#Agreste plot

[existentialcrisis-9-5]

I’m going absolutely insane over my miraculous rewrite thing

I have concepts done for every episode of season 1, concepts for the overarching plot across seasons (I’m trying to cut down on a season or two, which is very feasible with how I’m playing my cards). I have drafts (first drafts, mind you) of several of the episodes, and I FUCKING FIGURED OUT HOW TO IMPLEMENT LILA IN A WAY THAT ISNT AS STUPID!!! THIS TOOK ME A WEEK NEARLY TO COME UP WITH!!!

[sidsinning]

Adrien's face before and after he realizes his feelings for Marinette if you even care

[lhopppe]

so, we can forget for the reveal for another 5 years

[mochinek0]

Daminette December: 7-Mutual Plotting

Adrien lifted the hatch into Marinette's room. He froze at the chaos. Marinette turned to look at him, but all he saw was a conspiracy board on how to murder Lila. Adrien, quickly came back to his senses, climbed I and closed the door.

"What the fuck, Mari?" he whisper-shouted.

"Shhhh!" She shushed him, "See, if I can plan it carefully, I won't be caught."

Marinette smiled and turned back to admire her handiwork.

Adrien sighed, "Claws out."

Damian was at school when his emergency line rang. It was untraceable through the Justice League database.

"What did I say about phones, Mr. Wayne?" his teacher complained.

Damian stood up, grabbing his things, "It's my father and it says 'emergency'. He knows not to call me during school."

"Mr. Wayne." they growled.

"You can call him yourself, with the principal and our lawyer present." Damian declared walking out, "Emergency calls are authorized."

Damian sat in his car and sighed. He hadn't been using the 'Wayne' authority for awhile and had come to hate it as much as the 'Al Ghul' fame. Damian activated the soundproof windows and redialed the last number, on the hidden screen in the car.

"What is it?" He growled out, "Expect a call-"

"Uh, Birdy." Chat Noir spoke.

"Pussycat?" Damian replied, not expecting him to be on the line, "Why are you calling me?"

"I walked in on Minibug planning a murder." Chat admitted, turning the phone towards Marinette's wall and hideaway calendar, "She has evidence, everywhere. Think Bernard's board for 'Do the Butts Match?'"

'Habibiti.'

Damian sighed, "Yes."

His screen was suddenly filled with poster boards, papers, and strings.

"What happened?" Damian questioned.

"Well....today Lila pulled another stunt and Minibug went home early, but with all these papers, I don't know how long she's been planning." Chat Noir confessed, "It might also be because she's tired. There's been akumas every night this past week."

"Can you get rid of it?" Robin asked.

"She's not gonna like it , but you got it." Chat smiled, "Cataclysm."

Damian watched as everything vanished with a simple touch.

"How is she not screaming at you?" He wondered, out loud.

"Oh." Chat chuckled, moving the camera over to Marinette, "She didn't hear me transform and I tied her up with my tail. She fell asleep."

"I have a few calls to make." Damian responded, ending the call.

'Okay. Now, that the murder problem is solved, what do I do about you?'

Chat detransformed and looked at Marinette passed out. He carefully lifted her up and brought them to the ground.

"Tom!" he shouted, "Sabine!"

The couple rushed upstairs and found him scared, holding their daughter.

"What?" Sabine began.

"I don't know!" Adrien shouted frantically, "We-We were talking and then-Then she suddenly passed out!"

Sabine rushed over, checking for a fever.

"She was yawning and rubbing her eyes a lot." Adiren confessed, "She seemed tired these last couple days in class. Has she been really busy? I could help her with homework if she doesn't understand something!"

"She didn't tell us about any projects." Sabine replied.

"As far as we know, shes only been babysitting Manon." Tom answered, "Maybe twice a week. Three if it's important, but Nadia always checks if it's okay and it's not interrupting her schedule."

Adrien hid his scowl. He knew Alya and Nino were dumping their younger siblings on her if they saw her out and about. It seemed like her parents didnt know.

'I'll handle those two myself.'

"Why dont you head back to school, Son." Tom spoke.

"Hes right, Dear." Sabine suggested, "We can keep an eye on her and if anything changes, we'll take her to the doctor."

Adrien nodded his head and picked up his things, leaving the bakery.

'Thank you Father for the acting lessons. Onto phase two.'

"Hey!" Nino called out, "Where were you?"

Adrien smiled through his internal rage, "With Marinette."

"You were?" Alya questioned.

"Well, not that long." He answered, "She collapsed."

"What?" They cried out.

"Is she okay?" Alya pushed.

"I don't know. Her parents are keeping her home." The model answered, "We were talking and then her eyes rolled back and she fell!"

"Her parents couldn't figure out why. They said she isn't busy with projects right now and she's only been babysitting Manon, with her parent's permission." He announced, seeing them wince, "They said they might just close the bakery and take her to the hospital."

He watched as they looked over to the bakery with the 'CLOSED' sign now in full view. Adrien saw them pale and glance at each other. He knew he had gotten them worried.

'No one hurts M'Lady.'

Adrien strolled in after Nino and Alya, as they silently walked to their seats and hunched over.

"Ms. Bustier, Marinette is staying home." He announced, for the class to hear, "Her parents should be calling in soon; they might be taking her to the hospital."

"What happened?" Asked Rose.

"She collapsed during lunch." Adrien spoke, "We don't know why. She doesn't have a fever and she hasn't been too busy; just homework and babysitting."

He studied their faces and saw some had the decency to look ashamed.

"The doctor's note should say-" Lila interrupted.

"Why would she need a doctor's note?" Adrien questioned, "I just told Ms. Bustier. She can takes your word for it all the time or is mine not good enough?"

Everyone remained silent, in shock. They had never seen Adrien get like this, so upset.

"No!" Lila shouted, trying to back peddle, "That's not it, Adrien!"

"Then, Mari will be back and when she's back, she won't need a not." he growled out.

"No, Adrien-" Caline tried to interject.

"What if she's faking?" Lila called out.

Chloe stood up suddenly, "I can get Daddy to check hospital records if your all so worried and while he's doing it, we can get Lila's too."

Llila smiled, "I got to Italy for my treatments so-"

"Then, your passport records should be fine." the mayor's daughter scoffed, "Daddy doesn't have trouble talking to ambassadors."

"I wouldn't want to be a hassle." Lila pointed out.

Chloe smiled, "I can call him, right now, and get it over with. He does what I tell him."

Lila looked between Adrien and Chloe. They were smirking. They knew they had her cornered; if she pushed more about Mairnette, they would reveal everything.

"I'm sure....Marinette will tell us when she's better." Lila commented and kept her mouth shut.

Adrien took one look at Chloe and nodded, before sitting down.

Adrien let the class know the next day that Marinette was hospitalized and had to stay there for a few days. He could see that many felt bad for her, but Alya, Nino and Caline wore the guiltiest faces of them all.

'It's not like I could tell them she was tired from all the akumas. If they feel guilty, maybe they have something to be guilty about.'

When Marinette woke up, her parents demanded to know what had been going on. The doctors had told them she was mentally drained and dehydrated. Marinette looked between her parents and the doctors and broke down, realizing her miraculous was gone.

"Alya and Nino have been forcing me to babysit their siblings. Miss Bustier has been making me do so much work! She wants me to stay later and tutor people when I'm already doing so much. Then there's Manon and the bakery! My homework! I need to work on my designs!" Marinette sobbed out, "Then, there's all the akumas! Everyoen is being mean and I'm trying not to get akumatized!"

Sensing her distress, the doctor gave her a sedative so she could sleep without worry of akumas.

When Adrien arrived, he could see they were unhappy.

"Is Marinette okay?" He questioned, seeing their faces.

"Did you know?" Tom asked, "Did you know about the extra work she was doing?"

Adrien sighed as he closed the door, "Not at first; not until the day before. Marinette complained to me. She said she didn't get a choice. She would be out with Manon and the kids would suddenly run up to her, with Alya and Nino nowhere in sight. When she asked where they were, they answered that they would pick them up in two hours at the park."

"I didnt know she hadn't told you, until she collapsed." He confessed.

"You tell those two, they are banned from our bakery for two years." Sabine commanded.

"Yes, Ma'am." The model answered, "I did tell them that Marinette collapsed and how we were worried since she shouldn't be that tired from babysitting one kid."

"And?" Tom pressed.

"They have been quiet ever since." He declared, "They arent talking to anyone and most of the time keeping their heads down, like waiting to be scolded. I might have laid my concern on a bit too thick; they might believe they are the reason she is here."

"From our perspective, they did." Sabine replied.

"Another thing." Adrien winced, "I may....have told Damian, she was here."

"We'll call him." Tom spoke, softly, "You have a full schedule as well."

"Make sure you're getting rest, Dear." Sabine stated. Adrien nodded and left the room.

It had been almost a month, when the class saw Marinette again. She was walking with a guy. Alya and Nino sighed in relief. They quickly ran up to her.

"You're okay! Rose cried out.

"Are you completely better?" Asked Mylene.

"Are you coming back to school tomorrow?" Questioned Nathaniel.

"Ms. Bustier has been different since you've been gone." Announced Kim.

"No." Mari announced, "I'm never going back to that school."

"What?" Spoke Nino.

"But you're the class representative!" Alya shouted.

"You can take over, Alya." Marinette replied, "I'm sure the class rep duties will be .....significantly lessened with the board carefully watching."

"What do you mean?" Asked Juleka.

"Your teacher was forcing Marinette to do her own work." The guy announced, "She also signed her up for activities to ease your burdens, as your grades were poor. Before her collapse, she demanded Marinette begin tutoring, the likes of you."

"Wait. What?" Spoke Ivan.

"What does he mean?" Kim questioned.

"Who is this guy?" Alya demanded.

"Her boyfriend, Damian." Adrien announced, "Hey."

"Agreste." Damian nodded, "Thank you for informing me about her condition."

"Wait!" Nino shouted, "You knew?"

"That Mari had a boyfriend?" Adrien asked, "Of course, I knew. Mari's my best friend."

Marinette groaned, "Don't you know how much of a fuss he's been putting me through? You're lucky I'm not super gluing feathers to you!"

"Don't be so rude, Marinette. She can be so cruel." Lila spoke up, "Are you sure she's your girlfriend-girlfriend?"

"Bitch!" Marinette shouted, surprising them, "If I kill you are you dead-dead or just not breathing?"

Damian chuckled, "Okay, Angel. Obviously, you are still tired. We should return."

"What?" Questioned Lila, horrified.

"She's tired." Adrien stated, as if they hadn't just heard Damian speak.

"Did you not hear her threaten Lila?" Alya snapped back.

"It was a simple question," Damian declared, "but if she wants to feel threatened, it is a simple task."

The class looked between Lila, Marinette and her boyfriend, and Adrien, who was happily smiling.

"Uh, Dude." Nino spoke up, "Your best friend is a little bit psycho and so is her boyfriend. You might need a new one."

"Nah." Adrien brushed off, "Princess only gets like this when she's super tired. It must be what happens with Lila. Mari never remembers when she sleep talks. The meds said they would make her drowsy, right?"

"Yes." Damian answered, "We got smoothies from the shop she goes to with Tsurugi-san. We were on our way back."

Adrien nodded his head in understanding, "So, when is the move?"

"Move?" Nino piped up.

"Is he moving away?" asked Alix.

"He talked to Mari's parents and convinced them to allow Mari to move in with his family, in the states." Adrien announced, nonchalantly, "Damian is over protective and his family is always making sure no one is stressed out."

"You make her sound like an object." Lila commented.

The model scoffed, "There's two overprotective people together."

"Marinette isn't overprotective." Alya declared.

"She doesn't lock her diary in a box that traps a thief's hands in it? She doesn't show anyone her designs and keeps a locker, in town, full of her things?" Adrien questioned, with a smile, " Perhaps, you never knew Mari at all, so-called ex-best friend. Mari could defend me for days because I did something wrong. When was the last time she defended any of you?"

'Defend?'

The Agreste heir glared at them, taking his stance next to the couple, "Don't you realize you are partially to blame for her leaving?"

"But Miss Bustier-" Rose began, uncomfortably.

"You're also the reason why Mari wasn't sleeping or eating!" Adrien shouted, pointing to Alya and Nino, "Tossing your siblings at her because it was convenient for you! Having them run up to her as you walk away, so she can't say no! Hell, you don't even talk anymore!"

"Why do you all go to her for help?" Adrien continued to shout, "She isn't the only artist in class! Are Alix and Nathaniel not good enough? Both Max and I have excellent grades, as well!"

Everyone looked down, never expecting the scolding. They had come to rely on Marinette so much, they hadn't realized the pressure they had put her under until now and it took Adrien to tell them.

"I'm okay." Marinette spoke up, hugging Adrien.

Damian swiftly scooped her up, "I'm taking her home. She doesn't need to be here, with them."

Adrien nodded, "I'll see you at dinner tomorrow." and with that, the couple was gone.

"Adrien." Nino called out.

"You guys pushed her so hard, she hadn't slept in almost a week." Adrien spoke softly, "It can cause neurological damage. You guys have been mean to her in school. She was just trying to meet you expectations; she was trying to be your friend."

"Wait, how long has Mari been dating that guy?" questioned Mylene, "Her parents wouldn't just let her move into a stranger's home."

"Three years." Adrien answered.

"What?" asked Alix.

Rose perked up, "What about her bullying Lila?"

The model rolled his eyes, "Mari never bullied her."

"Yes she did." Alya shouted, "Marinette wanted to date you!"

" Well, I asked her out and got rejected." Adrien announced, "She did admit that she liked me when Lila moved here, but she was getting over me. Marinette helped me get with my ex-girlfriend, Kagami, despite her feelings for me. By the time I asked her out, she was already with Damian. Lial has been lying to you and getting you to harass Mari."

"But....Why are you saying all of this now?" asked Nathaniel, getting increasingly frustrated.

"Oh, I told Alya and Nino years ago." he said, showing off his model smile, "They thought it was 'cute' that I was trying to defend Mari and be her 'knight in shining armor'. Doesn't matter now, though."

"What do you mean?" asked Kim, as people turned to look at the couple.

"Like I said before, her boyfriend is overprotective and Mari finds it cute. Her parents adore him. They think she's in good hands and so do I." Adrien replied, "Damian is known for not putting up with anyone's shit and breaking bones, if people get in his way. His mother raised him to believe that women were criminal masterminds, looking for the next big catch."

Lila unknowingly flinched.

The model smiled, "She taught him to fight and that anyone was an opponent. He is trained in several martial arts and banned from several competitions because he was trained since he could walk."

"I know Mari will always be protected and no one will ever hurt her again." He continued, glaring at them, "No more torn up homework. No more getting tripped in the halls. No more unnecessary work. I can guarantee that if Damian ever saw it happening to Mari, he wouldn't hold back. Bruce tells him he's too advanced and he could cause some serious damage to someone if he went all out. Damian wouldn't care and I would be cheering him on."

Adrien walked away leaving them stunned.

"Why didn't you tell us that Adrien told you Lila was a liar?" Questioned Ivan.

"Huh?" Nino answered, still in shock, "Uh, we...just thought he was...that Adrien wanted to help her. It was out of nowhere!"

"Why did you dump your siblings with Marinette?" Countered Nathaniel.

"She always helped before. She could be trusted-" Alya began.

"Trusted enough to look out for little kids, but not enough to be you friend?" Juleka pressed.

"It sounds like she was never given the chance to reject you...generous offer." Max countered.

Agitated, Alya shouted back, "What about your theatre's club backdrop?"

Everyone quickly turned against each other, fighting over who had pushed Marinette pass her limit. Who had pissed off Adrien? While they were busy arguing, Lila slipped away, tossing away her wig.

'Well, that school was a bust. Back to being Cerise.'

@maribat-calendar-events

TAG LIST- DAMINETTE: @meme991001 @umbreon-worshipper @stainedglassm @jasmine-the-fox @psychicdelusionwerewolf @vixen-uchiha @mysteriouschar @missmadwoman @kanamexzeroyaoifangirl @dissarraymania @tundra1029 @abrx2002 @mrsjacuinde @ledalasombra @animegirlweeb

UNSPECIFIED- @animeweebgirl @a-star-with-a-human-name @alysrose-starchild @fandom-trapped-03 @dood-space @moonlightstar64 @saltymiraculer @marveldcedits20 @09shell-sea09 @icerosecrystal @insane-fangirl-of-everything @blueblossombliss @nickristus-dreamer @megawhitleycalderonpaganus @tigresslily @legodetectivemalsblog

[starssoblue]

i'm teasing you! i love you just the way you are, marinette dupain-cheng.

[nixthelapin]

You know, I liked Lila as a character much better when she was just a lonely girl who lied to get attention and clout rather than some evil mastermind who somehow has three (3) different identities and has a secret lair in the catacombs under Paris.

But the writing team doesn’t want to hear that.

[hehe-etc]

I just want adrien to suffer, is that so much to ask??? i want that boy sobbing, screaming, crying, throwing up, anything!! Im not picky (i am) ill take anything at this point!! His lore is too deep and too fucked up for him to not be freaking it on the reg. I need him to start knowing things. please im begggingggg

[themiraclefish]

Did some rough chatnoir doodle lol

It's 12 am in the morning here lmaoo😂

[the-sprog]

I want to write a fic where Chat Noir goes to Marinette's to commission a Chat-inspired fursuit from her plus a size appropriate leather jacket, so he can go to conventions without people recognising him as either Adrien or Chat. He'd be a silent fursuiter, one of the ones with like a squeaker in the paw. He ends up managing to convince Marinette to act as his handler (as in the person without a fursuit there to help fursuiters navigate and communicate when they don't want to break the magic (take off the suit)).

Marinette ends up saying yes solely because... Well... She's never done that. She's never worked with fur fabrics. That sounds like a fun challenge! She's made plushies before, so she'd know a bit on how to design the suit to make it sew-able. But she's definitely struggle with the foam structures.

Adrien sees her agonize about it at school and starts feeling bad. He pays for all the materials and also an extra like 2500€ because he feels bad.

Alya and Nino tag along once because of reasons and they spend the entire con day trying to get either of them to tell them WHO is under the suit. They both, of course, say it's Chat Noir (though Chat doesn't say it out loud).

They keep the suit in Marinette's room and it only comes out for conventions time. Marinette wears a polka dotted jacked and yo-yo, only to have jokes about Ladybug being Chat Noir's handler.

I'm trying to imagine what the suit would look like and I'm struggling :/ I think the belt tail is so iconic it should still be there, but unless it's a partial suit it would probably look out of place. I might try to draw it. He'd definitely get a leather jacket that's big enough to fit the suit though. All the detailing would be green, but I say Marinette makes the ears also leather (looking like but no faux leather? Idk I'm not a seamstress) but the inner tuffs are blond, but like highlights so they're blended with the rest of the black fur.

[randomness-is-my-order]

a post-identity reveal au where parisians are having an ABSOLUTE field day over ladynoir and adrinette dating openly, pitting both pairs against each other to win the title of the ultimate it-couple. like there are serious SERIOUS shipwars reaching stan twt, people fighting over which one’s superior: the hot superhero couple laydnoir or the wholesome talentfest couple adrinette. on the one hand, people have been hardcore shipping ladybug/chatnoir since their debut days, vying for the smallest morsels of pda thru the course of their akuma fighting ventures, click baiting news titles incessantly, manifesting this relationship into reality while on the other hand, every teen girl is shooketh to the core that the smokeshow model adrien agreste is dating this hella cute up-and-coming fashion designer out of NOWHERE one day, like after years of being somewhat restrained and uber careful about contact with girls on camera, adrien is fucking DRAPED over marinette in front of any and all paparazzi coverage, both of them seeming utterly and hopelessly in love. there are instagram & tiktok edits, there are twitter thread analyses, there is a whole halloween costuming couple trend – everyone and their mother is chiming into the debate and adrien & marinette are just having the time of their lives, laughing their asses off as paris and the world descends into chaos over their very much singular relationship.

[cookiedough77]

in season 6 we BETTER fucking get argos and chat noir interactions

also this raises a question ive had for like a while, if you have the peacock miraculous its been shown you can sense if something/someone is an amok or a sentimonster

obviously argos is aware of himself, adrien, and kagami

but would he be able to sense chat noir? does having a miraculous on affect it? is agros going to feel the need to investigate first before striaght uo telling him (how adrien finds out) argos trying to find who else gabriel gave the peacock to, (he doesnt care if he finds out who chat noir is)

PLEASE??? CAN WE GET LIKE AN ANSWER???

[lostuntothisworld]

Okay so I think it's time for another spaghetti theory:

Lilamoth isn't collecting moms. She's collecting sisters (or siblings)

Let me explain my thought process here. So a big complaint the fandom has is that we don't have a proper rogue gallery for villains. It's just the butterfly, and nothing else. It worked for early seasons, but things might be getting stale for some folks.

Enter new characters connected to Lilamoth somehow.

So she has 3 moms so far (that we know about.) All but one have something in common: dark hair and blue eyes.

From left to right we have Mrs. Rossi (red), Mrs. Bianca (white), and her third mother who is deaf could possibly be Mrs. Verdi (green).

Then we have this fourth lady that we see Lilamoth watching on her phone in the season 5 finale. I would NOT be surprised if Odille is going to be her 4th mom. Dark hair and blue eyes, and she is also disabled, just like her third mom.

(And I would not be surprised if we find out her surname is Nero (black), or Viola (violet). More on that aspect of this crack theory in a bit...)

Anyway, back to the concept of a rogues gallery. In the finale we see Lila in a disguise that 's VERY reminiscent of one of her moms:

Certainly she can't expect to disguise herself as a woman in her 30's-40's, and especially not with glasses and bangs. But she can pass reasonably as a teenage girl with a dark bob and glasses. You know, a sister.

So we know a certain main character whose name is in the title and wears red with black polkadots has dark hair and blue eyes. We don't know Lilamoth's motivations and and end goal, but we can surmise that she wants to take the place of Marinette.

(And I KNOW I've seen at least one other person theorize this, and I cannot find the post(s) so if you can find it please let me know so I can link it here!)

The pictures we see is one of Marinette with her classmates on the Liberty where Zoe is accepted in the friend group, Marinette with her parents, 3 pictures of Marinette with Kagami, and one picture of Marinette with Luka.

It's interesting to note that there isn't a picture of Marinette and Adrien together shown to the audience. You'd think they'd emphasize that, but no, it's mostly Kagami. I know it's because it's because the episode focuses on Kagami, but still. Other than her, it's just Marinette's parents, Zoe and Luka (Luka! Marinette's ex!) showcased in the closeup screenshot.

I got sidetracked! Anyway, I think other than similar coloring (and color-themed surnames haha) Lilamoth is trying to find other teenagers who are willing to join forces with her. She probably will get her hands on some Miraculous for them, somehow. But I don't think the new jewels will be from the Chinese box.

Here's where things start REALLY going off the rails with this theory:

All of Lilamoth's rogue gallery of villains are her adopted sisters (or siblings) and they are all Luka's exes. He's got a type for Italians with dark hair and blue eyes...

Going back to the surnames, all the surnames have something in common: they share the colors of all of Adrien's various transformations over the course of the series so far:

Rossi: Mister Bug

Bianca: Chat Blanc

Verdi: Aspik

We're just missing Chat Noir (could possibly will be the surname Nero, as it's Italian)

and Ephemeral (it's interesting to note that the surname Lee in Chinese can mean plum, which of course, is purple)

So naturally, my crack theory circles back to Lukadrien is endgame.

Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.

{{{{{{Edit as of April 3, 2024.}}}}}

I will NOT be surprised if this girl with black hair in an extremely recognizable style is a disguise of another sister.

Is Lilamoth collecting blackmail to manipulate them later? She's very obviously walking disguised in areas where there would be lots of cameras (The inside of the Agreste mansion, and the hotel).

(Edit as of April 27, 2024!)

Now we know the synopsis of the London Special, I believe the disguises are to hide Lilamoth's tracks because she knows Maribug's identity. Bonus points if these girls were previous Ladybugs in past time lines that Lilamoth stole the identities of...

[[[Edit: May 4, 2024]]]

I think I found the names of the previous Ladybugs: Marina, Shone, and Mio. (Please enjoy a silly extremely rough draft of where I'd personally go with the show)

As for the rest of the spray paint on the walls, this mural is an actual feature of the Paris Catacombs:

And while I think that most of the other tags on the wall are functionally meaningless and just there for ambiance, I do find the 777-777 tag to be of note. 7 Ladybugs till Lilamoth's goal? What's the deal with the arrows and the floating away 3 7's? Are 3 already "gone"??? Fascinating stuff! My mind is reeling!

[Edit for May 6, 2024]

Possibly figured out the source of the lightning in the season 5 finale. For whatever reason it's not showing up in the tags lmfao tungle is a functional website

[redflannel]

Ok so I’ve been VERY pleasantly surprised with the new season. It is an interesting to concept to reset and go back to the “beginning” and having the show be more episodic again. But I feel like they’re almost doing too much exposition compared to the amount of time fighting the acumas?

Like for Werepapas, I almost feel like the flow of the episode would have been better if there was no akuma at all?

[hirachat]

maybe im reading too much into it, but in the sublimation leaks, did adrien look a bit,,,, sad?? maybe thats just how he smiles in the new animation, but he just seemed,,, off, idk.

i mean yeah duh bc his dad just died, but still he just looked,,, sad. he did perk up after the mention of marinette. so maybe theres no issues in paradise. yet.

[familyagrestefanblog]

There is this ongoing thing with Adrien drawing back from kissing Marinette all the time, which at this point in "Collution" doesnt make sense anymore as him just 'backing out'. "Emotion" too brought this up already as legitimate issue Adrinette is going through that after the ending of "Adoration" every single time Adrinette tried to kiss, Adrien stopped it and even ran away.

This is a great opportunity for me to FINALLY talk about this massive subtext plot that started for real with the end of "Adoration" but up til now I didn't know from which angle I should approach an analysis post about it. This kissing detail being back and visually more elaborated on is EXACTLY what I needed!

In "Collusion" we see that Adrien's facial expression looks like as if an older order put in him is lighting up for a second preventing him from kissing her:

I mean, the shot composition is even purposfully leading your eyes towards Adrien's head with the background wall for example. It's clear who you're supposed to focus on the most.

"Emotion" already implied it through dialog but "Collusion" now pretty much proves that the one time on-screen we saw Adrien draw back from Marinette in "Emotion" wasn't merely caused by the damn phone (although this isnt the first time something weird happens with Adrien's phone this season) or an order somehow given in real time as one would assume, every single time after "Adoration" where Adrinette tried to kiss, Adrien seems to be stopped by an order Gabriel gave him after Gabriel turned Adrien into a puppet in the end scene and Marinette was so worried about if Adrien might be in danger in his home, but tried to remain hopeful:

This is something I figured for a while now. That we were supposed to feel exactly what Marinette is feeling here. She has no idea if Gabriel is doing something to Adrien and if its bad. She is the the outside person, she doesnt know whats happening in that house and she can't help Adrien once he's in it alone with his father. All she can do is hoping that there is another explaination.

Though that turns out to be wishful-thinking, because "Emotion" in fact has already told us that Gabriel did something to Adrien on this evening in "Adoration" after Adrien was forced back inside and Gabriel kept on and on twisting and using the ring while creeping backwards where WE know exactly that Adrien has just returned inside. They would have met in the foyer.

There is nothing far-fetched about a conversation having taken place once Marinette was gone and in my opinion it feels more like wishful denial to say that Gabriel 100% totally did not go to talk to his son. I mean, Adrinette was straight up about to have their first kiss right in Gabriel's view and that right after the events of "Protection", the episode right before "Adoration":

Re-enforcing to Adrien through harsher means to not be in a relationship with Marinette seems like a fitting punishment order Gabriel would pull after "Adoration's" horror show ending.

Give me a logical reason for why that wouldnt have been a realistic thing to happen? A reason that please isnt rooted in the logic of "we didnt see it when we followed Marinette's pov and therefore nothing happened". Cause I sure followed Marinette's pov and she ended this episode very alarmed and concerned.

Alarmed and concerned for a very good reason. The entirety of "Emotion" then goes on and on and ON about asking WHY Adrien is acting so weird and WHY he hasn't told Marinette about the Diamond Ball:

This question is a central theme all through the entire episode, and in the end the truth about Adrien's silence gets revealed.

Marinette herself has no idea and everyone else in this episode is also just giving their best guess of what makes the most sense for them. But that doesn't mean anybody actually got this right. And we know that because in the end Adrien outright SAYS that he didnt mention it because his father ORDERED him not to:

And then Adrien's and Gabriel's father son talk elaborates on that further from Gabriel's perspective:

I don't know what to tell you, it's right THERE. Adrien did not tell Marinette because Gabriel forbit it. It was an order Adrien couldnt go up against because it explicitly stated that Adrien is not allowed to tell Marinette specifically about the Diamond Ball. And as we saw in "Emotion" this order manifested in Adrien panicking around Marinette and lying in a way that at least somewhat still contained the truth:

I really find it upsetting when people victim-blame Adrien for not rebelling and "being brave" the way Félix and Kagami do (or even worse, compare him to Marinette who isnt a Sentihuman at all) because unlike them Adrien is not wearing his own amok AND is unfortunate enough to have both his parental figures wear them, so of course there are alot of direct interactions.

But if that one moment in "Collusin", where Adrien talks back at his father, indeed showcased Nathalie giving Adrien the means to really fight back for a moment by having laid her ring hand on Adrien's so one of his amoks would for the first time touch his skin and making it possible to nullify Gabriel's order depending on how passionately Adrien is against it, then this was a first taste of what Adrien would be like if he were given full control over himself:

Nathalie did that on purpose to protect Adrien from Gabriel and enable him to choose his own happiness as Emilie wished, which is what we saw moments before:

Adrien in "Emotion" and "Pretention" was not a 'coward', that is such disgusting victim-blaming against a person who is literally mind-controlled by their parent without even knowing it for their entire life. It's like giving Kagami shit for giving her amok back to her mother when Tomoe demands it, as if Kagami KNOWS that her ring holds her entire mental and physical autonomy. These poor children have it horrible enough being literally almost enslaved to their parents demands from the day they were born for some sort of sick purpose. Cool that Marinette doesn't have that problem at all and Félix doesn't have it anymore so THEY are able to do whatever they want, but they have no business being held as the golden standard.

This is about Kagami and Adrien who are still being taken advantage of and lied to ever since birth from the people who are supposed to love and protect them. Yes, they act weird and nerve-wreckingly sometimes and in ways that apparently dissappoints you because - of course - if you were a Sentihuman half enslaved and kept in the dark by your parent you would just choose to not have those problems, no biggie, but unfortunately Adrien and Kagami arent you.

They're weird and frustrated. Weird, frustrated, exhausted and abused little half-slaves, left in the dark and still minors so they cant escape anyway.

These things matter.

DETAILS matter.

Details like between the ending of "Adoration" and "Emotion" the episode has Marinette tell us that there was a time skip we didnt see in which Adrien has been acting very weird:

New and suspicious extremes MATTER.

Gabriel crossed a massive line by turning Adrien into a literal puppet at the end of "Adoration" seemingly for the first time from a further distance, since this seems to be the first time THIS happened in Adrien's head:

The fact alone that this was the instance where Gabriel crossed such a fundamental line is already a give-away that whatever is about to follow from Gabriel as Adrien's father from this moment onwards will be on an even more extreme layer of abusive. Which we know to be true from all the episodes afterwards.

But even if you wanna ignore all that, Marinette is then increasingly more worried about Adrien's safety in his home and everything regarding his father and has to truly face for the first time her underlying fear of "what if Gabriel isnt just a bad father?" and "What if Adrien is even being hurt in some way?" although she tried to approach it from deflecting angles until Gabriel talked to her in "Pretention".

But more and more Marinette is learning in what hellhole Adrien has been living in for all his life.

Because, you know, that is the case with highly abusive parents and its something one very likely has to face when one enteres a relationship. This is perfectly realistic, just the abuse method is fantasy. Something the show is not yet letting any of the children besides Félix know yet.

But we KNOW that Adrien is a Sentihuman at his abusive father's mercy and "Emotion" tells us that Marinette's concern at the end of "Adoration" was correct. Gabriel DID do something to Adrien but we, just like Marinette, couldnt fully see it because the biggest portion of the abuse happened behind closed doors as most abuse does. And Marinette, just like us, was left wondering what just happened to Adrien when she saw something disturbing happen to him which may stand in connection to his father.

And she, just like us, asks herself if he's even safe living with this man (no he isnt) when THIS is what happend to Adrien just being near his home and father:

And just like Marinette WE were supposed to find Adrien's silence after this concerning. Marinette read this correctly but she doesnt know yet how to properly interpret all of Adrien's types of silence and the family contexts surrounding it.

Adrien didnt tell Marinette about the Diamond Ball because Gabriel silenced his son, something that Adrien himself wouldnt properly recognize as such and only blames himself for as a failure on his part.

Who cares what the other characters' guesses are for why he didnt say anything? The only two people who truly know why Adrien didnt tell her are Adrien and Gabriel themselves because that's the abusive parent and his abused child. And that's the truth Marinette should be after. Not the one she prefers to be true and she is finally making good progress on that front.

And we can take the silencing in "Emotion" even further, because that wasn't the only time skip + silencing situation we had.

Just like in between "Adoration" and "Emotion", there is yet another significant time skip very cleverly handled - and almost hidden - between "Emotion" and "Pretention". We know that there is a time skip because once again Adrinette tells us:

Honestly, no doubt they will go back to these important time skips in season 6 or 7, there is so much important Marinette development for her love-related anxiety alone deliberately skipped before and after "Emotion" because of what it was entangled with. Not to mention everything else!

Optional rant ahead, I need to get this out of my system for a second: "Emotion" still barely makes sense and dont get me started on Félix! When do you think he fell in love with and stalked Kagami besides in the time skip? He wasnt in love with her before he found out at the diamond ball that she's like him, he probably barely made anything of her when he thought her to be a "normal human". Kagami and Marinette were not part of Felix' plan, Kagami he only just found out is a sentihuman too and therefore deserving of concideration for him, and Marinette wasnt even supposed to be there!

I swear, "Emotion" and the time skips before and afterwards are driving me crazy. I have to make a seperate post for the Felix and Amilie stuff alone and Adrien too was just plain weird in that episode with no proper explaination besides for the little amout that was required to make this work for Marinette's outsider perspective who doesnt know what's going on inside those families anyway. Félix apparently was gone for WEEKS and apparently both Adrien and Kagami knew that because they werent surprised hearing that and neither Gabriel nor Tomoe seemed to care that Amilie went off on Gabriel about it in infront of their children.

Félix was gone for weeks. Adrien knew it. And then we see Adrien immediately recognizing Félix as peacock miraculous holder even despite the magic; not being too surprised seeing Felix there transformed and AT ALL when he should be missing and is willing to go to him in a friendly enough and trusting manner despite that being weird too with no context! Félix is a completely new person who suddenly is aware that Adrien has always been a victim caught in a hellhole with Gabriel and what the fuck was that fake miraculous ring from Adrien Felix had?

Screw you, something happened there in this time skip before "Emotion" and we only got to see the tip of the ice berg! And screw this show for barely giving context for anything in "Emotion" yet because we are stuck with Marinette as main character and Adrien didnt wanted to involve her in his family shit because why would he?

*GROAN* I'm turning grey because of this damn show...

ANYWAY

What "Pretention" does very cleverly is picking up the same character goals established at the end of "Emotion" prior and starting this episode with it. But that doesnt mean at all that this is the next day. NOTHING about what Adrinette tells us about how Gabriel now breathes down their necks makes sense if this is merely the next day:

It's at the very least a couple of days and that's being VERY generous. I'm personally putting it at one week. That would mean Gabriel is being increasingly more of an ass for one school week where Adrinette has to get more and more creative (and Adrien ending up knowing when his father is busy) and at the beginning of the second Marinette has had it. One week is also a perfectly reasonable timeframe for the kids to put off talking to Gabriel and Tomoe while its also a realistic point in time where you would draw the line and motivate yourself again to finally do it.

Kagami's dialogue is the factor that very cleverly tricks the audience into thinking it can just be the next day since Kagami is "oh so much braver than Adrien who doesnt dare to talk to his father", which the episode then subverts by showing that Kagami rightfully fears her mother too and shouldnt be concidered less for it because Tomoe is an abusive hardass too who Kagami needs to be protected from as (her) child and Sentihuman who doesnt know she is one & the end of "Emotion" literally showed us Adrien talking to his father right after he told Marinette that he would try to convince him to have a heart-to-heart with her to clear up whatever he has against her:

Adrien did NOT fail to talk to his father after he said he would because we saw him do it right away. What he did "fail" to do though was mentioning towards the girls that he already talked with his father and tell them what Gabriel said - though that's understandable, Gabriel is being an irrational fuck; blaming the fiasco on Marinette when it's realistically on Félix - and to convince his father to talk to Marinette. But even for this Adrien's on-screen talk with Gabriel has the explaination for:

Did you pick up on the pattern too? That as well was an explicit order from Gabriel with the ring.

Adrien in "Pretention" didnt 'manage' to talk to his father again about him and Marinette so they can have a heart-to-heart because prior to that Gabriel forbit Adrien through an order to ever mention Marinette towards him again (and that means, since Adrinette didnt talk to Gabriel yet, Kagami in turn put off talking to her mother too)

So of course Adrien couldnt do it, which is why he went along with the only option he subconciously felt like he had left. Bringing Marinette to his father so SHE can talk to him by his side, forcing his father into a corner. Adrien unknowingly loopholed himself and out of Gabriel's order that's literally silencing him.

Details, time skips and circumstances matter.

So to bring this back to the failed Adrinette kissing in "Collution":

I'm pretty sure that from the ending of "Adoration" onwards we are now going to see a further and further escalation of ways for Gabriel to enforce his power over Adrien. Regularly just as his father (which is already bad enough) and also the ways in which Gabriel can hurt Adrien through the amok ring

- but in ways he can for now at least somewhat still hide from Nathalie, though no doubt this is going to end BADLY where even Nathalie cant help Adrien anymore as it was already established that Gabriel can absolutely do that and still cross so many more lines-

and in "Emotion" that already included silencing Adrien from letting Marinette know about the Diamond Ball and then not letting him talk about Marinette to him at all (for which I'm quite sure Nathalie touching Adrien with the amok ring in "Collution" helped Adrien break through that barrier because that WAS the first time he really talked ABOUT Marinette towards Gabriel since "Emotion" that isnt just him mentioning her name in logical situations or vaguely talking around the relationship topic like in "Pretention").

But I'm also betting that Gabriel odered Adrien to not kiss Marinette after he puppeteered Adrien back into the mansion in "Adoration" or some other variation of an official grand gesture that Adrien is in a relationship with her. Something that... yeah, DID indeed stop after "Protection", didn't it? (Ooh. That explains why the date was made such a big deal for Adrien's story through the parallels to Gabriel's and Emilie's date in the past in "Evolution"; that was the last time Adrien was able to do something like that...)

But poor Adrien of course does not know the true reason for why he's still hesitating to kiss Marinette even now in "Collusion". He must be so relieved that Marinette is reading it as him needing more time with her too to get comfortable enough to kiss. It's so rough watching all these episodes and seeing Adrien beat himself up and think so low of himself when he's literally being abused through mind-control. All I want is for Adrien to finally have his rings on his hand like Félix and Kagami get to. I just want my boy to be free :'(

[wield-the-mighty-pen]

I know that everyone has gone crazy over the fact that Chat Celeste looks a lot like Chat Blanc

but guys...

can we take the time to acknowledge

that these happened on the same day?!