#protection spoilers

[buggachat]

obviously. he should've guessed.

bonus:

[kochengnoir]

Find someone who looks at you like the love square looks at each other, for real

[bananagreste]

oh, hey, it’s adrinette → day 186

[anna-scribbles]

once adrien and marinette figured out how to date each other they got too powerful and are now dating all their other friends one by one

[hamsternamedmarinette]

I know this show is aimed at children so it needs to be extremely on the nose with stuff like this, but this made me burst into laughter

[drawing2cope]

protection confirms nino is *not* luka 😔

[yunyin]

Protection live-blog S5E16 Part 3

I left out a lot, esp the battle and the reconciliation w/Kagami and a lot of the Lila stuff but it was all really good

Such a good episode!!! I hope you all enjoyed this 3 parter liveblog!

[the-chat-who-got-the-cream]

I genuinely can't wait for the moment marinette learns that hawkmoth is Gabriel arrested cos can u imagine the absolute AUDACITY OF THIS MAN to be neglecting his son to play DRESS UP à la SUPERVILLAIN like there wouldn't even be a fight it'd just be a verbal custody battle where mari tears Gabriel a new one

[muzzable]

Lila Rossi was so hilarious in this batch of episodes actually. She's somehow living multiple lives as the daughter of completely different mothers. I don't even know which one is her real mother and I wouldn't be surprised if she doesn't either. She convinced Alya that Marinette (and by extension Ladybug) was Monarch. She tried to pull "Oh, Marinette hates me for no reason, pity me" on Kagami but she just did not care so she had to add "Oh also Marinette lied to you." She called Gabriel and dropped really obvious hints that she knew he was Monarch and he didn't pick up on any of it. She demanded to be invited to his senticult party and he fired her so now she has beef with this terminally ill fashion designer because he won't pay attention to her. She got everyone to agree to hold another vote for class representative and then she conceded the win to Marinette, only to win anyway. There are two weeks left before they all graduate. She put Chloe on a leash as her deputy and I'm pretty sure it's just to make her mad. She brainwashed Nathalie into believing Gabriel was an alien so she'd text her embarrassing pictures of him as a teenager.

[bugoutreviewgirlie]

MONARCH IS DYING!!! 6-7 BUSINESS DAYS AT MOST!!!

[susannaius]

Adrien: "I know everyone wants to see us happy together." … "The important thing is that we feel good when we are together."

Just look at Tomoe's face! I don't remember ever seeing such a genuine smile on her face. She is so happy!

But then the misunderstanding clears up in the next sentence and she completely loses it. Which means she wasn't happy for her daughter, she was happy (thinking) that things were going her way.

Also, may I add that at this point Adrien and Kagami have not been dating for months (probably for more time they spent together anyway), and neither of these excellent examples of human trash has realised that. (Not even Gabe, who was busy writhing in pain just an episode earlier while his son was facetiming his actual girlfriend.)

Bonus: I love everything written for maximum misunderstanding, and the creator team executed it with flying colours, so kudos to them.

[buggachat]

Kagami is soooooo clearly autistic and i think most people agree on this so I think we sleep on the fact that Adrien is like the only person in the show (besides Félix ig, but you can apply this to him as well) who immediately got her. like Adrien and Kagami are on a wavelength. like everyone thought Kagami was awkward and weird and didn't understand her but Adrien just thought she was cool and nice. I'm almost positive that if a character commented to Adrien about Kagami being "weird" he literally wouldn't understand what they were referring to. Kagami commented all the time about how similar her and Adrien were and how that made them perfect for each other. Marinette, the other person who Adrien clearly super vibes with and gets along super well with, is also commonly agreed upon to be ADHD. The most Adrien thought of Marinette's extremely outlandish behavior around him was that it was "sweet and just her charm" (literally his words to Kagami in Protection). In general there's almost a trend in the show where the more openly neurodivergent a character is the more Adrien seems to vibe with them and is comfortable around them. Adrien is not neurotypical in this essay i will

[stars-and-scripts]

how many times does marinette have to be framed for stealing stuff or hating someone or being manipulative or being a bad friend or something like that and everyone just BELIEVES it on spot and immediately turns on her until ppl just fukcing trust her like come ON

[bananagreste]

oh, hey, it’s adrinette → day 185

[aalissy]

Pajama Picnic

This chapter features spoilers for Protection so plz watch that ep first before reading! Otherwise, lemme know what you think about this lil one-shot tyyy <3

AO3

When Marinette had decided that she was done making complicated plans and overthinking every tiny detail with Adrien, wearing her pajamas to their date seemed like an excellent decision. After all, if he loved her like he said he did then surely her clothes didn’t matter. 

And maybe... just maybe a tiny voice inside of her was saying that if it did matter to him, then they could end their brief relationship before she could get truly hurt later on.

Even with that thought, though, Marinette couldn’t help but be struck by an overwhelming sense of embarrassment when Adrien took in her outfit for the first time. Instantly, she wrapped her arms around herself, reminded of that time in the fountain when she wore her pajamas to the movies.

Mentally, she cursed herself as her face flamed. What had she been thinking?! Why had she decided that pajamas were a good idea? Adrien was the son of a famous fashion designer for crying out loud. Marinette was sorely tempted to race out of there and head back home.

Before she could do that, however, Adrien smiled at her. “I... forgot something. Don’t go anywhere!”

He handed her their picnic basket and Marinette felt her heart drop. Was this how he ended things with her? But then why would he tell her not to go anywhere? And why would he hand her the basket?

Nervous anticipation filled her as she stared at the door he went through. She gnawed on her lower lip, shifting from side to side. She should have listened to Tikki.

Even though half of her felt terribly embarrassed, another side of her was feeling more stubborn and proud of her decision. After all, didn’t Marinette just say that she was done with all of the overthinking and complicated decisions? 

This was a step in the right direction. Even if Adrien didn’t feel the same way. 

When that door opened, though, Marinette felt all of her fears and stubborn anger fall away. Standing straight ahead of her was Adrien Agreste. A smile on his face and pajamas in place of his usual clothes. 

“It’s better this way,” he said before closing the door.

Her face softened with fondness. This was exactly why she loved him. He knew her so well. Batted away her worries and anxieties like they were nothing. 

How could she have ever thought that he’d do anything differently?

Adrien strolled closer, taking the picnic basket back into his hands before holding the door to the garden open for her. 

When she got outside, Marinette gasped. It was absolutely beautiful. 

Adrien’s bedspread was placed neatly on the ground, a picnic blanket on top of it. Different colored pillows were spread out along the blankets. Delicious-smelling food was carefully situated in different trays. Above this beautiful display were colorful, triangular flags that were hanging delicately from strings.

Resting her elbows on the railing, Marinette whispered, “Wow.”

She turned around, only to blush. Adrien was already waiting for her, his hand outstretched. She took it, her flush growing darker as he guided her down to their wonderfully decorated picnic. 

Kneeling on the blanket, a wave of curiosity hit her as Adrien placed the basket beside her. There was already dessert and snacks in trays and plates, so what could be in the basket?

“Adrien, what’s in there?” she asked, pointing at the basket.

“Take a look,” he said, flipping open the lid as he gestured for her to take a peek.

Giddiness filled her as she looked inside. Inside was a gaming console with a multitude of different games. There were also two controllers and Marinette glanced over at Adrien joyfully. 

All this time she thought that he didn’t know her that well. But, based on this, he remembered her love of games fondly. Even wanting to play with her after she had beaten him handily the last time they had played. 

Instead of seeing the grin that Marinette expected to see on Adrien’s face, though, he suddenly seemed uncertain. She watched as he scratched the back of his neck, the telltale sign that he was nervous. “Ah, maybe you would rather watch a movie?”

She tossed the controller at him, already holding hers as she smirked over at him teasingly. “You’re kidding, right?”

It felt good to put him at ease. Instantly, Adrien smiled, all signs of his prior uncertainty gone as they began to play Ultimate Mecha Strike. They both laughed as their fingers mashed the buttons, each trying their best to beat the other. 

In the end, though, Marinette won. She cheered after the finishing blow, her fist pumping in the air as she threw her head back in a loud laugh. 

“Beat ya,” she sang, looking over at him smugly.

Adrien shot her a playful glare before gesturing his head at the screen. “That was all luck! Best two out of three.”

Marinette scoffed, competitiveness fueling her as she smiled at him teasingly. “You’re on! Because I know I’ll win again. You’re rusty!”

“You did not just call me rusty!” His eyes narrowed even further even as a grin spread on his lips.

“What are you going to do about it?” She smirked back at him.

Adrien simply flexed his hands, setting them up for another round. Once again, the two engaged in a match as Marinette’s fingers flew with ease over the controls. Though Adrien did play better this time, taking her down to about half-health, she ended their round with a triple combo that depleted the remainder of his character’s health.

“Triple hit combo, Marinette style! Booyah!” Marinette stood up with a hearty cheer. “I win again!”

Sitting back down, she glanced smugly over at Adrien. “How’s that for luck?”

He held his hands up in mock surrender, chuckling at her fondly. “I admit it! You are the better player. Maybe I am rusty.”

“No, you’re not.” She giggled with a shake of her head, pigtails swaying in the breeze. “You were a lot closer to winning this time rather than last time.”

“Closer to winning? I only took you down to about half health,” Adrien practically whined, flopping down onto one of the pillows.

“Which was better than last time,” Marinette said, slowly resting her own head on a pillow.

The two of them stared up at the clouds and suddenly, Marinette wondered why she had let her fear keep her from talking with Adrien. It was easy! Like they understood each other and knew exactly what to say or do to cheer the other up. Like they had been talking like this for years instead of these past few weeks. 

“What do you see?” Adrien asked, pointing up at a cloud.

“Hmm,” Marinette hummed before her eyes lit up. “A starfish!”

Peering up at the sky, she then pointed at the next cloud she saw. “What do you see in that one?”

“A horse,” Adrien said before directing his gaze to another cloud. “How about that one?”

Marinette flushed as soon as she saw it. All she could see was the image of them engaged in a kiss. And, honestly, she really wanted to. She had only kissed him once, very briefly, at the Grevin Museum and her lips tingled at the thought of doing it again.

Right now there were no classmates pressuring her or anxiety rushing through her. It was just him and her, gazing up at the clouds together.

Feeling bold, she carefully reached out, hesitantly brushing her fingers against his. It was warm and a shiver ran up her spine at the contact. She left her hand there, her pinky and index finger just barely touching his. 

Before she knew it, Adrien’s hand seemed to move ever so slightly closer, hovering above hers shyly. She took it, intertwining her fingers with his as sparks danced along her palm and up her shoulder.

It felt wonderful.

He turned his head, softly asking, “Are you sure you’re ready?”

Yes, she was. She had been ready ever since he handed her his umbrella that day in the rain.

Marinette turned her head to face his, pink dusting her cheeks as she whispered, “Yes.”

Together, they leaned in, their heads practically touching as their entangled hands came up to rest next to them. Her eyes fluttered closed as her heart beat erratically in her chest. 

“I’ve never admired the clouds in my pajamas with anyone before. Is it always this amazing?” he asked, his lips inches from hers.

Marinette leaned even closer, ready to tell him everything. “Adrien, I...”

Before she could whisper just how much she loved and adored him, though, she was interrupted by a yell. She yanked away from Adrien, feeling bereft as her hand left his. An akuma stood atop the garden, her sword pointed at them. 

Marinette’s heart dropped at the sight. Their pajama picnic had now come to an end. Now was the time to stop thinking about kissing him and start thinking about where she could go to transform. 

Shooting a quick glance over at him, Marinette was suddenly filled with determination. She would protect him!

[hamsternamedmarinette]

In addition to Nathanael almost saying ass in the beginning of the episode, my computer lagged at the end of the episode while Lila was saying "all because of that horrible Marinette!" So it skipped a second and cut into the middle of the sentence and sounded like she said "all because of that whore"