#adrien gets a clue

[sariahsue]

Hope

Talk of dating had started as a joke.

Ladybug and Chat Noir were obviously not together, Adrien had said, so what better way to protect their identities than have their civilian personas date each other? Marinette laughed at the idea, and then took him up on it.

That was two weeks ago. Two glorious weeks. Two amazing, torturous, exhilarating weeks. Filled with timid handholding and awkward smiles and even a few kisses, for show.

Well, on Marinette's part it was for show. It killed him to know that the affection she so easily gifted to him was all fake, but Adrien tried to pour his heart into the little pecks that they shared, as he pretended she felt something for him, too.

Tonight, it was their first public appearance as a couple.

He'd been to the Hotel Le Marois only once before, for a wedding reception. This time it was a formal dinner for Fashion Week. The flower arrangements were towering yellows and blues, the outfits were stunning, and Marinette was vibrating with excitement next to him and outshining them all in a dress of her own design. She'd never looked more radiant or more kissable.

Dinner started out great. Marinette was seated to his right, and a teenage model friend of his, Lili, on his left. The three of them chatted through the main course, but during dessert, Lili reached forward and grabbed his hand. Marinette's laughter cut off mid-giggle.

"You okay?" he asked, turning toward her.

Marinette sipped her drink. Lili slid her hand away. Neither of them would look at him. What had he missed?

"Well." Lili stood up abruptly, her fruit cup only half eaten. "I see another friend I need to catch up with. It's been nice talking with you, Adrien."

He turned to watch as she walked away. "What was that about?" he asked Marinette.

She only blushed and shook her head.

---

After dinner, Adrien was a good little gentleman and pulled Marinette's seat out for her as she stood. "Ready to schmooze with a bunch of socialites?"

Marinette latched onto his arm, like she wanted to keep him close. (He could pretend.) "As long as we don't run into Lili again."

"What?" he asked. "What's wrong with her?" She was one of the models he enjoyed working with the most.

She only shrugged one slender (fashionably bare) shoulder. "I don't want to talk to her again. That's all."

"But–"

She cut him off with a glare.

"Okay." He raised his hands in surrender. "I won't make you talk to her again."

They spent the next half hour of the night flitting from one corner of the room to the other. Adrien would get into the rhythm of the conversation, and then someone would smile at him, or touch his arm, or laugh at something he said, and Marinette would pull him away shortly after. It was almost as if…

He shook his head to clear the thought. They were now standing at one side of the room all by themselves, partially hidden by a towering floral arrangement sitting above the equally towering but empty fireplace. He didn't think Marinette was appreciating the decorations though. She seemed to be glaring tiny daggers at anyone who caught her attention. (Though she might have been studying the designs. Her serious face sometimes looked mean. The death grip she had on his arm suggested the first option, though.)

"My Lady," he started. He said it in a joking tone. There was no way she really was... But he wished. And he wanted. "You feeling a little jealous tonight, hm?" She would probably roll her eyes, but she might smile at him, and he could pretend.

Marinette turned her face away, lips pressed in a thin line. Silent.

That- that almost sounded like an admission. Adrien found himself breathing very fast.

"Marinette?"

She turned back just enough for him to see the edge of her bright red cheek. "W-well, you're my date, aren't you? Not theirs?" Her grip on his arm tightened as she continued to ramble. "Maybe I don't want to share your attention. That's all! I thought we were going to hang out together tonight, you know, like hanging out. That's all." She turned her face to the floor at their feet instead and whispered, "That's all."

Adrien stopped pretending. He started hoping.

"Marinette, can I kiss you?"

She tilted her head in confusion. "We're dating," she said. "I told you you didn't need to ask every time."

"No, I mean—"

He moved in front of her so he could block out the distractions of the room and all the curious eyes, and then leaned toward her. Their faces were so close.

"Can I kiss you for real?"

(Based on this)

[carpetbug]

another character color test (just for u @wisteriasymphony mwuah i luv u)

for some reason i have such a love hate relationship with his color palette, it has potential but it feels sort of bland? if that makes sense lol

tikki and plagg up next <3 i haven’t really considered comparing my different kwami designs + canon so i think ill have a lot of fun with it

[emero0]

If I had a nickel for every time my favorite character/kin played the piano, I’d have 3 nickels

If I had one for every time they were also blond, over confident, but still genuine at heart - I’d have 3 1/2 (this makes sense trust me)

[coffeebanana]

For the prompt game:

"How did we even get here?"

"Dunno, but maybe we should've read the instructions, huh?"

With Adrino

CW drug use. (well, kind of. they're sort of fantasy drugs that teleport you but may or may not have other effects. and if they ARE drugs they're like shrooms, so nothing addictive)

--- "How did we even get here?" Nino groaned, rubbing his forehead as he slowly pushed himself up off the floor. 

Frankly, Adrien thought he was insane for attempting to sit up at all. Adrien didn't even have the energy to reach up and catch Nino's glasses before they slid from his face; instead he was fated to watch them bounce just out of Nino's reach. The world spun like a top, and the patterns on the rug scratching Adrien's cheek weaved together in front of his eyes in some sort of intricate dance--one that made him certain the threads were trying to seduce him. 

(Or maybe he was high? Could magical ghost mushrooms get you high?)

Nino wanted to know how they'd gotten here. But Adrien wasn't even sure where here was.

"Dunno," he said shakily. "But maybe we should've read the instructions, huh?"

Nino's hand froze midway through fumbling for his glasses, eyes bugging out of his head. "There were instructions?"

"Uh...no." Adrien forced a laugh. "Just a joke."

Adrien looked away, stomach churning. Because nothing about this was funny. None of it made any sense at all.

He'd only wanted to bring his girlfriend back from the dead. So why did her ghost seem dead set--pun NOT intended--on setting him up with his best friend?

---

Thanks for the ask!! 💜

[sillysiluriforme]

Hey! I'm a huge fan of your le terror au (forgive me if I misspelled it) but I feel like I'm missing context clues? This could be just me but it says the au is Adrigamette, yet it seems more Marigami? And while everyone is having unspeakable horrors happen to them, it kinda seems like Adrien is the only one who isn't going to have a happy ending? If he's in a poly relationship, it seems like Kagami and Marinette are more in love with eachother and don't care about Adrien, and people seem to hate him even while getting to know he's a good person (I assume from your au he's a good person?) Again, I could be missing context clues as not all the comics have uploaded where I am so I'm grasping at straws here, and you don't have to explain, but is there like a link explaining the character dynamics a bit? Sorry to bother you!

1. Kagami’s the center of the throuple for most of the story. Adrinette takes a LOT of build up to happen.

2. This is a horror thriller comic how happy do you think everyone will be when the story ends ?

3. Adrien has a shit reputation in his class because he’s a billionaire model who’s friends with and keeps defending a bully to her victim’s faces. Like sure he has his reasons but that’s never gonna look good from an outside perspective. It’s part of his character arc it’s fine.

It’s 2002, they’re in high school, they’re French, they’re either obscenely rich or exceptionally talented at something and they’re basically stuck in the Chernobyl exclusion zone obviously they’re all going to be a little mean sometimes.

I like Adrien as much as anyone else but fan media is allowed to not be about him for 5 seconds. He has flaws and I won’t coddle him. When he fucks up in the story it’s his fault even he goes boo boo baby more about it. I won’t stand for your white woman tears Barbie boy.

[certifiedducky]

Reasons why I don’t believe Chloe was never meant to be redeemed:

1) the intro, from season one, included queen bee

And she’s the only hero who has since been replaced. If nothing else, it shows that they didn’t plan on vesperia until way later.

2) She was given a sympathetic backstory(which they used to enact short-term change)

and i am specifically talking about despair bear, which makes me all sorts of frustrated because her butler using her self-soothing method to manipulate and shame her into acting better for her classmates makes me feel so sad for her.

but the fact still stands that they gave Chloe a sympathetic backstory that not only tied her to adrien, potentially giving her an ally to help her change, but to explain(not excuse) her behavior.

there is ZERO reason for that screenshot to exist of a character that was never considered for redemption. you don’t paint your villains that way.

3) lila, like her entire existence

Okay so like, as a superhero show that has clear time both in and out of the suits, it makes sense to have clear civilian AND supervillain antagonists to keep it interesting on both sides. In season one, Ladybug and Chat Noir had hawkmoth. Adrien had Gabriel, and Marinette had Chloe. At the end of the season, they introduced lila as marinette’s civilian antagonist. THERE WAS NO REASON TO INTRODUCE A NEW ANTAGONIST FOR MARINETTE UNLESS THEY KNEW THERE WOULD BE A VOID SOON. The fact that Lila and Chloe essentially serve the same purpose after season 3, so much so that lila is almost completely sidelined until much later, shows that they didn’t know what to do with them *because chloe wasn’t supposed to be a villain*.

4) zoe & vesperia

Here’s the thing: If Chloe was meant to be irredeemable from the start, there should have been a clear plan for the bee miraculous. I can think of two ways it could’ve gone: either develop another bee holder from season 2 onwards, or have chloe steal the bee. Because what we got instead was Chloe’s half sister who was introduced in season FOUR. Not only was she introduced to the show, she was introduced to marinette. And she received her miraculous in the very next episode. There was no development, and it reflects very poorly on marinette that she chose to give a miraculous to a girl she had just met(and a girl related to Chloe at that, even if Zoe was nice, it’s very irresponsible). Had Zoe been introduced in season 2, or even the beginning of 3, it would’ve made way more sense for her to be given a miraculous by season 4. But that’s not what happened. Instead we get a character that’s shoehorned into a role because it needs filled.

5) RESISTING AN AKUMA

Chloe was the first person to resist an akuma. enough said. Because why would you give that accomplishment to a character that you planned to stay an antagonist from the start????

And listen, i’m not the first person to say these things. And it’s not the first time i’ve said it. and i’ll say it again and again because it’s frustrating. Because not only did we get this potential, but we’re being told to our faces that it was never there. That we’re crazy for thinking she could change. I don’t know what was going on in the writers room, but honestly even if they DID plan to keep her an antagonist from the start, maybe they should start lying and say they changed their minds. because all of the clues point to her being redeemed. It leaves the writers looking incompetent, utterly incompetent.

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

If you were to write Lila would you keep her being a con artist criminal with multiple identities but hinted at/revealed it earlier than S5 or would you cut that part down of her character entirely ?

It would really depend on how much space I had to fill. Gabriel is not the kind of villain that you can draw out forever. His story needs to have a clearly planned ending right from the start. In fact, I think they drew him out at least a season too long. So, if I also had to fill eight seasons, I could see myself going the Lila route. I'd just make a few changes. Off the top off my head, here's how I'd handle serious villain Lila as opposed to what canon wrote, which is petty school bully Lila who is entirely unbelievable as a serious villain.

First of all, Lila wouldn't be introduced at the end of season one. While her and Gabriel probably need to have some overlap, that's way too soon. In my version, she shows up at the start of season four and she'd be heavily toned down. We'd know that something was off about her, we may even keep the liar thing, but it would be a lot more subtle. Lies like, "Ladybug rescued me" and "I got to go backstage at a Jagged Stone concert" instead of "Ladybug is my bff" and "Jagged Stone wrote a song about me." Her goal would no longer be gaining peons, but instead gaining true close friends who like and trust her. The reason for this is that Lila is replacing Optigami as Mayura's last sentimonster.

See, season three ended with all those identity reveals and most of the revealed identities are in the same class. That's curious, so it makes perfect sense for Nathalie and Gabriel to want someone undercover in Adrien's class, but they can't do it. So Nathalie makes a sentikid of her own, gives her the power of manipulation, and sends her off to try to find Ladybug and/or Chat Noir by whatever means necessary.

This would give a clear reason for Gabriel to trust Lila, a clear reason for Lila to know all about the miraculous, and a clear reason for Lila to hate Ladybug. In this version, I wouldn't do Nathalie's lackluster redemption. Instead, Nathalie stays bad right up to her death. Perhaps her last act is getting the butterfly to her daughter and ordering her to get revenge on Ladybug and Chat Noir should Gabriel fail. After all, Gabriel can't wield more than six miraculous at once, so it makes sense for him to send Nathalie off with at least one of them while he enacts his master plan just in case it fails.

That's just one potential path to take. I also like the idea of having Lila be someone who came to Paris in order to find the miraculous, but who has no ties to the Agrestes. That would require some pretty big changes to her character, though, as I can't see that type of character caring about things like dating Adrien or being a model or all the other crap that has nothing to do with gaining a miraculous and everything to do with popularity and social clout. Lila canonically doesn't know that Gabriel even has a miraculous until the final of season four, so she basically just lucked into finding one instead of doing anything logical to find it because this show has no clue how to actually write smart, clever characters.

In summary, I'm totally fine with complex, master-manipulator Lila, it's just hard to figure out the best way to make her work when we don't know anything about her backstory or motivation. The version proposed above is just the best I can do to fit her into the role canon placed her in. A role I could easily see later seasons flat out ignoring.

[s4tvrnsays]

Finally got around to drawing Élodie! The last artwork i did makes her look scary lol but shes a cutie pie trust me.

Some info about her:

She does ballet. She dislikes it though, and only does it because she’s forced to. She doesn’t want to be under the spotlight doing the jumps and twirls. Rather, she wants to be the one behind the camera lens, the one over the keyboard writing article after article about ballet.

Her hobby is photography. Her parents dont approve, but her older brother helps her out by getting her an early internship at the magazine where he works. Through this internship is where she will first meet adrien.

She’s a mean ass bitch lol. Has absolutely zero friends because she hates everyone at school. Alya specifically hates her the most because when she came up to Élodie to ask her if she wanted to help her with the school paper (since she knows the girl also likes journalism), Élodie just gave her a rude look and walked away, earning alyas scorn ever since haha

This isnt just some quirk, its one of her biggest problems, along with her temper. She sees people as nuisances and beneath her, ignoring the fact that she needs people in her life. Her journey —aided by her kwami— will be to be truer to herself, and learn tolerance and altruism, and be more accepting of people’s friendship.

Her favorite thing in the world is chocolate. Its an actual obsession, something her parents dont approve of (shocker) because she “has to keep her figure”. But she ignores them, and keeps a stash of it on her at all times.

The second picture is what i think she’d look like if she switched her miraculous (Élodie says she hates the bows but the girly girl inside her is jumping for joy).

Alternate Universe details under the cut!

So basically, élodie is from my enhance mlb au thats been spinning in my head recently. It’s basically a mix of early seasons miraculous and concept mlb.

It’s unlikely that this will ever be anything but a concept au bc i have commitment issues but-

Here are the things i changed/added (when it comes to the heroes):

I always thought that lb’s miraculous ladybug power shouldnt be exclusive to her, so i removed it in favor of bringing back her concept powers (the shapeshifting yoyo). In the case of cn, i gave him his old power of black hole because why the hell does he have one power????

But this poses a problem— who will cleanse the akumas? Thats where élodie comes in!

For context, in this au Ladybug and Chat Noir are WAYYYY more chaotic:

Ladybug is still the planner, but her plans are way crazier and confusing to carry out. She gets so caught up in her imagination and idea of a plan, that she fails to consider what might happen if it goes wrong.

Chat Noir is more destructive, more trigger happy with his cataclysm. He finally gets to be free of his dad breathing down his neck and he’ll he damned if he won’t enjoy it!

Élodie as Cigognelle will be the mediator between them. She makes sure the balance is kept, and that they dont blow up the world while theyre trying to save it. That is the purpose of the crane miraculous. It has the power of reguvination and longevity. The balance is preserved, lengthened, and anomalies are corrected.

Its power of increasing its holder’s lifespan made it a favorite of guardians, including Master Fu.

Its kwami, Xiann, is wise and all knowing, often picking his own holders. He sees potential in them, and aids them into becoming true cranes — true upholders of the balance between creation and destruction.

To summarize, here are the big 3’s powers. There will be primary, secondary, and passive powers for each.

Ladybug:

Primary: Lucky Charm, gives the holder clues to help them win the battle. Same as the og.

Secondary: bug bomb/shield/staff. Its in the name, the holder can transform the yoyo into one of these weapons. They can only transform it once each battle, so ladybugs must carefully choose which one will aid them. This doesn’t mean it cant go back to its og form, just that it cant turn into a bomb AND a shield in the same battle.

Passive: grants good luck to its holder. No downsides, ladybugs really are just blessed.

Oh and for fun lets give them side effects.

Side effect: holders become far more tired in the winter, sleeping longer.

Black Cat:

Primary: Cataclysm, destroys anything the holder touches, turning it into dust. Also no change.

Secondary: Black hole. The black cat holder can teleport objects from one black hole to the next. Only two black holes can be present at the same time.

Passive: grants bad luck to its holder. This causes a lot of strife for the holders, but once they learn to accept their miraculous the bad luck will lessen, though never fading.

Side effect: black cats become more nocturnal after becoming the holders of this miraculous, and may or may not have a strange fascination with small, moving objects…. (They have enough self restraint to not chase after them though…)

Crane:

Primary: Ameliorate, which heals all damage caused by unnatural forces, such as kwami powers. However, if the damage from the fight happened too long ago, it will be considered a part of the natural environment, and will only restore future damage up to that point.

Secondary: Gust. Allows the holders to create powerful wind gusts with a flap of their “wings”. Only three gusts can be created each battle (because i had to give this power a downside)

Passive: extends its holder’s lifespan by 20 and up to 40 years. Depending on how long it takes the crane holder to become a true crane, their life span will either increase by a bit (if they learn sooner) or by a BUNCH (if its later).

Side effect: lying becomes way harder, and honesty — especially to oneself — will be all that the holders can say. Also, cranes often find themselves becoming more sociable after gaining their miraculous, which is often a shock since most cranes start of as quite antisocial.

All three can cleanse akumas but only the crane can restore damage !

And thats all!!

This formatting was horrible but i didnt plan any of this, its all word vomit LOL. If you have any thoughts about this, or any way my au can be improved (bc im really trying to make sure all protagonists get equal importance and care, i don’t want Cigognelle to be a mary sue lol) please make a comment! I dont have anyone thinking this up with me, its all from my noggin, so feedback is always welcome!

[sweetmeatdale]

Upon her introduction to the series Kagami’s main weapon of choice is a foil, a sort of light weight blunted fencing rapier. This is however possibly also intended as a pun, because her purpose in the narrative is also a foil.

A word repeated changes it’s meaning.

Kagami means “mirror” in Japanese and as is often the case in fiction, that name gives us some insight to what the writers intended when imagining her. In this case, she’s a mirror/foil to both our main protagonists. But since Marinette and Adrien are already a Yin Yang couple, built on complimenting and contrasting each other all the way down to having their color schemes be each other’s negatives. So how does she manage to mirror them both?

Well, where is the mirror between you and your reflection? Right in the middle. She shows each of them themselves, but with a little bit reversed.

A foil exists to provide contrast; When Marinette’s too afraid to make a move Kagami’s bold and rushes straight ahead, when Adrien struggles to disobey his father her strong and stubborn will stands firm, when Marinette’s trying to self sabotage her best friends day contest Kagami’s making an earnest effort with Adrien’s quirky friend who he suggested she might like, when Adrien and Luka are too stunned to help up Marinette she makes her move, when Ladybug has a plan for a stealthy escape Ryuuko boldly attempts to fight Ikari Gozen, when Marinette’s clumsy and disoriented Kagami’s athletic and skilled, and when Adrien is unable to effectively comment why he can’t always be present for her Kagami is able to express why that lack of honesty won’t work for her.

A silvery foil is what gives a mirror it’s reflective surface, the things reflected on the other side will still match.

The Cat and Ladybug miraculouses always find each other through fate? Well Adrien and Kagami were literally made for each other.

She high society like Adrien.

She struggles to communicate and express herself like Marinette.

Adrien’s an anime nerd? Kagami reads manga and bases relationship advice off of them.

Marinette hates liars? Kagami’s reason for breaking up with Adrien also led to her becoming an Akuma that embodies her hatred for dishonesty.

She revels in tiny bits of rebellion with Adrien.

She tries to capture the world around her through art and even sketches and paints in her spare time like Marinette, she even paints with Marinette.

She tries to wingman for Adrien with Marinette like how Marinette tried to help her back together with him

She’s burdened by familial expectations like Adrien

She had a helmet removal scene that was literally copied for Marinette, both even happen at the front of the school

Ryuuko’s fighting style matches Chat’s, her main color scheme matches Ladybug’s, and her civilian attire has a white overcoat with a black under shirt like Adrien’s that give a perfect white/black futatsutomoe (☯️) with Marinette’s black jacket over a white shirt.

She’s obviously visually inspired by Marinette’s overall design with her hair and even her freckles are more prominent on the opposite side of her face than where Marinette’s are(Kagami has more overall but her’s are mainly on the left side of her face while Marinette’s are on the right)

When Adrien’s only parent is his father she’s left with only her mother

When Marinette has several friends to fall back on Kagami feels alone and when Adrien feels isolated Kagami’s there alongside his other friends

When we start to get clues about who is a senti-being we get scenes of both Kagami and Adrien

Both Marinette and Kagami have arcs about setting their own feelings aside to support the other

Both Adrien and Kagami have their image co-opted by their parents for a soulless ai assistant copy of themselves.

She even counterbalances their heroics by having some of the most akuma forms and by being one of the fastest to reveal her own identity

A foil has many uses in a narrative, and by letting her be a counterpart to two protagonists at once it has allowed her to become one of the most dynamic and fleshed out characters in the show, even if a lot of that was in service of fleshing out other characters. Heck she even mirrors herself in ways, just look at how Ryuuko’s symbol flows counter to the Tsurugi family crest, she’s a break from tradition and what was intended for her.

I know I’m probably still forgetting things but I just wanted to have a little rant about how I love these themes.

Kagami is a mirror, she is a foil, a word repeated.

[daniwolf9005]

Sorry this came so late- but Merry Christmas @part-time-pixie !! I was your secret Santa for the @mlsecretsanta 2023 event! This piece went through a lot of complications because I was so unsure about a lot of things! Let me run down the process!

I knew it had to be your AU since that’s a lot more personal and I myself am a big fan of personalized stuff! So I actually never knew anything about Winx before this so I researched- about 6 episodes for context of the fairy and specialist relations- so that’s one reason why the startup was slow but then!! I needed to figure out a setting- originally I was going with Magix City- but the color palette was more green and I wanted a more warm palette- but for the life of me I couldn’t find a place that screamed romance- eventually I gave in and just looked up “date in Winx” or something like that- and boom!! This place showed up- so heavy inspiration of the setting from this screen shot (lots of details were forgotten waaah-)

And then it was little things- from my research I realized they only transformed when battling so I needed a casual outfit (note for some reason I forgot to apply this logic to Luka’s fit I’m sorry 😭) for Adrien that wasn’t his powered up form for a casual setting- I ended up just asking- and I hope that didn’t clue you in but nonetheless I hope it was still somewhat a surprise! I’m so glad I did though because at that point I could finally finish the sketch- which was around the end of December so I was stuck on that for a while 😭

I finished the line art and coloring in a rush and man you can tell ;v; I went through a lot in coloring stage- I tried finishing this piece during a family outing and my markers (about 80+) fell out of their holders and went everywhere- also learned coloring over my white pen did not in fact keep it solid and the white began to get washed away from the marker on top, revealing the line art I messed up on beneath- one of the things that made me glad I was late is when you made this piece and I realized his gem clasp was teal- I was gonna make it yellow since that was the last red fountain specialist color not used and I assumed he’d just take it lmao! Though in short I went through all the stages of grief when doing the coloring ;v;

All to say though I hope despite all the flaws you still like it! I was really happy with this around the line art stage and even now- I’m just harsh on my own work but this is actually the biggest piece in my art book (I’ve been working on this book since Summer 2022!) so I suppose that is to say I’m glad I was able to try something new with this one!

(Also small note but I realized the quality turned out really fuzzy on here- if you want @part-time-pixie I can send a zip file to you in dms?)

[tumblingxelian]

I know it'll never happen in canon but I'd kind of love it if Emilie had been brought back (No afterlife wife for you Gabriel) & not being an idiot deduced her husband was Hawk Moth.

& like at first she figures she should let sleeping dogs lie, she doesn't want Adrien or herself hated for stuff Gabriel did & everyone seems fine right?

"Say where's your little friend Chloe?" "Oh we're not friends anymore, she's awful, she traumatized Marinette, became a supervillain and finally got banished with her mom. She was terrible since day one, I just never realized it." "I ... See..." (Notices Nathalie's brief deer in the headlights look) "You should meet Zoe, she's much better, Andre is much happier with her around!" "I'll have to do that." (Strained smile)

Cue a drawn out and seemingly very happy meeting with Andre & Zoe, and Zoe feeling quite welcomed but needing to leave to go hang with friends.

Cue Emilie turning all business the second the door closes.

"Andre you knew about the Peacock Miraculous, why didn't you tell anyone what Gabriel was doing?" "I couldn't be sure, gave him the benefit of the doubt and well, we all got a happy ending didn't we?" "You banished your daughter?" "She was abusing me, has been making me do horrible things she was a toddler." "..." (The fuck!?)

Follow that up with a brief and gentle talk with Marinette, broaching the subject of Derision Trauma.

"Trauma? I mean Chloe sucked and I'm glad she's gone, but she never traumatized me." "I see, Adrien seemed to feel differently." "Sorry no clue what that's about, though... He's been awfully weird about spiders lately. Like he expects them to make me breakdown crying or something, I can ask him about that if you want." "No need for that yet dear, now show me what you were working on." :)

(For those confused I am saying Lila basically orchestrated Derision, the only people in that pool room were Adrien & herself. Hence why it gets stuff wrong like Kim not being afraid of spiders)

Finally returning home to Nathalie she asks:

"Nathalie, I know you were Mayura, I know Gabriel was Hawk Moth, and I promise to only be mad at Gabriel if you tell me exactly what you two did to Chloe, and hell, everyone. I want all the detail. Now." (Several hours later into Nathalie's -How we broke several teenagers minds- Seminar) "What the fuck Nathalie?!" "You promised not to be mad!" "What did you expect me to say, congrats on breaking the minds of two teenage girls, one of whom just moved here & other being my god daughter!" "To be fair, Audrey & Andre being terrible parents helped a lot there." "You have no idea how little this is helping your case!"

Cue having to figure out how to fix this mess, if that is even possible.

[uunromanticized]

Hi I read your Luka hcs and they make me so happy 😀 Is it okay if I can request heDcannons for Luka being in a relationship with Adriens twin sister? She knows about her brother being chat noir and always worries about him and her and Adrian just always hang out (when they are able) on liberty with everyone? Thank you sorry if this was confusing English is a little hard for me !!

hello anon!! i am so so happy to hear that 🥹 everyone makes me so happy when they tell me they like what i write!!! it’s no issue at all, your english is very good i think!! i tried my best, hopefully you enjoy!

luka in a relationship with adriens twin sister

𝒊’𝒗𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒎𝒆𝒕 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖.

while you’re adriens sister, you’re also more than that to luka. you’ve always been more than that to luka.

- you’re very anxiety-prone because you’re on edge due to what your brother did undercover. especially during akuma attacks.

- you’ve shown up on the news before due to being reckless in protection for your twin (people are fed up. like you are the equivalent of alya getting all up in the face of danger for the ladyblog but for your brother)

- whenever luka first meets you he recognizes you for that exact reason. he thinks you’re cool

- adrien randomly drags you away from luka sometimes because you’re his one (1) confidant about his miraculous

- this causes a bit of strain in the early stages of your relationship, but luckily after he finds out adriens identity later he’s understanding about it

- he teaches you breathing exercises to deal with your anxiety when adriens chat noir

- this man has to keep you from your previously mentioned protection escapades. like he gets it but no you cannot go outside the villain is literally throwing cars everywhere.

- you’re just as cheery as your twin, but a little more outgoing and luka immediately noticed that.

- he asked you out after you almost got akumatized (he was stressed)

- speaking of, he was the one who comforted you whenever you just burst into tears over almost getting akumatized. like he had no clue what was going on and you couldn’t say you didn’t want to fight your brother for obvious reasons but he comforted you as best as he could

- him and adrien get along so he goes to him sometimes whenever he needs input on something regarding you

- you drag luka into making plans to try to get a (unknown to them) double date with adrien and marinette

- you have definitely bet on when marinette and adrien would get together because nobody can deny that they will & it’s just a matter of when

- when you win the bet he takes you out for dinner (he definitely would have anyways)

- adrien will sometimes try to sneak luka in as a surprise for you during some of your things like piano lessons (luka has to be Way hidden but you’re just happy he’s there and that makes them both happy)

- you’ve tried to teach luka fencing before and that failed like. miserably. but to be fair luka tried to teach you guitar once and you were bad at that

- he prefers that you’re either out of the house or at his house because he knows the environment at yours

- he loves watching you hang out with everyone & also watching the interactions between you and adrien, he appreciates just watching you show your own ways of platonic and familial love

- invites you over for dinner most nights. sometimes invites adrien too

[mostmagical]

reading year in review

posting this at the behest of @bittersweetresilience... 1-2 of my favorite fics that I read for each month of the year

I’m not tagging anyone in this other than mutuals who happen to be on the list because I DON’T KNOW. this is SCARY. I’m just a girl. what do I know about anything.

01 JANUARY

Graine de toi by MireilleTanaka (Miraculous Ladybug)

Ladybug and Chat Noir think they’re close, until they begin waking up in one another’s skin. AU: Adrien is homeschooled, and he and Marinette have never met

Body swap AND Never Met AU fic based loosely on Kimi na wa that lived in my head for ages. @blur0se sent this to me when we were just little baby new friends because she thought I would like it and she was exactly right because I loved it.

In Pursuit of the Uneatable by @nemaliwrites (Miraculous Ladybug

In a Paris where Lila weaves tales that blind the city, Marinette stands accused, isolated. Her parents' trust is shattered, her friends distant, and in battle, illusions blur the line between ally and enemy. As the shadows and uncertainty threaten to close in, Marinette finds herself turning to the last person who claims to be on her side: a boy in a white mask who calls himself a fox hunter.

This fic is so good and we are all blessed to have a chance to read Nemali writing… I feel awful because I still need to finish this fic but I think about it all the time. Nemali’s prose and Lila characterization, and just the general concept– AGH. Top tier.

02 FEBRUARY

never been in love by bittersweetResilience (Miraculous Ladybug)

Félix wonders if he has a heart. If he does, it doesn’t beat like that.

I love ace spectrum characters I love Sunny writing I love Sunny ace spectrum fic… Made me cry.

03 MARCH

watership down by bittersweetResilience (Miraculous Ladybug)

“Of course we get along.” Emilie’s hand reaches over to slip into Amélie’s. As always, her fingers loosen as soon as Amélie has reciprocated the hold. She swings their hands in a carefree arc between them, looking into the woods ahead, relying on Amélie’s grip to keep them linked. “We’re soulmates. No secrets between us.” Amélie and Emilie, through the years. A non-linear narrative.

This fic is sooo good you guys. So good. GAH. Sunny writing + Sunny Amelie and Félix, and complicated family relationships, and pretty prose and WATERSHIP DOWN. It feels like a coming of age film in your head.

Season of Giving by The_Rabbit42 (Miraculous Ladybug)

As Christmas draws near, Adrien and Marinette want to find special presents to give their partner and… other partner. Combined with Adrien rediscovering what Christmas is without his parents, Marinette getting sick, and Alya and Adrien becoming closer friends, it's sure to be a memorable holiday.

Honestly, this year, March was one of my lowest months for a lot of personal reasons, and I happened to stumble upon this Christmas fic and it just made me feel better.

04 APRIL

Maybe This Life by @coffeebanana (Miraculous Ladybug)

"Adrien's in the hospital." Woken in the dead of night by a series of frantic phone calls, Marinette finds herself boarding a bus from New York to Montreal instead of flying home for winter break. Not that she has a clue how she'll navigate living with Adrien—who definitely wants nothing to do with her since the break up—for the indefinite future. Adrien just wants to find the energy to convince Marinette he's fine—that she can leave. Because having her here hurts too much, and he's better off alone. At least, that's what he tells himself. They're an ocean away from home, stuck together in a one-bedroom apartment, in a city suffocated by snow. The distance between them has never felt so insurmountable. But maybe there's hope after all.

MTL fic… Sad, awkward exes fic. And CoffeeBanana writing. What more could you ask for in life…? So excited to see more of this unfold when Kayla is finally free from deadlines…

05 MAY

again. I didn’t do anything in May because I was 100%-ing ME3. and it ruined my life. (/pos) anyway. Mass Effect fic dump now

06 JUNE

picture perfect (get your head out of the sky) by luffia (Mass Effect Trilogy)

The logic of attraction is awful, and realising you have a thing for your undead human best friend who technically outranks you makes it all ten times worse.

This is just so funny. Jack torturing Garrus by pointing out his attraction lives in my head forever. Perfectly executed feeling of Oh. and then Oh no.

Beating Like A Hammer by skybound2 (Mass Effect Trilogy)

Garrus doesn't know if she is real, or a hallucination, but when Shepard storms back into his life on Omega, he finds that he doesn't much care. He just knows that he's not letting her go again, not if he can help it.

Shepard staying with Garrus and sending the other two squadmates to close the vents during his recruitment mission. Who would I be if I didn’t have at least one Omega fic on here. Be real.

07 JULY

it makes sense that it should hurt in this way (that my heart should break – and my hands should shake – ) by calypsid (Mass Effect Trilogy)

When Garrus gets home to Palaven, he finds something in his luggage he doesn't remember putting there himself.

I cannot explain to you how often I think about this fic. It’s short and sweet— Shepard isn’t even really there, but it’s just a fic that sticks with me so entirely. I actually need to go back to it because I think I was still lurking in the fandom and I probably didn’t comment, which is an absolute crime.

the view between by @bbutterflies (Miraculous Ladybug)

Adrien is standing at the front doors of the mansion. It’s abandoned now, though it doesn’t look much different. It feels safer somehow. He hates himself for thinking it. Father was a hero. His eyes burn and he fights away the guilt. Father was a hero and it doesn’t matter what else happened before because he’s gone. All Adrien has of his parents is the twin rings on his hand.

I've only read a handful of Post-S5 fics, but I read this one and it hit sooo well. It’s so sad and haunting and such a lovely peek into Adrien’s brain.

08 AUGUST

大鱼 by bittersweetResilience (Honkai: Star Rail)

It feels like lightning, the thrust of the spear through him. The same lightning that crackles at his fingertips, that arcs up his spine, that dances over his skin like fireflies in those winedrunk memories. Bandaged hands and bleeding ink and a hundred thousand fragments of abundance and destruction. or, Jing Yuan lets go of these seven hundred years of dreams.

Well of course. I gotta. The Renjing character study of all character studies (I’m unqualified to say this). I love this fic because first of all, Sunny prose is always beautiful, and second of all, Sunny loves this fic. I love what Renjing did to your writing. I love that you started writing more fluff and AUs and reading Chinese fic, and I know this fic is a big part of the journey. I loved reading it.

Well. Fuck. by quondam (Mass Effect Trilogy)

When he least expects it, Garrus finds Shepard at the door of his apartment on the Citadel, looking for a place to spend the night. Set between ME1 & ME2. Prompt called for a fill on humor & sex.

This is my favorite Shakarian smut. I don’t read a TON of smut. But I love this one. SO much. Amazing humor. Post-ME1, pre-ME2, with a very in-character Garrus. And I love that awkward ME1 Garrus.

09 SEPTEMBER

Marked Introductions by Feynite (Mass Effect Trilogy)

The words on Shepard’s forearm are… not in English.

I love the world-building in this fic and specifically the thought put into the turian language aspect. They even used phonetics… I cheered in my bed with my Bachelor’s degree. It’s actually bookmarked with a note that just says “LINGUISTICS” because I got so excited.

the light that throws itself on everything by @asukiess (Miraculous Ladybug)

the light that throws itself on everything, stretching twice, at dusk and again at dawn, agrees to stay, but only for a while.

This is it. The fic that revived my love of poetry. The reason I write fandom poems now. It’s everything… It’s the light… The light throwing itself on everything… Tragic. Gay. Poetry.

10 OCTOBER

Observations Upon Waking by interventionsandlullabies (Mass Effect Trilogy)

A collection of moments in which Garrus wakes up and takes in his surroundings. Some better, some worse. Some best.

I adore this author’s internal monologue for Garrus so so much. Cathartic post-ME3 fic. A little sad, but then a lot happy.

11 NOVEMBER

Edge of Yesterday by @that-wildwolf (Mass Effect Trilogy)

The war is over and Shepard's still alive. Except she doesn't really understand what war everyone is talking about, or who half of these people are... The last thing she does remember is the Normandy blowing up over Alchera. Which apparently was a few years ago, and things had changed a lot during that time. She doesn't even know which bothers her more: that everyone wants her to be someone she's not, or that Garrus has been strangely distant ever since she woke up... TL;DR: Shepard survives but loses all her memories since her death in ME2. Shakarian angst and regular angst, all mixed up together into a nice hurt/comfort cocktail. Despite the scary tags this has a happy ending.

I think I’ve been pretty loud about how much I love this fic, but why not be a little louder. This is probably my favorite fic I’ve read this year. I cried so many times, stayed up so late reading some nights, and I still think about it all the time. Some of my absolute favorite tropes done exceedingly well, and just all-around wonderful character moments. And I even made a friend out of reading it, so I doubly win.

Change Starts With Today by ThatWildWolf (Mass Effect Trilogy)

From the records of Doctor Marta Domańska, professional psychiatrist specialising in trauma: 2188, one year since the conclusion of the Reaper War. Patient admitted to psychotherapy: turian male, 25 to 30 years old, shows signs of deep-rooted psychological trauma. Admitted to therapy after losing a loved one; patient classified as high-risk. Advised course of action: continue psychotherapy and monitoring patient's state. Prescribe mood stabilisers if needed.

I would be remiss not to include this. A lovely little companion piece to EoY with an amazing Garrus character study and a very lovable OC. Makes my heart ache all over again. Reliving the magic, really.

12 DECEMBER

dreamt a cipher by @milkywayes (Mass Effect Trilogy)

Her own personal Noverian peak. That’s what it was supposed to be. Nothing but the discovery: no distractions, no comfort, no windows looking out—no familiar faces. But it's starting to look like her winning streak might have ended in that pile of Citadel rubble, if it ever extended that far to begin with.

Another fic that has been on my radar forever but I didn’t read until the end of the year. So sad, but also such great humor and such a compelling mystery that it all balances out perfectly. Wonderful world-building, incredible characterization, and honestly? Jealousy-inducing prose, it’s so good— so much so that I’m almost embarrassed to tag milky but I have to… milky deserves to know…

Tomorrow's Light by ThatWildWolf (Mass Effect Trilogy)

Garrus asked Shepard to move to Palaven with him. Things are looking up and rebuilding after the Reaper War is well underway, but loneliness and pain take their toll nonetheless. An examination of life and love in the wake of incredible trauma, of a galaxy torn apart and put back together, through the lens of two people. [Post-canon, Shakarian, equal parts fluff and angst.]

Am I the luckiest girl in the world that an EoY follow-up fic was published the month after I read EoY? I think so… This fic was lovely and cathartic and I love the way Wild gets into their brains…

[almadesarrollo]

AND HERE THE LATEST NEWS FROM MIRACULOUS: THOMAS ASTRUC.

Thomas is in Porto Alegre, Brazil, working on the story board for season 6. This is confirmed because in the image/sequence we see: 605_2, so the number confirms that it is S6.

SO YOU CAN SEE THAT HE IS PARTICIPATING A LOT, now this IS FROM Brazil SO WE WILL SURELY HAVE NEWS SOON, SINCE WE KNOW THAT BRAZIL HAS A DIRECT LINE WITH MLB NOW.

NOW ANY CLUES FROM S6? Well, look, in the link above we have better quality than the previous posts, which did not show anything at all, but it is not that much is seen, let's try to get something...

1 image: in the thumbnails below, there are 2 characters, many say they are Marinette and Adrien, it can't be Marinette because the two characters look like they have super short hair and in the new designs Marinette doesn't have hair like that,

(yes, I said that she was going to change it in the future, but that's still a while away and you can see that they haven't made much progress) so it can't even be NEITHER MARINETTE NOR LADYBUG, so it's ruled out.

Now could it be Adrien? Nor, if the characters have grown, logically the tallest one would have to be Adrian, since he was tall when he was in previous seasons,

Imagine now...and now, I see him too muscular, well Adrien has muscle but toned, not with SO MUCH MUSCLE, I don't see Adrien there. And the one on the side. Not so short either....so Adrien ruled out...

So who could they be? It started with the short guy, notice that he seems to have glasses, so we will have to look for a short character with glasses, IN THAT EQUATION MAX AND Sabrina COME IN, and judging by the haircut, it's a good idea that it's Max, then it could be him, If he is Max, by that rule of three, the one next to him could be Kim, since with that difference in height, short hair and muscles...he looks like him, THEN THEY COULD BE KIM AND MAX.

2 image, we have what appears to be a girl with glasses and a ponytail...people say she could be Marinette with the mouse and the horse miraculous, but again this doesn't make sense, since that hairstyle is not from marinette,

and yes, its design in exchange for this season, but not that much, it wouldn't make sense....honestly I only see someone here in civilian clothes, if they have glasses and are female we have to think about those characters: it could be Sabrina, that pose is very her,

and with those big glasses it sounds to me like it's her, it's possible that she might change her hairstyle here, we remember that she loves soccer, I wouldn't be surprised if she had a ponytail...

But hey, this is all I have been able to get, what do you think? who do you see?

Like, reblog, and follow me if you like it and to see more content of this type.

See you in the next post.

[ilikekidsshows]

I think it's wild how the show gaslight the audience into believing Marinette as the great leader, a caring partner, best love interest etc etc when she's not. The fandom also doesn't help in this matter since any reasonable criticism to her character means flame and people who doesn't like Marinette is misogynist incel who couldn't handle to see a strong female lead while I'm here be like : strong female lead, where? 🧐

---

Time times Marinette didn’t act like the sole flawless hero protagonist she supposedly is until someone else gave her a proverbial kick in the butt or patted her on the head and called her a good girl first:

Pharaoh: The mere mention of other Ladybugs makes Marinette mope and Tikki has to shower her in praise to get her over it

Evillustrator: Cat Noir has to tell her that it's her job to protect Chloé from the super villain that wants to hurt her and she still abandons her duty

Rogercop: Accuses everyone else of being a thief to cover her own skin, and only realizes how bad that was when her dad pointed it out

Lady Wifi: Cat Noir has to help her focus on the job while he’s the one injured

Origins: Both her dad and Cat Noir comfort her after she felt like she failed

Antibug: Refuses to listen to the obvious clue Chloé gave to her about where her best friend’s Akuma would be, and when Cat Noir pointed this out, she gave excuses

Antibug (again): Antibug is threatening to kill Cat Noir, but she wouldn’t even try to save him because she wasn’t transformed until Tikki told her to

Volpina: Was instantly ready to give up her Miraculous to Volpina at the mere chance that she had the real Adrien as a hostage, even as Cat Noir was right next to her pointing out it was more likely to be an illusion

Zombizou: Cat Noir is busy holding off the zombie horde and still has to tell Ladybug to buck up and go do her job instead of standing around and getting mind controlled too

Chameleon: Tikki pep talks Marinette out of an Akumatization

Mayura: She’s is ready to pack up and go home until Cat Noir gives her a pep talk 

Miraculer: Cat Noir tells Ladybug that she has to tell Chloe she's off the team but she still won't do it

Gamer 2.0 Cat Noir gets Ladybug in the zone to actually beat Gamer in his own game 

Ladybug: Tikki comes up with the idea to clear Marinette's name

Heart Hunter: Luka comforting Marinette when she has a mental breakdown

Miracle Queen: Cat Noir gives Ladybug a pep talk after Fu gets captured to get her to save him

I have said it before and I will say it again: Ladybug has never managed to win the day on her own when there’s an extra tense situation / a season finale going on. Heck, season 5 showed us that, when she tried to, she lost and the world was destroyed. Ladybug is not a self-made hero who never needs support.

There's nothing wrong with needing other people’s help and support to do things; humans are incredibly social creatures and there’s evidence that taking care of each other is exactly why we’ve come so far as a species. However, when you write a protagonist who needs support every fifth time to even get her to attempt to accomplish her hero goals, you lose the right to claim she never needs help and always accomplishes everything on her own. The problem with Marinette isn’t that she needs help; it’s that she actively leans on other characters for support and then turns around and claims she never does that and always takes everything on alone.

Once again, the writers are lying about what happens in their own show. They can’t commit to depicting Marinette a certain way. They can’t decide if Marinette needs support or if she’s a lone girlboss who never needs anything from anybody. They want the projecting audience to view her as the latter in order to sell the power fantasy, but they also want her to get sympathy from the audience through making her vulnerable constantly. The end result is that it makes her come across as a lying showboat when her actual accomplishments don’t match her claims. 

Marinette is like a showrunner who goes on interviews to talk about how much she contributed to the creation process and never mentions anyone from the production crew by name, because she’s the leader and that means all the praise should go to her. Just like her dad, am I right?

[uptoolateart]

Hey, hey, hey - time for a Gabriel analysis!

So. After we learned that Gabriel Agreste wasn't his original name, my mind jumped to Andre Bourgeois, who also once had a different name. In keeping with the themes of the show, we are seeing that secret identities don't always come with masks and comic book names.

We had a hint of Gabriel's secret past in Psycomedian, when Harry visited and alluded to his Gabi days. How, oh how could the Gabriel Agreste we all know have ever been friends with someone like Harry Clown? This is only possible if he was once a different sort of person.

We had further clues in Gabriel's vision of the past, in the time burrow in Evolution - and in Emilie's video messages left for Nathalie, and the photographs of Gabriel, Emilie and Nathalie on some expedition, seen in Passion - and in Amelie's accusation that Gabriel has changed, in Emotion.

Adrien is also aware his father has changed with time, demonstrated when he tells Gabriel that Emilie once said they came from different backgrounds.

The photos shown in Revelation finally gave concrete evidence that Gabriel used to have an adventurous spirit and he used to smile. He was fun...but something changed...and I don't think it was just Emilie's death that caused the personality shift. Based on casual comments Adrien has made throughout the series, his father has been strange for years.

Gabriel tells Adrien that he and Kagami are 'of the same design' - and we know he means this literally. But taking it as a metaphor...for two seasons I've wondered what Emilie's parents were like. We can infer that she comes from a wealthy, 'important' family. Maybe Gabriel struggled to fit in and win the approval of his in-laws. Maybe he never felt good enough. When he tells Adrien things like, 'You're clinging to Marinette because her mediocrity lets you shine more,' perhaps someone once talked like that about him. With that kind of background, it would be unsurprising that he decided to try to forge a new identity.

And let's remember that Gabriel is a designer. His whole empire is founded on inventing personae. Even beyond the sentimonster aspect, he tells Marinette that he designed the image the world holds of his son. Everything is his invention. That speech in Pretension proved just how deep his God complex runs - he fully believes he has made the world in his image. Even the episode title - Pretension - smacks of the image he is presenting to the world in lieu of truth.

At this point, what we're seeing is a 'new money' stereotype - a self-made man who now spurns those who remind him of where he came from. It's one of the most shameful things about him. No matter how much fame and money you get...you can't forget your roots, people. Maybe that's easy for me to say because I'm not rich or famous. But I just can't imagine turning my back on my own origin story. It's what makes you who you are. Gabriel clearly didn't want to be that person anymore...and that's sad.

What's also fascinating is that, if we zoom in on those pictures Nathalie took in Revelation, we see that once upon a time, Gabriel - Gabi Grassette - was a punk. Let's take a moment to appreciate the spiked hair, makeup, leather jacket, ripped jeans, and dog collar - not to mention that smirk. And far from being ashamed of his work with Harry Clown as a human frites (who, by the way, reminds me so much of Mr Banana), he was smiling about it. Man, he loved it. Contrast that with Gabriel in Party Crasher - 'JOY.... What's going on in my HOUSE!?'

If it were at all possible for the old Gabi to meet Cat Noir, I can imagine him loving Cat's costume. On that note, I can't help but compare that dog collar with Cat's bell. I've said before that I see the bell as a symbol of Cat being domesticated and under control. Gabi probably saw his dog collar more as a rebellion, but maybe it too is a symbol of how he once felt controlled by someone.

The thing is...the punk movement was all about anti-establishment anti-authoritarianism. Today, Gabriel is the establishment he once rebelled against. It makes me think of John Lydon of the Sex Pistols turning Conservative and advertising butter. Musicians like Donovan - not a punk, but in a similar category, as a 1960s hippie - are rare for maintaining that same spirit all through their lives.

Gabriel is a 'sell-out'. He gave up that spirit and became someone unrecognisable. Those photos demonstrate that Emilie isn't the only body buried in a 'basement' in the Agreste mansion. There is a different person buried under the cold veneer that is Gabriel - a person Nathalie probably misses. I expect that's why she's stuck with him all this time, despite her better instincts. Something tells me Gabi would've made a better father.

The irony is that Adrien's moments of rebellion are probably one of the few things he has in common with his father, if we look far enough back in Gabriel's past. That, and their temper - and randomly breaking into eccentric dance and song. Gabi might have appreciated Adrien more for standing true to his principles. Maybe Adrien sometimes reminds Gabriel of himself and he can't stand it - can't stand thinking of what he's lost along the way.

I believe Gabriel exists in a perpetual state of regret. Part of him probably misses Gabi, too. After all, Gabi got Emilie. What has Gabriel got? Wealth, sure, but Emilie's dead, Adrien all but hates him, Nathalie's wasting away, and Gabriel himself has only weeks to live.

If you think about it, Gabriel's whole quest has been about getting a do-over. He wants a second chance with Emilie - a second chance for Nathalie - a second chance at his own life. He then tells Adrien that his greatest wish is to try to reconnect with him...because he knows he doesn't have much time left with his son. Even then, though, his selfishness prevails. (Psst, Gabi...you can't make up for years of terrible parenting with banana pancakes.)

Thinking of the snake miraculous, the second chance lets you know what's going to happen, enabling you to make better decisions the next time around. In other words: it's about learning from your mistakes. Gabriel never learns, and it is his refusal to accept destiny and his own human fallibility that is causing his disintegration.

The more Gabriel necrotises, the more we can see this as his 'sins' catching up with him. He doesn't seem to grasp that all the blackness devouring him is, in a way, the blackness of his own heart. Even if he erases the whole world, he can't erase his deeds. If he managed to get his Wish and bring Emilie back, she would be horrified. She'd wonder where her Gabi went.

Gabriel is proof that 'evolution' isn't always positive. He reinvented himself once, and now, because it didn't go the way he wanted, he's trying to reinvent things again. Tomoe also hints at a belief that the solution to her problems is to make the world anew - to get a second chance. Felix tries this, too, when he creates the red moon to wipe out all people except his select group.

But Felix does learn - Ladybug helps him see that even if you erase all the people causing you so much grief...you still have to deal with that pain. What Gabriel fails to see is that - like Cat Blanc on the roof, all alone without his lady - destroying your witnesses won't remove the witness in your own heart.

Even if Gabriel wiped everyone else's memory of his crimes, he would still know what he'd done. And when you cross those kinds of lines, you can never go back to who you once were.

Please no post-Revelation spoilers in the comments :)