I STAN TWO WHOLESOME SIBLINGS!!!

Ladies and gentlemen, Adrien "Just a friend" Agreste: unknowingly asking the most romantic questions since 2015

Season 4 better give us that “Marinette as seen by Adrien” websode we’ve been craving for. It is high time that kid reflected on his feelings for her beyond being “just a friend”

Marinette, her friendships and Lila

If there’s something that’s been bugging me (pun non-intended) is the possible implications of Lila’s threat to Marinette.

When I first heard it, I assumed (like probably many of the members of the fandom) that it was only foreshadowing a disastrous episode that would, in the end, still have stand-alone value. “Ladybug” would be a good example of this, or we were probably all expecting an Akumanette episode when we watched Chameleon for the first time, too.

However, now I wonder if it was actually foreshadowing a series of events that started with Lila’s appearance.

If I’m not mistaken, we were told that Marinette would have to face changes in the dynamics she has with people. 

After “The Battle of the Miraculous”, it’s obvious that Adrien/Chat Noir, Kagami and Luka will be part of that change, but will they really be the only ones affected by it?

We, salt shakers (this time, pun totally intended), have been on edge about Marinette’s friends since Chameleon, especially Alya. And, when given some thought, we might have seen hints on the blogger changing sides for a while, all of them going unnoticed.

The one moment that makes me the most suspicious is when Alya had just turned into Rena Rouge and mentioned that she looked just like Lila did when she was akumatised.

However, there hasn’t been the slightest mention of that ever since!

At least, not in a hopeful light.

For example, despite Ladybug mentioning twice during Heroes’ Day that Volpina had been active, both times with witnesses, none of those times have helped the characters to connect the dots and realise that Lila wasn’t in Achu like she said!

BUT

If there’s something you have to learn the hard way when you’re part of the miraculous fandom, that’s that Lila’s never featured nor mentioned without a purpose.

Let’s take a look at Timetagger or Félix, for instance.

In Timetagger, the episode seemingly had nothing to do with her, and, yet, she appears. Not long after we discover that there’ll be a different Hawk Moth in the future, no less. Now, if that’s not a hint.. I don’t know what is.

In Félix, she appeared for a few seconds as part of the video chat Alya had opened to discuss ways to cheer Adrien up on the day he lost his mother. And still, it was her who alerted Nathalie and Gabriel of “Adrien”’s strange behaviour.

Where do I want to go with this?

Lila saw Alya transform into Rena Rouge.

Listen, it actually makes perfect sense.

Catalyst, Mayura and Ladybug showed that Lila lives around the park and that, moreover, she’s actually been keeping a close eye on Marinette and the class for quite some time.

Alya transformed in the park!

Lila could’ve seen it and strategise from there. For instance, it explains how on Earth she hasn’t lied about being Rena Rouge yet. Let’s think about that situation for a moment, alright? 

If Lila didn’t know Alya is Rena Rouge, she could have tried convincing Adrien that the incident in Volpina was just Ladybug’s way of protecting her secret identity from being exposed, claiming that after that they’d decided to change her superhero alterego and rename it to Rena Rouge as it to not arise suspicion. 

But she didn’t do it!

And it’s clearly not because she’s learned to not lie around Adrien, because she has indeed tried to in Chameleon, Oni-chan and Ladybug. Even if she is perfectly aware that he knows she’s a liar.

So I wouldn’t put it past her.

So that brings me to this: Alya might abandon Marinette for Lila.

It’s true she tried to help Marinette in Ladybug, and that she cares about Marinette; but there are moments and behaviours that hint on this happening.

To this day, Alya hasn’t doubted Lila once. Not even when her best friend is so stressed out around her. Sure, we can always say that Alya’s seen the most unreasonable and irrational part of Marinette, but that doesn’t excuse anything.

In Ladybug, she quickly dismissed Marinette’s suspicions on Lila, telling her she shouldn’t jump to conclusions like that, and when it came to actually talking to Lila about it, she actually comforted her instead of showing the slightest caution around her. She even went as far as mentioning Marinette’s jealousy rather than letting the poor girl talk or even explain  her reasoning behind her claims!

Now, if we compare Alya’s behaviour towards Lila and Marinette with the way she acts around Marinette and Kagami, it’s clear there’s some serious bias there. 

The only conclusion I get from this is that Alya is that way towards Kagami because… She’s not Lila. And, since Alya isn’t very fond of her either, then it’s not so serious if Marinette is actually unfair to her or not.

And that sickens me. Quite honestly.

Aside from this, we also have the events that took place in Feast; despite knowing first-hand that the miraculous is something that the less people know about it, the better, that didn’t stop Alya from talking about the different miraculous holders throughout History and the exhibition on her blog.

Marinette thought it was something so grave she actually confessed she shouldn’t have entrusted Alya with a miraculous!

And that loss in faith is something very serious, especially in this show.

Because, if in the future Ladybug has no choice but to never hand her the fox miraculous again (something very possible considering the events that took place during Miracle Queen), maybe Alya will act as entitled as Chloé did. Questioning why would Ladybug not entrust her with it when she did give it back to Chloé. More than once.

After all, after Chloé, we saw in Sapotis that Alya was the less willing of all of Ladybug’s allies to give her the miraculous back. She almost kept it.

And, if Alya loses faith in Ladybug, that would be the perfect opening for Lila, who could reveal to her that she knew of her secret identity all along and try to get her against Ladybug and, maybe, even Marinette.

Just imagine, she could even say she was the Fox Miraculous Holder before her, Volpina, but that  after some silly argument Ladybug was petty enough to take the miraculous from her. But that she lied about still being friends with her for the sake of Paris.

Now, that would be a major change in dynamics.

But, just as I’ve written about the worst case scenario, I also have some hopeful news about Marinette’s next confidant.

Alix.

I’ll admit, of all her friends, Alix has always shown that she was the least convinced of Marinette’s distrust towards Lila. Always being very quick to show her anger towards Marinette for her actions.

Even so, we must not forget that she will soon entrust her with the Rabbit Miraculous. Giving her the power to fix everything, even when the clock is against the heroes.

And I think I know why she entrusted it to her in the first place.

In Chat Blanc, Bunnix told Ladybug that the reason she chose her was because “She’s very good at keeping secrets”. On the other hand, she suggested that maybe the reason Chat Noir knew of her secret identity was that Adrien had told Nino, that had told Alya, that had published it on the Ladyblog.

What if this is more foreshadowing?

What if Bunnix is subtly warning Marinette about Alya and that the Ladyblog is actually more important to her than her role as a superhero?

But going back to the reason Ladybug chose Alix as Bunnix, maybe it will be Alix the first one to discover her secret identity, and will promise to never reveal it to anyone.

If that were the case, Alix would also be the first one besides Adrien and Marinette to know that Lila is a liar and that Marinette had every right to be as distant to her as she was.

Maybe Alix will be Marinette’s first ally against the Italian girl in and out of the suits (aside from Adrien, of course).

After all, if there’s something Thomas Astruc has proved he’s good at, that’s misleading us. Ehem, Chloé’s redemption, ehem. Ehem, Félix, ehem!

The zodiac signs

According to the French dub of Ikari Gozen, Marinette is Leo and Kagami is Scorpio (my sign, yay!)

According to the compability site I searched, their compability is low, given that Leo is a fire sign and Scorpio a water sign (which could be reflected on the show by the fact that Ryuko hasn’t used her Fire Dragon yet), but they have a strong attraction. But they have a personality clash, as well.

This is actually very interesting when you compare it to their relationship in the show:

Kagami and Marinette are very different, yet similar at the same time. They are both of Asian heritage, girls Adrien is attracted to, and have a strong moral compass. Not to mention Riposte’s trailer made many of us think Adrien would fall for Kagami because of how similar she is to Ladybug…

But, at the same time, Marinette has far less controling parents, far more experience at friendship, and a puts friendship and doing the right thing before romance; unlike Kagami.

Although Kagami is, deep down, as kind and hospitable as Marinette is, her upbringing has made her more stoic than the pigtailed girl. Furthermore, if the Battle of the Miraculous is anything to go by, Kagami is someone who puts her personal romantic relationships with people above her platonic ones. Unlike Marinette.

Now, I’m not criticising Kagami for it. I’m just using that fact to further explain my anlysis.

Like I stated earlier, Leo and Scorpio, though strongly attracted to one another; once Kagami and Marinette had solved their issues, they hang out together as if they’d been friends for a long time; their personalities clash. 

In Frozer and Ikari Gozen, we got a glimpse of the girls’ point of view on the other: Kagami saw Marinette as someone hesitant (something she’s not a fan of) and weird, and Marinette thought the fencer was too cold. However, in Frozer and Heart Hunter, we saw that, just like Adrien and Luka, they have opposite views on love. Marinette believes in letting the object of her affections go if it means they’ll be happy, whereas Kagami actually prefers to wait for the other person and be their special someone, rather than putting someone else’s happiness before her own.

I originally just wanted to point out the extra information that comes with different dubs, but it appears I’ve managed to add my two cents on the girls’ relationship and the possible meaning behind scenes. Ooops, I did it again.

I AM LIVING FOR GODFATHER ADRIEN

Don’t fuck with kind people.

Because once they reach their breaking point,

they’re the scariest people in the world.

¨There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man.” -Patrick Rothfuss

¨Todo hombre sabio teme tres cosas: la tormenta en el mar, la noche sin luna, y la ira de un hombre amable.¨ - Patrick Rothfuss

Dude, preach

Kagami Concept Art

Bunnix Concept Art

My favorite part of Chat Blanc

It confirmed Adrien’s latent feelings for Marinette.

I wouldn’t go so far as to say he was hoping Ladybug was Marinette - but he was very clearly thrilled at this outcome.

This exchange could have gone in the reverse direction:

Plagg: Ladybug is Ladybug and Marinette is - 

Adrien: Ladybug.

I think the writers deliberately had Adrien say Marinette’s name all dreamy-like and not Ladybug’s. He says it like all his dreams are coming true, like Marinette is the most perfect girl in his eyes.

This line is so important. There’s too much specificity in what he’s saying for it to just be a plausible explanation for his sudden advances. Adrien is admitting what he’s been trying to ignore: his non-platonic feelings for Marinette. He was pushing them away because they confused him and he had his heart set on Ladybug. But now his attraction to Marinette makes sense, because she’s the same girl he fell in love with. Bye-bye, denial!

There have been numerous metas on why Adrien canonically likes Marinette and is in denial about it, so I won’t get into all that evidence here.

So Adrien didn’t go after her because she’s Ladybug. He did because, in his own words, “Marinette and Ladybug are the same person!” There’s a subtle but powerful difference.