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Usual shenanigans on patrol in my Queen Bee AU. The three of them share 3 braincells and yet Ladybug always ends up having most of them. Queen Bee and Chatnoir radiate sibling energy to me, plus the fact Chloe and Adrien are literally possibly the other’s only childhood friend.
(Don’t know if I’m gonna keep these costumes redesign specifically, but they’ll do for now.)
#I feel like Mari would allow herself to be more blunt as Ladybug#girl is under pressure#idk what to name this trio#so if you have ideas do tell#miraculous au#miraculous queen bee au#artists on tumblr#drawing#art#chloe bourgeois#miraculous chloe#miraculous lb#miraculoustalesofladybugandcatnoir#miraculous redesign#miraculous rewrite#miraculous chat noir#miraculous ladybug#adrien agreste#marinette dupen chang#trio#shenanigans#take this for now
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Ok guys but imagine if Marinette just went bonkers and told Adrien she, like, wouldn't mind if he flirted with LB. Or even kissed her. And he's like fr?? And she says yeah bc she aint stopping him from kissing LB, SHE would like that too. And also maybe Chat Noir. And he goes all red and says he's okay if she kisses Chat too bc he knows they used to have a thing. They both just have a fantasy of being each other's hero and while Marinette daydreams and plans to make it reality eventually Adrien viciously writes fanfic of his identity reveal with Marinette with various outcomes depending on how his self esteem is that day.
Adrien actually makes out with LB first bc Ladybug could NOT contain herself and flirted with him openly; and Marinette makes out with Chat. They have this idea that they're in a sort of polycule so Adrien insists she must have some one on one time with Ladybug too so now Marinette needs to figure a way to date herself, and also she puts him in the same predicament bc even tho he doesn't know she's the same person as LB, she knows he'd get allong just fine with Chat, they're her favorite boys after all!
And Boom, we have the lovesquare back and it's even funnier now bc they're all dating.
#marinette dupain cheng#adrien agreste#adrinette#adrichat#ladynette#ladynoir#ladrien#love square#miraculous ladybug#crack#ml crack#adrien's fics going from her finding him cool and romantic and them making out on her window#(he's feeling confident) to her allowing him to play with her yarn saying he's a good boy and petting him as he purrs#(he's in need of reassurance)
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It's weird to expect lb to be able to read cn mind and called her a bad partner for it. But it's even weirder for lb to ignore cn WHEN HES OBVIOUSLY IN DISTRESS and not called her a bad partner for it because I think called her a bad partner for ignoring it is understandable and justified especially since she consider herself as his boss.
Every time I bring up this conflict, I try to make it clear that I don't think Ladybug was blameless, I just think Chat Noir's writing was worse. Let's walk through the problem to show what I mean.
Season four stars with Marinette extremely stressed by her new Guardian status. In Truth and Lies, the first episodes of the season, we get this:
Ladybug: Will you cut it out with the practical jokes? I could have really hurt you! Cat Noir:(answering while hanging by the yo-yo) M'lady, the only thing that really hurts me is when you make me go on patrol by myself. (sighs, relaxing his posture) I even missed your little angry pout. Ladybug: Sorry, Kitty Cat, I'm a bit over my head at the moment. (pulling him up) Cat Noir: I bet! "Guardian of the Miraculous", big name, big responsibility!
This is also the start to Chat Noir communicating poorly. In this episode, he's straight up told that Ladybug is in over her head and he never once asks how he can help. In fact, we even get him saying this when asked how he feels about the change:
Truth: Cat Noir, tell me what- (interupted by Ladybug throwing a present at Truth) Ladybug: (covering her parasol with foil) ...do you think about my new role as guardian! Cat Noir: If it doesn't change things between us, then I'm good with it!
So not a great start to the season. I know people focused on Adrien's terrible treatment of Kagami in these episodes, but this Ladynoir dynamic was actually what rang alarm bells for me. I kept waiting for Chat Noir to offer his support since it was really, really obvious that Ladybug was in over her head since she was late to patrols, the last season literally ended with her losing her mentor figure, and, you know, she straight up told him that was what was going on?
The next episode is Gang of Secrets in which we see Marinette out her identity to Alya. I get why she did this, she needed support and her partner doesn't seem interested in giving it, but she can't say that for certain because she never asked him directly and she should have. Trusting Chat Noir over Alya would have allowed Ladynette to maintain the security of her secret identity - a thing she claimed was more important than ever - and to honor their partnership. At the very least, she should have told Chat Noir that Rena Rouge was now a full time holder so that he could account for that in battle and to minimize the fallout by owning up to her mistake asap. The longer a lie goes on, the worse the truth will hurt.
To Ladybug's credit, she does eventually acknowledge her mistake after the Scarabella incident:
Ladybug: You... must've been pretty surprised to discover there was another holder! (Silence. She sits beside Cat Noir.) Ladybug: I'm really sorry, Cat Noir. I should've told you. I mean, if I found out that you told someone about your secret identity, I'd... probably be upset, too. I'm really sorry I hurt your feelings.
This is a decent apology. She doesn't try to absolve herself of wrong doing. Instead, she acknowledges that what she did would hurt her, too, if the shoe were on the other foot. The only thing she loses points on is the fact that she doesn't tell him about Rena Furtive.
However, instead of agreeing with her and telling her that she has hurt him, Chat Noir says that she did nothing wrong and never once brings up how their weakened partnership is bothering him:
Cat Noir: You didn't hurt my feelings. You did everything right. Paris will always need a Ladybug superhero to watch over her. It's just... I realized that if one day that hero wasn't you, m'lady, since we don't know each other's identities, that means... I'd never see you again. Ever. And now, I just don't know if I can bear it.
This is the thing that I hate about this arc. The reason why I say Ladybug is blamed for not reading his mind. Especially because, three episodes later, we get Rocketear, which gives us this:
Cat Noir: Everyone has doubts now and then, (looks down) even me... Ladybug: Is everything okay, Cat Noir? Cat Noir: Yeah, yeah. (prepare his fist) Pound it! Ladybug: (fistbumps) Pound it!
Rocketear is the episode where Nino outs that he and Alya know each other's identities while acting like Ladybug said identities weren't a big deal even though that is very much not what happened. You'd think that Chat Noir would want to know the full story, but instead he just lies and says that everything is fine.
So we have two situations where the show allowed Ladybug to give Chat Noir a chance for clear and open communication and both times he turns her down.
What's worse is that he clearly starts making up stories in his head, leading to Kuro Neko, which starts with Adrien avoiding a fight on purpose as some sort of shit test. He then gets upset when Ladybug... doesn't lament his absence on national TV?
Clara: (from TV) By the way, where's Cat Noir? You've saved Paris without him quite a few times recently. Are you two at odds with each other? Carapace, Pegasus, Vesperia and Pigella: (from TV) Pound it! Ladybug: (from TV) Of course not, it's just that... umm, he's a partner like any other! The most important is to pick the best superheroes for each mission, with or without Cat Noir. No matter what, we've got a great team and we'll always be here to save Paris. (Adrien is shocked.) Adrien: (turns off the TV and sighs) "A partner like any other..."
Dude, what did you want her to do here? Complain that you flaked on her? Make Paris feel less safe by saying she doesn't know where you are? Imply that the fight was barely won without you? What are you doing? Plagg, you are completely failing as a mentor right now.
The shit test continues as Chat Noir goes to meet up with Ladybug now that the battle is over, arriving just as Ladybug has finished instructing the team on what to do:
Ladybug: Come on, guys! Hurry up before you all detransform. I'll meet you at rendezvous points. (The heroes jump away in different directions, and Ladybug starts typing something on her Yo-yo.) Cat Noir: Hey! Meow are you, m'lady? Ladybug: Great, thanks, but I gotta go retrieve all these Miraculous. Cat Noir: I could lend you a paw to help save time. Ladybug: Thanks, kitty cat, but it's a guardian's job to do it. Cat Noir: I know who some of them are, remember? I was there when you first gave them their Miraculous! Ladybug: You don't even know where their rendezvous points are, I don't have time to— Cat Noir: Playing cat and mouse is my forte, you know— Ladybug: (yelling) If you wanna save me time, stop wasting it in the first place! (Cat Noir gasps. As Ladybug swings away, Cat Noir clenches his fist.) Cat Noir: And take my Miraculous back when you're done!
So Ladybug doesn't publicly chastise Chat Noir for missing the battle and rejects an offer to help because of very legitimate timing concerns, leading to Chat Noir quitting because she failed his stupid, petty, childish tests. Realistic writing? Yes. Writing that paints Ladybug as the one in the wrong? No.
Going into this episode, Ladybug has no idea that things are messed up between them even though she has actually kept communication lines open. She asks him if things are okay, but he lies. And when he's ready to quit? He plays stupid games and wins a stupid prize. It's really not shocking that the next scene sees Ladybug totally baffled by what just happened:
Plagg: For a while now, you've been neglecting this camembert— I mean Cat Noir, and going on adventures with the all other cheeses! Ladybug: But he should be happy about it, it gives him more time off. Plagg: Cat Noir doesn't wanna have time off, Ladybug! He is in love with you! And your persistent calling on all the other heroes has broken his heart.
And how is she supposed to know that, Plagg? Was she supposed to assume that her partner was lying when he said he was fine? Because she did ask and he said that nothing was wrong. But something was wrong and it lead him to build up a story in his head, reading nonexistent intent into her actions, all of which is toxic and unhealthy communication.
I cannot stress how common this shit is. I've seen it so many times and I will own that I've done it in the past and wound up getting no support when I needed it because I'd directly told people I didn't and they committed the heinous crime of... believing me.
Here's the other thing, there are times when I'm in distress and legitimately don't want or need help. Times when I just need to be alone for a bit. So if someone asks me if I'm okay during those times, I'm probably just going to say, "Yeah, I just need a people break" or something like that. That's why the Scarabella scene is so bad. Ladybug can see that Chat Noir is in distress and he gives her a fully plausible answer: I'm not upset with you, I'm just saddened by the idea of losing you. And she believes him because why wouldn't she?
Same goes for Rocketear. It's reasonable for Ladybug to assume that Chat Noir is just shaken by the fight. She has no idea about the bombshell that Nino dropped right before the fight. She doesn't even know that Nino and Chat Noir are actually close friends, making this fight a lot more devastating than it looks at face value. Her actions here are not objectively wrong. They're only wrong if you know the whole story, including Adrien's needs. Things that she cannot know unless Chat Noir uses his words to tell her things.
I cannot over stress how much season four is a textbook example of denying yourself support because you cannot communicate your own needs. Is it an understandable character flaw for a character with Adrien's background to have? Yes. Absolutely. 100%. But it's still a character flaw. This season desperately needed an arc about Adrien learning to tell people what's wrong. Not because he's the only one in the wrong here, but because things cannot get better when Ladybug has no idea that she's hurting him. (Nino has no idea either, but let's keep our focus on Ladybug.)
One of the most important things you can do for your own mental well being is to dismiss the idea that your needs are the same as everyone else's. Everyone needs different amounts of attention and values different behavior based on things like their upbringing and life events.
I get the feeling that I'm wired pretty similar to Marinette. At least, it influences how I write her because I can go months without talking to my best friends and still call them my best friends, a trait we all share because two of use are artsy introverts and two of us are moms to young kids, which allows for very little free time. Meanwhile, my SO and his best friend spend hours on the phone almost every week. I swear that those two go into withdrawal if they don't talk at least once every seven days. If months went by without them talking? Something would be very wrong, but the exact same time gap isn't even remotely concerning when it comes to my friends. It's something my SO and I had to figure out when we got together because I need a lot less attention than he does. But we communicated and found a balance that we continue to work to communicate about so that he doesn't feel neglected and I don't feel overwhelmed by too little me time.
What I'm trying to say is Marinette wasn't horribly wrong for assuming that Chat Noir was telling her the truth or that he liked having a larger team so he had less responsibility. Those are reasonable assumptions. Especially since he never actually indicated that he wanted more responsibility until he was ready to quit and decided to shit test her by pushing for more to do when she was stressed and on a timer.
I do think that she should have offered it to him before that or - at the very least - the show should have clearly stated why she didn't do that since it apparently had nothing to do with Chat Blanc trauma like we all thought it did. I'm not saying that she's blameless or perfect or that there weren't things she could have done better. It's just really hard for me to look at Chat Noir's behavior in season four and go, "Oh yeah, he's the injured party here. Ladybug holds all the blame and did everything wrong." She did many things wrong, but generally speaking, she owned her faults and tried to keep communication channels open. Chat Noir chose to ignore those chances to talk or otherwise try to express his needs in a clear and understandable manner.
We'll end with one final point to drive this home: You said that she's his boss. Well, if my boss asked me, "is everything okay with the project?" and I said, "yes" while freaking out about the upcoming deadline that I'm probably going to miss because he's given me too much work, the issue is not all on my boss. It's on both of us. Him for overloading me and me for not telling him I'm overloaded. You could even argue that it's mostly on me because I'm the only one who can properly gauge my own ability to do a given workload. As soon as it was too much, I should have said something. And if I don't feel like my boss is approachable? Then I should quit. But that isn't the situation I'm in and it doesn't appear to be the one that Chat Noir was in, either. He wanted to stay part of the team, he just totally failed to tell Ladybug how being on the team was making him feel.
People magically knowing what you need and how you feel is a myth. I promise you, most people in this world do not want to cause you pain, but if you cannot clearly express when someone is causing you pain, then you will continue to get hurt by people who would be very happy to not hurt you if they actually knew that their actions were causing you pain.
#ml writing critical#ml writing salt#adrien deserves better#marinette deserves better#I do give Luka a bit of a side eye for not getting involved after Wishmaker though#Dude's supposed to be some sort of empath and he's at his best when he's in a mentor role#He should have been allowed to be Adrien's Alya since Nino is clearly not suited for the role#Season four my belothed#kuro Neko salt#ml season 4 salt#you cannot expect someone to correct their behavior when no one is telling them that they're behaving badly#And no one calls Marinette out so of course she doesn't change her behavior!#She is shown to be willing to change when prompted too#She only knew that something was wrong post Scarabella because Alya told her#Do you really think Marinette was aware that she was hurting Chat Noir and just willfully kept doing it?#Or is it more likely that she just didn't know because no one told her?#Feel free to give Tikki some blame too because she's been a real shitty mentor for a while now#which breaks my heart because I love Tikki and Plagg and want them to be good mentors
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Man, I’m in desperate need of more content of MariBug just trying to get through a single day with something going wrong that slowly builds up inside of her (ex: akuma attacks, forgotten homework, being late, had a stroke of bad luck)
And when someone asks Marinette if she’s doing alright, she’ll answer, “I’m fine.”
And when Alya decide to talk to her one on one and Marinette insists that she’s alright. Alya would respond, “No, you’re not.”
And Marinette just crumples and start sobbing right then and there. Please, can anyone recommend me any fics with this premise.
This is also applicable for a fic idea!
#miraculous ladybug#marinette dupain cheng#alya cesaire#ml thoughts#ml fic idea#i need my food#Marinette would legit be the person to put on a mask and when someone gently says she’s not fine#she crumples like a wad of paper and just allows herself to feel#and I need Alya to be there for her#marinette deserves better#Yes I freaking loved Gang Of Secrets what gave it away?
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Ok but like
The ending
Felt so off??
It felt like a nightmare reality
Like i cant even explain how wrong it felt
Where is Emilie
Was Gabriels wish to heal natalie??
Like
What??????????
#miraculous ladybug#this feel so wrong for some reason#like there was no tearful reunion between adrien and marinette where adrien explains how his father locked him up like a prisoner#marinette should hare gabriel so mich#alsp so should kagami??#kagami know that gabriel is monarch and DOESNT SAY ANYTHING???#also she allows her mother to make a speech????#did gabriel erase their memories????#did all his evils just. never happen????????
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Sooo I ran across this cool concept art of an unused kwami design. And… well- I had to make some art.
It’s called Null, the kwami of nothingness, with an ambition to “Return the world back to nothingness”. I decided that the power it would have would be called “Void”, allowing its users to make any one thing disappear permanently. I figured Null would be the universe’s counterbalance to the kwami of reality, Gimmi.
I’ve seen some theories floating around that Null might be appearing in season 6, I feel like that could be pretty interesting, depending on how it’s handled.
Side note: making Marinette recognizable when you get rid of her bangs is harder than I thought it would be- hopefully y’all can tell it’s her, haha. The working name I have going for her is Lady Cipher
#hopefully my spelling and handwriting isn’t to atrocious#kwami swap#kwami#lady cipher#null#miraculous ladybug null#miraculous ladybug#ml#mlb#marinette dupain cheng#miraculous ladybug Marinette#miraculous ladybug theory#null!marinette#my art
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It was wrong for Marinette to lie.
Marinette did what she thought was right at the time.
Marinette was acting out of love.
It is unfair that Marinette has to bear such heavy burdens at such a young age.
Marinette’s lie is a huge sacrifice that causes her deep pain.
Marinette should not make decisions about Adrien’s life for him.
Marinette is inadvertently perpetuating Gabriel’s abuse.
Marinette is a good person trying to navigate a very difficult situation.
Marinette needs to come clean and try to fix her mistake. That is a sign of heroism.
Adrien has a right to know the truth, even if it’s painful.
Marinette’s lie will cause him additional trauma.
Adrien loves Marinette and will understand that she was trying to protect him.
Adrien has a right to be angry/hurt about the lie.
Adrien needs space to express negative feelings he has never been allowed to express.
Adrien has been controlled for his entire life and is now being controlled by Marinette.
Adrien’s story arc has always been about breaking free, and a satisfying conclusion to that story requires his FULL knowledge and reconciliation of all the painful truths of his life.
The love square relationship is and will be severely damaged because of Marinette’s choice, and for it to be repaired, all of these true statements need to be acknowledged and given proper weight in the narrative.
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Yandere Marinette Dupain-Cheng/Adrien Agreste Headcanons (Poly!Romantic)
❝🐞 — lady l: hi!! I finally wrote this and it's set in an au where they eventually discover each other's identities to make more sense. I hope you like it and forgive me for any mistakes! ❤️
❝tw: obsessive and possessive behavior, stalking, polyamorous and unhealthy relationships.
❝🐞pairing: yandere!adrinette/ladynoir x gender neutral!reader.
Everything was always very complicated between them. Marinette in love with Adrien and Adrien in love with Ladybug, both unaware of each other's identities and feelings.
Marinette always remained hiding her feelings for Adrien, too embarrassed to say anything and Adrien continued to yearn for Ladybug. This continued for a long time, until your arrival in their lives.
You were a new student and felt out of place after leaving your old school and your friends. You hoped to make friends at this new school, but you were afraid you wouldn't be able to do so. But luckily, or unluckily, you met Marinette first and she introduced you to her friends, who immediately liked you.
Marinette liked you, at first sight, you were so kind and sweet. She almost fell right there and it confused her, but she couldn't help but admire you.
Adrien became interested in you after a few conversations, and you caught his interest and attraction. He had something about you that made him attracted, and curious, an unknown feeling that he wanted to feel more of.
It wasn't difficult to notice their interest in you, Marinette constantly stuttering and blushing when you were around and Adrien, although shy, loved flirting with you and seeing you blush.
It wasn't easy to admit their interest in you, Marinette was still in love with Adrien but she really was in love with you, therefore, she didn't know what to do. Adrien was more resolute and acted in the way he knew how wanting to declare himself because he could no longer keep his feelings to himself.
Adrien was the one who first noticed Marinette's interest in you and he was surprised to notice that he didn't have a problem with it. If it were anyone else, he would have, but not with her. Because Marinette had a habit of stalking you incessantly, it didn't take long for her to realize that Adrien liked you. She was curious and excited, not jealous like she thought she would be.
They talked and decided to act quickly, both confessing to you. You were surprised and flattered and accepted, and finally, a romance happening.
Marinette is very jealous and overprotective, always wanting to know where you are and she will be very worried if she doesn't know. She will go so far as to use her Miraculous to look for you, even knowing the consequences.
Adrien is possessive, getting jealous very easily, and doesn't react well to it. He doesn't like it when you're with someone other than him and Marinette and will use intimidation to make someone stay away from you, whether with money or even his Miraculous.
They have always been very protective of you and at any sign of danger you will be quickly hidden and protected. They already talked about giving you a Miraculous, but Adrien considered it too dangerous. There was always a chance you could get hurt and he wasn't going to allow it.
You are spoiled intensely, clothes made by Marinette and bought by Adrien, jewelry, food, expensive and extravagant gifts to the simplest ones, like roses. You will never lack for anything as long as they are by your side.
They want to see you happy more than anything and will do everything to make that happen. They can't even think about the idea of you being akumatized, the idea alone sends them into a frenzy at the thought of it happening to you. No, they have to be sure that this will never happen.
Marinette is very kind and soft, a mask of her true stalker and extremely jealous side. Adrien is kind and calm, always with a smile on his face and ready to make you smile, but he acts very strangely when you don't do what he asks.
They know they shouldn't use Miraculous for selfish reasons but when it comes to you, they won't care. Marinette doesn't care about ruining herself for you and Adrien has been ruined for a long time.
You are theirs and anyone who tries to get in the way will suffer the consequences. After all, you didn't just belong to Marinette and Adrien, but also to Ladybug and Cat Noir.
#yandere miraculous#yandere miraculous ladybug#miraculous ladybug#miraculous tales of ladybug and chat noir#yandere miraculous tales of ladybug and cat noir#yandere marinette dupain-cheng#yandere adrien agreste#yandere ladybug#yandere cat noir#yandere adrinette#yandere adrinette x reader#yandere marinette dupain-cheng x reader#yandere adrien agreste x reader#yandere ladybug x reader#yandere cat noir x reader#adrinette x reader#marinette dupain-cheng x reader#adrien agreste x reader#cat noir x reader#ladybug x reader#yandere headcanons#ladynoir x reader#yandere ladynoir x reader
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I think one of the missed opportunities of ML is that they just don't get into the whimsy or magic of Miraculous and kwamis and what you can do with that. Especially in terms of subtlety of the magic.
Like, for example:
Of course, a lot of this was far outside Marinette's allowance, but she could still enjoy seeing the latest trends. She took in the designs and clothes, blind to the models that wore them, all focused on the creativity and inspiration. Until a small bit of orange caught Marinette's eye, derailing her whole inspiration ride. The culprit was an odd jewelry piece, an eyesore amongst the more elaborate and styled designs. It was a foxtail necklace, with a white tip, and a sectioned gradient of yellow to vermilion, held up by a golden chain. So eye-catching and odd was it, Marinette reached out for it instinctively, barely registering how it felt warm to the touch and seemed to tingle with a curious energy, as if excited. Marinette was in the motion of starting to put it on when the chain jerked on of the hook, and with that tiny little snap, the spell was broken. Marinette blinked a little in confusion. Shaking her head, she dismissed the weirdness, and looked over the necklace. It was still oddly warm to her touch, but maybe it was being handled previously? And there was no price tag to it… Odd. Everything about it was odd. Part of Marinette felt like she wanted to take it with her, but considering it was here, it was probably outside her funds. Oddly feeling apologetic, Marinette let it go to swing and sway, leaving it behind to continue her browsing. With her gaze no longer upon it, the foxtail shimmered, blending in with the other necklaces. Oblivious to the magic, Marinette continued her browsing, eager to see designs she hadn't seen before, and what new ideas these designs could inspire.
It's a little thing, but I think it just nicely adds to the Miraculous, so it's a shame the show didn't really delve into it. At least the movie did a little bit. I could feel the magic of them there.
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The life Lila wants
It's interesting when Lila drops her persona and shows true emotion. Her desire to be admired isn't just a need for attention, she is desperate to be seen as a treasure among society. Lila lies about having everything, but in reality, she has nothing.
Lila has always been good at getting what she wants through lying and maintaining those lies, but all her adventurous travels and life of fame was still just that, a lie. However, by working for Gabriel, she was able to make a big part of her lie a reality by becoming a model for the Agreste brand, then later an avatar for the alliance rings, allowing her to be recognized by the world and finally obtain the fame she always spoke of, all in exchange for acting as Gabriel's spy into Adrien's life and committing to separating him from those Gabriel considered "bad influences", specifically Marinette.
Naturally, in "Emotion", the moment she discovered from Kagami that Gabriel saw her as a common stone, rather than a diamond worthy enough to go to the diamonds dance, an event where Gabriel invited the rich and powerful along with their heirs and heiresses, Lila felt wronged. Despite not being related to Gabriel, Lila had deemed herself someone who was entitled to be viewed on equal grounds as the prestige's people Gabriel invited, and since her agreement with Gabriel involved being brought into a world of high society, Lila had assumed she was now officially part of that world by becoming an image of the Agreste brand and had to be upheld in the same regard as Adrien, Kagami and Chloe.
The realization that Gabriel never viewed her as a treasure within his company, but rather someone who was no different than a common perfume bottle his company advertised, struck a big nerve with Lila. She detested being treated like someone who could be easily forgotten and discarded. However, it was her ongoing attempts to repeatedly contact Gabriel about going to the Diamonds dance that made her whole mysterious background even more questionable, as we have never seen her show such concern for not being included in something.
Lila's background continues to elude everyone, but her determination to ensure she is recognized as someone who is far more valuable than a perfume bottle or any normal person for that matter, feels like she is actively seeking out a means to escape her true life, whatever it may really be, and permanently become the girl she spoke of in her lies. We may not know much about Lila's true life, but the fact that she always refers to herself as someone who has accomplished so much and is recognized by so many, does leave the impression that Lila has a dislike for her true identity and what little her real life has provided for her.
Added note: No, Lila does not hate Marinette because she is jealous of her life. Lila hates Marinette because she is a threat. Marinette wants to expose Lila and refused to adhere to Lila’s demands to stay quiet and not get in her way, so now Lila aims to ruin her life.
#miraculous ladybug#miraculous tales of ladybug and chat noir#tales of ladybug and cat noir#adrien agreste#marinette dupain cheng#mlb ladybug#thomas astruc#ml ladybug#cat noir#mlb s5 spoilers#lila rossi#ml volpina#kagami tsuguri#gabriel agreste#mlb emotion analysis#ml emotion#mlb s5 analysis
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of course i hate that marinette has the weight of the world on her shoulders, of course i’m glad she was able to be so open with alya about it throughout seasons 4 and 5.
however.
i love that she FINALLY has another huge secret she must protect with her life. no telling alya this time about how she told the whole world her boyfriend’s dad was a hero rather than a domestic terrorist.
sure, people like kagami, felix, nathalie, and tomoe know. however, i’d like to argue that none of these people are those that she’d confess her life-altering secrets to.
what’s cool about this gabriel agreste secret is that it not only isolates her from those that are the MOST important in her life (adrien as marinette, chat noir as ladybug, alya), but it also allows her to form connections with the more unlikely bunch (felix, nathalie).
she does consider kagami as one of her best friends, even if she’s not close with her like she is with alya—i’m really curious to see if this secret either strengthens their friendship or drives a wedge between them. kagami didn’t look too pleased with ladybug in the special when she lied to adrien about his father (understandably), yet she chose to respect her wish to keep the truth hidden. so excited to see how this shared secret changes their relationship, for better or for worse.
and honestly, going back to marinette just carrying this secret (sort of) on her own, i feel very much at home with it. the core of the show s1-s3 was that marinette had her secret identity to protect, and now she also has a secret identity to protect that ISN’T HERS!!! are we getting deja vu here!!!!!
#ml#miraculous#miraculous ladybug#ladynoir#ladybug#chat noir#miraculous fandom#mlb#adrien agreste#marichat#ladrien#adrienette#ml spoilers#ml london special#ml london spoilers#ml love square#marinette dupain cheng
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Thinking about the symmetry of Catwalker and Loveybug.
Yes, they’re both just a version of their civilian selves, but those versions have been pushed to extremes. For Catwalker, he’s the embodiment of perfection and doing what he’s told, but Adrien the civilian often pushes back against being controlled. For Loveybug, she the embodiment of daydreams and affection, but Marinette the civilian is often gets in her own way of fulfilling her romantic dreams.
But these two aren’t just mirroring their own civilian selves, they’re also mirroring their superhero partner. Like Ladybug, Catwalker is focused on the mission above all else and tries to be professional. Like Chat Noir, Loveybug wears her heart on her sleeve and indulges in grand romantic gestures at inappropriate moments.
And this new version of the heroes is simultaneously all their partner thinks they want, and yet not at all what they truly need. Catwalker can help her carry her burdens, but he can’t be the partner who knows Ladybug well enough to be her best friend. Loveybug can shower him with affection, but she can’t be the partner Chat Noir knows well enough to love him for the real him.
And even when you remove the partner they know from the equation and just have it be Catwalker and Loveybug, they still find themselves drawn to each other. Loveybug knows from prior experience that Catwalker is a total sweetheart and is exactly the sort of boy she’d drool over if she didn’t have Chat Noir and/or Adrien. Catwalker knows from prior experience that Loveybug is totally lovey-dovey and is exactly the sort of girl he’d want to have close to him if he didn’t have Ladybug and/or Marinette.
And both are internally screaming just being transformed like this. Catwalker is stressed over having to force himself to conform to a strict standard for Ladybug’s approval, but he thought that having this clean slate would let him be by her side after facing rejection. Loveybug is stressed that letting loose on her emotions so much will be lead to a mortifyingly embarrassing rejection, but she thought that having this clean slate would let her act on her feelings for once without having to worry about long term consequences.
And in our scenario where Catwalker and Loveybug have become partners, it’s only a matter of time before they both crack from pushing their identities to their limits (her from showing a boy more love than her comfort zone has ever allowed, him from restraining himself from reciprocating the love he desperately wants). And once those cracks finally show? Then they’ll be able to see—just a bit more fully—who their partner has been hiding under the mask all this time.
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We're back! And stronger than ever <3 We know the wait is excruciating every year, so no beating around the bush: Let's make 2024 the year where we show canon what it fumbled!!
Rules:
Be sure to put #marichatmay2024 in the tags and to tag us @marichatmay so we can be sure to see your post and reblog it.
Don't forget to add the prompt title in the tags so mods can sort all posts.
Reminder that we will not be reblogging anything age-restricted/nsfw, though you are welcome to make any type of content you feel inspired to create!
S5 and the Special are no longer considered spoilers, there is no need to worry about spoiler tagging. However, leaks such as those from s6 and the upcoming special are NOT ALLOWED, tagged or not. Please respect those of us who do not want to be spoiled.
Please don't spam DMs or Asks with reminders to reblog your post unless it has been more than 48hrs since your post goes unnoticed. We aren't ignoring you, remember that mods aren't constantly online and this is for fun, not a full-time job.
You are, however, welcome to add your post to submissions if you want to share your art/fic/edit that way.
Most importantly, enjoy yourself! Don't stress over this fun event! If you fall behind, no worries, post it whenever. Marichat runs all year in our hearts, so why not post it whenever you complete it at your own pace? Take care of your health <3
Calendar in text:
First Sight
Balcony
Protective Marinette
Rescue
Secrets
Trust
Cheek Kiss
Oblivion
Movie Night
Sleepover
Hide Place
Promises
Roses
Letters
Snow in May
Lies
Deal
Secret Relationship
Anniversary
Dancing
Catnap
Lullaby
Waffles
Ice Cream
Makeover
Vintage Clothes
Poison
Dress-Up
Angelic/Demonic
Prince
Soulmates
#marichatmay2024#marichat#marichatmay#marichat may#miraculous ladybug#marinette dupain cheng#marinette x cat noir#chat noir#ml fanart#ml fanfic#ml edit#marichat may 2024 calendar#calendar
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Since you've mentioned Scarlet Lady in one of your posts, what's your opinion on it?
I've mentioned before that I'm a big Scarlet Lady fan, which is the only reason that I'm comfortable answering asks like this one. I don't publicly criticize the content of hobby creators. That's wildly inappropriate! Punch up, not down.
The linked post was a general discussion of the adaptation process and how @zoe-oneesama did a fantastic job, so for this one, I'm just going to do some general gushing because I do actually like praising and enjoying things!
Scarlet Lady's chosen format (comic) allows it to have this wonderful conversation with canon where it can rely on the framework of canon to tell it's own story while also using canon for jokes and meta commentary. This means that Scarlet Lady is about as close as fan content can get to a direct reboot because it's able to have moments like this one from the comic's first post:
[Image description: Adrien standing in his room after transforming into Chat Noir for the first time. He is beaming and his eyes are shining with excitement as he exclaims, "This is gonna be awesome!"]
A single picture that communicates everything we need to know about Adrien getting his miraculous. When I've done this same thing in fanfic, I had to write out the full scene because that's how novels work. You have to give the full picture. With a comic, you can just quickly acknowledge this thing that we all already know and then move on to the new stuff. A picture really is worth a thousand words! (Or, in my case, more like two thousand...)
This allows Zoe to keep the same akumas that we get in canon without her story feeling like a boring rehash because she can focus on what's different in her version. A novelization of the same content would have to show both the stuff that stays the same and the stuff that changes for it to be coherent. That's a lot less fun to read and write. It's why I basically never revisit canon akumas in my own stuff. It's just too derivative for the written word.
This is one of the big reasons that I loved Scarlet Lady. Because it was able to have that more directly conversation with canon, it was able to take canon and say, "hey, why don't we embrace the tone that you established in season one and retell the story with that vibe?" That's something that I desperately wanted to see, but that is totally unsuited to my chosen artistic form. It couldn't be a novel. It had to be a comic.
If you want to know what a true formula show version of Miraculous would look like, Scarlet Lady is it. It does everything that Miraculous should have done:
Sticks to a lighthearted tone where nothing is ever super serious
Keeps Gabriel entirely unsympathetic
Has slow character development and background hints at a bigger plot as the only serial elements, allowing the individual episodes to be their own story while never feeling incomplete or rushed
Allows characters other than Marinette to shine while keeping Marinette as the clear main character
Makes Adrien narratively important
MAKES THE LOVE SQUARE CUTE SO I CAN ACTUALLY SHIP IT
Understands that Lila and Chloe can't coexist as antagonists
Reverses the love square, which is the best way to tell their story. Yes, I will die on my "love diamond" hill. It's a good hill. Come join me. I'll bring cookies.
I could keep going, but you hopefully get my point. While Scarlet Lady is certainly not the only way to do a formula version of canon, it's proof that a formula version does work! You don't have to go the serious route for Miraculous to be successful.
I want to take some time to gush about the ending, but I don't want to spoil it, so I'll put that gushing under a "read more" in case anyone hasn't seen it. I'll finish out this less spoilerish section with this:
I feel like some people are surprised when they learn that I love Scarlet Lady because - as some of you have probably picked up - it is quite different from my ideal version of canon. I'm not sure why that would stop me from enjoying a thing, though. It's important to remember that our personal ideals are not the only way to tell a good story. There are lots of ways to take what canon gave us and make something wonderful! It's part of the reason that I enjoy being in a fandom.
If I only wanted to see my ideal take on canon, then I'd stick to writing/imagining my own stories. But I don't want that! I like seeing alternate takes, too. Scarlet Lady is one of my personal favorites. It's completely different from anything that I'd ever think to write and that's why I'm so glad that it exists! I like being entertained just as much as I like creating my own entertainment and I don't want to only read stories that look like something I'd write. That's boring!
Spoilers below:
I've mentioned before that there are many, many ways to properly handle Chloe's character and Zoe did such a good job with her take on that! Chloe isn't absolved of all the things she did wrong, but she's also treated as a young woman with the ability to change.
While the comic bares the name of Chloe's alter ego, she was the never the main character. She never went on a journey. The story kept her to her shallow season-one self: a petty brat who just wanted attention. It did this because that's who Chloe was in canon and who Chloe needed to be for the comic to work.
The first time we see any complexity from Chloe is in the comic's final few episodes, which was absolutely the right call for Zoe to make! In a recent post, I talked about how the end of a formula show is the only time when you can break the formula in catastrophic ways and that's what Zoe did. She kept Chloe static until it was time to end the story and that's when the formula breaks. That's when Chloe gets depth because, once she has depth, the formula doesn't work.
That depth is not used to redeem Chloe, but to show us that there's hope for Chloe. That this petty brat who we've been dealing with has some serious issues and needs help. Help that she's going to get far away from the people that she's hurt because her issues aren't an excuse for what she's done. They don't erase the harm that she caused. At the same time, understanding her issues makes us hope that she can be better now and Scarlet Lady took a moment to give us that hope. To show us the START of Chloe's true story.
That is the kind of ending that I have wanted to see in so many properties!!! It was so wonderful to finally get one that did this right. A story that understood that full redemption to the team and damnation to death/suffering are extremes on a scale of possibilities. You don't have to go to extremes! You can fall in the middle and the middle is a perfect, natural place for Chloe to land in this kind of story. Fully redeeming or even fully damning Chloe simply doesn't work in lighthearted formula content. It's too big a lift as canon has already demonstrated.
I also loved Zoe's take on Emilie. I've mentioned that I don't like evil Emilie in part because it makes her revival feel like the start of a new story. She's back and she'd bad, so we have to take her down now! But I don't want that. I want the story to end when Gabriel is stopped. Zoe does this by giving us an Emilie that is another perfect middle ground. She matches canon's uncomfortable implications without feeling like a true villain who is a threat to society.
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Rewatching Re-Creation and I want to bring this bit of dialogue during the fight that I believed got obscured.
Bug Noire : Do you think that is what Adrien wants? To discover his father has turned into a supervillain, willing to make innocent people pay the price of his madness? Monarch : Adrien would do the same thing! Bug Noire : Never! Unlike you, Adrien has made his peace with it. He's not living in the past. He has a whole life ahead of him. You've noticed if you had ever took an interest in him. But in reality, Adrien means nothing to you anymore. You've locked him into your house. Locked him in your Alliance rings. Locked him into a life that allows you to hide behind him to justify your madness.
Marinette isn't covering the truth because Gabriel asked her to.
Her motivations lies on what she thinks Adrien wants. On what she believes would make him at peace in the circumstances. But like this dialog shows, both of Gabriel and Marinette are both correct and wrong at the same time.
Gabriel is somewhat right. Adrien did think about it. To save Nathalie (Passion) or even his mom (confirmed in the Paris Special). But it is the price to pay that always deters Adrien in the end.
Claw Noir : If I make a wish, I'll have a chance to get the only thing I want. I'll bring her back to life! I'll see my mother again! Adrien : I know. I know you, you know. Claw Noir : No, you don't. Don't pretend to be me. Or else you wouldn't be friend with the cockroach. If you were me, your mother would also be-- Adrien : She is. Claw Noir : But... If you knew about the wish, why haven't you tried it? Adrien : I won't tell you that I never thought about it. Of course, I've thought about it. But... everything comes at a price. If my mother came back-- Claw Noir : Our mother. Adrien : If we were to bring our mother back, someone else would have to lose theirs. And that, I can't wish that on anyone. Me? I manage to go on living. Trying to be happy as she wanted me to. I have my friends to comfort me. I'm okay now. I'm as well as I can be anyway.
Marinette is unaware of all of that thanks to the secret identity. Adrien is often masking how he is truly feeling to his friends. But it is also true that Adrien continues on living and tries to be happy again. That is why he went to school and made friends. But it isn't exactly true to say that Adrien is at peace, especially with the quote above. Adrien is trying but Gabriel is by far the largest obstacle that impeded him. And Marinette pointed it out.
Bug Noire : Everything will be back to normal. Checkmate. Except you will only have a few hours left to live. So does Nathalie, a victim of your madness. And Adrien will be miserable. This is the sad truth. My power won't be able to remedy it. If you've meant what you've said earlier, then we both want the same thing. We want Adrien to be happy. And that was also your wife's greatest wish.
Basically, all are acting on what they think will make Adrien the happiest. But all fail at asking the main interested party what he wants to begin with.
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People who deserve redemption, according to Thomas Astruc, written from least to worst of a bad character.
Kim Lê Chiến
Dumbass teenage boy who could have killed Marinette with a dumb prank he was completely concious of, and willing to commit. The boy was also a brat/ bully throughout season 1, but after Dark Cupid had apparently decided to be nicer off screen. Became friends with Max and got a girlfriend... BUT still refers to Chloe as the funniest and prettiest girl, IN FRONT of said girlfriend. Sees nothing wtong with what he did to the point of getting upset enough to become akumatized over the issue. He was allowed to be a super hero without even apologizing to Marinette dor over a year, and did a lot of dumb stuff tht was also forgiven just because. Is also one of the most inconsistently written characters in tbe story.
Jagged Stone
Possibly the most likable man on the list. However this man abandoned his twins and didn't contact them for 14 years. He kept his identity a secret and it's not even known if he paid child support before coming back into their lives, and constantly having fights with their mother.
That said he's put low on the list because we don't know if he did or did not pay child support. He's not mean to his children or kids in general, he is legit trying to make up for his absence and he originally left because his life was too chaotic to have custody. There's a lot of ambiguity and behind the scenes drama that is not explored (*cough thought out cough cough*) in this family, and it's even possible the mom fought for full custody to keep him away after a big break up. The situation is too ambiguous to judge.
Sabrina Raincomprix
Sabrina has been Chloe's number 1 supporter and follower for almost a decade. They were childhood friends and wherever Chloe went, she went. She has been supporting Chloe bad deeds and even happily participating throughout most of them. There were two incidents in season 1 where they almost stopped being friends and Marinette made an attempt to leave the friendship once, but for the most part has stuck throigh and done everything Chloe has wanted her to do and loved doing it. This includes stealing, faking notes, doing her homework, coming up with schemes to bully, laughing at all the chaos, making grown women and other teens cry and so much more. She was even given the dog Miraculous in season 4, by Marinette, despite doing nothing to earn it and only being good at soccer and wanting to SAVE Chloe, so they could bully another day.
In the end she's given a redemption arc because she feels bad for stealing (all of a sudden), and because Chloe was becoming friends with Lilah. The fact she's an active participant in bullying who gets off on the power trip of putting others drown, is not brought up again
Alec Cataldi
Alec's career is based on putting other people down, and is responsible for the first akumatized victim in the show back in episode 1. For four seasons, his entire personality was finding people, mocking them, on television or in person, and getting views off it. He's a spiteful man who makes his living off the suffering of others.
However in season 4 we find out that his biggest dream was to become a drag queen when he was little, and he was mocked for it. After that happened he shaved his hair off and started putting down other people's passions, in the same way his had dreams had been squashed. After his first and only akumatization, he has a break down and epithany, decides to live his true self and raise people up instead instead. On paper, he has the best redemption arc so far.
Félix Fathom
Fèlix was introduced in season 3, and his first on-screen acts include destroying Adrien's things, trying to ruin his cousin's reputation and leave him friendless, sexually assaulting Ladybug, and stealing from the Agreste family. He continues his bad deeds in season four with identity theft, and stealing all the Miraculous' from Ladybug and giving them to Gabriel/ AKA Hawkmoth, in return for the Peacock Miraculous.
We learn in season 5 he's a sentimonster who's been acting out due to an abusive father and his fragile existence in the world. He uses his power to remove everyone in the world in a misplaced effort to make him and his cousin happy, before eventually being talked down by Kagami and Adrian.
He eventually starts stalking Kagami and after revealing himself, they start a relationship together. He seems socially inept and yet despite all his knowledge on his, Adrien's and Kagami's situation, he decides to never tell Adrian aboht what's happening and only Marinette in the most awkward dance number ever.
All in all Fèlix had every opportunity and all the power to reveal Hawkmoth's true identy from the start, but never took the steps to reveal his identity and work towards true redemption. And if he decided to tell Chat Noir/ Ladybug the whole story, the three of them could have defeated monarch. And Adrien and Kagami would nit have been forced to goto London.
André Bourgeois
Andrè is a corrupt mayor, who uses his elected title and money to regularly take advantage of the people of Paris. He has fired people without just cause (even his own "friends"), tried to steal things he was denied, abused funds, and enable his daughters worst decisions. He raised Chloe alone since she was 4-6, and has both neglected her emotional needs, refused to parent his child, rewarded her bad behavior with material possessions, and allowed her to idolize her mother, and even encouraged her to model her behavior after her mother she abandoned them, and then abandons her and hands her over to her abusive mother at the end of the series, while taking in her half sibling, who he has not raised and has no legal claim over.
Andrè blames the women in his life for how he's turned out. Claiming he only wanted to be a film director, and only left to be a successful business tirant and corrupt political figure, for his wife Audrey. Who he still stays married to after she cheats on him, and moves away for half a decade, abandoning hik and their own daughter. He chooses to stay married. Chose to stay in that career and chose to constantly rip off and screw over the people of paris. Often being the cause of akumatization, and ruinging big events for his daughter's whims. Keep in mind, the only reason Chloe is like this now, is because of Aundrè's parenting, yet he never takes responsibility for that, and instead decides to abdocate his position, illigally allow his daughter to take control of the city, let her take all the fall for HIS crimes, and then abandon her to live with his step daughter instead.
All this to say that Andrè may be the second worst on the list, but I hate him the most.
Gabriel Agreste
What can't you say about this man. This man loves being evil. He dances through the halls when a scheme looks like it's about to work. His entire power is taking advantage of people at thier worst, enslaving them and then making them do his bidding. His list of victims includes literal babies, children of all ages, the mentally ill, the elderly, and even his own son. The son which he claims to love but whom he actively manipulates, abuses and mistreats throughout the ENTIRE series. He literally controls him to make him do whatever he wants, and when he acts out or says something he does not like, he belittles him and will actively punish him if he gets less than perfect.
Gabriel also disrespects and will backstab all his allies. Has enslaved 2 kwami's and claims everything he does is for his dead wife, whose corpse he keeps locked away in his basement. He is actively going against her wishes to stay dead and manipulates the love of the women around him, like Natalie, to move forward with his evil plans.
Lastly when he says he does it all for his wife, he's lying. Because the when he has the opportunity to go back in time and save his wife, or fight Ladybug, he actively chooses the latter.
He constantly terrorizes Paris, actively makes situations worst for people to make more akumatized victims, destroys property, all while he hides away in the shadows. Then finally in season 5, when he is confronted by Ladybug, he is given the opportunity to reform and really think about what he did. To reflect on all he's done. He uses a moment of vulnerability and weakness to manipulate Marinette and treats her like the puppet she's named after. His last act of the show is stealing the Miraculous, using the cat and Ladybug to destroy and recreate the world how he wills, where he's the hero and no one knows he's the villain, and his son who he abused for 5 seasons and now has left parentless, now sees him as a hero.
#miraculous les aventures de ladybug et chat noir#miraculous ladybug#kim le chien#jagged stone#sabrina raincomprix#Alec Cataldi#Félix Fathom#andre bourgeois#gabriel agreste#audrey bourgeois#marinette dupen chang#marinette cheng#adrien agreste#chloe bourgeois#BuT ChLoE iS IrRReAmAbLe
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