#but that's all the miraculous are really; stuck to their Holders so they can't be lost or stolen

[edorazzi]

Page 25 of my Miraculous Mentor AU comic A Matter of Trust! In which Felix is offered a downright horrifying solution to get rid of his Miraculous early, and Plagg explains the rules behind the magical bond! 📜💋

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Weekly updates each Sunday! You can also read ahead early on Patreon (with three brand new pages tonight, totaling 30!), and/or buy me a Ko-fi if you'd like to support my work! 💖

[black-rabbit-razumikhin]

Raz Reads Les Mis (VII)

Fantine - The Champmathieu Affair

"By now the reader has obviously worked out that Madeleine is Jean Valjean"

No, Hugo

No, this reader had not worked it out

I yelped at your book, Hugo

The implications! Bishop Charlie would be so proud! And he's looked at Fantine all abandoned and unloved and full of loathing and he must have recognized his own loathing within her because they were both forsaken by what they had been promised would protect them

Anyways, there are nuns looking after Fantine round the clock now because Fantine is really not looking alright

And Valjean goes looking for a horse and cart to take him a considerable distance overnight

Me, assuming his plan was to find Cosette

When actually he wants to save this man Champmathieu who everyone believes is him and who is going to be condemned under Valjean's identity soon

Valjean has a whole panic attack over the situation, going back and forth about how he promised to always do good and so can't have Champmathieu condemned under his name... but if he leaves and is thrown back in jail nobody will be there to look after Fantine

In part of his panic and his rage, he throws into the fire everything of his live that makes him Jean Valjean, including the two silver candle holders bishop Charlie gave him

That detail made me unexpectedly emotional

Also in this fire he sees the silver piece he stole from the marmot kid a while back

But finally the morning comes and the carriage and horse have arrived and away he plunges off into the night to be the form of Champmathieu's salvation

When Fantine finds out Valjean is gone because he hasn't come to visit her at his usual time, I wanted to cry

She has so much hope! She's so happy and she tells the nun everything about Cosette and how much she can't wait to see her again because that's obviously where Valjean is going in such a hurry

She asks for a bed to be installed next to hers so Cosette can sleep near her

The doctor who visits her is shocked because she seems to have made a miraculous recovery and may actually be getting better

Maybe, maybe, maybe Fantine is going to be alright

On Valjean's route, he meets a whole host of delays and issues that he didn't expect

He gets stuck in a small town after his wheel is damaged and when it looks like he may have to turn around, he is elated

He doesn't want to be here, and if he can't get past this town, well, he tried and God said no

God did not say no

God found him a new, albeit winding, route to get to the courthouse where the Champmathieu proceedings are happening

At first he is elated, because when he tries to see the proceedings, he's told that they're over

They're over? The man has been convicted?

What man? This was a little old lady

Wrong trial, Valjean's trial is still running nicely, but it'll be over soon

He's told there's no space for witnesses, but upon telling the staff at the court that he is a public official, the esteemed and mini-famous Mayor Madeleine, they direct him to special priority seating behind the judge

Valjean has another panic attack

But once he's calmed down, he takes his place at his priority seating

The trial has ended and Champmathieu is given the chance to say any closing words in his defense

And he goes on a whole long story about how he is not Valjean and how he did not steal anything

And so he's cross-examined

It's like the had an informal appeal trial before the initial trial was even completed

But three convicts come out and all attest that Champmathieu is Valjean and they were all in prison together

To their defence, even Valjean thinks Champmathieu looks like him, if only a little older and a little more world-worn

And just as the sentence is about to be pronounced as 'guilty', Valjean stands up in this grand entrance and tells everyone that he is in fact Jean Valjean

You go, drama queen, have your main character moment

He has gained such a positive reputation in his eight years as Madeleine that the first reaction is for a physician to be called to put him to bed - gramps has had one too many glasses of port recently

Valjean laughs this off and proves what he says by announcing personal characteristics of the three witnessing convicts that only someone in the galleys would know

But nobody moves to arrest him

So Valjean shrugs and turns to the prosecutor like "You know where I live if you need me" and trots off

Champathieu is found not guilty and set free

So, Madeleine is Jean Valjean. That Jean Valjean, so maybe Javert was right. He also mentions in the trial that it sucks that Javert isn't there because he's the only person who would recognize Valjean on sight and without hesitation. It is honestly impressive how far he has risen in eight years - almost exactly comparable to how far Fantine has fallen. But one has power over his circumstances and the other constantly has all her power ripped from her. And then there's the other underlying fact that Valjean must have made a massive impression on Javert. How many prisoners are you seeing all the time but then Big Strong Man made that much of an impression on you?

I am far too invested in a book that I have barely started.

[awakefor48hours]

The Maribug Fic -- Rewritten

[Fanfiction.net] || [AO3]

[Chapter 2 >]

Fandom: Miraculous Ladybug Relationship: Maribug/Ladynette Tags: Crack fic, No beta, I will update this every time someone asks Characters: Marinette Dupain Cheng | Ladybug, Adrien Agreste | Cat Noir (more to be added later) No warnings

Summary: Cat Noir asks Ladybug an important but difficult question to answer. So she tells him a ridiculous lie. What's the worst that could happen?

Woohoo, I'm stable enough to write this. If you don't know, last year, I tried to write a Maribug fic but I was fighting some of the worst depression in my life and I could tell the fanfiction was suffering because of that. But I'm better now. Also, this is going to take place at the same time as the original fanfiction (a little before Kwami's Choice special and a little after Elation). Now without further, onto the crack.

Cat Noir and Ladybug were sitting on a roof of a building watching the sunset after spending the day on patrol. Fortunately, there wasn't much disturbance today. Just a few kittens stuck in trees.

"I wish patrol was like this every day, M'Lady." Cat Noir commented.

"I do too but as we both know, that unrealistic." She then stood up about to leave only for Cat Noir to stop her.

"Before you go, M'Lady, can I ask you a question?"

She turned to face him and just said "yeah, sure, go ahead."

"Okay, so I've been wondering... why have you only given a Miraculous to Marinette Dupain Cheng once?"

Other than being Multimouse, technically speaking... she has given a Miraculous to Marinette Dupain Cheng. In fact, she's given a lot of Miraculouses to Marinette Dupain Cheng. But of course he wouldn't know that.

"Cat, don't you remember? I can't give a Miraculous to Marinette Dupain Cheng. We both know her identity!"

Cat Noir scratched the back of his head. "I know about that but this isn't the first time we've both known the identity of a holder. We both know Ryuko's identity, Bunnyx's identity, Pegasus's identity." Why did he have to make good arguments now? "In fact, when you gave Chloe the Bee Miraculous, the whole world knew her identity. Not to mention, along with being a great a holder of the Mouse Miraculous, she's one of the few people in Paris who still hasn't been akumatized." Not an easy task. "It's also doesn't hurt that her parents have the best bakery in all of Paris. So, I just don't understand why you gave her the Mouse Miraculous once."

She had to think of something to say but it was really hard. She wasn't expecting questions like this and he made some damn good points.

Think Marinette, think! What is a totally believable reason for not giving herself a Miraculous without blowing her identity?

"I, uh, have a crush on Marinette."

Was it too late to reveal her identity?

"You do!?" Cat Noir sat up in surprise but also... intrigue.

"Yeah... I... have... a... crush on... Marinette Dupain Cheng." What is she even saying? "So in order to stop myself from getting distracted on the job, I just... I just haven't given her another Miraculous."

She could see the gears turning in Cat Noir's head. He probably already saw through her lie. "That's actually a great decision!" Or maybe he didn't see through her lie. "You're already losing your composure just thinking about her."

"Yeah... I sure am!" She started gesturing wildly. "If I think about Marinette for too long, a villain could definitely take my Miraculous easily. So it's best that I just don't get distracted."

Cat Noir stood up and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You made such a great choice."

Ladybug laughed lightly. "You're, uh, not gonna tell anyone about this, right?"

Cat Noir took a step back and bowed at her. "Not even if the most heinous akuma tries to torture it out of me."

"Gooooood." She was thankful for that at least.

"I'll see you around, Ladybug." Was the last thing Cat Noir said to her before using his pole to catapult himself into the air, leaving Ladybug alone.

She watched him for a few moments before heading home herself. When dropped into her room, she detransformed and reality finally caught up to her and it hit her like a truck.

"AAAAA!" She screamed, then started her head against the wall. "I TOLD CAT NOIR I HAVE A CRUSH ON... MYSELF!"

She then tightly grabbed her hair, almost to the point of pulling it out. "This is a disaster! A disaster! A disaster! A DISASTER!"

Tikki flew to her eye level. "Calm down, Marinette. It's not the end of the world."

Marinette now focused on Tikki. "It might as well be! I already blew my chance at being with Adrien and now I just my chance at being with Cat Noir! I'M SO LAME!"

So glad I took that break because I'm already loving this rewrite more. (Also like my Adrichat fic, new chapter comes out when someone asks for it)

[twin-books]

What would you think if an evilized villain(maybe a wishmaker-like villain or maybe even a villain that's unrelated to the butterfly miraculous) caused Chloe and Zoe to switch bodies somehow, and nobody fully understands what's going on, so Zoe(in Chloe's body) is taken by Audrey back to London, despite Zoe desperately trying to explain things. But Chloe enters a fugue state(heavily due to trauma caused by the neglect of her parents) and genuinely thinks she's Zoe, and is even able to recall some of the things Zoe did due to being in Zoe's body. The class thinks "Zoe's" change in behavior is due to the psychological effects of method acting, since "Zoe" is playing Chloe in Astruc's new movie, but they gradually convince "Zoe" to let them help her relearn how to be "herself" again. Meanwhile, in London, Zoe is trying to get back to Paris.

Very fun idea. It does sound like I might get a little lost though, but I'm sure in writing format that would be a bit easier to convey. Body swaps are a fun thing to do. It makes me feel horribly bad for Zoe though, and I don't really care for Zoe much if... at all. Mostly because she's stuck with Audrey. I do love the idea of a villain unrelated to akuma and the miraculous in general. Hence why I wrote a story with an antagonist unrelated to that and more of it's own thing. I think in the world of miraculous where we have seen that apparently monsters used to exist... it would be more fun if we had different magical antagonist than just miraculous holders or beings created by the miraculous. The annoying thing about this is how the show has kind of made a lot of this idea next to impossible purely because... with akuma they've done almost everything. In fact, they've had to repeat several powers over and over again just because they used pretty much every idea. It's hard to make a secondary antagonist that wouldn't just feel cheap or stale especially because you know the peacock and butterfly could just make that same thing in seconds. But I do adore the idea of a different kind of villain. One that just likes to mess stuff up on purpose, maybe only because it's fun. Literally anything else than akuma, miraculous holders, and senti-monsters. XD It also sounds like the class would be a bit better than in canon, in my personal opinion. In canon it seems like if the class finds you to be a morally horrible person that they turn on you like a dime. And you can't really challenge their idea of people because they'll just think your crazy or jealous or obsessive or something. I'm not trying to be mean to the class here but I find them to be rather unintentionally manipulative and easy to fall victim to mob mentality. That's just my personal opinion of them. And it's not exactly something I stand by. I much prefer the idea of them at least trying to help "Zoe" and the idea of them telling her she's out of line, because friends need to be told that sometimes. The thing that falls a bit flat for me but I think is accurate to canon, is them trying to convince her she's acting terrible and convincing her to let them help her change back to who she was. It seems rather insensitive to try and change somebody purely because you don't like the way they act. For all they know this wasn't actually method acting and this is just how she feels most comfortable being herself. I don't mean to ruin your idea that's just not something that sits well with me. I would rather people slowly leave her behind because they just can't stand her attitude anymore, maybe a few even explaining to her that her new attitude is not something they want to put up with anymore and why. Then "Zoe" has to come to the conclusion on her own that perhaps Zoe isn't just liked because she's Zoe but rather because she has a different attitude and outlook on life. And then she comes to Zoe's friends to apologize and ask for help on how she can do better. The best part about your idea is how it's unique to Miraculous to have a body swap episode and it sounds very fun. It's an idea I'm honestly surprised Miraculous hasn't done yet, at least in some form.

I think you have a very fun idea here, though. An idea I could be possibly misinterpreting or misreading perhaps. This was a very brief descriptor with a lot packed into it. Keep coming at me with the fun ideas, I like hearing them. I hope you are having a wonderful day, afternoon, evening, night, or whatever time it is where you are! <3

[operahousebookworm]

I am still hopelessly behind on most of my fandoms, but as I am now fully caught up on Miraculous I feel more comfortable venturing back into Tumblr. Especially because after seeing "Elation" I feel like I can see how the entire rest of the season is going to go, and I have to share this SOMEwhere or i will explode.

Spoilers for up to this point behind the cut. (Also this got really long.) My predictions are not actually spoilers because I am not involved with the show, I am just a writer and know my pulp. So I guess if you would be mad if I'm right, come back later.

Good? Good. First of all, can I say how much I love this season so far? Managing to reverse the polarity of the love quadrangle? Marvelous. Adding the "openly and mutually love each other but cannot be together because Reasons" flavor of Yearning to the mix? Perfection. Nathalie dumping Gabriel's ass and getting some backstory? Chef's kiss. Having an explicitly redpilled dude without referencing the real world? Masterful.

Okay okay. I am not writing this all as a fic because I still haven't finished the fic I started well before I got long covid, so what you get are the highlights, roughly in chronological order. (I was gonna do bullet points but Tumblr didn't like that.)

THE WHOLE STORY (starting from after "Elation")

Marinette gets gently teased at school for the pictures of The Ice Cream Incident. She deflects, says she's just a really big fan of Cat Noir and they don't actually know each other very well. Adrien and Marinette both has a sad.

Monarch sends a Villain of the Week to kidnap Marinette. Adrien loses his entire shit. Marinette gets free and sneaks away, intercepts Cat Noir before he can run headlong into the trap with the ol' "Oh yeah I totally already rescued Marinette, we are very good friends" chestnut.

VotW defeated. Cat Noir rushes to check on Marinette (after Ladybug delays him with a "Shouldn't you feed your kwami first?"). He feels extremely guilty about making her a target. She tries to reassure him, unsuccessfully. Again the whole parasocial angle comes up, with Marinette getting frustrated that he's stuck on the theoretical ethics and ignoring that she was a willing and active participant in The Incident. He takes her home where her parents are panicking about their daughter being taken hostage. Tom approvingly reminds Cat Noir of his vow to protect Marinette in "Weredad." Cat Noir smiles but leaves immediately (guilt guilt guilt)

The possibility of the heroes sharing their identities gets raised. Cat Noir is again "haha can't trick me" but Ladybug is starting to consider it. When she talks it through with Alya (who is apparently on a permanent sleepover now?), Alya teases that this is just so she can date Cat Noir, which is true. Marinette deflects, counters that they've gained some serious tactical advantage from Alya being in on the secret, which is also true. (Alya declares herself a Secret Keeper (tm).) But the danger is still Monarch finding out.

Alya realizes that Tikki must know who Cat Noir is. But Tikki can't tell her even if she wants to, because of the spell that prevents kwamis from speaking the identity of a holder. Lightbulb! Could they cast the same spell on a human? Hijinx, VotW. Spell doesn't work.

Dejected, Ladybug talks about it with Cat Noir, because she is trying to be more open within the constraints of the things she has to hide. Growth! Cat Noir points out that the real danger is one of them being akumatized, and Ladybug's been able to block that before. Maybe she could power up that charm to counter the megakumas? Ladybug is optimistic, if more cautiously so than before.

The heroes meet up to try out the megacharm. Ladybug pushes too hard. The charm comes out all crackly and broken, and she passes out. Cat Noir freaks, takes her to a vacant room at the hotel to recover, hiding in the bathroom so she can detransform. A VotW appears. Plagg comes in to get the earrings so Adrien can be Mister Bug again, but Marinette has revived a bit and knows he's too upset to do this on his own. She sends Tikki with the earrings to find Scarabella.

Scarabella and Cat Noir handle VotW. Cat Noir is still super worried, tells Scarabella that he's having a really hard time because there's no one he can talk about his whole life with. Ladybug (after some guilting by Alya) later admits to him that she went through something similar and had to tell her best friend her secret. Suggests that Cat Noir find someone he can tell, but to choose that person very carefully. She also proposes attempting the charm again, which Cat Noir shoots down hard.

Adrien contemplates who he can tell. Tries Nino, but Nino does his oblivious Nino thing and he thinks better of it. Tries his dad, but Gabriel is really busy with something and blows him off. Adrien fumes that everyone does this to him. The only person who really seems to listen is... of course! Marinette! Plagg makes lame excuses but Adrien is set on it.

It does not go well. "I didn't mean tell me!!" So now they both know. (Plagg was entirely correct, is insufferable about it.) Once they get past the "once again redefining who I'm in love with" thing, they realize they both have to give up their Miraculous, right? But no, Adrien decides that only one of them has to, and insists that it be him. He starts to renounce Plagg, but Marinette stops him, promises this will only be temporary and they'll find a way to protect themselves from Monarch.

Also Gabriel can feel The Angst from across town, but by the time he can get away from his important business thing they've sorted it out and the akuma lands on someone else.

Marinette deputizes Alya to find a new holder, but warns that it can't be someone who knows who Ladybug is. Alya starts with Luka, but oops, he can't wear the ring for the same reason Alya can't. He insists that it wasn't a problem because he loves both Marinette and Adrien like family, so even Monarch can't get him to betray them. Alya is pissed but also delighted to have another Secret Keeper.

Luka passes on the ring to either Juleka (because she is actual family) or Kagami (because she is badass and also they would make an excellent Pair the Spares). The new hero is Panthress, shows up just in time to help Ladybug with VotW.

Next episode starts with Alya leading a Secret Keeper training session for Adrien and Luka. There is a Powerpoint and branding. Main thing she preaches is that they cannot use nicknames or inside jokes or anything when any of them are not in costume, and to assume that anywhere outside of Marinette's bedroom could be heard by Monarch. CONSTANT VIGILENCE! No Ephemeral bullshit on her watch! It is very intense.

Also, Marinette and Adrien are dating. Gabriel insists that Adrien is too young to have a girlfriend, so they keep it on the DL. Of course all the girls know and are delighted. Lila also figures it out and does some Lilaing to try and prove it, though they're able to keep her from getting any real evidence. Marinette struggles to balance paying attention to her boyfriend and school with superheroing. Adrien takes it better than Luka/Kagami since he knows what's up, but not by much. After a balance-themed VotW shows up and gives Ladybug and Panthress a tough fight, he laments to Alya about being left on the sidelines. "Who said anything about sidelines?" Alya scoffs. "Being a Secret Keeper means you are your hero's secret weapon." They pull off some kind of Sentibubbler/Hack-San trickery that leads to victory.

Alya picks up on the unsubtle balance imagery and realizes that's what why the megacharm failed: something that powerful needs to balance creation and destruction. Panthress gives back her ring. Ladybug and Cat Noir reconvene again and together successfully create a pair of charms, one for each of them. It leaves them both extremely drained, though, and Tikki warns they probably shouldn't attempt it again.

But did it work? There's no way to know without Monarch attempting to akumatize one of them. Not great! They reassure each other that they'll all band together to handle it if that happens. Still, Marinette gets in her head and paranoid about it and tries to keep her distance, reasoning that gives her friends a better chance at stopping her if it becomes necessary (and frankly it's been too long since Marinette made a bad decision).

Meanwhile, wouldntchaknow, Monarch decides this is the perfect time to make another attempt at using Marinette as bait. Nathalie, who has picked up on The Vibe, warns him that he should knock it off for Adrien's sake. Gabriel blows her off, starts plotting to get Marinette good and pissed.

And it works! That big black butterfly heads straight for her. It takes a great effort for Adrien to hang back and watch. The akuma hits the charm and doesn't just get rebuffed--it disintegrates. Marinette and Adrien celebrate. Nathalie, who has taken it upon herself to bodyguard Marinette, is stunned. Monarch is enraged, sends out another akuma to grab a random retread VotW. (Who hasn't been akumatized at this point? I think it's just the art teacher, Mr. Banane, and, like, that one bus driver. That's what happens when there are only about 30 people living in all of Paris.) Marinette and Adrien do a joint transformation, and are positively giddy while they fight VotW. They agree afterwards that Ladybug and Cat Noir probably shouldn't seem to be a couple, because the attention would only get worse.

After the fight, Nathalie drives them home. Marinette and Adrien snuggle in the back seat, talking quietly and vaguely about how things can go back to normal. Nathalie sneaks a pic. Later, she confronts Gabriel with it, says he's refusing to see how he's hurting his son. She lays it all out: as his loyal aide for years, she has everything she needs to destroy him. She's refrained for Adrien's sake, but if Monarch continues threatening the girl Adrien loves, it's war. Gabriel quips that he's proud she's almost as ruthless as he is; she retorts that she's much more ruthless, and always has been. Later, Gabriel gives Adrien his blessing to date Marinette.

And then... plot stuff? There's still all the business with Felix and the resistance and getting set up for the final showdown and "smart devices are evil, metaphorically but also literally", but it isn't the Romance Arc so I haven't been obsessing over it. Somewhere in there, they specify that the grimoire describes the ability to make the wish as "two great powers contained in one heart." Also Master Su-Han arrives at a point before the final battle when all seems lost, with all the Guardians in tow to kick all the ass. They arrive either by hopping across the rooftops, or by bus because Su-Han hopped across rooftops all the way to Tibet and fuck that. (I can't decide which is funnier.) Also also they are all obsessed with cat videos.

Anyway, somehow it gets to the final throwdown, Ladybug and Cat Noir vs. Monarch. The battle reveals that Monarch has seriously rotted from the cataclysm. Ladybug frets that they could heal him if they had the lucky charm from that night. Nathalie goes "Oh, you mean this thing?" and produces it. (She finds it earlier and recognizes it as a lucky charm but doesn't know where it came from, so keeps it handy.) One "Miraculous Ladybug" later and Gabriel is healed.

He's stunned that Ladybug would help him after all this. But he's also the kwami of Sunk Cost Fallacy, so he still insists he needs the two great powers in one heart to make his wish. Lightbulb! What can make two hearts into one? Why, love, of course! Marinette thinks a Ladybug and Cat Noir in love might be able to accomplish the same thing.

They go down to Emilie's chamber for the attempt. Ladybug confirms that Emilie's condition is from the broken peacock Miraculous going parasitic and sucking away all of Emilie's life force instead of just what it needed to recharge. They might be able to give her back enough energy to be healed.

Ladybug and Cat Noir succeed in creating a megacharm, but the impact is closer to Ladybug's first attempt. They both detransform and are barely conscious. Marinette weakly tells Gabriel to give the charm to his wife and call her to wake up. He does, while Nathalie tends to Adrien and Marinette.

Emilie awakens. But she's weak after her long sleep and still coughing, and it's a struggle for Gabriel to help her out of her life support tube. Enraged, he accuses Ladybug of tricking him. Emilie sadly pats her husband's cheek. "This is what I feared would happen, my love. What have you become?" Gabriel is gutted.

Emilie explains that the charm is healing her, but cannot do so fast enough to combat the severe damage to her body. It would take a steady supply of such charms to fully restore her. "And the cost," she says, looking at her son, who is beginning to recover and clutching Marinette, "is too great."

"But I promised," Gabriel insists. "I swore I would bring you back."

"And you did. You gave me more time. Even one more minute with you, one more chat with my dearest Nathalie, one more chance to see my son and meet the girl he loves, all of that is a gift I never deserved. But you must promise me something else now. When this gift of time runs out, you must let me go. You must let me rest."

Gabriel agrees. Various tearful reunions. Emilie gives the charm to Nathalie, who might still be healed. Marinette awkwardly tries to excuse herself, but Emilie insists she stay. "You are family, are you not? And you will all need to take care of each other."

Gabriel puts a hand on Marinette's shoulder. "We will."

And then they all have dinner at one end of that ridiculously long table, with Adrien and Marinette being cute together and probably some voiceover.

END OF SEASON and probably a cliffhanger about a new Big Bad

Other things I think are likely/possible but didn't fit in my Grand Unified Theory:

Adrien asks Luka for advice on how to handle things with Marinette. Luka explains that he got his zen outlook through a lot of therapy and practice (because come on, he's too perfect, he needs some explanation) and offers to teach Adrien a bit

Alternatively, Adrien finds out that Luka knows that he's Cat Noir, and is able to confide in Luka the way Marinette confides in Alya

Or Luka advises Marinette (because at this point he's pretty much Hot Agony Aunt, it's going to happen in some flavor) that her bad decisions don't come from the way she feels, but the way she tries to hide her feelings. They broke up not because of her secret, but because she wouldn't be honest that she wasn't that into him.

Adrien figures out how to view the footage from Felix's monocle. Learns the truth about both his parents, freaks out and runs to Marinette's house. (This works even if he doesn't know she's Ladybug, because he's panicked and she's the one person who feels like sanity and safety.)

Nathalie sabotages the kwami containment system or otherwise fucks with Monarch's stuff

Nathalie (or another quasi-villain, possibly Felix or Chloe) gets the Snake from Monarch but uses its power to help the heroes

Amelie knows about the peacock Miraculous, and maybe even wielded it. That's why Felix wanted it back.

Adrien is the one put in serious danger at some point (before identities are revealed), forcing Marinette to realize that she does still love him, oops. Also forces Monarch to wonder if maybe he's going too far? (Nah.)

Monarch makes his wish, and Emilie is fully healed, but the life exchanged is Adrien's, oops. Ladybug figures out how to reverse this.

Sorry, Gabriel and/or Nathalie, but redemption = death

Whatever happens, Emilie IS NOT FULLY REVIVED. It's just not gonna happen. Not only does that teach the lesson that all the horrible stuff Gabriel did was rewarded in the end, but the show has heavily focused on themes of dealing with guilt, accepting loss, and facing the consequences of your actions, so wiping out the core concept with a magic reset button undermines all that. (Are there two Miraculous that grant their holders a literal magic reset button? Yes. Shh.) The only way it would work for Emilie to live is if Gabriel trades his life for hers (see above point)

Vaguer predictions for later seasons:

Someone else takes over as Hawkmoth. Predicted candidates: - Nathalie (adults are a more convincing threat than children, has her own interest in the Miraculous) - Amelie (didn't see that one coming, evil twin = operatic af) - Felix (shady bastard, would use the wish to bring back his father) - Lila (heavily foreshadowed, whole deal is being a dick)

Gabriel uses his extensive knowledge of the Miraculous to become a Guardian, or at the very least restores the Miraculous to their previous forms. With at least two more seasons, there's time for him to have a proper redemption arc, a la Zuko or Scarlemagne. That doesn't mean he's dodged redemption = death, though.

Adrien is dealing with serious anger and grief about his father's betrayal. Forgiveness will be a long, hard road if it comes at all. Marinette pushes reconciliation because her loving and supportive family makes it hard for her to understand that Adrien might be better off without a parent.

Another point of contention with them: Marinette's control freak tendencies vs. Adrien's growing desire to assert himself

They stay together despite difficulties, but continue to insist that Ladybug and Cat Noir are not a couple. Paris continues to not remotely believe them. High chance of fake dating, alter egos that are still them, other silly romance tropes (because we still haven't run out, no sir)

Something breaks one/both megacharms to bring back some "it's not you it's my enemies" stakes

There's at least one more Miracle Box in play in NYC, and who knows how many others. So many superheroes!

But Marinette's box is the main one, and there's only one Ladybug. So instead of being the de facto leader of a dozen superheroes, she's the de facto leader of hundreds. Yay?

Marinette will want to retire as a Guardian but there's that pesky mindwipe to deal with

Another Guardian (maybe even Gabriel) suggests that maybe there's a better way of vetting holders for these ancient, powerful jewels than just giving them to her classmates? (jk there's not, they go through a bunch of auditions and stuff and the original holders are still the best)

A bunch of new characters introduced as the cast disperse to vocational schools. There will now be 50 people living in Paris instead of 30! (We will still run out of people to akumatize.) This will include a new shippable couple to troll us endlessly with, as well as a new antagonist because Chloe and Lila are honestly played out.

Alya hands over control of the Ladyblog, feeds her successor endless plausible bullshit about hero identities

As mentioned above, Luka and Kagami date for a bit and then amicably break up. Everyone tries to project drama into it, but their whole deal is that they're levelheaded to a fault

Rose/Juleka and Marc/Nathaniel are explicitly confirmed as couples (instead of just being shown in parallel with other couples as they have been). Because this show makes "fuck you" money and can do what they want

So how much of this will be right? I don't know! I was sure they couldn't milk much more distance out of the "will they/won't they" romance and hoo boy they surprised me. I am equally certain that I will be more or less correct with my outline and that something will happen in the very next episode that completely fucks my bracket. I will be delighted to be right, delighted for them to pull something I never saw coming, and generally just delighted to have more episodes.

[jennagrinsoverml]

hey, could you rec some of the most underrated identity reveal fics in your opinion? i love a good creative identity reveal! ps your fic rec lists are a literal godsend 🥰

So since you asked for underrated, I'm going to stick to the rules of my hidden gems series and try to only rec fics that have less than 500 kudos on AO3. Also, the identity reveal needs to be a feature of the story and not just incidental. I actually had a rec list like this started ages ago, but this one's pretty time intensive in terms of going through the fics and ensuring that the identity reveal is actually a focus. (Which is all to say sorry it took a little while.) Thank you for your kind words. I’m so happy people are enjoying my recs!

lost in translation by @fictionalinfinity

“What do you mean I can’t be Ladybug anymore?”

“I’m sorry, Marinette. With Hawkmoth at large, it’s simply too dangerous for the Miracle Box and the Ladybug Miraculous to be in the same place. If something were to happen...”

-

In which Marinette has to give up the Ladybug Miraculous, and decides Adrien Agreste is the perfect choice for the new holder.

One-shot. So I’ve seen a few fics with Chat giving Marinette a miraculous, but how about Marinette trying to give one to Adrien?

Santa Baby, Slip a Superhero into a Box for Me by therealjanebingley

There's an akuma with the ability to give everyone their heart's desire for Christmas.

But when your heart's desire is your crush, and your crush has a secret identity...who's going to show up under your tree?

Multi-chapter. This is such a creative reveal and one that hasn't received nearly enough love. Adrien's heart's desire is Ladybug. Marinette's heart's desire is Adrien. But that's not exactly what they get when they're hit by the akuma. This is so sweet and fun and funny! And the characterizations are spot on.

team is a four letter word by @ladyofthenoodle

Alya didn’t want to come between Ladybug and Chat Noir. But she didn’t want to stop being Rena Rouge either. And if Chat Noir didn’t want to talk to her, then she’d need to find a different way to prove all three of them could be a team.

Her plan unintentionally brings a few secrets to light, which leads to even more secrets coming to light, which leads to... well, Alya is sure it'll all work out eventually.

Multi-chapter. Warning, this fic is a WIP! I'm obssessed with this one. Season 4 spoilers all over the place, but the dynamics between Marinette & Adrien & Alya & Nino, the characterization, the emotion, the different perspectives and distinct voices!!!! I'm sure once it's complete it's going to zoom past that 500 threshold, but it's so, so good, I'm going to rec it while I can lol

The Angst of Adrien Agreste and Chinese Finger Traps by @coffeebanana

Chat Noir gets gets his fingers stuck in a toy he can't get out of, and Marinette wasn't expecting Adrien to show up to school the next morning with the toy she'd given Chat Noir.

SEASON 4 SPOILERS (Gang of Secrets, Optigami)

One-shot. This should be crack, but it's not. While the vehicle for the reveal sounds ridiculous, the fic does a great job of delving into the underlying issues season 4 has been brewing and actually addressing them in a way that doesn't feel like crack at all.

can i try again (and again and again)? by @karkalicious769

"I won't force you to stay if you're really done," Marinette whispers, voice cracking. "Just… tell me why?" It's a request, not an order.

He takes a deep breath, his heart hammering in his chest. Chat still isn't holding her back, but he's relaxed somewhat, and if that's all Marinette is going to get, then she'll take it. "I…" He searches for the right words. "I thought that I should just rip the bandage off," Chat says quietly. "Get it over with myself before you took my miraculous back anyway."

After his spectacular failure in New York, Adrien relinquishes his ring and role as Chat Noir. Unfortunately for him, Ladybug isn't ready to let him go.

One-shot. NY Special fic where Marinette prioritizes her partner over keeping their secrets. This one hurts, but in a really good way, and it's so well done and feels so true to the characters.

The Handkerchief by meeble

This was their new normal. They slipped into it much more easily than she’d expected. Well, it was easy for her, since she knew him well as Ladybug, but she had been admittedly surprised at how easily Chat seemed to want to know her.

It was a learning experience, in a way. Sometimes, Marinette forgot that there was a boy under the mask. A boy her age, who also had hopes and fears and good days and bad days. A boy who had a rocky family life, who was kind and didn’t want to hurt his friends, a boy who cried at Disney movies and preferred macaroons over any kind of cookie.

And they were friends. That alone made her feel good. She had forgotten, in the midst of everything going on, that she and Chat were supposed to be friends on top of partners. Maybe she had taken that for granted.

One-shot. This is some quality Marichat. I love when the focus is on that platonic friendship that slowly becomes something more. Especially when the two of them spending more time together leads to an eventual identity reveal so that everything can come together and they can be happy together.

Better Half by @somethingvaguetodo

It made no sense to say that she was in love with Chat Noir. Just because they used loving pet names for each other, she liked to sit wrapped up in his arms, and he gave her a kiss goodnight didn’t mean anything. Rena had no clue what she was talking about.

One-shot. This one is amazing because they're both just. So Stupid. The denial is master level and these two are so stupid in love with each other that they reveal themselves in such a stupid way and this is all said (affectionate) because this is quality love square shenanigans right here and I love it a stupid amount.

Revealing Behavior by Socchan

Adrien's attitude takes a turn for the worse when Ladybug reveals her identity to the wrong side of him.

One-shot. This fic is like identity reveal inside of an identity reveal with reveals both deliberate and accidental. And it goes exactly the way I wanted it to with exactly the right level of misunderstandings and stupidity and pining and I really love it!

A Series of Meets: Reach by @damagectrlwrites

Paris is safe, except from the rivalry of its two superhero guardians: Ladybug and Chat Noir. Since they were teenagers, the two have raced around Paris, trying to out do-good each other.

After Chat Noir saves a bus of people from falling into the Seine before Ladybug can even get there, Adrien is in high spirits. He helps a young woman reach some chips high on a shelf, kicking off a friendly conversation that ends with a coffee date.

It’s a terrible day for Marinette. First she had a hectic day at work, then Chat Noir gets all the praise for saving a bus of people, and then she nearly topples over trying to reach some chips. At the very least, a nice guy helps her and asks her to coffee. Surely, things will get better, right?

One-shot as a chapter of a collection of one-shots. (I recommend them all but we're just talking about this one right now.) So I debated including this one since it's an AU and I've recced it before. Ladybug and Chat Noir are superhero rivals, always trying to outdo each other, and being annoyed at the other. Marinette and Adrien get a meet-cute and fall in love. The juxtaposition is perfect and ridiculous and THAT IDENTITY REVEAL OMG I had to include it, it's so good!!

The following fics are amazing and absolutely worth reading, but do feature sexual content, so minors beware.

The Pole Kit and Kaboodle by @chatonne-rousse

When Adrien tries to make getting undressed a bit more entertaining for Marinette, he ends up revealing more than just his underwear.

Rated M. Established adrienette that features them being sexy and silly and hopelessly in love. I love this fic so damn much!!! Watch Adrien being comfortable being ridiculous with Marinette and do a ridiculous (hilarious) striptease for her. Bonus identity reveal that just makes everything even better.

Rated M. One-shot. Definitely one of the most unique reveals I've ever read. I mean a pole dancing reveal?? It's funny and sweet and loving and just so, so good. This fic is the reason that Rosie and I became friends because after I read it I had to read all of her other fics and spam her with comments. But I'm 100% unbiased in this rec because I loved the fic first and the reveal and the post-reveal emotions are EVERYTHING.

@devillustrator | nsfw art blog | will draw for €€€ by @isadorator

Nathaniel is a Starving Artist™ that regularly gets commissioned by Adrien to draw fluffy and cute LadyNoir art. But everything changed when the Hormone Nation attacked.

Rated E. This two-part series is Ladrien with the sexiest identity reveal I’ve ever read in my entire life and possibly my favourite reveal of all time!! We’ve got humour and sexiness and I’ve read this an embarrassing number of times. This is the kind of fic that, every time I read it I’m like “I wish there were 5,000 other fics in the fandom exactly like this one.” Seriously, I don't know why y'all are sleeping on this one but it's so, so good. Adrien's reaction literally made my entire life.

[howhow326]

So I am really bored from not doing during Summer Break and I thought "what if I did the Tumblr thing by making an AU lol" so here I am! BTW, I'm not going to be making fanfiction out of this (too much effort), it's just going to be one of those old school, throwing my ideas out there sort of deal. Soo

Everyone is a monster but Alya AU (I can't think of a better name, sorry.) In this AU, Alya discovers that her friends and classmates are secretly supernatural creatures. The AU starts around Season 2.

(Inspiration: @justanotherpersonsuniverse there is other magic AU, that one is way better than mine you should read it. I also took some ideas from a sorceress Marinette AU but I can't find it)

Alya/Rena Rouge - Human

Still a journalist, Alya is now obsessed with supernatural stuff instead of superheros. She is also the protagonist of this AU because I say so

Although Alya is still interested in Superheros, she considers their existence proof of the supernatural

This rabbit hole all began when Trixx first words to Alya were "Aww, I got stuck with a Human! Why can't I get a Fox spirit again?" Ladybug had to shush her before Chat Noir and Alya could press for details, but even she could tell Alya already got some ideas

Trixx lasts holder was a Huli-Jing by the name Da Ji and, yeah, look her up. Trixx is also responsible for starting the Masquerade around the supernatural world, and the Masquerade inside it (Humans don't know anything, Magic Humans know everything, Vampires know some stuff, and everyone else are only aware of their supernatural faction). Now, Trixx is influencing Alya to break the Masquerade because she thinks it is the key to defeating Hawk Moth.

Rena Rouge kept her miraculous, in this AU Ladybug left before Alya could give it back. Marinette trusts Alya, but she isn't sure she can trust Rena. Meanwhile, Chat dosen't trust her at all. Anyway, since she is a full time hero now, Alya is dedicated to instigating the supernatural, which is surprisingly hard because Trixx refusrs to tell her things she dosen't know (Them's the rules!)

Marinette/Ladybug - Witch

Before she became Ladybug, Marinette was one of the most talented child witches in basically the whole world. Her father's side of the family are a long line of French alchemists that learned to hide their potions inside food, while her mother's side of the family are a long line of Chinese spell casters. Also, her grandmother is an Italian Witch. Basically, Marinette is kind of like Harry Potter but OP and more famous and with a living parents.

Master Fu really didn't know Mari was a witch because the Guardian Order is hiding themselves from everyone despite being magic humans. Tikki was really scared of a witch getting her hands on the strongest miraculous so she made Mari promise she wouldn't use magic while as Ladybug

Both of Marinette's parents know she is Ladybug and support her because she deserves it. Also, everyone in the witch world knows Marinette is Ladybug? But normal humans don't, and neither does Hawk Moth. Basically, everyone in the witch world is ID from birth so if Hawk Moth was a witch everyone would be on his back.

I'm not entirely sure how Alya figures out Marinette is a witch, so lets just say something similar to gang of secrets happens early. Marinette's friendship with Alya becomes strained, and the only out is Marinette telling her about her powers. Mari isn't very supportive of Alya's investigations, because it goes against Witch world law, but if Trixx is okay with it then she guess its okay?

Ladybug is so overpowerd in this au! In the Style Queen episode, instead of Plagg beating her, Ladybug just goes "I don't have a choice!" and uses magic as a superhero for the first time. She forces the Lucky Charm to instantly create one of her Dad's ice potions and just yeets it at Style Queen, which freezes her in place. She then uses a Destruction spell (basically a less powerful cataclysm) to remove the barrier around the Akuma and the rest is history! Although, after Ladybug de-transformed, Marinette faints from exhaustion. Tikki thinks that using magic with a miraculous might be draining even more energy from it's caster than normal and she makes Marinette promise again to never use magic as Ladybug, even if it's an emergency. Mari agrees... with fingers crossed.

Adrien/Chat Noir - Dhampyr

Adrien is half Vampire, half Human. The Human is Emilie and the Vamp is Gabriel. Gabriel really wanted to turn her into one, but she had to be willing in a blood sharing ritual.

Most Dhampyrs have a weaker version of their parent's vampire powers but Adrien straight up has ZERO powers. But he does have some vampire weaknesses, which Gabriel uses as an excuse to keep Adrien locked inside the house.

Vampire society is like Vampire: the Masquerade but less depressing. Vampires believe that they rule the night, and are ignorant of of most supernaturals. Of course, there are always rumors.

Plagg thinks it is absolutely hilarious that his new holder is a powerless Dhampyr. He told Adrien that if he wants his powers so badly, he could get himself killed so he can back as a real Vampire (which is apparently a thing that can happen). Adrien does not appreciate the joke. Also, Chat Noir does not have any vampire powers because a miraculous can only enhance what is already there.

Alya is on to him, she heard that he is allergic to garlic and silver, and that last allergy isn't a thing. She also learned he gets heat strokes easily and considers it proof that he is a Vampire. Marinette dosen't believe it because he can eat human food (Vampires can only eat blood, but not Dhampyrs) and he hasn't shown any vampire powers yet. Although she really disagrees because she has a crush on him. Anyway, Adrien is actively trying to uncover his father's secrets in this AU and since I have no idea how he is doing that he has no idea either.

Nino/Carapace - Half-Djinn

Nino's father is a human and his mother is one of the Djinn, which is the same thing as a Genie. When his father still lived in Morocco, he found a lamp in an oasis that summoned his mother (which is apparently a bit more accurate then being trapped but not by much) and wished for children. His mother granted his wish, and lived with him for a bit. However, it is against Djinn law to mingle with humans, so when their relationship was found she was removed in punished. Nino's father fled to Paris in order to avoid his own punishment for interacting with a Djinn.

That was really sad, so uhh, Nino has magic water powers! He can create water, make mist based illusions, and some other stuff! His magic isn't as broken as Marinette, but it is a lot faster since Marinette needs ingredients or spoken spells with hand signs but Nino can just... snap his fingers and do magic (Mari is so jealous when she finds out).

Alya dosen't suspect Nino to be a supernatural at all because he seems so... normal? But Marinette catches him purifying a dirty river during a class hike and tells Alya. Alya dosen't want to believe her, dosen't want to believe that Nino is lying, but she decides that finding out is Rena's job.

Rena Rouge stalks Nino to his house (which is bad but he did the same thing in Rocketear so whatever). Just as Rena starts spying into his window, she catches Nino making some mist illusions to entertain Chris. And before Alya can process what she is seeing, Chris starts shooting water out of his hands! Alya demands an explanation from Nino the following day, so he tells her the story from the first bullet point and... yeah. Alya apologizes to Nino and explains that she was scared him hiding things from her, so Nino promises to have no secrets from her from now on.

Wayzz isn't sure about a half-Djinn getting a miraculous, so he tells Nino to not use his powers while transformed. Nino agrees... and promptly disobeys him! Unlike Marinette, using magic while transformed dosen't hurt Nino, so he is free to shoot water at bad guys. Chat Noir questions how he is doing that and Carapace says "turtles like water?" Ladybug is annoyed, but since it helps the team it can't be that bad right? Nino using his water powers was the tip Hawk Moth needed to realize supernaturals are using the miraculous. Also, Nino is a full time member and gets his miraculous before Chloe in this AU because I said so.

Chloe/Queen Bee - Werewolf

Chloe's mother is now descended from French nobility that lost power during the Revolution, and Audrey encouraged her husband to become a politician because she wanted to live like a Queen. Also, Audrey's family are LITERAL MAN-EATERS!!! Man-Eating werewolves.

Most werewolves in Europe died out around the same time most wolves went extinct there, but the ones that managed to hide survived into the modern day. Chloe's family survived because they used their wealth and power to feed on the populace without anyone ever knowing.

When Chloe promises to become nicer in Despair-Bear, she actually stays acting nicer (with a mean streak) after the episode. I am restoring Chloe's character arc.

In Queen Wasp, instead of revealing she is a superhero to Paris, she reveals she is a Werewolf! And she attacks her mother, forcing Audrey to reveal she is a Werewolf!! Alya is losing her mind, Marinette is losing her mind, the Witch world is losing it's mind and going over doomsday scenarios (too many people saw the transformation for a forget spell to be used, the transformation was recorded on live TV and posted on the Internet, some of the people that saw are suspected Supernaturals that barely care about the Masquerade), the Vampire world is losing it's mind and realizing that they don't rule humanity, its crazy!

After going on a small rampage, Chloe transforms into Queen Bee in an ally way and props herself up as Paris new superhero that will "capture all the werewolves"! Team miraculous are scratching their heads on who she is, but Chloe immediately reveals her identity to Adrien so he can tell her parents she isn't coming home. I have no idea how the rest of the episode, or season, is supposed to go because Chloe blew everyone up!

Okay I was going to put the villains down here but this post turned out a bit longer than expected... which means there will be a next time!

[uptoolateart]

It's hero's journey time, again!

I'm obsessed with analysing stories from this perspective, and 'Miraculous' fits the structure perfectly, again and again.

So, last time I explained how the hero's journey structure works and talked about the journey Marinette had been on in the first three seasons, from being chosen as a holder to her promotion to Guardian. I also said a lot of the story was stuck while we waited for Adrien to go on his journey.

Now that we're awaiting the season 4 finale, the situation has moved on, and my thoughts are spinning - so, let's go!

Marinette's Journey

First, let's talk briefly about Marinette. At the end of season 3, she finished her first journey by becoming Guardian. Season 4 saw her begin a new journey, this time struggling to juggle all her responsibilities and believe in herself as Guardian. By the end of the season (notably in 'Ephemeral') she has found that self-belief and confidently states, 'I'm a good Guardian.' This second journey is now complete, although I think she is on a third journey concerning judgments, i.e. learning who to trust / not trust and to see beyond appearances (such as with Cat).

But all of this feels secondary to Adrien. At the beginning of the season, we fans worried he was being pushed out or even replaced by Rena Rouge. At this point, looking retrospectively I think the whole season was really about him, which we will talk about next.

Adrien's First Journey

I say 'first journey' because I think Adrien is going on two, and although one leads onto the other, we have to talk about them one at a time.

Adrien's primary journey is one of identity. At the start of season 4, in 'Lies' Kagami instructs Adrien to pose for her so she can draw him. He only does modelling poses - and arguably, he poses all the time, living up to everyone's expectations and feeling unable to behave out of character.

When told to be more natural, he does his 'claws out' pose. Frustrated, Kagami tells him to stop goofing around. Adrien suggests that maybe when he's being silly, that's the real him. She shakes her head, backs him against a wall, and says that 'this' (Adrien looking cowed and scared) is the real Adrien. Adrien looks doubtful and asks, 'Do you really think...?' This is the question of the season: who is the real Adrien?

If we look back at the hero's journey structure, it begins with the Ordinary World stage. Adrien had been there for the first three seasons. I said before that his call to adventure was not becoming a superhero. I believe the first call came in this scene with Kagami. Finally he was being asked to explore and discover who Adrien Agreste truly is, and this whole fourth season has been largely about just that.

The next crucial moment in Adrien's search for identity is 'Wishmaker'. Remember that the hero's journey usually includes a wise old mentor figure to help our hero on his path. In this case, I see the mentor as Plagg. Silly as he is, he's certainly old, and we've seen a lot of wisdom from him this season.

Adrien admits to Plagg that he doesn't want to be a model but also doesn't know what else he wants to be. Even when attending the careers expo, he visits food booths simply because that's what Plagg wants - he has no personal goals. Later, as Cat, Adrien admits he can't remember having a single childhood dream; and when struck by Wishmaker, Adrien reveals that as a small child, he only wanted to be whatever his parents wanted him to be. He is a blank slate waiting to be filled. This is one of the trials Adrien faces in his journey: coming to terms with the void within.

Interestingly, in 'Rocketear' Adrien talks about Cat Noir in the third person, as if they are separate beings. Jumping ahead to 'Kuro Neko', this is then explored for the whole of the episode. Here, we see the next major trial on Adrien's journey. In a bid to win over Ladybug, Adrien trains himself to be what he thinks she wants - a cliche Prince Charming. He even has the fairy tale prince's suit. As Cat Walker, he reminds me of Wesley in the first half of 'The Princess Bride', before he lets his guard down. And it's notable that his name in the English dub is Cat Walker, emphasising that he's posing again.

Ladybug quickly realises that the fantasy boy gets old pretty quickly, when made real, and she wants her imperfect kitty back. We're waiting for her to reach a similar conclusion when it comes to Adrien - a lot of what she sees in Adrien is fantasy.

At the end of the episode, Adrien asks Plagg (his mentor) if this means Cat Noir is who he truly is. Plagg says no - he is both Adrien and Cat Noir. I think what they are trying to say is that both sides, serious and playful, are of equal importance. He needs that balance to feel whole. This revelation is the answer to the question posed at the start of the season...but it's not the full answer. That's still to come.

When Adrien learns that he is being mind-controlled by his father, that will raise further questions over his identity. What does Adrien think and feel and want? How much of it is him and how much is implanted? These are the kinds of things he will find himself wondering before he can come to terms with it. If he transpires to be a sentimonster after all, that will add further fuel to the identity fire. All of this will form the 'approach to the innermost cave' stage (the final and most painful trial) in the hero's journey structure, with Gabriel as the key monster to be overthrown in order for Adrien to be 'reborn' as a confident, integrated individual with his own mind.

Adrien's Second Journey

This leads us nicely onto Adrien's second journey, which I believe has to be the focus of season 5. This concerns Adrien standing up to his father.

Notably, in their origin story, the moment Adrien falls in love with Ladybug is when she rises above her fear and stands up to Hawk Moth. Now that we know who Hawk Moth is, we can look back at that moment and understand it as Ladybug standing up to Adrien's father in a way he's never been able to do himself. This is what he admires so much about her, without him understanding the depths of it.

Adrien is entirely disempowered by his father. In 'Ephemeral' Gabriel even literally takes away Adrien's power by taking his miraculous. In my last post, I said I thought Adrien needed to be dragged, kicking and screaming, onto this journey, because he's been resisting the call for so many seasons. And in 'Risk' we see Kagami, of all people, do just that for him. She points out that he lets everyone push him around, even her, and demands to know when he's going to take a stand. Finally, the speech I predicted and was waiting for! 'Cut your strings!' she orders, and we remember him in 'Puppeteer 2.0' where Marinette actually confused him with a wax statue.

At last, Adrien is fired up and ready to take this new journey. But he could never have done this until he worked out who he was - because you can't stand up for something if you don't know what you're standing up for.

In a similar vein, at the end of 'Wishmaker' it was stated that you can't love others if you don't love yourself first. Adrien and Marinette can't come together as a couple until Adrien straightens out his identity issues and takes that stand. At the moment, he's a lovely, kind pushover. Marinette already learned that sort of relationship isn't fun, via Cat Walker. She wouldn't really like pushover Adrien any better. Only when he comes to love himself will he start to carry himself differently and cause her to see Cat in a new light. He needs to gain that self-confidence in order to stand by her side as an equal. Only then will they be able to have a strong, balanced relationship.

In Conclusion...

So, what do we take from this?

Marinette is learning to see beyond appearances and appreciate Cat as he is.

Adrien is well and truly on his way to figuring out who he is, and it's just a matter of time before it all explodes and he sees that he's being controlled.

Once he has that breakthrough, he will find it easier to take a stand and become the Adrien Marinette really wants. But it won't be easy. The hero's journey structure dictates that there will be many trials ahead for him - and he needs a mentor figure for that second journey. I haven't yet decided who that is. At the moment, it could be Felix. But Adrien has only just acknowledged the call to adventure and so it's very early days. They could very well surprise us. The only thing that feels certain is that season 5 will have to explore this at every turn.

[mlwritingprompts]

Submitted Prompt: Shackled in more ways than one.

AU.

Diverges from "Style Queen".

Made because of the scene of Gabriel erasing Nooroo's mouth in the "Sandboy" episode.

The kwami are slaves and that IS NOT acceptable.

Warning: Angst from the second half onward.

--

"You can't use your power without a holder, that's reckless and dangerous!" Master Fu shouted.

At that moment, Marinette felt that something was strange about that phrase, but she couldn't put her fingers on what.

She still listened as Fu and Plagg argued for a while about how Plagg using his power in the past caused the extinction of the dinosaurs and Atlantis and causing who knows what else in human history.

She couldn't fully grasp what she felt as she had to deal with the Akuma glittering people, but that thought had already made itself in her mind.

_______________________

After Marinette managed to calm herself after the revelation that the Bee miraculous was most likely lost, she was able to think, and it's only now that she was able to ask herself a question that she really should have thought long before she even met Fu:

"Tikki?"

The kwami looked at her friend wondering what Marinette was thinking.

"Fu said earlier that the kwami can't use their powers without holders otherwise it would be dangerous, but there's something I can't comprehend in this."

Tikki asked her what the problem was.

Marinette's face looked frustrated, as if something made no sense.

"But... you stated before that the kwami existed long, long ago. Even before the Miraculouses existed, so, why is it that even after eons, the kwami are unable to control their power when they supposedly had millions of years to understand your abilities?"

For a moment, Marinette thought she had imagined Tikki's eyes blanking at the question, before the Kwami hurriedly spoke--

"Well, yeah, but that was why the Miraculouses came to be, to help the humans use our power safely."

Marinette's eyes narrowed a little as she looked at her friend.

That answer... it felt like Tikki was deflecting the question. And that blank look...And that phrasing.... 'help the humans use our power'....

She opened her mouth to ask Tikki about that expression, before closing it.

No, she will find out later about that, she still has more questions about the Miraculous. "Okay... so, the Miraculous were made to help you conduct your power via holders, right?"

Tikki smiled, telling her that yes, that was what they were made for.

Marinette raised an eyebrow. "But... wouldn't it have been better to just, make the kwami able to fully control their power without the need for a holder then? I mean, it sounds like a design flaw if the kwami needed someone else to--" Words stuck in Marinette's throat, as suddenly, a very disturbing idea popped in her head.

She looked at her friend, whose face was smiling unnaturally, yet still not saying anything.

"Tikki. We need to get a copy from the grimoire book."

_______________________

Getting a copy from the book was not exactly easy, since only Fu and Gabriel had it, but the two managed to steal Fu's copy (with a distressing amount of ease) and take pictures of all the pages before returning it at the same night with Fu not knowing anything.

Printing the images of the text and organizing the pages, she started taking bits of her time to translate the texts along with Tikki without Fu's knowledge.

Marinette realized that maybe she can't trust him with this matter, and every time she asked Tikki about certain subjects, Tikki was suddenly silent, as if she literally couldn't speak about them.

Marinette knew that the kwami were magically bound to not say their holders' names, but a part of her hoped that that was all it was; a mechanism to protect the holder rather than forcefully controlling a kwami.

But as time goes, and as she cracks the grimoire's information more and more, she finds things that are either not aligning with what Tikki previously told her, or things that outright contradict what she was told before.

Atlantis was destroyed by a person using Plagg's miraculous, not by Plagg losing control of his power.

The dinosaurs and the rest of living beings were not created by Tikki, but they were born naturally. They were also not destroyed by Plagg.

More examples were slowly found, and Marinette feels more and more that something very wrong with the Miraculous.

Why did Tikki think she created life, if she was not really the one who did it?

Why would other kwami think they had a hand in history when they really didn't?

Marinette slowly feels more horrified at the implications, the implications she really doesn't want to be true.

But sometimes, it was exactly what one fears, that will be a reality.

And Marinette and Tikki couldn't stop looking in horror at the latest discovery in their research.

And what it contained was exactly what kind of spells a miraculous is made of.

A spell that allows one to force the kwami to obey the holders of their Miraculous, and literally having their bodies altered to follow the commands regardless of the kwami's wishes or consent.

A second spell that forces the kwami to have an abysmal control of their powers without a holder, so they will need holders to "wisely" use their powers without problems in their place.

A third one that manipulates the memories and emotions of the kwami, so they will always think that even the most awful and cruel holder is not "all that bad", and to continuously justify their horrible actions and abuse.

As they look at the results, Marinette fights the bile rising in her throat at the sheer horror of what she was seeing, feeling faint, but barely clinging to consciousness.

Tears cloud her vision as she falls on the ground, weeping at what was done to the kwami.

At what is being done to them.

Even more, at what she was unknowingly doing to Tikki.

It didn't matter to her that it was for the sake of duty or responsibility. It didn't matter that she didn't know about it.

She was abusing her friend, and that was something she couldn't forgive herself for.

Tikki's sobbing figure hugging her only made that feeling worse, as she now realized that even if Tikki seems to be fine with it, even if Tikki had no problem with her using the kwami's power, there's no way for Marinette to know that Tikki wan't already manipulated into allowing people to use her power.

Tikki's free will was already taken, possibly long before she even met Marinette, her ability to consent was long lost.

Marinette feels like breaking her room, feels like yelling, but she can only cry harder at the cruelty she had discovered.

She didn't have a good sleep that night, and it's only when an Akuma attacks, that she realizes along with Tikki just how much the ordeal traumatized them.

As just when she was about to transform...

"Tikki, spo-!"

Words couldn't leave her mouth, the trauma of what she had just found yesterday still too fresh, and horror and fear latching on her.

"Sp-! Spo-!"

Her throat feels dry, as she tries to force the words from her mouth.

But she can't.

She is too terrified.

Too horrified at the fact she will be abusing her friend again.

"Spo-! S-!"

Why? Why can't she say them? Even though people are being hurt at this moment, why can't she say those two words? She was always able to ignore her feelings of fear and horror before to do her job, so why can't those words just leave her mouth!?

Tears appear on her face, as she tries, over and over to say the phrase. But she can't.

She feels Tikki's own fear, as she realizes that her friend is already on the verge of crying, but still trying to tell her to do it, barely looking confident.

And only at that sight does Marinette try to force her body to stop shaking, barely pushing down the horror consuming her, and she painfully whispers the phrase successfully.

She felt as if lava was pushed down her throat, as the words left, and Tikki finally entered the earrings, and transforming her.

And only by mustering all her willpower, did she not immediately rip off the damn Miraculous from her body and throw them as far as she could.

It took her few moment to calm herself, still shuddering at what she was forced to do, and what Tikki must be feeling.

Gritting her teeth, she found it difficult to not explode in anger, but she had to force that rage down.

She has a job to do.

And she never hated doing it anymore than now.

_______________________

End prompt.

I- I don't even know what possessed me to write this.

It was simply about just how the kwami are enslaved, then it turned into angst and then this happened. I feel like crying for the kwami.

_______________________

that is the correct response, and it's a shame the writers not only let this happen because of their own writing, but don't even know or care enough about their own universe to even realize what they've done. They are the ones who've made it painfully clear that the kwami have no free will, but they think it's a good thing.

[imthepunchlord]

What if the Miracurse for Marinette isn't a punishment, but a "safe mode"? When Marinette is close of a mental breakdown, Tikki switches bodies so Marinette could rest/recover as a kwami... while she, Tikki, lives her life... and she began to realize that she wasn't helpful for her holder as she thought...

Hm... technically she could, but it's not a good idea.

At the core, this curse is safety net and punishment to misuse. And all miraculous have a basic code down of what's bad in terms of use. Though miraculouses are an extension of the kwamis, so some can be more tolerable than others. Like Cat is chaotic, destructive, and mischievous; so Adrien’s actions in Copycat? Tolerable. But if Plagg was really bothered by Adrien’s actions, the ring would respond to it.

And when a miraculous deems someone is deserving of a curse, the kwami has the say on when it officially happens.

So technically, Tikki could prompt it even if Marinette hasn't done anything in the earrings perspective to warrant the curse. The big but though is that to reverse it, the misuser needs to make it up to the one they wronged the most, either an individual or a whole community. The kwami can't reverse it even if they wanted to. As soon as they're in that human body, their influence over the miraculous is done.

If Tikki did so, Marinette would be trapped as a kwami because there is no one she has truly wronged or offer her service to.

She can continue to serve and save the city like she's been doing, but she hasn't wronged anyone and was already doing so, that wouldn't make a difference. She's also going to be even more tired as she's not a being born of energy tied to a miraculous, but a human soul swapped into a kwami body.

She'd probably be accepted by the earrings as the new ladybug kwami and have to fully give up on a normal life as there would be no easy fix to reverse it, and would have to continue this work. And officially be the weakest kwami to exist for a long time.

And Tikki would be stuck living a human life until she dies and her essence goes back to the universe, never able to interact with the world again.

The miraculous curse is a curse, and it is used as such. The only ones who truly get any benefit from it are those who were wronged by the cursed. But the cursed doesn't have a good time, and kwamis don't enjoy being human. They can live with it, but it's not their natural beings.

If Tikki did so, it wouldn't end well for her or Marinette.

[cinnamonblueberry22]

Optigami Review + A big rant on Cat noir in season 4

Alright, I haven't been really active on Tumblr lately mainly because of school and all the work I've been receiving, but this is the one time I can post so just bear with me lmao.

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

Optigami Review:

Honestly love Ladybee, her transformation did look a bit rough, but her suit looks stunning. Too bad Cat noir didn't get to see it.

Kind of lost as to why there's only Luka, Kagami, Max, Chloe, and the other miraculous holders that Shadowmoth knew the identities of, did Gabriel just ask Adrien those specific people, and Adrien just, did not find anything suspicious about that?

Did Adrien just not question as to why Kaalki, the kwami of teleportation, was there with Rena Rouge?? And why Kaalki even teleported him somewhere so far to the Montparnasse Tower even though he's literally Cat noir and needed to fight??

Why were the kwamis magically able to be heard on the phone?? I thought they weren't able to be seen in technology, the phone is technology... So why were they heard??

Now for Alya. Honestly, she did seem a bit suspicious earlier because she wanted to be a permanent holder even though it's not the wisest decision and then completely acted like everything was fine after saying "It's your choice tho" and then immediately got to be a permanent miraculous holder... Seems like she wanted to cover her plans up by seeming sincere and then got her chance. Foreshadowing? Even if I love Alya in general, I do love some betrayal plot twist stories.

Mari is not making the right decision because, it will be okay for a moment, but Shadowmoth literally knows who Rena Rouge is. And at the end of the episode, we see him wanting to get to know Alya better. Alya is going to be in danger. This is going to affect Ladynoir. I mean, yea, I want angst but still.

Overall, I rate this episode a 7.5/10. It was impactful, we got to see Cat noir upset about not being needed, but there were also some questionable things in this episode like I mentioned previously. Other than that it was a decent episode and for once I liked Shadowmoths plan tbh.

So there's been a ton of people talking about "Cat noir is being replaced by Rena Rouge!" and all that... I just have one question, why? Why are you so upset over the fact that Rena was here for like, what, two episodes? And then saying she's replacing him? It's as if you're living in Cat noirs mind lmao. I swear I saw at least 12 videos in the span of two days after the release of Optigami saying how upset Cat noir is and how they're bashing Rena for it as if it's entirely her fault for getting to be a permanent miraculous holder and about to be replaced as the next Guardian of the miraculous box. Look, if you despise any girl that's getting more screentime over a DEUTERAGONIST, just say you're misogynistic and go. I don't mean to sound controversial, but what's up with you hating and bashing on girls that "Get in the way" of something that you cherish and baby (Ex. 'Kagami gets in the way of adrienette, Rena is replacing Cat noir, Vesperia is a replacement of Chloe and gets in the way of Ladynoir' who, may I remind you, is a racist rich girl and Cat can like anyone he wants so shut it)

Now back to the main subject, yes, you can be upset over what's happening to Cat noir, but that doesn't give you the right to completely bash the girls who have nothing to do with hurting him unintentionally (BTW, Ladybug is the one who is hurting him by not telling him anything, still doesn't mean you should hate on her, you can talk about it but bullying her over- dramatic; this is a kid show for god's sake). I am upset about Cat noir, but it's clear that the writers are planning something with him, as I will talk more about in the rest of this post.

There have been tons of foreshadowing in the past episodes about Adrien/Cat noir, so let me talk about it.

I'll start with Truth. In Truth, Cat noir gets hit by the spell, and Ladybug asks him his opinion on her role as Guardian of the Miraculous Box. He then says "If it doesn't change things between you and me, then I'm good with it!". But things are changing, and he's clearly not okay, this was some good foreshadowing I did not notice earlier lmao. This was a good part on the writers job.

In Mr. Pigeon 72, the end card is quite interesting. Practically all the photos of Adrien in this end card are of him wearing his blue scarf. When it wasn't even mentioned in this episode. Even if it wasn't said, it actually is still there. In Bubbler, when Adrien arrives to school, Nino says "Wow dude, guess adults can really change!" This line is effective to Adrien. The moment he got the scarf and apparently it was from his father, he was so happy. From the scarf, he thinks his father can change. He thinks his father is just demanding and over protective. He thinks his father just "Doesn't know how to show his love for his son" Even though, us, the audience, knows thats not true. Adrien is not blind. From the scarf, that's what's making Adrien keep on thinking his father isn't bad. And in Mr. Pigeon 72, he literally tells Marinette the moment he wants to walk with her in the rain and then sees the gorilla, "I can't, you know my father, he's demanding." Even though that's not the case. So why was it included in the end card? Foreshadowing that there will be a scarf reveal. Foreshadowing that Adrien will find out the truth. Even if the truth isn't always great.

Now for Solecrusher. I picked this scene because, I find it really upsetting. When Zoe was opening up to everyone talking about how she made different roles to please Chloe, and when Ivan hugs Zoe, Adrien is upset. Why? Because he relates to her. He makes different roles of himself or different personalities, to please everyone. That's why he's upset.

Now for the end card. Here's a little close-up. We see Adrien, Ivan, Juleka, Luka, and Rose. However, Adrien is farther from the others. He stills feels isolated and stuck. While everyone else is happy. He stills feels the need to pretend. Which is making Adrien feel worse.

This isn't specifically about Adrien, but I kind of see a little pattern here. Solecrusher shows Andre is the one who made Solitude. Queen Banana shows a movie being made. What's the next episode? Gabriel Agreste. This episode will probably be all about flashbacks. About the movie Solitude. About Emilie. Showing Gabriel, Emilie, and Adrien younger. I honestly think that Gabriel and Adriens relationship is still as bad, I just think that even if Adrien claims it was better before.

This was honestly the episode I felt the worse for Adrien. He nearly killed himself and Ladybug didn't even talk about it after. Now, I know Ladybug wouldn't know what to say, but she should at least speak up?? I mean that's all I want tbh. The end card seems.. Off. Adrien is not included even though he had a big role in comforting Juleka in the beginning of the episode. Cat noir is shown to be, smiling.. But the smile doesn't even seem genuine. He's still upset. He's still not okay. Foreshadowing that he's feeling even worse than before.

Optigami. Holy this episode. Well I already rated it before but yea. Take a look at his facial expressions. He's upset he wasn't even in the battle (Meaning he wasn't never happy with the fact that he's sometimes not even needed in fights like Style Queen), he's angry, shocked/disappointed, then pretends he's the same old Cat noir with the flirty jokes, but the moment Ladybug leaves with her superhero allies (Still questioning why she even left tho; Shadowmoth knows those identities yet Cat noir doesn't..) And Cat noir is just upset. I couldn't take the exact frame of him alone but I see him looking all moody and sad. He's now pretending to be fine as Cat noir. Which is not getting any better, but more angsty lol.

As I saw all the foreshadowing in this season, the writers seem to be isolating Adrien even more. And after the scarf reveal, I'm pretty sure he's going to pretend to be fine with that too. I feel like a lot is going to happen to him. Maybe even him possibly becoming a.. Villain? What? In Queen Banana, it shows the hero of creation, and the villain of destruction. Could mean something. Other than that, I've been thinking about a lot of angsty fake scenarios of Adrien lately lol.. Back to the subject, the possible breakdown or conflict between Ladynoir would happen in season 4. It's the most logical time.

Oh, and one more thing:

Bye!