#i love protective girlfriend marinette

[bklily]

It's giving-

EXCUSE ME HIS PRONOUNS ARE SHE/HER!!!!

[lunameimei]

THE POTENTIAL that we could get?? I'm pretty sure Emilie was the only adult who showed Chloe any real love. Chloe should be grieving for her too (i mean not like Adrien, but Emilie was more of a mother to her than Audrey so). Chloe trying to support Adrien by saying she kind of knows what it's like to lose a parent (only to then later Audrey suddenly burst into their lives ughffvhjnk)

Chloe should have gotten to identify Felix (and come to the Agreste mansion to call out him because wth dude??)

And please, but her bitсhiness as Queen Bee?? Pure gold. (The way she humiliated Hawk Moth outfit lives rent-free in my head 🙏) And her "retweiler gold" behavior around Ladybug it's all just-...

Okay, okay, I'll probably end it here cause it's too sad

i KNOW im beating a dead horse but we were so robbed and i could genuinely talk about this for hours. THE DYNAMIC OF CHLOE BEING ADRIENS CHILDHOOD BEST FRIEND/ONLY FRIEND. they both have shitty parents, they ARE each others family. she thinks she's in love with adrien but realizes it's familial, not romantic. she's marinettes bully but grows as a person with ladybug & adrien's encouragement. SHE CHANGES BECAUSE SHE LOVES ADRIEN LIKE A BROTHER AND SHE BEGRUDGINGLY WARMS UP TO MARINETTE BUT THEY NEVER TRULY BECOME FRIENDS UNTIL AFTER ADRIEN AND MARINETTE GET MARRIED BECAUSE SHE THINKS MARINETTE WILL HURT HIM LIKE HIS FATHER. SHES THE MOST OVERPROTECTIVE SISTER TO HIM. SHE STAYS THE SAME UPPITY RICH GIRL WITH A HEART OF GOLD BECAUSE SHE ADMITS HER FLAWS AND STRUGGLES BUT STILL KEEPS A MASK UP MOST OF THE TIME. SHE LOVES LADYBUG AND CANT STAND CHAT NOIR UNTIL THE REVEAL BECAUSE THATS HILARIOUS. THE POTENTIAL KEEPS ME UP AT NIGHT. i will NEVER accept what we got.

BECAUSE WHAT A WASTE OF A WONDERFUL CHARACTER. SOMEBODY SEDATE ME.

[binniesunderworld]

How Gabriel Agreste Destroyed Adrien's Life: A 3 a.m. Analysis

From: ‘I enrolled in a school without my father's permission, I ran away from home to attend the first day of school and although I don't want my father to be angry with me, I'm not afraid of a punishment either because I KNOW there won't be one’.

To: ‘My girlfriend is alone with my father, with no one to protect her, completely defenceless. I NEED TO SAVE HER’.

One knows that his father is a good person who, no matter how angry he is, would never hurt him. The other doesn't, it's the opposite, he is no longer sure of anything, he fears for the safety of those he loves and is so terrified that he is about to have a panic attack.

But how did we get from the first to the second?

How Gabriel Agreste's abuse managed to completely change his son in a matter of days

People don't remember this because it happened a long time ago and has not been repeated, but Adrien used to be a NORMAL person, not as perfect as he is now. While he has always been kind and polite, there were also times when he allowed himself to be a bit hostile and not as perfect as we are used to seeing him (as Adrien, not as Chat Noir). Usually that ‘good boy’ facade was only used in front of his father and Nathalie, but in front of his friends he behaved like a normal teenager, even becoming a bit teasing, self-centred and rebellious. "The Bubbler", "Animan", "Kung Food" and "Evillustrator" being the clearest examples of these behaviours, in particular towards Nino, Chloé and Marinette.

In S1 it becomes clear that the only conflict Adrien has with his father is the fact that he does not give him as much freedom as Adrien would like. Apart from this, Adrien has no other problems with him and considers him to be a good father. There are several of Adrien's behaviours that suggest that Gabriel's overprotectiveness towards him was the only thing wrong with him, but that otherwise Gabriel was excellent. It is time for us to look at that.

1. Origins

Adrien literally enrolled in a school without his father's permission and when his father refused to approve Adrien's attendance, he ran away from home and went running to school. When Nathalie tries to convince him to come back Adrien simply says ‘this is what I want’ and turns around to continue up the stairs, not caring if she has anything else to say. He hears that someone needs help and immediately goes to their aid, and as soon as he finishes doing that he turns to Nathalie and the bodyguard with a charming smile expecting to see their proud faces, and when instead he sees that they are still angry he is immediately horrified and gives up.

This tells us a lot about Adrien: he is a spoilt child who has never been punished in his life, and when things get difficult his first reaction is to be adorable or do a good deed to be forgiven. Adrien intended to leave Nathalie talking to herself, and he wasn't worried about the idea of being punished when he got home from school because he knew it wasn't likely to happen. He then helps someone to ingratiate himself with Nathalie and the bodyguard so that they will stop being angry, and when he realises that it didn't work he is surprised. He is used to people forgiving his disobedience just because he is cute. He immediately gives up and asks Nathalie not to tell Gabriel. While he didn't want his father to be angry with him, he also didn't fear punishment because he knew he wouldn't get it.

Later, at the mansion, Adrien realises that Nathalie did tell Gabriel and he feels betrayed, as if he didn't expect her to do that. Basically, he is not used to people disobeying him. Gabriel again forbids Adrien from going to school but it's nothing he hasn't said before: Gabriel reprimands Adrien's behaviour with words, never with punishment, and there comes a point when words are no longer enough and Adrien is no longer afraid of them, hence he becomes ‘rebellious’. The next day Adrien runs away again and, surprise surprise, he is not punished, in fact he is rewarded. Despite having disobeyed his father again, he is rewarded and allowed to go to school, even Nathalie (whom he treated very badly) offers to help him. This reward is without explanation, just because. I'm not saying Adrien deserved to be locked up for life at home, at the end of the day he's just a teenager who wants to socialise with more people, but it's clear he was a spoilt child whose behaviours both good and bad were praised, just like Chloé and Felix, so if you ever wondered why he was such good friends with them, here's your answer.

2. The Bubbler

Here we get confirmation of how Adrien is a good boy only in front of his father and Nathalie, and how he is himself in front of his friends. At the beginning of the episode he together with Nino makes fun of his father because he does not agree to throw him a birthday party. Then, when Nino is akumatized, he at first refuses to be part of the party because he cares about Nino and wants to save him. Even when he realises that all the adults are trapped in bubbles, he never cares about his father, Nathalie or his bodyguard, only about saving Nino. And then he also gives up on this idea after a little chat with Plagg and says: "Okay, you're right. This might be the first day in my life that I actually get to do what I want for once", and Adrien joins the party without any show of consideration for the adults he knows.

Although all these behaviours were forgotten by the fandom, they are important to understand Adrien's character and how he changed due to his father's abuse. This is the normal behaviour of a teenager with a bit of a grudge: he's not a psychopath who wants something bad to happen to his father, he's a kid who knows that in the end he and his superhero partner will fix everything and he allows himself to have fun in the meantime. But it's something the current Adrien would never do, and there's where the difference lies.

3. Volpina & The Collector

This is the last episode in which we see Adrien acting like a normal teenager. He overhears Gabriel talking on the phone and decides to spy on him, then discovers that he has a safe behind his mother's portrait and out of curiosity goes to investigate. Adrien discovers the book and takes it with him, when he is discovered he quickly makes up a lie. RIP pre-lobotomised Adrien, you will always be missed.

This is the key point in the change of behaviour of both Adrien and Gabriel.

Gabriel confronts Adrien and he immediately gives an explanation in a tone of voice intended to generate sympathy:

—I just wanted to know what you were hiding behind that portrait that was so important.

This doesn't work so he resorts to blaming Gabriel himself:

—You.. you never told me about those things.

And this doesn't work either, so he decides to admit what he did but also looks for a way to justify himself:

—I was intending to give it back to you, I swear. But then I lost it.

Gabriel tells Adrien that he no longer trusts him, and what is Adrien's reaction? He just looks jaded and apologises to Gabriel, in an attitude that makes it clear that he is used to apologising to make things right, that he is not genuinely sorry, and also offers to buy him a new copy, confident that this will be enough for Gabriel to forgive him. This confirms the previous point: Adrien is used to getting out of his punishments just because he looks cute or does a good deed, and this became so repetitive that Adrien already knew how to get out of a punishment, and was not afraid of his father but simply tired of scolding that went nowhere. Again, there is no fear of consequences.

Everything changes completely when Gabriel tells him that this book is unique in the world, that there is no other copy. Apologies didn't work and the other form of redemption, buying him a copy, wasn't possible. Then is when Adrien's face changes completely to horror: he has just understood the magnitude of his mistake. His father punishes him by forbidding him to go back to school and Adrien is heartbroken, but does not try to reason with his father (as he had done, and many times, in past episodes). This is the birth of the Adrien we know now: from a normal boy to a submissive puppet. He knows that there is no way to redeem himself and that is why he decides not to fight, he finally realises that his actions have consequences, serious ones, taking away what is most precious to him: his freedom.

From here on we see a completely changed Adrien, from a rebellious teenager to a perfect doll with no thoughts of his own. Before, he pretended to be perfect only in front of his father, Nathalie and his bodyguard. Now he pretends to be perfect in front of everyone, regardless of whether he knows them or not. The trauma can be clearly seen: Adrien adopts this neat behaviour because he is afraid that his freedom will be taken away if his father finds out that he made another mistake. Now Adrien knows that he CAN be punished. He doesn't even allow himself to breathe in peace because of all the stress and fear he carries. And so it is that Adrien becomes a puppet unable to stop pretending even in front of his own friends: we go from an Adrien who was not afraid to react strangely to Marinette's odd behaviour, who was not afraid to tease Nino about his crush and who was not afraid to put Chloé in her place when the situation warranted it, to an Adrien who could not even keep his back bent for fear that his father would consider it inappropriate.

Gabriel Agreste being a shitty father and exploiting his son's weaknesses to profit from them

Despite being strict with Adrien, there were times when Gabriel let him spend time with his friends and have fun with them. In fact, in S1 there are several of these, most of them to be found there (before all the drama).

In ‘Animan’ he is in the zoo helping Nino with his date with Marinette.

In ‘Gamer’ he is playing video games for the school championship at Marinette's house.

In ‘Kung Food’ he comes to Marinette's house to help her with her uncle and even takes them to the hotel and stays for dinner with them, he spends practically the whole day away from home.

In ‘Horrificator’ he spends many hours filming the movie for the school.

In ‘The puppeteer’ he is going somewhere alone and relaxed.

In ‘Timebreaker’ he is present during the race between Alix and Kim.

As you can see, despite being strict, Gabriel sometimes let his son spend time with his friends. When did this change? After the book incident. After forbidding Adrien to attend school, Gabriel noticed how heartbroken he was and realised that school and his friends were not a whim for Adrien, but something he truly cherished. And Gabriel used these feelings to manipulate Adrien. In S1, before the incident, Adrien is more ‘rebellious’ and still has enough freedom to be with his friends. In S2, after the incident, Adrien behaves much better than in S1 and still doesn't have half as much freedom as before, and when he finally gets his father's permission to be with his friends, something happens at the last minute (Heroes Day Part 2, for example). This is because his father has discovered his Achilles' heel and uses it to benefit himself and manipulate Adrien.

The clearest proof of this is in the difference between ‘Horrificator’, where Gabriel let Adrien spend hours in the school filming the movie, and ‘Queen Banana’, where Gabriel let Adrien go for only a few minutes to the filming and right after he finished his part he literally left in a cage hanging from a helicopter. It is clear the pleasure that man developed in making his son miserable.

And we could talk about ‘Chat Blac’ and ‘Ephemeral’, but I won't touch those topics as they are not part of our timeline. I'll just say that they made it clear how far Gabriel is willing to go (literally traumatise Adrien) in order to get what he wants. What I think, is sick.

Adrien's Stockholm Syndrome: normalisation, justification and romanticisation, and how it makes him vulnerable to unhealthy relationships

1. Gabriel

We have already made it clear that Adrien became an uncritical puppet, and as a result he developed a terrible Stockholm syndrome. Adrien normalised all the manipulation, and by accepting it as something usual this caused him to start justifying it as well. Needless to name the episodes, in many of them there is always someone (usually Nino, Marinette or Plagg) who points out his father's problematic behaviour and Adrien immediately tries to justify it with ‘he does it because he loves me’ or ‘he just wants to protect me’. This shows us a big difference from the Adrien of S1 who was aware of his father's behaviour and even made fun of it, the current Adrien would never do that, on the contrary, he seems to live to justify Gabriel's actions. That's how serious the brainwashing is.

With Gabriel's behaviours now normalised and justified, they in turn begin to be romanticised. Despite being a shitty person, there are moments when Gabriel treats Adrien well: like when he hugs him (something Adrien is not used to), his worried words to Chat Noir about losing Adrien, or when he watches his mother's movie with him. These are all details that if they weren't accompanied by manipulation, anyone could call ‘cute’. And this makes Adrien unaware of the manipulation at first: his own denial and the kind details his father had for him confused his brain. Adrien did not think that his father could be so kind to him if he was a bad person, and that is why Adrien refused to consider him as such. This is a method of self-defence against dangerous situations, the feelings developed by this are not only romantic but any kind of feelings that are enough to make the victim feel safe in dangerous environments.

2. Kagami and Marinette

Let's start with Adrigami. Adrien didn't show a strong interest in Kagami until the chapter ‘Oni-Chan’ where he even rejects Ladybug's fist to make sure Kagami is okay, but what led to this? The romanticisation of obsession and control.

Kagami is simply Adrien's friend, but when she sees a photo of him with another girl, she gets so jealous that she is akumatized and starts chasing this other girl to get her away from Adrien. This is behaviour that is bad as a girlfriend, but even worse as a friend. Adrien doesn't take this seriously and even spends the whole fight making jokes instead of worrying that one of her friends is a jealous girl who is willing to kill for him even if they don't have any kind of commitment. Then, when he sees that Kagami still has the rose he gave her, his behaviour immediately changes and you could say that this is when he starts to feel a real attraction to her, even rejecting Ladybug's fist, whom he had long been in love with.

Here we see how dangerous the romanticisation of problematic behaviour is: Adrien is willing to let go of all the chaos Kagami caused and all her toxic behaviour just because she showed that she really ‘loved him’. And he reciprocates her feelings because he finds it cute that someone is in love with him enough to go crazy. The romanticisation of Gabriel's actions eventually led Adrien to romanticise other people's actions, even going so far as to feel honoured by all the questionable actions these people committed under the justification of loving him.

Something quite similar happens with Adrinette. In S5 Adrien mentions that he started to accept his feelings for Marinette from what happened in ‘The Puppeteer 2’, and there's no way this isn't weird. He had feelings for Marinette long before that, but it was that event that led him to accept them. Marinette literally assaults a ‘statue’ just because it looks like Adrien, starts fantasizing about a life together, steals one of his hair and many other weird things, and what's Adrien's response? To say that he fell in love. He literally saw how far Marinette was capable of going because of her obsession with him, and as much as that behaviour was justified with ‘it was a joke’, instead of caring, what he does is fall in love with her... because of her obsessive and bizarre behaviour towards him.

It is honestly quite disappointing to see how Gabriel's manipulation damaged Adrien to the point of leaving him craving only unhealthy relationships because that was his perception of love.

Both victim and perpetrator

Adrien developed a split personality and a taste for taking advantage of people when he is in situations of power. Gabriel turned Adrien into a victim and a perpetrator, the role depending on the situation. When Adrien is the one at a disadvantage, he displays submissive and manageable behaviour. When he has all the power, he has no problem using it selfishly and taking advantage of others. This was taught by Gabriel, from prudence to ruthlessness, are things Adrien learned from him. And in a way that's how Adrien differs from Chat Noir: the power they possess.

Adrien is always at a disadvantage: his life is in the public eye, everything he does is always monitored by his father or his fans, and if he makes a mistake it is very easy for his father to find out and punish him. This is why Adrien, always powerless, forces himself to act submissively. He does not possess the power in such situations, so he can only act as he is expected to act.

As Chat Noir things are quite different, he always has the power. Chat Noir is a superhero, he watches over Paris but no one watches over him, he has freedom, destructive power, a city that depends on him and a partner who needs him to defeat the supervillains. He has the power. And he uses this power to his advantage.

A clear example of this is his tendency to threaten. Adrien has several times been willing to give up his miraculous and even verbally threaten (in a passive-aggressive way) Ladybug just because it bothers him that she has secrets. All of S2 was Adrien threatening to give up his miraculous if Ladybug didn't tell him her secrets, and this behaviour wasn't like ‘we can't keep hiding things from each other anymore, this isn't healthy for me and if we're not going to be honest it's best to just give up’, no, this behaviour was like ‘if you don't tell me what you're hiding, I'll give this up and you see if you can do it all by yourself or if you find me a replacement’. I understand that he was tired of the situation, but manipulation is never justifiable behaviour. Evidence of this is found in episodes such as ‘Syren’, where Adrien even threatens Plagg with give up his Miraculous if he doesn't tell him what Ladybug is hiding.

Another example is ‘Glaciator’, where he invites Ladybug to a dinner and she makes it clear that she already has plans and is unlikely to go. And yet Adrien is self-illusioned, and when his fantasies are shattered by something Ladybug had already warned him would happen, he simply accuses her of mocking him, throws a tantrum, refuses to help with the akuma, and when Ladybug comes up with a good plan to defeat the villain he guilts her by saying: ‘Sorry, Ladybug, it's not cool to play with people's feelings’ when Ladybug never played with his feelings and in fact realised these only minutes ago.

There are many other episodes like these, too many to list. I guess the most notorious ones are ‘NY Special’ (where he has no problem being unfaithful to Kagami) and ‘Lies’ (where he also has no problem being unfaithful, lying to her, trying to provoke akumatizations and so on). His problematic behaviours are not only as Chat Noir, but also as Adrien when he finds himself in relationships where he has the power. In his courtship with Kagami he knows that she is completely in love with him and uses this to his advantage and does truly horrible things like the ones mentioned above without regard for her feelings because he knows or believes that she won't leave him. Something similar happens with his friendship with Chloé, he knows how much Chloé appreciated him and so every time she committed a bad deed he threatened to end their friendship. It's not wrong to want your friend to stop being a shitty person, and it's okay to let him/her know that if he/she continues this stupid behaviour you'll have no choice but to walk away, but the problem with this is that we go from Adrien's genuine concern for Chloé to empty threats just because, in the end, Chloé wouldn't change her behaviour and he wouldn't leave either.

Conclusions

This is not as well written as I would like it to be. I procrastinated for weeks and when I finally decided to write it I no longer had the series so fresh in my memory. I am a teenager with no professional knowledge of psychology who wrote this at 3 a.m. while I was not so sober.

This post is not salt against Adrien/Chat Noir, in all of ‘Miraculous’ there are only two or three characters I hate and none of those are Adrien, so this post is not hate towards him. While I did describe some of his behaviour in a not so nice way, that was not a personal opinion but an analysis. Like when you go to a psychologist and he doesn't give you his personal opinion but a diagnosis, the main difference being that I am not a professional nor do I claim to be one. Anyways, this is a direct attack on Gabriel Agreste for being a shitty person.

As you may have noticed, most of this analysis is based on S1 to S3. While I did mention some episodes from S4 and S5 they were not as relevant, this is because the first 3 seasons are the ones I've seen the most and ergo the ones I remember the most, maybe later (I don't think so) I'll do a part two on S4 and S5.

Finally: my personal opinion on Adrien. He is an amazing character whose development and build goes unnoticed by the fandom, this is probably because it wasn't done on purpose (if this character build was planned it wouldn't be half as good as it is, the writers aren't that talented). Adrien is just a boy, a victim of an abusive home that ingrained several of his father's behaviours within him and he has no ‘true personality’ as this depends on the situation he finds himself in. He acts this way as a method of survival and although it is not right, it is a psychological response and it is not as if he can help it. I'm really happy that the poor boy is free from his abusive father and I hope that in S6 he can be happy and get therapy.

[theerurishipper]

Something I've noticed is that the show goes out of its way to portray Adrien's trauma as romantic.

In Kuro Neko, Adrien is exhibiting a trauma response wherein he invalidates his own feelings and tries to be whoever the other person wants him to be, and Catwalker is explicitly based on the mask Adrien puts on to please his abuser, which is also the persona Ladybug develops an instant crush on. What the show tells us, however, is that Adrien as Catwalker telling Ladybug that it's his own fault for being sensitive because he was hurt by her actions and following that up by promising to take care of her is romantic and wonderful.

In Strikeback, Adrien is once again downplaying his feelings and hurt in order to come to Ladybug's support because she needs him. He is once again invalidating his own hurt and absolving her of all blame. What the show tells us is that it's so romantic that Adrien was willing to push away his hurt feelings and come to her aid like a loyal partner even though she never apologized to him or promised to change her behavior.

In Protection, Adrien's tendency to want to be perfect for everybody and cater to their needs is depicted on screen, with him assuming the full blame for Marinette's confidence issues. He has a whole conversation with Kagami about how he needs to change himself for her. What the show tells us is that Adrien is so romantic and so sweet for essentially assuming blame for Marinette's inability to tell him her feelings and saying that he has to be the one to change and cater to her needs.

In Collusion, Adrien's reacting to his father sending him to London by saying "Marinette and I will last forever," is him clinging to the very little good that is going on in his life. It is him once again centering his identity around this girl and his relationship with her because he has never been allowed to be his own person. What the show tells us is that "Adrien loves Marinette so much uwu."

In Confrontation, Adrien writing "All I know is that I love Marinette Dupain Cheng," is him once more centering his whole life around his girlfriend because he has been conditioned into defining himself around other people because he has never been allowed to an individual in his own right. What the show tells us again is that Adrien loves Marinette so, so much, you guyz.

In Conformation (credit to this post by @youremarvelous), Adrien telling Plagg he's angry at himself for falling short of Marinette's love is also him downplaying his own feelings and placing more importance on her, and him believing that he has fallen short of her love stems from him belief that he has to earn love. He's just shifted from defining himself based on Gabriel's wishes to defining himself based on Marinette's wishes. What the show tells us is that Adrien is such a good boyfriend for wanting to be perfect for Marinette.

The discrepancy between what has been portrayed and what the show wants us to think is concerning, to say the least.

[blackcatsandlockets]

"Why do you love Félix so much he's not even real-"

Félix Fathom, who loved his mother, aunt, cousin and girlfriend, and prioritized their happiness above anything else?

Félix Fathom, who just wanted to be loved by his father, who abused him to the point he collapsed?

Félix Fathom, who gave himself freedom and became determined to free people like himself from their abusive parents, so that no one else experienced the same pain that he did?

Félix Fathom, who made it his mission to free Adrien from his father's control?

Félix Fathom, who hated everyone who used their power to control others?

Félix Fathom, who wanted to create a free world, where no one will be under anyone's control, where no one will be excluded like he was?

Félix Fathom, who realized he was unintentionally acting like his predecessors and learned that he was wrong?

Félix Fathom, who refused to create a being to manipulate, control, abuse, and end up destroying them?

Félix Fathom, who understood, better than anyone, that bringing a living being into this world means you have a responsibility to protect them, love them, help them discover the true meaning of their existence, and that to deprive them of that is monstrous?

Félix Fathom, who set Kagami free, encouraged to make her own rules rather than following her ancestors', and cared about nothing but her safety?

Félix Fathom, who wanted a happy ending for everyone, including kwamis?

Félix Fathom, who gave Marinette the courage to face off Monarch once and for all?

Félix is brave, caring, and heroic. That's why I love him.

[trishacollins]

Merry Christmas Trisha! ❤️🎄

You know me, I am a Senticousins hurt/comfort girlie at heart, but I have a special craving for Felix being the one to comfort Adrien… It’s such an underused dynamic.

Maybe… Maybe with some platonic bed sharing if you feel like it… In any case I love them being physically affectionate with all the trust that implies on both sides. Especially given one was physically abused and the other could literally destroy him through a single touch. I am getting emotional OK BYE

Merry Christmas Nina My Love! I hope you enjoy!

The room is dark – he can vaguely see the rise and fall of Adrien’s chest in the darkness, but his cousin is otherwise completely still and silent.

The blinds are all closed, and Adrien hasn��t turned on any light sources.

It looks like a depression nest if he’s ever seen one.

“Are you just going to stay in bed all day?” He asks, keeping his tone conversational.

He didn’t need the six hundred text messages from Marinette to know that things had gone horribly, terribly wrong. That Adrien had found out one of the dozen secrets she had been keeping, and reacted badly enough that she was afraid for his safety.

He didn’t need them, but he had them.

It was an accident. She didn’t know it was Adrien she was talking to.

The new Butterfly Holder had been involved.

“Go away, Felix.” Adrien rasped in the darkness.

Felix ignores the faint command, slipping off his shoes and padding to the bed.

“Go *away*.” Adrien snarls, and he isn’t foolish enough to not hear the wetness in his voice. “leave me alone. That’s all everyone ever does!”

“No.” Felix answers simply, taking off his jacket and crawling under the duvet with Adrien, scooting until they’re side by side.

He sort of expects Adrien to swat at him, but his cousin is limp under the blankets.

“You’re sort of proving her point.” He muses. “She felt like you would react badly.”

“Shut up, Felix.” Adrien whispers, and turns his head away.

Felix fumbles around under the blanket, interlocking their fingers and squeezing gently. “I’m sorry, for what it’s worth.”

“You’re not.” Adrien mutters.

“I am, actually. I never wanted to lie about your father’s true nature. I think you already knew who and what he was capable of being. Having him venerated as a hero when you knew all of that...it was hard.”

Adrien’s fingers squeeze back weakly, twisting and interlocking. “Everyone lied to me.”

“I know.”

“They built a statue of him. People-people worship him.” Adrien’s crying, messy, choked sobs that shake the bed.

Felix holds his hand. “We could destroy it.”

That derails Adrien enough to pause. “What?”

“Spray paint a his face, cover him in graffiti about how terrible his clothing was – tell people he got upstaged by his assistant?” He squeezes Adrien’s hand.

“He would hate that.” It’s a laugh, watery and miserable, Adrien’s head thunks against his shoulder with a wet sniffle.

“You wouldn’t.”

“I wouldn’t.” Adrien agrees. “Why couldn’t I know anything?”

“Well, Akuma were a concern. I think your girlfriend is traumatized and putting herself in a bubble.” He says. “Other than that – she wanted to protect you.”

“I’m tired of being protected. I want to be-to be able to remember him and hate him without feeling guilty about how he died.”

“Noted.”

Adrien twists their hands, rolling onto his side. “Why did you tell her?”

“Kagami’s suggestion.” He admits. “Kagami trusted her, we didn’t know about you – and...well. Your Amok.”

Adrien’s face impacts his shoulder with a wet moan.

“I can make you decoys.” He offers softly.

“I don’t know where I could put them that they’d be safe.” Adrien’s miserable tone is familiar. “I’ve been just wearing them around, not knowing- what do I even do with them?”

“Well, it’s...it’s inconvenient.” Felix admits, twisting his own Amok on his finger with his thumb. “The paranoia never goes away. But you do get used to it.”

“You would know.” Adrien’s face is pressed tight against his shoulder.

“I do. Kagami as well. She has a decoy ring she wears.” He squeezes his hand. “You are not alone in this.”

“You were.”

Felix smiles faintly. “I was never alone – even if you didn’t know, we were always the same. We were lucky in that respect.”

“Lucky.” Adrien sighs. “I’m the most unlucky person in the world.”

“I feel fortunate to have you.” He tells him gently.

“Thanks.” Adrien mumbles, and is quiet for a moment before he says. “I’m still mad at you, but – it’s the same. For me.”

“You can be mad at me.” He offers, generous. “Are you mad at Marinette?”

“Furious.” A sniffle. “But I love her, too. It’s- why did she…”

A miserable sound, more animal than human, escapes his cousin.

“We’re supposed to be a team.” He whispers.

“She’s very clever.” Felix says quietly. “But- her parents seem nice.”

Adrien snorts. “She doesn’t know how to tell the truth because she has good parents?”

“Your parents are terrible.” Felix points out. “Selfish creatures. Self obsessed. She didn’t know how to handle that – and your father, is very good at manipulating people.”

“She knew he was Hawkmoth.” Adrien grumbles.

“And you didn’t. And he was dead.” Felix is playing the devil’s advocate with gusto – he can feel Adrien knows it. “So she told a lie, which promptly – because she’s Ladybug and the world bends to her whim – twisted out of her control into something far larger than one might hope. And Kagami’s mother – certainly looking to save her own skin – reinforced it with that horrid statute.”

“I hate it when you do that. Let me just be upset about this.” Adrien complains.

“You cry like a toddler.”

Adrien hits him with a pillow, and Felix returns the favor swiftly.

It’s not comforting, exactly, the wrestling they’re doing in Adrien’s bed. It’s a twist of limbs and bodies, both of them fit enough to know how to pin someone and too fit to allow someone else to pin them easily.

They end up tangled around each other, Adrien’s face pressed into his chest, breathing ragged and still a bit wet.

“Better?” Felix asks, cautiously stroking his hair.

“Yeah.” Adrien sniffles a bit, rubbing his cheek against his shirt.

“If you get snot on me, cousin, you will buy me a new shirt.” Felix commands, but he really doesn’t mind.

“I’m sure I can handle the expense.” Adrien yawns, and then makes a deep rumbling noise in his chest that takes Felix several long moments to recognize as a purr.

“That is extraordinary. How long have you been able to do that?” He asks, running his fingers through his cousin’s hair.

“Dunno. Just could.” Adrien’s rumbling purr remains, and he doesn’t move from his spot.

“Once you have finished your emotional episode, I have a million questions.” Felix offers softly.

Adrien doesn’t respond, breathing evening out as he falls asleep.

Which is alright, Felix doesn’t mind this sort of entrapment.

[marinettesaltprompts]

I care very deeply about Juleka and her brother(s). I just think they're neat (:

And I'm turning my Protective Sister Juleka (yeah that can be the official title, why not?) prompt into a series. Have fun y'all, here are some more prompts:

• It's hard for Juleka to see her ex-friend the same way. Not just because they're stuck in the same class and hungout with the other girls, but because she feels her relationship with Rose is being strained. Juleka has been going to less and less hangouts with the rest of the girl's and had been asked about it the next time she did join. She said her part, how Marinette swooning over Adrien was hurting Luka, how she couldn't be friends with someone like that, and Marinette defends herself by saying she wasn't in love with Adrien anymore. She was just busy. She had things to do. Luka would tell her if he had a problem. Juleka snaps back that even if he did all she thinks about is Adrien. Adrien this. Adrien that. "Just accept that he doesn't like you, Marinette!! He's never been interested in you and never will be!! Adrien is happy with Kagami!! You want to know who'd behappy with you?! Who IS happy with you despite the way you treat him?! MY BROTHER!!!" This ultimately leads to a divide between the girls. Those siding with Marinette and those siding with Juleka. The only one who hasn't chosen a side, is Rose.

• Purple Tigress does her best to look out for Chat Noir whenever she patrols. Now that her rose tinted glasses have fallen, she's able to see the broken dynamic of the original miraculous duo. It's unpleasant. Where the two used to be so in touch with one another, it felt like every time Chat tried Ladybug would lose her patience. At one point before they split up to patrol a few days ago, she heard Ladybug tell Chat she wasn't interested in him. He...he never said anything about their relationship, about asking her out on a date. He just wanted to know when they would patrol together again...

• Luka knows he's in denial. He knows he's making up excuses for his... girlfriend?? Can he even consider Marinette as his girlfriend? They, they were happy at first. She chose him in the end, not Adrien. But...she still loved him. He'd always be second to him. He's not sure if it's worse that his...that Marinette is still so obviously in love with Adrien while his heart was taken by Kagami. Maybe, maybe Juleka had a point. Marinette didn't want him. Maybe she did love him, but not how he loved her. Maybe, maybe it was time to just, end their relationship.

• If there was one person Juleka had to tell everything to, it was Adrien. He had to know that Marinette liked him. He had to know she had planned to find a way to get him and Kagami separated. He had to know about the schedule and the multiple gifts and the numerous plans she created so they could be together. Marinette still can't see what she's doing wrong? Fine. She'll just have to go to the one person she wouldn't want all that information to go to. And if his girlfriend (his sword weilding, should be in the Olympics, girlfriend) is around when she tells him the truth, all the better.

• Kagami had wanted to be friends with Marinette. Had tried to be friends with her. She thought that whatever differences they had were in the past. That Marinette was happy for her and Adrien. But here was Marinette's boyfriend's sister. Telling her and Adrien about the things she's done not only in attempts to date Adrien, but to ruin their relationship, before they were even dating. How she has a schedule tracking everywhere he goes and when. How she's made gift after gift after gift for decades of Adrien's birthdays. How she's planned on how many kids they would have when they got married, when they'd get married (currently it was a spring wedding, apparently it changes, last time was an autumnal wedding), what they'd do for work, literally an entire life between her and Adrien.

She thought Marinette would move on. That she found someone who loved her and she loved back. She thought...she thought Marinette was her friend... She shouldn't be surprised the girl wasn't her friend in the end, so...why did it...hurt??

• Rose wants to say she and Juleka were a perfect couple. That they've never had problems. But this? This was a problem. Because she knows Juleka is protective of her family. She knows how much Luka means to her. How she can tell when he's happy or not, even when others can't. She, she knows what Marinette is wrong. She knows. But she believed that she and Adrien would find happily ever after just like she and Juleka did. That they'd get together, get married, and have a happy life together. But then Adrien got with Kagami and Marinette got with Luka.

And she'll admit it, it was a surprise but she'd been happy for both couples. She can see she was wrong about Adrien falling for Marinette and finding happily ever after with her, because he found it with Kagami and Kagami with him. And she could see Luka found happily ever after with Marinette, and she assumed Marinette did as well. But Marinette still kept looking at Adrien with a longing look. She still kept his schedule. She still kept making gifts. She stalked his socials to see how his relationship was doing...almost as if to see if he had ended his relationship...

She didn't want to make a choice, to lose a friend, but when that fog clears and you can see things clearly?? She knows that Juleka is the one who's right. Luka deserves better than to be put on the side by a girl who can't love him properly.

• The next time Purple Tigress patrols with Chat she can't help but notice he's being extra quiet. She hadn't see or heard Ladybug do anything recently... So, she asked him about it, expecting him to wave it off as he'd always did (why did her brothers insist on being okay when they clearly weren't???), but was surprised when he began to open up about how he basically lost a friend. How he learned things about her he never thought possible. He thought highly of her once. Said that she was the one person he was unsure whether or not was his friend or not. He felt like she was sending him mixed signals. And now that he knows she liked him? As in, apparently she was in love with him liked him? He couldn't see her the same anymore. And knowing that Adrien is Chat Noir made Purple Tigress all the more upset (and the day she learns Viperion is Luka, and that Marinette is Ladybug, her heart will break) at the two girls she had once respected.

• Marinette can't see why Juleka is so upset with her. So what if she's had to bail on Luka a few times. She apologizes and he forgives her. She's only missed a few dates. And Luka would tell her if he had a problem. She doesn't need Juleka to go all protective over him. And now she got the girls choosing between them. It wasn't fair. She was busy. She's doing her best to be a good girlfriend and a hero at the same time. Juleka only went out as Purple Tigress once in a while, usually just to patrol. Marinette's job as Ladybug is full-time.

She fully believes that things will continue as they had. But then it seems as if she'd been cursed.

First, she learns about Adrien moving classes and how she's meant to stay away from him.

Then she finds out that he and Kagami had blocked her everywhere.

Then she finds out Juleka had told them everything. Which the two insisted she tell Gabriel. Which is why Adrien is in a different class and why she has to keep her distance. Why she was blocked by them.

She's kept behind when everyone leaves to ensure she wouldn't go find Adrien to try and "fix things."

And just as she thinks her day can't get any worse... Luka breaks up with her.

Well that last bit is an akuma waiting to happen : ' ) (Though I am unsure how Juleka would be purple tigress considering that this prompt is apparently pre-Crocoduel/Purple-Tigress episode)

On a personal note, I believe that this subplot would have been an excellent addition to canon season 4. Between the "Truth" episode and Marinette asking Juleka to keep Luka away from the Crocoduel party—rather than simply saying she can’t come—it would have made sense for Marinette and Juleka to have a falling out. This conflict would align with the season’s theme of Marinette’s lack of trust and secret-keeping while also adding some romantic drama that doesn't go back to lovesquare shenanigans, especially since Luka and Kagami both break up with their partners at the start of the season and is never really brought up again.

This subplot could also tie into other episodes like "Gang of Secrets." With Juleka no longer friends with Marinette, the group wouldn’t quickly reconcile after their akumatisation, fostering distrust toward Marinette amid the Guardian issues and Juleka’s feelings about how she treats Luka. This dynamic would create a self-fulfilling prophecy, as Marinette inadvertently pushes others away in school while hypocritically relying on them as auxiliary heroes as Ladybug (while at the same time pushing Chat Noir away in the process).

It would all fit into the season 4 finale as well: Ladybug ultimately refuses to trust anyone with a miraculous following the fight against Strikeback, which in turns leads to Felix taking them all from the Miracle Box once the latter takes her yoyo.

Sorry if this was a bit of a tangent, but outside of making Marinette salt prompts, I do kind of like the idea of taking excellent ideas and trying to incorporate them into canon :) .

Love these prompts you shared! Keep it up!

[ilikekidsshows]

I can vent here, right?

Even when I love canon love square I always thought they kinda toxic in season 1-3. I thought they would be healthier after they know each other identity.

Now after season 4-5, I haven't watched season 6 yet only seeing people talk about it in YouTube and Tumblr, I couldn't help but dreading the reveal because it more than likely Maribug end up treating Adrichat worse than she is now in and outside of mask.

Like what if she knew Chat is sentimonster and start justify herself to used his amok to control him in battle. Adrien would be none wiser because he didn't know.

Or what if she take Adrien miraculous away and justify it because he kept let himself hurt he couldn't be trusted with it. It for both his wellbeing and greater good she told herself. Nevermind that it was Gabriel fault and she's the one make it worse. Nevermind that it would make him even more isolated. Nevermind that she, as his girlfriend, should have help him realized his self worth instead taking a few agency he had away. Nah, it's too much to ask for her to do bare minimum.

The same with house husband Adrien. I used to think it fun because I thought it would free him from obnoxious schedule and he could do housework on his own pace and better rested but nowadays he probably still overworked and blame himself everytime Marinette doing something stupid.

---

Yeah, it's kinda wild that we’re now at the point where Cat Noir's identity being a secret is actually protecting him from his supposedly loving girlfriend. Because, like, Marinette disassociates between her two lives a lot, and her views on Adrien and Cat Noir are very different.

Adrien: helpless, perfect damsel who must be kept safe and untainted

Cat Noir: useful pet who can be sacrificed with no thought or consequence

This feels like a nightmare, a horror story. If Marinette found out the truth now that she’s gotten into the habit of controlling Adrien, how would she react? Would she take Adrien’s ring away to “protect” him? Would she let him keep it but not let him take part in fights, being little more than the mascot?

So many of her plans rely on sacrificing Cat Noir, or at least his safety, in some shape of form. Would she freeze in the middle of a battle, realizing she can’t use her go-to strategy anymore? Or could she actually dissociate between the different identities her boyfriend has to still treat Cat Noir as Cat Noir and what would that look like to Adrien? Would he be able to see the love leave his girlfriend’s eyes when he transforms, when she suddenly starts looking at him like a sacrifice waiting to be put on the chopping block?

[mlbigbang]

2023 Marichat & Ladrien Fic Rec List

It’s the end of the year which means it’s finally time for the ML Big Bang’s yearly fic rec lists! We’re really excited to bring you our contributors’ favourite fics started this year to supply you with plenty of reading material while you’re waiting for the Big Bang fics’ publication in January.

Boulangérella by @aidanchaser

Once upon a time, magic was wild. The two princes of the kingdom have been tasked with choosing their brides by the end of their 21st birthday celebrations. Crown Prince Adrien Agreste will have to choose between a woman who can protect his kingdom, a woman offering the power to wake his sleeping mother, and the woman he has loved and admired for the past year. Then there's also the seamstress that he is suddenly falling for. By the time he realizes he doesn't have the power to choose at all, it may be too late.

It's a creative Cendrillon retelling with the kwamis as fay, Adrien as the kingdom's prince and most wanted thief, and Marinette as the seamstess and superhero partner stealing Adrien's heart twice over.

Scary, like a little black purring kitten by @h-sunnywet-d

The calendar just turned into October, and Chat Noir has to make sure that his Good Friend Marinette appreciates the new season wholeheartadly. It sure won't backfire on the long run.

Just An Ordinary Girl by @kasienda

Chat Noir and the other heroes are in a bit of trouble, and Ladybug wanted just one weekend off! But luckily they know someone who can help. Someone who is just an ordinary girl…

you will never sleep alone (i'll love you) by @ladyofthenoodle

Marinette had saved up for months to be able to afford this vacation. Not only that, but she’d spent months trying to convince herself that it was okay to even take a vacation, that Monarch was really and truly gone. Which was why Tikki was at home with Alya, so that Marinette could actually relax and enjoy the plush amenities the hotel had to offer, such as a bed that looked like it cost five times her monthly salary. Or, she would be able to enjoy it, if she wasn’t standing in the middle of the villa she’d booked over a month ago, fighting for the bed with freaking Chat Noir, of all people.

May I introduce myself, Your Highness? by @chocoluckchipz

Whether picking up a stray animal off the streets or saving a dying child at the market, Adrien had always strived to be the best version of himself. Truly, he would've been the perfect candidate to be snatched up by a kwami, were he an orphan, dying somewhere remote after a short life full of nothing but suffering and misery. Yet as it stood, the sole heir to the French throne had little to complain about. Apart from, perhaps, a complete absence of a love life. That is until a mysterious girl, wandering around his gardens at night, catches his attention.

This fic has it all - Ladrien, royalty, fairy tale elements, magic and disguises! It's an enthralling read and one of my absolute favorite fics from 2023.

The Perfect Date by @peachcitt

“I dare you to ask this special someone on the date you just described.” “I totally will,” Adrien says with confidence, looking into the camera and nodding resolutely. “Scout’s honor.” He holds up the kitten as if swearing an oath. There is a space of silence. “Right now,” Hanna says. Adrien stares at her. “I’m daring you to ask that person out right now,” she says. or adrien has a little slip up during a live interview, and ladybug hears. for the golden hour zine!!

reserved by @luckyyoyo

“Don’t you think,” he coughed, a blush creeping up his cheeks, “this kind of thing should be.. reserved for my girlfriend?” He gestured to their poses. A squeak came from her mouth and her knees buckled, but surprisingly still had no struggle keeping Adrien up. “You know, you could always be my girlfriend.” Ladybug, saviour of Paris and local damsel-in-distress Adrien Agreste, suggests he gets a fake girlfriend to ward off his zombie fans. While lovingly holding him in her arms, of course. Adrien, far too comfortable in her arms, suggests it could be her. Introducing your superheroine pretend-girlfriend to your strict, uninterested father is a bit harder than Adrien realises.

Displaced by @kasienda

Adrien loosened his tie and dropped his suit jacket unceremoniously across the back of the sofa that was already cluttered with unopened boxes, mail, and unfolded laundry. He really should have listened to Nino and hired a maid or cleaning person of some sort. But well, he still had a secret to keep, and keeping that secret was more important to him than ever. He moved to his bedroom on autopilot without turning on the light, intending to collapse into bed immediately. But when he tried to slip into his space, he found it was already occupied. He flipped his phone flashlight on towards the ceiling to light the room in a soft glow. In his wife’s place, Ladybug lay sprawled diagonally across the bed.

here comes the rush before we touch (come a little closer) by @ladyofthenoodle

When an akuma attacks during Adrien Agreste's beach themed photoshoot on a dreary day in Paris, Ladybug is on the scene immediately. Unfortunately, with a glimpse of Adrien's alluring abdomen and without her partner, it's not long before she's hit, and Adrien with her—but maybe Ladybug can afford a little vacation with the boy she loves. He's certainly not complaining.

On Borrowed Time by @miabrown007

The life of Paris’ Golden Boy is all shine and glamour; blindingly bright smiles, neverending parties, bargaining for just a shard of time for being happy. But that’s alright; Adrien has long given up the false hope that someone will get it. That is precisely why it’s a spectacle when she does, when she barges in like a hurricane in crimson and turns his life upside down. Heaven knows, it’s time for the wind of change.

[fantasybuff3186]

Werepapas

Heres the werepapas post like I promised, I dont have much to say though but I do have something to say anyway here I go.

So for a start, I actually watched this episode before daddycop even though I should have done the opposite but I was pretty excited to see his grandparents so I bit and I wasnt disappointed. From the get go this was clearly very Adrinette heavy which I always love so I liked that part and well it was pretty cute. For a start I love how Marinette is still Marinetting and still has those plans for marriage so it was a nice call back to season 1 marinette with her complex plans and future but this time it was more satisfying because she has hope and is pretty secure in her relationship with Adrien. It was also nice to see Tom's parents together and their wholesome family breakfast where everyone except Sabine were very hyped for. Speaking of Sabine, she's still a wonderful mother and I enjoyed that she was telling rest of the family to calm down. Then it was really cute how excited Tom and his parents were for Marinette bringing him over. I just love seeing supportive relationships.

That aside it was pretty nice when Marinette offered to accompany Adrien and I love that Nathalie was just okay with it, it honestly feels like they're all family at this point and I love that so much. Nathalie and Marinette interact a lot more and thats so sweet. Also Marinette's trust in Nathalie is wonderful. Like Nathalie is definitely becoming my favourite character, it was only made better in that flashback in the post credit scene. Even then Nathalie was so attentive to Adrien whilst Gabriel was just trash. It was a little satisfying to see that he was an absent father even then for some reason. Makes hating Gabriel so much easier. Honestly given the kind of parents Gabriel has it is a little surprising he was like that but then again what do we really know about Gabe's past? Maybe his parents were absent too because they do seem rather careless, maybe thats why he became strict, trying to make up for the lack of stability he had? Now I want to psychoanalyse Gabe like damnn but to be fair maybe it makes sense why he fell for Emilie, she seems pretty stable and maybe he always craved that? Shes the opposite of him, of his family.

Speaking of flashbacks, I loved seeing Emilie and Adrien's past, it was nice to know more about Nathalie and Adrien and I love the focus Adrien got this episode which usually doesnt happen. Miraculous really is seeming more like well everyone's show other than just Marinette what with the focus on Sabrina and Zoe. I love that they're splitting the focus now, it just makes me happy.

Also the parallels were epic! Adrien stuck in a tower for instance mirrors the time marinette was stuck in a tower also for protection by her dad in weredad. Like I loved tha parallels so much like its pretty cool! We got an Adrien version of weredad and that just makes me so happy. Its like nostalgia hits yk. Like I can go on about the parallels for a while. Family meal? check, taking place in a house? check. There may be more parallels but for that I need to watch the episode.

Also I love how Marinette was hyperaware of the ring, despite the new atmosphere of the show, the hints of the season 5 finale remain. They didnt forget about it even as she tried to break it which was pretty cool. Miraculous is definitely stepping up its game.

I also really adore how normal it is that they're together now, like its so easy and just fits and seems so natural. Its almost like they've always been together at the same time I can hardly believe that they're together like that really hits hard like damn. LIKE MY BABIES ARE ACTUALLY TOGETHER! He called Marinette his girlfriend and thats just so surreal. 2-3yrs of waiting and it paid of!

Also I really hated Emilie's father the entire time and wanted to punch him so so much like why is he such a jerk? I guess he improved a little but I still dont like him, he treated his wife horribly. Also Adrien in a trophy while it makes sense literally, I kind of want to do english literature style analysis for some reason. How hes objectified and stuff which was the point of the episode but still.

Then there was Plagg, he was such a menace this episode and I loved Adrien's expressions. It was funny seeing him trying to hide his secret from Marinette and Nathalie though I kind of want Nathalie to know his identity at least.

[lukaslosteyelashes]

My Review of the Miraculous London Special, Part 2

Writing my review is going a little bit slower than I expected, but anyways here is the second part.

What this part contains:

Kagami to Marinette - "You are blinded by love, Marinette."

The Lie - This was an unexpected turn of event for me.

"Ladybug knows. Ladybug holds the truth. The whole world will know only what Ladybug will tell it. Her words will be the truth." - A negative character development.

Nathalie - The badass knows the best.

Back to the Lie - Fight fire with fire.

Let's go!

Spoilers ahead ->

Kagami to Marinette

"You are blinded by love, Marinette."

It's very ironic for Kagami to say, considering how she was akumatized two times because of her love for Adrine, once in “Oni-chan” and once in “Protection”. And I also wouldn't say that her love for Felix is perceptive either. But maybe that’s why it's important that she said that, because she understands what it's like to be blinded by love.

I highly doubt that Kagami will be able to get through to her mother, Tomoe. We still don’t know what her goal is and she doesn’t seem like the type of person who would just give up after she was that close to get what she wants. Well, At least there is one single thing that Marinette doesn’t have to handle on her own, Kagami confronting her mother is something I’d really like to see in the upcoming season.

Kagami adores Marinette’s friendship and I’d like to believe that what happened will strengthen said friendship. If it's not, well, that's another angst to add to the list.

The Lie

I saw people say that Marinette cooked up the lie on the spot but I think it’s not the case, she had at least one and a half an hour (probably a bit less than that) to think about what she would say to Adrien and to the whole World.

I didn’t expect that the whole lie, that I thought will be Tomoe’s plan to cover up her crimes, is Marinette’s idea to try and protect Adrien from the greater harm. But, honestly this just further confirms that Marinette is in fact a flawed main character. She needed reassurance whether it was the right decision or not to lie and it shows how uncertain she is about her choice. I think that’s a very relatable situation, I’m sure a lot of us were in a position before where we weren’t sure about ourselves and doubted whether we made the right choice or not and tried to seek reassurance from someone else. Personally, I am usually upset if someone doesn’t give me a clear answer, Marinette handled that so much better than I would.

I also love how none of the characters who know Marinette were lying tried to lecture her about it. Sure, Kagami and Nathalie voiced their opinions and doubts but neither of them have a better moral compass and judgment than Marinette has. Looks like Kagami really wants to believe her mother can change and Nathalie helped Gabriel as Mayura and in civil a lot, she might like to listen to the hero this time even though she wanted to turn herself in at first.

Bug Noir said that she wanted to tell Adrien before he finds out some other way. This could be Marinette speaking as his girlfriend because she is concerned about him or Ladybug who wants to lead the narrative. If she waited for even just a moment it would be Tomoe or the press the first one to talk to him and say whatever they want, with this it's possible to avoid Adrien believing others’s words over Ladybug’s. And this leads to my next point.

“Ladybug knows. Ladybug holds the truth. The whole world will know only what Ladybug will tell it. Her words will be the truth.”

Others already made posts about how this quote means that Marinette is coping through dissociation, that after what happened with Gabriel she completely separates Marinette and Ladybug and that how is this a stepping back from where she headed during the 5 seasons. A negative character development.

Just as I wrote above Marinette is leading the narrative, the story. She takes the initiative, probably for the first time. Someone pointed out that how Marinette is controlling the World with her lies is the same as Gabriel controlled his son and also the World with his fashion (“Pretension”). Marinette can be controlling, especially as Ladybug, and overcoming this behavior will lead her to become the great leader older Bunnyx mentioned in "Timetagger", I think. And how would she overcome it?

Nathalie

Nathalie being alive and kicking and not in prison, is not just good for Adrien's sake but also for Marinette’s. I think she saw the parallel between Marinette and Gabriel and that's one of the reasons why she didn't oppose to stay. 

We don't know exactly how long she knew Gabriel but I'll dare to say she knew him even before he met Emilie. She not just saw Gabriel turning evil but also helped him, fortunately she changed her ways for the better and now is ready to help for the greater good. 

If Marinette’s behavior slowly started to resemble Gabriel's, Nathalie would be the first one to notice it. She could be there for her and possibly guide her to not turn out like him.

Back to the lie

This lie not just emphasized Marinette's controlling tendencies more but she also resorted to do something that she actually despises. Didn't she say something like she hates liars more than anything when Lila first appeared? While Marinette is being paralleled with Gabriel she seems like becoming the type of person she hates the most as well. I wonder how this will play out in the future. But I think this could turn out to be a benefit against Lilamoth. Remember the saying: fight fire with fire.

part 1 | part 3 | part 4

[sweetcloverheart]

I can't stop thinking about how upsetting it is that in MLB the "Power Of Love" only applies to the villains instead of the heroes, and for such flimsy reasons

Marinette is never allowed to truly nor fully rely on her relationship with her classmates to help with interpersonal problems because if she does, then she can't be the "super strong female protag" the show totes her as. So the show will constantly/actively discourage any cooperation or reliance on her friendships (even as it "punishes" her for failing to do so like in "Penalteam" and "Strikeback") by having it always end in failure or a worst situation, while presenting the others as too "naive and trusting" of her enemies or any adults/solutions as useless (Oh hi Su Han!) to justify it, thereby forcing her to have to tackle whatever issue she faces alone while presenting it as necessary. She's even made to lie to her partner because telling him any relevant information regarding their previous main enemy would mean removing Adrien's glued-on rose-tinteed glasses regarding his father and what an awful human being he was in his final moments of life.

Meanwhile, Gabriel can do everything short of tax fraud and always be presented as our deeply conflicted "morally grey" villain who's actually totally in the right, because everything he does can be excused because it's being done in the name of obsession love for his comatose wife. Nothing he does is worthy of persecution because in the narrative's eyes, he hasn't done anything wrong actually, since it's all for love. Emotionally abusing his son and trying to take advantage of his depressive episodes for his own goals? It's fine, it's for Emilie. Using a clearly emotionally vulnerable child and a super exploitive one for his plans and then abandoning them to the consequences? It's fine, it's for Emilie (and Chloe and Lila are She-demons, so they deserve it!/s). Harassing his son's girlfriend (through both his position and magic) to either try and get them to break up ("Protection" and "Pretension") or getting a magical servant for his own ends ("Chat Blanc")? It's fine, it's for Emilie. Leaving his friend and secretary to die from the same broken miraculous that magic coma-ed his wife? It's fine, it's for Emilie. Using his adult friends and his son's same age ones for his activities as Hawkmoth by purposely upsetting them? It's fine, it's for Emilie. Exploiting his son's image despite said son being clearly uncomfortable with it? It's fine, it's for Emilie. Instructing one of his Akumas to allow his son to fall to his potential death to confirm if he's his teenage nemesis (Edit: was incorrect about event. Have corrected)? It's for Emilie, so he's good! Locking his child in a bleach white rubber room (Unfriendly reminder that Adrien has canonical claustrophobia) because he went to visit his friends and to have him out of the way of his ultimate plan via using the previously mentioned image exploiting? Emilie, Emilie, Emilie - so long as it's for her, anything he does is golden! Even at the very end, where you have Marinette pointing out how much he made his son suffer, Gabriel does no proper reflecting or is forced to have his goal denied of him as a result - instead, he's given posthumous hero status (along with a statue and another adult villain who skipped consequences giving a speech about what a great and noble man he never was) and made directly responsible for the utopia the world became because he threw the heroine's mercy right back in her face; all because the "Power of Love" makes it so that everything he does for Emilie is moral and good, no matter how vile.

[dust-jacket-analysis]

Spoilers for the Miraculous London Special

One of the things I hate most about the lie that Marinette told Adrien, is how it's going to warp his perception of his father.

His father was not a good man. His father abused him. Controlled and manipulated him. In every universe, he chose to akumatize and use him in his plans to steal the Miraculous. He locked him up in a room and essentially used psychological torture techniques on his son. Forced him into a career not fit for children. Allowed/enabled Lila to spy on and make Adrien uncomfortable. Gabriel Agreste was awful (Bless Movie Gabriel for existing).

I feel like Adrien was just starting to find himself, and his voice. He was sticking up for himself a lot more, and fighting his father's abuse (even if it was often unsuccessful). And I think after the whole locking Adrien up in and essentially violating human rights, Adrien would've finally realized how terrible his father is. Realized that there was no repairing their relationship or redeeming him.

Even with Gabriel dead, while Adrien grieved I think we could've seen him work through the complicated feelings he had on his father. I would've loved to see him come to terms with the fact that his father, someone who he loved and who was supposed to love him, was also his abuser. That despite all this it was okay to love his father. But also okay to hate him. Just all of those messy emotions he was never allowed to feel or express while his father was alive.

But, then Marinette lied to Adrien. Told him not that his father was an evil man, who died to his own hubris. Not that his father was a domestic terrorist, that his father had kept his mother's corpse locked in their basement for years. No. Marinette called Gabriel a hero.

Ladybug, Adrien's first love, the person he admires the most, his partner whom he trusts with his life, told him his father was a hero. That he died sacrificing himself. He wanted to be remembered as a good father.

So now, Adrien has that in his head. On top of everything else: The guilt of not being at the battle to help, the complicated feelings of having lived his whole life abused and tormented by his father who proclaimed to love him, the grief that his father, his dad, is dead.

What's that going to do to his perception of his father? To have everyone tell him his father was a hero? To have Nathalie hug him through his grief and comfort him with the knowledge that his father is a "good man." To have Marinette, the love of his life and his girlfriend, tell him how his Father sacrificed himself to defeat Monarch in an attempt to spare him the truth? For him to hear it from the person he trusts and understands more than anyone, ladybug?

I guarantee it's going to fuck with him. Whether the writers, who seem to chronically hate giving Adrien any genuinely good writing, will show that is a different story. But realistically, and genuinely it's going to impact him.

He's going to feel guilty now anytime he thinks to resent his father for the way he was treated. Because on top of his father being dead, "he died sacrificing himself for you and the city."

The other thing that got me, is Ladybug telling Adrien the only reason his father locked him in that building with Kagami was to, "spare him from Monarch's final plan." Like bitch?? No!

Now anytime he feels resent for being literally psychologically tortured he's going to feel guilty for getting mad. Because now he has the idea that it was too "Protect him."

I love Marinette. And I understand why she felt she had to lie to Adrien. But it definitely is going to cause more internal issues and problems than knowing his father was Monarch. Especially since he's probably going to find out eventually, and then it's just a whole new issue.

[kasienda]

Fanfiction Year In Review - 2024

I fill this out every year. It’s become a bit of a tradition for me. Allows me to reflect on everything that I’ve written and kinda think about where I want to go next. And I like it better from the ask games because I don’t have to wait for asks to come in and can compare my answers from one year to the next. ^_^

1 List of fics completed this year in the order they were finished:

Rings True - One Shot - Love Square - Senti and Identity Reveal

Not Part of the Plan - Multichapter - Love Square Mixtape - Series of five Adrino one shots

Celebrity Status - Multichapter - Ladrien

Bend the World Around It - Multichapter - Ladynoir

If You Could Go Back - Oneshot - Marinette Character Study

Is Chat Noir a Good Kisser? - Oneshot - Ladynoir

When You’re Hung Up On Your Best Friend - Oneshot - Adrino

Aftermath - Multichapter - Adrinette

Joke’s On Me - Multichapter - Adrino

2 Number of words written: 

Written: 139,613

Published: 122,191

Those numbers include nine one shots, five completed multi chapters. And another four multi chapter WIPs saw at least one update.

3 Your most popular fic:

It’s hard to say. Hasn’t felt like anything has been popular lately as the fandom has contracted. But some of the stuff I finished earlier in the year definitely had some traction at the time.  Maybe Aftermath? But half of its attention came before this year so it’s difficult to say.

4 Your personal fav:

Aftermath is definitely still my favorite. This is a story about healing after your life has fallen absolutely apart, and finding meaning in that struggle when you look back. In my opinion, this is the best thing I’ve written so far. 

Though I probably had the most fun writing the last few chapters of Celebrity Status or the first half of Joke’s On Me. 

5 Your fav scene:

I absolutely could not isolate a scene in Aftermath, but it wasn’t for lack of trying. I like too much of that fic to pick out one scene. Haha! So here’s a recent snippet from the opening scene Not Your Secret to Keep that I was really proud of:

“Ni—Carapace!” The sound of Ladybug’s yo-yo whizzed passed his ear.  Carapace didn’t slow.  Not until she landed right in front of him. “Please, I beg you,” and her eyes were actually glistening with tears. “Don’t tell him.”  “How can you stand to keep this from him?” he countered. “He deserves to have the memory of a good father.”  Nino’s expression darkened. She didn’t understand at all.  Ladybug probably had amazing parents. “You don’t get to decide how he remembers his father.”  He ducked around her. Or he tried.  She blocked his path, raising her yo-yo. His blood ran cold. “You’re going to fight me? Over keeping this secret that’s not even yours?! To protect fucking Monarch?!” Her face blanched - white as Gabriel’s last suit.  “Is that what it means to hold a miraculous now?” He ripped the bracelet off his wrist, instantly feeling the sky’s assault against his face once again, and shoved it into her chest.  “If it is, I quit!” She stood frozen, staring at his miraculous in her hands. 

And another Ladrien snippet from Celebrity Status:

He clearly meant for the kiss to be chaste - a sweet greeting to his quasi girlfriend. It was Ladybug who deepened it. If she was only going to get one more kiss, she needed it to be out of this world. She needed to feel it in her toes. She wanted him to always remember it.  Because kissing him one last time wasn’t risking anything they hadn’t already risked. Especially since no one could see them. They were in his room inside a mansion that had a three meter wall around it. As long as she didn’t keep visiting him regularly he should be safe. And so she lost herself in the dance of their tongues, the warmth of his breath, the safety of being held in his arms.  But it couldn’t last forever. When she pulled back, his eyes remained closed, his face was glowing in pure delight. He rested his forehead against hers.  “Wow, what did I do to earn such a kiss?” Her chest tightened in agony.  He must have seen something in her expression because his smile dissolved, and his hands tightened on her waist.  “What is it? What’s wrong?” “We can’t do this,” she said, tears building in her eyes.  “What? Why not?” he asked, his brows furrowed in confusion.  “If anyone ever found out, Hawkmoth would never let you be.”  “No one has to find out,” he insisted.  “I shouldn’t be visiting you regularly like this at all. It’s too dangerous.”  He shook his head. “I’m fine. It’s worth the risk. You are worth the risk.”  She pulled out of his hold. “No! I’m not! Don’t you understand?! He could use you against me, and it would work! I would hand over everything for you.” He looked thunderstruck. “What?” he whispered.  “I love you,” she confessed. “I have for a long time. Longer than you realize. I wouldn’t be strong enough. We have to stop this.”  He stepped closer to her, smiling softly in that way that turned her insides to jelly. His hands cradled either side of her face.  “Yeah…” he breathed a centimeter from her face. “We should stop.” His lips were on hers once again.  They didn’t stop. 

6 A fic or scene that challenged you:

My biggest roadblock this year was completing Chapter Seven of Aftermath. I had so much of a block here that I actually finished drafting and editing chapter eight before I had finished even a rough draft of seven, and then I had a chapter ready to go and I had to just sit on it! I didn’t even have the OPTION of posting it. This has never ever happened in any of my works before because I hate editing, so why would I edit a chapter I can’t even post?!  Chapter Seven was hard because it involved a bunch of cultural research for Alya and Nino’s wedding. I wasn’t super pure in my adaptation of my research, but I wanted to represent at least a little bit of their actual cultures here. And whenever I’m writing for a cultural piece the writing gets a bit more technical (is that the right word?) and because I’m not writing from my own experience (but rather from research) it can feel a bit dry at first. It takes a ton of effort to make it come alive, which I very much want it to because that’s the whole point of representing other cultures!! This chapter was also really difficult to write because I had to balance Marinette’s headspace with the plot arc. There were so many instances where her mental state and the plot just clashed and I had to rewrite it over and over to stay true to both. And it was a huge challenge and I’m really happy with how it eventually turned out. And then the rest of the fic came together so easily!! (The next chapter was already done! Haha!)

7 A line of writing you’re proud of: 

Chat Noir was still there, but he stood opposite her. His lips - stained black with hate - curled into a snarl, and he lunged forward. She barely yanked her head back. His strike missed her by a fingernail’s width.  She wanted to cry. She hated seeing him like this. And she couldn’t bring herself to fight him.  She had loved him even then, hadn’t she?  She ducked under his arm, flipped him to the ground, and pressed her lips to his.  It had worked once. It might work again.  He relaxed underneath her, completely melted in her hold. And suddenly, he was kissing her back.  But that hadn’t happened.   The warmth of his lips sliding against hers felt familiar. Like it was a moment they had shared a hundred times before. When she pulled away, his lips were pink and stretched into a smile that reached his eyes.  Green eyes that were human instead of feline, that were not covered by a mask, that were shining with so much love.   His name bubbled on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn’t get it out past the tears that were constricting her throat. How had she never realized? For the first time in as long as she could remember, everything made sense, the stars had aligned and everything was right in the universe.  She kissed him again. She had never imagined she could even be this happy.  It almost didn’t feel real.  She startled awake, her eyes wet and that feeling of euphoria still alive in her heart and chest.

It’s those last two lines. The it didn’t feel real, leading into the waking up. This is from the last chapter of Aftermath.

8 A comment that touched you: 

I can never get this down to just one. But the comments that tend to mean the most to me are when something I wrote impacted someone in their daily life or when something I wrote made someone feel seen. So here’s a few examples of that.

9 Something that inspired your writing this year:

It feels sad to say this, but probably depression and loneliness more than anything else. 

10 Your proudest accomplishment (that one scene; finally finishing that one fic; posting your first fic; etc):

If it isn’t already obvious, I finished Aftermath!!! Been working on this one for four years!! 

And overall, this was a really good year for finishing things. I didn’t finish everything, but I brought the number of active WIPs down to HALF! I think part of that is that I haven’t had a lot of new ideas this year. I guess the silver lining to that is that it freed up a lot of writing time to finish things. 

11 Do you have any writing goals for the next year?

I very much need to finish my Adrino Secret Santa Fic! It’s only half done, but my brain is not cooperating these past few days. I haven’t felt able to focus in any kind of creative way. 

I really want to write an Alyanette multichapter fic this year!! I feel like I’ve written three confession scenes for them across multiple poly fics and they are always so sweet!! But I have a hard time with the build up before that, so I clearly need to practice some sapphic writing to expand my repertoire.

Feels like a longshot to say I want to finish Right Behind You, but I’m gonna say it anyway because last year I would not have believed I could finish Aftermath and that happened!

And I’m hoping to come up with some new ideas and start some new projects. 

12 Anyone you would like to thank?

@coffeebanana - As this fandom has gotten a lot smaller, I’m so grateful that you’re still around excitedly sharing snippets and squealing about mine at the drop of a hat. For every single time you beta-ed anything especially at the last minute. I appreciate you! 

@mila-beedoodling for pictures of flowers and berries, for always responding with kindness, making artwork, and lately, answering my questions about Spanish. 

@wehadabondingmoment - I really enjoy just chatting with you about your stories. We had some pretty good conversations. 

To both the Little Bug and the Adrino Servers for continuing to be excited about these blorbos and for keeping me from being totally isolated in this fandom that has gotten a lot smaller. 

The WIP Big Bang Event for giving me the motivation that comes with the promise of artwork and a deadline.

Happy New Year Everyone!!

[immaturityofthomasastruc]

I can see the inconsistency of Felix character is because he actually a character for there "Fans demand" :

Sooo you prefer 2D-Catnoir/Felix rather than our angel Adrien ? Here Felix ! He official debut in "Felix" ! He is Adrien cousin and a big jerk ! Hate him just like how I hate him too !

Wh- What ? You like him ? Fuck ! So you feel he is more competent that our pure evulz bitch teenagers ? Fine ! Here's Felix who manage to trick Gabriel in "Gabriel Agreste" ! Now He is as dangerous as Gabe

Oh Fuck ! You still like him and feel he is more "relevant" than our angel Adrien and my sweetie Marinette ? Here's I present YOU Felix join Miracuclass as "Dog Hero" and then sell all the Miraclouses to Gabe ! He is Evil ! EVil ! EVIIIIL !

What ? You asking me why he want Peacock Miraculous so much ?! Here I present you Felix as Argos ! He wiped humanity out-of-spite and try to create the Utopia for his own freedom ! He is misanthrope !

What A second ? Why... You... STILL.... EXPECTED... CHLOE... TO BE REDEEMED.... why she already... has many traits... to be put in "Complete Monster" territory ? Why YOU keep want her to be redeem like Zuzu and Pacifica just because having shitty parents ? FINE ! Here's Felix to be our Zuzu ! He is tragic little peacock... has tragic backstory.... shitty dad... and a handsome teenager.... pretty much like Zuzu right ? Now shut up and Go simp on him and Feligami already !

Proper redemption arc ? Who hell need redemption arc as long as he is "tragic and handsome" ? Don't worry... we will make Kagami as "senti" out-of-nowhere aside she wear different ring as excuse and a "horny possessive girl" who still can't move on from Adrien and make her Simp felix because he smell and looks like Adrien RIIIIIIIIIIIGHHT LOL

Honestly, it is pretty hilarious that Felix was meant to be seen as the actual character who went through a serious redemption arc compared to Chloe, when the writers pretty much speedran through every major part of it in time for the finale.

Like, say what you will about Chloe and whether or not you think she deserved to be redeemed, but at least the arc leading to her betrayal was spread across three seasons. Felix's redemption arc only lasted three episodes.

Because of the poor pacing, this is the character journey Felix goes through during the latter half of Season 5.

Emotion: "I'm going to wipe out all of humanity and create a better world! Wait, you think I'm insane for erasing your friends and family from existance while essentially committing mass genocide? WHAT HAVE I DONE?!"

Pretension: "Even though I've spent almost no time with you, I think I'm falling in love with you because you may be a Sentimonster person with strict parents like me. Of course, I don't love you enough to break my new moral code against using Sentimonsters or even answering for my betrayal of Ladybug."

Representation: "I'm finally going to do something to help Ladybug because her arch-enemy is getting in the way with my week-old relationship, and that moral code against Sentimonsters? I don't want to use Sentimonsters to fight, but using Sentimonsters to put on a play to convey information I could easily tell Ladybug myself, since my new girlfriend conviently learned her identity over ten episodes ago? Perfectly okay. And since I have a personal stake by wanting to protect both my cousin and girlfriend, surely, this means I'll get to play a big part in the season finale instead of just letting Ladybug do all the work, right?"

Conformation and Re-Creation:

[ninadove]

Hello, all respectfully, may I ask, why do you want emilie to be dead? I mean adrien deserves to have his mom back, don’t you think? You can answer it thru private chat if it makes you more comfortable.

No that’s perfectly fine! I love getting a chance to overanalyse and write down my own thoughts! 📝

So, I have a complicated relationship with Emilie as a character, but I don’t hate her by any means. I do believe she is a lot less pure and innocent than we were first led to believe, but that makes her much more compelling, so as far as I’m concerned it’s a great writing choice.

The reason I think she should be dead, or more accurately, stay dead (the nuance is crucial), is simply storytelling.

As fun as the show is, it is also pretty serious when it wants to be, and these 5 seasons were written with a couple of core messages in mind:

Part of the experience of being human is to accept that there is no magical solution to our problems. Sometimes things don’t work out, sometimes we lose the people we care about; and actions bring consequences, always. This is why using the Peacock carries such a heavy toll, even after it is fixed, and why the Lucky Charm primarily relies on Marinette’s intelligence and creativity (characteristically human qualities) rather than being an automatic problem solver.

Whenever these losses occur — you have to move on. Staying stuck in the past means depriving yourself of a chance to enjoy the present and plan for the future. All of the events of these 5 seasons were triggered by Gabriel’s inability to accept the concept of death, and by his attempts to drag all of Paris down the pits of grief (symbolised by the akuma attacks) with him — starting with his own son.

Of course, Adrien deserves to be happy and loved! And Emilie herself explains how it can happen:

By letting her go.

Adrien is an extremely strong and loving kid who, unlike his father, is able to shoulder the pain while still opening himself up to the world. Gabriel trying to bring Emilie back did nothing to fix the sorrow his son had to deal with; in fact, it cost him his other parent and a normal childhood in the process.

But the thing is — Adrien does not need Emilie anymore.

He has a girlfriend who loves him so much she gave his dad one last chance to make the right choice, despite all the pain he caused (and will likely continue to cause from the grave). He has a cousin who loves him so much he was willing to burn the world down, then help fix it to protect him. He has amazing friends who supported him through this entire ordeal (special shout-out to Nino, who has been on Gabriel’s case since S1 E9), even when he did not feel comfortable enough to share the full extent of the abuse he was going through. He has Amelie and Nathalie, who will provide him with the motherly love he needs in his life, and Tom and Sabine, who are already packing him his breakfast every morning because they’ve carved him a place in their family and hearts. Also, he has a cheese-eating demon who lives in his pocket.

No one is entitled to raising the dead, and Adrien would never even consider it. But he does deserve love and care and happiness, things his father deprived him of in his senseless quest to defy the laws of nature — things he was able to build for himself because he chose to be kind and vulnerable despite his grief.

Season 6 will be terrible on him, but he will come back stronger on the other side. And in doing so, he will send an important message to the core audience of the show: young children who will sooner or later have to mourn a loved one themselves, but will know they can be OK thanks to his example.

And you know, sometimes us adults need a little reminder too. 💚