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miaoudel
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ideas around! |
BACKGROUND
Adrien Agreste is a fairly normal kid, for a very loose definition of the term. Raised by his loving mother and over-protective father, Adrien was homeschooled for his entire childhood and into his teens. He received a variety of tutors, and is implied to have had a close relationship with his mother, Emilie, sometimes playing piano with her as a way of bonding. His father Gabriel, on the other hand, was always distant and cold, and it's strongly implied that the missed dinners, emotional neglect and psychological abuse of various keys have been fairly consistent, if mild, thus far in his life, and mitigated predominantly by his mother's presence.
It's unknown how long he's been modelling for, but his level of fame implies that it's probably been several years - or at least, his father's international fame has elevated his status in a short period of time. It is known that nine months before the beginning of the series, Adrien's mother vanished - he believed she died; but regardless, his father forbid him from attending the funeral they held for her. From that point, it's implied Gabriel became even more overprotective and emotionally distant, withdrawing into himself as he desperately sought out a way to cure . It was at this point that Adrien's resentment starts slowly bubbling as well.
At the start of the series, Adrien finally convinced his father to allow him to enter middle school - but was also approached by the secretive Master Fu, in a test of character, and when Adrien helped the old man from where he'd fallen over going to school by himself, resulting in him getting caught by his bodyguard and taken home again, he was secretly given the Black Cat Miraculous (and with it Plagg, the Black Cat Kwami) in order to become the selfless hero Chat Noir.
PERSONALITY
However, despite his kind and sincere front, there's a lot of negative feelings bubbling under the surface. Adrien is desperate for affection and friendship, being so sorely deprived of it by his father, and is willing to be patient with people for unreasonable lengths. There's a lot of resentment in him, largely aimed at (again) his father, and he's prone to fits of pettiness, jealousy and grudges. He hates secrets, and for a period begins to resent Ladybug herself for keeping things from him.
As Chat Noir, his basic personality doesn't change, but there's a greatly increased level of self-confidence and lack of verbal filter, resulting in the young hero saying just about everything that comes to mind and openly flirting with his crime-fighting partner Ladybug.
ABILITIES
Adrien is an extremely dedicated student, and most things he does he's shown to be highly skilled at because of that. His lowest grade in school has been an A- in math, and he's noted to be particularly good at physics. He's a polyglot, speaking French natively, Chinese, Japanese, very likely English, and even morse code. He's extremely fit, as he currently undertakes fencing and basketball lessons, is shown to know both karate and some other vaguely Chinese martial arts, and has generally notably above-average strength, speed and stamina to show for it. He's a highly experienced fashion model, with a thorough understanding of the ins and outs of a typical fashion show, as well as a keen eye for fashion, and can also play piano. With all this being said, however, he's still just a baseline fifteen-year-old boy.
With the use of his ring, the Black Cat Miraculous, and Plagg, the Kwami residing in it, Adrien is able to magically transform into the hero Chat Noir. He has superhuman strength, stamina and speed, can leap upwards of two stories, and no longer feels pain (unless he was injured before transforming, or takes a devastating blow in-suit); because his Miraculous is cat-themed, he also has a greatly increased sense of balance, superior senses of smell and hearing, night-vision, and the ability to use his clawed gloves as actual claws which assist him primarily in climbing; he can actually moves comfortably around in multiple ways an actual cat would (such as running or landing on all fours). He also purrs, and the ears and tail on his costume occasionally move to reflect his emotional state.
On a far more magical front, Chat Noir has two primary assets: a staff, and the magical ability Cataclysm. The staff is a nigh-indestructible omni-purpose tool, normally attached to his suit at the small of his back, and is his primary weapon; it's able to extend infinitely far, to be used as a javelin, bridge or vaulting pole, or split into two smaller clubs that remain less than two feet long, but typically gets used as an average-sized staff or, less commonly, a sword. It also functions as a smartphone, map, tracker, binoculars (and periscope), x-ray machine, underwater breathing device, hammerspace, and can create earbuds when required. The logic behind all this is "it's magic".
The ability Cataclysm is that of pure destruction. When transformed, he is able to summon a mass of destructive energy in his right hand (specifically centered on the ring) which he can use to destroy quite literally anything, with a perfect degree of control: he only destroys as much as is necessary, but this can be things like a single book, an otherwise indestructible brooch, or the entire goddamn Eiffel Tower. This is even shown to work on humans. After the attack is summoned, however, Chat Noir has only five minutes before his transformation ends and his true self is revealed.
It's also worth mentioning that the outfit is literally magic - while his belt and bell can be removed, the rest is form-fitted and unable to be pulled off no matter what force is applied. The suit does not come off unless he actively dismisses it, his ring comes off his finger, or he's used the Catacylsm attack and timed out. Plagg is also aware of everything that happens while Adrien is suited up. As well, the mask actively prevents people from realising that Chat Noir is Adrian, despite the superficial similarities, and unless someone actually sees him transform, or pieces together clues from photographs or other external, mundane forces (such as noticing Adrien and Chat Noir wear the same ring, or being objectively aware that Adrien and Chat Noir both possess green eyes and blonde hair) it's not actually possible to place that they are the same person.
PLAGG
The reason Adrien is able to transform into Chat Noir - and also one of the only people who knows he even is Chat Noir, and thus his best friend - is the divine Kwami known as Plagg.
The Miraculous wiki has a page on Kwami, so I'll focus mostly on Plagg.
He is the Black Cat Kwami who represents destruction, and is one of the oldest Kwami in the universe (second only to Tikki, the Ladybug Kwami who represents creation). He's about ten centimetres tall (or 4 inches), with the ability to levitate, fly, and phase through solid matter at will. Kwani don't need to breathe, can't be captured by mundane technology, or on camera, and is able to pick up objects several times larger than himself, though the upper limit is shown to be something like ten to twenty pounds. He's shown to be extremely fast when he feels like it, and has implicit night vision. He will also go out of his way to not be noticed by other people, and often hides in Adrien's clothes or behind objects to avoid being noticed; the exception to this is other Miraculous holders who are already aware of him, such as Tikki's heroine Ladybug.
Plagg, as the source of Chat Noir's powers, has the ability to use Cataclysm; but Plagg's own is even more powerful and dangerous. He can choose when to use it without the whole song and dance, but since he's a being of pure and total destruction he has little control over the scale of it. A light tap was enough to destroy the Eiffel Tower and a significant portion of the surrounding city; and him blowing on concrete (with the same effort you would snuff a candle) caused it to crack and burst for a full block. If he was to use it in sincerity, it would be utterly catastrophic: he has been heavily implied to be the singular cause of Atlantis sinking, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and the destruction of the dinosaurs.
Like a truly stereotypical cat, Plagg is capricious, flippant and displays a very laissez-faire attitude towards life. He encourages Adrien to let other people handle their own problems, and is rarely shown to take things seriously - even when an Akumatized villain is on the rampage. This doesn't appear to be any sort of front, either; Plagg is genuinely quite lazy, and has been called 'out of control' and 'reckless and rebellious' by various people. He is grossly overconfident in his abilities and single-minded in his obsession with cheese (particularly camembert), and the lengths he will go to obtain it have caused trouble for other characters; it was him stealing cheese that a teacher deliberately left out as bait that caused said teacher to become Akumatized and turn into a supervillain.
He's not solely a flippant asshole, though. With how old he is, he is genuinely experienced in life. He has no trust for suspicious people and is actually a fairly solid judge of character. He readily speaks his mind on any topic, and despite his blithe attitude tries to be genuinely encouraging. He also sincerely adores Adrien, and when the teen threatens to denounce him, which would trap Plagg back in the ring, Plagg is more upset that his best friend is pushing him away and rejecting him.
