Is Adrien pushy? Yes sometimes, but he’s also an emotionally abused, socially isolated 14-year-old. He tries. He apologizes when he realizes he’s done something wrong. (Everyone does things wrong that hurt others. Many never learn to apologize.)
Is Marinette’s crush on Adrien kind of stalkery and superficial at times? Yup! (”Adrien, the fragrance” anyone?) But she’s 13/14 years old and never had a crush before! She’s learning too. She makes an effort to get to know him better. She’s thoughtful of his needs and is willing to put them above her own. (Not taking credit for the scarf is a fantastic example.)
And isn’t that how ALL relationships start? Infatuation followed by learning about the other until it develops into something deeper? They can’t do that yet with all their secrets, and that’s the only thing holding her back.
(A side rant about Adrien’s mental health, because I have half an opportunity. I get back on topic at the end.)
I once had someone comment on one of my fics about Adrien being pushy. It was basically, “yeah, I know he’s been through some stuff, but he’s smart, so that’s no excuse.”
Hey, person with depression, you should be smart enough to figure out that you shouldn’t be sad.
Hey, person with anxiety, wow, you’re scared of something so mundane? If you were smart, you would know that you don’t need to be scared of that.
Hey, person with PTSD, are you still bothered by that? It was 15 years ago. You must not be smart enough to realize that you aren’t in danger anymore.
You know who *should* be smart enough to know not to be mentally ill? Psychologists. You know who has high levels of mental illness? Psychologists. If they’re not “smart enough” to figure out how to stop being mentally ill, NO ONE CAN. You need TIME, and PROPER TREATMENT, sometimes MEDICATION, and a whole lot of UNDERSTANDING AND SUPPORT from those around you! Oh, and to STOP BEING ACTIVELY ABUSED. It’s not a measure of how smart you are.
Adrien’s suffered emotional abuse and isolation, probably his entire life. His behaviors are totally understandable, and aren’t going to go away if he thinks about them hard enough!
Adrien’s been through some stuff. His father is dismissive, cold, uncaring, emotionally neglectful to the extreme. Adrien’s lost is mother and has had to deal with his grief alone because NO ONE CARES. He feels like he has to bend over backward to please his father so he can get a little attention and love from him, and then that attention and love is usually withheld anyway. Even though he tries so hard, he can never be perfect enough for his father.
As for being “smart enough” to know how he should behave? He’s been isolated his whole life. He’s never seen how normal people treat each other, so how would be know what to do?
Yeah, Adrien is clingy and demanding sometimes. YOU WOULD BE TOO. Ladybug is one of like three people who cares for him unconditionally, whose opinion of him isn’t based on his looks, and who doesn’t abandon him as soon as he can’t contribute anything (as seen in her treatment of him in Reverser). He’s understandably terrified of losing her (as seen in Sandman). He desperately wants her attention and has NO IDEA how to get it. All he has is his interactions with his parents, tutors, and Chloe (and from watching anime, which we all know is a fantastic resource on how to behave like a normal human being).
Going back to the original point, I think their dynamic after the reveal is going to be really fantastic for both of them. Marinette’s definitely got Adrien on a pedestal, but she knows a lot of Cat Noir’s faults already and doesn’t hold them against him. She knows he can be annoying, pushy, petty, and have badly timed humor, but she considers him to be one of her best friends anyway. Combining the two sides of him in her mind will take away a lot of the superficiality of her crush and let her love the whole person completely. Which is exactly what she needs!
Someone once pointed out all the presents that Marinette planned for Adrien for the next zillion years was very thoughtful, and you know who would have cried to know that Ladybug did that for him? Adrien. She’s planning on us being together that long? She took the time to make these for me? But there’s so many! It must have taken forever! She wants to be prepared with presents so I’m always sure to get one because she knows that my father got me a pen for my birthday every year? I’m this important to her? How can I possibly be so important to her?!
Can you imagine how he’s going to feel when he finally understands that she’s committed to him and isn’t going anywhere?
It might take a while. I imagine that during their first real couple fight, he’s going to be terrified that he’s messed up and willing to do anything to make it better. It might be like that for years even, but Marinette loves him so completely, and is not subtle in her demonstrations of it, that it will eventually help him see that their foundation is secure.
He won’t have to fight for her attention. Or earn it. Or beg for it. Or be perfect in order to deserve it. She will love him unconditionally and have no problem letting him know all about it in as many ways as possible, and will be absolutely okay with giving him all the emotional support and understanding he could want and that is exactly what he needs!
tl;dr Marinette and Adrien are perfect for each other, flaws and all. I will even write an essay with examples to show you that I’m right.
kaledo-art
annaxmalina
pixelskylines
jbbartram-illu
titsay
yousharknotpass
germansingergirl
