#chat blanc consequences

[sariahsue]

Marinette’s Three Rules for Preventing the Apocalypse

Set shortly after the events of Chat Blanc, Marinette uses her knowledge of what happened that day to create three rules to prevent disaster. What happens when she can't keep them all?

Prologue - The First Rule

Marinette's nightmares were always bleached white.

The akuma alert blared in her ear, and Marinette bolted upright in bed, heart pounding, blankets twisted around her legs. It had only been another nightmare, but one that could still come true one day.

She rubbed at her eyes to wake herself up and squinted at the bright phone screen to focus on reading the meager scraps of information, while she tried to control her breathing. Someone had been akumatized because of a late-night ticket mixup. The Gare du Nord metro station was currently flooding with water. Lovely.

A trickle of anxiety bubbled through her chest, and she rubbed at the spot to soothe it. The dream hadn't been real. She wasn't going to let it ever become real. She had her rules.

The flit of red in the corner of her eye told her Tikki was waiting for her by the skylight. "Ready?" the kwami asked, far too perky for Marinette's mood. She transformed and took off across the city without a word.

It was close to midnight. Traffic was calm. The sidewalks were quiet. And the stillness of the air and the familiar rhythm of her swinging did nothing to calm her nerves.

"Rule number one," she repeated to herself. It was something she'd done every time she'd gotten anxious over the past month since the Chat Blanc… incident. "Don't fall in love with Chat Noir."

She stopped on the roof of a highrise only long enough to check her coordinates. She was still going in the right direction.

"Rule number two," she said as she jumped off the edge of the building and swung away. "Don't let Adrien find out my identity." It was her least favorite rule, but Bunnyx had been clear on that one. It somehow contributed to Hawk Moth finding out and using it against them. She refused to believe that he was the type to spread her secret around, and the distance she felt between them ached. Another phantom wound that pressed on her.

"Evening, Milady." Chat Noir called from ahead of her. He'd stopped on the top of a burned out street light. Moonlight shone on him from behind, giving his outline an eerie, pale glow. His face was hidden in shadow.

Number three, Ladybug recited to herself, like a desperate prayer. Never, no matter what, let Chat Noir get akumatized. 

"You okay?" he asked as she swung past him, eyes ahead of her.

"Fine," she said. That had probably sounded terse and definitely NOT fine, so she quickly added, "Just tired. I want to go back to bed."

"Hawk Moth must think we're all caught up on our beauty sleep. I think I agree with him there."

"He's right about one of us," Ladybug corrected.

Footsteps on ceramic tiles thundered behind her as he ran to catch up with her. "Me-ouch. You wound me, Milady."

"I never said which one of us, Chaton!" She slowed so they reached the edge of the roof together and leapt into the darkness as one. They were almost at the street when Chat Noir caught her around the waist and she threw out her yoyo, swinging them in a deep arc and catapulting them into the open sky.

Try as she might to deny it, seeing Chat Noir, feeling him solidly next to her, letting his gentle smile and warm laughter fill up every space inside her was the best antidote for her anxiety. By the time they reached the station, the knots inside her chest had loosened.

"Ready?" he asked.

They stood on top of the theater next door. The wide roof of the metro station was dark. All the rails leading inside were empty and submerged. The water spilled out into the surrounding streets, leaving floating cars and flickering street lights. The flood covered first floor windows. No people in sight, but no akuma either. That probably wasn't good.

She flipped open her yoyo and pulled out a piece of cheese and a macaron. "Readier than you are," she said, popping the cookie into her mouth before handing the cheese over to him. Her suit transformed, giving her long flippers. "I've got more. We'll replenish your stock after we're done here."

"Great. Can't wait." He held the cheese up to her in a mocking toast before swallowing it with a grimace.

"I hope the lights don't go out completely," she said as they flickered again.

"You'll always have me if they do."

"My helpful kitten. What would I do without you?"

"Probably cry because you miss me so much."

She cannonballed into the water to avoid answering that one. It was warmer than she was expecting, almost pleasant, but it was murky and difficult to see through. When Chat Noir grabbed her hand and led them through the metro's main door, she followed willingly.

Even with her limited sight, she knew the instant they were fully inside. The atmosphere changed immediately. Everything felt too open and exposed. Chat Noir guided her around the tall ceiling's support beams and over ticket counters. Something brushed her leg and she jumped, a stream of bubbles leaving her mouth, and reached for her yoyo. "What is that?"

He tugged on her hand to get her attention, then pointed to the surface.

"What was it?" she asked, wiping water out of her eyes. It didn't make much difference. Only dim light filtered through the upper windows.

"People," he said. "They're all statues. I don't like this akuma." The weight of the water flattened his hair.

"Do you think it's still on the platform?"

"I didn't see anything." He floated closer to her. Their hands brushed as they tread water. "But I saw a sign for the underground lines. I think we should look down there next."

She nodded, took a deep breath, and slipped back beneath the surface. He wasted no time in grabbing her hand again and leading her down. With a few more kicks of their flippers, she saw the dull glow of a red arrow pointing to the lower levels. At the bottom of the wide stairs, the cement roof had collapsed in. Slices of harsh fluorescent lights flashed through the rubble, along with some air bubbles. All good signs. The akuma had probably barricaded itself down here.

Chat Noir let go of her wrist so he could point at his left hand, one shoulder raised in question.

He was right. They probably couldn't get through without his Cataclysm, though she didn't much like the idea of his timer running down under water. They weren't far from the surface, though. He would easily be able to recharge and come back to join her.

No sooner had she nodded her approval than the rubble crumbled to dust, leaving a cloudy slurry for them to swim through.

The hallway lights were submerged completely but still flickered bravely, giving her glimpses of dozens of statues all running for the exit, frozen in stone terror.

Echoes of her nightmare whispered in the back of her mind. And even though she didn't need him to guide her, Ladybug reached for Chat Noir's hand as they swam above the silent crowd, just to have the constant physical reminder that he was there with her. And that he wasn't going to leave her.

The akuma wasn't hard to find.

The first things Ladybug could make out were the glowing red eyes, then the matching red hair that fanned around her in the water. At least they wouldn't lose sight of her easily.

She seemed more fish than human, with oversized webbed hands and feet, and long teeth that glinted hungrily.

One of her hands was clenched tightly around something, and when she pointed at the ticket counter, it was blasted into a hundred pieces. Chat Noir yelled and pushed Ladybug against the nearest wall, shielding her as plastic and stone torpedoes hurdled past them, lines of bubbles streaming after them. Over his shoulder, Ladybug could see the statues of cowering workers.

The akumatized woman turned and saw them. "You two have an appointment with Hawk Moth!" She raised her fist. Ladybug saw it held a small piece of paper. "And I'm going to make sure you aren't late!"

Ladybug and Chat Noir dove in opposite directions as the ceiling above them crumbled, blinding them with dust and bubbles.

Water rippled around her, giving her just enough warning to dodge out of the way of the hand shooting toward her earrings. She spun in the water, giving a good kick to the akuma's side as she propelled herself toward clearer water. Chat Noir was there waiting for her, weapon drawn. He put a finger to his lips and drifted forward.

"Wait," Ladybug whispered, bubbles hissing through her teeth.

Chat Noir turned, but his momentum in the water pulled him away from her.

She pointed at the ring finger of her right hand. He only had two minutes left on his timer. Then she pointed upward.

He shook his head and held up his staff. "I have enough-"

Ladybug swam forward and pushed him toward the exit just as the woman jetted toward them.

"Go!" Ladybug dove to avoid a blast from the paper. She was close enough to see it was a ticket.

"But-"

"Get charged up. I'll hold her off!"

Another shrill beep let him know he only had one minute left, so Chat Noir kicked and disappeared back down the hallway, leaving Ladybug to turn her attention back to the fight. It wasn't time yet to use her Lucky Charm. She had to wait until she had Chat's cover to set up a plan to use it, so for now, she would stall until he got back.

Ladybug's attacks were met with glancing blows from wide fins. The woman's whirlpool kicks were easy to evade with the water powerup.

The water powerup! Chat didn't have another one! And she didn't want him to risk coming back down without it. He was reckless enough to do something like that.

The akuma snarled when she found Ladybug ducking behind an overturned table. She hissed her disapproval, then leveled the ticket at Ladybug's face.

Ladybug had just enough time to knock the woman's hand toward the ceiling. The initial impact of the blast sent a shockwave through the water. Metal and stone cracked and crumbled immediately after. One chunk caught Ladybug on the shoulder, but the suit protected her, and it bounced off. The woman wasn't as lucky. She roared in pain and frustration and headed deeper into the subway, following a line of tracks into the darkness. Ladybug took off toward the surface, following after her partner.

His timer had probably run out already. She hoped he was waiting for her already transformed, and not waiting so he could give Plagg the cheese instead of eating himself. Still, she should close her eyes when she surfaced, just in case.

The walls and ceilings were pockmarked all down the corridor. Several more lights had become flooded and given out since she'd been through here, minutes before. Doors hung from hinges, the rooms behind them even darker and gloomier than the hallway. She thought she saw a shadowy something move behind one of the crooked doors, and she swam faster.

She knew she was out of the hallway when the light became more diffuse and the ripples she made stopped bouncing off the walls back toward her. The water splashed as she broke through the surface, and she kept her eyes closed. "Chat, I have another powerup for you," she called, turning her head to better hear which direction he was in. "The woman slithered off, but she'll probably want to stay in the water, so… Chat?"

Her hand was halfway to her yoyo, ready to grab a wedge of cheese, but he made no answer. "Chat Noir?" Her voice echoed off the ceiling and the slowly rippling water. It was met with only silence. Her breath caught in her throat. Why wasn't he answering? "I'm opening my eyes."

In the dim light of the flooded station, she could see that she was alone. Her body felt heavy in the water. He wasn't there. He wouldn't have left her during a fight, not unless there was an emergency. And he would have told her what had happened–

Unless he couldn't.

Unless his timer—

Ladybug dove back under the water, flipping open her yoyo and using it as a flashlight to guide her way. Where is he? WHERE IS HE? 

The panicked plea flooded her thoughts, filling every crack, as she desperately searched the platform.

He hadn't made it to the surface. Dread settled over her, threatening to send her panic over the edge. Without stopping to think about what she was doing, she pushed herself back toward the stairs, into the dark.

She'd missed him. He needed her and she'd swum right past him! How could she!

He hasn't come up yet! Where is he?! 

Lights flickered. Ladybug checked every door, eyes wide open, searching for the faintest flutter of movement, any shadow that was the wrong color.

In the watery, flickering light of the hallway, she tried to think this through. His timer had definitely run out by now. If he was untransformed somewhere down here, he wouldn't be able to breathe or get himself to safety. And she wouldn't be able to keep her eyes closed if she wanted to get him to the surface quickly.

A flash of white caught her attention, but it was just the fluttering of paper tickets. She swam faster, the beam of light from her yoyo casting harsh shadows in the jagged holes the akuma had left behind.

Finding out his identity wasn't against her rules. Keeping her eyes open would almost certainly mean she would see his unmasked face, and maybe tell her who he really was.

But the alternative wasn't an option.

She slowed in the middle of the hallway, drifting past doors and broken tiles. A stripe of red kicked out behind one of those doors. Ladybug twisted and sped toward it, heart hammering in her throat, and grabbed a pale hand.

The hand gripped her back and started pulling her up.

Ladybug's head broke the surface, and scraped against a rough ceiling. "Ow!"

"Are you okay?" he asked.

Her yoyo was still under the surface, making the water around them glow, casting weak shadows from below. But she could see his face clearly enough.

"Adrien," she said breathlessly.

Water had plastered his hair to his head, and he was shivering in the cold water without his suit, and so much was wrong - how could Chat Noir be Adrien?! - but despite everything, he still smiled at her.

"Sorry," he said. His legs brushed hers as they tread water.

"It's fine," she said, she lied. The response was automatic. Her whole body felt stiff and unreal. Nothing was fine. Chat Noir was Adrien and Adrien could have drowned and she needed to get out of this small room and fight an akuma before she hyperventilated.

She thrust the yoyo at his face. "Use this. To breathe."

He took it wordlessly and started to dip back under the surface.

"Wait!" She grabbed his arm, and he popped up out of the water so fast that they knocked their foreheads together.

"Are you okay?" he asked, rubbing the spot.

"Powerup's in there. There's a powerup in there for you."

"I'll be back quick, I promise." He gave her a thumbs up. "Thanks for the save, Milady." And he disappeared back under the surface and took the light with him, like he hadn't just shattered her understanding of reality. She stayed there for a few more seconds before she shook herself and started groping for the door in the darkness.

The water didn't help clear her mind. It left her feeling as murky and blind physically as she did mentally. It pushed on her. Muffled her senses. Left her disoriented. Weightless and untethered.

The faint flickering light from the hallway was enough to guide her out, but navigating her path wasn't as easy as it had been the first time with her partner by her side.

The atrium the akuma had been destroying when they arrived was quiet. Statues, and pieces of statues, littered the floor. The train tracks she'd disappeared down faded into the black. Ladybug knew she would have to think of a plan to win the fight, but her mind kept spinning back to Chat Noir and Adrien and her rules.

The first rule was definitely broken. If she loved Adrien, that meant she'd been in love with Chat Noir the whole time. Her feelings for Adrien would somehow lead to the end of the world.

She didn't want to believe it. Wouldn't have believed it if she hadn't seen the destruction for herself.

"Ladybug!"

His voice was jarring in the quiet. Adrien's voice. Chat Noir's voice.

It was louder and more energetic than when they were at school, and her heart clenched when she heard it. She'd been so close to him. Why hadn't she figured it out?

"Where'd the akuma go?" he asked. He stopped next to her and rested a hand on her elbow, like he was trying to steady her. His gaze was searching. When she didn't respond to the question he said gently, "Sorry. Akuma, or do you need a minute?"

"Akuma," she said abruptly. She didn't need more time to think. She was thinking too much. And only two things were important. Save Paris. And don't break any more rules. Everything else could wait. "This way."

---

The water in the tunnel was moving, pulling them toward the fight faster than she was ready.

"What's the plan?" Chat Noir asked. He kept one hand on her shoulder, guiding her in the dark. It had been his idea to keep the lights out, so they could stay hidden as long as possible.

"I have a plan." There was definitely no plan.

The hand on her shoulder gave a brief squeeze. "Does this plan include calling Lucky Charm?"

"Of course." It did now. That would be a smart thing to do.

"Could I suggest cleansing everything first?"

Ladybug put a hand to the wall to steady herself against the current. It was gaining speed. "Why would that help?"

"Is it a bad time to make a fish out of water joke?"

A lock of hair slipped out of her pigtail and fluttered in front of her eyes, barely visible in the gloom. She tucked it behind her ear. "It's never a good time for bad jokes." The strands floated free again, pulled in front her her by the intensifying current.

"All my jokes are great," he said, giving her a gentle hip check. "You just have a bad sense of humor." He was so close to her.

"One of us does, but thank you for the input." And for trying to make me feel normal.

"What's that sound?" He turned away from her, facing down the tunnel.

"I don't-" And then she heard it too: rushing water. She had just enough time to throw her arms around him before they were dragged down into the darkness.

They tumbled together, slamming into walls and pillars. Ladybug gripped him even more tightly, desperate for something to hold onto. They scraped against the subway tracks.

After a few seconds, the tunnel started to rise and opened up above the ground. The tracks dropped out from below them. In the distance, skyscrapers stood like broken teeth, distorted through the surface of the water.

The current was pulling them to the center of a lake, with a large column of water erupting from the middle. It swelled with all the floodwater from the subway and debris it was pulling in.

The akuma floated in the center, glowing and clearly visible in the darkness.

"Ladybug and Chat Noir!" she bellowed once she saw them. Her voice carried through the water, reverberating like ripples.

Chat Noir grabbed his baton and buried it into the lake bottom, using it to anchor both of them. Ladybug slipped, her arms leaving his shoulders only to fasten securely around his waist. His knees knocked into her stomach as they drifted in the pull of the water.

"Give me your miraculous! Or this water will flood all of Paris, starting with City Hall!"

Ladybug was not in the mood for this right now. Hawk Moth was just going to have to find another time, because she was not going to deal with this. His crisis could get in line right after her own.

She called for Lucky Charm, snatching a red and black Jumbo Sticky Hand as it almost floated past her. The gears started spinning. Using it to wrap her up? To slingshot herself to where was suspended in the middle of the column?

The baton shifted in the dirt as the water eroded the anchor they had, and she remembered his suggestion. It was time to take away the akuma's main advantage. Ladybug threw the yoyo as hard as she could and watched as it broke the surface above them. Within seconds, red swarms of magic had returned the world to normal, except for a flailing akuma, who was pushing herself to her feet, getting ready to charge on legs that looked a lot less floppy than Ladybug was expecting.

"Not tonight," she muttered. She gripped one end of the Sticky Hand and threw the other as hard as she could. Her aim was true, and the train ticket stuck fast, and her plan worked perfectly. Within seconds, the butterfly had been free and cleansed, and a woman in a wrinkled red blouse was kneeling in the middle of an abandoned lot.

"I'll take care of her until the police come," Chat Noir said. He wrenched the baton out of the dirt and brushed it off. "You go get charged up."

There wasn't much around that she could hide behind, so she followed the tracks back to the tunnel. Instead of calling off her transformation, she waited it out, watching Chat Noir and the woman from the shadows. Street lights gave her enough illumination to see the gentle way he held her hand, and how she uncurled as he eased whatever pain she'd recently experienced with his Adrien compassion.

Master Fu had been right in choosing him. Adrien had a good heart. And she loved him for it.

The first rule was broken. Had been broken this whole time. She loved him so much.

And that meant the other two rules were even more important if she wanted to prevent a disaster. Adrien couldn't know her identity, even though she was sure Chat Noir would never betray her like that. He understood how important the secret was more than anyone else.

The flash of pink light illuminated the walls around her, temporarily blinding her. Tikki was the first thing she saw.

Marinette fished a cookie out of her pocket. "He's Adrien," she said simply. "Chat Noir is Adrien."

Tikki took the cookie and nodded slowly. "I'm sorry I couldn't tell you."

"I know," Marinette whispered, eyes back on him already.

He and the woman were sitting in the dirt. When she'd first appeared, she'd looked defeated in every way, weighed down with so much anguish that she couldn't stand. After a few minutes of talking to Chat Noir, she sat up straight, leaning back casually as he pointed out faint constellations above them.

"What are you going to do?" Tikki asked after she was done eating.

It was a question she'd been avoiding asking herself. She knew what she had to do, but she didn't want to, for herself and for him. But they were heroes, and sometimes that meant that other people came first, even at her own expense.

She transformed back. Her feet were heavy as she walked back to the pair.

Hawk Moth must have manipulated Adrien somehow. He must have tricked him. Or sent a powerful akuma that could read minds. There was no other explanation. But it didn't change what she had to do. Their love ended the world. She couldn't let that happen.

"So Eléa here-" He nodded toward the woman sitting next to him. "-and I have been chatting. Did you know that Pisces is a constellation and used to be a name for the formal classification for fish?"

"Used to be?" Ladybug settled down on the dirt next to him and watched him out of the corner of her eye, finding Adrien's familiar profile in every plane of Chat Noir's face.

"It's an unofficial superclass now," Eléa finished.

"She was on her way to her new job at the Nausicaá Centre National de la Mer."

"Probably not," Eléa said dully.

"There was an akuma attack at the train station," he told her. "Of course you couldn't get there for an early morning interview."

Eléa poked her toes into a pile of dirt and didn't answer.

"They don't usually publish the civilian's name or the reasons," Ladybug said. "No one will know it was you if you don't tell them. I'm sure they'll reschedule."

"An accomplished scientist like yourself will be a great addition to the best aquarium in Europe," Chat Noir said.

Both women smiled at him.

Ladybug had always loved that about Chat Noir: how gently he dealt with the akuma victims, never blaming them for being so upset, always letting them know it wasn't their fault, and that there was still hope for everything to turn out for the best.

They sat in silence until blue lights flashed on the buildings around them, and the police stepped out of their vehicles.

"Thank you both," Eléa said as she stood and dusted herself off.

"Of course," Ladybug said.

"Always an honor to help," Chat Noir added. "Good luck with your interview, though I know you don't need it."

Eléa gave each of them a quick hug before letting herself be led to the waiting ambulance.

"So, do we need to talk?" he asked as they watched her go.

Ladybug swallowed hard against the lump in her throat, but it didn't budge. She tried once more, then gave up. "Yeah, we do."

Doors slammed, engines revved, and Ladybug and Chat Noir were suddenly alone in the dark in the middle of an abandoned lot. What a depressing place for an even worse conversation.

"Do you want to go somewhere else, or?" he asked.

She grabbed his wrist before he could leap away from her. If only she could keep him here forever in this moment, before she had to ruin everything. Before she had to hurt him.

"So…" he began. "My identity."

"Your identity," she whispered back. Her eyes found his and then skittered away.

"Does this change things between us?" he asked. His breathing picked up its pace. His hand twitched under her grip.

She hated rule number two. She wanted him to know who she was. She wanted to be able to love him freely. This was going to hurt them both so much.

"Yes," she said. The least she could do was look him in the eye when she ruined their relationship. She should do that much for him. So she dropped his wrist and squared her shoulders and held her head high, willing herself not to cry and make this even harder for him. "But not in the way you want."

His disappointment was a subtle thing. A slight drop of his shoulders as he let out a small breath. The curl of his fingers where they hung at his sides. A barely perceptible tightness around his eyes when he gave her a smile.

"I guess that was too much to hope for."

It wasn't. It really, really wasn't.

"You can't wait for me," she said. "You have to move on."

The step back he took was not subtle. "What?"

"I mean it," she said. "I'm sorry, but we're not–"

"Ladybug, I don't think I can."

Her treacherous heart thundered. If Chat Noir had said that an hour ago, she would have turned away with a grimace. But now that it was also Adrien declaring his love for her, she wanted to pull him in and kiss him and never let him go.

All she could do was clasp her hands tightly and lie to him. "I want you to move on." Her eyes dropped to his shoulder. She couldn't face him for her final blow. "I'm not going to return your feelings, and it's not fair for either of us."

At least the last part was true. There was nothing fair about this situation. The best she could do now, even though she hated it, was to let him go. Maybe he could be happy and loved by someone else. She had to be strong for both of them. For Paris.

After Chat Noir had been quiet for several seconds, she chanced a peek at his face. His eyes were fixed on her wringing hands, so she unclenched them and slowly moved them against her sides.

"I'm sorry," she said helplessly. Rule number one said they couldn't be together, but rule three said she couldn't let him get upset enough to be akumatized either.

"It's okay," he said tonelessly. "You can't change how you feel."

The denial she wanted to shout at him pushed against her lips, but she held it back. This wasn't a new wound, so maybe it was better this way.

"Chat?" She stepped forward, putting a hand on his shoulder, pressing gently, trying to convey comfort and care only, and not all the love she had for him. It was a fine line she couldn't afford to cross.

"I'm okay," he said, passing a hand over his eyes quickly. He cleared his throat and said, "I'm okay," more firmly.

He stepped out from under her hand. It hung between them for a second, before she thought to lower it.

"I-" she started. What was there to say? There was no way for her to make it better. Empty apologies weren't going to help him, and she couldn't make him any hollow promises.

A cold breeze blew the loose lock of her hair into her eyes, and he reached up to tuck it behind her ear. The move was filled with such tenderness she thought her heart would break, and then he stepped back and smiled at her, as hollow and empty and broken as everything she couldn't say to him.

"I'll see you at patrol?" He flashed her a quick thumbs up.

"Sure. See you."

Like nothing had happened. Like it was just a normal goodbye between two friends.

Ladybug was the first to turn and leave. Chat Noir didn't follow her. The way back home was long and lonely.

---

Every muscle in her body was sore by the time Marinette got back to bed. She'd pushed herself to the edge to outrun the disaster she'd left behind, and it hadn't been enough. She handed Tikki a cookie and said she was going to sleep and laid very still until her kwami's soft snuffles let Marinette know she was asleep.

And finally she was alone with her thoughts. All of Paris was finally still, but Marinette felt like she was in freefall. She would see Adrien in a few hours at school. Would he be too upset to go? Would he think it was just another rejection like all the others and not take her seriously? A piece of her hoped he would, that there might be something salvageable between them, but the flash of white when she closed her eyes pushed that feeling down.

After a few more minutes of tossing and turning, she gave up on her bed and headed out to her balcony. A drizzle had started, but Marinette didn't mind. They were a pair, the city and her.

The streets were empty. Street lights were dampened. Sounds of life were all muffled. Not even the moon was visible.

A small flicker of movement caught her attention, a shadow darker than the others that moved across the rooftops, and a flash of golden hair.

"Chat Noir," she called out before she could tell herself this was a terrible idea.

The shadow stopped and turned toward her.

Hadn't he gone home yet? Had it taken him all this time to come back, or was he just wandering aimlessly? "What are you doing out?" she asked.

He made the jump to her balcony in three short leaps, with none of the theatrics she had come to associate with him.

"Akuma," he said briefly once he'd landed next to her. "But it's gone now," he added as an afterthought. "So you don't need to worry." He stared at her chrysanthemums before sliding down the railing.

She'd never seen him look so defeated in her life. He was a crumpled heap at her feet, hair and ears flat, tail and limbs all limp. It was a bad idea to offer him comfort. It was a bad idea to kneel next to him and wrap her arms around him. But bad ideas were all she had tonight, and she couldn't turn him away when he was upset and it was her fault, no matter what her rules said.

"You don't have to talk about it." Water soaked through to her knees quickly. His leather-clad shoulder against her cheek was hard and cold. "But I'll stay here with you as long as you need me to."

Eyes closed, she felt him nod.

"Why?" His question was only a whisper louder than the rain.

The apology she wanted to give him burned in her stomach. Marinette couldn't give him that without suspicion. "Because you do so much for me - for the city! - that I want to help you too."

"I shouldn't be here." He tried to stand, but Marinette refused to let him rise. "I can't burden a citizen with my problems."

"That's not true," she said. There were a hundred reasons why, but 99 of them were only Ladybug's. "We're friends. That means I care about you and I'm here for you."

And she wanted to know when he was upset. If there was anything she knew about her Chaton, it was that he often stuffed his feelings when they were anything other than glowing. He would hide how hurt he was from Ladybug so she wouldn't have to suffer along with him. Marinette wasn't going to let him do that this time.

Rain pattered around them, making her flowers' petals tremble and plastering her hair to her face.

"Promise me something?" she asked after a few minutes.

"What?"

"Come over whenever you're upset. I don't care if it's personal stuff or superhero stuff. When you feel like you don't have anyone else, remember you have me and come visit." Because she could be with him this way even if she couldn't be with him the way they both wanted. Because he deserved better. Because she loved him.

He rested his head against hers. "I will."

---

A/N: Welcome to my contribution to this year’s Big Bang! Thanks for setting it up @mlbigbang. And thanks to @khanofallorcs for beta’ing! There will be artwork for the upcoming chapters, so stay tuned for that! I’ll link and reblog when they’re posted!

There will be seven chapters total, and this one’s the longest one. :)

@tbehartoo

[baenyth]

Bethany's Bizarre Miraculous Reviews Episode 3-22: Chat Blanc

Fun fact: One nickname I often have for Chat Noir is Cattablack (also my hypothetical name if I had the Black Cat Miraculous,) from "Cat Black," which is the English translation of "Chat Noir." However, the etymology for English black has the same origins as French White (also the word blank!), so in a sense, Cattablack is both Chat Noir and Chat Blanc! On with the show.

Straight to Emile's corpse. Also I have to wonder, where are those enormous windows with light shining through in the Agreste Manor? They have to be someplace open to daylight at least.

Awawawawa! The girlsquad! Also they do picnics, sleepovers, and the movies. Noted.

That "No." cut was great, though. Good on Marinette for not giving up, however. Good for Marinette on not quitting, the girlsquad for encouraging her, and Rose for having enough of this shit! Losing her favorite unicorn plushie probably helped.

But don't break into his house! He's not there, you weirdo! As much as I want this mahogany to end and for Adrien to friendzone her, stalking is NOT the way! On the other hand, if she did break and enter, it could out Marinette as a creep...

SHE'S SNIFFING THE PILLOW!?

Oh god now that he's connected the dots he's in love with Marinette. Plagg's trying his hardest but it's too late.

Oh right. This is the episode where Chat Noir gets akumatized and causes the End of Evangelion. Not what I normally think of when I think of Marinette and Adrien's relationship having catastrophic consequences, but still.

Also again with the time travel plots not making sense. Is the future set in stone or not!? Why are only things only disappearing when they change in Bunnix's rewind vision? It's Bill and Ted 3 all over again.

On the plus side, Marinette with her hair down.

Alix looking so uninterested while cheering and the animation errors lmao

Hadouken Cataclysm lmao

You know, Marinette's parents could've called CPS on Gabriel's controlling attitude, or Marinette could've explained truthfully why she broke up with Adrien.

So that's his response to discovering his father is Hawkmoth. Good to know.

That was a good mental breakdown. 10/10 there.

Bunnix, why are you getting a teenaged Ladybug to fix this? Can't you do it? Can't the adult Ladybug do it?

The end of the world!? That looks more like the end of at least two galaxies! Holy hell!

You could've just said the gift was from Marinette, Ladybug. Whatever.

So was that sunset scene in the normal or Chat Blanc timeline? I'm confused.

Well that was an interesting episode. Here's how Marinette and Adrien's relationship can ruin everything without Hawkmoth or any evil butterfly holder!

As we know, Marinette is obsessed with Adrien, to stalkerish levels, as shown by this very episode with her sniffing Adrien's pillow when she's all alone in his room.

She also shows controlling tendencies with her schedule of Adrien allowing her to know where he is for most of the time and her stealing his phone to delete an embarrassing message she sent him.

She's also prone to being vengeful, such as when Chloe, Lila, or Kagami get closer to Adrien then her.

Let's keep these traits in mind as we imagine there being no evil Butterfly or Peacock Miraculous users, maybe even no evil at all. Most likely those Miraculouses are in the good hands of the guardian, or Marinette. Also imagine that Marinette and Adrien know eachothers' identities and are older and dating, if not married.

On one day, Adrien arrives home a little later than usual for Marinette. Maybe he didn't keep track of time while spending time with his friends. Maybe he had to walk home and his phone was out of power.

Marinette starts to get worried. She tries to call him. He doesn't respond, either due to how noisy the social gathering is or because is phone is out.

When Adrien finally gets back, Marinette starts to fuss over him. She was so worried! She's so glad he's back. Where was he? He shouldn't do that again. Adrien doesn't think it's that big of a deal, but Marinette disagrees. The gap has formed.

Adrien at least tries to be more punctual, but that doesn't always work. Marinette starts to get more and more worried. What if he's cheating on her with someone else? She's had similar worries in the show, after all.

These conflicts begin to escalate. Marinette's concern for Adrien begins to turn to concern that he's doing something behind her back. An argument breaks out. Adrien notes that Marinette's acting like his father. This makes things worse.

Tension begins to build up until Marinette, someone who as Ladybug had to save so many of her loved ones by fighting them, does something she shouldn't have and immediately regrets. Maybe Adrien was in another verbal fight with her. Maybe he was going out somewhere, possibly to come back late or early.

Adrien Agreste is now in critical condition. It's unknown when he'll wake up, if ever. Marinette has to right this wrong and make sure this never happened, no matter what it takes.

If Tikki and Plagg didn't escape with their Miraculouses as they watched this relationship go to hell, all of reality shall be annihilated and recreated.

If one or both of them did manage to escape, then hey, she has or can easily take the Butterfly miraculous! All she needs to do is turn someone into a super and help them out with their problems in exchange for the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculouses, wherever they are!

This isn't ensured to happen, but you have to admit Marinette has a lot of similarities to Gabriel Agreste, especially in regards to how she views Adrien. Not to mention that nowhere in the show is she ever really punished for those above negative traits. At points they're even excused.

Edit: Almost forgot to mention that Natalie seems to show remorse upon discovering Adrien is Chat Noir. More points for her!

[familyagrestefanblog]

They actually did it

Fucking christ I was RIGHT! They even went so far as wiping out Adrien's memory!

We're back with Chat Blanc.

That's what made Chat Blanc such a unreliable narrator, I made a post about that YEARS ago that Blanc eventually wiped out his own memories with only his love for Marinette left in all that horror while Hawkmoth having been the monster who got him. That's why he incorrectly blamed their love for having ended the world, that was all he could remember as we even saw once he detransformed!

I do not have time to write about this today but this is the worst possible outcome! We are absolutely FUCKED! "Representation" was already a combination of "Chat Blanc" and "Ephemeral" because they were never avoided in the first place and now for the rest of the finale every bad consequences we just sidelined for seasons on end! "Chat Blanc", "Kuro Neko", "Ephemeral", the entire season 4 finale!

How DENSE do you have to be to think that Gabriel Agreste gave Marinette his BLESSING?? She literally told him right in his face that "fOr ThE gReAtEr GoOd" she will let Adrien as an orphan pay for all his family's sins right after the man had a whole mental breakdown of 5 seasons of build-up because he was THIS aware of incompetent and horrible of a father he was!

He was WILLING to give her his blessing and Marinette fucked it up in every way possible! What the hell does Gabriel give a shit about the greater good?? The only thing he cares about is himself, his wife, Adrien and Nathalie! Marinette told Gabriel that everything he loves, is, was, worked for and wished to safe can go and fuck itself because for the greater good she decided that HIS SON is now going to go through every hell that's waiting for him and she didn't even care to ask what that hell will BE!

She just signed Adrien up for it and expected Gabriel to be okidoki with that?

Gabriel Agreste made the wish. It doesn't matter what excuse Marinette has, all that matters is what GABRIEL thinks. And for him she is the enemy of everything he loves and regrets having failed this horribly! What makes you think Gabriel Agreste gives a SHIT about anything else?

Why are you trusting this man?? Gabriel's love is and has always been the worst thing in Adrien's entire life!

What do you think is gonna happen now?? Gabriel made himself a martyr and wiped Adrien's memory of having been horrible while simultaneously the cover story is that Gabriel Agreste died heroically defeating Monarque by Ladybug's side because Chat Noir wasn't there and his son Adrien was kidnapped!

Adrien is gonna fucking blame himself for his father’s death! He thinks he failed his father! Adrien was created out of Emilie's love for Gabriel, Gabriel is counting on Adrien being the only person who would want to bring him BACK! We were RIGHT reading it like that in "Passion"!

Gabriel KNOWS that he can't force either Adrien himself, Marinette, Nathalie or anyone to break apart but if he takes Adrien's memories while everyone remembers how shitty of a father he was to him than Adrien will want to distance himself from them by his own CHOICE!

What the fuck is Marinette gonna do when Adrien now obviously want to go back into his fathers business because he can't remember why he left in the first place and now he wants to make it up to his dead father by stepping into his role and continuing his legacy! You think Marinette crying a bit and saying "I don't want you to work as your father's successor, you don't have to be like him!" is gonna do it??

Adrien is gonna CHOOSE to go back because from his perspective what he's doing is good no matter if his father wasn't perfect and she's just really not being understanding and unsupportive. Telling him to choose himself "but not like that!"

Fuck, im short on time, but I will scream and shout about this forever! What are you guys WATCHING that this is good? Marinette turned into an easy two-for-one kill without Chat Noir, she NEEDED him and now she lost!

Adrien/Chat Noir was NEVER saved and now his insane father GOT him! The new universe started with Adrien waking up, NOTHING before that happened no matter what other people including Marinette herself think they remember! It never happened! The universe started with Adrien and Marinette kissing him awake because Gabriel WANTS her to think taht he gave her blessing or at least what he did wasnt so bad and for good intentions so she doesn't try undoing it before it's too late!

Can you stop being so naive? Why are you trusting and insane and abusive villain father who HATES you to do you JOB?

[iwasbored777]

After Elation I couldn't help but notice that Marinette gets character development by getting hurt and the other characters usually get character development by hurting Marinette

[xhanisai]

You know what really grates on my nerves?

When people say that Adrien deserves to get hurt or heartbroken for not ‘noticing’ Marinette and her feelings all this time and when people say that Ladybug deserves to get hurt or heartbroken for not dating Chat Noir right away or something like that.

It is such a vile thing to say or agree on- especially when Adrien and Marinette thinks of the world of each other and their alter egos. Adrien has asked a few times about Marinette’s feelings to her face and her nerves always got the best of her and she never admitted the truth; he trusts and values her word. So it isn’t his fault that he doesn’t know her true feelings for him. 

And Ladybug, despite not accepting her partner’s romantic advances, absolutely adores him! She trusts him with her life and the civilians of Paris. She loves giving him adorable nicknames and treats him with care when she can. Regardless of what she feels for him (even if us viewers know it’s romantic love), Ladybug doesn’t have to go out with him and she shouldn’t be punished by the fandom for that. 

Anyways, these two mean the world to each other on all sides of the lovesquare and they’re not aware that their feelings are reciprocated (regardless of which side). They also NEVER go out of their ways to intentionally harm or hurt the other and always push things aside and prioritise each other when needed.

Do they have a bit of a communication issue? Yes, but they are teenagers and are working on it and they will clear that obstacle. The problem is that they are both too selfless so they don’t like to burden others with their feelings. They will grow and become better people :)

Overall, what I’m trying to say is that lovesquare adore one another and if you genuinely believe that Adrien or Marinette have to be punished for not being aware or acting on the other person’s feelings, you’re a piece of shit and I feel sorry for the people around you :)))))

[sweetcloverheart]

I can't stop thinking about how upsetting it is that in MLB the "Power Of Love" only applies to the villains instead of the heroes, and for such flimsy reasons

Marinette is never allowed to truly nor fully rely on her relationship with her classmates to help with interpersonal problems because if she does, then she can't be the "super strong female protag" the show totes her as. So the show will constantly/actively discourage any cooperation or reliance on her friendships (even as it "punishes" her for failing to do so like in "Penalteam" and "Strikeback") by having it always end in failure or a worst situation, while presenting the others as too "naive and trusting" of her enemies or any adults/solutions as useless (Oh hi Su Han!) to justify it, thereby forcing her to have to tackle whatever issue she faces alone while presenting it as necessary. She's even made to lie to her partner because telling him any relevant information regarding their previous main enemy would mean removing Adrien's glued-on rose-tinteed glasses regarding his father and what an awful human being he was in his final moments of life.

Meanwhile, Gabriel can do everything short of tax fraud and always be presented as our deeply conflicted "morally grey" villain who's actually totally in the right, because everything he does can be excused because it's being done in the name of obsession love for his comatose wife. Nothing he does is worthy of persecution because in the narrative's eyes, he hasn't done anything wrong actually, since it's all for love. Emotionally abusing his son and trying to take advantage of his depressive episodes for his own goals? It's fine, it's for Emilie. Using a clearly emotionally vulnerable child and a super exploitive one for his plans and then abandoning them to the consequences? It's fine, it's for Emilie (and Chloe and Lila are She-demons, so they deserve it!/s). Harassing his son's girlfriend (through both his position and magic) to either try and get them to break up ("Protection" and "Pretension") or getting a magical servant for his own ends ("Chat Blanc")? It's fine, it's for Emilie. Leaving his friend and secretary to die from the same broken miraculous that magic coma-ed his wife? It's fine, it's for Emilie. Using his adult friends and his son's same age ones for his activities as Hawkmoth by purposely upsetting them? It's fine, it's for Emilie. Exploiting his son's image despite said son being clearly uncomfortable with it? It's fine, it's for Emilie. Instructing one of his Akumas to allow his son to fall to his potential death to confirm if he's his teenage nemesis (Edit: was incorrect about event. Have corrected)? It's for Emilie, so he's good! Locking his child in a bleach white rubber room (Unfriendly reminder that Adrien has canonical claustrophobia) because he went to visit his friends and to have him out of the way of his ultimate plan via using the previously mentioned image exploiting? Emilie, Emilie, Emilie - so long as it's for her, anything he does is golden! Even at the very end, where you have Marinette pointing out how much he made his son suffer, Gabriel does no proper reflecting or is forced to have his goal denied of him as a result - instead, he's given posthumous hero status (along with a statue and another adult villain who skipped consequences giving a speech about what a great and noble man he never was) and made directly responsible for the utopia the world became because he threw the heroine's mercy right back in her face; all because the "Power of Love" makes it so that everything he does for Emilie is moral and good, no matter how vile.

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

I actually thought that Adrien and Gabriel's relationship seemed like it might have been possible to salvage in the early seasons. What do you think?

@tallwriter Starting a new post since this one was getting super long as this is a different topic.

The problem with Gabriel Agreste's character is that they very clearly wanted to write a sympathetic villain - you can tell that from how the show handles his death - but sympathetic villains don't work if you make them cartoonishly evil. You have to handle the situation with nuance and delicacy, especially when one of the main heroes is the villain's son.

Gorizilla is not a perfect episode by any means, but it does showcase how Gabriel should have been written if they wanted him to come across as complex and sympathetic. In that episode, Gabe thinks that Adrien is Chat Noir and, because there's no way to magically force Adrien to reveal himself or confess his secrets, Gabriel has to come up with a situation where Adrien would be forced to transform of his own free will (since that can't be overwritten with a ring or something crazy like that). Which is how we get Adrien hurtling to his death while his father looks on:

Adrien: Always! (jumps out of Gorizilla's hand, and over the side of the building) Yeah-ha! Hawk Moth:(from his lair) No! ... Hawk Moth:(from his lair) If indeed you are Cat Noir, then transform, son. Please. (Adrien continues to fall downward, resolutely remaining as he is) Come on, son! (Ladybug looks down at Adrien, then raises her head, eyes closed.) Ladybug: Cat Noir, help!! Hawk Moth:(from his lair, to Gorizilla) Drop Ladybug!

This is good writing. Yes, Gabe's plan was kind of dumb (you live with Adrien, dude, just bug his room), but if we accept that this was the only way to go about a forced reveal - and that does seem to be the writer's logic - then we see a situation where Gabriel put his son above winning. A situation where he's still very much the villain, but he's not a dastardly, cold-hearted one. He does love his son.

There are actually several of these moments in the first three seasons. Some involve Adrien and many more involve Nathalie. It's why season five's claim that Gabe put beating Ladybug above everything else rings hollow. He never actually did that outside of Evolution (S5E1). He's almost always been loved-ones first when it really counts, a thing that Ladybug uses against him in the final when she tries to crush Emilie. The whole "Ladybug obsession" thing truly feels like something they just made up for that one episode to justify Nathalie "turning sides" aka doing nothing useful beyond maintaining the status quo (hey, they needed someone to keep the senti plot from having consequences and it wasn't like she was doing anything useful anyway!)

The problem is that this "loved ones first" mentality is only used for big dramatic moments, often as a way to keep Gabriel from winning. It's not Gabriel's main characterization even though it needed to be if you want season five's ending to feel even remotely earned. Going into that ending, we should have all thought that Gabe was a messed up dude who truly did love his son. And, if Gorizilla, Style Queen, and Ladybug had all been examples of his standard characterization, then we would have thought that.

But that's not who the writers told us Gabe was.

Instead, his standard characterization paints him as petty, controlling, and manipulative. Which is wild because there was no reason to do that! Gabe could - and should - have been played as stern and removed, but generally loving when he's outside of the mask. In other words, Gabriel Agreste could be well liked while Hawk Moth was hated.

The crazy thing is that this is such a simple change to make. You either removed the episodes where Gabe's awful parenting is the source of the conflict (ex: Bubbler) or you just make a few minor changes to show that he's conflicted about his actions.

For example, take Chat Blanc, the episode that ruined so many elements of this show! In that episode, Gabe is a total bastard. He happily sacrifices his son's happiness to make an akuma in the form of Marinette and then, when Adrien's secret is revealed, does Gabe have any sort of conflict about traumatizing his son? The kind of conflict we'd expect after episodes like Gorizilla? Nope! He straight up delights in showing Adrien Emilie's... corpse? Comatose form? Whatever! Gabe then akumatizes Adrien with a smile on his face.

That gets the writers a solid F for consistent characterization. It's why I highlighted "almost" in red when I mentioned Gabe's motivation. Because in Ephemeral and Chat Blanc, the writing ignores the sympathetic stuff that characterizes the dramatic moments and goes straight for the worst-father-of-the-year, love-to-hate-him, please-let-him-die-now characterization that we get in most episodes.

If you were writing Chat Blanc's Gabriel to fit his intended complex, sympathetic mold, then you would probably drop the breakup plot or you'd have spent all season setting Marinette up as the perfect akuma target, changing the breakup into something that Gabriel felt that he HAD to do instead of opportunistic evilness. You'd also have Gabe drop a line like, "I'm sorry, Adrien. You'll thank me later" before the Chat Blanc akumatization. Or at least don't have him grinning! Do something, ANYTHING to show that Gabe sees using his son like this as a necessary evil and not a fun time! You know, like how he was begging Adrien to transform during Gorizilla? Almost like Gabe had stopped caring about winning and started just wanting his son to live.

Would these changes make Gabe less of a fun cartoon villain? Yes, but that's the point. Cartoon villains are cartoony. They're over the top. They have no nuance. Sympathetic villains don't work with those characteristics.

The normal way to get around this in a cartoon setting is to have secondary antagonists who can be played as cartoonishly evil. And, confusingly, Miraculous has those characters. Chloe, Sabrina, and Lila have been here since season one (Kim could also have stayed a bully and been added to that list, but he's not a teenage girl, so I get why they didn't do that /s.) Felix has been around since seasons three. Nathalie has been an active villain since season two. Any or all of these characters could be the cartoonish, nuance-less villain while Gabriel stays sympathetic.

Instead, they play Gabe however they want to play him in any given episode, making it so that he's impossible to understand from an audience perspective. I personally like the sympathetic take and think that those are the show's best episodes because I like complex villains. It's even how I write Gabe in my stuff because I go for less cartoony takes on canon.

I don't think a redemption was needed, but a sympathetic villain doesn't require one. All that term means is that you can understand the villain and be sympathetic to their plight. Redemption is optional. In fact, the goal is often not redemption, but an understand that, "there but for the grace of the gods go I." I mean, we've all lost loved ones. Wouldn't the power to bring a loved one back tempt you, too?

If they wanted to go for evil, cartoony Gabe, then they needed to drop all of the complexity and go for a Disney villain type character who gets a Disney villain death a la Scar or Mother Gothel. Don't give Gabe the wish. Let him fall to his own hubris by falling into the water of his secret layer and lading as a puddle of ash while a sad Ladybug looks on, having just failed to save him.

If you want to see an excellent look at how cartoon Gabe could have worked, then I highly recommend @zoe-oneesama's Scarlet Lady comic, which is just nearing its end after a multi-year run. I think it's fair to say that Zoe and I largely agree on canon's flaws, she just fixes them by leaning into the cartoon side of things, creating a hilarious story with lots of heart. Canon could have absolutely gone that way too and worked out wonderfully! The issue is not a lack of nuance, it's that they tried to add nuance without ever fully committing to it, making a story that is the worst of both worlds. While a more serious nuanced reboot would be my ideal dream, a reboot that scraps all of Gabe's nuance and just makes him go full evil would be just as satisfying and Zoe proves that.

[standreamy]

A very problematic finale.

I really didn’t want to talk about this because I was spoiled with the leaks time ago so I was prepared for the worst, but even so... after watching it... it just made me so sick. 

I don’t really blame people who liked the finale, and I’m aware that this is not anymore the last season. 

But there are so many issues that it's even difficult to know where to start.  So, first of all, a premise...

We don’t know when season 6 was confirmed to the writing crew, but it was almost surely when writing was basically over. Or so we can presume. Season 4 and 5 were written kind of together and between the time the writing ended and season 6 was confirmed and then started to be written, passed quite some time. 

Logically, there wasn’t anymore time to change big stuff. Once the episodes were being animated there would be no chance to change the scrips. Thomas said already that they have too much rush and pressure from tv channels, which prevents them to fix mistakes in the writing or animation. Once things are done, they’re done. And from the leaks and the bible we know that most things, comparing what was probably the info for season 5 when it was the last season and when the series was renewed, stayed the same. 

Some minor changes are probably there, but again, they are MINOR. Changing Emilie’s name with Ladybug’s... removing her glance exchange with Adrien... But the basic issues stayed the same and we can presume they were present in every version of the finale, since from Thomas’s tweets about the choice of keeping Chat out of the finale, that seemed a willing choice made from the start. 

This means that most of this was planned even when season 5 was meant to be the last season.

Possibly no reveal, and if there was it was shoved the last moment or in a very rushed way (It’s already way late for that), Gabriel “winning”, Adrien never learning about the truth, Chat Noir non participating in the final fight. The actual ending of the show.

And all this portrayed to be something positive.

With an ending where all abusive parents were excused and paid no consequences.

“But there are more seasons, surely these elements will be picked up again”. Postponing elements for too long makes higher the risk to make the resolutions anticlimatic and out of their ideal context,  The new butterfly opens a new set of plotlines, and Adrien's plotline will be dragged on.  You may can’t rush Adrien’s reaction and trauma, but if this was the intention, it could have been done seasons ago. When there was still more confirmed seasons to go and it wasn’t a possible finale of the series. 

And I also feel like asking... when did Miraculous and its writing give any reason for fans to trust it picking up again these plotlines and handle them correctly? Where does this trust comes from?

The show is famous from dragging things for longer than they should and not resolving them properly. When there were 5 seasons to handle the plot, the relationships, the characters at the best possible. 5 seasons to build the fluff and the angst, to handle misunderstandings, to build friendship between the characters, between the protagonists... to then lead it to romance. 5 seasons to make the characters fall in love with every side of themselves slowly and gradually, to make character live negative events and heal, to have a decent reveal and seeing what comes after. And there was none of this. Since season 5 must have not been changed a lot since the confirmation of season 6... when was Chat supposed to discover about Chat Blanc? When was Ladybug supposed to develop a trauma out of it? 

What did the Ladynoir dynamic lead to? Their whole talk in s4 finale, their newfound equality? What was that angst subplot needed for? Was it brought up again? Because I remember a lot of fans saying that surely Ladybug would apologize, that Chat would turn that experience as a lesson for self-love and acceptance, that the topic of their misunderstanding would be brought up again in season 5, yet it didn’t happen.  Chat questioning Ladybug about the identities of the secondary heroes, about Multimouse, about many things... Nothing.  I hear a lot of “Surely next season...” “Surely this will be-” And I don’t blame people for hoping, nor I’m judging, but I also think that people who don’t believe it anymore and and think this is way too late have their own reasons too. 

Now, going deeper into what I think are some big issues:

First of all, Adrien/Chat obviously not being included in the final fight and not discovering the truth. 

The first issue about this regards the usual discourse about the balance between the two heroes. 

We are told that Chat and Ladybug are equals even with her being the "leader" but it's always shown and proved otherwise. This happened for seasons with Chat being kept in the dark, then with Ladybug becoming guardian and then with the Ladynoir trust issues plotline in season 4, which was left mostly unresolved.

  Kuro Neko seemed the resolution of that plotline, but not only it didn't explain why Chat would be fundamental for the team (while showing instead that a perfect cat holder would be just more functional and then saying just "But Chat is better" without explaining) but it also mostly blamed the whole thing on Chat while Ladybug says she didn't know he felt left out and adds that he not as needed anymore.  S4 finale instead shows Ladybug admitting she pushed him away on purpose, the exact opposite, didn't apologize and the thing being forgotten because the other heroes couldn't be called up anymore. And this with it being said multiple times that Chat was then just a hero like the others and not anymore her equal. Then, in s5, with the opening even and the situation implying they'd be both just as important, ends up with excluding him from the finale. The co-protagonist, the other half of the whole. The one who is son of the villain.

After 5 seasons of him being extremely related to the plotline due to him being Hawkmoth's son and the plot being basically all centered on his birth, it just leaves everything uncomplete and unfullilling. 

Adrien was never able to have the realization, to deal with it even if it’s sad and heavy with the support system he built. He wasn’t able to live such a big personal growth, an important reaction out of his character was avoided, even with it being so important. True, Adrien would feel lost, angry maybe, sad, but these emotions would have been very important for his character. The reactions that characters have to situations is just as important as the events happening. Marinette's reaction over the truth wasn't as fundamental as it would have been Adrien's.

And this leads to the other big problem that makes me even sicker: Adrien not discovering the truth and Chat either. 

The thing is obviously wrong because of missed character development and for the abuse plotline. The thing that makes me sick about the finale is indeed how the abuse plotline was ended. When it was made such a big point, I find unacceptable to end it with not only Gabriel being fakely redeemed, reminded as a hero by the people but also his abused son. 

Adrien can't come in terms with his own situation as victim, he can't grow and heal from it. Gabriel's death doesn't erase what happened and making Adrien believe he was a hero and even saying he can't even dream to be like him, is... just wrong on so many levels.  It doesn’t matter if Marinette says to be himself and not his father. Adrien still thinks positively about one who abused him for years. Gabriel sacrificing his life for Emilie's may make it seem he wasn't so bad, but it doesn't cancel his actions. He still was a terrorist and an abuser and not only he didn’t pay for his actions (death isn’t a punishment, prison instead yes) but he was rewarded, because he was remembered positively for it.  And while his death could be acceptable eventually, even if him paying for his actions would be better, Adrien not finding out is ridiculous. And Chat not doing it either is just as much a problem, because as I mentioned already in a past message, it implies that Ladybug didn’t tell her "equal partner" about the true final fight. I think it's something pretty important he should know how things really went, instead of just being satisfied with "it's all over, gabriel helped against a random person who died" Of course, it would lead to Adrien discovering, but Chat knowing would only be the right thing. Just as of course Adrien.  Adrien should know. Marinette should have told him, instead of doing as Gabriel wanted. Like, at least not telling around Gabriel was a hero? 

Isn’t she the character who hates lies and injustice? Is not seeing Adrien sad worth making him sadder when he will discover he was lied at?  If we are supposed to believe she is on the right, she is the one showing what true love is and what Adrien deserves, opposite to Gabriel's, it should be portrayed as such. She is just keeping more secrets from him as she always has done with Chat. She isn’t letting him take his own choices. She isn’t letting him be free as he says she makes him feel. 

Of course, she can make mistakes and it could open up an angst plotline, but angst plotlines with Marinette/Ladybug keeping a secret they shouldn’t have kept was already done multiple times and it always ended up with the lesson being forgotten, with the entire resolution being underwhelming or Chat accepting the situation and blaming himself anyway....

We can also say that it’s Nathalie, Plagg, Amelie or Felix telling Adrien. But what counts is that he should have known.

“But Chat Blanc showed that Adrien can’t face his father” Chat Blanc was an alternate reality, one that was supposed to tell that it wasn’t “the right moment, in the right conditions”.  Character weren’t ready yet, they weren’t mature enough or ready to face such a difficulty. And perhaps you may never be ready for such a thing, but you can face it and heal.  Adrien has a better support system, more realization over his situation as victim and is more mature. He isn’t supposed to be the same of back then. 

Whether Season 6 will really pick it up again, Gabriel’s arc was this. The ideal moment for Chat to face his trauma was this.  And even accepting Adrien’s absense and unawereness...  The other issue is that these episodes treat his reaction as a good one. if you want to postpone his reaction, to make clear that it’s only Adrien that tries to convince himself of something that is wrong, you still need to put elements that remind that what he is thinking isn't "right" morally. Especially in a show that tries to teach morals and is always excused to be for kids. There are plenty ways to show with clarity that what Adrien believes is wrong with him still saying those things: soundtrack, Marinette doing a quick grimace of regret or disgust and him not noticing or their kwami saying something at all in the background.

There are plenty more issues, like Gabriel being once again not a solid villain or character, the wish allowing to choose a “sacrifice”, Gabriel “winning”.

Yes, Gabriel may didn’t revive Emilie, and made the perfect world he wished with Adrien as a perfect symbol, but he reunited with Emilie, was remembered as a hero, admired by his son, avoided being imprisoned and paying for his crimes between terrorism and abuse (I don’t see death as a penalty), dying with a serene smile on his face....

Even if the perfect ending wasn’t perfect, even if it resulted in an illusion, in dire consequences, Gabriel’s tale ended mostly in a positive light.   Once again also, it’s highly unprobable that big changes were made between the finale when it was meant as last season and the finale when season 6 was confirmed. So most of these factors would just be part of the real end.  While we can’t confirm that for sure, it’s still something to keep in mind.  I really want to to say again that I don’t want to shame on people who liked this season finale, but just to explain why I perceived these episodes as problematic and why I understand the view of everyone else expressing criticism. 

[m3nt4llyr4v3d]

Chat Blanc Doesn’t Matter

(to the person who actually saw it)

You’ve probably seen this said already but I have to express how frustrating this is dear LORD

Lemme preface this by saying: I think it’s hilarious that the fans come up with better headcanons than the writers

I completely believed the idea that the reason Ladybug was growing distant from Chat was because of the whole Chat Blanc thing. Sure, it was really alluded to twice in the entirety of season 4, but it honestly wouldn’t have been the first time something important was brought up only a few times, so it was reasonably believable. It’s falls in line with Chat Blanc affecting Marinette in multiple ways, her wanting to distant herself from Chat to prevent that timeline, whether subconsciously or on purpose. Meanwhile, her distance from Chat and his feeling of inadequacy on the team could possibly lead to his akumatization anyways. It was poetic really

And then the writers turned to us and said “oh no, it’s not that! It’s just that she has a lot of responsibilities and… that’s it!”

Kuro Neko happened in this season.

The episode where Marinette, for a brief moment, thought that Chat was akumatized.

And she barely has a reaction.

Look, I’m aware that if that was actually Chat, he wouldn’t have the ring and would be a bit less of a threat… theoretically, I mean being akumatized can replicate his powers regardless but whatever. But I feel like this “revelation” should have a stronger reaction? She saw the world get completely destroyed the “last time” this happened, why isn’t she more affected by this??

And in Season 5, she “rebounded” her crush, so now she likes Chat because of the events of season 4… except that would be an issue because it never once occurs to her that a relationship with Chat would lead to that future?? Chat Blanc literally says their love destroyed the world, how else could she have interpreted that? And yet she constantly goes on about what she likes about him and tries to pursue a relationship with him in her civilian identity and she doesn’t think about the potential consequences once?? (I can’t believe the season 4 finale affected her in that regard and Chat Blanc didn’t)

And of course, like others have said, every single iteration of Chat in white doesn’t freak her out. I guess seeing Paris destroyed, flooded, and seeing herself DEAD and her own body DISINTEGRATE IN FRONT OF HER EYES didn’t really affect her at all, nah just a normal Tuesday

No, Chat Blanc doesn’t matter one single bit to Ladybug, because for some baffling reason they’re shoving that all onto Chat, who WASN’T THERE! They had to make him have a nightmare adjacent to it to even do this!

Which, by the way, Marinette couldn’t have told him about any of what she saw therefore making him scared of a potential future based on her words. That would mean that this potential future she saw would have any meaning to her whatsoever, which it clearly doesn’t

what are the writers smoking, genuinely

[multimousefanatic]

The most frustrating thing about Miraculous is that they will set up super intriguing plot hooks and then never expand on them, even backtrack them and obliterate the possibility of expanding on them in the future

There is so much wasted potential in this show

So much I saw that made me go, “What are the writings setting up for here?” And the answer was absolutely nothing. Audience disappointment.

Which is wild because they do have intriguing plot twists and character development and things that they foreshadowed in previous seasons, but they also have moments that feel like the setup for something super interesting and they just… aren’t.

To name a couple:

1. Luka finding out Ladybug & Chat Noir’s identities & lying about it? Only for him to pretend he didn’t know in Ephemeral (He literally could’ve prevented that whole episode from happening & Astruc played it up like it was gonna be some super special episode only for it to feel like a less interesting version of Chat Blanc) & then randomly reveal it to her later? With no further explanation & the consequence being that he episodes later left Paris to become a monk . There was so much more potential there, and I’m not even talking about having Marinette be Angsty over him lying to her (Although given her strong opinions about lying coupled with the fact that they literally broke up because he didn’t know her identity, it was weird that she didn’t really seem to care? She panicked over it for like a second and he reassured her and then it was all fine and dandy) In general they could’ve played with him knowing in secret so much more

2. Alix saying that Ladybug hadn’t realized how awesome she was yet and that she chose her for the bunny Miraculous because she could keep a secret? Had me wondering what secret Alix was gonna keep for her and how exactly Alix receiving her miraculous would go… Only for them to not do anything with that at all. LB just gave it to her. And they also told everyone her identity which I thought was super weird????

It just irks me. Plz tell me I’m not the only - I’d love to hear what moments made other ppl think the writers had a plan only for them to completely lose the plot

[gale-gentlepenguin]

Gale Reviews: Miraculous World Paris: Tales of Shadybug and Claw Noir

Spoilers below

-OH S*** NEW THEME SONG AND WHY DOES IT KIND OF SLAP

(The image of Gabriel's life. Damn)

-Gabriel is a good guy and working with his version of the Resistance. DAMN

-NINO! RUN BABY BOY RUN

-Kamiko? so that is the good version of akuma?!

-Ubiquity is the Kamiko's name. Okay neat

-BETTERFLY! THAT GOOD!HAWKMOTH'S NAME. IM DEAD

-And the villains just arrived

-Damn this is going hard.

-Love the Miraculous world intro

-And back to our world

-Okay so this is taking place AFTER destruction, since the miraculous are not rings yet

-Gabriel almost went into his son's room. almost. Adrien processing a long day (likely the fact that he CATACLYSMED SOMEONE) This would make for a good au later

-Could we be getting ADRIEN CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT! -Adrien having legit concerns over his power that actually makes sense? Good to see

-Plagg doing his best to help Adrien cope.

-Alyanette is good as usual

-tikki no!

-Cute little Tom Sabine moment. (LUCKY TOM)

-Alya's in pain (cause of the oh no)

-Seriously this all happened in the span of one night!

-Betterfly arrives,

-Also, seems the Kamiko in this case can impact MULTIPLE version. At least in alya's case

-That costume is dope

-Betterfly not knowing in this world HE'S the asshole

-Also Betterfly's design isnt bad. I accept it. Still weird cause its gabe tho

-THEY KILLED MAX? WAIT IS MAX THE AI. I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS

-OH NO CLAW NOIR AND SHADYBUG SLAY

-Nice to know Alynino is canon in that verse

-Shadyclaw arguements.

-Shadybug hates Adrien in this world

-Clawnoir loves being destructive, a nice contrast to adrien's current dilemma

-Alya covering for marinette like always

-Oh right, her phone is broken

-Smart move

-GASP THE LUCKY CHARMS ARENT ALL WEAPONS!

-Shadybug and Clawnoir should make out (the tension is so thick you can cut it with a knife) they are constantly arguing and its great

-CATACLYSM CAN GET BIG!!! OH F*** THATS SO COOL! (Adrien/Chat noir be holding back by a f*** ton)

-Tikki just sitting on this knowledge. BILLIONS OF UNIVERSE. (welp that is only half the amount of au's and what ifs I made lol)

-Tikki demonstrating what its like being a nigh omnipotent deity. (this is the first time outside of seeing their true forms did I feel this)

-The Supreme? Wait, the logos at the begining. Does that mean? the order of guardians is actually evil? Or is it like an Evil Fu?!

-Wait, so it isnt just an adult thing, if you are evil you can multi-use the miraculous but at a cost. SEE THIS RIGHT HERE WOULD HAVE BEEN A BETTER SYSTEM THAN THE ADULT THING! WTF?!

-So Shadybug and Claw noir ARENT the big bads they are just... lackeys? That is kind of lame, but if they are going to get redeemed it does make sense

-Ladybug out here being funny

-Claw noir got numb-chucks

-SHE SUMMONED A CAR AND KICKED IT AT THEM!

-CHAT NOIR FOR THE SAVE!!!!

-CLAW NOIR JUST TOOK A CATACLYSM...

-(Me with Claw noir right now)

-Chat noir making solid points right now

-Villains really do get all the cool s***

-OH S*** KAMIKO CHAT NOIR

-Damn so akumatization can be like in the blink of an eye. time slows down conveniently.

-Celesticat?!

-OMG ITS AN ANGEL CHAT BLANC (Marinette's ptsd should be kicking in now)

-The puns were great, and by by shadybug

-Claw noir litterally pretended to try and catch her then let her fall. Thats hilarious

-He was going to take her miraculous, that is amazing. They really hate eachother. She broke his finger lol

-Gabriel venting to his dead wife again

-Oh no, he is going to cataclysm the villains

-"As black as my heart?" Dude you are WAY underselling how evil you are

-The Supreme spares? So basically they are forced to do this or they perish. I see

-I love their arguements

-They went back to search the room, Alya really going through it now

-The Supreme, it must be Evil fu.

-Oh this is interesting, Gabriel was evil but turned it around after seeing the consequences of his actions.

-Shadybug found Ladybug's diary. Oh snap, she sees she was friends with Alya!

-Claw noir playing with dolls

-She read the diary and is like "That buffoon? REALLY ALTERNATE ME?!"

-Oh wow, Gabriel that is good is actually a better mentor then su han. (a low bar but still)

-Reminder that Plagg can be that insightful and also just as omnipotent as Tikki

-Adrien figuring it out

-The diary is cheesy for exposition, BUT shadybug's reaction to it is actually sweet. Marinette in any universe wants friends and to care for others. (my headcanon is that this is shadybug summarizing what her alternate self is thinking/writing)

-SHE FOUND OUT ABOUT THE WISH POWERS! OF S***

-shadybug going to double cross her Claw noir

-SHADYBUG GOT HIM!

-and she found out he's adrien.

-Emo!Adrien lol

-PLAGG IS GAGGED! The supreme is really evil

-Alya trying to get sabine's phone

-OHHH, he is wearing make up because of the effects of over using the miraculous! Damn thats a nice touch

-Emo!Adrien recognizes Emo!Mari

-Also Gorilla in white is so weird to me

-WAS EMO!ADRIEN SIMPING FOR EMO GIRL! THIS IS AMAZING

-This IS AMAZING

-Ironic that this is how we get the reveal.

-She can wish to swap places! oh s*** that is a hell of a plot twist!

-Wait something is wrong, that logo... Can they not use the wish?

-"Only The supreme defines reality." DUDE! DUDE!!!!!!!! The supreme is officially the most competent villain in miraculous.

-Marinette realizing she cant be an angsty bitch right now.

-Seems the miraculous is taking their toll on both of them. Damn this is dark and I love it

-Tikki blots on.

-Welp this is probably the best writing I have seen from ML in a while. I legit buy this saddness.

-Even Emo! Adrien is sympathetic and he hardly said anything as adrien

-Plagg Dagger's out

-They are both dying and desperate

-Monarch has shown up and he is up to no good

-And just like that Monarch shows why he is an unrepentant asshole.

-Oh look, Chat noir's nightvision is useful again. (It just took 5 seasons)

-MONARCH MADE THEM GIANTS! HOW DID HE EVEN!?

-I knew they werent akumatized,

-Alya being the MVP today

-Illusions, of course.

-I MISSED LADYNOIR SO F***ING MUCH (devours the ladynoir moment)

-Ladyfly looks really cool

-That is a brilliant plan

-The tactical brilliance

-Ladyfly was planning this

-Chat noir mocking Claw noir's puns is everything i needed in life

-Chat noir lost one of his ears

-AND countered, Nice try monarch. Nice akuma trick

-Took monarch long enough

-"There are no awesome girlfriends to inspire me every day" Rip to Shadybug

-Damn, Shadybug, that is a LOT to unpack there

-No matter the universe Chloé is always a bitch. (Theres the astruc stamp in the writing I expected. But honestly still a valid villain reason)

-This is pretty emotional

-Chat noir is playing Claw noir like a fiddle

-Claw noir is the adrien that never moved on from losing his mother. Yep, Like I have said, adrien has a valid reason to be evil

-A hero feels pain and wants to make sure no one else feels that way, a Villain feels pain and wants to hurt the thing that caused them pain

-"I dont want to be cringe." "Embrace the cringe"

-Adrien out here saving himself.

-Adrien talking about his friends because he DOES know them. THANK YOU. THIS IS WHAT I wanted.

-Shadybug, "I dont want to be cringe." Claw noir "It sounds cringe Im in"

-Shadybug fixed everything AND HER COSTUME CHANGED. I kind of love it

-THE COSTUME CAN BE ALTERED AT WILL.

-Claw noir's new design is officially my favorite. Chat noir iteration

-I think the good versions of shadybug and Claw noir might be my favorite costumes for them

-Okay so they going back now

-Also I just realize that these version actually KNOW the other's identities. yet their canon ones dont

-Monarch discovered the multiverse

-GASP! KAMIKO TIZED LADYBUG!

-My reaction

-Scarabella and Kitty noire universe

-Kitty noire's reaction is so lesbian

-ANIME UNIVERSE (this officially my favorite special)

-Comic book universe

-A Misterbug and Lady noir universe

-Betterfly being the mentor Ladybug and Chat noir really needed

-Omg the day is finally over

-You know one big plot hole is Monarch could have simply deakumatized Ladybug so she couldnt stop him but didnt. Cause he is an idiot

-And cute little alyanette

-LITTLE KISSES. Damn the Alyanette fandom is eating good tonight

______________________________________________________________

I stand by what I said, this is the best Miraculous world special done.

Honestly If I included it in my episode rankings this is easily a top 5 contender.

I now want a sequel in which Shadybug and Claw noir fight the supreme, because the Supreme sounds f***ing epic and evil.

Maybe season 6 plays into it. (That would be one hell of a season)

10/10 in terms of ML specials and episodes

It is a bit cheesy but I loved what I watched

[ladylynse]

So, I just had this idea for a Secret Quartet fic:

After Hawkmoth/Monarch’s defeat, Adrien talks to Jake/Danny about how Ladybug still isn’t willing to do an identiy reveal. They end up bringing up the possiblity of Alternate Timelines (which are supported for his end by the event where Sass used his powers without a wielder). One thing leads to another and Adrien & Danny visit Clockwork, who shows Adrien What Ladybug Knows (without sound, of course, to avoid Spoilers)

Ooh, that would be fun! Adrien might very well suspect she's not being wholly honest with him in this. He knows her well, after all. But he also knows she clearly doesn't want to talk overly much about it, so getting answers a different way makes sense.

He expects he'll find out what he missed in her last battle.

He doesn't expect to find out how badly things could have gone wrong.

While Adrien's trying to digest the whole Chat Blanc future (even if he doesn't know what spurs that future beyond getting akumatized; Clockwork might well edit what he shows), Danny--assuming he's still present--could be mentally comparing it to his averted future and trying to figure out how to comfort Adrien when he's still not exactly comfortable with the whole nearly-could-have-been future himself.

It's all a distraction, of course, because Clockwork is not going to play things straight and simple. Show them bits here and there, give them enough of an answer to be satisfied without revealing anything that's not quite ready to be revealed. Cards played right aren't questioned.

Really, it might have worked wonderfully if Bunnyx hadn't chosen that moment to drop by--but she'd have known that, of course. She'd have chosen that moment specifically because of that. She's good at picking out the proper threads of the timeline for someone so young, and she's aware of the consequences of what she does, but that doesn't mean she's not above bending the rules when she finds some flexibility within them, ready to be exploited, where she can nudge things one way or another without nudging everything onto the wrong course.

[princess-of-the-corner]

It's so bizarre how the show doesn't want Mariette to make bad choices, but also wants her to learn lessons.

Yeah it's weird because she's punished for somewhat innocuous things she does, but then other things that /are/ morally questionable are just brushed under the rug?

like like like For example:

The Statue Scene. Yes it's a little cringe, but Marinette wasn't /intending/ to do anything creepy or wrong. She was just goofing off with a statue and going even more over-the-top on purpose because, again, it's just a statue it's a joke it's a bit even to her. But oh whoops it was actually the real Adrien pretending to be a statue which results in her totally normal goofing off being a horrifyingly humiliating experience.

Chat Blanc is another. Where she may have done something a little wrong in that she used her Ladybug powers to deliver a gift. But it turned into a whole ass apocalypse and now she's constantly feeling the burden of 'oh god if I ever fuck up it's the end of the world!!!'.

But then we have Animaestro where she teams up with Chloé to publicly humiliate Kagami out of pure jealousy, or Crocoduel where she tells Juleka that she has to un-invite her twin brother from his own birthday party or else she won't come because she doesn't want to see her ex, or the Shanghai Special where she manipulates her parents so she can stalk Adrien to a whole other country. These are shitty actions that /should/ come back to bite her in the ass and teach her that this was a bad way to behave, but it just glides right over the situation.

And yeah yeah I don't mean this in a salty 'she deserves to be punished!!!' because half my argument here is that she's also punished when she shouldn't be!

But it's just weird on how she gets punished for totally normal and minor things, but when she does do something questionable that should tie into facing the consequences of her actions and growing as a person, it's just brushed over at best.

[haru-rain]

Remember when Astruc said each episodes of S4 will be equivalent of Chat Blanc one ? Yeah, me too.

And I think most of the show's flaws have to do with the fact that the writers are desperate to shock us.

For example, when we are told that Marinette is having anxiety attacks because of what Kim did to her in the past when she was in love with him, it's so out of the blue. It even leads to inconsistencies, because we should have been shown the anxiety attacks much earlier !

Another example is Nathalie, who ends up with gray hair, whereas even Emilie doesn't have any.

Or the hyper-dramatic, forced farewell at the airport to make us cry, when it's just so forced and clichéd that it's ridiculous.

Ah, and the "what if" episodes, whose sole purpose is to shock us because they have very few consequences in the story, or when there are consequences it's to shock us even more in the future.

[xhanisai]

Adrien: So let me get this straight; you accidentally killed my Lady, Pere and the whole of Paris with your cataclysme blast which also reached the moon and shattered it and consequently flooded the entire world, killing every single living thing left, correct? Chat Blanc: ... Adrien: And not just that-- you also fought the Ladybug from the past who was trying to fix everything and shot multiple mega cataclysms at her too? Chat Blanc: ... Adrien: ... Chat Blanc: I'm just a cat~! ฅʕ•̫͡•ʔฅ

[heartfulselkie]

Ik ik, the 9th chapter just came out.. but like...

Bell the cat? 🥺

Okay there is so much I could say about this fic since it is high speed spinning around my head like an out of control bumper car. But! I don't want to spoiler all the delicious things ahead.

But I can talk about what we already know! (and also maybe clarify things)

Ladybug and Chat Blanc's relationship will be truly starting from now as the are officially lumped together (thanks Chloe). Unfortunately the status of being Blessed has been thoroughly tainted by Hawk Moth's actions and Ladybug was only just about rising above that since she was literally the kindgom's saving grace.

But because Ladybug has decided that Chat Blanc is useful for her own goals, she's going to have to deal with the consequence of that. Because Chat Blanc is widely hated and also contributed to the stigma against those who are Blessed.

It's widely known that Chat Blanc is Blessed - because how else would he have such a devastating power? Although what Kwami would bless such a person is unknown, as the power Chat Blanc has shown doesn't match with any of the Kwami pantheon. His cat ears and tail are a very obvious sign of his Blessing, as animal features can appear with people who have a very strong connection to their Kwami - usually its animal ears or unusual eyes though, tails are generally unhead of.

He's not believed to be an Akuma either, because Chat Blanc seems to predate the first recorded Akuma. He also behaves very differently from Akumas. People who are Akumatised have a very defined obsession or grievance - Chat Blanc doesn't. He just performed very well as Hawk Moth's champion until Chat Blanc turned on his master.

So Chat Blanc has built up a lot of history and reputation for himself over the years - something that Ladybug is now going to have to deal with herself since she's now his keeper.

She's got a lot of her own growing and changing to do though. While she does show Chat Blanc kindess, her view of him is only marginally better than everyone else's. As much as people thought she was, Ladybug is far from perfect and as her own preconceptions to deal with.

And I've just rambled on a bunch there so I'll end with with a snippet from the next upcoming chapter:

Chat Blanc rested his head against the bars, though his blue-eyed stare remained fixated on her. The glint of his fangs were obvious in his crooked smirk. "You're talking a lot of big plans there, little mouse." "Ladybug," she corrected tersely, stepping up the the cell so that they were almost nose to nose through the bars - almost, because he was over a head taller than her. "Okay, Buginette," he chuckled.

[WIP Ask Game]