#thinking about how from adrien’s perspective
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Less than 12 hours until the release of “The Tortured Poets Department”!
Hence, I present to you, “The Tortured Catboy Department”
Track List:
SIDE A: Deux Semaines (feat Ladybug) / The Tortured Catboy Department / My Lady Abandons Only Her Favourite Partners / Down Bad
SIDE B: So Long, London / But Daddy I Love Her / Fresh Out the Slammer / Akuma !!! (feat Monarch)
SIDE C: Guilty As Sin? / Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me / Even Ladybug Can’t Fix This / loml
SIDE D: I Can Do It With a Broken Heart / The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived / The Cataclysm / Adrien Agreste
Bonus Tracks: The Black Cat / Solitude / Doppelgänger / Tell-Tail Heart
(Love how so many of the original track names still work)
My takes of what each song is about/inspired by under cut (but, if you feel like it, tell me yours :D)
I’m picturing all of these to be from Adrien’s perspective so they reflect mostly his version of the situations rather than the objective reality (especially the Laybug centered ones)
Deux Semaines (feat Ladybug): This one would focus on the sequence in Multiplication where Monarch doesn’t attack and how LadyNoir’s relationship recovers from the events of Season 4.
TTCD: Kept the “Catboy” singular because while there are multiple Catboy identities, there is only one boy underneath them all. Hence while I think it would be about him just stating his issues with everything, it would also focus on loneliness and how his department is understaffed :(
MLAOHFP: All of the Season 4 LadyNoir separation arc angst, with the “Favourite” being a callback to Risk (and kinda a jab at Rena because he thinks that she’s really her favourite, but y’ know, she didn’t abandon her so Rena can’t be her actual favourite)
Down Bad: Mainly about how Chat’s love for LB makes him excuse her behaviors, but also makes him act out (maybe a reference to Elation).
SL,L: About the whole arc of Gabriel sending Adrien to London and all of the memories he would have surrounding this ordeal - key point, not “So Long, Paris” because he didn’t want to leave, and in the end he comes back to a changed world.
BDILH: This one’s either about the Chat Blanc breakup or Gabriel’s dislike of Marinette in Season 5 (or both, with maybe a line about how he feels like this has happened before)
FOTS: Adrien realizing his father is a Bad Person.
Akuma !!! (feat Monarch): This one would be like a song about his daily life and then the chorus would start with a shout of “Akuma!!!” and it would switch to him as Chat Noir. I feel like it would start out with normal life being boring/hero life being fun but as it goes on he grows exhausted. Monarch has a rap verse.
Guilty As Sin?: Chat Blanc centeric - would ask who is to blame for the destruction of the world, like is it Chat because he lost control or Hawkmoth because he took advantage of his son’s emotion?
WAoLOM: Chat Blanc centric at first (like a villain song) but ends with Adrien reflecting on the events of Evolution-Destruction-Multiplication-PS night
ELCFT: I think it would be about his relaction ship with his father and how he wishes there was something he could do to go back to how they were when Emilie was alive but there’s no easy fix and his father keeps on getting worse and worse after any attempt.
loml: A song for Marinette with a bittersweet air - she’s the love of his life but he can’t tell her everything, and she can’t tell him everything either
ICDIWaBH: CatWalker centric - him going back to Ladybug in Kuroneko.
TSMWEL: I actually have three for this one - 1. About Gabriel and his need to domineer because he feels small and powerless. 2. About Adrien feeling small and insignificant. 3.About Plagg because he’s a smol boi (it would be like a lighthearted, cheeky song, like when you sing to your pet about how adorable they are)
The Cataclysm: Literally about how he cataclysmed Monarch, but also about how the event impacted his perception of self.
Adrien Agreste: Ending the album with a song that’s his own name :o.
Now for the variants:
The Black Cat: This one has Chat on the cover and the song is mostly about his bad luck. ‘I Love You It’s Ruining My Life” works both directed at Ladybug and his father.
Solitude: With Chat Blanc on the cover, this one’s about his mother. I think the “You Don’t Get To Tell Me About Sad” is pretty self-explanatory.
Doppelgänger: CatWalker is on this one, his song would be about how he may literally be the same person but he doesn’t fully feel like himself. He had to repress a lot of himself to be CatWalker hence I thought “Am I Allowed To Cry?” fit him really well (especially with Plagg not giving him the time to fully recover before he had to jump back in). Please note the crossed out name (unlike Chat Blanc) because he’s reinventing himself.
Tell-Tail Heart: This one has Ladybug on the cover - wait she’s not a Catboy?? The song is titled “Tell-Tail Heart” as a reference to Edgar Allan Poe’s “Tell Tale Heart” and would explore Chat’s perspective of Ladybug’s guilt for keeping secrets, how any excuse she makes is ultimately unimportant because she would do it either way. The fact that this is the only song title with a pun references how Chat tries to lighten the mood and avoid serious conversations, and the “Tail” is supposed to refer to Rena Rouge. The flowers she’s holding are meant to be foxgloves which symbolise secrets and insincerity (they’re also poisonous and damage the heart :)). I also really liked the “Old Habits Die Screaming” for her as it could mean both Chat Noir’s love for her being an old habit that he cannot get rid of, but also her habit of keeping things from him (especially with how she does it again at the end of season 5) being something she can’t stop. It is also him being able to see that, despite what she tells him, her “Heart” is tells him otherwise.
(also would like to point out that he wouldn’t mention Rena by name, he’s upset, not evil)
#miraculous#miraculous ladybug#ml season 5#adrien agreste#chat noir#chat blanc#cat walker#patte de velours#ml ladybug#taylor swift#the tortured poets department#ts ttpd#ml fanart#ok so at first I wanted to do these with maribug but then I started trying to come up with alternative names and it dawned on me#she’s still on the last cover though <3#the tortured Catboy department#inspiration hit me like a truck like I can almost hear the songs
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something something very hot take i wish. more characters got to do crazy perception shattering things of their own free will without either 1. something else manipulating the situation or 2. something random getting in the way
#i'm going to sound like a broken record to my dear friends bc i literally talk about this so much but like#number one example easy xin mo#i wish it had been more of a like. exploration of how fucked up binghe is because of everything he's been through#and like a free will decision to do something that drastic#and then see how that changes the way people see him (i DONT think it would really change the ending but)#and ALSO i personally think it would work better with sqq s arc of the consequences of his actions affecting people but oh well#demon sword 😔😔😔😔😔#number two example monty's gun in noblemans guide i literally DO NOT shut up abt this scene#let him kill someone. let adrien be so confident that he is going to die and that his brother would never kill someone#THEN LET HIM FIRE THE GUN AND HAVE IT FUCKING WORK#because with this it's like. there's a split second of hey maybe this will change their relationship but then it's never revisited because#it wasn't actually that significant of a turning point in their dynamic because adrien didn't have to watch monty kill someone#and from my perspective as the reader i've ALREADY seen monty kill someone but not without heat of the moment#and it would be a great testament to his development without giving adrien up as narrator#AND. it would be an important moment for monty because he would have been willing to kill someone over his brother who up until then#he didn't really seem to care about???#but NOOOOOO the gun had to be broken and not fire correctly#baz. shut up challenge
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“adrien wasn’t bothered by chloe’s behavior until it affected him” okay first of all it’s literally affected him since origins because it impacted the assumptions his classmates made about him but okay. i’ll grant that his disapproval of her has gotten harsher as it has hit him closer to the heart.
BUT i would like to offer an alternative perspective: this is the first time that adrien has seen chloe’s actions cause long term damage. while hawkmoth is at large, chloe’s actions usually lead to someone being akumatized - a big consequence, yes, but one where the damage is fixed with the toss of a lucky charm and some catharsis or opportunity for growth for the victim. yes, chloe hurts people and she’s mean and it’s wrong, and adrien never approves of how she treats people, but at the end of the day he’s willing to give her another chance after the day is saved. tomorrow is a new day full of possibilities and chloe can try again to be a good person, because the mess she made today was cleaned up.
this is the first time adrien has seen the way chloe’s actions continue to cause harm, months and years after the fact. this is the first chance he’s had to condemn her not for the abstract idea of how one should treat other people or the short term consequence of an akuma, but for causing lasting psychological harm to someone that doesn’t go away even after the akuma is defeated or they learn something about themselves or they get support and love from their friends. because even after all that, marinette still can’t take adrien’s hand. what chloe and kim did is burned into her psyche in a way she can’t easily heal from. and this is the first time adrien has really seen that, has seen that chloe isn’t just mean but causes lasting damage to people’s spirits. so i think yes, he reacts this way because it’s his girlfriend and it’s impacting his relationship with her, but he also reacts this way because he’s finally able to see the long term consequences of her actions in a concrete way.
#and i hope this will help him make some connections regarding how some other people’s cruelty can have long term effects#*cough cough* gabriel#and how maybe each missing dinner isn’t just an isolated instance of bad behavior that gabe can recover from#but something that has had a long term impact on adrien and his own ability to form relationships#please let him make that connection#miraculous ladybug#ml derision
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Adrien is Marinette's Therapist, NOT her Boyfriend and it's Gross
Mental health struggles are no joke and, if you have those struggles, then you absolutely need a partner who will support you through them. That's why, at face value, Adrien supporting Marinette with her PTSD and anxiety is very sweet. It's what a good boyfriend should do. The problem is that Adrien is being written like her therapist, not her boyfriend.
Adrien has his own struggles with depression, loss, and paternal neglect. Yet none of these struggles are brought up once Adrien and Marinette get together. Instead, the relationship is all about her needs and struggles even though this season ends with Gabriel's take down, meaning that focusing on Adrien's issues would have made more sense from a narrative perspective. How much more powerful would the final have been if Marinette really understood Adrien, Emilie, and Gabriel's relationship?
But why do that when we can make everything about Adrienette instead? Why bother to mention Emilie when Marinette is a much better point of conflict between Adrien and Gabriel? After all, if we did that, then Adrien would have a life outside of Marinette and that would be, well, sigh, let's get into it, shall we?
In Derision, we learn that Marinette apparently doesn't have some form of anxiety or ADHD or any of the other things that people have theorized over the years. No, vanilla-Marinette is a totally relaxed, go-with-the-flow non-planner who only started planning after Chloe, Sabrina, and Kim gave her PTSD. Does this insult her character and make no sense? Yes, but let's not get into that. Let's just accept the retcon and look at the fallout of Adrien knowing that his new girlfriend has massive trauma that's mainly focused on romance and controlling situations.
The very next episode is Intuition. In it we see Marinette calling Adrien to show off her ability to do things without planning (or, at least, with less planning) and it's clear from context that this is an exercise that they're doing:
Adrien: Well... (his phone rings) Fancy that! Marinette! I like spending time with Marinette. (picks up his phone)
Marinette: (on-call) Guess what I'm calling for: nothing! Can you believe it? I'm calling you randomly, totally out of the blue, for no reason at all!
Adrien: So you didn't write down everything you might need to say to me based on everything I might say to you?
Marinette: Not at all! Well... I did. I really tried not to, you know, but it was too hard! Anyhow, I limited myself to fourteen possible conversations, including this one!
Adrien: Congratulations!
Marinette: (on-call) Thank you!
Adrien: And did you prepare questions for science class?
Marinette: (on-call) Not-a-one! Not even for the live video conference we're doing with Max's mom on the super awesome Tsurugi space jet! I, Marinette, will improvise questions, unpredictably, without planning anything!
In the context of the show, this conversation is deeply concerning and I don't know wtf the writers think they're doing. There is no way in hell that a 14-year-old should be guiding his girlfriend through a therapy session or therapy exercise unless he has the guidance and approval of a trained mental health professional.
Seriously look at what Adrien is doing in this dialogue: Marinette tells him that she's called him without planning and he doesn't just say "that's great!" Instead, he asks if that's true, congratulates her for her mild improvement, and then prompts her to talk about another situation where she would plan things out. In other words, he's asking about the therapy homework that he's clearly given her or that they've decided on together. It's also clear that this isn't their first discussion on the topic because he's very comfortable knowing what to ask about to see if she's done her homework right.
Why was this homework chosen? Who knows! It certainly wasn't picked by someone with training! A therapist wouldn't tell you to avoid planning for a school assignment (something that we've never seen Marinette overplan before, but once again, we're ignoring the retcon). This scene would arguably be inappropriate for an established adult relationship, but a nascent teenage one? Absolutely not.
My SO and I have both done therapy and seen wildly unbalanced relationships. This conversation threw massive red flags for us on both fronts. This is not what a healthy relationship looks like. This is not a give and take. This is why you need a therapist to at least guide you through this type of situation or you will set yourself up in roles where person A is not getting their needs met because the relationship has an established dynamic where person A is the giver and person B is the taker.
This is especially true for a young relationship that's just getting its feet off of the ground. They're supposed to be in the honeymoon phase! More established relationships are better able to handle phases where one person needs more support than the other which absolutely happens and is totally normal. However, when those things happen, it's vital for the supporting partner to have their own support since they can't get it from their partner.
Miraculous denies Adrien this suport. In the very next episode, we get this:
Adrien: I've always seen Marinette acting funny in my presence. I thought that was just the way she was. I thought it was sweet. I thought it was just her charm. But now that I know it's because she loves me and she freaks out about telling me, I feel bad. Because it means that this whole time she's been uncomfortable around me, and I haven't done anything to help her.
Kagami: But you didn't know.
Adrien: It doesn't take away from her suffering. I just wish she could feel more at ease when she's with me. Otherwise, one day, it'll be too late and she'll give up.
Kagami: What can I do to help, Adrien?
Adrien: Thanks, but it's not up to you or anyone else to help. I'm the one who's gotta do something.
No! Adrien, you are not equipped to deal with this solo. Ask Kagami to help! Ask Alya to help! Ask Marinette's parents to help! There are times when it's okay to involve others in your relationship and this is one of those times! This isn't even a relationship issue! It's a mental health issue! I know we're flipping gender roles here, but it's not somehow cute or healthy just because a guy is trying to "fix" the girl for once. No one should try to take on that task. This is what therapy is for.
If therapy is not an option for financial or other reasons, then yes, sometimes you have to struggle through and loved ones can help, but in TV land? Especially aimed-at-kids TV land? Show the ideal scenario! At the very least, show a support network! And I mean actual support, not Kagami asking to help and Adrien shooting her down! Writers, you are making Gabriel's dislike of Marinette valid! You are making it so that she is dragging Adrien down! Stop doing that!
Adrien deserves love and support, too. Adrien deserves to be romanced. Adrien deserves more than a kiss and an "I love you" that he had to fight to hear! He never even gets one of the presents from Marinette's chest. She did more to woo him before they got together and it's such pathetic writing.
The fun of getting these two together is letting them do all the stuff they've always wanted to do! Let Marinette bring him macrons! Let him bring her roses! Let her enhance his wardrobe! Let him write her poems! Let them be a healthy, balanced, sickeningly-cute couple! It's fine if she's nervous at the start and takes a while to act normal, but this show takes it to a level beyond teenage jitters and it's not funny or cute. It's concerning.
All of these issues start with Derision's romance-based-PTSD retcon and it was the worst thing they could have done for the Love Square. It poisons the rest of the season and is why I just can't ship these two in canon even though I love what they could have been. They have established such a horrifically unhealthy dynamic that I can't see this ending well unless they get couple's therapy in the very near future and that's not even touching on the baggage that will come from the lies and still unresolved Ladynoir trauma.
As soon as Marinette has romance-based PTSD, she was incapable of being in a relationship until after she'd learned to manage her PTSD. (PTSD cannot be cured, btw, you just learn how to manage it and the symptoms can lessen.) The writers apparently knew that. It's why they gave her a therapist to support her as she worked through her issues and got to the point where she can say "I love you". His name is Adrien. Isn't he cute?
#ml writing salt#ml writing critical#ml season 5 salt#adrien deserves better#suffering through a rewatch of season 5 for love of my so#ml intuition#ml derision#ml perfection#marinette deserves better#I just wanted a cute romance not whatever the writers think they're doing
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So I have been seeing interesting discussion on the endings of Gabriel. The miraculous movie vs The season 5 finale ending.
-And the criticisms for the movie ending are valid, Marinette/Ladybug’s conflict is a lot less personal (cause time constraints)
-Gabriel technically defeated himself
-There wasn’t enough build up for the climax to feel satisfying unless you knew the show.
-Marinette’s personal involvement felt minimal to nonexistent. (She never met Gabriel)
-The powers are inconsistent
The wrap up was too quick
And these are legitimate criticism, especially because we never have Marinette interact with Gabriel once. Something that should have happened.
I can understand how that ending could feel unsatisfying.
Then we have the season 5 finale, which has the opposite problem
-It involves Marinette so much that Adrien is completely sidelined as a response.
-Gabriel ‘Wins’ but according to the writers he lost. (I saw the commentary. I vehemently disagree with there interpretation)
-Adrien never finds out about any of this
-Lila feels shoehorned in as the season 6 badguy
So I thought about both sides more, rewatched the S5 finale and the ending with these new perspectives and… I still prefer the movie ending more than the finale.
But why is that? Objectively speaking The movie is much more flawed and has very littler personal investment of Ladybug vs Hawkmoth. Something that movies don’t often do.
While The show has built up this personal conflict between Gabriel/monarch and Marinette/ladybug
By all logic I Should prefer the show ending.
But I don’t, and it’s precisely BECAUSE of the reasons I listed.
Movie! Marinette’s lack of personal connection to fighting Gabriel allowed me to focus on Gabriel’s motive and his interaction with his son. His genuine care of his son being his downfall MADE sense. Marinette was focused on saving her partner than fighting a villain, which the movie showed to be more of the core of the movie. Even foreshadowing the “Save one Life, save the world” line. And it even fits the fairy tale theme ML tries to go for.
Meanwhile the Show’s ending had a really good fight at the core with Marinette and Gabriel clashing. The fight between Monarch and Bug noire is one of the best in the series… BUT it’s because of this conflict that the ending feels so GUT WRENCHINGLY awful. Because it’s just another case of Marinette failing to stop Gabriel from doing what he wanted. Gabriel may have changed his initial wish, but he still basically did what he always did, cease power and leave Marinette to clean up the mess.
Even taking Adrien out of the equation doesn’t help fix the ending. Because Gabriel still did what he wanted. Gabriel gets a statue, he gets to die seen as a hero that he never was. He is seen as a good man. And it leaves Marinette having to let Paris think that. We don’t see Marinette doubting this, we don’t see opposition or even a question on it. It’s Marinette once again doing what she always does, taking on the burden.
Ah but the difference is that ML still has more seasons. This could all be subject to change. People could find out the truth. The wish has consequences.
And that is correct. There are consequences. And do you know who will face those consequences? Marinette. Because she always does. That’s what the show Always does.
The movie ending also has a potential sequel, but at least there, Marinette and Adrien don’t have secrets, Fu is still there, and the weight of reality doesn’t hang on Movie Marinette’s shoulders only.
And I think that’s what it comes down to.
It’s because I love Marinette that I hate how she has to fail after all her efforts and would rather have an ending that has less personal stakes for her if it means she can be better off as opposed to this drama bomb that basically left her back as the one with the weight of reality on her shoulders.
#miraculous ladybug#ml#ml spoilers#ml critical#ml movie#ml show#miraculous movie#marinette dupain cheng
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Wherefore Art Thou (My)stery Lady
When a failed attempt to let Chat Noir down easy ends with Ladybug learning his name, she does what any lovesick teenager would do: teases him mercilessly.
Ch 1 Ch 2 Ch 3
Chapter Four
“She really hasn't given you any more hints?” Nino asked. “It's been five days!”
Adrien loved group projects. It meant that there was a chance that he could visit with friends outside of school hours. And given how lucky he had been over the past few days, it didn't even surprise him when Ms. Bustier partnered him with Nino on their history project.
They sat on his floor together, taking a much-deserved break. Adrien was rereading his texts from Ladybug again, looking for any clues he might have missed.
Nino was right. It had been five days. Five long days of torture. He hadn’t seen her since their rendezvous on top of Montparnasse Tower, but she had seen him. She’d sent three pictures she’d taken of him when he wasn’t looking. He had his back turned in each one, and he’d been in large crowds as he walked in the hallway in between classes or at the end of the day. Times where there were so many people around that he couldn’t narrow down who she could be, which was deliberate on her part, he was certain.
They were so close, and he still couldn’t find her.
His phone buzzed with an incoming message.
My Lady – I accidentally called you Kitten in front of my best friend this morning. So embarrassing!
My Lady – I told her I chose that nickname because of all the stupid cat emojis you send me.
Adrien – Is that permission to keep sending them to you?
My Lady – No.
Adrien – Too bad.
Adrien – 😻😽😸
Nino shuffled over, and Adrien scanned the message quickly. Nothing that would arouse suspicion if read.
“‘My Lady’?” Nino said, reading the contact name at the top. “Getting a little possessive already, huh?”
“No!” Adrien flipped his phone over to hide the messages. “Uh, ‘My’... is short... for ‘mystery.’ She's a mystery lady, but that was too long to fit. So, My Lady.”
“I don't believe you at all, dude, but I'll give you full points for that excuse.” Nino returned to his spot on the floor and started scrolling through his own phone, which he kept hidden from Adrien's view. “You like her already, huh?”
“Yeah,” Adrien said. He and Nino hadn't talked much about it, aside from that first day. Adrien had been too busy trying to piece together who Ladybug was, and he was getting frustrated. All he'd done so far was eliminate everyone in the school. Realizing he missed her on his first pass, he tried again. He looked at the yearbook, made a list of everything he knew about her, spent almost all his time in class puzzling over her, and he'd still come up empty.
“You should ask her out,” Nino said. “I've known her for a long time, and I think you two would be good for each other.”
Adrien nodded. He'd always thought so. “I asked already.”
“You did? Why didn't you tell me?”
“She said yes, assuming I could figure out who I'm asking!” Adrien flipped onto his back and stared at the high ceiling above him. “You’re not allowed to give me any hints, but what is she like?”
“How's that not a hint?”
“Because I already know what she's like.” He raised the phone, implying that he’d gotten to know her through texting and not midnight rooftop strolls. “I just want a different perspective. Maybe I just need the same information from a new angle.”
“If she gets mad at me, I'm blaming you.”
“But she wants to go out with me, right? So you're really trying to help her.”
“How about this,” Nino said. “I won't tell her if you won't.”
“Deal.”
Nino had been typing away on his screen, cap hiding his eyes, through the whole conversation and finally lifted his head.
Adrien listened intently as Nino started listing Ladybug's familiar traits.
“She's very creative and sweet, but still tough when she wants to be.”
Adrien knew both of those well from fighting alongside her. She could come up with the most ridiculous plans and execute them flawlessly. She'd stare down a monster and then turn around and help someone who'd been trying to kill her moments before.
“She's good at video games.” Another one that he knew, but had forgotten. He'd have to write that down on the list.
“And she can be pretty shy and nervous sometimes. It took her forever to tell you that she likes you.”
Adrien hadn't thought about it like that. She'd admitted to being anxious and awkwardly obvious about her crush (not that he'd been able to figure out that clue either), but he hadn't mentally added that trait to his image of her. She always seemed so confident and self-assured, and he loved that about her. He'd only ever seen her truly nervous on that first day.
“That's all you're getting.”
“None of it was really new information,” he said. “But thanks for reminding me of some things.”
“Sure, dude.”
Adrien's phone alerted him to another message.
My Lady – So... Mystery Lady, huh?
Adrien turned to Nino. “You texted her about that? Since when have you had her number?”
“Since the day she got her phone.”
My Lady – That was smooth. Plus, now you can use my favorite nickname!
Adrien – I could just break into Nino's phone and check his messages, you know.
My Lady – That would be cheating! Don't you dare!
“Am I going to do this project by myself?” Nino asked. “Or should I call your girlfriend and ask if I can borrow some of your attention?”
“Sorry, sorry.” And he was, until the next text from her came in. Nino sighed but didn’t complain as Adrien reflexively reached for his phone.
My Lady – Kitten, my homework is boring, and I don't want to do it. Talk to me.
Adrien – What do you want me to say?
My Lady – I don't know. Anything.
Adrien – Okay...
He searched the room for inspiration but found none. The first thing that caught his attention on his phone was his name for her.
Adrien – What did you name my contact?
My Lady – Uh...
My Lady – …
My Lady – Nothing...
Adrien – Nothing as in just a blank space, or nothing as in something that you don't want to say?
My Lady – NOTHING
Adrien – Uh huh. So what is it?
Adrien – Hm?
Adrien – Aren't you going to tell me?
My Lady – No.
Adrien – Why not?
My Lady – I'm going to delete your number if you don't stop asking!
Adrien – That won't do anything. I'll just text you again, and then you'll have it again.
My Lady – Please unsubscribe me from your mailing list.
Adrien – Is it just a string of hearts or something?
My Lady – The number you are trying to reach has been disconnected.
Adrien – Or maybe it's “Hot Stuff”?
My Lady – New phone. Who dis?
Adrien – Wow. It must be reeealllly embarrassing if you don't want to tell me this badly.
My Lady – FINE!
My Lady – When I found out who you were, I changed your contact to “Future Husband.” OKAY?!?!?!
If Plagg could see his face right now, Adrien was sure the kwami would gag. He was probably smiling like an idiot. She really thought that it was a possibility?
“You good, dude?”
Adrien only nodded because how was he supposed to explain? Ladybug - LADYBUG - really had decided that she wanted to marry him?!
She was also still waiting for his response. Probably anxiously. Should he gush about how much he loved her or continue with his teasing?
Teasing won out.
Adrien – Oh, Bugaboo, you didn't even buy me a ring yet!
My Lady – SHUT UP I'M GOING TO CHANGE IT
Adrien – Please don't.
Adrien – My ring size is 29, in case you were wondering.
My Lady – That's not even a real size.
Adrien – Oh.
Adrien – Father doesn't sell jewelry, so I don't know anything about it. Haha.
My Lady – Average sizes are usually between 5 and like 10 or 11.
My Lady – In case you were wondering...
My Lady – Mine’s 4 and a half.
---
Adrien walked into school the next morning (on time, thankfully! The photographer had been 10 minutes late to the shoot and traffic was horrible all morning) ready to watch the front door for any stragglers who showed up late. He still didn't have any ideas about who Ladybug could be, and he was starting to think he was missing the obvious. So he stood in the middle of the courtyard and scanned faces as they trickled in, but no one in particular stood out to him. No girl was the same height, looked just right, sounded like her, or moved the same way. Over several minutes, the courtyard started filling up. Starting from the doors, he slowly rotated until he’d done a full circle, double checking if someone had slipped past him. Nino was the only one in the crowd who caught his attention.
“Hey, bro!” Nino said, waving as he approached. “You look distracted, which means you haven't figured it out yet.”
“No! And she still won't give me another hint!”
“That's because you have enough to figure it out with, man. You're trying too hard.” He swung an arm over Adrien's shoulders. “Just look at your contact list and find the hole. Should be obvious, my dude.” It was easy for Nino to give advice. He had found out who she was the easy way ages ago.
But Ladybug kept telling him that, too. Plagg, when he didn't avoid the subject entirely, said much the same thing.
Adrien reached for his phone, but his scroll through his contact list was interrupted by an incoming text image.
There he and Nino were, in the middle of the crowded courtyard, looking at his phone. Adrien's head snapped up. The photographer had been directly in front of him on the upper level, but that area was now deserted.
“Come on,” Adrien said. “Maybe we can catch her.”
He took the stairs two at a time while Nino hollered for him to slow down. Adrien had no plan to do anything of the sort. His Lady had been there just a few seconds ago. She couldn't have gotten far.
Reaching the top step, he took another look around. There were a few corners that she could be hiding behind, or she could have ducked into a classroom. He debated for only a second. What would Ladybug do if she was trying to trip him up? Probably go where the most people were so she could hide in plain sight. He poked his head into the nearest classroom. A few people waved to him, but no one he knew well enough to have traded phone numbers with.
He tried a few more, then doubled back and checked the alcoves. There were a lot of people that he knew, and because he was in such a hurry, all of them seemed to want to say hello to him. He stayed only long enough each time to give a very hurried explanation that he was looking for someone in order to excuse himself before running off again.
“Hey!” Nino said, finally catching up with him. “Will you slow down?”
“Did you see her anywhere? Please tell me that much. Did I overlook her again?”
“I haven't seen her,” Nino said, taking off his hat and fanning himself with it. “What did you eat for breakfast, man? Rocket fuel? I haven't seen you run like that since the last akuma. Or…” Nino put his hat back on and smiled, “do you really just want to find her that bad?”
Two minutes after running out of the courtyard, Adrien found himself up at the top of the stairs overlooking it. He walked to the railing, where Ladybug had been standing when she took her picture of him. She'd been so close, and she'd slipped through his fingers again. He needed to figure her identity out soon, or she’d be the death of him (in the best way possible).
The courtyard was emptier than it had been a few minutes prior. The flow of students through the front doors had been reduced to a trickle. Only a few stragglers remained at the bottom of the stairs, waiting to go to class until the very last second.
“I think the bell's about to ring,” Nino said, tapping him on the shoulder. “We should go.”
Adrien sighed. Another attempt to find her had ended in failure.
They trudged back down the stairs to their first class. A few of their friends were ahead of them in the hallway, including Alya and Marinette, who were whispering together. He heard Alya congratulating Marinette about something. He heard only a few words, “likes you a lot!” and “interested.” What were they talking about? He picked up his pace, hoping to get close enough to catch more of the conversation, but Nino called out to them over the crowd to get their attention before he reached them.
Alya cut off her next sentence abruptly and spun around, eyes going to Adrien first before landing on Nino.
“Good morning!” Marinette said, eyes shining. Was he imagining it, or was her gaze lingering on him longer than it usually did? “What have you two been up to this morning? Looking for that mystery lady of yours again?”
“You know about that?” Adrien groaned. “How many people know?”
A few people shoved past him to get to their classrooms. He hadn't realized they were blocking the traffic.
“Nino told me about it,” Marinette said, starting to walk forward again. “He said you were having some trouble figuring out who she was. Do you want some help?” Behind her back, Nino and Alya exchanged deadpan looks.
“Yeah,” he said. “That would be great. I've tried everything I can think of.”
Marinette thought about it for a few seconds, tapping her finger to her lips in a slow, exaggerated movement. He glanced down at the finger briefly before turning his attention back to her eyes.
“Have you tried tricking her into giving you more information? Like ask her about something that happens at school today that only some people know about. Then, if she sees it, you have fewer people to guess from. Maybe you could cat-ch her that way?” She put more emphasis on the first half of the word “catch,” but he wasn't sure why. “What about the assembly today?”
“That's a great idea, Marinette! Thanks!” That was a fantastic idea. The assembly was only for their grade, and if she saw it too, that would really narrow down the pool of candidates. And even if she didn’t, he could exclude an entire grade from his search. He would have to word his questions just right, so she wouldn’t think he was asking for another hint. If she knew he was looking for a way around the rules of her challenge, she might not answer. Or worse, be unhelpful on purpose.
“You're welcome,” she said. “I really hope you find her soon.”
Adrien blinked, surprised to find himself and Marinette alone in the hallway in front of their first period class. His mind was still thinking up exactly how he would pose his questions to seem the most innocent.
“Really, Marinette. Thank you. I really want to find her.”
She beamed at him as the bell rang, and they both ran for the classroom door.
With Marinette’s help, and a little bit of his Lady’s luck, he might know was behind the mask by the end of the day. And he couldn’t wait.
Chapter Five
---
Tag list: @eclipsesmoonshine14, @alittlewolf2, @mlbigbang
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Okay, so I can’t believe I’m writing this, the Maribat/Daminette fandom has me by the throat so, here we are
There are a lot of fics where Damian comes to Paris and they click and he gets the Black cat miraculous for various reasons, and also a lot where Marinette goes to Gotham with generally the same outcomes, but what about a fic where Damian and his class go on a trip to Paris before Hawkmoth first attacks.
Like, he’s 13 and forced into this trip because the fam wants him to experience more than just being a vigilante and he hates it. His school has a program with Marinette’s, so at the beginning of the year they pack up and plan to spend two weeks in Paris.
This trip just so happens to coincide with when Master Fu is looking for his new Ladybug and Black Cat (y’all see where I’m going with this?)
In this Au, Adrien makes it to the school sooner and misses Master Fu because he’s testing Marinette. Adrien still gets to go to school, because he deserves happiness, but he’s able to get there the first day, and so avoids the whole gum thing that make Marinette hate him, but also sees what Chloe does to Marinette which really changes his initial perspective of school. He would definitely be a temp hero later, but he gets to enjoy being a normal rebellious teen.
Anyway, so Adrien Misses Fu, so who’s going to be the Cat? Well, Damian’s school pulls up at the same time Adrien would have.
The class stops to do a head count and give the general speech of why they’re there in front of the school and Damian’s planning on slipping away because he’s 13 and thinks this is all a waste of his time. He thinks that if he can make it back to the hotel without anyone noticing he’ll be able to make an argument that they forgot him and that he should be allowed to go home (can you see where I’m taking my inspiration from?). Unfortunately for him, Fu sees this and does his test (the fall). All his classmates don’t do anything because they’re from Gotham and are suspicious of everything (and also it’s Paris and they don’t want to be scammed) and the teachers don’t notice. Damian, however, does notice. He considers leaving anyway because it’s not his problem, but he’s been Robin for almost 3 or 4 years at this point and, contrary to what some people might say, has grown a lot. He would feel guilty and maybe even a little unworthy of Robin if he didn’t stop for 2 seconds to help this old man up.
It goes quite similarly to how it did with Adrien, he helps Fu up, but gets caught and can no longer run away from the class.
Basically, this au is a “what if Damian was The Black Cat from the start?”
I have a lot more ideas, but here’s just a few:
Damian isn’t Chat Noir, but I haven’t looked up any cat related names that he could be yet.
As the cat, Damian acts a lot more fun than he normally would allow himself. He’s not Chat Noir level, but this is the first time in his life where literally no one knows who he is and is monitoring his behavior, nor does he have anyone’s expectations on him for who he should be.
He’s initially annoyed with Ladybug, because she’s so clearly untrained, unconfident, and unprepared, but then she comes up with the plan that shows what she could be capable of, and the speech and he might have a crush, but brushes it off as grudgingly respecting her
He 100% plans on training her and their partnership is more equal than what the show portrays it as, because one of my main problems with the actual show is that chat noir, despite being her partner is often shoved aside and given the sidekick role
Damian doesn’t tell his family what’s happening. As far as they’re aware, Paris is fine. Normally he would have, but he had no time until after the fight and he really enjoyed being the cat that he’s like “I’ll tell them later” which keeps being pushed back.
At the end of the trip he somehow talks his family into letting him actually transfer to Paris so he can stay as the cat
He is baffled that this works, but they are all so happy that he’s taking an interest in something other than Robin and Superheroing that they jump on letting him before realizing that it means he’s gonna be in Paris for months.
Dick is sad about this later, so is Bruce and Alfred and the others, but he’s the most vocal about it.
Damian is also baffled that they haven’t figured out what’s going on by now and as everyday passes he gets more and more annoyed by the fact that his so called family of detectives have realized that he’s decided if they can’t figure it out, he’s not telling them.
He has not figured out that magic is preventing knowledge of this from leaving Paris and even if it didn’t, Magic is protecting his identity.
He acts annoyed by Plagg, but he actually loves him so much
His cat outfit is still fun with the ears and tail, but it’s a lot more elaborate and has a utility belt and a lot of hidden things
In fact, because it’s so elaborate, Marinette’s boring suit only stays for the first time she transforms. Once the fight finishes her little fashion designer brain can’t stop thinking about it and comes up with a new design after consulting Tikki.
Of course, she only has the idea of the costume down, because by the time they finalize it, she sees the news and has her depression moment, so the first time she wears it is when she saves Alya.
Due to this first change, her outfit would constantly be changing throughout her time as Ladybug, as she learns more about fighting and what she’s comfortable with, as well as what’s actually possible with magic and the miraculous.
By the end of the year her firs are going to be crazy (wait till she finds out she can change her actual eyes (both color and the pupils and-) hair colors and length)
She will eventually bully Damian into making some changes but he’s generally happy with the first design.
They also know each others identities a lot sooner because Damian actually knows the benefits and his cold logic is able to cut through a lot of her anxiety.
It still doesn’t happen until at least the second season tho.
Y’all I have so much more, but this is getting long and I’ve got things to do so tell me if u want more or feel free to add your own ideas!!!
#batman#batfam#dc#mlb#mlb fandom#mlb marinette#mlb x dc#mlbxdc#dc x mlb#marinette dupain cheng#miraculous ladybug#miraculous#miraculous tales of ladybug and chat noir#au#miraculous au#dc au#damian wayne#dc damian wayne#robin#dc robin
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I doubt I have the time or focus to write it but legit fascinated of an "Adrien never went to school" AU thanks to re-reading the Enemies to Lovers Bakers AU.
I imagine the sequence of how this happens would be:
The first day happens as canon. But on the second day, Adrien is better contained at home until Stoneheat 2.0 lets him slip away to do hero stuff. Despite this, the fact the mayors daughter was nearly killed is used as Gabriel as a pretext as to why Adrien will be staying home. This nixes any plans, arguments or work arounds he or Chloe could come up with.
So, with Adrien contained to the manor, work & slightly more occasional Chloe hang outs, what becomes of the story overall? Well let's look at the season 1 plot from the main 2's perspective:
Marinette:
Off the cuff her story doesn't change much.
She doesn't befriend or start crushing on Adrien and because Chloe's distracted there's no seat dispute. With no Adrien, she may instead have a crush on Alya & Chat, but is not willing to act on or even necessarily aware of this at first. Though she may end up feeling heartbroken 'for some reason' when or IF, Alya & Nino start dating, but with no Adrien it may not happen, or could happen differently.
On a more long term level, I imagine some of the school Akuma don't come up, like there's no 'reason' for Chloe to try and steal Juleka's spot on photo day. & Chloe in general is probably bit more distracted & the two have slightly less reasons to butt heads, so the stories focusing on that would be stuff like the class election.
Her relationship with Chat would be largely unchanged given little has actually changed on that front. Though he may be a bit clingier and more overtly lonely so they may talk more. Adrien to her is just a pretty face who she sometimes sees hanging around Chloe.
I think the big divergence would really happen because of Lila. Mostly because without the Adrien factor she may handle the lies with a cooler head, this plot could manifest in two ways, but I will handle that lower down.
Adrien:
So, Adrien has been denied the chance to go to school because of the Akuma. He definitely resents his father and Hawk Moth a bit more overtly in this version and is even more inclined to use Chat Noir as an escape. What little freedom he did manage to claw out of the shift is usually spent hanging out with Chloe. This would also be easily used for comedy juxtaposition what she tells him of school with what we see.
As noted he also tries to spend more time around Ladybug and is perhaps a bit more fast and loose with details about his life, for good and ill. This could also lead him to slipping the truth to Chloe on accident or by intent shifting her dynamic with Chat, or there's still the fun contrast in how she treats the two.
Beyond that, and as established he spends a decent chunk of his off time with Chloe. In this context he is likely the one doing cosplay, which could may Lady Wifi notably hilarious if very stressful for him. He may also briefly connect with the class during the student election.
But again, he's otherwise very cut off from other kids. Though through this we do get to see a, if not softer, then "Trying to be a good friend" Chloe which is as awkward and clumsy as one would expect.
The main big divergence comes with his discovery of the book, likely born from a bit of rebellious snooping in his fathers office. As with the Lila piece above, this deserves its own segment.
Season 1 Finale:
The Book & the Story Teller would likely be the name. It'd be a dual story with Adrien uncovering the tome and realizing its importance and Marinette grappling with how to handle Lila's deceptions. I forsee 2 main varients.
1: Closer to canon. Adrien hears about Ladybug's "bff" from the Ladyblog and goes to give her the book to see if she can get it to Ladybug. It ends up with Marinette who suspects Adrien or his dad of being Hawk Moth. When the book is discovered lost, Adrien is barred from any outings or visits.
Chloe goes on a rampage to try and find it & to get Adrien to reveal Lila lied about them dating, causing her to Akumatize. Marinette does return the book at the sight of Chloe hiding somewhere sobbing over not being able to see her friend but not before making a photo copy version.
2: Very non canon. Adrien still discovered the book but is told to sneak off with it to tell Master Fu, and he does so. Gabriel is distracted by word of Ladybug's BFF and sends an Akuma after Lila. Because Marinette was already keeping an eye on her to reveal the truth she appears and quickly saves her, which makes it look like the lies are true, much to her annoyance.
Lila is now aware that this lie being believed is not good at all, she assumed Hawk Moth wouldn't notice or buy it. But she doesn't want to admit she lied either because then everyone would question everything so she's kind of stuck and ends up as the more common damsel essentially usurping Chloe's position as nominal Akuma target.
While all this was happening, Adrien was grappling with worries regarding his father and Fu and the Hawk Moth situation. He may also briefly lose the book when helping with Lila and it gets picked up by Ladybug so they both get to meet Fu. This sets up the Collector & also the return of the book via the above method.
I think I rather the latter as it feels more natural.
It also does something different with Lila with her still being a presence in class that irks Marinette and draws Akuma into everyday life.
It also lets her potentially be taken in a different direction with her being the target of attacks meaning she's sure as hell not going to work for Hawk Moth. Plus with no Adrien she likely fixates on different would be famous kids, be they:
Chloe (Hilarious because Chloe is as friendly as a porcupine), Marinette (Self starter designer who has to be polite through gritted teeth) General socializing (The Class) different targets of the week (Such as Luka) or a greater focus on Ladybug and trying to use her for social media fame, while also dealing with the stress of constantly being under attack.
Conclusion
It is harder to say what happens in season 2, but I imagine as changes would begin to pile up more things would diverge.
Kagami might make Adrien & Chloe a trio, or a quartet if Sabrina's been brought in more. She'd also potentially have a friendship episode with Marinette sooner if that was still to be a thing.
Chloe might not reveal herself as Queen Bee, or she might actually get picked by Adrien as a temporary hero, possibly along with Kagami, or Sabrina, so both he and Ladybug have a pair of friends.
It may be Nooroo's birthday that reinvigorates Hawk Moth, or he just can't quit in general. Less focus on school as the story heads into a "school break" period so more room for unexpected encounters & events.
Some version of Heroes Day and the Crimson Army is probably still the season finale. Or that could be the season 3 finale given its scale.
As said, unsure.
#miraculous ladybug#miraculous au#Fanfic concept#marinette dupain cheng#adrien agreste#chloe bourgeois
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I feel like the fandom is ignoring the fact that Adrien is under no obligation to forgive Marinette.
Regardless of her reasons for lying to him what the finale establishes is that Marinette as a character is not trustworthy to Adrien specifically.
In that Adrien trusted her and she failed. Not failed to defeat Monarch but, much more importantly, failed his trust in her.
To the point where the best thing Adrien's narrative can do for his character is break up with her.
The writers established so many parallels between Marinette and Gabriel that at this point Adrien extending forgiveness wouldn't be a sign of his own development as a person but a return to his fawning trauma response.
Said parallels ignorantly reinforced by the writers constantly forcing Adrien to put aside his own needs and emotions in favor of supporting his "partner". (Syren, Kuro Neko, Risk)
Support the writers never allow Marinette to return.
So yeah, I think they should break up.
I'm so serious.
Ephemeral's whole premise is Marinette taking advantage of Adrien's trust in order to learn his identity so she can tell it to Su Han.
Catwalker is literally just Adrien fawning in a vain attempt to be trustworthy. The inciting incident being Ladybug not trusting Chat Noir when he asks to take on more responsibilities. Kuro Neko ending with nothing resolved and the idea that Adrien as a hero is superfluous reinforced in his head.
It's not just Marinette's pattern of behavior that contributes to this.
Adrien's relationships with those around him are frayed specifically because of the Guardians' rules. He values Ladybug's trust in him so much that Adrien is willing to hurt himself to follow what is expected of him as the holder of the Black Cat Miraculous.
But no one else is.
I mean that from a writing perspective not a character one.
Nino and Alya are revealed to each other due to necessity. Marinette breaks down and reveals herself to Alya.
And Adrien is still alone. Still expected to follow the rules that keep him isolated from his meager support network. Still expected to just be okay.
He has a girlfriend now! That means everything is fixed! No need to worry about his best friend calling him annoying to his face!
It's long been a fandom theory that Marinette doesn't see Chat Noir as "real".
And this is reinforced several times when she learns that Chat Noir found out something she kept from him, apologized, and then... changed nothing about how they function as a "team".
After meeting Scarabella and learning that someone knows Ladybug's identity Adrien is mad sure. But he goes right back to fawning. To saying that "it's okay" because he has so little self worth. Because the writers reinforced the fact that he is unnecessary.
And that's because the writers don't see Adrien as his own character. Don't see him as a "human" character least of all after literally dehumanizing him.
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SPOILERS FOR PROTECTION BELOW BUT I HAVE TO TALK ABOUT THE RINGS ‼️‼️
So while this episode KILLED me as a adrienette Stan, most of my interest in it lies in that it basically confirmed with these scenes that BOTH of the twin rings control Adrien, meaning that his amok is split between the two.
(Sorry side note I LOVE Nathalie for this your redemption era looks so good on you sis ❤️ )
So, both Gabriel and Emilie had Adrien’s amok with them. If we want to be optimistic, this makes sense from a not evil perspective: having Adrien’s amok being in only one ring is VERY DANGEROUS, and so having it split between two rings with two people is best, and what better two people than his parents… right?
Except oh wait, the rings can control him against his will and one of the parents in question is Gabriel Agreste 🤡 But at least his mom was good and she had the other… right?
But wait! Personally, I DONT believe the Emilie is evil (for my mental health 🤡), and as such I don’t think that she ever used her ring to control Adrien… at least, not in a selfish way. Instead, I think how Nathalie used the ring this episode hints as to how Emilie might have used it: to free Adrien of any commands given to him from G*briel.
However there is NO WAY TO KNOW FOR SURE! I for one cannot WAIT to see how this new dynamic with the conflicting commands from the rings plays out! My poor on will be stuck in the middle of it all… bring on the angst!
I wish I could go more into detail with my thoughts, but this post is long enough so… part 2 with more rambling about this ft. my thoughts ab where the hell Felix’s Amok is coming tomorrow!
In conclusion: #FreeAdrien and give him his rings… yes after he gets them he will have to wear THREE silver rings 24/7, but it’s ok he can pull it off I believe in him ❤️
Except it would probably be dangerous for him to have both rings on at the same time…
Hmm………. Whatever will we do about that……
#I MISSED POSTING LIKE THOS AFTER AN EPISODE SO MUCH :(#since the summer life has just demotivated me so much idk :(#but i miss this blog so so much omg!#could this be my comeback era? stay tuned !#ml protection spoilers#ml protection#ml spoilers#mlb spoilers#miraculous ladybug#mlb#ml#miraculous#miraculous ladybug spoilers#tales of ladybug and cat noir#miraculous tales of ladybug and chat noir#mine
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5 | on the sixteenth of April
Part 5 of Marinette Dupain-Cheng is Dead | Masterlist
"Babsie."
No reply.
"Babs, did you look into it?"
Barbara's chin dropped to her fist as she scrolled through all the posts. She already had half the mind to mute out Tim but decided against it. Heaving out a big sigh, she replied, "No, I haven't. These posts were all made with fake accounts and I can't trace them. At all."
"All of the posts?"
"Well, no, just the ones that started out on the day the rumors blew up. The other accounts and stories are real—I double checked—but a handful were from glitchy accounts."
If she were to be honest, after hearing all about the case from Tim, Barbara expected them to solve it in a day or two. But this perspective of it was just as baffling, and she knew Tim himself couldn't find anything more than she could.
"It could be connected to her death . . . assuming those posts came from one person, then they must have something to do with Marinette's death, right?"
"Maybe," Barbara hummed absentmindedly. "Look, Tim, I've got loads of other work to do. I'll give it more time later; I'll tell you if I find something."
"Sure, thanks Babs. Jason says thanks too."
Barbara stared at her phone after the call, before it rang again.
***
Here lies Marinette Dupain-Cheng, a loving daughter, friend, our everyday Ladybug.
The headstone contained those simple words. Painted at the bottom was a branch of plum blossom, a symbol found in most of her creations. She was only one person among the many in the cemetery, but her death felt more real when it was marked on that rock. Tim bent down to place a single flower in front of it.
He glanced at Jason, wondering if he felt discomfort being in a place he had once crawled out of.
"At least she's resting," said Jason, gaze lowered. Tim nodded in agreement.
After just talking to Kagami Tsurugi and Luka Couffaine, Tim finally understood what Adrien meant by 'protective'. Both were stubbornly tight-lipped—Tsurugi being cold and stoic, while Luka being good at diverting to another topic. Suffice to say they didn't gain any useful information. Chloe's lead seemed to be on a roadblock for the meantime too.
Tim stared at the words. What had she been thinking in her last moments? Was her spirit craving for vengeance? What should they do?
"Did you know they symbolize perseverance?" Jason said out of the blue.
"What?"
"Plum blossoms. Also 'patience' and 'good health'," he replied, "That sounds like her."
Tim sighed. Yeah we could use that patience right now. "What if we're not meant to find out the truth?"
"But no matter how you look at it, it's a fishy case. Whoever covered this up, they deserve to be exposed."
Before Tim could think of a reply, they heard another set of footsteps was heading towards them. They came face-to-face with a tall young woman, with straight jet black hair cropped close to her neck and a long skirt that tickled the ground, along with thick boots. She, too, brought along flowers which she would offer to Marinette. They way she stood—stiff and straight, just with the right level of grace—reminded Tim of a professional dancer.
"Hello," the woman greeted quietly, "Who are you two?"
"Private consultants." Jason smoothly played the 'fake detective' card again. "We're here for an anonymous request for the reinvestigation of Marinette Dupain-Cheng's death."
The woman's eyes widened slightly. "I see," she murmured, gliding past them to lay down her own flowers.
Seeing her up close, the resemblance struck Tim immediately—though having a different style, this woman must be Juleka Couffaine, twin sister to the man they had just talked to earlier that day. He remembered that she worked as a professional model in Los Angeles.
"She was my classmate," Juleka said softly, "This is the only time I can visit home so I decided to stop by. Is there anything I can do to help?"
Tim and Jason shared a look. The former replied, "Did you notice anything strange before her death?"
She thought for a moment, and then shook her head slowly. "Sorry, I can't think of anything." She shifted from one foot to another. "By any chance . . . have you talked with Luka Couffaine? He and Marinette were close."
"We have but . . ."
She gave a wry smile. "Let me guess. Talking with him is like going around in circles?"
Tim nodded. "He's very fond of Marinette, but he was . . . hesitant about sharing."
Though 'hesitant' wasn't exactly the right word for it. More like 'closed off'?
"Luka is my brother actually. When Marinette died, he stopped playing music and hid everything she made for him," Juleka recounted grimly. "I tried to stop him, but he refused to talk to me at that time."
Tim didn't imagine Luka to be like that—in fact, he even talked about Juleka when their band got brought up. But then again, maybe his coldness had been because of another reason . . . Could Juleka have sided with Lila at one point?
She sighed. "To be honest, I think Luka changed because of it. He tries to hide it, and he's good at that, but he never vents it out to anyone."
"That's uh, a normal grief response."
"Come to think of it, there's one thing from Marinette that Luka kept," said Juleka. "He didn't bring it along with him though when he started going on his tours. It's in our room. Maybe it'll help with your investigation."
Tim pursed his lips. "I'm sorry miss . . . er . . ."
"Juleka. Juleka Couffaine."
"Right. Miss Couffaine, do you think it's a good idea to just hand us something that's your brother's?"
"I'm not giving it to you; I'm just letting you take a look. Before he left, Luka told me to 'take care of it' as if I wasn't also leaving." She crossed her arms. "So I don't think the secrecy of it matters to him. It's just that I can't make sense of it, and why it's the one thing Luka chose to keep."
"What do you mean?" asked Jason.
"I'll show you. Our houseboat's nearby."
Tim should've known better than to spontaneously agree to follow a stranger just for a potential clue, but he was getting curiouser by the minute. If Marinette left Luka something that points to her death, it could be important to shed light on all the mystery. Jason also looked convinced about it.
The Couffaine houseboat stuck out loudly in the street. The carefree design of its exterior strangely matched Juleka's reserved nature. She had them wait outside as she slipped into the abode to retrieve the so-called clue.
"Couffaine didn't tell us anything about that," Jason piped up.
"Luka Couffaine didn't tell us anything." Tim rolled his eyes. "We'll just have to take this chance and hope it gets us somewhere."
Juleka soon came back—
"A pouch?" Jason stared at the little crocheted piece in her hands. It was made of blue and purple threads, with a darker color forming a sort of pattern on it.
"She loved making handcrafted things." She carefully handed it to them. "It's not the pouch itself that's important. It's what's inside."
There's something inside this? It feels so light. Slowly, Tim pulled at the top of the pouch to let it open. Inside was a small pink piece of paper, bearing a doodle that looked like a box with a curled letter 'M' on it.
A memory flashed in his mind. Adrien's office. That strange box!
"Does it make sense to you?" Juleka's eyebrows knit together.
"I don't think so," Jason lied, putting it all back together and returning it to her. "Is it something Marinette owned?"
The woman bit her lip. "I think it was, but I don't remember it very well. It could be in her room, if you could visit the Dupain-Chengs' bakery."
But it's not in her room. It's with Adrien . . but why?
"We still appreciate your help," Tim consoled, "We'll look into it more, don't worry."
Her grip on the pouch tightened. Just a little. "Okay. I hope . . . I hope I can be useful this time."
***
"Sabrina, I love these cupcakes you brought!"
Sabrina tucked her hair behind her ear. "Really? I ordered a custom box for you. I thought you'd like it."
Saturday morning welcomed the two with pastries and coffee inside Lila's lavish apartment, which was currently being arranged by her staff for a shoot. Lila herself was clad in a bathrobe, with only part of her hair done.
The brunette picked up a delicately-made cupcake, holding it between her thumb and index. "So I was wondering by the way . . ."
"Hmm?"
"Remember when we had that reunion?" She propped her chin on her other hand. "I was just a little concerned about Chloe. Was she acting a bit strange to you?"
Sabrina's eyes widened as she remembered the reunion: Chloe's pale face, shaking hands. "Yeah, Chloe was acting weird. She kept looking at Adrien."
"What's up with that?"
Sabrina shook her head. "I don't know. She pulled him aside after but I couldn't hear what they were saying. She just kept pulling on him and asking him 'tell me, tell me', and she looked very anxious."
Lila blinked. "And how did Adrien react?"
Sabrina's expression darkened. "I don't know. He looked a bit mad, or annoyed maybe."
At first there was a calculating face on Lila, as if she was weighing something over. But then she transitioned into an airy laugh. "It's just Chloe being clingy as usual then! Poor Adrien . . ."
But Chloe's grown out of that phase, Sabrina wanted to protest. Usually, Chloe was calm and collected, and if she became visibly nervous then something must be wrong. But Sabrina couldn't think of anything that would set her off, so she kept quiet about it and didn't ask Chloe.
"Thanks for telling me, Sabrina, it's been at the back of my mind for ages." Lila smiled widely. "Speaking of Adrien, I think it's time I have a chat with him."
***
"And that's why we have to go back to Adrien and talk to him." Tim pressed the phone closer to his ear.
Dick hummed, feet propped up on a table in the Batcave. He'd been looking into the case himself on the side, sometimes asking for Damian's input as well. "How sure are you he'll talk or let you look into that box?"
"I think he'll be loose-lipped about it . . . I mean he wants to find out the truth, right? He won't deny us a clue!"
"Fine, but if he won't touch the subject, there's something else I want you to ask him."
"What is it?"
Dick tapped his pen against his cheek, looking at a photo on the screen. "There's one more person we haven't considered who might have insight on this case, who had these back and forth trips to Paris shortly after Marinette's death. I need you to ask Adrien about him."
Taglist: @hammalammadamdam @toodaloo-kangaroo@missmadwoman @afanofmanyships@atomicherringpersonjudge-blog@wheredostarsgowhenyoudie
#maribat fanfic#dc x mlb#mlb x dc#maribat#maribat fic#character death#major character death#angst#MDC is Dead#dc x miraculous#tw mentions of suicide#tw mention of death
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Do you have recommendation for Adrien centric fic that doesn't revolve around love square?
Yeah sure! Love Square still exists in some of these, but it ain't the focus.
---
Slowly Fading (from my misery) by @wehadabondingmoment
“You’re looking awfully deep in thought today, minou.” Ladybug’s gloved hand stroked over his hair and Chat Noir closed his eyes with an unstable breath.
He got like this sometimes. Lately, it had been getting worse.
Or: Gabriel likes using the rings to order his son around. After a while, it starts having effects on Chat Noir as well. (The more often Gabriel commands Adrien to act a certain way, the more it gets ingrained in his mentality. He suffers because of it.)
This is a gorgeous fic. Adrien’s been puppeted around, forced to obey orders for reasons he doesn’t understand, for so long, so often that a lot of times his own body doesn’t even feel like his. A lot of residual orders keep on bubbling up and stopping him from doing what he wants to do, and he just… doesn’t understand why. Considering how Adrien looked in Pretension when Gabriel forced him to go to his room so he could talk to Marinette alone, and how desperately Adrien tried to head back there but couldn’t make himself open the door, how terrified and confused he’d seemed, I think his feelings here, his mindset, is pretty close to canon.
---
adrien agreste and the consequences of tweets making fun of yourself by Anonymous
Well, Adrien thinks, what’s the worst that could come from a few poorly thought-out tweets lightly ribbing his own civilian identity?
I love the focus here on how people just assume what Adrien’s thinking and feeling and act on his behalf, without actually waiting to see what HE wants, and Adrien’s growing frustration. How they create a version of him in their heads, but don’t care to check with reality to see whether he actually wants their “defense”.
---
The Parable of the Caller by @nemaliwrites
A week after Hawk Moth’s identity has been revealed, Adrien finds himself with nowhere to go, nothing he can do, and worst of all, strange gaps in his memory he can’t explain. In a stroke of luck, he stumbles upon a burner phone filled with voicemails from one of the Saviors of Paris: Chat Noir himself, who disappeared following Hawk Moth’s arrest.
But with each new voicemail Adrien listens to, he’s forced to confront the fact that there might be some kind of connection between himself and Chat Noir — and discovering it might leave him more broken than before.
I absolutely adore this fic, it’s a fantastic character study for Adrien! Basically in this universe, Ladybug and Chat Noir talked about who should be Guardian, with Chat eventually convincing her that he should be the one to take it on, primarily due to the whole “the Guardian gets amnesia about Miraculous-related matters” situation, and wanting to protect Ladybug from that. Then he finds out Gabriel is Hawk Moth, they take him down, and he relinquishes the Miracle Box and his guardianship to Su Han - all without having a Reveal with Ladybug, since well, he’s not in the greatest shape mentally at the time.
It’s a real treat to see Adrien’s thoughts and feelings about one of the Heroes of Paris leaving him all these voicemails, treating him like this close friend for reasons he doesn’t understand, and just seeing Chat Noir as this outside person. He’s got a very different viewpoint on Chat when looking from the outside than he would from the inside, with being able to see his heroic and good qualities far more easily when he doesn’t know that he is Chat.
Also Marinette’s struggling in the background of the fic with the loss of her partner and guilt over sending Adrien’s father to prison. It gets touched on at various points, and you can tell that she’s having her own story off to the side that we’re just not entirely privy to, what with this tale being told entirely from Adrien’s perspective.
---
Eventually by @lucid-ao3
Adrien’s life has been dictated by rules, monitored, and controlled for years. He has learned to compartmentalize. It’s not that bad. It always gets better, eventually. Doesn’t it?
Recovery can be an unexpected obstacle when you didn’t realize you were being hurt in the first place.
OR: How Adrien lives and copes with the emotional abuse inflicted on him over the years, and how he ultimately could overcome it.
If you want a good “Adrien doesn’t realize how abusive his father is but slowly buckles more and more under his tyranny, until things come to a head, and he actually gets the HELP HE NEEDS” fic, this is a good one!
---
Awaken by InkyIbis
The previously white butterfly, now oozing black and purple as a conduit of the butterfly miraculous powers, flutters softly within the silvered-gloved hand.
It sits there for a long time.
"Go, my akuma," The soft sigh pushes the butterfly, the akuma, out towards the despair of a love not returned. The same ache within his chest. On a level so great that he's willing to sacrifice the city to mend it.
It's okay if he's the villain for now. He'll force the miraculous of creation and destruction to be revealed, and once he gets his hands on them, none of this pain, none of his loss, will ever happen.
This is essentially a canon rewrite for Miraculous (specifically seasons 1 and 2, with a bunch of the events mixed around) that focuses primarily on Adrien, with his relationship with Nino being the main driving relationship of the fic. (Don’t worry, Marinette’s still treated fine, she’s just not the focus). This is the best “rewrite Miraculous with more of a focus on Adrien” type fic I’ve seen, with it reworking the plots of the episodes so that they’re different enough to be their own distinct thing - it’s not trying to just rewrite the canon episodes but from Adrien’s POV, there’s a lot of lore changes going on as well, and things occur in different orders.
Like lorewise, Chat’s given a more important role in cleaning up the mess the akumas leave, with his power helping to cleanse akuma victims and he and Ladybug needing to use their powers in tandem in order to cast Miraculous Ladybug. There’s also no Miracle Box holding the kwamis. Instead, Chat sometimes surpasses his limits and ends up summoning kwamis, which is dangerous to him, but very useful.
What really makes this fic great though, is its focus on Adrien’s emotions. You really get a feel for Adrien’s insecurities, especially when it comes to not feeling like he’s good enough for Nino, with not wanting to bother him when he absolutely should, with feeling like he’s not a good enough friend to him, and then there’s dealing with all of Gabriel’s usual abuse on top of that.
Speaking of Nino, this is an Adrino fic (though several characters get crushes on Adrien, Nino’s the one who matters most for this), though a slowburn one. Nino’s clearly head-over-heels for Adrien, but Adrien has like, no context for what a romantic crush feels like and is basically viewing Nino the way he viewed Marinette in canon prior to season 5. He clearly cares for him a lot, including romantically, he just... doesn’t get it.
Anyway, if you want an interesting canon rewrite fic from Adrien’s perspective with Adrino as the main pairing, this is a good story to pick up!
---
Dr. Walker & Kitty Hyde series by @pearl484-blog
Summary of the first fic, Rain Falls, Everybody Lies:
Chat Noir loves the rain. He loves the danger. He loves the excitement, and he especially loves how much Catwalker hates it.
Jekyll and Hyde AU
Adrien AUGreste Entry 3: Rain
So like the summary says, and the title indicates, this series is inspired by the popular conception of Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - not how the book actually goes, but how it’s portrayed in popular media, with Jekyll splitting himself in two, with a “good” side and a “bad” side.
During Kuro Neko, instead of just changing his appearance through changing his mindset, Adrien took more extreme measures, sealing off his “undesirable” characteristics, his anger and sadness and all his sharp edges, into the ring so he could assume a more placid, genial persona that’d be more accepted - Cat Walker.
But Chat Noir’s still there, taking over whenever Adrien gets too testy, and desperately trying not to be pressed out of existence entirely. With embodying Adrien’s sealed anger and snappishness and rebelliousness, he’s not too kind to the other heroes - he already felt looked down upon and ignored before this, and seeing them accept Cat Walker while he’s fighting for his life doesn’t endear them to him either.
The series isn’t unfair to them - this isn’t a case where one party is entirely in the wrong and another’s entirely in the right. Marinette, Zoe, Nino, and all the others - they did wonder about what was going on with Chat, but he wasn’t in a position where he could see it, and he did have legitimate questions about how much Ladybug would budge on things, if he’d told her what he was going through. It’s a series that emphasizes characters hurting and lashing out in some terrible ways, but that hurt still being respected, and working things out, trying to get everything to a better place.
---
Shadow of the Chat by @pearl484-blog
Chat Noir discovers that he has a living Shadow. Unfortunately for him, it is not fond of Ladybug.
Inspired by the prompt: 5 times Character A and B thought they didn’t have anything in common and 1 time they realized how similar they are.
I wrote a fic based on this one and @wackus-bonkus-maximus fic “One Does Not Love Breathing”, basically importing Shadow into odnlb in order to help take down Monarch. It’s called “One Does Not Love Shadows”, btw.
Anyway, I love how this one-shot uses some of Carl Jung’s ideas about everyone having “shadows”; parts of ourselves that we consciously reject or suppress, and using that to get Chat some help. If you’ve ever played a Persona game, this will be familiar to you, as those games are based off of Jung’s ideas as well.
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Citrus and Lavender - Ch 1 Discussion
This chapter hooked me. I instantly became obsessed!
Gabriel's manipulation of Adrien's perspective FROM THE BEGINNING makes this such an intriguing premise and immediately we can see how he has been able to control Chat Noir by controlling the narrative of who is "good" and who is "bad".
I LOVE that he has still been able to keep his hope and his natural personality through it all though. The humor of the marichat scene contrasted with the tension marinette is feeling by facing her enemy is DELICIOUS, and we can see that even though Adrien may be told that his counterpart is evil, Marinette is able to see humanity in Chat Noir.
What did you think of this chapter, how are we feeling about it and how did you react? I’m going to do a re-read soon and plan on posting lots of discussion posts like this for us to geek out over (I love this fic)
If you haven't read the fic yet PLEASE you urgently need to read Citrus and Lavender on AO3 and check out the author @heartfulselkie on Tumblr they are an amazing author and human being!!!
#fic: citrus and lavender#discussion#enemies au#miraculous ladybug#citrus and lavender#fic rec#miraculous fanfic#love square#excerpt
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We're finally at the final (thank the gods)! Things that we talked about that I haven't seen discussed:
Nathalie trying to kill Gabriel is such bullshit. "You can't do this! You'll hurt someone!" Nathalie, you have known that since day one! You knew he was working on this all season and you're good now! Why are you only trying to kill him now? You were healthy most of the season! You even physically pinned him! Oh, right, because you're not actually good. It's all just "better than thou" lip service. Hypocrisy is the easiest way to make us dislike a character and Nathalie's a massive hypocrite, so we're not fans.
Evil Nathalie was pretty fun. "Good" Nathalie is aggravating and has as lackluster a redemption as they gave Felix or perhaps even more lackluster. Felix at least switched for love of Kagami. Nathalie switched because Gabriel didn't heal her even though she had zero knowledge that he truly had a chance to do so (she wasn't there and Gabriel has never given up an opportunity to save Emilie so that he could chase Ladybug before). Adrien was never Nathalie's motivation or else we would have seen her protest things like Gorizilla, Style Queen, and Chat Blanc.
Moving on!
The mass teleport to Ladybug should have killed everyone because the whole world is supposed to be after her. A couple billion people teleporting to the same location should mean people squish each other or that portals open over each other/on top of people. Just saying. Budget saved her life because Mirauclous' Earth has a teeny tiny population due to rendering costs.
SO was mad how anticlimactic the final fight between Marinette and Gabe feels. Oh two people who barely interacted, have minimal personal connection, and always hated each other are fighting? Such a big moment! I'm so invested! He talked about how other shows build up to moments like this by making the villain terrifying or by making the villain and the hero have a strong, personal connection or even by making the fight super fun to watch, but miraculous did none of that. SO seriously didn't care about the fight at all and, to be honest, neither did I when I first watched it. I only tuned in when Marinette detransformed and I went, wait, wtf are you doing?
We get to all the scenes with heroes in other locations and SO paused the show every few seconds to ask me who tf person X was. Fei resulted in multiple pauses because of her varied forms. So I can confirm that the casual viewer totally followed this part and it was a wonderful addition (that's sarcasm, btw). He did ask "why would the French say that they need a bunch of Americans to win?" Which I though was pretty funny. That's certainly one way to read the Americans showing up!
SO works in IT. He was so mad that the laptop wasn't remotely wiped after it was lost/Lila stole it. And why does it have access to the Agreste mansion and not just the police robots? I thought Tsurugi corp was a tech company? This is all security 101.
SO's final thoughts: well that was soulless. I feel nothing. I can see why you're so done with this show.
Credit where it's due: while the final was massively disappointing from a story perspective and while I don't think Caline Bustier was written like a good teacher for anyone above the age of 5, it is really cool to show a pregnant woman run for office, win, and then be allowed to do her job with her baby in tow without any of that being treated as a joke. That's a really powerful thing for a young child to see and I'm glad it was included even Caline would make a terrible mayor in real life.
#ml writing salt#ml writing critical#ml season 5 salt#ml finale#suffering through a rewatch of season 5 for love of my SO
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How would you like to see Adrien learn the truth? What would the consequences be?
Hi!
I honestly haven't thought about it. I think ideally that Marinette and/or everyone else who is hiding the secret should come clean to him. If it does end up happening, it should be in a way that prioritizes Adrien's perspective first and foremost. So none of this "Marinette having a breakdown about having to keep this a secret and Adrien finding out this way" business (cough cough Strikeback) that this show loves to pull. That would place more focus on Marinette's pain than Adrien's valid hurt, because Adrien would once again put aside his own feelings to comfort her. Marinette should be telling Adrien because she's realized that she shouldn't keep secrets like this from him and that she should respect his autonomy, and she should make that choice with thought and care, not because she's having a breakdown about it and just blurts it out without thinking because she can't take it anymore.
Marinette has the tendency to think she knows best and to make things about herself (not in a malicious way, it doesn't make her a bad person). Like when she confessed to her mistakes in Strikeback, it was less because she was apologizing to Chat Noir and more that she was berating herself. The same thing happened in Kuro Neko, where she was more focused on her failure as Guardian than Chat Noir. And like in Illusion, when Gabriel pulled Adrien out of school and Marinette's first thought was about how she is a curse for Adrien and that she should stay away from him rather than about Adrien himself (again I want to make it clear that this doesn't make her a bad person, it's a realistic flaw). And I don't want any of that here. She and the narrative should focus on Adrien first and foremost. That would be the character development that she needs, to learn to listen to the people around her, and maybe this time it will stick.
I don't want any of this "Lila tells Adrien" business either even though I know that if the show does deal with this, the Lila thing is how it will go down because it would make Adrien's problems all about Marinette once more. And I don't want Adrien's right as a human being to be just another part of the Lila-Marinette feud that is used to cause conflict between them. If Adrien finds out, the focus should be on him.
As for the consequences, I've said before that I think Marinette and Adrien should break up, and I still stand by that. Canon has proved that Marinette and Adrien can't heal and grow if they are around each other. Marinette will just continue making decisions for him because she wants to protect him, and Adrien will just continue to forgive her over and over because he puts his feelings last. I think that growth for Adrien would be to realize that he doesn't need to accept poor treatment from anyone, even if they love him, and that his feelings of hurt matter and deserve to be validated. I think that him wanting space from Marinette and everyone else in his life who lied to him and not forgiving them instantly would be the best way for him to regain control of his agency. Because what they are doing to him honestly isn't something that can be forgiven immediately, not without losing so much trust in them. And their actions are actively preventing Adrien from healing, and I think he needs to leave so that he can heal before he tries to rebuild and heal his relationships. And this is also time which Marinette can spend healing from her traumas so that she and Adrien can mend their relationship.
That's what I think, anyway. In terms of plot, my ideal Season 6 would have Adrien go back in time, beat Gabriel's ass, use his powers of destruction to sever the link between him and his amok thereby making him a real boy, and smashing the Peacock Miraculous to bits. But that's just wishful thinking. The other thing I'm thinking is that it doesn't matter what happens after, because Adrien's arc was ruined the moment he was denied the opportunity to face Gabriel, and that I think it's bad writing that his arc about breaking free of an abusive father is reduced to being a conflict between him and his girlfriend, because Adrien doesn't get to have anything that doesn't involve Marinette in some shape or form, because he doesn't exist as his own character so much as he exists to meet Marinette's needs.
Anyway, I hope that answers your question anon. Thank you for your ask!
#MLB#Miraculous Ladybug#Adrien Agreste#Marinette Dupain Cheng#Ladybug#Chat Noir#Meta#My meta#Asks#S5 Finale#ML Salt#Marinette Salt#ML Writing Salt#ML Writers Salt
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Marinette's memories after the wish
A detail from the end of "Re-creation" that just isnt letting me go is that Marinette still calls Monarque, well, MONARQUE towards Su-Han and Alya:
Even though she has very clearly told them where she was as we can gather by her pointing out the double wedding ring (meaning Su-Han and Alya could also know that Adrien is a Sentihuman which... *sigh*...) and having searched the basement:
Meaning she was open with them about the fight having taken place in the Agreste mansion and that Gabriel was involved and yet Marinette is weirdly still calling Gabriel Monarque here.
That is such a loaded detail. It could legit be a whole game-changer about Marinette "keeping" Gabriel's secret because it could straight up mean that Gabriel's wish changed both Adrien's AND Marinette's memories of him.
For all Marinette's words directly imply here she lost here memory of having figured out that Gabriel is Monarque and she thinks of them as two seperate men again. The most likely explaination here would be that Marinette may remember Monarque having crumbled into dust before he could win through Chat Noir's cataclysm from "Destruction"
But still remembers Gabriel Agreste having made the wish in desperation since, honestly, the given circumstances were PERFECT for that.
All the wish had to do is put in to Marinette's head that Gabriel and Tomoe were direct victims of Monarque as for a long time and they had to work with him, or agreed to, to keep their loved ones and lives safe. Gabriel in this case would have been the main victim which the finale pretty much perfectly set up for everyone to believe:
All Marinette has to think is that whatever happened to Emilie Agreste was Monarque's fault and he was pressuring Gabriel into helping him by threatening to do the same with Adrien, which was likely then instead done to Nathalie when she found out about it.
But Adrien would have still remained leverage nr. 1 against Gabriel as his son and same goes for Kagami for Tomoe:
This would be the perfect cover story for why Gabriel and Tomoe created the Alliance rings since parents will do alot to keep their children save and it can even be twisted into "explaining" the way Adrien and Kagami were treated by their parents if it happened under Hawkmoth's direct wrath and threat.
Gabriel himself is not only the only adult member of the Resistance he is also said to have been the person who then filled in Chat Noir's place when Ladybug was partnerless against Monarque when the final battle went down in his home where Emilie was kept to maybe be able to save her life?
This you can genuinely twist into Gabriel then not having been able to live with so much regret for what his involvement has caused that he sacrificed himself by making a wish, which Marinette now would still be remembering like this:
The chain of effect for how suddenly everyone who seperated themselves from Gabriel by now would think of him and Tomoe (Andre for example in "Collusion") would go on and on and ON washing Gabriel's and Tomoe's hands clean while Tomoe continues, who I have no doubt would have kept her memories all together.
I also would say that Lila and Nathalie still have their memories but I also gotta be honest, thats a whole can of worms I have to properly think through. My main point here is Marinette still calling Monarque "Monarque" despite what went down and what she told Su-Han and Alya and the possible implications of that concidering how well the rest of the finale sets up the cover story of Gabriel and Tomoe having been used by Hawkmoth all along by using Adrien and Kagami as leverage against them.
It just works too well and it would fit with how Adrien suddenly had a ALARMING perspective change regarding his father after the wish, which, NO, isnt god damn normal as trauma response jfc.
This would mean that Adrien and Marinette would go through season 6 in the new reality possibly figuring out bit by bit that their memories arent right to get an easier exporation phase for the new reality, and then season 7 has them know again what we left of in the old one.
Or Marinette is straight up lying to everyone now, even to Su-Han and Alya. Who knows at this point? But I truly hope that's not something they will put on Marinette's character even if at this point I wouldnt exactly call it out of character either.
#ml spoilers#ml recreation#ml theory#ml analysis#ml season 5#ml season 6#Gabriel Agreste#miraculous#miraculous ladybug#ml
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