This Picture Of Marinette Is Adorable Omg

Time to discuss drarry moment number 923074037286 in HBP. I think it's really notable how in the aftermath of Dumbledore's death Harry not only canonically doesn't feel angry at Draco at all despite feeling murderous rage towards Snape, but actually goes out of his way to recount events in a way that shifts blame away from Draco as much as possible.

First, Tonks asks how Dumbledore died and we get this bit:

"Snape killed him," said Harry. "I was there, I saw it. We arrived back on the Astronomy Tower because that's where the Mark was . . . Dumbledore was ill, he was weak, but I think he realized it was a trap when we heard footsteps running up the stairs. He immobilized me, I couldn't do anything, I was under the Invisibility Cloak -- and then Malfoy came through the door and disarmed him--" Hermione clapped her hands to her mouth and Ron groaned. Luna's mouth trembled. "-- more Death Eaters arrived -- and then Snape -- and Snape did it. The Avada Kedavra."

Harry says there was a trap but doesn't mention anything about it having been a trap planned and set by Draco.

He uses passive, distancing language that doesn't even make it clear whose footsteps they heard on the stairs or under what circumstances Draco disarmed Dumbledore.

He doesn't mention anything about Draco having been assigned to kill Dumbledore, and almost makes it sound like he could've just happened on them and disarmed Dumbledore as a reflex or even in self defense.

And then he doesn't say that Draco held Dumbledore there at bay for a while, instead leaving it ambiguous as to whether the other Death Eaters arrived right away on Draco's heels.

And that's it. That's all he says. He puts all the focus and blame on Snape. Only several pages later when McGonagall asks how the Death Eaters got in does Harry even explain about the Vanishing Cabinets. Specifically the text says:

[H]e explained, briefly, about the pair of Vanishing Cabinets and the magical pathway they formed.

Again we see the same passive, distancing language that we saw when Harry mentioned "footsteps" on the stairs but didn't clearly say whose. It says he explained about the cabinets rather than something like "he explained about Malfoy's treachery and his plan to use the pair of Vanishing Cabinets to let Death Eaters into the school."

Harry directs the focus away from Draco and Draco's intent and involvement. I'm not sure this is even on a conscious level. His words are mimicking what his mind and his emotions are doing.

When someone asks what Snape shouted to the other Death Eaters as he ran past we get this:

"He shouted, 'It's over,'" said Harry. "He'd done what he'd meant to do."

Harry says he'd done what he - Snape - meant to do. Not what Draco had meant to do. Or what they'd planned together. So once again we see that Harry avoids blaming Draco or even revealing his full role in what happened.

And then, most interestingly, not till later when he's alone with McGonagall does he reveal that Rosmerta is being controlled. And the way he recounts it is REALLY striking.

"There's one thing you should know before the Ministry gets here, though. Madam Rosmerta's under the Imperius Curse, she was helping Malfoy and the Death Eaters, that's how the necklace and the poisoned mead--"

Again the use of passive language. He says that she is under the Imperius Curse rather than that Draco put her under the Imperius curse. In fact, he avoids directly blaming Draco at all. Harry merely says that she has been put under the Imperius curse by someone and that she was forced to pass on the necklace and the poisoned mead, leaving it ambiguous who cursed her and on whose orders she did those things, thus shielding Draco from blame.

He only brings up Draco to say that Rosmerta had been helping him and the Death Eaters rather than that it was Draco specifically who was controlling her. Given that the use of an Unforgivable Curse carries a life sentence in Azkaban this phrasing is certainly interesting. And it means that if Rosmerta did not see who originally cursed her, she might not be able to say who forced her to help Draco or possibly even whose idea it was to send the necklace and the mead into the school. That would make Harry the only witness who could prove Draco's guilt, and seemingly he doesn't want to do that.

Also. Draco IS a Death Eater. Harry's known it since the beginning of the year. And yet he says "Malfoy and the Death Eaters," because without even realizing it, he mentally puts Draco in a different category.

And then the next time Harry thinks of Malfoy is when he's looking towards where Draco usually sits and thinking about how Crabbe and Goyle look "lonely" without him even though given the tensions between them that we see in books 6 and 7 it's almost certain that they don't miss him at all. It seems much more likely that Harry is actually projecting his own feelings. In this context we get this bit of internal narration:

His animosity was all for Snape, but he had not forgotten the fear in Malfoy's voice on that tower top, nor the fact that he had lowered his wand before the other Death Eaters arrived.

I mean just what? All? ALL of his animosity? Draco is the one who let Death Eaters into the castle. He disarmed Dumbledore, thus (seemingly) enabling Snape to kill him. He also got Bill permanently maimed (though he didn't intend for that to happen).

If Harry simply felt nothing for Draco but dislike I don't think these circumstances would put him in the best mindset to start empathizing with him. Harry has a temper. You'd think he'd disregard all the extenuating circumstances and blame Draco for Dumbledore's death too.

I mean this is some of his narration about Snape, for example:

"So when he arrived at the fight, he joined in on the Death Eaters' side?" asked Harry, who wanted every detail of Snape's duplicity and infamy, feverishly collecting more reasons to hate him, to swear vengeance.

But no. That's not how he feels about Draco at all. In fact after thinking about how his animosity is all for Snape and dwelling with pity and concern on how afraid Draco looked and how he had lowered his wand, Harry actually starts wondering where Draco is and worrying about him and about what Voldemort is "making" him do now.

Because despite their rivalry, there's more between Harry and Draco than simple dislike. Harry understands him deeply. And he's immediately ready to sympathize with him and to protect him.

For all that they are stranded on opposite sides of a brewing war, they also have things in common. Harry is drawn to Draco and he cares about him. He knows Draco isn't a murderer and he can't bring himself to even pretend to hate him anymore. He just wants him to be safe.

Ouch, my heart: an analysis of the Sectumsempra

Well, well well…. look who’s back from the dead (me, if you couldn’t guess).

First of all, I want to apologise for not doing these for so long. Things got a little insane in my life. I haven’t had time to blink these days, but here I am, because I love you all.

First of all: thank you and sorry it took me over a year to do this. And second of all: of course I can! 

I think this is the post everyone was waiting for and I have no idea if I’m ready for it. Wait. I know I’m not.

But since I’m either a masochist or already too numb from all the pain this ship causes me, I’ll try anyway. Fuck the police.

I’ll open this discussion with Harry’s last thought about Draco before the horrible tragedy that we call Sectumsempra:

Was it his imagination, or did Malfoy, like Tonks, look thinner? Certainly he looked paler; his skin still had that greyish tinge, probably because he so rarely saw daylight these days. But there was no air of smugness, or excitement, or superiority; none of the swagger that he had had on the Hogwarts Express, when he had boasted openly of the mission he had been given by Voldemort … there could be only one conclusion, in Harry’s opinion: the mission, whatever it was, was going badly.

Ok, let’s start by the fact Harry says Draco has a “swagger”. Not my words!

And also: Yer a stupid wizard, Harry.

The boy is falling behind in classes, he’s sad and lonely, he looks sick, you know he’s terrified he’s not pleasing Voldemort. So instead of trying to help him, you go and use a spell for enemies on him. A boy genius.

I don’t even know why I’ll point this out again, but it’s not normal to keep noticing those things about people you don’t care about, ok? It’s just not done. You’re fooling yourself!

Meanwhile, Harry is getting desperate here. If it’s because Draco looks sick or because he couldn’t find out what his mission was, we’ll never know. But he knows he’s running out of time, and he has other personal problems to deal with, like the horcruxes and his huge crush *sarcasm* on Ginny.

And coincidentally his crush on her seems to grow, suddenly. Almost like it’s a distraction… hm. She’s exactly like the opposite of his true crush, I mean, obsession, I mean… Malfoy. She makes him forget, instead of making him feel like everything is falling apart; she doesn’t have any problems besides boys and Quidditch, while Draco’s buried in shit.

But still, he thinks about her far less than he thinks about *someone else*. Because a constant in this book is that nothing is more pressing than Draco Malfoy. Not the Prince himself, not the horcruxes, not girls or Quidditch. Nothing.

In the midst of all his preoccupations Harry had not forgotten his other ambition: finding out what Malfoy was up to in the Room of Requirement. He was still checking the Marauder’s Map and, as he was often unable to locate Malfoy on it, deduced that Malfoy was still spending plenty of time within the Room.

Oh yeah, in the midst of his problems, one being he didn’t know if Ginny was worth upsetting Ron (and if that’s not an indicative that she’s not your one true love, Harry, I don’t know what is), he still has plenty of time to obsess over Draco Malfoy.

Just healthy, really.

And now, because I didn’t forget the real issue here, let’s read what brilliant thoughts Harry Potter has about the Sectumsempra:

…he saw the Sectumsempra spell, captioned ‘For Enemies’, that he had marked a few weeks previously. He had still not found out what it did, mainly because he did not want to test it around Hermione, but he was considering trying it out on McLaggen next time he came up behind him unawares.

Oh yeah! He was considering trying the Sectumsempra on Cormac! That’s how much of a genius he is. Harry, go study some latin before you use a fucking spell, will ya?

I mean, you would think that a boy who lost both parents to a curse and studied Charms for 6 years would think to at least check the etymology of a spell before using it on another human being. Or not, if you’re stupid as fuck!

Ok, so are you ready for the heartbreak? *takes deep breath*

Harry made his usual detour along the seventh-floor corridor, checking the Marauder’s Map as he went. For a moment he could not find Malfoy anywhere, and assumed he must indeed be inside the Room of Requirement again, but then he saw Malfoy’s tiny, labelled dot standing in a boys’ bathroom on the floor below, accompanied, not by Crabbe or Goyle, but by Moaning Myrtle.

First of all, Harry, why??? What kind of dodgy business could he be planning with the ghost of a muggleborn girl murdered by Voldemort? If anything, that shows he’s really not who you think he is.

It took me years after reading this book to realise Draco was confessing to a mudblood, and a victim of Voldemort. To me, that’s a symbol of how his views were changing and how, in the end, he was a victim, not a villain. He was like her in a way. 

Also, how fucking lonely he was. *sobbing*

God, that makes me so mad! This is the only time Harry really disappointed me and I think he fucking knows it. He disappointed himself too.

Draco Malfoy was standing with his back to the door, his hands clutching either side of the sink, his white-blond head bowed.

‘Don’t,’ crooned Moaning Myrtle’s voice from one of the cubicles. ‘Don’t … tell me what’s wrong… I can help you …’

‘No one can help me,’ said Malfoy. His whole body was shaking. ‘I can’t do it … I can’t … it won’t work … and unless I do it soon … he says he’ll kill me …’

And Harry realised, with a shock so huge it seemed to root him to the spot, that Malfoy was crying – actually crying – tears streaming down his pale face into the grimy basin.

To be honest, I can’t choose what’s worse about this whole thing. Draco confessing to a ghost, because he has no one (and not just any ghost, but the one everyone can’t stand)? The fact he is crying because he’s so scared?

Or maybe the fact that Harry is just so stupid he can’t use simple logic and understand that, whatever this is, Draco doesn’t have a choice???

Ouch, my heart just broke real quick.

Malfoy gasped and gulped and then, with a great shudder, looked up into the cracked mirror and saw Harry staring at him over his shoulder.

Malfoy wheeled round, drawing his wand. Instinctively, Harry pulled out his own. Malfoy’s hex missed Harry by inches, shattering the lamp on the wall beside him; Harry threw himself sideways, thought Levicorpus! and flicked his wand, but Malfoy blocked the jinx and raised his wand for another –

(…)

There was a loud bang and the bin behind Harry exploded; Harry attempted a Leg-Locker Curse that backfired off the wall behind Malfoy’s ear and smashed the cistern beneath Moaning Myrtle, who screamed loudly; water poured everywhere and Harry slipped over as Malfoy, his face contorted, cried, ‘Cruci—’

I can’t imagine how humiliated he feels, and how terrified he is, because not only was he crying because of Voldemort, but now Harry Potter knows too much. And Harry won’t help him, he’s sure of that.

You know what breaks me? They start do duel with childish hexes and curses, and it escalates so quickly, before any of them can take a moment to realise the seriousness of it.

And I wish Draco was going to say “Crucifix nail nipples!”, but we know he was not. But do you wanna know what I believe? If he had time to finish saying the word, nothing would happen, and Harry would be able to see he’s not evil. He obviously didn’t mean the Crucio. 

But before he has that chance, Harry goes and fucks up royally:

‘SECTUMSEMPRA!’ bellowed Harry from the floor, waving his wand wildly.

Blood spurted from Malfoy’s face and chest as though he had been slashed with an invisible sword. He staggered backwards and collapsed on to the waterlogged floor with a great splash, his wand falling from his limp right hand.

‘No –’ gasped Harry.

Slipping and staggering, Harry got to his feet and plunged towards Malfoy, whose face was now shining scarlet, his white hands scrabbling at his blood-soaked chest.

‘No – I didn’t –’

Harry did not know what he was saying; he fell to his knees beside Malfoy, who was shaking uncontrollably in a pool of his own blood.

To be honest, Harry never in a million years thought that would be a lethal curse. Never. He wanted to test it on McLaggen!

I can’t stand this moment, I can’t. I makes me tear up every time.

Because there is Draco’s physical pain, which was probably horrible, then there’s his emotional pain, because he’s at his most vulnerable moment and it’s such a betrayal! Harry is one of the good guys. He was afraid Voldemort would do something like that to him, not Harry. And that is so so so sad.

And there’s Harry’s pain as well, because he’s fucking terrified. He knows Draco is dying, he knows he did something unthinkable, he knows he fucked up. Sometimes I can’t believe Draco actually saved Harry after that, because this probably haunted him for a long time.

Just imagine seeing someone surrounded by their own blood, with deep cuts and shaking in pain. I don’t think you can forget it that easily. Especially if you were responsible for it.

And you know what makes me angry? That Harry compartmentalises what he’s feeling so well that it’s like two different people: one when he’s alone, looking at what he did, and one once he finds his friends. It’s maddening.

But there’s a reason for that, and we’ll get into it soon.

“Harry was still watching, horrified by what he had done, barely aware that he too was soaked in blood and water. Moaning Myrtle was still sobbing and wailing overhead. When Snape had performed his counter-curse for the third time, he half-lifted Malfoy into a standing position.

‘You need the hospital wing. There may be a certain amount of scarring, but if you take dittany immediately we might avoid even that … come …’

He supported Malfoy across the bathroom, turning at the door to say in a voice of cold fury, ‘And you, Potter … you wait here for me.’

It did not occur to Harry for a second to disobey. He stood up slowly, shaking, and looked down at the wet floor. There were bloodstains floating like crimson flowers across its surface. He could not even find it in himself to tell Moaning Myrtle to be quiet, as she continued to wail and sob with increasingly evident enjoyment.”

I love the way JKR describes how Harry sees it, how vivid are the consequences of what happened. And I obviously love how Snape tells Draco it might scar, possibly more for Harry to hear than for him. Snape knows him well, he knows the guilt trip he could go into and is trying to push him into it. And Harry deserves it.

It doesn’t happen, though, because immediately after, he goes to find his friends (and Ginny), who make him forget about his feelings.

But before we get into that, I’d like to talk about the symbolism of Harry finding the room of hidden things when he’s trying to hide the book. It’s the room he’s been trying to get in all year, and it’s almost like a physical representation of Draco at this point.

It’s very interesting how he can suddenly get in, almost like the barriers are all down, almost like Draco stopped caring about hiding it from him. Almost like he’s so sad and hopeless he stops trying. Thinking about the wave of disappointment he must be feeling, it’s very possible that Draco’s feelings were an influence in the door showing up for Harry.

Anyway, then Harry tells his friends about what just happened and they respond exactly like you would expect them too, almost to a stereotypical extreme.

“I won’t say “I told you so”,’ said Hermione, an hour later in the common room. ‘Leave it, Hermione,’ said Ron angrily.”

Isn’t it interesting how none of them we just horrified by the whole thing? How Hermione just focuses on the book, not on the teenager almost bleeding to death?

“(…) Malfoy had already been visited in the hospital wing by Pansy Parkinson, who had lost no time in vilifying Harry far and wide…”

I just love this sentence. First of all, with all her flaws, I love Pansy. She’s just the best friend Draco could have in that moment, because she takes no bullshit. And to be fair, Harry deserved to be vilified. And you can sense his opinions on what he’s done are changing because his friends just excuse what he did, especially Ginny:

“Give it a rest, Hermione!’ said Ginny, and Harry was so amazed, so grateful, he looked up. ‘By the sound of it Malfoy was trying to use an Unforgivable Curse, you should be glad Harry had something good up his sleeve!”

I hated her so much in that moment. What Harry did it’s inexcusable, and he knows it. So it hurts my eyes to see her say something so dismissive. Draco would not be able to actually Crucio him and, deep down, Harry knows it. He doesn’t even try to convince himself he’s faultless, that it was self-defense.

Ok, so let’s expand on Ginny’s rare presence being right in this chapter.

It’s no coincidence this is the same chapter where Harry kisses Ginny for the first time. Remember what I mentioned in the beginning of this post? The whole of Half-Blood Prince is built using a parallel between Harry’s relationship with Draco and his relationship with Ginny to move the plot in the right direction.

“Hermione and Ginny, who had always got on together very well, were now sitting with their arms folded, glaring in opposite directions. Ron looked nervously at Harry, then snatched up a book at random and hid behind it. Harry, however, though he knew he little deserved it, felt unbelievably cheerful all of a sudden, even though none of them spoke again for the rest of the evening.”

I mean, come on. He literally buries his guilt in giddiness because Ginny is defending him. Defending him against something he knows is his fault. She’s helping him forget Malfoy. Again.

And this chapter is so cleverly written it splits his feelings with the places and situations he’s in: when he’s with Snape, in the dungeons, he can feel the guilt as a physical presence. Snape makes sure he understands that the detention is about making him feel guilty:

“Mr Filch has been looking for someone to clear out these old files,’ said Snape softly. ‘They are the records of other Hogwarts wrongdoers and their punishments. Where the ink has grown faint, or the cards have suffered damage from mice, we would like you to copy out the crimes and punishments afresh and, making sure that they are in alphabetical order, replace them in the boxes. You will not use magic.”

When he thinks about Gryffindor and Ginny, he forgets about any negative thing happening with him: 

“And while he copied out all their various offences and punishments, he wondered what was going on outside, where the match would have just started … Ginny playing Seeker against Cho …”

To be honest, that is one of the things that always bothered me with this ship being canon. Ginny never sees the Harry we see, she always sees someone who’s always right, someone who’s the hero. And Harry only sees Ginny as a ladder to a life he wants so desperately. A life with no complications, with a family, with giddiness and lightness. He holds onto her because she makes him forget all the horrible things he has gone through, and that’s one reason why he never tells her anything: he wants her in a bell jar, untouched by his traumas.

And we all know that’s not who he really is. The final proof is how this chapter ends:

Harry looked around; there was Ginny running towards him; she had a hard, blazing look in her face as she threw her arms around him. And without thinking, without planning it, without worrying about the fact that fifty people were watching, Harry kissed her.

(…)

The creature in his chest roaring in triumph, Harry grinned down at Ginny and gestured wordlessly out of the portrait hole. A long walk in the grounds seemed indicated, during which – if they had time – they might discuss the match.”

This moment is like a completely different book. It’s a fantasy. Something Harry knew couldn’t last. It was escapism.

This chapter is also the last before Malfoy finally figures out how to fix the cabinet and Harry goes with Dumbledore to retrieve the horcrux. It’s almost like a tragic farewell to the relationship the two of them had prior to thing getting fucking serious. It all changes after that.

The Sectumsempra in itself changes everything. Harry, someone who we know as heroic and honourable, commits an act that shifts what we know about him, and at the same time Draco, who up until then we see as a bidimensional character, comes alive and gets layers on top of layers. It’s the only possible introduction to what happens in Deathly Hallows. Tragic and horrible, but beautiful to watch.

I mean, I could go on and on. If I had the time, I would probably debate every single sentence in this book that, to me, is the most symbolic and crucial of them all.

But I do have a job, so this will do. Hope you guys enjoyed it!

In a Heartbeat - Animated Short Film (2017)

A closeted boy runs the risk of being outed by his own heart after it pops out of his chest to chase down the boy of his dreams.

© Beth David and Esteban Bravo 2017

It’s here! After a year and a half of hard work, we are both so excited to finally share our film with you. Thank you all for your support and encouragement - this film means the world to us, and your kindness and enthusiasm has made this journey all the more meaningful. It is our great pleasure to share with you this labor of love, and we hope with all our hearts that you enjoy watching it as much as we did making it.

<3

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2REkk9SCRn0 Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/227690432

Love how when they're all locked in the cellar in Malfoy Manor, Harry doesn't even think of attacking Draco when he comes down into the cellar. Even though he and the others are loose by then and they could probably have easily overpowered Draco and taken his wand - as they do immediately when Pettigrew comes in.

They could've overpowered Draco, Imperiused him with his own wand, and sent him back up to give some excuse while Dobby evacuated the others. But that would've put Draco in terrible danger. It would've meant attacking and potentially injuring him. It also would have meant that he would be blamed for the resultant escape, vastly increasing the likelihood that Voldemort would kill him. And Harry simply cannot bring himself to hurt Draco or put him in danger.

So when Draco comes down Harry does nothing. He doesn't even speak to him to try to shame or manipulate him as he does when he tells Pettigrew that he owes Harry his life. Even though Harry witnessed the scene on the Astronomy Tower and he knows that Draco isn't happy with his lot and is experiencing a lot more doubt and conflict than Pettigrew is, he says nothing to Draco and just complies with him. Thus keeping him out of a situation that could put him in danger.

And Draco, for his part, sees that Harry and Ron have already managed to escape from their bonds but doesn't report it when he goes upstairs. He takes Griphook, who confirms Hermione's story, thus saving her from being murdered on the spot or tortured more. And he says nothing about the fact that Harry is free, possibly planning an escape.

He didn't identify Harry. He turned his back on Ron and Hermione and refused to confirm their identities either, even though this behavior was very notable and suspicious given that they are not disguised and other recognize them. And when he sees that Ron and Harry are already loose in the cell, not still bound as they are meant to be, he says nothing.

He's probably sick with fear and horror, certain that there's no possibility of escape, and probably cursing himself for taking these risks and not simply doing everything he can to get his family back in Voldemort's good graces. But somehow he still hopes.

Guys... i just watched s6e1 and i havent seen anyone talk about it but...

does Lila have DID/OSDD?

(season 6 spoilers under cut)

Like... yall heard what she said there:

Us.

She said "us". She didn't have to say that but she did--

Like... we all know she goes by different names (i.e. Lila, Cerise, Iris) but what if those are her alter's names? What if it's not just some disguise/fake identity, but instead actually her alters??

And also when she akumatized the villain there are multiple voices. (Multiple alters?) And one of them sounded male.

(sorry for bad quality)

Male alter?? Maybe??

And also... the way she akumatizes the people... its like she creates an inner world for them where they can converse, unlike Gabriel who just talks. Like... guys... 👀

but idk this is just a theory lol

https://www.tumblr.com/kittenninja14/731916269075480576/hey-yall-i-just-found-this-incredible-video-and

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 :)

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

Why Adrien has 2 amoks Theory: He is his own twin sister

Mister Bug: There will be a price to pay! Safari: I have nothing left to lose! Mister Bug: You do! You can lose yourself and the ones you love. You can lose anyone who loves you back. No matter who you are, there is always someone out there who loves you!

This is a theory I’ve mentioned before but it bears repeating now that we’re (hopefully) soon getting season 6.

There’s been some salt regarding the fact that Colt died so much later than Emilie, and it’s not unfounded. We don’t have an explanation for why two “identical” sentikids caused such different outcomes for their creators.

The Peacock Miraculous was broken by mysterious circumstances prior to Adrien’s creation, and I have a separate theory for that, but that’s not the point of this post.

The theory I propose is that Emilie did not create just one, but two sentimonster embryos.

We know there’s a rule that only one sentimonster can be made at a time, and maybe the second embryo created worsened the Peacock’s damage? Still haven’t ironed out the details with that yet.

Either way, Nathalie created many more sentimonsters than Emilie and Colt, she also seemed to succumb much faster after even the first sentimonster she created in Mayura. Emilie and Colt seem to be implied that they only had effects after a period of time.

Back to the theorized Adrien’s twin. What happened to them? Here’s where things get juicy.

There’s a tragic phenomenon that can happen in early multiple births, called Vanishing Twin Syndrome. It’s when an embryo passes away and leaves the second twin alone. The deceased twin is often called a sunset baby, and the surviving twin, a sunrise baby.

Typically the embryo is absorbed by the mother, or is passed, but there’s a second phenomenon called Human Chimerism where the embryo is absorbed by their twin embryo. If the twins are fraternal, that means the surviving twin has two sets of DNA.

Two amoks joined, two rings that can be combined into a single ring, and two embryos that fused together to create one child: Adrien Agreste.

Here’s where my silly theory starts to go off the rails. I think Adrien’s twin was created to be a girl. I have no evidence of any of this other than vibes, the ridiculous amount of twin characters in Miraculous, Ivan’s baggage with his baby sister (Ivan is Comerade Aioli while Adrien is Comerade Mayonnaise), and Argos calling Red Moon “his sister”.

And then there’s the undeniable truth of Adrien’s treatment in the show, due to his inherent femininity.

And then we have ANOTHER phenomenon where Adrien has XX/XY Chimerism.

There are few intersex characters in fiction, and most of them are intersex due to mystical means. XX/XY Chimerism is rare, but it’s a real condition that actual humans in the real world can have. While Adrien was created through magic, he very much would have a real condition that exists in real life.

[Obligatory link for my meta about Sentikids being an allagory for intersex kids]

Now here’s where my crack spaghetti theory turns into speculation and where I’d personally go with the story. Going to warn you now that it gets a bit angsty. Something had to be sacrificed in order for the new Universe to be created afterall.

I’ve mentioned before many times that Gabemoth made the Wish before, if not multiple times, and the entirety of the ML is a 15 year timeloop.

Where I’d personally go with the story is that in Universe Zero, Adrien’s twin sister was born and is alive. And she held the Black Cat Miraculous, while her brother held the Ladybug Miraculous.

I’d personally name them Adrienne and Celeste Agreste. In their Universe, Gabriel also created Alliance rings, but instead they were called True Horizon. A play on the Sea meeting the Sky.

You can’t deny the Cat and the Ladybug BOTH being connected to Gabemoth isn’t something that would have been incredible storytelling.

Anyway, I digress.

In the finale, it isn’t the Ladybug who is alone, but the Black Cat. Gabriel has somehow found out the identities of the two heroes.

 Adrienne, in her righteous fury acts impulsively, but Gabemoth is two steps ahead of her.

Because Felix wasn’t created until a later Universe, Gabemoth is still in possession of the Peacock Miraculous. He snaps Adrienne’s twin brother from existence.

Gabemoth has either an akumatized villain or a sentimonster deliver the Ladybug miraculous to him.

In her shocked grief, Gabemoth takes Adrienne’s Black Cat Ring from her.

He makes his Wish, with Adrienne as a sacrifice… The Universe is Destroyed and Remade, and the next cycle continues.

This would give meta reason that Adrien wasn’t at the final battle: he hasn’t learned about the twin sister, the original Chat Noire that loves him so much, and still exists in his heart and DNA.

It can bring about an arc of Adrien FINALLY learning to love and accept himself, flaws and all, and take off the various masks he wears both in and out of costume.

It would ALSO give a reason for Adrien to wield both the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculous in a later major finale battle.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk

THIS BIT. THIS BIT THO. Because remember, this is from BEFORE Harry even lands on his "Malfoy is a Death Eater” theory. Like. He hasn't even figured it out yet. But he still spends the entire last week of his VACATION thinking about Draco.

He's in denial though. Obviously he's not obsessed with Draco. No. Draco is just objectively a fascinating topic. And therefore it's totally rational to be annoyed that Ron and Hermione don't want to take part in the perfectly normal hobby of discussing Draco Malfoy 24/7. How dare they?

I just know that after drarry finally happens someone asks Ron if seeing the two of them together feels weird and Ron's like 'honestly it was weirder when they weren't together.'

Every canon Dramione moment

I have compiled here a list of every single time Draco and Hermione interacted in canon, talked about one another, or could have conceivably interacted for all your Hogwarts-era fanfic needs! 

If I left anything out, please don’t hesitate to comment or DM me! There are some really obvious ones I left out e.g. the fanfic classics: prefects’ bathroom, Astronomy Tower, Black Lake, Potions lesson…

I haven’t included page numbers because every edition is different and it would be confusing. This list is intended as pinpoint references for you to check out the scene in your own books, which is why they’re not super detailed.

Enjoy!

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