority as a partner by working with Ladybug more. Not so; he doubles down on refusing to listen or cooperate with her plans, ratchets up his flirting, attempts to 'outshine' the other heroes by getting in their way, and makes even more Senseless Sacrifices.
• Oblivious Guilt Slinging: Rose tearfully apologizes to Juleka for not warning her about how Alya suspected she was sabotaging their efforts to help Marinette and Adrien get together, lamenting that she should have spoken up sooner in her girlfriend's defense... blissfully unaware that Alya was right.
• Only Sane Man: Juleka increasingly feels like this as she becomes more aware of how many people ship Adrienette and Ladynoir while ignoring the myriad issues with both.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: As the series progresses, Juleka often picks up on others acting strangely even if she doesn't immediately recognize why their behavior has shifted.
  • For instance, she notices when Alya starts treating her differently, as well as her posting a message to the Adrienette chat and immediately deleting it, but doesn't connect this to the possibility of Alya catching on to her working against her schemes.
  • After acting incredibly hostile towards Purple Tigress for simply existing, Chat Noir abruptly shifts gears after getting it into his head that he might be able to seduce the information he wants out of them.
• Operation: Jealousy: In a twisted spin on this, Alya wants to turn Luka asking Marinette out into one of these, recruiting the rest of the Girl Squad in her scheming... save for Juleka.
• Point of Divergence: Juleka becoming a Secret Secret-Keeper, among other things, derails the universe's plans during the Miracle Queen incident thanks to her tackling Luka and Marinette and getting stung in her brother's place, preserving Viperion's secret identity.
• Poor Communication Kills:
  • Luka believes that Marinette doesn't return his feelings because he confessed to her, then walked away to give her time to think about it, refusing to bring it up again because he doesn't want to pressure her. On her end, Marinette thinks that he hasn't brought it up because his feelings were fleeting, like Nino's and Nathaniel's proved to be.
  • Played for Drama after the Miracle Queen incident. Master Fu planned to address the situation with Adrien on the very same day Miracle Queen attacked, leading to his Laser-Guided Amnesia and Marinette being stripped of almost all of her allies. Despite Chat Noir's constant harassment and unhelpfulness, she believes she needs to keep him around to honor Fu's wishes, unaware that he was likely going to strip him of the Ring.
• The Poorly Chosen One: Adrien takes how he and Ladybug were chosen as the first Miraculous Heroes as evidence that he's naturally superior to all of the other heroes, despite his Skewed Priorities and refusal to take his responsibilities seriously. He repeatedly makes a point of stressing to his comrades that they're all temporary.
• Portmanteau Couple Name: In-Universe, Alya refers to her main ships as Adrienette and Ladynoir. Juleka thinks it’s cringy.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: When Chat Noir takes his team-sabotaging behavior too far, Ladybug calls him out, listing off various times where he didn't have her back and making clear that she will NOT let him blame others for his own selfish behavior.
• Running Gag: Juleka keeps becoming a Secret Secret-Keeper for Miraculi users, which is always paired with some variation of 'She was not supposed to see/hear that.'
• Screwed by the Lawyers: Juleka exploits this In-Universe by writing a Cease-and-Desist letter, warning Andre off from blatantly misusing Ladybug and Chat Noir's image to shill his ice cream.
• Secret Secret-Keeper: The plot gets kicked off by Juleka discovering who Ladybug and Chat Noir are as civilians. Over time, she learns the identities of others as well.
• Selective Obliviousness:
  • Juleka begins to wonder whether Adrien is truly unaware of Marinette's crush on him, or simply pretending not to notice.
  • Alya panics about the idea of Adrien mistakenly believing that Marinette has a date for the upcoming dance after Luka asked Marinette out right in front of everyone.
• Shipper on Deck:
  • Deconstructed with Alya, whose support of Adrinette makes her shove Marinette into stressful situations, scheme behind her back, and treat her like she's completely incompetent and incapable of achieving anything alone.
  • Juleka, by contrast, is played as a reconstructed example, as her ultimate goal is to ensure Marinette's in a happier, healthier relationship. Unlike Alya, she actually cares about what her friend wants more than the satisfaction of seeing her ship sail.
  • Further deconstructed by highlighting the amount of pressure this has placed upon Marinette, to the point that she shows signs of being a Stepford Smiler due to constantly being bombarded with insistence that she and Adrien are 'meant to be' despite her shifting thoughts on the matter.
  • Weaponized by Hawkmoth when he akumatizes an angry Ladynoir fan into Shipper, whom Chat Noir refuses to fight.
• Shipping Torpedo:
  • Juleka serves as one against Adrienette and Ladynoir, having realized how unhealthy their dynamic is.
  • Alya, by contrast, is dead set against Marinette getting together with Luka, as she hitched her wagon to Adrienette first and intends to see that through regardless of how Marinette feels about it.
• Skewed Priorities:
  • One of the reasons why Chat Noir proves to be more hindrance than help to Ladybug is because he's more interested in flirting and harassing her than he is with taking akumas seriously.
  • Played for Drama with the Shipper incident. Chat Noir outright refuses to fight simply because he likes the fact that the akuma agrees with him that he's entitled to Ladybug's love and that she should just give in to his advances. Several onlookers agree with this; after Shipper is finally dealt with, Juleka then gets into an argument with Master Fu about the pair's supposed suitability for each other, where they attempt to convince her that the two of them are meant to be rather than admit he made a mistake when handing out their Miraculouses.
  • When the girl squad learns that Marinette isn't planning to make her dress for the upcoming dance, Alya immediately demands "What about Adrien?", being so laser-focused on the idea that Marinette might have been able to impress him with her handiwork that she doesn't even question why her "bestie" might have made this decision, much less how she feels about it. This leads into Alya and the other girls attempting to force Marinette to wear something Adrien might like rather than something she'd enjoy.
• Stating the Simple Solution: Purple Tigress informs Chat Noir that there's a very simple way to get Ladybug to stop rejecting him: stop asking her out.
  Tigress: It'll be hard—
  Chat Noir: I'll do anything to get her to stop rejecting me—
  Tigress: Stop asking her out.
  Chat Noir: (stares blankly) How will that—
  Tigress: You're tired of her saying no? Then stop asking. She's already given you her answer—
  Chat Noir: But—
  Tigress: And she's been way nicer about it than she needs to. And she's given way more reasons than she needs to. No is reason enough.
• Toxic Friend Influence: Alya encourages the rest of the 'Girl Squad' to see Marinette as completely incapable of handling her own love life... or anything else.
• Trojan Horse: Juleka uses this trick to when she submits a video to Side-by-Side's call for 'Best Ladybug and Chat Noir moments'. It starts innocuously, with properly credited pictures from the Ladyblog, before abruptly revealing the argument the pair had over their past kisses, with Ladybug asserting how they were under Laser-Guided Amnesia during the Oblivio kiss and Dark Cupid was under duress.
• Twitchy Eye:
  • Juleka feels her eye twitching when she sees Andre's marketing campaign, featuring Adrien playing Chat Noir alongside another girl as Ladybug.
  • Alya has one as she frantically attempts to handwave away the Side-by-Side incident.
• Villain Has a Point: Darkly twisted during Shipper's rampage. Chat Noir treats the situation this way, sitting out of the fight and claiming that the akuma is absolutely right about how they're 'destined' to be together. Juleka is disgusted to see several onlookers nodding along as well.
• What the Hell, Hero?: In the climax of "Juleka vs. the Forces of Chat Noir", Ladybug reads Chat Noir the riot act for not only blatantly ignoring her plan, but actively sabotaging it, including aiming a Cataclysm at Purple Tigress.
• Worst News Judgment Ever: Nadja Chamack is a big fan of the Ladynoir ship... or at least milking gossip and speculation about the heroes for ratings.
• You're Just Jealous: Chat Noir bitterly accuses Purple Tigress of being jealous of his "relationship" with Ladybug. Doubles as Psychological Projection, as it's patently clear that the opposite is true.
• Zany Scheme: One of Alya's favorite tactics for 'helping' Marinette get closer to Adrien is coming up with these behind her back.

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