#post akumatised marinette

[letsplaythermalnuclearwar]

MLB Identity Reveal Idea

okay so my favourite idea for Marinette learning Adrien's secret identity is for him to tell Marinette that he's Chat Noir

but he only tells Marinette

like, post season 5, Ladybug and Chat Noir discover that someone is using the Butterfly miraculous to akumatise people. they decide not to tell each other their identities in order to keep each other safe, just like they've always done.

and one day, Adrien and Marinette are on a date when an akuma attacks. in the panic to keep everyone safe, they get locked in a room, alone, together. the only exit is a skylight that Adrien could reach if he was Chat Noir, but there's nowhere for him to hide and transform, and he can't wait it out because he has to stop the akuma.

so Adrien figures 'if there's anyone I can trust with this, its her' and just tells her. he looks his gf in the eye and says "Marinette I have a secret but you have to trust me" and he transforms right there and then.

she's staring at him in my-bf-is-my-crime-fighting-partner shock, which he misinterprets as my-bf-is-a-superhero shock. he promises to explain, kisses her cheek, and jumps through the window

Marinette transforms after him and they stop the akuma and she gets back before him so that he can let her out of the room and he won't realise that she ever left

but now Marinette knows and he knows that Marinette knows, but not that Ladybug knows

he starts taking her on Chat Noir dates (think dating spider-man style), not realising that she swings around Paris every other day. he confides in her about feeling weird that he still doesn't know who Hawkmoth was even though Ladybug knows she realises she can never tell Chat Noir. he asks her to cover for him when Akumas attack and he needs to duck away and transform. he tells Marinette about problems with Ladybug. he tells Ladybug about problems with Marinette.

at some point, Marinette asks him about his crush on Ladybug, because she's trying to understand how their love life ended up so ridiculously complicated. he immediately reassures her that he and Ladybug are "just friends now" and that "Ladybug has a bf" and that Marinette "shouldn't be jealous because she's way cooler and prettier than Ladybug anyway." Marinette is fighting to keep a straight face.

and she just has to deal with this just because he had a valid reason for telling her, but she can't just tell him because she wants too yes she can, and she can't tell Ayla either she totally could because that would unnecessarily compromise Chat Noir's identity no it wouldn't

so she's just. dealing. she does her best not to flirt with Chat Noir when she's Ladybug. she tries not to reference inside jokes that Ladybug has with Chat Noir. Tikki is going crazy

the reverse of this idea doesn't work because if Adrien discovered that Ladybug and his gf were the same person, he would not hesitate to reveal his identity

[marinettesaltprompts]

Not sure if you're still active, but here's a 'prompt':

Maribat, but without the wish-fulfillment:

The bats-family comes to Paris, and the usual Maribat stuff happens. Shadowmoth is found, Lila gets revealed, Marinette gets to castigate her friends to the bone beofre dimissing them as vile people beneath her notice and Adrien gets summarily replaced because Plagg's Miraculous is apparently Ladybug's engagement ring and Damian is "just better". To top it all off, Marinette is taken under Batman's wing, and without an active threat in Paris leaves for Gotham.

It's not what she expected.

She realises the true depths of human cruelty without the insanity of Akumatisation to hide behind,

She gets to learn what it's like to be the last person to know plans because SHE'S not the one calling the shots anymore, indeed: she's the most junior person int eh chain of command. She's the one who has to shut and obey when push come to shove, and get excluded from decisions that effect her and information that she should have but Batman keeps locked up under "need to know". And she's not on the list.

Because why would she be? She was the child who struggled to find Shadowmoth while she had a box of magical superweapons- including one that could give her any power she asked of it- when it took Batman his Robins maybe a week at most to do the same with conventional methods.

She even finds out that Batman has a dozen contingencies in place to take the box and Miraculous from her if she goes rogue. Based on information he's accumulated from her while she spent time under his roof and trained to impress him.

Oh, and to add salt to the wound: Damian makes it clear that he doesn't consider her his equal. Guardian or not. Certainly not someone he's going to take orders from, or someone he's interested in romantically for that matter. It takes more than a reasonably attractive face and talent for magical devices to interest Damian Wayne; and beyond those things what's exceptional about Marinette Dupain-Cheng compared to the other potential love interests he already had?

Did it occur to her that he might already be in a relationship before she gave him the ring? Because it seems like she's committing the same sin that Adrien Agreste once did in assuming the bearers of Destruction and Creation have some special destiny to be together.

(Adrien could tell her how that works out).

So now Marinette's stuck in a new, far less friendly city, speaking a foreign language and in a home filled with strangers she impulsively threw her old life away to be with. And she has to live with it because of how she burned her bridges.

Great Post! You put a lot of thought into the prompt, and the idea of Ladybug being brought into a situation where she's way in over her head and not instantly the main person in charge (just because she holds a powerful set of magical earrings) actually sounds great! Though that itself could be its own fanfic idea.

I myself am not personally fond of the Maribat part of the fandom or the idea of even mentioning it, given that it and the the idea of Marinette and Damian ever being a thing represents everything bad about the salty part of the fandom, especially from people who likely never read any actual DC comic involving Damian.

However, I do appreciate how you deconstructed the idea of not only Damian instantly being Marinette's love interest, but also how Marinette meeting the Batfamily would instantly make her part of it or even their favorite, since neither of those would likely ever happen given the dark and gritty nature of Batman comics contrasting with the light and generally perfect world of Miraculous.

I mean, the idea of Marinette relating in any way to the BatFam would be ridiculous in canon, considering her generally perfect and happy family life in comparison to everyone in the BatFam differing flavors of trauma. By comparison, Lila being a bitch or her friends not believing her seems mundane by comparison.

Anyways, love the post!

[xhanisai]

KISS IT BETTER KISS MARIBLANC, THAT'S IT THAT'S THE POST

"Is this everything? Or are you hiding any more injuries from me?" Chat Blanc muttered into her hair after giving the newly bandaged forehead a soft kiss, his ice blues flickering to the war-torn environment for a second and then back to her. Thankfully luck was on their side and all of Monarque's brutal sentimonstre titans had their hands full with the resistance.

"No. I got away with just simple scratches this time round." Marinette sighed, leaning into her Chaton's warmth as she watched their surroundings with bittersweetness.

"That wound on your head isn't just a simple scratch." He was rightfully firm, his grip on her hand tightening. "You'll become a liability if you don't get some rest. We don't want that wretched man to finally get his hands on your earrings, do we?" She hated how right he was, she hated how she couldn't just get everything done on her own terms,

She hated how much he loved her.

.

Because his selfless, neverending love and devotion towards her had him take the akuma butterfly that was meant for her and now he was constantly plagued with a never-ending mental war against their enemy and the desire to become one with pure destruction.

He's winning so far.

But he was also so, so exhausted.

And there wasn't anything she could do because Monarque had his akumatised item.

"Hey, you're making that face again." His tone was so warm, so Adrien, and all she could see was the internal agony that wailed within his blues. "I promise you, I'll find your family. I'll make sure they're safe and sound."

"They're strong. I know for sure that they're out there fighting against Monarque's army somewhere in the country." She couldn't help the fond smile that played on her bruised lips for the first time in forever and it had her partner soften his features at the sight. "I'm worried about you too. You haven't been resting either-"

He could only silence her with the soft press of his lips against her own, all sweetness and tenderness with the ghost of blood that never left their skin.

"I don't need rest. I'm strong too." He smiled, only for the sound of explosions to snap them out of their bubble. "Stay hidden. I'll get rid of them all."

"A lot of members of Monarque's army are akumatised people just like yourself- don't kill them." Her grip on his wrist was tight and she hoped, hoped that he would listen.

.

"Some of those people were willingly akumatised because they wanted to see your downfall, Marinette." Chills ran down her spine from the ominous glow of his eyes. "I won't let them get away with that."

And he was gone.

Kiss Ask Prompts - CLOSED

[coralpaperthoughts]

nvm I won't shut up about this

IMAGINE FU GAVE LUKA THE LADYBUG MIRACULOUS INSTEAD !! maybe by accident ??? or MAYBE Luka was there when Master Fu was doing the test thingy for Marinette and he ran onto the road and saved Fu instead, before Marinette could even move a limb. So Fu's like oh, hmmmmm coz he's just come across the Perfect Ladybug and so he gives Luka the miraculous (obviously in a sneaky way like he does in canon)

But he's still like, but she would still be a good miraculous holder, so he does some test with Marinette again (but this time alone so nobody can mess it up again), and let's say that he actually does a similar test that he did with Adrien in canon for Marinette coz of that one Tumblr post I saw that goes into depth about how specific Adrien and Marinette's tests actually were and what they actually meant so that gives him a good reason to give her the Black Cat

And then the first Akumatisation happens, it's just Scarlet Bug and Kitty Noire, and they do good, they do amazingly, but Fu thinks there's something missing, coz they could have been better

Cue in Adrien proving loyalty somehow, like protecting his new friends from the Akuma instead of just fending for himself ?? (coz I feel like Sabrina's undying loyalty to Chloe despite what she did maybe probably had a part to play in why she ended up with the dog miraculous) and then Fu is like yes! that's what!

so he gives the Dog miraculous to Adrien (and idk something about the name Adrien just reminds me of a dog and I don't actually understand why, he just seems like he fits it)

and then we still have the same thing happen with Stoneheart where Ladybug Scarlet Bug didn't purify the Akuma so they have to fight Stoneheart again but this time with Flairmidable! (I'm gonna rethink this name)

And he's welcomed into the team with warm arms ! especially from Scarlet, but Kitty has her reservations coz with just that one battle she's already started crushing on Scarlet and thinks that Flair brings competition for her love (she's right) but she still welcomes him

They get the job done well, and they become a solid trio and no one says anything abt Adrien "joining" them late coz he's proved he's worthy of being there, he works well with them

masterpost

[thetardisisnotourdivision]

So I've just seen the Miraculous Shadybug trailer and synopsis for the first time and it looks FANTASTIC.

However I can't help noticing that "Hesperia" and "Vesperia" are such similar names... if the holder of the butterfly Miraculous is Zoe in this universe I will cry. I want a complete role-reversal! Give me a Gabriel and Nathalie who look at what happened to Emilie and decide to fight for what she believed was right. Give me an Adrien who was so broken down by his mother's death that he spiralled into chaos, and a Marinette who's driven to insanity by Chloe's bullying. Give me Gabriel and Nathalie taking turns to use the butterfly Miraculous, one gets akumatised, the other uses the Miraculous, both of them careful not to use the peacock. Give me Gabriel secretly running a resistance group under his house (given the shots at the beginning and end) against Shadybug and Claw Noir. Give me a backstory that makes sense and works with the narrative. Give me character growth and development, give me clashing morals and personalities when they meet their counterparts. Give me a Ladybug and Cat Noir who realise how easily they could have turned dark, who relate to their evil counterparts, who can empathize with them. Who are afraid of just how similar they are to the evil versions of themselves. Assuming that this takes place post-season 5, give me a Nathalie who's conflicted when she realises how things could have been, and a counterpart who's horrified by what she's done. Give me a Cat Noir who begins to doubt himself because of Claw Noir.

Also I need answers like right now what the fuck.

[ashevi666]

This used to be my most liked (and probably the only) post on tumblr before the account revival... it was a fan akumatised Marinette cause I thought everyone else's versions were boring--

get sketch redrawn

[starwarsmum]

And so begins Maribat BioFamily September! Thanks to @maribat-calendar-events for the prompt list! Posted on ao3

Day 1 Long Lost Sibling

Tim was having a bad day. He had woken up to news of a French supervillain that had apparently escaped notice of the Justice League and some, also unknown, French superheroes had defeated him. He was furious that he hadn't even heard a word about it, and was taking his bad mood out on the batcomputer.

“Timbo, what's happening?” Jason asked as he sauntered into the cave. Tim growled something unintelligible and Jason gave a once over of the screen. “Oh shit, is that about the French superheroes? Man, did you read up on the Ladyblog website? It was a hell of a traumatising read, I don't think I could think up some of that stuff even if Scarecrow were lending a hand.”

“How did we miss it?” Tim wailed, slumping at the keyboard. “I thought I knew so much about Paris, I was searching for MDC for so long, but how did I miss an entire supervillain?”

“Boys, time to suit up,” Bruce said, sweeping into the cave and grabbing his own suit. When they didn't immediately start moving, he gave them a stern look and explained, “The Justice League are greeting the French Superheroes Ladybug and Chat Noir. Now that they aren't afraid of people with legitimate powers of being akumatised, they're asking for help with the recovery of Paris’ citizens.”

In a flurry of activity, Tim and Jason were dressed and headed to the Zeta tube. Tim felt underprepared - he normally had a full view of the situation, from multiple angles, but he had scarcely had time to start looking into Hawkmoth's motivations. He had skimmed some basic background, which told him that Gabriel Agreste had lost his wife a few years ago, but that was all he had managed.

When Ladybug and Chat Noir arrived with Wonder Woman, Tim felt horror rise up in him. How were they so young? Sure, he and the other Robins had started young - hell, younger usually -  but they'd all had a mentor, and it was clear from the fights broadcast that that was not the case here.

Batman had made it clear that only he, his two Reds, Wonder Woman and Superman were allowed to be present during this first meeting. He had grumbled that it was unfortunate that Robin and Superboy were at school and couldn't be there, as having people of a similar age could help them feel more at ease.

“Welcome to the Watchtower, Ladybug and Chat Noir,” Superman said gently, offering a hand to the former. He gave a yelp when she said ‘Spots off’ and standing in her place was a girl with black hair, blue eyes and a weary expression. Chat Noir followed her lead and turned into a familiar boy with blond hair and a stricken expression across his face.

“Hi, I'm Marinette, and this is my partner Adrien Agreste. Yes, I said Agreste,” she said, eyeing them as though daring them to say something. Tim immediately admired the steely note in her voice, likely learned from being a teenager in the frontline of a war against an emotional terrorist.

She launched into an explanation of what they had been enduring over the past year, and Tim felt a mixture of horror and pity at what they had been through. When she finished, silence spread through the room and Chat Noir finally spoke up.

“So you can see why we want help,” he said quietly, showing none of the cocky self-assuredness he was known for. “If just for some therapy, m'lady and I need somebody to talk to. And I'm going to need someone to vouch for my character without revealing my identity to the hordes of angry people that want blood for what they've been through because of Hawkm- my dad.”

“Also, my parents are at their wits’ ends, I've been targeted in my civilian identity for the past six months and they want me out of the country for a couple of weeks while the trial goes through,” Marinette admitted. “They were hoping to send me to America since I was adopted from there, but they don't have any details of my birth family. It was a closed adoption and my birth parents were very clear that they didn't have the means to take care of me.”

“Well, we can help see if there's a direction we can point you in,” Batman said, stepping forward to place a comforting hand on both kids’ shoulders. “And I have contacts in America who can look after you if you do want to stay there for a while. They have the funds to house you for an indefinite period, should it come to that."

After that was a flurry of activity, Marinette giving a blood sample and Chat Noir being set up with a therapist and advocate for trials. Tim and Jason were left in charge of making sure Marinette made it home safely, after which Tim decided he was going to do everything in his power to help the pair.

_ _ _

“I don't believe it!” The shout tore out of him, horror and disbelief making him feel a little nauseous. But he had run the test several times and it showed a familial relationship between Marinette and one of the prominent families in Gotham. He had thought it strange that she just so happened to have the markers of a Wayne adoption, but would never have guessed this result.

“Tt, what is it, Drake?” Damian said, appearing behind him and scanning the information quickly. His eyebrows rose and practically disappeared into his hair. “Well, that is…interesting. I suppose congratulations are in order. It appears you are an actual older brother to someone.”

[uptoolateart]

I want to comment on this word 'conformation'.

In part, the title hints at Marinette unifying the miraculous. However, for me the main point is this idea of conforming, and rings, which are symbolically binding.

By buying into the Alliance rings, nearly everyone in Paris conforms to a view planted in their minds by media propaganda. Most conform quickly. A few break free of it...but not many.

The Perfect Alliance antidote is a ready-made cure for a problem fabricated by the same people. It's a classic form of manipulation and control seen in the annals of global history - as is the tactic of grooming someone into dependency and then taking away the thing they're dependent upon. Everyone should be raising an eyebrow at how quickly the solution is able to be rolled out, and yet almost no one does. Instead, they become mindless clones, tools saying and doing exactly what the enemy wants them to.

One person who sees through it all is Adrien. He fights it so hard, but the poor boy is bound left and right by rings. We've seen Gabriel control him with the wedding ring. Now he controls him with the Alliance ring. But Adrien's miraculous is also a ring - he's bound by duty to both Ladybug and the entire population of Paris. There's no space in there for HIM.

Just as we've seen him battle against akumatisation, and against his father's mind control, we see him fight against the nightmares - his worst fear being losing control and hurting everyone. He rejects the Perfect Alliance antidote over and over...but eventually gives in.

I think if he weren't Cat Noir, he wouldn't have relented. He would have endured the pain for himself. His concern was the pain of OTHERS. So, he conforms - but in full knowledge of what he's doing. He isn't brainwashed here. He's making a choice.

When he finally exchanges his miraculous for the Alliance - one ring for another - he's acknowledging his duties and, for the sake of others, allowing himself to be bound to his father. He's acknowledging that he can't be both The Adrien Agreste and Cat Noir. One has to go. Again, there's no space in there for HIM.

It's also worth noting that the Adrigami avatars are all in white. Adrien is in a white room. Gabriel is all in white. When he loses control, Cat is all in white. I wrote loads about the symbolism of white in an older post, but let's add to it.

In that room, Adrien is under an intensive identity erasure attack. He's being stripped of everything he is. When he gives up his miraculous, that's the last piece. He is completely broken down as a person and now primed to be rewritten by Gabriel...which is exactly what seems to happen with the Wish.

And whatever that Wish was...Gabriel got away with another. Marinette said Adrien wouldn't want to know what his father was really like...so she complies with Gabriel's plea not to tell him. In other words...she conforms. She says and does exactly what the enemy wants her to.

What really gets me is ADRIEN ALREADY KNEW WHAT HIS FATHER WAS REALLY LIKE. And I hope to god that knowledge has not been wiped clean away by the Wish - that his trauma has not been wiped away - because that would complete the identity erasure. All his growth is gone. Who is he, right now?? Who remembers the boy locked in that room, the one who essentially sacrificed his entire SELF?

When Marinette puts that wedding ring on his finger at the end, I know it's intended as, 'Look, you control yourself now,' and he says when he's with her he feels so free...but she's now the one binding him. She's keeping secrets. She's controlling what he knows. She's deciding what he can handle and what he can't, like he's a small child. That's not freedom. He needs all the facts in order to make his own life choices.

For all her faults, I have always loved Marinette. I won't pretend Adrien isn't my favourite, though. I want to hope the writers are screwing with us on purpose and this was all a twist to set up bigger drama. My worry is that they really thought it was a happy ending and didn't see all these fundamental problems we are pointing out. I guess time will tell.

[fortuna-et-cataclysmos]

Two designers: Marinette vs. Gabriel

Can't believe that it took me so long to see this parallel, but isn't is interesting that both Marinette and her nemesis (unbeknownst to her) are designers?

The parallel struck me in Pretension, where Gabriel criticises Marinette's approach to fashion:

You listen to people's desires and create what they want. People make you. But I make people's desires. They buy what I decide that they buy. They think of what I want them to think. I make the people.

Let's put this in the context of Ladybug vs. Monarch fights.

The usual fight goes as follows: Hawkmoth/Shadow Moth/the Monarch chooses a victim and makes a supervillain out of them. He bends people and circumstances to his will. Especially in the later episodes (such as Risk), he even chooses his victims specifically to give them powers that align with his plan.

Then, Ladybug uses her Lucky Charm, which gives her a random object. She thinks hard and finds a way to use to beat the supervillain. Unlike the Monarch, she doesn't try to impose her will over the Lucky Charm. We know that the Lucky Charm works differently with different people: for example, with Chat Noir, it gives him exactly what he needs. What makes Ladybug's Lucky Charms so complicated is her will to adapt to the situation.

Then, Marinette disagrees with Gabriel's claim, and says that:

Fashion is about listening to people. It's about understanding who they are, what excites them, and creating the clothes that will help them express themselves.

And that's exactly what Ladybug and Chat Noir do. In order to deakumatise a victim, they need to understand why they got akumatised, so that they can find and destroy the object with the akuma. If they weren't trying to understand the victim, they literally wouldn't be able to do their job.

The fact that the Monarch builds an entire supervillain persona around the victim's frustration may seem, at first glance, closer to Marinette's approach to fashion. He seems to be listening to them and giving them power accordingly, after all. Hovewer, the Monarch's approach to the akuma victims is completely different. He sees them as tools, puppets that he uses to realise his evil ends. And this reply to Marinette exactly expresses that:

That is not fashion. That's making dolls' clothes.

The Monarch makes the supervillains. Ladybug (and Chat Noir) free them by adapting to the circumstances (with the Lucky Charm) and seeking to understand the akuma victim (to find the akuma object).

If you like the Marinette and Gabriel parallels, maybe my post on Marinette/Adrien vs. Gabriel/Emilie parallels may interest you too :)

[princess-of-the-corner]

ML Plot Point: Lila

I change almost nothing about S1. This applies to most thing in S1 tbh. Just minor details so that I can keep things consistent on later seasons.

I still haven’t decided if I’d have her stay during S2. On one hand I really loathe the fact that canon just had a supposedly major character fuck off for an entire season. On the other hand, I have no clue what I would have her do during that season. At the very least, I would show her  FaceTiming the classmates to set a few things up for S3.

S3 is when the big changes happen. I’m having Alya believe Lila over Marinette for one single reason: Lila knows oddly specific details about Heroes’ Day that she shouldn’t know, and Ladybug hasn’t shown up to prove she’s lying. This, in Alya’s mind, means that she has to be friends with Ladybug. The audience knows it’s because she got akumatised willingly, but Alya doesn’t even know she was present. It also recontextualises Alya’s decision to believe Lila. It’s not Marinette vs Lila, it’s Marinette vs Lila AND Ladybug.

On top of that, one of the specific things Lila tells Alya is that Rena Rouge was the one who messed up and got the rest of the temps akumatised (which is kinda true, but not really her fault) and that Ladybug is thinking about benching her permanently. Lila does not know that Alya is RR, but she does see how that particular lie affects Alya and uses it for all its worth.

This goes on for a while, with Lila subtly trying to make Marinette’s life more miserable until my equivalent of the Ladybug episode happens (I’ll elaborate on that one in another post) late in the season and Alya figures out that she’s lying. After that episode I would only have three to four more episodes, all of which have major shit happening, so few people really have the time to care about her.

Then the S3 finale happens. Hawkmoth tries to do his shit with Chloe and it fails, so he goes to Lila. He akumatises Lila into Hoaxer (my beloved) and lets her go wild to distract the heroes while he and Mayura attack the Guardian.

In S4, Lila starts getting wrecked by both Chloe and Alya. The rest of the class catches on over the season, with most of the Chloe salt episodes getting changed to Lila. On her part, Lila starts to realise that HM only saw her as a pawn and that she has gotten way in over her head. It culminates in Safari, where an akumatised Nathalie hunts her down after she and Gabriel find out how she acted towards Adrien.

In S5 a lot of shit goes down, and she decides to cut her losses and go into hiding. She runs away from home and takes the name Cerise (because even canon’s biggest nonsense can get a wink and a nod). Only getting involved when alya tracks her down to get information about Monarch.

Lila’s entire thing is trying to be more important than she actually is. She has her interesting moments in S3, but after that, she’s just a repeat akuma that people find more annoying than dangerous or interesting. In the end she willingly goes into the background.

She goes out, not with a bang, but with a whimper.

-

Honestly in theory I like the ‘go out with not a bang but a whimper’ thing, but canon dropped the ball HARD on that and this is a lot better.

[heidi891]

The show knows Gabriel is abusive

I’ve seen a lot of posts claiming that the show dismisses Gabriel’s abuse and I don’t agree with them.

In season 5 Gabriel’s abuse is clearly escalating. He uses Adrien’s digital self against his will. He tries to Akumatise him and gives him the Alliance ring under pretence of comforting him to make him a stronger villain, he even laughs after giving him the ring. Gabriel used to be naglectful and controlling, but now he’s using Adrien’s Amok to force his will upon him and he locks him in the isolation chamber that is visibly detrimental: white, with no windows, with basically no furniture, with no door handles. We cannot just dismiss it by saying ‘Oh, he just locked him in his room for his own safety’. No, it definitely crosses the line.

Nathalie, who was faithful to Gabriel to the point that she risked her life by using the broken Peacock Miraculous, now is growing distant from him and closer to Adrien. She can see that his father is hurting him.

Nathalie tries to convince Gabriel to focus on his son and he promises to change. He starts making him pancakes and this can be seen as Gabriel truly trying to fix the relationship with his son. But he is called out thrice: by Nathalie, by Marinette and by Adrien. We are shown that Gabriel is not really trying, he’s still obsessed with his wish and is still hurting his son.

After being taken to London, Adrien’s story in Representation is just him coming back to Paris, fighting his father and telling him off. He didn’t need to come to Paris just to get the nightmare since later Gabriel gives them to everybody, including Adrien. Once again we see Gabriel being called out and we now know that Adrien is aware that his father has been hurting him. So just before the finale we see Gabriel being beaten for being a bad parent by Adrien who shouldn’t even be in Paris at that time. This is important. We wouldn’t have been shown this without a reason.

A lot of fans wanted Chat Noir to be there for the last fight with Monarch, to fight his father, to reveal his identity. However, this goes against everything that the show has already established. We’ve seen several times this kind of story and whenever Adrien discovers the truth, he’s severly distressed (that’s completely understandable) and Gabriel immediately uses his son’s distress for his own gain. He doesn’t care that Adrien turns out to be Chat Noir. There’s no catharsis.

Yes, Adrien is deeply involved in Monarch’s story arc, but at the same time he’s too close. Like a surgeon shouldn’t operate on a member of his own family, it could be equally distressing for a superhero to fight his own father. In real life abuse victims shouldn’t fight their abusers, they should get support and be separated from their abusers. The victims don’t need to confront their abusers, they need time and support to process what happened to them. Because in the end the abuser is not going to change and will not be punished by the abuse victim “winning”. And though I’d love to see Adrien having more significant role in the finale, this isn’t the story that the show has been telling.

‘But Gabriel got the statue! The show is literally glorifying an abuser!’ Yes, he got the statue.

But it’s not a less shiny, more serious statue. It’s shining and smirking, and looking just like…

…Chloé’s statue that we’ve seen before the finale.

What’s more, the statue is made of the Alliance rings which were used to deceive people—it’s made of lies.

Is it Ms Bustier who is giving the speech during the unveiling of Gabriel’s statue? No, it’s Tomoe giving a speech of a villain, promising to continue Gabriel’s legacy.

The statue stands in the park near Marinette’s house. Everyday she will look at it and see that big, shiny proof of her lie.

[688199]

wasted opportunities of the early mlb concepts

- themes on balance. for example, felix learns that life isn’t all about studying, and to get the most out of it, he should have fun too. marinette learns that too much focus on felix undermines her enjoyment in other aspects of her life. ladybug can also start out unwillingly collaborating with chat noir, then realising that he needs to be there in order to bring balance to their attacks for them to be successful. she learns how to balance both her lifestyles. all in all everything exists as a balance. and you must know how to control it. there’s a little bit of this present in the actual series, but not enough.

- themes on control. control and balance are interlinked concepts. like i’ve explained in my previous post how their powers could work. basically, controlling emotions -> better results. it’s a good lesson to tell. it can also be marinette’s big flaw, without making her come off as cringe.

- unique aesthetic. there aren’t many superheroes who fight during the night… are they? it’s different, making it stand out from other superhero works. furthermore, the delicious neon aesthetic was such a missed opportunity oml. the movie seems to be partially at night so ig that’s a little good on their side? but eh it’s… not so much.

- night. night can be a physical representation of all the underlying issues of society that no one talks about. that only comes out of course… at night. underlying hatred, underling jealousy, underlying emotions. it makes sense for people to only “reveal” this at night, when no one is watching. people who are ordinary by day, become villains by night with full consciousness over their actions. kwamis, being attracted to strong emotions, then manifest into whatever the user wishes and giving them power. compared to like akumatisation where it’s like, the user is being unknowingly possessed and shit. it hits harder when the user themselves realise their mistakes.

idk if this is anything related but i feel like the early concepts make it seem like no one knows that there’s heroes protecting the city. i prefer the concept of them being secret justice fighters, so it really hammers down the point that they’re not doing it for praise.

yea. just rambling.

[blue-i-spaniard]

ML Plot points: Marinette and the "Ladybug" Replacement

This is gonna be a long one. Not only that, it also needs context.

Season 2 has Marinette grow increasingly more stressed out about everything. Chat's martyr tendencies and lack of self care mean that her role becomes even more important since she has to do it solo half the time (though that one does get kinda fixed halfway through S2, not that it helps her feel better). Constantly watching civilians get brainwashed/desintegrated/transformed gives her nightmares. But through it all, she has her friends and family to hold on to, so it's manageable.

Season 3 wrecks that. Her parents know something is up, but not what. Her dad gets convinced that she's in some kind of abusive relationship and gets akumatised over it. Lila is messing with hangouts to purposefully separate Marinette from the class by making her not know about their things and them not know about hers. Her constantly lying to them (even if for a good reason) doesn't help. Fu, the one person who she can be completely honest with, basically goes "Wow, kid. That sucks. Have you tried not being upset?". It gets to the point where she's attracting akuma butterflies on a daily basis. Everyone can tell she's not doing great, but while they try, staying with her just makes her feel worse because she can't go save the day.

Then, the Ladybug episode happens, with Lila doing her thing and the scarlet akumas showing up. After that, she sees Adrien doing a photoshoot with Lila and feels betrayed. After THAT, she confronts Alya and gets shut down. Lila's stories aren't as ridiculous as she's making them out to be when compared to the rest of the class. Ladybug herself allowed the interview with Lila to stay up for months and said nothing. On top of that, Marinette isn't that clean either. Alya has been checking up on her stories and knows that they're lies. Alya wants to help Marinette, but she's not sure she can trust her.

This is the last straw. Marinette finally breaks and gives the earrings back to Fu. She's clearly not fit to handle this. She almost got akumatised and it's only a matter of time before she loses it completely. Fu, who trusted her and saw her like a granddaughter, feels betrayed himself and basically tells her to get out.

Adrien gets back from a harrowing day. First, there was the Lila messing with Marinette, then the scarlet akumas, and finally, having to make aa deal with Lila. And now Fu is apparently calling for him and telling him that Ladybug quit.

Fu tells him to pick a new ladybug holder. While he's not happy with CN knowing the ladybug's identity, the alternative of having a complete nw¡ewe who they cannot trust is worse.

Thus begins the chronologically longest multiple parter, lasting a little under a month. Chat Noir wants to pick someone who he trusts and who he thinks will do a good job:

-Obviously his first pick is Marinette, the "Everyday Ladybug". Not only does she have the right attitude, she's also creative and has used a miraculous before (MUltimouse). Plagg shoots her down immediately. "No she can't. She has too many responsibilities already..."

-The first new ladybug holder is Marinette's boyfriend, Luka Kagami. She's very headstrong and while she has trouble with the ladybug powers (being more used to the straightforward powers of the dragon), she makes up for it with fighting skill and dedication. Unfortunately for her, Hawkmoth realised that the "wear them down" strategy worked and has started releasing three to four akumas a day instead of one to two. Usually by doing shifts with Viceroy. Kagami is good, but between her mother, fencing and classes she just can't keep up. She arrives late to Akumas because she has more trouble getting away, her mother is a lot more on her back about it and she starts falling asleep in class. She's also not as experienced with miraculi which means every akuma attack takes a lot out of her. After her third post-victory collapse, two weeks after she started, Chat Noir just takes the earrings away for her own good.

-Adrien's next choice is Luka, the one who, unlike him, is actually good at planning and working with people Chloe. She's probably the best of the Ladybug replacements. Smart enough to use the Lucky Charm effectively and a skilled enough fighter to finish the akumas quickly. She also doesn't have the same problems snaking out as Kagami. Her problem is Chat Noir. Chat, thanks to having to deal with Lila during modeling shoots and babysit the new ladybug, is a lot more bitter. With Fu obviously resenting Ladybug for leaving, it isn't long before he starts talking shit about Ladybug. Chloe, on her part, has known that Marinette is Ladybug since the first time she used the Bee miraculous. She didn't forget the "toy" during Princess Fragance. She's also spent the last month watching Marinette slowly break down to the point that it was either give up the earrings or get akumatised and lose immediately. She's having none of that shit. They argue, Chloe gets vicious on Chat, Chat throws the crap she does as a civilian and her mommy issues to her face and it escalates until Chloe attacks him. The fight was short and brutal, with Chat Noir the clear victor. Chloe is good, but not "OG holder" good.

-The next pick is the most reliable guy Adrien knows: Luka. He's the one who actually succeeded with the miraculous Ladybug gave him after all. Nino. He's chill and a good friend. He lacks Kagami's stressful life and Chloe's aggression. He'll do fine, right? Nino lasts three days. He's... not terrible... with the earrings. The biggest problem is that him and Tikki just cannot get along. Tikki tries to make him repress his feelings and Nino absolutely refuses to sacrifice his mental health in that way. If Chat needs help, he can count on Carapace, but this isn't working.

-After Nino comes the only real answer at this point, Luka. He's also better at handling social situations and friendships than him. He's even helping Marinette get better. Adrien just told her to take the high road while she was clearly suffering. Let's not kid ourselves, Luka will do great in any role. He could even replace Chat Noir. That guy just makes the women in his life leave him Alya. Not the greatest choice for the earrings, but he's kinda runnign out of options. He just knows she has experience with a miraculous and that she's his friend.

Alya is... coping. She already blamed herself for things going wrong during Hero's Day. She's seen Marinette slowly break down with nothing she did really helping. And now Ladybug quit. Why? No one knows, not even Lila. And now she has the added mess of being the only one who can possibly fix things. She cannot mess up like in Hero's Day. Not again. Add to that the fact that she's no longer as active in her blog and her family is trying to be there for her, but the extra attentions is the last hing she wants right now because she's a full time superhero and she already messed up once. It's her childhood dream, the thing she has wanted for her entire life. How could she possibly mess it up!

And then Tikki warns her about Lila.

And she is not coping anymore.

It ends very quickly after that. Getting manipulated like that took its toll and she just has a breakdown in the middle fo the akuma attack. She lasted a week. Chat Noir is running out of options.

-Luka will admit that this month did not go the way he thought it would. He finally got a date with Marinette, but it turns out she is actually extremely traumatised. She also refuses to talk about whatever it is that traumatised her in the first place, which makes things harder. He decides early on that it might be better to not date until she's feeling better, just hanging out as friends. It's slow, but he does think that she's making progress. Then one day, Chat Noir grabs him and takes him to a rooftop. His melody is all over the place; nerves, guilt, fear. Chat is not doing great and... Are those Ladybug's miraculous? He knows he was probably a possible candidate, he was Viperion that one time but he's still surprised. And what is Caht saying about Marinette?

Oh... Luka wasn't Chat's choice. It was Marinette. And she had a panic attack and got akumatised in response.

Crap.

The fight was terrifying. Malady successfully immobilised Ryuko, Queen Bee, Carapace, Rena Rouge and Chat. It ended with Luka refusing to fight and managing to talk Malady into breaking her own akumatised object. Luka now knows Marinette was Ladybug.

The special ends with Marinette talking everything out with Fu. They decide to help her by letting the five temporary heroes keep their miraculi full time as support. She also has a friend who she can confide in. Adrien is granted the same benefit and chooses Nino.

Fu has had a lot to think about this month.

[into-september]

MLB Paris special

I've been saying it before and I'm saying it even louder now: these writers are good at self-contained episodes, it's serialisation they can't handle. This is yet another testament to the fact that when they get the time to flesh out their ideas and dwell on their details, this universe is brilliant.

That said, this is by far the weakest of the specials yet, thanks mostly to the way it falls back on some of the mawkiest lines this show has produced. Where Shanghai and NYC had moments of Our Heroes in genuinely dire situations, this one was essentially your normal akuma battle with a few extra bells and whistles, which they resolve by giving their emo counterparts a pep talk about how they can totally be good people like them, just look on the bright side of life! The lucky charm blatantly frames this as some sort of facing-your-inner-demons tale, which would have worked if

a) these had been doubts Marinette and Adrien had faced this very episode, but last time Adrien had a thought about the fact that he recently lost his mum in canon timeline was "Felix", and Marinette's experience in being bitter and alone was, oh yeah, never.

b) we had a bit more background on emoverse ladynoir than their telling us the reason they're angry

In essence: this brings about zero epiphanies to our ladynoir like the NYC special did, and emoverse ladynoir don't have the on-screen backstories like Fei for their turn-around to be narratively satisfying. Marinette's speech at Emobug reads like an inspirational quote our aunts post on Facebook; harmless, and true in essence, but ooooh boy the that's easy for you to say.

It works simultaneously better and worse with Adrien-Emonoir, where Adrien's side is A+ character moment and Emonoir's is jazz_music_stops.jpg because this boy lived better circumstances than our Adrien, but became a trigger-happy supervillain? and here I thought losing a parent and being neglected by the other one wasn't a sympathetic explanation for why you'd turn to violence against the world around you

Where NYC and Shanghai had my heart, this one was just sparkly, but sparkly at least in a way it's been a while since this show has felt.

(I mean, there's the "Gabriel Agreste is a hero at his core and deserved the statue" propaganda and "why yes, their team-up in the end can be taken as foreshadowing of Marinette's decision to side with Gabriel in the S5 finale being framed as a good and kind thing for Adrien", but I'll refrain from going into that wank. We're all strong independent adults capable of grappling with the unfortunate implications of a work of fiction)

Have some bullet points:

I called them "bells and whistles" but emoverse ladynoir carries this special alone, and boy howdy do they CARRY it

Some really nifty scenes here, with particular kudos to the slo-mo akumatisation of Cat Noir

ouch but the parallel akumatisation of father and son from different universes was an unfortunate one (see: "Gabriel is a hero at core" propaganda)

speaking of: ~Cat Blanc trauma~ died with "Jubilation" and this is the funeral

So much lore being made up just to justify the plot beats of this special, gotta love it

Excuse me, I got brainworms from emoverse ladynoir being physically marked by the damaged caused by their misuse of their miraculous and the way this never is compared to Gabriel's shiny new handprint

Or at least named as the reason why they're so desperate and bitter, rather than the diet coke explanation we got

I can't believe what a bitter old crone I've become to roll my eyes when Ladybug has a moment of shoddily set up "oh no I can't do it" so that Cat Noir can put a hand on his shoulder and look her in the eye and say "I always believe in you, milady". To be fair I think this would've touched me if it hadn't been like a year and half since "Strike Back" aired

On the bright side, this one episode does Alya more justice than all the rest of S5 did

did emoverse!Chloé have Sabine deported?

I can't believe Claw Noir didn't at least get rid of the mullet

I can't believe that trailer showed us all we were getting of emoverse Alya and Nino. ROBBED.

The emotional aftermath of "Destruction" really was ADRIEN: Plagg, I think I killed a man and that makes me uncomfortable PLAGG: Okay, but please consider: cheese

Why, IN THE NAME OF THE LORD, was this scene of Gabriel almost going into Adrien's room after the cataclysm not in the show proper

Adrien was so excited to talk about Nino's favourite film. It is now canon that Adrien is that person who genuinely enjoys avant-garde cinema

Best part: emoverse ladynoir teaming up with Hawkmoth to form a visual kei Team Rocket, complete with sarcastic nicknames

Monarch, sorry (something something you're giving into his power by acknowledging his self-proclaimed change in name), but I dig that they kept up the continuity of the fashion disaster he was for these early S5 episodes

Worst part: Superfluous multiverse jumping fanservice. If you needed to pad for time, it should've been spent on emoverse ladynoir flashbacks

I can't wait for the S6 reveal that Chloé personally caused the climate crisis, founded daesh and killed Mother Teresa

[jeannefostergoriot]

Miraculous fandom, I summon thee.

I’m writing an OS. It will be around 10K long. It’s in French but I certainly will translate it in English and post on AO3.

The goal is to reach the deepest of despair for Nathalie.

And we’re on the right road for it, as she still can’t get over Gabriel’s death (despite it being already 6 months away), she has nightmares and goes on an average of 3 hours of sleep each day.

On the other hand, Farfalla (Lila with Butterfly Miraculous) is threatening everyone to reveal Monarch’s identity and expose all of Ladybug’s lie. She organized a clue hunt, giving a clue for every akumatisation.

This put so much pressure on Marinette that she started isolating and refusing help, pushing Adrien away and they called it off.

Immediately after the Adrienette breakup, Mari went to her therapist Felix, as she regularly does. Problem : this tendency kinda triggers Kagami’s insecurities, and as Mari came crying to Felix while Kagami wasn’t there, Kagami kinda had a fight with Felix about her. They’re not exactly broken up, but on the edge.

So now, the last drop has to be someone attempting suicide to push Nathalie over the very tiny edge she stands on.

And it will be an ATTEMPT. Nobody’s gonna die. I want my happy end.

Who do I suicide first?

[temporalbystander]

So @erisluna35 liked my last post and reblogged another. To refamiliarise myself with what they are about I read through their blog. Came across a lot of salt regarding the treatment Chloe got in season 4 and 5 and derision specifically. So it is their fault I am up this late with a very disturbing realisation. Long winded ramble under the cut.

In my original rewrite of the show, you know all the tedious writing of how Faybon interacts with the episodes putting him way more front and centre than an OC should ever be, the big twist, after the paradox thing, was meant to be him realising that, even if we can't influence history, we can influence people. That even though he couldn't stop Monarch or Felix, or stop the akumatisations, him being there did make an impact on the people. Which is where we get to my disturbing realisation about Derision.

Yes I didn't watch the episode but I'm aware of what Kim did because of Chloe pushing him and while I headcanon some things being a bit different, such as the water phobia being solely based around being in a relationship while at the school pool and her and Kim having a very strained relationship afterwards, I more or less accepted it as something plausible.

Same for some of Chloe's "pure evil" characterisation like in Sole crusher. The reason for this? While I only got partway into season one of my actual rewrite and my notes were just things to refer to with some possible Faybon input, my mind still filled in the blanks. Still had Faybon going to class alongside all these students, witnessing all these interactions and having some of his own... But I'm stalling because... I never realised just HOW in-depth my mind had gone. See the invisible thing was just a handwave at the beginning for why he wasn't involved before horrificator. The time paradox was another handwave to explain the invisibility and him being unable to change things. All these things came AFTER I had seen all three seasons and had started coming up with alternative scenarios. So, even though the "drama" has Faybon being overlooked, forgotten, and unaffected by the healing ladybugs, the day to day stuff my brain filled in ignored all of that.

My point? I accepted Chloe as capable of much worse because I'd had Faybon constantly running interference and slowly trying to get her to change. I accepted Kim as able to do such a mean prank because him and Faybon would always but heads and got into many arguments as what is a prank versus what is bullying. I accepted how stressed being the guardian made Marinette because I'd had Faybon helping her get away to transform. I accepted everything the fourth season threw at me because I'd had Faybon basically running around and filling in all the character development and screentime the writers wouldn't give us.

Worst of all? I BELIEVED Chloe was regressing because, chronologically, by the time she starts being uncaring and crueler to everyone? Faybon has learnt about being a paradox and has given up trying to change anything. I accepted a "completely irredeemable" Chloe because, in my mind, that's what would happen without Faybon continuously making an effort. Completely forgetting he was never apart of things in the first place. So, to me, Chloe in season 4 is a result of Faybon being depressed.

But it gets worse. Marinette going overboard with her stalking? Faybon and Alya team up to reel her back in. Adrien just stuck in his room? Faybon breaks him out to spend time with his friends. Luka just Marinette's love interest? He's now Faybon's confidant and gives him the advice he needs to keep going. Zoe... Being a Mary Sue? It's Faybon who talks to her, brainstorms ideas on getting through to Chloe, who listens to her stories about New York and is the first one to figure out her feelings for Marinette and, though she never says it, realises THAT is what made the other prep students in New York bully her. It's Faybon who then helps her spend more time with Rose and Juleka and Marc and Nathaniel. It's Faybon who gives Sabrina the e-mail address of the cute boy she was talking to in the New York special and it's Faybon who comforts her when that falls through.

So many issues in the writing and with the characters that I, seemingly unconsciously, just had Faybon fix. I didn't write any of this down anywhere but it is stuff I know happens and is another reason why I abandoned the rewrite and why I struggle writing. Faybon is the wildcard from Persona on a New Game plus. He's juggling friendships, school, multiple jobs, homework and dealing with supervillains daily. And some how does it all perfectly. No wonder I needed to pull him back, it was way too much.