#he was clueless to the end. he was just a pawn for gabriel.

[localvoidcat]

for the guy that got his eyes exploded by literal satan they really did him dirty with that scene . im elaborating more under the tags though

[ataraxianne]

Listen I get not being completely satisfied with the ending of this arc but please remember that Gabriel rewrote the world, Marinette/Ladybug is the only one who knows what has really happened up til that moment (why is it there that every time there's something catastrophic and traumatising she's the only one who remembers it??) but we have no idea what he specifically wished for.

Again, he rewrote the world and the way in which he asked Gimmi to do it was very clever of the writers because it opens up to possibilities both for us to create theories and for themselves so they can invent new things, completely different from we know thanks to our canon (the five seasons)

For all we know he could have asked to be the one who ever used the peacock miraculous so that it would have make no sense for Emilie (she canonically got pregnant so as someone said she had probably created like a fertilised egg so that she could live through pregnancy too- so maybe here it was Gabriel who created it) or Nathalie to die (she was alive in the end), he was going to anyway (Monarch and Papillon still existed, he did not changed that so Chat Noir probably cataclismed him here too) and he did. He could have wished that in this new version of the world that got created he was less of a shitty dad, since Adrien completely obliterated the fact that he was a piece of shit up till the end and wonders how he could ever become like his father, that now thinks of as a hero, like the rest of Paris does. And it would make sense since Gabriel already wished to Marinette that Adrien remembered him only as a nice fella and not as who he really was.

He manipulated everything and everyone up till the end, and again we don't know to what extent since he never explicitly said what he wanted. Read my heart. Read my soul. He gave up his life (that was already decaying so it wasn't that great of a loss to him) but we don't even know if he bargained something else and how much else to this huge wish of recreating reality.

This may also explain why in the end everything was so soft and ethereal and many people claimed it was too idealistic and sort of dreamy: it was. Read my heart. He never said and explained carefully what he wanted, he just had this wish, this dream of a better eality in which he was the villain but no one ever found out because he was also the hero. Everything would have been fine, everything would have been perfect, just like a dream. Because it is.

Also we even saw that there was anyway a loophole in his wish because (and this is, again, very clever and meaningful) he always thought he could control everything as he wished and this was always the greatest flaw of all his plans and it happened again here. He didn't know about Lila. But she did know about him. She knows about him. He saved Marinette's memory because he wanted her to take care of Adrien and to have an accomplice in his plan for the new reality given by the wish (and Ladybug told to the world that Gabriel helped her in defeating him). We don't even know if in this universe Nathalie herself knows since she maybe didn't even use the miraculous. But he wasn't aware that Lila had realised he was Monarch, she had proofs, photos, videos, the code to enter in his mansion. He was completely clueless so he didn't bother wishing for her memory to change since he didn't know the risk there was in letting her keep it. He thought she was a pawn in his game while it was actually the opposite.

Again, there are many possibilities now, everything is possible and nothing is sure and I can't wait to see what they will put off with the new arc and the new season.

The only sure thing is Adrienette let's gooooooo bye Gabe we won't miss you

[mcheang]

Love and hate

A rough draft inspired by 三生三世十里桃花, and because I wanted to do another Mari hates Adrien but he likes her fic.

What if Marinette felt betrayed by Adrien’s decision to pose alongside Lila?

Ok; we all know that Lila framed Marinette. And that Adrien posed alongside Lila for the photoshoot.

But what if Marinette decided to take early action to revoke her expulsion? What if she went as Ladybug herself to clear her name? Technically it’s not just personal reasons when scarlet moth had been involved.

Granted she can’t prove Lila planted the necklace in her locker. But come on, how can she cheat when the test answers were stolen after the exam? The lockers are unlocked. And if Lila had seriously fallen down the stairs she would have more bruises than a knee injury!

In face of a righteously angry Ladybug, who points out the flaws they were too idiotic to see, the principal does what he does when face with influential threats (Chloe calling her dad), he caves.

Marinette is brought back to school with an apology. Lila is called back to school to continue investigating.

Unwilling to let such a useful pawn leave, Gabriel vouches for Lila, unaware that Ladybug had just left, and lets Nathalie disable the security feeds. Again the weak principal gives in.

Lila learns Marinette has already been brought back, but let’s Adrien think she fulfilled her end of the deal.

While Adrien had played a small, inconsequential role in defending Marinette, it did nothing to soothe Marinette to watch him pose with Lila after all he knew about that liar.

Betrayed and heartbroken, the love in Marinette’s heart starts to turn to hatred.

Welcomed back to school, Marinette asks Adrien in private why he modelled with Lila and he says it was part of his job (he doesn’t want Marinette to feel indebted). Lila butts in and insists that it is also because they are friends. Adrien agrees with Lila. Marinette believes Adrien wants to shrug things off again, and move on.

Her hurt confirmed, Marinette ignores Adrien and gives him the cold shoulder. The hatred in her heart has sprout and is growing into a sapling

Adrien can guess the reason for that. He tries to talk to Marinette alone but she wants nothing to do with him. Eventually he manages to convey that he only modelled with Lila to get her to come back to school.

Marinette retorts that he didn’t get her back to school. Ladybug did! And she doesn’t tolerate liars. He had the chance to tell the truth and he blew it.

Normally, Marinette may have been more open-minded but the hatred in her heart has had time to settle.

The more you love someone, the deeper that hatred can grow.

Since Lila didn’t hold up her end of the bargain, Adrien renounces their friendship in public. He admits he made a deal with Lila to get Marinette back but Lila spins a lie that she asked Ladybug to bring Marinette back. Adrien protests that Ladybug herself confronted them that she is not Lila’s BFF. The class doesn’t know who to believe. But since Marinette is clearly avoiding Adrien and still thinks Lila is a liar, it gives Adrien more credibility and makes them wonder if Lila was indeed a liar.

Marinette still hasn’t forgiven Adrien, believing he is only acting up since he doesn’t want to lose any Friend. Her heart is too full of hatred for her head to think clearly.

It pains Marinette to see Adrien but she eventually becomes adept at ignoring his blonde head and presence. Adrien is miserable that he has lost one of his closest friends. Even so, he snaps at the class whenever they listen to Lila’s gossip. Marinette ignores his attempts to protect her.

The rest of the class do not intercede. Marinette has a right to be angry with Lila and she shuts down anyone who asks her to be open-minded and forgive either Lila or Adrien. The class soon learns not to bother, otherwise Marinette shuts them out too.

Tikki tries her best to change Marinette’s mind but Marinette snaps at her to let it go. Tikki relents once she realizes she is only agitating Marinette and making her akuma bait.

Adrien tries waiting outside the bakery, skipping his practises and getting grounded. Marinette had told her parents not to let Adrien or Lila in. Adrien refuses to budge, standing in the heavy rain even when it is clear the bakery is closed and the streets are emptying. The Gorilla eventually tracks Adrien down and drags him home. (I figure Adrien is a romantic and is willing to resort to grand gestures of his determination to see Marinette)

Adrien is sick for weeks. Marinette is happy for his absence but has to hide it behind relief. Alya and Nino have to divide their time.

Adrien recovers and is still miserable. To make matters worse; he has another shoot with Lila. He goes on strike until Gabriel fires Lila.

Tikki heads to Plagg to discuss how to fix their broken relationship. When Adrien opens his locker, Tikki escapes, but not before he spots her fleeing to Marinette’s locker.

Adrien is both elated and horrified to know Ladybug’s secret identity is his former Friend who now hates his guts.

Knowing Marinette doesn’t want anything to do with Adrien, Chat decides to visit her at night.

Marinette initially freaks out because she thinks he knows her identity. But he claims he is just there because he is on a diet and wants to cheat on it.

Marinette tolerates this free loader.

Chat initially wants to smooth over their misunderstanding but learns that talking about Adrien leads to him getting kicked out. So he avoids talking about Adrien and instead tries to get to know Marinette better.

Marinette is annoyed by Chat’s presence, especially since it leaves her sleeping later than usual. But she grows used to it.

Eventually Chat slips up and calls her My Lady. Marinette freaks out again but grows calmer. She says she doesn’t want to know his secret identity. Chat sadly agrees.

Eventually the public thinks that there is something going on with Chat and Marinette. But they deny it. To prevent people from suspecting Ladybug’s identity, Adrien blurts out it was him. He put on his old Chat Noir costume to visit Marinette.

The class squeals at their Romeo and Juliet situation.

Marinette goes along but is furious with Adrien. How dare he play her for a fool. She yells at him from going anywhere near her again, but not before Adrien sees how badly she is hurt emotionally.

Adrien’s absence from her roof is easily explained when Gabriel heard the rumour and confiscated Adrien’s costume.

Marinette is heartbroken yet again because unbeknownst to her; she had fallen in love with Chat.

In her heartbreak, she is reminded she has a score to settle with Lila (it’s a welcome distraction). Ladybug confronts the principal again on why Lila hasn’t been properly investigated. Pressured, the principal does that and discovers Lila’s truancy and health records. He expels Lila in the same public manner he does Marinette. (Ladybug’s status so trumps the recluse designer’s)

At least Marinette has been properly avenged. But she still isn’t happy.

Adrien is depressed. He knows he hurt Marinette again and he never wanted that. That said, the class thinks Gabriel has pulled Adrien out of school, not that Adrien has fallen into depression. He can’t sleep without crying because he is haunted by the image of Marinette crying and blaming himself. Not even the threat of homeschool can snap Adrien out of it, because he knows Marinette would welcome that.

Adrien won’t eat anything until at last Nathalie does something.

She visits Marinette and confesses that she was there when Adrien threatened Lila to bring Marinette back to school.

When Marinette is skeptical, Nathalie points out all the good things Adrien has done for her (most of them as Chat). Why would he do that if he didn’t care for her?

1. He had tried to get Marinette an internship with Gabriel but she had wanted nothing to do with the Agreste brand.

2. Adrien tutored Marinette at night so her grades improved.

3. To make up for Marinette’s free treats, Adrien has burnt his pianist fingers trying to make Marinette a dessert. He never succeeded in every one of his 13 attempts before he nearly burned the kitchen down.

4. He recommended her to other famous designers. Marinette wanted to earn recognition on her own credit, not because of favors. She’s not happy he interfered.

5. He bought her all those expensive fabrics using his own money. Marinette isn’t exactly impressed since she knew Adrien had the money. But he certainly saved her shopping time.

6. He stole his mother’s jewellery to gift them to her (Marinette had told him to stop buying her expensive gifts). Yeah, Adrien was in a lot of trouble for that one but he refused to tell his Father what he had done with the jewels. He had been pulled out of school as a result until Lila brought him back and Adrien admitted he didn’t regret stealing the jewels.

(What Adrien does admittedly pales next to Ye Hua’s sacrifices. But I can’t cut off Adrien’s arm or make him use his life force or whatever. He isn’t a deity)

Anyway; Nathalie points out that Adrien has done so much for her, regardless of how unsuccessful his wooing attempts were, can’t she just visit him once. Seeing her might do him some good.

Marinette takes a moment to think. Perhaps she judged Adrien too harshly and rashly. He was clueless about friendship. And he did try (and failed) to make amends. Maybe she should give him credit for trying, if nothing else. He certainly chose to against Lila in the end.

Marinette visits Adrien and there is definitely a reaction from the apathetic boy. he apologises for hurting her so much. He should have left her alone like she wanted. Marinette also apologizes for not letting him explain his side, even if she did give him a chance to at first. She encourages him to eat.

With Marinette beside him, Adrien does recover.

Nathalie is relieved. She then advises Gabriel to let them be. Bringing Emilie back won’t be as joyful once she finds out their son had nearly died from intentional starvation.

Gabriel agrees to let his Son and Marinette date, which they do slowly, needing to start all over again. Marinette needs time to sort out her feelings. While she may have fallen in love with Chat, it also conflicts with the hatred she bore Adrien. The hatred needs to heal to become love.

Adrien gives Marinette her space and continues to try to be a partner worthy of his lady, mainly by being honest.

[what-lovely-scales-fandom]

For the Sake of Clarification

There is a certain kind of clueless white person who thinks the new comics have implied that Sombra is not as intelligent and badass as she appeared in Infiltration, and that although she is smart and good with machines, she's also overconfident, careless, and predictable. To clarify for these clueless white people: No. Sombra is not an overconfident trickster playing way over her head. Sombra is not a "Smug Snake." Sombra is playing 5D chess every time she appears, and "Searching," the comic that clueless white people think shows her to be easily outmatched, is actually quite possibly her crowning moment.

Let me explain exactly how far off the "overconfident, easily-outplayed Sombra" idea really is. Let's take "Searching" beat by beat.

Start with Sombra's first actual appearance. She's teasing Zarya and Lynx-17, but what's important is her posture and her position. She's placed herself literally and figuratively above the other two, and she's sitting down, kicking her feet, doing nothing. She's waiting for them. She knew they were coming. She hacked Lynx back in Numbani, and she's not surrounded by snack wrappers, so she's known they were coming for a while and she knew exactly when they finally figured out where this safehouse was, i.e. she's been watching them during the days or weeks they were asking about her door-to-door. If she didn't want this confrontation, she would've slipped out invisibly as soon as they turned up and locked them inside behind her. Or she wouldn't have come back to this safehouse at all. It's not like there's anything irreplacable inside; Sombra blows it up at the end of the comic.

Step up a couple pages for a moment. I don't think Alejandra is helping Zarya because Sombra asked her to; she's too sincere and unsure for that. Rather, I think this is Sombra predicting her actions and using her as a pawn to bring Zarya to her while letting Zarya think it's her own choice. The fact that it takes so long for someone to turn her in is probably one of the only things that does not actually happen according to Sombra's plan in this comic; Sombra is used to being treated with suspicion or frustration, what with her love for being suspicious and frustrating, and the genuine love her hometown has for her and their refusal to give her up was almost a hitch in her plans. A small one, of course; Sombra would've found a way around it before long.

(Not that we can COMPLETELY rule out Alejandra telling Zarya where to go because Sombra asked her to. And it does strike me that they get a safehouse location, rather than waiting for her at the bakery. How does a baker's daughter get that kind of information? Although to be fair there's always the possibility that Sombra deliberately allowed herself to be seen entering and leaving the safehouse, or 'casually' mentioned it around the bakery.)

Back to the present. Sombra has lured Zarya and Lynx to her. Why? Not to kill them. Sombra may be smug and playful, but she's also a bully, and one of the essential traits of bullies is knowing when they can't beat someone. Zarya is a trained soldier; if Sombra wanted to kill her, she would do it as unfairly as possible. Either hack Lynx-17 to attack Zarya and clean up afterward, or set off an EMP (Zarya gets her ult after all), put a spray of bullets into the back of Zarya's head while her shield is down, and then finish the helpless Lynx. Or just lock them inside the safehouse and blow it up. Instead, she makes no attempt at stealth or dirty fighting; she's standing out in the open when the fight starts, she only shoots Zarya's shield, and she never tries to use Lynx against Zarya (Lynx who, again, she has already hacked).

And then her translocator comes out. Sombra tosses it in plain view of Zarya and Lynx-17 and uses it just seconds afterward. We know from Infiltration that Sombra has never been bound by the time limits that still existed when this comic was made; if she was trying to escape, she would have teleported to the translocator she definitely has set up in a safe place a few hundred meters away from the hot zone. "Always leave yourself a back door."

And she 'doesn't know' what Zarya's Graviton Surge is, even though she's been watching her for days or weeks and probably stole her dossier before that even. "If you hold the information, you hold all the cards." So she gets caught in the Graviton Surge, and Zarya has 'won.' Instead of trading bullets (er, and lasers. And explode-y balls...?), they can talk. And Sombra is so good at talking.

She reveals that Katya has been lying to Zarya, and that she's been meeting with omnics behind her back. And like everything else that happens in the comic, she does it in a way that doesn't look like her pulling strings. Zarya thinks she's found Sombra, not been lead to her. She thinks she's caught Sombra, not been manipulated into a cease-fire. And she thinks Sombra is laughing at her for not knowing Volskya's secrets... not deliberately revealing those secrets to her. Which breaks the trust between Katya Volskya, the most powerful 'friend' Sombra ever made, and Zarya, that woman's first choice to eliminate Sombra -- a dangerous enemy hamstringed.

And allows her the pseudo-truth that she hasn't lied to Zarya where Volskya has, to open inroads toward at least a temporary alliance with whoever Volskya picked as the most effective soldier in Russia, against The Conspiracy that is Sombra's primary target -- the groundwork laid to make a powerful ally.

And then, Sombra is actually ready to escape. Suddenly, Lynx is helpless, a timer is ticking down to an explosion -- and oh yes, we don't see Sombra leaving the building, with lends credence to my theory that she's had a translocator ready to pull her to safety this whole time. When Sombra has gotten what she wanted out of Zarya, the balance of power shifts so quickly I can best compare it to Black Widow's appearance at the beginning of the second Avengers movie. (And since we're assuming she has a translocator up, even if Zarya had decided she didn't believe any of this and simply went to snap Sombra's neck, she could've vanished right out of Zarya's hands. Which makes sense; Sombra isn't a woman to take unnecessary risks. Her whole playstyle is based around never getting in over her head without having a cheap and easy way out.)

Past that, there's Reyes's knowledge of her actions in "Infiltration" revealed in "Masquerade," but that isn't much of a hit if you look at it realistically. By this point, the only plausible explanation of Reyes's motivations -- what with the moment that ties him most directly to the Reaper persona before the Fall being when he resolves to destroy Talon by any means necessary -- is that he's infiltrating Talon to destroy it from the inside. That means that Gabriel Reyes A) is manipulating and fooling Doomfist, B) is still the man who did with a five-soldier strike team what literally the entire world's armies couldn't during the first Omnic Crisis, and therefore C) is basically the single most intelligent character in the game. On top of that, there's @segadores-y-soldados's theory that she's working directly with Reyes to take down Talon and his exposing her actions to Doomfist is all part of the plan, which is getting more and more evidence with every new piece of media we get. So either she was made by the smartest hero the verse is ever going to see, or she wasn't even that. Hardly a point for "overconfident, careless Sombra."

(The only thing that happens in "Searching" that does not directly benefit Sombra is Zarya learning her real name -- which, I will add, Alejandra has no way of knowing since Sombra would have gone into hiding when Alejandra was a child. I just want it on the record that Zarya had to actually dig for Sombra's real name and didn't just randomly stumble onto it from the first person who helped her, like I've actually seen some people say. And with Sombra's personality and complexity addiction, one of the many, many things we can rule as "unlikely, but not totally out there" is Sombra planting a fake 'real name' just to mess with Zarya. Assuming it is her real name -- a... mmmmmostly safe assumption -- it must have been hell to find it. The one person in the city willing to help was a tiny child when Olivia Colomar disappeared, and there's no information on any database in the world Sombra would've missed this long after her self-unpersoning. ...We don't actually get a timestamp for the night they attack Sombra's base, either. How long did it take them to get enough information together to feel confident moving against her?)