✨Webtoon Recommendation✨

Rewatching Timebreaker, in hindsight to knowing what the watch is, this intro to it makes it so weird.

Specifically the watch's ability to make a hologram.

Assuming this watch was always planned to be the Rabbit Miraculous, does that mean that all Miraculous can make holograms? Or have some unique minor ability they can do and this is what the Rabbit can do?

Which, for something related to time travel, it's kinda random.

Unless Rabbit wasn't planned to have time traveling powers, but potentially, originally was the illusionist instead of Fox.

Which wouldn't be too much of a stretch for Rabbit.

White rabbits are an iconic animal that's tied to magicians, who are expert illusionists.

To add to it, the rabbit is tied the trickster archetype. Europe has tied rabbits to other-worldliness and the fae. And there is an Indian fable of the Clever Rabbit and the Foolish/Hungry Lion. Where the Lion decreed all animals were to sacrifice themselves so he can eat, and when it was the Rabbit's turn, the Rabbit told the Lion that there was another lion nearby, and led the Lion to a well/watering hole and pointed to the reflection in the water. The Lion drowned trying to fight his reflection, saving the Rabbit and other animals from being devoured.

Which a reflection can count as another illusion.

This can even work off Alice in Wonderland as illusions can be tied to dreams, and they can be creative and surreal and strange.

As for the time motif, it can play off time is an illusion.

So IF that watch was always planned to be the Rabbit Miraculous, I wonder if it was originally the illusionist instead of the time traveler; as the ability for the watch to make a hologram is just so random.

As for Fox, given that Volpina "the False Fox" was an illusionist, there was a possibility that the actual Fox wasn't. And Thomas Astruc had confirmed that Pied Piper was a Fox (hence the flute).

Potentially, Fox originally had a power of hypnosis or subconscious manipulation through music, also working off how music can influence you.

Which this ability is what I associate Pied Piper with more than illusions, and it would work better off Fox playing the flute to use the power, as playing it to make illusions is a weird choice. Anyone hearing that music would know an illusion is coming, but not so if the music could enthrall you and influence how you perceive the world, what you register.

To add to it, this can work off the 9 tailed foxes too, I have read that some did have the ability to hypnotize; this can also work off that infamous ability to possess a target, taking over another.

A lot of this is just speculation though.

It's hard to say if the watch even was always planned to be a Miraculous, if the Zodiac were even always planned. Some things just feel like they rolled out and there were definite changes that had been made, some of which I'm sure were done to keep to the status quo easier and not drastically change up the story (like Mayura was built up to be a bigger bad and bigger threat, actually be HM's boss, but nah, that'd change up too much, can't have that).

So, I know how much everybody loves pretend-dating/pretend-marriage fics, but have you considered ‘pretend NOT to be dating/married’ AUs?

For example:

My friend is so determined to fix me up with somebody better than my string of casual coffee date/hookup partners that I didn’t have the heart to tell her, after she set us up for a blind date, that I actually met you six months ago

We’re both professors in the same department and it enhances your reputation with the students as a mysterious enigma and my reputation as a stone-cold terror if we pretend to hate each other, plus when we back each other up in departmental meetings everybody’s so surprised they give in right away

My parents thought I was working for an insurance company in New York when really I was joining the CIA so I just sort of never mentioned when I met you on an assassination-gone-wrong and now we’ve been married for five years and they still don’t know you exist, this has gotten wildly out of hand and you won’t stop laughing about it

All your coworkers know you’re married to a cop but now I’m undercover investigating a string of bank heists and it turns out that your only friend at your shitty new job is dating the head bank robber.

We’ve been communicating entirely by email/phone/carrier pigeon/paid messenger for the past year as we work to bring some peace and order to this troubled land, so when I walked into the negotiation room to sit down with the fearsome and terrible politician/businessperson/famed warrior that all my people are so afraid of, I didn’t really expect it to be you.

I didn’t think my parents could accept me dating somebody of your gender/race/religion/species, so we’ve been keeping it quiet, but now my mom can’t stop talking about her friend’s next-door neighbor and how perfect they’d be for me and you’ve got some nosy neighbor trying to set you up with their coworker’s kid and how do we tell them we’re engaged without making them think it’s because of their completely uninvited meddling?

You’ve got to pretend-date your best friend for a couple of weeks because reasons, and somehow that means we’re passing ourselves off as siblings to explain why we live together but we’ve started giving each other really filthy pre-sex looks behind everyone’s back like a game of chicken and pretty soon somebody is going to start to have serious concerns about our siblinghood.

Pretending-not-to-be-dating AUs: add yours today!

netflix posted a delete and unfinished scene

Who translated…? This episode? 

In the French version, Adrien says to Kagami, “I hope the film will live up to your expectations,” 

In the English version, Adrien says to Kagami, “Well, I’m more of a dog person” 

?????????????

Draco's Motivations in the Book 7 Room of Requirement Confrontation

I just reread the Fiendfyre sequence and based on a close reading Draco's motivations and actions are a lot more complex and sympathetic than I remembered. Not to mention, once again, here there be drarry.

First, the context:

After the incident at Malfoy Manor, we know from Harry's psychic connection to Voldemort and from the Carrows' overheard discussion that Voldemort's wrath was exceptionally terrible. The Malfoy family became virtual prisoners in their own homes for months and were subjected to especially brutal (even by Voldemort's standards) torture that was also likely quite protracted. Lucius has visible marks on him months later - which, given what we know about magic in that world, really speaks to the level of what has been going on. While he probably got the worst of it, it's certain that none of his family members escaped unscathed. After their other failings they have at this point probably permanently fallen out of favor and have nothing but a (likely short) life of misery to look forward to.

Draco bears a lot of responsibility for this state of affairs since it was he who chose not to identify Harry. This likely adds to his sense of conflict as his conscience tells him one thing and everything he has ever been taught tells him something else. He presumably feels responsible for the suffering his family (we know from book 6 that he does genuinely care about them) has to endure.

Not to mention that he himself is suffering along with them. It would be unsurprising therefore if he felt tempted to "rectify" his earlier moment of what he probably perceived as weakness and made a last ditch attempt to save his parents' (and his own) lives and prestige. While Harry has been taught that love and mercy are noble and valuable impulses, Draco has not. In his world love and mercy are called weakness.

Quite possibly as he suffered and faced death alongside his family, part of him must have felt ashamed of the impulses that led to his choices when Harry was a prisoner at the Manor. Everything he has been taught tells him that Voldemort's victory is inevitable and that his moment of shameful weakness has accomplished nothing except to fail his own family and condemn them (and himself) to a likely short life filled with suffering.

At most what we see in the Room of Requirement is a replay of what we saw on the Astronomy Tower - where Draco is deeply conflicted and when confronted with the reality of violence in support of Voldemort cannot go through with it even under tremendous pressure and even though his failure to carry out these acts of violence will inflict danger and suffering on himself and his loved ones.

But, is that even what actually happens? In my opinion, the answer is "no."

The scene in question:

If we actually look at the text it's not even clear that's what's going on at all. Draco's motives are ambiguous at best here. The scene starts when Harry is stretching out his hand to take the diadem. Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle come up behind him and he is completely unaware of them. Draco then announces their presence, alerting Harry that he is being watched. He could've very easy simply stunned Harry or attempted to put the Imperius Curse on him (or killed him) while his back was turned. But he didn't do any of those things. Instead he talks, thereby ruining the element of surprise.

And that's not typical of Draco at all when he actually wants to attack Harry. He's never beaten Harry in a face-to-face confrontation. (In fact, the last time he tried - in 6th year - he almost ended up dead.) The two times he has managed to incapacitate Harry - when he petrified him on the train in 6th year and when he hid and caught Harry for Umbridge with a tripping jinx in 5th year - he did so by using the element of surprise to his advantage.

Given that Draco knows that Harry is a very formidable opponent (AND that Harry's friends are nearby) if he truly simply wanted to capture or kill him, announcing his presence is the last thing he would ever do. Then he says "That's my wand you're holding." He still doesn't cast any spells - not even to try to disarm Harry. He also doesn't say he wants to hand him over to Voldemort. He doesn't even tell Harry to drop his own wand, attempt to take him prisoner, or even threaten him.

It is Crabbe, not Draco who says "We're gonna be rewarded...We decided to bring you to 'im." Draco doesn't say anything about his own intentions other than that he wants his wand back - and we certainly know that even in 6th year he didn't trust Crabbe and Goyle, much less now, and thus is unlikely to speak openly in front of them. 

At this point Ron comes to investigate and Crabbe tries to use magic to cause a mountain of debris to fall on Ron and crush him. Harry counters the spell and Draco then grabs Crabbe's arm when he tries to repeat the spell. He gives as his justification the need to avoid the diadem being crushed but since we know he doesn't trust Crabbe it's likely this isn't truthful. Especially since Voldemort has not said anything about wanting the diadem (and even if it wasn't a Horcrux it likely wouldn't be damaged in any case).

Crabbe points out this very thing and Draco argues with him at which point Crabbe says "Who cares what you think? I don't take your orders no more, Draco. You an' your dad are finished." So arguably he was not even including Draco in the "We" he imagined would be rewarded. Crabbe then tries to use Crucio on Harry.

Draco then again intervenes and tries to stop him. 

"STOP" Malfoy shouted at Crabbe, his voice echoing through the enormous room. "The Dark Lord wants him alive--"  

He doesn't even just say it. He shouts. We rarely see Draco shout. He is someone who generally keeps his deeper emotions hidden - it's why he's so naturally gifted at Occlumency to the point that he is powerful enough at a young age to lie to both Snape and Voldemort.

What he says here doesn't really even make sense because Goyle isn't even trying to kill Harry; he's just trying to hurt him. However Draco is so distressed by this that he actually starts yelling, something we NEVER see him do at ANY other point in the book. "The Dark Lord wants him alive" is also exactly what Snape says to Bellatrix as they flee in book 6, and we know that Snape's real intent was to protect Harry with a believable excuse. It's the only thing Draco could reasonably say in that moment as a justification. 

Crabbe (rather sensibly) points out that 1) he didn't even try to kill Harry and 2) Voldemort ultimately wants Harry dead so it probably doesn't matter that much. This makes perfect sense. And yet Draco is inordinately concerned with preventing harm to Harry & Co rather than with taking any action to capture or even disarm any of them.

Clearly he did not expect to lose control of Crabbe and Goyle like this and as a result is now losing control of the situation (and himself). (Unlike Harry, Draco is more of a planner and is not as good at reacting in the moment.) Also the possibility that Harry could be killed seems to drive him nearly to the point of hysteria - rather like how Ron reacted to Hermione being in mortal peril at the Manor. This is not just a general aversion to killing. This is something more. He finds the idea of Harry dying truly unbearable. (I don't need my ships to be canon; this one just happens to be.)

At this point they start fighting and Draco loses Narcissa's wand. Wandless, he STILL tries to intervene. Crabbe and Goyle are both aiming their wands at Harry and Draco once again starts yelling -  "Don't kill him! DON'T KILL HIM!" and is obviously in significant distress and is not at all happy with what is going on. 

After that the Fiendfyre gets loose and the rest of the scene goes down without much dialogue.

At NO POINT does Draco 1) actually say he wants to hand Harry to Voldemort OR  2) attempt to attack Harry or Ron or Hermione at all OR 3) use his Dark Mark to call Voldemort OR 4) tell anyone he's seen Harry after they get out of the Room of Requirement - even in a later scene when he's been cornered by a Death Eater who is considering killing him he doesn't reveal this information even though that probably would've proven his loyalty or at the very least distracted the Death Eater.

Conclusions about Draco's motivations:

So, where does that leave us? What went down there and what was Draco trying to do?

We really have 3 options.

Option 1: Draco tried to hand Harry over to Voldemort in order to save himself and his family, got cold feet and couldn't really go through with it, and then lost control of the situation due to Crabbe and Goyle's changing loyalties. 

Verdict: Possible but unlikely given the remarkably bad job he does of it and how inconsistent his approach is with his usual MO. Even if we assume his heart wasn't in it you'd think he'd at least have got as far as disarming Harry before announcing his presence. Especially since Harry almost killed him last time they fought (and Draco probably doesn't know Harry didn't know what the Sectum Sempra curse would do.)

And if his heart WAS in it then then this makes even less sense since he not only didn't attack Harry while his back was turned but also didn't call Voldemort or even inform anyone that he'd seen Harry. 

Option 2:  Draco wanted to get himself captured in a way that looked convincing so that he could take the chance Dumbledore offered in 6th year, only it went quite badly wrong.

Verdict: This would be an interesting possibility but I think it's also unlikely as it's simply too risky. He doesn't know Harry was there on the astronomy tower or that Harry would make the same offer. His family would also likely be murdered if Voldemort realized this had happened.  

Option 3: Draco wanted to cut a deal in order to improve his family's situation without actually handing Harry over - perhaps he hoped for some kind of exchange where he could get his wand back and bring Voldemort the diadem as some kind of consolation prize - but overestimated his control over his cronies and lost control of the situation. 

Verdict: I actually think this works best given his behavior during the scene. He initiates a conversation because he wants information about what and where the diadem is (and what value it would have to Voldemort) and because he wants to make some offer along the lines of 'give me my wand and the diadem and we'll let you go.' This could get him what he wants and help his family without actually harming anyone.

Also it hedges his bets a bit because if Harry wins he will owe Draco. The problem of course is that Crabbe and Goyle aren't happy to just take orders anymore and have their own goals. At that point, instead of caving and going along with what Crabbe and Goyle want to do instead, Draco actually tries to intervene, albeit in a way that doesn't actually expose him as questioning Voldemort.  

Draco made his choice at the Manor. If he wanted to hand Harry over he would have. But he couldn't. He cares about him too much. But he also feels tremendous guilt and fear over the price he and his family are still paying for that decision. This is his attempt to try to fix things - to try to find a middle ground between the conflicting imperatives that are tearing him apart. The reality though, as he shortly discovers, is that there is no middle ground. And when he sees that, once again he chooses Harry.

my theories on Lila, who is helping her, her motives and more

charming, but unsure

So today I’m going to tackle this commonly held notion that Chat Noir is somehow Adrien’s true self, as well as the fandom binary that likes to treat them as separate characters, when they’re the same person. Adrien is not separate from Chat; Chat is not separate from Adrien.

I feel like a huge part of the confusion has to do with the fact that Chat Noir presents himself as confident and sure-footed while Adrien is polite and understated, and a lot of folks have trouble reconciling the two.

This is because in the current media environment, nuanced characters who show any sort of duality in their personalities are rare (especially in children’s shows). But there’s also something else going on here. One of the reasons that people have such a tough time accepting that Adrien and Chat are the same person is because Adrien Agreste is a trope breaker. 

How? Well, there is the fact that other people have already mentioned; how he’s the Yin to Marinette’s Yang, the dark, reserved, and passive energy to her outgoing positive energy. But that’s not the only trope convention that he breaks.

Adrien is the actual embodiment of all the YA/shoujo stereotypes that people like to project onto Marinette.  Actually, together, the two of them subvert and reverse the typical male/female dynamic in this genre, and that’s what makes them such compelling characters. 

Of course, he doesn’t fit the mold entirely—and neither does Marinette—but it’s true! Adrien is both utterly charming and utterly unsure about himself.

I think on some level, most people recognize this. In fact, I’m almost positive that it’s one of the reasons that Ladrien is less popular than the other sides of the love square dynamics.

Because people aren’t used to having the boy be the one who’s the daydreaming shy one, and with no actual canon interaction to work from to see how interesting it can be, people are filling in the blanks with their own interpretations, and some people love it, and some people hate it.

It also explains why he seems to be so different when he’s Chat Noir. Let me deconstruct how this works.

Adrien Agreste is sweet, charming, encouraging and friendly.

And he’s also shy as hell. 

The way it manifests in his behavior could easily be mistaken for politeness if you don’t look closely, but it’s everywhere if you’re searching for it.

We can clearly see it in the littlest things. Like when Adrien comes over to Marinette’s house to practice for the video game tournament and her father comes up multiple times with offers of food, Adrien looks very pleased and eager, but Marinette, focused only on being alone with Adrien, immediately shuts her father down and sends him back downstairs.

She’s not looking at Adrien’s face, and so our shy kitten, who definitely wants the cookies but isn’t used to speaking up for himself, doesn’t get his food. This happens twice before Adrien finally feels confident and comfortable enough to speak up for himself and say that he’d like to take a break and try Madame Cheng’s quiche. 

You can see it in the way he deals with Chloe too. Note the difference between Adrien and Mari’s respective reactions to Chloe trying to barge into Juleka’s space to stand beside him for the school picture: while Marinette basically tells her to fuck off, Adrien makes a comment about how it’s not gym class, but that’s about it. Once she’s there, he sighs and suffers in silence. Because that’s how he always deals with Chloe, as she walks all over him, invading his personal space and getting in his face.

It’s clear to anyone paying attention to Adrien’s expression that he isn’t happy about any of it, but again, that’s the key: you have to be paying attention. Because Adrien rarely actually verbalizes his displeasure, and even if he does, he does so in a very subtle manner compared to how Marinette expresses anger.

Like when he does confront Chloe, in Kung Food—he backs up Marinette and then again, makes a snide comment at the end when Chloe tries to assert herself. But he’s never openly confrontational, and he’s rarely the aggressor.

Compare this to Marinette, who often rushes in and says things without thinking, and you can see the difference. 

Once again, to accurately read Adrien, you have to be paying attention to him. And if you pay attention to him, you can see that he is often replete with uncertainty, and he’s constantly seeking some sort of validation. Because the thing is, for most of his life, Adrien has been a sheltered homeschooled boy with essentially no interaction with peers of his own age, let alone girls.

Unlike Marinette, who has spent her life surrounded by people who care about her and encourage her bold personality, Adrien has had to repress and present the perfect facade. He’s still figuring out how to interact with regular people, and he takes his cues from the way people react to him. Which is why Marinette’s awkwardness confuses him—it’s not quite friendly and yet it’s not quite unfriendly, but in this strange middle space, and he’s clueless as to how to deal with it.

So what does this have to do with how Adrien matches up with typical shoujo tropes?

Well, it’s because of this: if anyone needs a boost of confidence from a magical suit, it’s Adrien. If Ladybug is the sun, Adrien is the sunflower, looking up at her to catch a ray of light. He’s dazzled by her, and he wants desperately to be worthy of her love.

The thing is, as Chat Noir, Adrien finally gets a chance to explore saying whatever he wants to say and being whoever he wants to be, without being repressed by his family or Nathalie or the Gorilla. Finally, he has freedom- and powers- and he gets to save the world with a really amazing partner who he’s in love with! That’s great, right?

Well, sort of. Thing is, Adrien still needs validation from someone, to check if this new style he’s trying on, this new personality as Chat Noir, actually works. And who gives him that feedback? Ladybug. And he craves it endlessly.

Chat’s over the top personality is an overcompensation designed to get a reaction from Ladybug. The puns, the jokes, the flirting, it’s all for her. No matter what he does, she’s going to respond in some way, and Chat Noir is addicted to it, and he’s fallen for her in the process.

So if you’re still with me, that’s the point, you guys. Even though he’s sweet and charming and can hold his own, at his core, Adrien is still very unsure about a lot of things. Including where he stands with Ladybug.

And the way he acts as Chat Noir is a way to build a sense of self-worth, through positive feedback from Ladybug and by being a hero for the city of Paris. The reason he’s so over the top- and why he’s so head over heels for Ladybug, is because she justifies the choices he makes when he’s with her, and responds positively to the way he acts! Again, it all comes down to the way she reacts to him.

I guarantee you that if Ladybug stopped responding and flirting back, he would stop immediately, and shift course. He’d still be her partner and a good friend, but I have no doubt that if she truly responded negatively to his flirtatious overtures or puns, he’d be a lot more serious with her.

So don’t be fooled by Chat’s bravado; the extremes of his behavior stem directly from Adrien’s craving for validation; therefore, the two are inextricably intertwined. They’re the same person, driven by the same internal desire.

Anyways, that’s my piece on my little kitten son. I don’t know if I actually articulated anything useful to anyone, but I tried, haha- Adrien’s a complex character! Thanks for reading :)

The manga from Fruits basket cat fan book

i miss the miraculous ig content ☹️ so many cute interactions and pictures

adrien liking marinette’s comment (now deleted) on alya’s post with lila is still the funniest sht

People say Harry's oblivious and unobservant but that's not true at all. It's just that he completely tunes out things he doesn't care about. If he's not interested in a topic or a person he ignores them. When he thinks something is interesting or important he's actually hyper observant and incredibly perceptive.

It's why he notices everything about Draco from his appearance to his moods to what kinds of packages he gets from home but Harry didn't even get the names of Theodore Nott or Zacharias Smith till 5th year. It's why he remembers every story and stray comment that comes out of Draco's mouth and why in sixth year he remembers what Draco looked at in a shop 4 years ago but can barely name a single thing said in his History of Magic class.

Harry only pays attention to things that matter to him. And Draco is indisputably one of those things.