the show be like: Marinette can’t use her powers for pERsOnAl rEaSonS even though she’s a teenager who was guilted into using the miraculous in the first place and has all this unwanted stress because of it!
me: Marinette should be able to use her powers selfishly to balance out the unfairness that superheroing has had on her life, so the kwami end up loving her so much as their guardian and telling Marinette that she’s allowed to use their powers because it’s their power and they decide that she deserves to use them.
“But, MC! Inactive kwami stay in the box and they can’t control their powers very well--” Marinette is guardian now and she makes the rules. Let them come out and let us see them and have these kwami making a serious effort to control their abilities because they love their master and want to see her succeed in life despite the burden she carries.
Marinette needs to bail out of class? Trixx casts an invisibility spell and discreetly opens the door while everyone’s distracted, or puts an illusion of Marinette in place of the real one so no one suspects a thing.
Trouble with history? All the kwami have various experiences with the particular time periods and tell stories in their own fun way to help her remember (which may or may not lead to her knowing more than what’s in the books, but hey, they couldn’t have known that). Fluff throws herself into the past just to take a look if no one’s sure (though sometimes comes back with absolutely useless fun facts that no one asked for and Marinette has to consider whether or not to explain why knowing Jeanne d'Arc’s favorite color won’t help her with her upcoming test).
Rainy day with no umbrella and Marinette rushing to get home? Longg controls the water above her and protects her from getting soaked as subtly as possible.
Marinette unsure about dealing with Adrien while she’s trying to move on? Sass puts her on a timer and gives her advice about approaching him. If she has to reset, she can either try again or decide to give up because she doesn’t want to/in order to avoid any potential mocking/teasing/ridicule.
Gotta get somewhere fast? In comes Kaalki with the portals. Kaalki also scopes out Paris in her free time just so she can know the exact place to put her portals where no one would see them.
Too much to deal with in one day? Mullo splits Marinette into five tiny versions of herself so she can work on multiple tasks at once.
In conclusion: Let Marinette breathe and start seeing the things she’s burdened with as things she can use to her advantage and should use to her advantage because she deserves better.
How about instead of more adrien angst that makes marinette feel bad, we got a"what if" episode where Adrien is sent to an au where he straight up doesn't exist and has to see how much happier marinette/ ladybug is
Depends.
I mean, I totally get where the thought is there; more of a harsh pendulum swing in the other direction than a carefully thought out episode of sorts.
If it were to be an actual story-based plot though (I know this isn’t at all what this anon wanted, but sorry, my mind went off lol), I could see it being beneficial, especially if it’s just Marinette and/or Ladybug’s life that’s better (if the benefits go to everyone, then we’re delving into angst and that could get boring fast).
Marinette being happier in class because she managed to out Lila, so she was never temporarily expelled, and Ladybug has a partner who, regardless of how efficient they may be compared to Chat, takes their job more seriously and doesn’t downplay his role just so he can joke around.
Plot twist if Adren manages to see the other Chat de-transform and it actually is Adrien, but he went under different life circumstances, listened to Ladybug more, and knows when the right time for jokes are.
And this shows Adrien that it’s not that he needs to leave/not exist to make Ladybug happy; he just needs to be a better version of himself.
I know you're busy with your AU but if you have a moment or want to change your mind for a moment, how would you handle a redemption for Adrien at this point in the series? The main problem with him is that writers do not recognize his mistakes as something bad, but what would it be like if he admitted that Adrien is imperfect and needs to change?
lol I mean, first off, I like how you say “writers” and then refer to a “he” to imply that you’re talking about Astruc lol.
Secondly, while I think my Felix post is one of my better ideas for it, escalation is generally the key here, and there are many ways to go about it.
1 - Giving Adrien his own bully, perhaps someone who wouldn’t care about the reputational damage if they mocked Adrien. Heck, it doesn’t even matter if they’re a true “bully,” since they might just call Adrien out for his behavior. How much Adrien is bothered by it wouldn’t matter, as if he ever said anything, one could have a snarky student (probably Alix) question what the difference is between that bully and Chloe. Whether Adrien responds with “Chloe is my friend” or “Chloe doesn’t bully me,” he’d out himself.
Alternatively, having Adrien see how Lila’s lies are affecting everyone could make a difference. I just talked about it, but Kagami was extremely hurt by that picture Lila sent out, yet Adrien is still vouching for her. Lila’s lies could spread and start affecting people more negatively (especially Marinette). This could escalate to a Marinette and Kagami friendship where they bond over a mutual dislike of Lila, which starts to extend into detesting the way Adrien handles it. Like, sure, Adrien hates conflict and tries to keep the peace, but there has to be a moment where he is ready to completely shut Lila down. It starts to look like Adrien is trying to uphold some sort of image, which neither Marinette nor Kagami would like.
2 - Having Chat actually land a non-consensual kiss on Ladybug. It doesn’t have to be a lip kiss, but the point is that Chat can’t control himself. Like, sure, maybe his leaning in is always teasing or just because he hopes that Ladybug might one day kiss him back, but eventually, that’d cause an accident where he actually lands a kiss on her, which riles up Ladybug because cAN YOU NOT? Chat very rarely has to deal with Ladybug being so frustrated with him, so it could be a wake-up call.
Alternatively, Chat sacrifices himself/get mind-controlled again in a very easily avoidable situation (so, basically... canon), and Ladybug was already stressed so that did not help. She keeps calling in other heroes even when she doesn’t have to just because she’s afraid of that happening to him again. This causes Chat to realize that he’s being a hazard and weighing Ladybug down.
If you had to build the canon Kagami we have now into hero material, how would you go about it? I'm loving the LBO frenzy going on these weeks and I'll always enjoy the baby sword lesbian Riposte!Kagami the most. But I miss the good old MCs too and, hoo boy, has Kagami's handling been grating on my nerves.
I would have Lila show up while Adrien and Kagami are hanging out. Kagami would catch onto Lila immediately (especially after Oni-chan), but notice that Adrien is hardly calling her out, if at all.
They would get into a bit of a fight over it, with Adrien awkwardly trying to explain why he (for the most part) leaves Lila alone.
It’s not as if Kagami immediately falls out of love for him, but she gets very heated and starts reconsidering her stance on Adrien and his “perfection.”
I would also have Kagami talking to Marinette about Adrien. They can bond and become friends.
God do I love the salt. I love the salt. Tho I love your MC headcanons too and I was wondering how would you handle the characters screwed over by the plot recently. Screw Adrien at this point but for example how would you put Alya back on track when from being reduced to DjWifi fodder and plot tool for wowzees Lila and Love Square in s3? Or Kagami from love rival #? and Asstruck mouthpiece for Adrien staning. I don't even know if I love actual canon Kagami or the idea of riposte!Kagami anymore.
Ohhh, so not quite MC, but a fix-it starting from the current place in the show? Iiiinteresting~
For Alya, I think she and Nino need to have a fight. They seem to still be in that stage where their relationship seems “perfect,” but once that’s shaken up, Alya’s mind will likely be drawn away from the whole romance thing.
Heck, maybe the fight can even be about Lila. Maybe one of them gets a little tired of compromising/catering to all her lies (even if they don’t know they’re lies), and there’s a disagreement there. The fight could even just be about something stupid, like a disagreement about the Ladybug movie or how they weren’t in sync enough during an akuma battle.
Point is, they fight and Alya tries finding something to do, only to realize that she’s gotten so used to spending time with Nino that it’s a weird habit to break. She and Nino will obviously make up, but the fight made them re-check their priorities and realize that oh yeah, other people exist.
For Kagami, I can think of two things.
One, having her interact with other characters. Doing that is almost crucial for development. At the very least, it’ll give us a better idea of her character.
Two, dropping her idea that Adrien is perfect. I’m totally cool with Kagami being in love with Adrien and that being where some of her flaws lie, but her seeing him as a perfect character is detrimental to the storytelling here. Kagami isn’t doing anything for Adrien right now to improve his character, so her character is doing basically nothing. She’s just there and I feel bad for her, honestly.
Thus, there needs to be a moment that makes Kagami rethink her opinion on Adrien. It could be anything, but it would definitely involve something that Kagami disagrees with Adrien on. “Frozer” had a hint of that when Kagami opposed Adrien helping Philippe (who had kept pushing to teach them even though they already said “no”), but it would have to be something that Kagami is both fully against and that Adrien would insist on.
Previews fill me with trepidation brrr but I keep wondering how would you handle an akumatized Marinette or Adrien (or their hero forms) arc? What might be able to push them over the edge? How would MC Kwami take it? Do you have any headcanons or favorite fandom akuma forms for akuMarinette? How would MC akumAdrien be other than Chat Blanc?
Whoa! A lot of questions there, haha.
I keep wondering how would you handle an akumatized Marinette or Adrien (or their hero forms) arc? What might be able to push them over the edge?
[Canon Marinette]
The akumatization of normal Marinette would be a very slow process. It would be an arc where things in episodes would feel… off, but it would be hard to pinpoint exactly why.
Maybe Marinette’s friends don’t hang out with her as much, but there’s so much other stuff going on that it’s hard to notice.
Maybe Adrien continues to insist that Marinette is his friend while not actually trying to spend time with her, but he’s got such a tight schedule that it’s more easily shrugged off.
Maybe people start having Marinette stand up to people like Chloe all by herself, but Marinette is so good at it that it’s easy to presume that everyone knew that no one could do it better than Marinette.
At some point, we’d have a version of “Chameleon”, but where Lila had taken time and care to manipulate the class. Lila had shown up more frequently beforehand and was confirmed to have everyone’s phone number.
Lila knows that Marinette can’t be trusted. Lila is aware that Marinette knows that she’s full of it. She’s seen people like Marinette before and knows that there’s only one way to get rid of them; sabotaging their reputation.
Lila is careful and calculated, asking the classmates if she’d “done something wrong” to make Marinette dislike her. The class has no proof, but Lila has a lot of stories that she tries to back up using previous episodes and stories that people have told her.
And the classmates believe her, not because they like Lila more than Marinette, but because Marinette was so easy to not pay attention to. They don’t scowl or huff at Marinette, but Lila tends to call them away and make Marinette feel like something’s wrong.
The conflict would build up to the students having taken advantage of Marinette. They’re not bad people, but they saw Marinette as a happy-go-lucky girl who couldn’t say “no.” Some people were always on edge, fearing someone’s akumatization, but Marinette never seemed like someone who could be akumatized.
It was just easy to take advantage of her without meaning to. No one ever noticed that they did it because Marinette did everything she could to keep a level head and work things out. She was the mediator, the strategist, and so many other things that she just seemed incorruptible.
Besides, it’s not like Marinette’s around a lot. Marinette is always so late; they think, surely Marinette just doesn’t care. Surely Marinette just prioritizes everything evenly and doesn’t pay extra attention to people she likes.
It’s not like Marinette could have problems in her life. Her parents are “perfect” and her friends are just “so supportive all the time.” How could Marinette ever have issues?
Marinette being sent to the back was just one more example of the class seeing Marinette as someone without emotions. She was their guide and their creator, but an everyday Ladybug is apparently someone who’s never supposed to think of herself.
The loneliness would get to her. The lack of support would get to her. Lila threatening Marinette held weight and meaning because Marinette knew.
She knew right then how her friends saw her, and she was going to make every one of them realize that she’s an actual person. She was going to make everyone understand that she’s not perfect in their own twisted way and that they can’t shunt her aside just because that’s easier than putting in the effort to support her.
And as Miss Bustier begins her next class, she starts calling on students to ask them questions. Idly (and after far too long), she notices that Marinette isn’t there.
“Where’s Marinette?” she’d ask, more confused than anything else. Marinette was always absent. Surely, she’s just being forgetful, distracted, and clumsy again.
The classmates all look around. None of them had noticed that Marinette was missing.
They think, it’s not like they didn’t care that she wasn’t there! It wasn’t like they were so enamored with Lila that Marinette became meaningless. It’s Marinette’s fault. She’s always so quiet and meek (she’s not); how could anyone notice her missing?
Then, the door flies open. Papers scatter. The windows break from an unknown force.
Students nearly bolt out of their seats as they all feel a strong chill run up their spines.
There, in the doorway, stands the akumatized form of the one person no one ever thought could be corrupted: Marinette. Her eyes are wide, bright, yet somehow empty and completely devoid of emotion.
Staring ahead at nothing yet simultaneously making everyone feel stared at, Marinette speaks in monotone.
“I’m right here.”
[MC Marinette]
In the MC canon, Marinette is actually incorruptible. She doesn’t have horrific luck like the canon Marinette does and either she or someone else solves her big problems. Lila might be able to make her a bit miserable, but MC Marinette would never experience anything emotionally-destabilizing enough to warrant an akuma.
[Canon Adrien]
I’d make Adrien an akuma to teach him some sort of lesson.
The akumatization itself would probably involve Gabriel becoming desperate. He would be willing to do anything to get the miraculouses at this point.
Even if it means akumatizing his own son. After all, Adrien seems enamored with Ladybug and Gabriel figures that he or Nathalie might be able to manipulate that into something useful.
And Adrien is easy to manipulate, given how entitled he can act and how insistent he is on pursuing Ladybug romantically when she has no interest in him.
Post-deakumatization, he’d realize the disaster he almost caused (he thankfully didn’t give away his identity as Chat, convinced it would give him some sort of advantage) and would go to Ladybug as Chat to pretend like he merely had an epiphany on the matter. He’d acknowledge that he never meant for his attraction to go so far that it made her uncomfortable.
He would be vulnerable enough to properly absorb it this time when Ladybug stresses that she doesn’t want to date him (nor anyone else, for that matter) in her superhero form. It’s way too risky and Chat isn’t helping with his constant advances.
Even if Chat wants to argue, he knows he has no ground to stand on, so he agrees.
How would MC akumAdrien be other than Chat Blanc?
[MC Adrien/Chat]
I was never a fan of just making the superhero akumatizations nothing but them being inverted. I’d probably go for a combination of them being a “monster” form of whatever their miraculous represents (so, a monstrous cat for a cat miraculous user) and a trait of the person behind the mask, like Adrien’s want to not be hounded by fans and slink into the background, for example (giving him the ability to blend into shadows).
As for how it’d happen…
Chat wasn’t sure how far he’d run. He wasn’t sure when he’d started to.
All he knew was that he was following the white peacock feather wherever it was going to go. Every footstep reminded him of his mission: finding Hawk Moth. Following the feather was the best lead he’d ever had.
As the peacock floated through darkness, Chat finally realized that he was in a long dark hallway. Where was this? Was this in the mansion?
He pulled out his baton, dialing Ladybug.
No answer. While trying to keep an eye on the feather, Chat spoke “Ladybug, quick! I have a lead on the peacock, you have to–”
A light came on right as the feather passed by it. It continued flying down the hall, its pattern irregular but seeming to have a purpose.
Chat hesitantly put his baton back and walked after the feather.
Each light flicked on one-by-one as Chat continued. He was tense, ready for a supervillain to surprise him at any time.
Yet, as he stepped into the last area of darkness, his foot hit something and the light near it came on, revealing an even worse surprise.
As the peacock feather floated down to rest on the glass casing of a coffin, he saw his mother lying inside.
Chat inhaled sharply. He stumbled back, eyes widening as he stared down into the coffin.
He forgot his current state as Chat. “M-mom?” he called.
He rushed forward, banging on the casing. The feather was jostled around, but remained resting on the coffin. “Mom! Mom, are you okay? Please be okay! Answer me!”
A voice echoed through the halls, but it wasn’t the one Chat wanted. “Your mother has been in this state for quite a time, Adrien. She’s not going to answer you.”
The feather suddenly floated away, as if hit by a small gust of wind, while Chat jerked his head toward the voice.
There, standing a good distance away, was a tall, slender woman. Her long flowing blue dress almost touched the ground, but Chat noticed hints of purple. She had two weapons: a cane and a fan.
Two miraculouses? She had two of them?
Chat finally registered what she’d called him: Adrien. He looked down at himself, then remembered that he’d called Emilie “Mom”.
There was no turning back. He’d just have to take the woman’s miraculouses while he waited for Ladybug.
“Y-you!” Chat pulled out his baton, standing in front of his mother protectively. “Who are you and what did you do to my mother?”
“I’m your savior,” she spoke calmly. “And I didn’t do anything. It’s your father who’s to blame.”
“Liar!” Chat yelled.
He watched as the woman moved her fan out of the way, making Chat now able to see the peacock and butterfly brooches lined up along the center of her chest.
“I took these from him,” she said without apology. “You didn’t think it was odd that he had a book of miraculouses?”
Chat went to yell again, but the words died before he could use them.
It was odd. Of course it was odd. He thought that, but…
No…
“No!” Chat shook his head. “I don’t believe you!”
He stood there stiffly, warily, waiting for the woman to make a move.
She chuckled darkly. “You’re wondering if I only just now learned your identity. I assure you, I’ve known for a while.”
Chat hesitated, but his curiosity got the best of him. He tried to sound menacing, but his body was shaking and his voice wavered with it. “W-why didn’t you just take my ring then?”
“Because you’re useful to me,” she replied without hesitation.
As the feather returned to her, she placed it back in her fan, the cane remaining standing next to her. She raised a hand, a white butterfly coming down to rest on her palm.
Chat’s eyes widened as he watched her close her hand around the butterfly. A dark aura surrounded her hand, revealing an akuma in the butterfly’s place.
He knew who it was for.
“Y-you’ll never akumatize me!” Chat told her. “I’d never betray Ladybug!”
“You don’t have a choice.” The woman gestured behind Chat. “If you want your mother to wake up again, you’ll need to make a wish with yours and Ladybug’s miraculouses.”
For a split second, he’d considered it. “I–I’d never…I–”
Chat stared down at the floor, frustrated and upset at the sheer overload of information. He could feel his emotions getting to him. He could almost sense the akuma staring into him. “N-no. Mother…”
Ladybug. Where was his lady?
The woman held her palm out. “Fly, my akuma.”
Chat jerked his gaze back up, staggering back as the akuma came toward him. He bumped into the coffin and turned to it, seeing his mother still laying there, motionless.
He had to make a decision. It brought tears came to his eyes. “I-I’m sorry, Mom.”
He placed his baton on the ground, extending it to launch himself into the air. He flew right over the akuma, landing on the floor behind the woman as he ran off in an attempt to escape.
The woman watched without concern, the akuma putting up a fair chase. It was only a matter of time before Chat tired himself out.
The woman turned back to Emilie. “I suppose he’s going to need a hand, hm?”
She took the feather from before out of her fan, then allowed it to darken in his grasp. “You’ll want to protect your son, won’t you?”
She leaned forward, blowing her feather off her palm. It flew across the room, then trailed down and slipped through the coffin’s casing. It fluttered down to the rose attached to Emilie’s jacket, turning the rose an ugly black.
The woman smirked.
How would MC Kwami take it?
Post-deakumatization, Plagg would be livid that someone messed with his holder like that. He might even get reckless, insisting that Adrien go hide somewhere while he takes care of the mystery woman himself.
Do you have any headcanons or favorite fandom akuma forms for akuMarinette?
Just general headcanons on an akumatized Marinette?
If I were to theoretically akumatize Ladybug, I would have the akuma be in only one earring (akuma don’t go into more than one object, after all). Ladybug would then have to remove it and simultaneously drop it into her yoyo to cleanse it before fully detransforming.
She’d be a very hard supervillain to face because she’d have to willingly give up her akuma herself since only she can open her yoyo.
I also headcanon that the amount of humanity that seeps through an akumatized person depends on their will. Marinette has such a strong will that she can mentally force Hawk Moth out of her mind if there are things she doesn’t want him to see/hear. She’d try to feel out Hawk Moth to see if she can get a read on his location.
Potentially, she’d try to get Chat’s ring so Hawk Moth will meet up with her and she can double-cross him. She’d block Hawk Moth out of her mind and insist that Adrien secretly follow her so she can give him his ring back once the betrayal happens.
Essentially, akumatized Marinette is OP as heck and Hawk Moth would be an idiot to try and akumatize her.
My favorite akumanettes are the same as everyone else’s basically, but I’m also biased because my friends are very talented and I love their work most.
Zoe’s Little Devil is basically everything I ever wanted in a salty canon divergence. It’s satisfying, creative, beautifully drawn, and was timed perfectly. Zoe is incredible at design and it shows here. She never needs to write long, complex stories because her art speaks for itself and gAH, IT’S SO GOOD.
There’s also Punch’s Manynette. What’s better than one Marinette? Manynette! It’s an enjoyable ride to watch the Manynette go crazy as everyone is just like “????” and honestly, it gets to the point where you almost don’t want Manynette to get de-akumatized. (Ha, imagine that; Hawk Moth just has to give up and all the Manynette become less and less like each other as they develop. Love interests abound!)
Also admittedly a sucker for Pursecutor if for no other reason than I can appreciate a good pun with some quality trash on top.
What would you make Master Fu's "mistake" that he mentioned in The Collector be?
There were many guardians in the temple, and just because they underwent spiritual training doesn’t mean they were all good.
Perhaps there was someone who was angry with Fu being chosen as the guardian. Maybe they tried to get on his good side so he would trust them with a miraculous.
And Fu did, eventually, but then that person went on a rampage with it that caused the burning of the temple. The people there ultimately deemed it to be the person’s fault, so Fu was still left with the Miracle Box and the spellbook and just told to escape.
The person showed back up again to take the Miracle Box from him, but only managed to take one more miraculous, along with the spellbook. Fu had used the turtle to protect himself and the remaining miraculouses, having been friends with Wayzz ever since.
How would you handle an identity reveal? It can be for Ladybug, Chat Noir, Hawk Moth, or all three. Also, happy (possibly belated) birthday!
Thanks!
For Hawk Moth, it depends.
Outside of what I believe the show has planned with Nathalie, I would probably have it be a “Catalyst” situation with Hawk Moth out in the open for once. Then, out of nowhere, Mayura swoops in and takes his miraculous, both revealing him to the world and letting her become the new main villain.
However, keeping in mind that Nathalie is in love with him, I’d probably just have the basic reveal where Ladybug and Chat take his miraculous in the final Hawk Moth fight and see that he’s Gabriel. I don’t want a lot of angst with Adrien figuring it out early or anything.
In terms of Ladybug and Chat, I would want to give them agency in the matter. I have nothing against ideas where they find out accidentally or it’s a one-sided reveal where one of them figures the other out, but I like it best when it’s a conscious decision on both their parts.
Maybe Hawk Moth (or whatever villain) is becoming more active and Fu decides that it’d be best for Ladybug and Chat to do an identity reveal with each other (probably so they can help each other’s civilian self get away to safety). Marinette argues over it with “Catalyst” and how the identity reveals caused her teammates to get akumatized, but Fu believes in Marinette to maintain professionalism and not get drawn in by negative emotions.
Part of the episode would be Marinette worrying about telling Chat and considering the consequences, but would ultimately trust Fu’s wisdom and tell Chat. Chat also goes through his own conflict because he obviously wants to know Ladybug’s identity, but he doesn’t want her to do anything she’s not comfortable with.
They’d eventually agree on the matter and reveal their civilian selves to each other.
