#but still some pretty compelling evidence to try and convince someone that Adrien is a sentimonster

[hanajay769]

Adrien as a sentimonster evidenced in Season 5 episode 19 “pretention”

Spoiler warning for those who haven’t seen it yet!

So everyone is already in agreement that the sentimonsters (Adrien and Félix) are controlled by the Graham de Vanily twin rings right? Which is why Félix wanted the ring so bad in the first place. Oh you’re caught up already? Then good let’s continue!

Ok so basically this episode or this specific part that I want to focus on is about Marionette going to talk to Gabriel about her relationship with Adrien. So they walk into the kitchen and Gabriel starts doing his manipulation tactic, using pancakes as a representation of Marionettes future. But before that he asks Adrien to leave the room. When Adrien rejects this Gabriel doubles down and says this⬇️.

The scene focuses on Gabriels hand tightening in the spatula. Which shouldn’t really mean anything other than “oh I’m getting angry but my voice won’t reveal anything to the viewers but my actions will”. Except for the fact that the hand that’s focused in the middle of it all is his left hand that holds his wedding ring or the Graham de Vanily ring. Which we’ve already established that may or may not be controlling Adrien since he’s a sentimonster.

Then it moves to Adrien reaction to the order and his and Marionettes face. The girl is shocked beyond belief rn, and Adrien just looks angry or concentrated(?)

And then to focus on his hand leaving hers like this was such a dramatic moment. Like I know absolutely nothing about film and movies but little actions showing things like these have to be the creators telling us to “pay attention” or to purposely draw our attention. But moving past the little things and into the biggest point I wanted to make here.

Adrien goes to his room and just.. stands by the door for a good while. And only when Plagg notices do we see Adrian’s face. Completely different than the angry/concentrated expression he had earlier.

The man looks to be distraught and his words make him out to be conflicted. Plagg literally asks “what’s stopping you?” When Adrien says what he wants to be downstairs. And his answer is “I can’t disobey my father”?? Like that’s a plausible argument for the fact that you’re literally stuck in place between your wants and an order.

Then when Marionette ends the conversation between her and Gabriel and as a last resort decides to run up to Adrien and tell him how she feels. Adrien is seen still standing in front of the door when she opens it.

Like he was still torn between his decision.

So anyway. Adrien is a sentimonster and was given a direct order to go to his room. Which that order left him to be extremely conflicted and left him literally stuck in place as he mentally decided what to do.

Yup and that’s All I wanted to bring to attention. It’s 3am and despite this probably being the worst analysis/theory post you’ve ever seen. Please leave your opinions and or thoughts as a comment, I definitely want to dive more into this theory. As I also have more obvious evidence as to why Félix is a sentimonster as well.

[freedom-shamrock]

Something Familiar - Chp 14

Also on AO3 Chp 1   Chp 2   Chp 3   Chp 4   Chp 5   Chp 6   Chp 7   Chp 8   Chp 9 Chp 10   Chp 11   Chp 12   Chp 13   Chp 14 Now with art by Zelphaba

Thanks for waiting so patiently.  Here’s the end of this story, though I expect I may come back to the world again.

The day after meeting with Gabriel, Marinette texted Nino and Alya asking them to bring her homework, and plan to stay for dinner.  There was something important they needed to know, and she wanted them to hear it from her.

"Nette!" Nino called as he came up the stairs.  "We're coming up.  You'd better be decent."

"Don't yell," Alya admonished.  "She's been sick. She could be sleeping."

Marinette was stretched out on her chaise with Chat Noir when they came in.  She'd talked to him about how he wanted to handle this.  She knew her friends would like him, and he needed friends.  But he wanted to work up to it a little.

"I'd pounce on you, but you mama said you're really sore," Alya said.  "What happened?"

"Oh, it's so good to see you two," Marinette said, keeping one hand running over Chat's back.  "Have a seat."

"You okay?" Nino asked, dragging over one of the desk chairs.  

Marinette nodded.  "Did you guys hear about that seventh circle demon that went on a rampage last week?"

"You were one of the victims?"  Alya looked horrified, her face paler than her friends had ever seen.  "Oh, Mari…"

"I'm okay.  Honest."  She reached under the blanket and pulled out some folded red fabric.  "But, um… you've seen the video, right?"

When they both nodded, she flicked out the fabric, unfolding and twisting it so they could see the black spotted pattern.  Her mother had washed the capelette, returning it a few days ago.

"Holy shit," Nino whispered.  "You…  you're…"

"You're Ladybug!" Alya squealed.  "Mari, you're freaking amazing."

"You almost died."  Nino sounded like he felt queasy.

"I promise, I'm fine."  Marinette reached out to pat his knee.  "But… um.   Yeah.  I guess my magic is pretty strong now."

"Mari, most witches never get strong enough to take on seventh circle demons without help," Nino pointed out, his eyes bulging, and almost alarmed.

She shrugged.  "I'm still me."

"And you're still our girl," Alya reassured her.

"But I did almost drown, and CPR is… it's hard on the ribs."

"So that's why we can't squeeze you," Alya said in realization.  "Your mama warned us, but she was pretty vague."

Marinette nodded.

"Did you hear about who they think rescued you?" Alya asked.  "It's all speculation right now, but there's some pretty good photo evidence that you were rescued by Adrien Agreste."

"Yeah…"  Marinette bit her lip and looked at Chat.   Ready?

Ready, he confirmed, moving to a clear spot on the chaise..

"I was, only he doesn't like being called that anymore."  She moved to sit up a bit more, wincing a little.  "We're going to show you something, and tell you something that you can't tell anyone yet.  It'll be public knowledge before I come back to school, but I want you to know now."

Her friends nodded, quietly promising the safety of her secret.

"Chat's not just an ordinary cat," Marinette said.

"That's not a surprise," Nino said.  "Even for a familiar he's…"  He faltered.  "Is he?"

"Okay, Kitty," Marinette said, encouraging.

The green light of his transformation flashed, and suddenly a blond, green-eyed boy sat next to her.

"Chat is a shapeshifter," Marinette said.  "He ran away from home because his father is… neither a shapeshifter nor at all understanding of shapeshifters."  She took a slow, careful breath.  "I'd kind of like to send him where I sent that demon, actually," she mumbled.

Chat giggled.

"He planned to stay a cat for the rest of his life, but after seeing me looking for a familiar, he decided he should try that instead."

"I'm the best familiar ever," he said quietly.

"Obviously."  Marinette rolled her eyes.  Getting to know him outside his cat form made her fully realize how much he craved affection.  Given where he'd come from, it was no wonder he felt compelled to strive so hard for any small praise or kindness.

Alya was staring at Chat, her mouth slightly open.  "Mari, your familiar is a supermodel."

"I'd like it if you two could be friends with him, too," Marinette said.  "I don't know how either of you feel about a boy who is also a literal cat, but… he could use some good friends, and you two are the best there are."

Nino gave her a sweet smile.  "Like you had to ask, Nette."  He held out a fist to Chat.  "Pleased to properly make your acquaintance, cat-dude."

Chat stared at the fist a moment, until Marinette prompted him.   It's allowed, if you want to do it.

Chat beamed at Nino and bumped his fist.

"What do you want to be called?" Alya asked.

"You two can call me Chat."  He glanced at Nino, smiling happily.  "Cat-dude is good, too."

"We're going with Plagg Noir as his new official name, it's what he'll use at school, and… he's going to continue to model under the new name, though we aren't legally changing it right now.  His...father will be releasing a statement tomorrow.  But my family and a few special people, like you, can call him Chat."

"It's just down the street here," Marinette said, catching Chat's hand and tugging him down the sidewalk.

"It looks smaller."  He grinned at her.  "But that happens."

She'd been so pleased with how much more relaxed and happy he was, now that he was no longer hiding in cat form.  He still took cat shape a lot, especially at night and on the subway, but that was fine.  He was a cat after all.  "Is this it?" she asked, pointing to Master Fu's sign, in both French and Chinese.

He nodded and held a little tighter to her as they walked up the few steps.  He hesitated at the door, and Marinette reached out to pull it open.

"Master Fu?" she called.  "Are you in?"

"Ah ha," the older man's voice carried from a side room, where he did acupuncture.  "Good morning Marinette."  He came out of the room and bowed, greeting them.  "Or should I say Ladybug and Plagg?"  He chuckled, patting his hands together.. "I've never been visited by superheroes before."

She didn't ask how he knew she was Ladybug.  That wasn't scheduled to be released for another two days, when she would be interviewed by Nadja Chamack.  But right now, that wasn't the important thing.  "So you recognize Plagg, then?" she asked, feeling Chat's shyness.

Master Fu nodded, smiling broadly.  "When you stopped coming by, I'd hoped you'd found yourself a nice home."

"I did," Chat agreed.

"I wanted to thank you for taking care of him before I found him," Marinette said.

Master Fu waved her off.  "Nonsense.  It was only once in a while, and it was nice to have someone to talk to."  He looked at Chat.  "You were such a good listener.  I could tell you were always paying attention, even when I wandered off on a tangent.  Or when I switched over to  Mandarin."

"How did you know I was a shapeshifter?" Chat asked.  "I mean, you seemed to know, and you're not surprised."

The elderly Chinese man laughed.  "You are a very convincing cat, young Plagg.  But I'm extremely familiar with shapeshifters, being one myself."

"You can turn into a cat, too?" Chat asked in surprise.

"Turtle, actually," he said, shrugging.  "Not quite as useful in Paris as a cat, but there's a reason I spend the winters somewhere at the beach."  He winked.  "I also knew your mother, so that helped.  You're obviously her kitten."

"Oh," Marinette whispered, feeling Chat's mind shut down in shock.  "I thought this would be a short visit, because I just wanted to thank you, but… do you have time to talk?"

"Let me put some tea on."  He gestured to one of the smaller rooms.  "Have a seat.  See if you can help Plagg out of his mental labyrinth, and I'll be right in."

"You really don't have to do this," Marinette insisted.

Her father hugged her from the side.  "Of course I do."

"We're perfectly capable of walking a few short blocks without something going wrong," she said.  "I mean, we've been taking regular walks and haven't gotten attacked by anything in weeks."

"That's not why I'm here," he said, ushering her and Chat across the street the moment the light changed.  

"You already registered him," she pointed out.

"I did," he confirmed, smiling happily.

"And the media know we're underage and off-limits," she said.  She glanced at Chat as he wrapped her hand in his.  She wasn't sure if he'd noticed, but some of the kids standing around outside the building were starting to stare.

"Yes.  And detective Raincomprix has asked that we immediately report violations on that front," her father said firmly.  "Up by the sign if you please."  

"Oh."  It suddenly made sense.  It was Chat's first day of school.  Her parents were huge on photos of milestones.

What are we doing? Chat wanted to know.

"Papa wants a photo for your album."  She put her hands on his shoulders to move him into position.  "There."  She stepped back.

"Perfect," he said, snapping a photo with a digital camera that was lost in his huge hand.  "Now you go next to him, Cupcake.  It's a big day for you, too."  When he was finished he waved and promised to see them at lunch.

"Hey, Nette, Chat Noir!"  Nino jogged up the sidewalk, Trixx bounding beside him.  "Glad you could make it, and in dude form, too."  He held out a fist to Chat.

Chat smiled and fist-bumped his new friend.

"Not that I mind you being a cat, when you want to be, but this," he gestured to the tall blond boy.  "This means you guys have made progress with the things that needed to be done.  And Nette's finally well enough to come to school, which is also awesome."  He leaned down so Trixx could climb up to her perch on his arm.

"Thank you for all your help, Nino," Marinette gave him a quick hug.

"I'm always happy to help my best friends."  He let go of Marinette and looked at Chat.  "That includes you, cat-dude.  You need anything and Nette's not able to help, I'm your guy."

Chat's cheeks turned pink, and he smiled, something more beautiful that what tended to end up in his pro model pictures.  "Thanks Nino."

"Anyway, as you may have noticed, there's an empty seat right next to me in class," Nino pointed out.  "It's got your name on it."

"I'd like that," Chat said.  He looked at Marinette.  "Is it okay…"

She nodded before he could finish his sentence.  "You don't have to ask me."

He shrugged.  "I don't want to overstep… I hate being yelled at."

Nino scowled.  "Not cool."

Marinette reached up and ran her fingers into his hair just above his ear.  "If I let you know something's not okay, I'll try not to yell."

"Nette only tends to yell when it's a safety issue," Nino pointed out.  He pulled out his cell phone.  "Oh, hey.  Alya's inside.  Let's not keep her waiting."

More kids turned to gawk as they walked through the halls, and Chat took her hand again.   You okay?

Just nervous , she sent back.   I want this to go well.  I want people to see how wonderful you are and accept you for who you are.

But you think they won't? he asked.

She shrugged.  "Some will, some won't."

Nino glanced at her.  "Talking behind my back?" he teased.  He'd thought it was hilarious that Marinette had trouble keeping her conversations with Chat either in her head or out where everyone could hear them.

She felt her cheeks go pink.  "Sorry.  Just freaking out a little, is all."

"No need to worry," Nino assured her.  "Al and I have your back, and seriously, now that we all know you're Ladybug, I don't think anyone's going to want to risk pissing you off by being rude to Chat."

The morning went smoothly and swiftly, with Mrs. Bustier welcoming their new student, Plagg, to the class, with a side comment to the rest of the students to look past any biases they may have and be welcoming.

"Are you guys coming over for lunch?" Marinette asked as she gathered up her things.

"Wouldn't miss it," Alya promised.

"Excuse me, Marinette?" Sabrina had quietly come to stand by Chat's desk.

"Um… yes?"

"I wanted to thank you for what you did for Chloe," she said meekly.  "She has never been very nice to you, and you could have responded so much harsher."  She fiddled with a pale yellow envelope.  "Thanks to you, she's finally getting the help she needs to be the person I know she can be, before it's too late."  

Marinette nodded, not really sure how to respond.

Sabrina looked at Chat.  "She's sorry about what she did to you, Plagg.  She… she said it was a wake-up call, especially now that she knows who you are.  And now that she knows what Marinette could have done to her, she's… grateful for your restraint."  She held out the envelope to Marinette.  "She asked me to get this to you."

Marinette stared down at the envelope, slowly reaching for it.  "You've been visiting her?"

Sabrina nodded.  "Every other day.  She's already come so far, but she'll be… um… out for the rest of the school year, and probably the start of next year."

The paper bore no hint of magic, so Marinette took it.  "You're a good friend, Sabrina."

Sabrina finally smiled, looking relieved.  "I'll see you all after lunch."  She waved and turned to head out.

Marinette waited until after she'd eaten to open the envelope.  It was a flowery letter of apology.  It was strange to be able to tell this was from her long-time bully, because the language was so very Chloe, but it was gracious and grateful without a single snide or backhanded remark.  Near the end, she noted that she'd known Plagg when they were little, and that she hoped to one day be worthy of his friendship again.

Marinette carefully pinned the white pin-striped pants to allow a full break.  Niklas, a tailor for Gabriel , stood behind her, ready to offer recommendations, as he had with the last fitting, but for now, he was silent.  Once the Gabriel staff were informed that Chat was bound as a familiar, those with magic excused themselves from touching him.  It was a rule they were unwilling to bend on.  The non-magic staff quickly followed suit given the cultural sensitivity of the issue.  So as it turned out, Marinette helped with the pinning and touching part of any tailoring of Gabriel brand items Chat wore.

"That's deftly done, Miss Marinette," Niklas said when she stood up and gestured for Chat to turn around.

"Thank you."  Until she was sure the hem was right, she didn't look away.  "It's a relief to know I've been doing it right."

"That you have."  He nodded to Chat.  "Go ahead and doff those, my lad.  I'll get them finished while you get on with whatever else you need to do."

As she'd gotten quite used to him doing at photoshoots and other modeling activities, Chat stripped then and there, handing the clothes to Marinette to pass to the tailor.

"Miss Dupain-Cheng?"  Though Mr. Agreste's voice wasn't raised, she could hear it as if it were.  Whether she liked it or not, he did have a commanding presence.  She looked up to see him crossing the room.  "I wish to see how your final design has turned out before I clear it for the catwalk."

It was a formality, one they'd been through once already.  "Do you want to go get it, Kitty?" she asked, touching his bare shoulder.  She'd gotten used to this, and made sure to comfort and shield him as much as possible when his father was around.  When she turned back to Mr. Agreste, he was closely watching Chat, his eyes narrowed slightly.  "Is there something wrong?"

Mr. Agreste redirected his attention down at her.  "He's had a growth spurt."

Marinette nodded.  "He's nearly seventeen.  That happens.  I sent Niklas his new measurements last week."

Chat brought over the garment bag, clearly avoiding his father's eyes.

Laying the bag on her workspace, Marinette swiftly opened it, trying to get this over with as quickly as she could.

"What do you weigh in at these days, Adrien?" Mr. Agreste asked.

"Don't be rude, Mr. Agreste," Marinette said quietly, careful to keep her voice below the general noise of the room.  She detested the man, but she didn't feel there was any benefit to antagonizing him on purpose.  "You know he's not using that name."

"I apologize," he said smoothly, not sounding remotely sorry.  "Plagg, then.  What's your current weight."

Chat shrugged.  "I've no idea."

"He's been growing up, sir, not out," Marinette pointed out.  "As you can see, he's all lean muscle."  She waved at his body.   Go ahead and put it on.  The sooner he sees it, the sooner we can go.

Chat had the black leather pants on and was about to pull on a lime green v-neck shirt, when Mr. Agreste reached forward, but didn't touch his son.  "Stop a moment," he said, his voice clinical and emotionless.  "Mind your posture, please."  Chat straightened up.  Mr. Agreste tapped one finger against his lips.  "You are thriving, aren't you."  It wasn't a question.  "At this rate, you'll be able to start picking up adult swimwear and topless jobs in three months, easily."  

"We'll talk about it and get back to you on it," Marinette said, feeling that Chat had gone into a flurry of confusion over what was probably the closest he'd gotten to praise from his father ever.

Mr. Agreste nodded to Marinette.  "I'll e-mail you the contract so you have the full information.  It will involve a decent bump in pay."

Marinette nodded.  "We'd appreciate that information."  As long as Chat wanted to model, she'd let him, but it would be on his terms, though in his father's case, she was happy to make it appear as though they were her terms.   Finish up, Kitty.

Chat pulled on the soft green shirt that clung and draped perfectly.  She loved this fabric for that very reason.  Finally, he pulled on the jacket, trim fitting black leather that she had pieced together so the seams added to the design.

"Short walk, please," Mr. Agreste said.

Chat walked across the room, his feline grace making him fluid and smooth.  He performed his perfect turns, holding the jacket open, then sweeping it off to toss over his shoulder for the walk back.

"Very good, Miss Dupain-Cheng," Mr. Agreste said.  "We will see both of you here tomorrow evening at six."

Marinette nodded, livid that he could so easily compliment her without ever mentioning Chat's contribution.  She'd half-expected Mr. Agreste to reject the completed leather outfit, just to test Chat's limits, but perhaps he realized that would lose him a talented model for the show.  Once she had the outfit tucked into the garment bag, and back on the rack with the others, she took Chat's hand and led him out of the building.

"How long do you want to model for Gabriel?" she asked, not letting go as they headed for the train station.

He shrugged.  "I guess, until you get enough exposure that you don't need him anymore."  He smiled.  "Then I'd like to mostly work for Ladybug."

"You know you don't have to model for me, right?" she asked.  They'd talked about it before, but she wanted to reiterate her point.  "You're really good at it, and I appreciate it so much.  But I want you doing something you enjoy."

He reached out and booped her nose with one finger.  "I like modeling when I have a choice about it, but it's a limited term field, and I may as well take advantage while I'm in favor.  I've been thinking of studying business for later.  I like the math and the demographic studies parts."

He'd been brilliant with math, though to be fair, she had yet to see a subject he floundered in.  "Business, huh?"

He nodded.  "Yeah.  That way you can just focus on the design side of Ladybug, and I can take care of the business side."

Her steps faltered and she looked up at him, her eyes stinging.  "You don't have to do that.  You know that, right?"

He nodded, radiating contentment.  "But I want to.  And I pawmise I'll let you know if I change my mind."

She giggled.  "You've been hanging out with papa too much."

He shook his head.  "The just right amount," he corrected, smiling.

Thank you all for sticking with me while I threw this out at you for Marichat May. I'm sorry this chapter took about a week longer than intended to get posted. I needed to catch up on reading everyone else's Marichat May pieces (fun!). I also had one last hurrah herding around young Chinese dancers at yet another festival (it was fun, and they were awesome), one last Girl Scout party, and the prep for my son to wrap up his elementary school career.

I have more ML fics planned, so I hope those of you who enjoyed this are willing to take a look at those when they come out.