#marinette sees a therapist

[mochinek0]

Daminette December 2023: 29-Disappointment

Marinette watched in disappointment as everything about Françoise Dupont was revealed. She thought she would feel justified, feel happy. Instead, she felt nothing. Caline Bustier had been fired in the middle of class. Lila had been arrested. They didn't tell the class anything; they just told them their parents were there and they had to speak to them before they left. Even their parents seemed confused.

Adrien stood with Natalie in a line. Everyone was spaced out. They had all been told that the students weren't allowed to talk to each other and if a pone was seen, it would go straight into police custody. Adrien looked behind him to see Marinette leaning against her father's large frame and her mother stroking her hair.

Once they were led into a room, they were all let out through a different direction to make sure there wasn't anything yelled out. When it was Adrien's turn, they quickly learned this was mostly about Lila Rossi. Natalie began to ask questions of her own, as they had hired her. At the end of the session, they were told to head straight home. No one was allowed to stick around on campus. As they got in the car, Adrien asked if they could stick around.

"No. The officer said we should head straight home, Adrien." Natalie stated.

"Please. I just want to talk to one person." Adrien spoke, " They were behind us in line so they should be coming out soon."

"We will wait ten minutes and not a second more." she declared, "If an officer tells us to leave before the time is up, we will leave."

"Yes, Natalie. Thank you." the model, smiled.

Just before the time was up, Marinette and her parents walked out of the school. Adrien perked up and unbuckled his seatbelt. As he reached for the car door, another car showed up. A guy he had never seen before, quickly walked out of the car and hugged Marinette. He watched as the guy kissed her head before turning to Tom and Sabine. He could barely make out what was being said.

"Let's go, Angel." he said, "Tom and Sabine said I was to take you away for a few days. How are you feeling?"

"Disappointed. I feel nothing." she answered, causing her parents to tear up.

"Where will you go?" he asked her parents.

"We will be closing the bakery for a week." Tom replied, "We'll be with some family memebers."

"I've already gathered her things." he spoke.

"Thank you, Damian." Sabine smiled.

Damian took ahold of Marinette's hand and led her to his car. It didn't take long for them to drive away.

"Adrien." Natalie called out.

"Uh, we-we can go." he whispered, "I'm sorry for wasting your time. I can ask at a later date."

The school was declared closed for a week. No one still knew what was going on until Tvi did a special on their school. It was under investigation. Their principal couldn't show specific footage to the school board or police. He was arrested for money laundering, as he had never updated the school's equipment as he stated he had. Once he was arrested, they began to dig into the footage and found many inconsistencies, regarding some students. Tvi went onto explain there had been expulsions that were never approved of by the board. The board was now frantically expunging records and reaching out to families. During the special, it was announced that a student had been arrested for lying to not only the school, but also the staff. They announced that a few of the students' parents were now suing the young girl as she took money and items from their classmates, claiming to be well connected with celebrities. They had also claimed to put money towards charities of their choice or would help them get their dream job. Dupont was called a school of dreamers and nativity. The class couldn't help but think of Lila, Marinette, and Ms. Bustier. When they had been questioned about Lila, they instantly got defensive and threw Marinette under the bus as a bully. They were quickly finding out, they had made the wrong choice and Marinette was rigth about Lila all along.

Adrien had snuck out and was hoping to meet up with some of the class for answers. He had no idea his father was one of the people suing Lila, once he had learned she had lied on her resume and forged her mother's signature. The model hoped he could talk to Marinette, as well. He never expected to see her outside of a hotel.

"Hey, Marinette!" He called out, "Did you tip off the school board?"

"No." She answered.

"Then, how did they know?" he questioned.

"Because of you." Mari replied.

"Huh?" he asked, not understanding.

"This ended exactly they way you wanted it to." she continued, "You wanted me to let Lila lie and she would catch herself in her own web of lies. Her going to jail, being sued; this is all your fault. All I wanted to do was tell her lying could get her in trouble. I wanted to make sure everyone was cautious about what she said. They could have double checked, knew she lied, and then went along with her lie, for her sake."

Adrien looked at her, surprised.

"This isn't you, Marinette." he replied, full of disappointment.

Mari shrugged, "Maybe it is. Maybe it isn't. I don't really know anymore."

"Wh-What do you mean?" Adrien questioned.

"I put up with Chloe, with the teachers looking past my harassment for year, with Lila defaming me." Marinette spoke, "I feel nothing, anymore, Adiren. I don't know how to be happy anymore."

Adrien wasn't sure how to reply, when Damian walked out of the building.

"Are you ready?" Damian asked Marinette.

She nodded her head.

"Wait! Mari-" the model began.

"Go inside." Ordered Damian.

Marinette nodded again and went inside, past the security out front.

"Leave her alone." Damian growled out.

"Who are you?" Questioned the model.

"Her boyfriend." Damian stated.

"No. She would have told Alya and Alya would have told Nino. Nino would have told me." Adrien babbled in shock, "She would have told her best friend-"

"The same 'best friend' that pours drinks on her head and her sketchbook?" Damian retorted, " The same one who trips her in the halls and steps on her hand until she had to wear a brace and couldn't design? The same one who would drop her sisters off without any notice because Lila needed her?"

"That girls isn't friend, Agreste. She is a bully." Damian stated, "My girlfriend is seeing a therapist because of your idiotic high road philosophy. Do you have any idea what it was like to come to Paris, to surprise her, and instead, I find she swallowed a whole bottle of pills! She was dying when I found her."

Adrien paled at the thought.

'Marinette tried to kill herself? I'm to blame for all of this?'

"You almost got her killed. Would you have done the same, seeing as how you were 'in this together' with her?" The Wayne heir continued, "I'd tell you to stay away from her, but her parents signed over guardianship to my father so that she can get out of Paris. She won't even be in the country by Friday. Marinette will get the help she deserves."

"You silenced her. You made her feel useless. You made her feel like trash. You are lucky you have nothing tying you to her harassment or I would be suing you; trust me, I looked." Damian concluded.

"Huh?" Adrien asked, still in disbelief.

Damian rolled his eyes, "I called the board when My Angel was in the hospital. Did you know that Lila isn't even her real name? It's Cerise Lerouch. She is signed up at another school, here in Paris. She was never a transfer student from Italy, just a girl who likes attention. All those 'trips out of the country' was just her going back to her other school because she wasn't 'sick' anymore. In fact, she wore a wig and contacts to your school, every day."

Adrien remained speechless.

The Wayne heiress sighed, "I do not understand what she saw in you."

"Who?" The model questioned.

"Marinette. She was in love with you. I believed I had competition and would have to strive hard to earn her favor. All I ha e seen is a boy who is completely and utterly disappointing. " Damian announced, "Be sure to tell your little friends that the only thing they have done is earn the wrath of the Waynes. Same for the supposed 'best friend'. My family owns her dream job and now she'll never have it. How disappointing for her."

The young Wayne turned away from the model and entered the hotel. After a moment, he tried to run in after him, only to be told 'only people with special clearance were allowed in'.

Unfortunately for Adrien, the entire Lila Disaster had only fueled his father's intentions of keeping him homeschooled. He still kept in contact with Nino, but the others were busy with their own things. Nino had told him Alya had hysterical after learning she was being sued by the Waynes. They were suing her for emotional distress, for all the babysitting she had forced on Marinette. Alya had to pay all the money she never gave Mari, once her parents found out. Marinette had kept a detailed planner listing what times and when Alya had dropped off the twins. She had even recorded the twins, asking what Alya had told them and why they were dropped off. Her parents were upset with her and grounded her for the rest of the year. They weren't going to be able to go out on dates and she was now the twins sole babysitter. Nino recanted how Alya said her family was disappointed in her. They were barely looking at her and the twins kept crying how they preferred Marinette. She had also learned that she was blacklisted from the Daily Planet. After that, she shut down and barely said a word.

Nino went on to explain that he was trying to get music files he had given Lila because she knew some DJs. Other classmates were learning that what she had promised them, wasn't true. Juleka had called her father, Jagged Stone, and asked him about knowing Lila and saving his kitten. She quickly filled him in about her tinnitus disability when he didn't remember her, but he claimed to never own a cat of any sort. Even Jagged Stone was looking to suing Lila. After Juleka told Rose, she quickly emailed Prince Ali and was anxiously waiting for a response back. Ivan and Mylene had given Lila money for charities, but were unlikely to see any of their money back. Nathaniel had given her some art to hold for when she went to America to give to her connections. Nino told Adrien they were signed in invisible ink so it was being looked into.

The class itself was slowly falling apart. Max was worried about his grades and how a new teacher would approach everything so he asked to transfer to a private school. There was no evidence he had participated in the bullying so he had been free to leave. Kim no longer had someone to help him focus so his grades fell and he was cut from the team. Kim no longer bet on anything and was even spending less time with Alix. His relationship with Odine was falling apart. There were whispers of the Mayor being tied with Damocles about the money laundering and hints of an investigation looming over his head. Chloe seemed upset and waas pouting, but never answered what was wrong. It wasn't until later he learned that Sabrina had transferred school to the other side of Paris. Adrien couldn’t believe all the chaos that was caused because one person had lied.

Adrien had finally broken down and cried. Natalie found him and once he had calmed down a bit, she asked him to explain.

"I messed up." he sobbed, "I knew Lila was lying, but I used Father's logic: lies don't hurt people. I didn't think any of this would happen. Marinette tried to commit suicide and is now moving out of Paris. Alya is depressed. Lots of our friends are trying to sue Lila and get their things back. Some changed schools. Others are flunking! I got blamed for Marinette and her boyfriend said ther was nothing to stick to me so he couldn't sue me."

Adrine cried himself to sleep. Natalie informed Gabriel and it was only then he saw how naïve he made his son, by keeping him home. He was grateful that ther was nothing holding Adrien accountable, but he knew he needed to do something fast. He called up his sister-in-law and pleaded with her for Adrien to attend school with his cousin. As much as he hated it, Felix would help beat the naivety out of his son.

Meanwhile, in Gotham, Marinette had moved into the Wayne Manor. All the Waynes had been very welcoming. Damian had even introduced her to Jon; Damian explained that Jon also helped him express his emotions. She had an appointment for a therapist next week.

TAGLIST: @maribat-calendar-events @animeweebgirl@a-star-with-a-human-name@meme991001@vixen-uchiha@abrx2002@alysrose-starchild@fandom-trapped-03@dood-space@moonlightstar64@saltymiraculer@marveldcedits20@09shell-sea09@icerosecrystal@animegirlweeb@insane-fangirl-of-everything@blueblossombliss@nickristus-dreamer@megawhitleycalderonpaganus@missmadwoman@meira-3919@princessdaisysolosyourfaves@blep-23@fangirlingfanatic@darkhinauniverse@ravenr22@im-a-satanic-ritual@ravennm84@bianca-hooks123@a-slytherinish-gryffindor@starling218

#daminette december 2023 #daminette #lila lies exposed #lila rossi exposed #lila rossi salt #adrien agreste #adrien agreste salt #marinette dupain cheng #disappointment #damian wayne #marinette x damian #damian x marinette #tom dupain #sabine cheng #marinette sees a therapist #mentioned suicide attempt #mlb x dc #dc x mlb #principal damocles #damocles salt #paris class #realization #marinette moves to gotham #mochinek0

[wallflowerfangirl]

So I just watched Destruction and minus a few things, I'm pretty happy, but also completely terrified.

#we all know adrien's trauma is gonna frightening #but this episode skyrocketed it #adrien is more likely to find out about his dad's injury #imagine his reaction if he saw it #gabriel thinks it's just distrubed that he got hurt badly #but no #adrien did it #i can see him now looking at it and feeling sick #please for the love of god get my baby a therapist #miraculous ladybug #mlb #adrien agreste #chat noir #ladybug #marinette dupain cheng #gabriel agreste #hawkmoth #miraculous

[ggomos-maribat]

ughhhh too many ideas in my head

Marinette settling in Gotham as a designer's assistant who gets her therapy from Jazz, and Jazz knows her hero ID. One day while walking through the streets, Mari sees her therapist and the Red Hood locked in an argument so she assumes Jazz is being harassed/hurt/threatened by the crime lord then suddenly attacks him with her purse screaming.

Jazz finally breaks them apart ("ow! why does this little girl hit so hard?!" yes, Marinette went feral) and then introduces Red Hood as another of her patients

#dp x dc x mlb #dc x mlb #mlb x dc #maribat #stories ggomo will never write #fanfic ideas #dc x dp #ggomo's prompts

[literaphobe]

alternate suggested list of s5 episodes (since none of us can remember them)

wibbly wobbly timey wimey

the akuma hiatus

ladybug (almost) gets doxxed

the heroes of paris really want to breed

Core Four, And The No Good, Very Bad, Terrible Plan They Fully Executed

love square flip!! (limited time)

kwami switcheroo 2.0

Hey, Joan of Arc, It's Me, Ladybug. Would It Be Chill If I Made Out With Chat Noir Or What?

obligatory marichat episode of the season OR glaciator 3 OR oh yay!! oh no. OH YAY!!!!!!!!! oh. no. NOOOOO-

[muffled screaming noises]

monarchbug gets lost in the sauce (bunch of teens with condiment codenames blasted his ass)

hi kagami, how's it going! oh (part 1) OR adrien's musical endeavors OR what does the cow say?

everyone's unlicensed therapist leaves the city

Marinette Dupain-Cheng Should Legally Be Allowed To Kill People

48974872874th CHANCE!

hi kagami, glad to see you're doing better! wait (part 2) OR these classmates have no boundaries

gay rights? gay wrongs? gay rights? gay wrongs?

slay felix!!!! slay!!!!!!!!! yasss drop those beats!!!!!!! also get therapy when ur free!!!! sick red moon bro u arent gonna kill her later right!!!!!!

these pancakes fucking SUCK

[UNRESTRAINED SCREAMING NOISES]

sick fraud girl!! now could u just step into this totally real totally not bugged temporary bathroom-

they made WHO mayor now??

ladynoir Ages Up like the sims, thanks to countless traumatic incidents. more at 8!

yo!! a+ parenting gabe! OR theatre, but they knock you out after the play OR prom, but you're the only one that dressed up

hey guys is it just me or does anyone else have a massive headache and terrifying nightmares that recur every few seconds?

Re-creation (The Final Day - Part 2) <- no yeah sorry i won't even pretend this is quite possibly the most accurate episode title like yeah shit sure was recreated and monarch does not appear to be having any more days!! nice work guys!!!

#text #miraculous ladybug #ml recreation #ml conformation #ml representation #ml revolution #ml collusion #ml confrontation #ml revelation #ml s5 spoilers #surely thats enough right #the fucking irony of this post is all the damn spoiler tags i need #mlbposting #also if uve seen an older version of this post #SHHHH lets pretend i just had this idea

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

Adrien is Marinette's Therapist, NOT her Boyfriend and it's Gross

Mental health struggles are no joke and, if you have those struggles, then you absolutely need a partner who will support you through them. That's why, at face value, Adrien supporting Marinette with her PTSD and anxiety is very sweet. It's what a good boyfriend should do. The problem is that Adrien is being written like her therapist, not her boyfriend.

Adrien has his own struggles with depression, loss, and paternal neglect. Yet none of these struggles are brought up once Adrien and Marinette get together. Instead, the relationship is all about her needs and struggles even though this season ends with Gabriel's take down, meaning that focusing on Adrien's issues would have made more sense from a narrative perspective. How much more powerful would the final have been if Marinette really understood Adrien, Emilie, and Gabriel's relationship?

But why do that when we can make everything about Adrienette instead? Why bother to mention Emilie when Marinette is a much better point of conflict between Adrien and Gabriel? After all, if we did that, then Adrien would have a life outside of Marinette and that would be, well, sigh, let's get into it, shall we?

In Derision, we learn that Marinette apparently doesn't have some form of anxiety or ADHD or any of the other things that people have theorized over the years. No, vanilla-Marinette is a totally relaxed, go-with-the-flow non-planner who only started planning after Chloe, Sabrina, and Kim gave her PTSD. Does this insult her character and make no sense? Yes, but let's not get into that. Let's just accept the retcon and look at the fallout of Adrien knowing that his new girlfriend has massive trauma that's mainly focused on romance and controlling situations.

The very next episode is Intuition. In it we see Marinette calling Adrien to show off her ability to do things without planning (or, at least, with less planning) and it's clear from context that this is an exercise that they're doing:

Adrien: Well... (his phone rings) Fancy that! Marinette! I like spending time with Marinette. (picks up his phone) Marinette: (on-call) Guess what I'm calling for: nothing! Can you believe it? I'm calling you randomly, totally out of the blue, for no reason at all! Adrien: So you didn't write down everything you might need to say to me based on everything I might say to you? Marinette: Not at all! Well... I did. I really tried not to, you know, but it was too hard! Anyhow, I limited myself to fourteen possible conversations, including this one! Adrien: Congratulations! Marinette: (on-call) Thank you! Adrien: And did you prepare questions for science class? Marinette: (on-call) Not-a-one! Not even for the live video conference we're doing with Max's mom on the super awesome Tsurugi space jet! I, Marinette, will improvise questions, unpredictably, without planning anything!

In the context of the show, this conversation is deeply concerning and I don't know wtf the writers think they're doing. There is no way in hell that a 14-year-old should be guiding his girlfriend through a therapy session or therapy exercise unless he has the guidance and approval of a trained mental health professional.

Seriously look at what Adrien is doing in this dialogue: Marinette tells him that she's called him without planning and he doesn't just say "that's great!" Instead, he asks if that's true, congratulates her for her mild improvement, and then prompts her to talk about another situation where she would plan things out. In other words, he's asking about the therapy homework that he's clearly given her or that they've decided on together. It's also clear that this isn't their first discussion on the topic because he's very comfortable knowing what to ask about to see if she's done her homework right.

Why was this homework chosen? Who knows! It certainly wasn't picked by someone with training! A therapist wouldn't tell you to avoid planning for a school assignment (something that we've never seen Marinette overplan before, but once again, we're ignoring the retcon). This scene would arguably be inappropriate for an established adult relationship, but a nascent teenage one? Absolutely not.

My SO and I have both done therapy and seen wildly unbalanced relationships. This conversation threw massive red flags for us on both fronts. This is not what a healthy relationship looks like. This is not a give and take. This is why you need a therapist to at least guide you through this type of situation or you will set yourself up in roles where person A is not getting their needs met because the relationship has an established dynamic where person A is the giver and person B is the taker.

This is especially true for a young relationship that's just getting its feet off of the ground. They're supposed to be in the honeymoon phase! More established relationships are better able to handle phases where one person needs more support than the other which absolutely happens and is totally normal. However, when those things happen, it's vital for the supporting partner to have their own support since they can't get it from their partner.

Miraculous denies Adrien this suport. In the very next episode, we get this:

Adrien: I've always seen Marinette acting funny in my presence. I thought that was just the way she was. I thought it was sweet. I thought it was just her charm. But now that I know it's because she loves me and she freaks out about telling me, I feel bad. Because it means that this whole time she's been uncomfortable around me, and I haven't done anything to help her. Kagami: But you didn't know. Adrien: It doesn't take away from her suffering. I just wish she could feel more at ease when she's with me. Otherwise, one day, it'll be too late and she'll give up. Kagami: What can I do to help, Adrien? Adrien: Thanks, but it's not up to you or anyone else to help. I'm the one who's gotta do something.

No! Adrien, you are not equipped to deal with this solo. Ask Kagami to help! Ask Alya to help! Ask Marinette's parents to help! There are times when it's okay to involve others in your relationship and this is one of those times! This isn't even a relationship issue! It's a mental health issue! I know we're flipping gender roles here, but it's not somehow cute or healthy just because a guy is trying to "fix" the girl for once. No one should try to take on that task. This is what therapy is for.

If therapy is not an option for financial or other reasons, then yes, sometimes you have to struggle through and loved ones can help, but in TV land? Especially aimed-at-kids TV land? Show the ideal scenario! At the very least, show a support network! And I mean actual support, not Kagami asking to help and Adrien shooting her down! Writers, you are making Gabriel's dislike of Marinette valid! You are making it so that she is dragging Adrien down! Stop doing that!

Adrien deserves love and support, too. Adrien deserves to be romanced. Adrien deserves more than a kiss and an "I love you" that he had to fight to hear! He never even gets one of the presents from Marinette's chest. She did more to woo him before they got together and it's such pathetic writing.

The fun of getting these two together is letting them do all the stuff they've always wanted to do! Let Marinette bring him macrons! Let him bring her roses! Let her enhance his wardrobe! Let him write her poems! Let them be a healthy, balanced, sickeningly-cute couple! It's fine if she's nervous at the start and takes a while to act normal, but this show takes it to a level beyond teenage jitters and it's not funny or cute. It's concerning.

All of these issues start with Derision's romance-based-PTSD retcon and it was the worst thing they could have done for the Love Square. It poisons the rest of the season and is why I just can't ship these two in canon even though I love what they could have been. They have established such a horrifically unhealthy dynamic that I can't see this ending well unless they get couple's therapy in the very near future and that's not even touching on the baggage that will come from the lies and still unresolved Ladynoir trauma.

As soon as Marinette has romance-based PTSD, she was incapable of being in a relationship until after she'd learned to manage her PTSD. (PTSD cannot be cured, btw, you just learn how to manage it and the symptoms can lessen.) The writers apparently knew that. It's why they gave her a therapist to support her as she worked through her issues and got to the point where she can say "I love you". His name is Adrien. Isn't he cute?

#ml writing salt #ml writing critical #ml season 5 salt #adrien deserves better #suffering through a rewatch of season 5 for love of my so #ml intuition #ml derision #ml perfection #marinette deserves better #I just wanted a cute romance not whatever the writers think they're doing

[snitchesnsneeds]

First Half of Miraculous Season 2 Done. Here's my thoughts:

The Collector: A pretty good start! They made the teens smart while still being dumb teens!

Despair Bear: Chloe needs a therapist, arguably moreso than a redemption arc and especially a downward villainous spiral. Also Dangit Grandpa

Prime Queen: Wow, this was a lot more chill than expected. Even Cat Noir was left aghast at what Nadja was doing, Nadja seemed to be pressuring Ladybug and Cat Noir more for views than anything else, and I'm not entirely sure Akuma personalities can be trusted.

Befana: Fun fact: This was the episode that got me into Miraculous in the first place because of how shocking it was. And then I discovered even more. In hindsight from watching the other episodes, it was relatively darker, but mostly because it's Marinette's friends and family that are getting G-rated killed instead of random civilians like every other episode.

Riposte: Kagami is here! I don't see too much chemistry with her and Adrien yet, but she's cool and I like her and feel like I could be friends in real life. Also this feels like a relatively uncommon trope, but I wish "X is blatantly a woman but no one notices" was spedran through by someone with brains.

Robustus: Pretty good, all things considered. From what I've heard about Miraculous lore, creating sapient or at the very least semi-sapient AI isn't that uncommon for weirdness hotspots, and I'm putting Max in the list of characters I think should have figured out Ladybug and Cat Noir's identity. (There's four now!)

Gigantitan: It turns out my favorite parts of Miraculous are the slice-of-life bits instead of the superhero bits the show is about! We got to see more of Marinette's friends! Alix! Mylene! Julie! The Eeby Deeby herself! Also it was really sweet to see Adrien's bodyguard calm down just by looking at the kid. Adrien's true daddy.

Dark Owl: No wonder these two aren't allowed to know eachothers' identities, considering how much of a loose tongue Marinette has!

Glaciator: Alright, it's finally time to talk about the sins of Marinette and Cat Noir, considering the fan content I osmosed before watching the series was heavy salt stuff, and I wanna see how much it holds up. So far Cat Noir has acted as if he's already dating Ladybug previously, and in this episode he got mad at Ladybug for not showing up at a date when she herself said she might not come due to having other plans. Isn't he supposed to be used to not-showing-up disappointment as Adrien due to his dad? Is it different because he's Cat Noir? Is this a breaking point? No matter, he eventually calms down and is ultimately the less bad member of the relationship. Marinette, meanwhile, doesn't have as many misdemeanors to her name but they're a lot worse. She stole Adrien's phone to get rid of an embarrassing message and got away with it too, what the hell, and also owns the schedule. Although I don't believe she stalked Adrien and made it herself due to how busy she is as both Marinette and Ladybug, that's just weird and wrong. I'm reluctant to call her a stalker, but her actions are still wrong. Ultimately, this relationship is going to need a lot of therapy and counseling to not crash and burn. What were we talking about again? Oh yeah. The ice cream episode. I think the ice cream guy can be wrong and he doesn't understand that.

Sapotis: Silly little fun episode, also it introduces the first new Miraculous holder! I'm honestly fine with it so far if it means more screentime for side characters. I honestly really like seeing Marinette's classmates. They're neat. Also I was this close to putting Alya on the list but she proves time and time again that she doesn't actually know Ladybug's identity.

Gorizilla: In this episode we are introduced to Adrien's deranged parasocial fanbase. I'm starting to understand some of his father's decisions at this point. This is what I was talking about with the schedule, by the way. These obsessive stalker creeps make Marinette look reasonable, and I wouldn't be surprised if the one guy who I'm pretty sure becomes Party Crasher discreetly stalked Adrien to get his schedule. Restraining orders need to be filed.

Captain Hardrock: One of the funniest episodes, up there with Dark Cupid. Also Luka is here! And he already has great chemistry with Marinette! And more Rosie and Julie content even if it's crumbs!

#miraculous ladybug #miraculoustalesofladybugandcatnoir #ml salt #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #gabriel agreste #nadja chamack #kagami tsurugi #max kante #alix kubdel #mylene haprele #juleka couffaine #rose lavillant #alya cesaire #luka couffaine #lukanette

[familyagrestefanblog]

Look, I know everybody wants Marinette and Félix to tell Adrien about Gabriel having been Monarque and Adrien himself being a Sentihuman, who was all his life controlled and abused by his now both dead parents (if it really ends up having been Amilie at the pool party)

But for me personally? I don't want anybody else doing that besides Plagg and Nathalie. Those two I actually trust to understand the hell Adrien was put through.

Marinette and Félix can help Plagg and Nathalie to be there for Adrien by giving their knowledge and input. But besides that? Why would I want it to be Marinette and Félix who tell Adrien about these things?

They are massively biased by their own narratives and limited knowledge on the insights of the Agreste's family life (especially Marinette) and worst case scenario they make Adrien's abuse about themselves which they have a habit of doing.

They have every right to get through their own issues regarding Gabriel and how Adrien's abuse makes them feel but keep Adrien himself out of that. They will approach it in a way where Adrien has to end up comforting THEM and keep quiet about his own pain and perspective AGAIN because of how much Marinette and Félix have to carry on their own in this regard.

Respectfully, they can get themselves a different therapist than Adrien for this. I don't wanna see that shit.

The only two people I want to see tell Adrien about Gabriel having been Monarque and Adrien himself being a Sentihuman and help him understand what all of that means for him are Plagg and Nathalie.

Because they lived by his side in this damn house. Nathalie knows the monster of a father and person Gabriel became better than anyone else while also understanding his family's past and Plagg was on Adrien's side each and every day. Plagg knows every bit of mistreatment, abuse, neglect and exploitation Adrien was put through because through all of them Plagg was with him underneath his jacket to wittness it.

For me it's Plagg and Nathalie. No, they weren't exactly perfect towards Adrien either, but only then I know Adrien truly is in the right hands.

#ml spoilers #miraculous ladybug #miraculous #Ml season 6 #Ml season 5 #Adrien is a Sentihuman #Ml plagg #nathalie sancouer

[toxinoire]

"Marinette, your coping mechanisms aren't healthy. Please, go see a therapist. You don't need to say that you're Ladybug." Said Alya.

And she's not wrong.

Marinette's first response is to push everyone away and isolate herself. It's why Alya, Alix, Rose, Juleka, and Myléne were akumatized as the Gang if Secrets, after Marinette told them that "I don't need friends."

Alya saw Marinette tell Chat Noir that maybe she doesn't need him, when she knows that what she said was a load of bullshit. Marinette loves that cat more than everyone (second only to Adrien), whether she'd admit it or not.

Then she'd try to face it alone. Alone. Even when it's clear she isn't okay, she tries to face it alone.

Her next response is to lie. Not in a selfish and deceiving way, no. She'll lie for others. Heck, she let Adrien believe that the scarf she made him was from his father all because he looked so happy. Marinette's most selfish lie, in Alya's opinion, is her alter ego, but even that isn't for evil intentions. She lies to spare others the pain. Not a good thing, but it's not selfish.

Then, she'd run. Figuratively, but she'd run. From her feelings, from the world. From everyone. She'd just run.

And to top it all off, she'd wear that same warm, kind, and gentle smile everyday, fooling everybody. Making everyone think that she's okay. No one even realizes, Marinette's figurative mask is even more convincing than her mask as Ladybug.

Alya hates seeing her like this.

Marinette is the first real hero she's met, even before she knew about her alter ego.

Of course, she wasn't perfect. She had her flaws, she's made really bad choices in the past, but would make up for it, and she keeps trying to be a better person everyday.

The girl would always be there to help others in every way she can. Everytime, without asking for anything in return.

"Please, Marinette." Alya pleaded. "Just try it."

Alya waits for Marinette's response.

Marinette doesn't say anything.

#miraculous #miraculous tales of ladybug and chat noir #marinette dupain cheng #alya cesaire #alyanette #whether you wanna see this as platonic or romantic #it's your choice #but the main theme is angst #marinette angst #marinette deserves a hug #heck she really needs one

[miraculouslycool]

there's something so lovely about adrien softly telling marinette that he'll be there for her no matter what, and that he will stand by her no matter how scared she is, all without trying to mold or force marinette into believing that he isn't like the kims or chloes in her life right away. its like she said, she knows he's a good person and she's trying but she's scared. and not once do you see adrien trying to "fix her" or invalidate her fear or take her hesitance as a personal attack.

and sometimes that's all you can do in any kind of relationship, romantic or platonic. you can't fix your partner or friend's issues. you can't be their therapist or take it upon yourself to bear all their burdens. all you can do is stand with them, and let them know that they're not alone.

and adrien, just like marinette, turned to what he can control and change: his association with chloe while being marinette's boyfriend, which if continued, would only harm marinette even more.

and he didn't even bother forcing chloe to apologise either. he laid out the facts, everyone reached out to her, she was given multiple chances by him personally, he tried his best to be a good friend to her, and she threw it all back in his face with no qualms or attempts to make amends.

unlike marinette, who was willing to put in the work to change and become less scared despite being the victim in the first place. and which of these two girls do you see adrien still having a relationship with?

#this is also going to every person who complained in s4 #about ladybug not knowing about chat's issues when he was going out of his way to hide them from her #ml spoilers #derision #adrienette #chloe bourgeois

[nedjsmlfavs]

So Derision Broke Me…

Derision (Miraculous S5E14) made some choices that fundamentally broke Marinette’s character for me to the point where I’m having trouble motivating myself to keep writing for this fandom. I figured I’d write down my thoughts and see if that helped me get into a headspace where I can ignore this episode like I do any other writing choices I’m not fond of. If anyone has some words of wisdom, I'd love to hear them.

In Derision, we learn that Marinette has some serious trauma surrounding love. When she was 13, she confessed her love to Kim and was rewarded with a box full of spiders. This “prank” understandably left her traumatized and shaken to her core. In response to that trauma, she vowed to never confess her love to another boy. Not unless she knew everything about him.

This “prank” and several others are revealed to be the fault of Chloé. As for why she’s doing this, well, we’re never given a reason why Marinette is the target. However, we are told the motivation for Chloé’s actions. Rose blames them on the fact that Chloé was abandoned by her mother. Mylène responds to this observation by pointing out that she was also abandoned by her mother, but that didn’t turn her into a bully! Which is a fair point. People react differently to trauma and trauma doesn’t justify bad behavior or undo the effects of those bad behaviors. At the most, trauma explains why the behavior is happening. A lesson that Miraculous has given us before.

In the character Félix’s titular episode, Félix shows up and starts treating Adrien poorly. This leads to this exchange between Adrien and Plagg:

Plagg: What's up with that cousin of yours? First, he searches through your things, and then, the most unforgivable thing of all, he squashes my hunk of goat's cheese under your pillow! I'd been maturing that baby for two weeks! Do you realize? Two whole weeks! Adrien: Listen, Plagg. Félix lost his dad not so long ago, he's probably not himself. Plagg: I'm sorry, but there's just no excuse! You never touch my cheese, and yet, you just lost your mother not so long ago, right?

And, once again, this is a fair observation! The fact that Félix’s father died does not justify Felix trying to ruin Adrien’s life. All it does is explain his motivation. 

Trauma does not excuse hurting others. When trauma has negative effects on us, it’s up to us to work through those feelings either on our own or, ideally, with the help of loved ones and therapists. We are never justified in lashing out at innocents who had nothing to do with our trauma.

This brings us to the topic of Marinette. 

The fact that Marinette has trauma around romance does not justify her treatment of Adrien. Breaking into his home, trying to sabotage his relationship with Kagami, and all of her other obsessive behaviors are not okay just because she was traumatized by Kim. If Chloe and Felix are not excused by their trauma, then neither is she.

So why am I only bothered by this now?

Because, before this episode, Marinette’s behavior was very clearly a joke. It was, in my opinion, a bad joke, but it was a joke and, when it comes to writing, jokes have to be looked at differently than things that are played straight.

Miraculous relies heavily on absurdist humor. That’s why you’ve got an episode where Adrien and his teenage friends throw an unchaperoned party attended by a bunch of random adults. A thing that would be horrifying and upsetting in reality, but is fine in the show because it’s clearly played as being ridiculous and over the top. I mean, just look at this scene. Anyone taking this seriously has clearly lost the plot.

Marinette’s obsession fell under the same category. Something that would be very wrong in reality, but was obviously being played up for laughs. I was always under the impression that, without the absurdist humor, she’d be significantly toned down and that’s why I just sort of tolerated it in the show. Not my idea of a good joke, but clearly a joke so meh. I can overlook it while watching the show and, when writing her, I can be true to her character while not including this level of obsession because I don’t write crack fic.

Derision changed that. It took 4.5 seasons of questionable jokes and tried to justify them. And that? That is a terrible idea. Because there is no justification for Marinette’s behavior just like there is no justification for Chloe’s behavior in the exact same episode. What they’re doing is wrong and, at best, their trauma explains their behavior. It does not justify it.

Plus, hey, remember how Derision said Kim was a terrible person for laughing at Marinette’s trauma? Isn’t that the exact same thing that we’ve all unknowingly been doing for 4.5 seasons? Kinda makes it hard to rewatch old episodes where her crush was played for laughs, doesn’t it? I hope you’ve never laughed over Marinette’s behavior because, if you have, you’ve been making fun of her trauma and so have the writers.

And that sums up why this episode really bothers me. I either have to ignore a character’s trauma or I have to accept that her trauma has apparently made her unhinged and address it. Because if her behavior is not a bad joke, then the salters are right and Marinette is a total creep. I’m trying my hardest to choose option one, but I’m struggling.

It’s not that Marinette is the only character with questionable behavior. Adrien as Chat Noir is often written as overly persistent and obnoxious when it comes to his crush. It’s not great behavior, but it’s not a consistent characterization nor is it a major flaw. I can fix it with a quick character arc about boundaries or ignore it and (in my head) say that arc happened off screen because I have no doubt that this sort of common teenage issue could be overcome with relative ease. Because when Chat Noir is put in a situation where he could clearly violate Ladybug’s boundaries? He doesn’t. He is, ultimately, respectful. He just needs to be told that respect is more than listening to the explicit “no”.

Deep-seated trauma that leads to stalking? That’s not a minor flaw. It’s a major issue that reveals the need for psychological intervention. I’m not gonna give that to a teenager and fix it with the power of friendship and communication. Nor will I give the stalker her prize. I’m gonna keep him safe because, if Marinette has this level of romance-based trauma, then she is not mentally well enough to be a relationship with someone.

You see, I’ve had people with obsessive crushes who violated my boundaries. A loved one of mine had to get the police involved because of someone’s crush on them. Stalking and obsessive behavior is not a joke. It’s traumatizing, but even though I have that trauma, Miraculous never bothered me because of how the stalking was played as a joke.

Joke's over, though. As of Derision, we are supposed to take Marinette's behavior at face value.

So, yeah. I don’t know where I go from here. It’s been a week and I just have no desire to ever touch Marinette again. If anyone has some words of advice, I’d love to hear them. And I’m sorry, but it may be a while before anything of mine updates.

#miraculous salt #marinette salt #ml season 5 #ml derision #derision salt #derision spoilers #ml derision spoilers #ml s5 spoilers #ml writing salt #ml season 5 salt #miraculous season 5

[theerurishipper]

Whenever I see post about "Adrien is too emotional that's why it best to keep secret from him" (about Marinette decision), I always want to shake the poster and bite them of needed. That's how irritated I am with this unreasonable logic. BECAUSE DAMNIT IF YOUR FRIEND BEING TOO EMOTIONAL THEN HELP THEM LADYBUG SAID SHES THE LEADER THE BOSS THEN ITS HER RESPONSIBILITY TO KEEP HER TEAMATE IN CHECK NOT GHOSTING OR IGNORED IT IF SHE CHOOSE TO IGNORE IT THEN SHES ALREADY FAILED AS A LEADER

Yeah! It should not be that hard for Marinette to, idk, help her boyfriend out and support him when he's going through a tough time. Like, she doesn't have to be his caretaker or therapist and look after him 24/7, but the writers never let her do even the barest minimum and it's just. And then they'll go on to frame her as in the right for lying to her abuse victim boyfriend about his abusive father and the fact that he's a Sentimonster, because god forbid Marinette ever has to be put in the horribly inconvenient position of having to see her boyfriend have emotions that don't benefit her in some way.

Thank you for your ask!

#ML Salt #ML Writing Salt #ML Writers Salt #Marinette Salt #Ladybug Salt #Asks #S5 Finale

[m3nt4llyr4v3d]

As much as I have opinions on how Miraculous goes about its writing, damn are the ideas it brings up so juicy

Like I feel like there’s something to be sad about how everyone deals with their problems or their trauma. Like, so many of the characters have issues, and it’s so fascinating to think about the way they respond to them

Marinette has the entire safety of Paris on her shoulders and basically in a constant state of trying to fix things even when it shouldn’t be her problem in the first place

Adrien was raised to be as obedient as possible and doesn’t know jack about how to be a kid, literally has no ambitions at the moment, he’s constantly apologizing for things that feasibly wouldn’t be his fault and trying to fit whatever mold he thinks someone wants of him

Chloe’s mom left her and is verbally abusive and calling her daughter a failure for the entirety of Paris to see, so she lashes out at everyone around her and constantly uses her dad’s power. Also the fact that two fully grown adults manipulate her before she’s sent away, just awful

Nino’s best friend has the worst dad imaginable and he felt powerless about the situation wanting to help Adrien (seriously I hope they bring up Guilttrip sometime in the future it reveals a lot of really concerning things about the characters), so he tries to be the best bro to him and give him every experience he can

No idea what happened to Lila as her backstory is uhhhhhh, but that lying, the disguises (she literally came to school in one), and the fake identities had to have come from somewhere. I remember, before the whole 3-moms-thing, theories about her lying for attention because her mom is never home and she’s genuinely lonely, using a scene where she’s talking with Nino and looks actually upset as evidence, so that’s something to consider

Luka’s dad left, and he basically became everyone’s therapist, which he really really really shouldn’t be. We’re told he’s this chill, go with the flow dude, but when your response when hearing your current girlfriend (or at least the in between friend and gf) still likes someone else and saying “I already know that”, that’s just concerning. Dude’s everyone’s therapist, but is anyone checking on him?

Juleka has anxiety and still has unresolved issues with her dad leaving and coming back and (my memory is fuzzy here) not really interacting with her? She’s quiet and keeps a lot of emotions just bottled up cause she doesn’t express them verbally

This is stuff off the top of my head, but damn. As much flack I like to give to this show, thinking about stuff like this is what keeps that little part of me who loved the show years ago alive. Like, I genuinely don’t care what some of the characters have done, I think all of them need a hug and as much therapy as possible

#miraculous ladybug #ml marinette #ml chloe #ml adrien #ml nino #ml lila #ml juleka #ml luka #ml rant #ml critical #ml criticism #fixing the tags here

[wield-the-mighty-pen]

#so many possibilities #which to choose #I say delusionally because well...yeah #this is all meant in a joking manner please dont use this poll to salt on the show #miraculous ladybug #mlb #miraculous #ml #ml season 6 #ml spoilers #ml season 5 #ml season 5 finale #ml season 5 spoilers #ml leak free #miraculeakless

[ggomos-maribat]

Soul-Stitching: The Heir and the Guardian

Masterlist

Chapter 7: an end and a beginning | AO3

Clark nearly spits out his coffee when he sees a face hovering outside the Watchtower. At first, he thinks of it as a figment of his imagination, brought on by the stress of the current crisis the Justice League is facing. But the longer he looks, the more permanent the figure seems: Chat Noir himself motioning for him to open the nearby hatch. 

And he does, while pinging a message to the rest of the members on board. 

The first thing he notices is that he can't detect the hero's heartbeat with the suit. His X-ray vision doesn't work either. 

The second thing he notices is the similarities between the beaming Chat Noir in front of him and wannabe defense attorney Adrien Agreste are so striking, now that they have ID'd the former Parisian heroes. 

“Um—” 

Before Clark can gather his words, Chat Noir thrusts a box into his hands—a smoothly-wrapped package complete with the Ladybug spot pattern and a black ribbon around it lined with neon cat paws. “What is . . .?” 

“Marinette's clear of charges, right?” Chat asks, the grin not faltering on his face. 

“Of course she is,” Clark clears his throat. He picks up on a handful of League members standing just outside the door of the room they're in, perhaps unwilling to disturb the both of them. “We're collating the evidence right now and we'll send them soon to the Parisian government. Since we can't expose her identity, we're building an alibi for her as Ladybug's aide, which should explain why she was tight-lipped during the trial.” 

“Right, okay.” Chat points to the box. “We decided to make your jobs easier and send you these. They're all the records, written evidence, and photos pointing to the real identity of Hawkmoth.” 

Clark gawks at him. 

“Ladybug's only condition is that you don't reveal this to the public.” Chat scratches the back of his head. “Her worry is that people might start blaming those associated with his civilian identity, even if he was working alone most of the time.” 

“This—this is—” 

“Oh, and I'm not sure how you can punish him on your own ‘cause he's in a coma right now.” 

“Huh?” Clark mentally kicks himself at his lack of words, but this seemingly cheerful boy just has no filter. 

“Yeah, it sucks. In the final battle, I managed to Cataclysm the actual Butterfly miraculous but then he used it—there are serious consequences if you use a broken miraculous by the way—and then bam. Coma,” the Parisian hero narrates, “We're keeping an eye on him right now but I don't think he's waking up soon. I guess that's his punishment in itself?” 

“So . . . this Hawkmoth. Who was he?” 

Chat pauses. “Do you know Gabriel Agreste?” 

“. . .” 

Clark stares at him.

“. . .” 

Chat Noir stares back. 

“But that's your father!” Clark suddenly exclaims in horror. 

“I know right?! It's such a small world!” 

Clark doesn't know what to feel. He's seen this before; too often in fact, in Bruce's many children—little bunches of young pent-up trauma masked with lighthearted humor and smiles. He now has half the mind to fly this boy to the nearest therapist. 

“Well, if you don't have any more questions, I'll be off!” Chat looks around at the interior design of the Watchtower. “Cool satellite base by the way! I've been wanting to see inside since forever. We only have rocks and broken domes in our base.” 

In the blink of an eye—before Clark can think of an excuse to make him stay—he opens up the hatch and flies out into space. 

---

Damian steps out into the ruined temple, with Marinette closing the portal behind him. In the daylight, the place looks much friendlier, potentially a historical artwork even if it is half-destroyed. He did not expect to return so soon, but Marinette suddenly visited him in his bedroom, saying that she and the team will be moving soon. She wants to talk one more time as well, since they didn’t have much of the opportunity during the attack. 

“What will you do now?” Damian eyes the boxes piled up against the curved wall. 

Marinette smiles and stretches her arms. “Now that I’m a free woman?” 

“You didn’t do anything wrong in the first place.” 

“Killing isn’t wrong?” 

“Marinette,” Damian sighs. 

“Just teasing.” She smirks. “We’ll be around, don’t worry. There are still links to the Order everywhere.” 

“They’re not completely wiped out?” 

“You’ll be surprised.” Marinette shakes her head. “It’s a network almost as big as the League of Assassins. They’re not all monks—there are miraculous-adjacent dealers, collectors. All sorts of people. We’ll be infiltrating and destroying the adjacents.” 

Damian figures it’s a problem the Justice League can look into too, but she assures him that it’s her responsibility to deal with and she’ll be using her powers for miraculous-related attacks only. He knows the JL  is looking to recruit her but they’ll have to be utterly shameless to ask that of her. Fortunately, the heroes are giving their attention to Paris’ rehabilitation instead. 

“They haven’t given a formal apology to you yet.” He crosses his arms. “Father will be given my cold shoulder for an entire month for that.” 

“That’s because I haven’t responded to their calls,” she laughs. “They can say sorry when they see me by chance but I think they’ve learned their lesson.” 

He remembers the JL facing public backlash about imprisoning an innocent when they finally publicized the (half-true) evidence supporting Marinette as an aide and not a villain. He hasn’t seen his father that overwhelmed by guilt, not to mention the other Justice League members. Barbara even reported once that even Constantine is looking for a talisman to guard himself from miraculous magic (which Adrien and Marinette found absolutely hilarious when the news reached them). 

“Tt. They have not.” 

“How stubborn, habibi.” 

Damian feels his cheeks go warm. 

He clears his throat. “Will you keep in contact while you’re away?” 

“Of course! I can give you my number. Your phone?” She holds out her hand. 

He stares at her dumbfoundedly before digging through his pocket to lend her his phone. Marinette chuckles while typing. “What? You think we won’t use phones while traveling the world?” 

“N—no . . . I just thought it would have been confiscated when you were arrested.” 

“It did, but Kagami and Luka kindly stole it back for me when I was in prison.” She gives back his phone. “It does have classified information after all.” 

While Damian tries to control his grin at having her number (which none of his siblings nor Barbara probably have!) he’s suddenly enveloped in a tight hug. He freezes, but instinctively places his hands on her waist. 

“You’ve come so far, Damian, I’m happy for you,” she whispers against the crook of his neck. “Thank you for trusting me again.” 

“I thought you were gone.” 

“I know. I’m sorry. ” Her grip tightens. “I’ll stay this time. I promise.”

←Previous Chapter

That wraps up Soul-Stitching! Thanks so much for reading this fic <3 I know there are plot points I didn't get to address in the story, but in case you were wondering: 1. How did Fu get the Miraculi, and later on give the jewels to Marinette and Adrien? Marinette was able to destroy the Order, but not all of them so some had escaped with the real miraculi and a whole stock of adjacents. They reestablished a stronghold elsewhere, the whole Feast thing still happened, but Fu didn't know about the Guardian well enough and unknowingly gave the earrings to Marinette (later on proclaiming her as guardian, as with canon). However, the Peacock and Butterfly were pawned off to Gabey beforehand, and therefore were already missing from the box before Fu had them. 2. If Marinette was so powerful as the Guardian, why did it still take years to find Hawkmoth? Marinette's powerful, but she didn't have full knowledge or control over all the powers yet. Plus, a real miraculous' power is on par with hers, so it was still hard to defeat HM despite that. If I missed anything else (nope, you didn't see that!) , please feel free to ask in the comments.

Taglist: @noisydreamlandkoala

#tw child abuse #tw suicide #maribat fanfic #dc x mlb #mlb x dc #maribat #maribat fic #daminette #marinette dupain cheng x damian wayne #tw blood #ggomoz #maribat damian wayne #maribat marinette dupain cheng #SS:H&G

[starryknightwrites]

It is not the victims' responsibility to save their bully.

(Miraculous Season 5 Spoilers be here)

I don't know who all needs to hear this, but I've been seeing some... takes... around the ml fandom. Between Chloe defenders' unwillingness to give her any responsibility for her actions and the writers' determination to ruin her completely, I can't choose a side.

It's not Chloe's 14-year-old classmates' duty to save and bend over backwards for her anymore than it's Audrey's 14-year-old daughter's duty to save and bend over backwards for her. Her classmates are kids with no experience dealing with abusive parents or who can barely sort out their own home problems. Not trained therapists who must know exactly what to do to make it through to Chloe. They're also kids who suffer from Chloe's cruelty all the time and are understandably hesitant to get in her face constantly touting self improvement methods. How counterintuitive to human behavior would that be? Twice bitten (or in this case 100+ times bitten), twice shy.

I'm sure Audrey has some trauma/valid reasons for being a jerk too, but no one is suggesting that Chloe spread herself super thin in the face of her assholery so that she can just CHANGE her.

Chloe's classmates have been nice and open to her, given her chances, gone to her party and tried to include her in group events. They often only lash out at Chloe when she lashes out at them (if that), which is constantly. Marinette went out of her way to get her back in school and made an attempt to get her mother to open up to her. A misguided attempt, but AGAIN, Marinette is a child. She is not a therapist and she was meeting Chloe where she was. She knew Audrey would laugh in her face if she tried to use the "she's your daughter and you should treat her better" route.

Anyone who says the class didn't try hard enough with Chloe/ didn't give Chloe a chance hasn't met a middle school class. Those kids could be horrific to Chloe with all she has said and done. But they're generally nice. And they demonstrated kindness to one another ALL THE TIME so it's not as though Chloe doesn't know how to be kind.

Chloe is 14. Not 4. She knows what kindness looks like. She's not an alien, scouring the dictionary and hoping someone will PLEASE teach her how to kind. She, at this point in time, does not want to be kind. Funny thing about recovery. You have to want it. YOU have to want it. Any professional will tell you that. It takes more than people continuously bending over backwards in the face of your cruelty. All that will result in is doormats. Sabrina has been "kind" and bending over backwards for Chloe for years. Well, a lot of good that's done. No. In order to heal and to improve, you must be at a point of accepting responsibility for you and DESIRING change.

Chloe isn't there yet. Nothing her classmates do will change it. Maybe it'll take time and reflection. Maybe it'll take a new setting. Maybe it'll take a harder fall. But she's not ready and that's no one's fault but her crappy parents and hers.

I don't mind Chloe having to suffer an incredible low to rise, though I'm not sure if that's what the writers are doing. The leaks for future episodes seem a tad too... vengeful- especially where Andre is concerned.

But let's not lean all the way to the other end of the spectrum and eliminate Chloe's personal responsibility from the matter. The primary factor in her turnaround will be CHLOE.

#ml spoilers #ml leaks #ml revelation #miraculous ladybug #chloe bourgeois

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

About the Adrienette relationship and how Adrien became the therapist trophy bf… idk if I can explain my thoughts right, but I feel like this is the result of a bigger issue with where the writer’s priorities lie regarding Adrien‘s obstacles?

Adrien‘s issues with his family are kind of not that important, or at least don’t affect him that much. When Gabriel does something shitty like not letting Adrien leave the house, it either gets resolved by the end of the episode or it‘s forgotten about. Gabriel‘s abuse feels to me more like a plot device to remove Adrien from the plot until the akuma shows up than a serious issue that affects Adrien mental being and needs to be resolved with therapy and Gabriel loosing custody over him. Adrien almost never talks bad about his dad, it‘s always „oh he‘s just overprotective of me“ or something. It’s like Adrien doesn’t recognize how crappy Gabe is, which does make sense for an abuse victim, but I don’t feel like the show frames this opinion as wrong.

Meanwhile in his relationship with LB, he takes everything super personal. He acts mean and entitled when she rejects his advances (even though he comes around in the end… only to try again a few episodes later) and he gets very angsty about LB… having more than one superhero friend. I know I sound dismissive, mostly because I though the whole arc sucked, but I do understand that it happened because Adrichat has abandonment issues. It makes sense why he feels that way. And he goes off to her in the s4 finale. So suddenly he can realize when he‘s treated badly in a relationship and talk about it? It‘s not like Lb treated him worse than Gabe, not even close!!

Adrien‘s main source of problems is his relationship with Maribug. This gets resolved in s4 on the Ladynoir side, and then in s5 Adriens biggest goal is resolving the Adrienette side, aka getting with a traumatized Marinette, aka the whole point of the show and probably the writer‘s only true priority. And when Adrien actually has a problem with his dad, it‘s only in the context of Gabe trying to sabotage the relationship, because who cares that he‘s an abusive asshole regardless of Adrien‘s relationship status? We need to save the relationship you guys!!

I guess what I‘m trying to say is that Adrien is the therapist in the relationship because (according to the writers), he doesn‘t really have problems. His only problems are when things are obstacles to his relationship with Marinette, which are her trauma and in the second half of s5 Gabriel being a dick to Mari. Other than that? Nathalie dying was a little important for like two minues, Emilie doesn‘t get brought up by Adrien in s5 at all, Gabriel dying and Adrien literally becoming an orphan is cool. None of these things have any influence on Adrienette, so they don‘t bother him and he doesn‘t need to talk to anyone about it or get therapy.

Love conquers all !!

So, confession time: I often tone Gabriel's abuse down when I write him specifically because of a lot of what you brought up (there's also the fact that it makes for a more compelling story if Gabriel's behavior is actually driven by grief and not just how he's always been, but let's not get into that). I've always considered it glaringly obvious that the writer's never meant for Gabriel to come across anywhere near as controlling and abusive as he's actually written. It really is just a plot device even though there are episodes that would have played far better if Gabriel had been less controlling.

For example, Glaciator would have been a far stronger episode if Adrien chose to not go see his friends in order to wait around for Ladybug because then he'd be super clearly in the wrong for flaking on a commitment and the lesson could be "don't put romance above your friends."

As-is, I have no idea what the moral of that episode is supposed to be because Maribug did nothing wrong outside of being a little rude to the ice cream guy, but Chat Noir also isn't really in the wrong because he was banned from going out as Adrien. There's a solid argument to be made for not wanting to risk punishment by going to a very public location with his friends. In episodes like this, it really felt like Gabriel's controlling, unreasonable nature wasn't being used to develop his character, but as a way to absolve Adrien of blame.

Along similar lines, the Adrigami plot in season five feels less like a thing that was included to make Gabriel feel evil and more like the writers desperately padding things out because Gabriel actually does very little to keep Adrien and Marinette apart. He could have pulled Adrien from school! He could have demanded Nathalie give back Adrien's ring so that his commands stuck! He could have interrupted the video game date and banned Marinette from the house. But he does none of that because he's not actually being controlling as a character thing. He's doing it so that the writers can add cheap drama to the Adrienette plot.

The clearest evidence of this is the wacky season five ending. That's not an ending you give to a person you consider abusive and evil beyond all hope of redemption even though that's arguably who Gabriel was by the end of season five. The writers are either ignorant to just how abusive he actually was or they know that he got pretty bad as the seasons went on, but they didn't want to change their planned ending so we got the ending they wrote when the show had less seasons and they'd done less to make Gabriel abusive.

It's just another case of that inconsistent characterization problem I've discussed before. By letting Gabriel be whatever they needed him to be for a given plot idea to work, they created a monster and made Adrien into a victim, but that's pretty clearly not the dynamic they actually wanted to write, so it all comes across as strange, wacky, and insensitive.

This is getting long, but I'll end by noting that I fully agree on the Maribug stuff. The conflicts they give Chat Noir and Ladybug make me super uncomfortable because they tend to center around her being a bad partner for... not reading his mind. Which is a massive personal pet peeve because so many people do this shit (myself included) and it's wildly unhealthy. Not saying she behaved perfectly or that this isn't an understandable flaw to give a character like Chatdrien, but it is a flaw and the show fails to treat it as such. It especially annoys me because it's a terrible conflict to give two people who are trying to keep the world safe. I've mentioned this before, but a big reason why superhero shows aimed at kids tend to develop both the civilian and superhero sides is so that the civilian side can focus on interpersonal conflicts and learn valuable life lessons, many of which will then be applied on the superhero side. Miraculous really needed to use this tool to help Adrien learn to communicate his very valid feelings. It's just bad writing choice after bad writing choice, adding up to a mess of a show no matter how you look at it.

Quick side note: I have nothing against people writing Gabriel as abusive as the show often makes him. I hope I've made it clear that I fully agree with that take, it's just not the take I like to use in my own stuff because it doesn't suit the kind of stories I enjoy telling. I prefer the happy family broken by Emilie's death route that the show pretty clearly wanted, but failed to write.

#Gabriel deserves better #adrien deserves better #marinette deserves better #ml writing critical #ml writing salt