Marinette Dupain-Cheng

Marinette Dupain-Cheng is the titular character and protagonist of Miraculous Ladybug. Her superhero identity is Ladybug. She is half-French, half-Chinese, growing up in Paris. She attends college (French equivalent of middle-school) during the day, assists in her parents' bakery, and fights akumas when needed, Her hobbies include fashion design, art, and video games. 
== Canon ==
Marinette is a high school student (and class representative) who attends Collège Françoise Dupont in Paris, France along with the other main characters of the series. She dreams of one day being a fashion designer, and many of the show's plots involve her designing clothing or other items, such as the album cover for rocker Jagged Stone's new album.
In her free time outside of school and super hero duties, Marinette plays video games and babysits. Her parents own a bakery, and she sometimes works there as well.
Marinette is generally outgoing, except around her crush - classmate Adrien Agreste. She is also extremely empathetic and tends to lack self-confidence. When she's nervous, she gets clumsy.
== Fandom ==
===Tropes & Fanon===
* Identity Porn is a common fic trope, since several important people in Marinette's life interact with her as both Marinette and Ladybug. This goes double when it comes to Adrien Agreste, who is Marinette's crush and also Ladybug's superhero colleague Chat Noir, but neither is aware of the other's secret identity, resulting in four different relationships between a single pair of people.
===Shipping===
* Marinette/Adrien Agreste aka Chat Noir - Adrinette or Marichat
* Marinette/Alya Césaire - Alyanette
* Marinette/Luka Couffaine - Lukanette
* Marinette/Kagami Tsurugi - Marigami
There have been some significant crossover pairings, such as Marinette and Damian Wayne, known as "Maribat", which stemmed from dissatisfaction with Marinette's implied canon love interest during the season 3 episode "Chameleon."
== Fanworks ==
=== Fanfiction ===
* Trust Falls by PitViperofDoom - "Marinette finds herself in a dangerous situation when a double-akuma attack leaves her trapped in school and virtually defenseless. But it's not the end of the world; it turns out there are people you can always count on, even if you don't quite know why." - gen, complete, posted 2016
* Snuggle Bug by imthepunchlord - "In the winter time, ladybugs slow down to hibernate, and have been known to stowaway inside homes for warmth. Marinette is no different. As a true, sleepy and cold Ladybug, she'll latch onto anything that moves. And is warm." - Adrien/Marinette, animal traits, fluff, oneshot, posted 2016
* Turn Loose the Mermaids by bookskitten - "Marinette should have dragged him under the water in and feast on his body when she had the chance. Maybe then she wouldn't have been his prisoner. Blasted pirate." - Adrien/Marinette, explicit, enemies to friends to lovers, mermaid AU, complete, posted 2016-2017
* Broken Melody by KuraSan_ya - "Marinette is trying to keep being positive, but things are making it so hard for her. She's tired of being mistrusted and doubted by her friends, she's tired of giving 2nd chances to those who've hurt her, she's tired of the responsibilities that a 14yr old isn't supposed to have. She's tired of fighting.Marinette is just... tired" - Luka/Marinette, canon divergence, saltfic, complete, posted 2019-2021
* Marinette Dupain-Cheng's Spite Playlist: Remix by caterinawrites - "After almost getting akumatized, Marinette decides it's time for a fresh start and moves to a new school. How will she fare in a new environment? Will her friends even notice she's gone, or will they fall victim to Lila's ploy to turn them all against her?" - Adrien/Marinette, AU, saltfic, complete, posted 2018-2022
=== Fanart ===
File:Ladybug by piku chan d9gqu04-fullview.jpg|alt=	Two images of Marinette in different outfits. In the first, she wears space buns, headphones, an oversized letterman jacket, a graphic babydoll tshirt, a jean skirt, flared leg warmers, and sneakers. In the second, she wears a high ponytail, headphones, a purse, a cropped t-shirt, baggy cargo pants, arm warmers, and sneakers.|Ladybug by piku-chan, posted 2015
File:54104604 p0 master1200.jpg|alt=a sketchy drawing of Marinette in her civilian outfit from the shoulders up. Tikki is kissing her on the cheek.|♡♡♡ by オマオ, posted 2016
File:Multimouse marinette.jpeg|alt=A shoulders-up image of Marinette as Multimouse, mouth open in a laugh.|Get that girl who can be your every hero by enaica, posted 2019
File:A Smol Lady Noire.jpeg|A Smol Lady Noire by MelBemol, posted 2021
File:Tumblr f01f682462dbeba53c27532508d3fc25 2185d2d5 640.jpg|[untitled] by danismilek, posted 2023
=== Meta ===
=== Cosplay ===
File:Tumblr nywz6jIH3E1ry2b2zo1 1280.jpg|alt=	a cosplayer wearing Marinette's civilian outfit makes an expression of exaggerated distress at the camera as she holds up her tablet. The tablet features a picture of an Adrien cosplayer.|"shit, it’s very confusing, but I did it" by michigopyon, posted 2016
File:Miraculous ladybug by kikyohanazawa dbbotsn-pre.jpg|alt=A Marinette cosplayer dressed in her Ladybug costume making a peace sign at the viewer.|Miraculous Ladybug by Kikyo Hanzawa, posted 2017
File:Finally did a Marinette cosplay to match my Ladybug.jpeg|alt=	A Marinette cosplayer dressed in Marinette's civilian outfit makes a peace sign at the camera. There is an image of Tikki edited to be floating next to her shoulder.|🌸 finally did a Marinette cosplay to match my Ladybug 🐞 by itsanarkee, posted 2019
File:Miraculous ladybug by pearlpeony.jpg|alt=	A Marinette cosplayer wearing her hair in Marinette's signature twintails and dressed in pink, black, and white polka dots.|Miraculous Ladybug by pearlpeony, posted 2019
File:You know we had to do it to em.jpeg|alt=	Three Marinette cosplayers re-enact the "three spidermen pointing at each other" meme. One wears Marinette's usual Ladybug outfit, another wears a variation without pigtails and with a dark section in the shape of pants on the jumpsuit, and the third wears a streetwear-based variation of the Ladybug outfit.|You know we had to do it to em by akumatizedcamembert, posted 2023
=== Fanvids ===
== Links & Resources ==
* Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug tag at Archive Of Our Own
* official Marinette Dupain-Cheng Instagram account
Category:Miraculous Ladybug Characters