#adrigami kiss

[shadowedskies178]

"But too many flavors mixed together may throw off the delicate balance" Man I can't believe Andre the Ice Cream Man is polyphobic

[carpetbug]

doing very important research for fics and i forgot about this scene in miracle queen. how could i forget about this scene look at them. get you a woman who will look at you like this and then immediately shove you to the ground

[justaz]

kagami who drops in and woos adrien agreste but has everyone turn their back on her for breaking up their beautiful adrienette (even tho they weren’t even dating and adrien showed little signs of being interested in marinette)

marinette who went out with chat noir once and pictures of the two of them circulated and almost the entirety of paris hating her guts for breaking up their beautiful ladynoir (even tho they weren’t even dating and ladybug showed little signs of being interested in chat noir)

marinette and kagami bonding over being demonized for liking a boy and the fact that misogyny won that day.

anyways. my point is. marigami. thank you. goodnight.

[romancemedia]

Adrien Agreste and Kagami Tsuguri Kisses

[baenyth]

Bethany's Bizarre Miraculous Rewrite: The Romance Subplot for the Planned Seasons

One of my goals for my rewrite is to make the romance subplot of the series less drawn-out, more cathartic, feature more of the side ships of Lukanette, Adrigami, and even Marichat, and also get more gay. So without further ado, here's the romance subplot for the first five seasons:

Season 1 (Equivalent to seasons 1 and 2, twice the length of a normal season): Basic lovesquare antics. Marinette loves Adrien, but not Chat Noir. Adrien loves Ladybug, but not Marinette. They're also both fucked-up. Marinette knows Adrien's schedule and far too many personal details about him. Adrien as Chat acts entitled to Ladybug's love and even causes an akuma with his entitlement. He does get raked over the coals for that and after Glaciator/the Ice Cream akuma becomes far more respectful towards Ladybug, but still harbors love for her. He starts to move on from her after Frozer/the Ice Skating akuma, however.

Season 2 (Equivalent to season 3): The love square reversal happens a few episodes in. Yes, really. Adrien gets over Ladybug in favor of Marinette, while Marinette tries to put her feelings of Adrien aside to prove to her class that she isn't just jealous of Lila and targets Chat Noir instead. She does act salty at Kagami for a few episodes, however. During the kwamiswap Lady Noire is utterly down bad for Mister Bug as they fight All Eyes on Mecha. Desperada's arc of Ladybug picking Adrien in favor of Luka is replaced with picking Chat in favor of Luka. The season 5 episode where Marinette and Chat Noir go on a date and gets the ice cream man akumatized occurs here. Alya has doubts about Marinette's crush. She's right, and eventually Marinette realizes that and goes back to Adrien. Since the two are in love with eachother, things work out quickly and easily and they get together and kiss by the season finale.

Season 3 (Equivalent to seasons 3 and 4): On the first episode of Season 3 Adrienette has a horrific messy breakup after Adrien discovers the Schedule and similar things. I was thinking of putting it four episodes in, but I decided 1. it would be better if it was the beginning of the season and 2. I want Adrienette fans to feel the same despair I felt as a Lukanette and Adrigami fan at the start of season 4. The rest of the season focuses on the aftermath of this nightmare breakup. Ladybug and Chat Noir comfort and give advice to each other about the breakup and coalesce into a queerplatonic couple. They still don't figure out their identities because they're dumb teens. Marinette and Adrien start dating Luka and Kagami respectively halfway through the season and their relationships get plenty of time to shine. Marinette genuinely falls in love with Luka. Same with Adrien and Kagami. The love square is dead. Good riddance. Thankfully, Marinette does apologize to Adrien, and they make up and become just friends.

Season 4 (Equivalent to season 4): Here's some context: in the Season 3 finale, Hawkmoth was finally defeated but not Coeur, the woman behind Hawkmoth. What's worse is 1. Master Fu had to abdicate guardianship to Ladybug and 2. Coeur managed to discover multiple hero identities. So now Ladybug is working overtime creating guardian potions and doing nightly patrols to check up on everyone who got exposed. She's getting stressed, she's burning herself out, and so her parents start helping her with her guardian duties (they've known since season 1,) giving Ladybug a support group that she's not telling Chat Noir about. And kittycat's getting suspicious. He knows Ladybug's not telling him information and in general he feels like he's on the level of the side heroes rather than one of the main two, causing relationship troubles in their queerplatonic couple. Chat Noir starts training to compensate for this, to the point where he awakening his fullest Miraculous powers (infinite cataclysms!). All of this hard work for both of them causes strain in their civilian relationships, and they unfortunately have to break up because of it and because they can't tell Luka/Kagami their secret identities. And then Luka accidentally finds out both heroes' identities while Kagami manages to figure them out on her own. As for the stuff between Ladybug and Chat Noir, it gets resolved by Cat Walker, although here Ladybug is more unnerved by Cat Walker, and she apologizes to Chat Noir and lets him as much in the loop as she can without compromising her identity.

Season 5 (Equivalent to season 5 except not really): Ladybug and Chat Noir are back as a queerplatonic couple, baby! The two of them against the world! And also the other heroes! The fun parts come from their civilian relationships. Luka and Kagami, now that they know our heroes' identities, start dating them again, but the other way around. Lukadrien and Marigami. These relationships are arguably better than the other ones, too. Luka and Adrien share so much in common that they really get eachother, while Marinette is more comfortable with her sexuality and has a girlfriend that pushes her to be more, and Kagami has a loving relationship with little-to-no secrets! Rose is ecstatic. Tomoe is pissed because no Adrigami. Also, at the end of the season, after Coeur fucking dies and Felix, her last minion, is arrested for being a butt, we finally get an identity reveal between Ladybug and Chat Noir! And if this ends up as the series finale, Lukadrien and Marigami converge into the polycule of the gods, Lukadrigaminette!

[wheredostarsgowhenyoudie]

Dear ML Fandom,

Do we have a list of funny Adrinette fics where Mari is emphasized as Adrien's VERY GOOD FRIEND and she retaliated for revenge/fun??? or where Adrien is talking about Buttercup and he's clueless it's him?? Basically fics where Adrien is an idiot but a very lovable one and you just cannot stop reading.

Something like the ones in the list below, and yes I realize I am just about to share my own list again LOL, so feel free to read if you're in the mood. But pretty please give me more suggestions to add to this list because I am currently in the need for more.

I wanna be amused/laugh at the silliness of fluffy things.

So here goes:

My list of Lovable idiot Adrien fanfics (in order of my latest nth reread/recollection)

1) Adrien Is A Dumb Blond by DracoGal - one shot where Marinette is a brave girl who confessed and flirts above and beyond (A++ really) and is still labelled a VERY GOOD FRIEND because Adrien is that clueless.

2) your keysmash says it all by Noukon - a very sweet friendship social media series fic where our Mari is a sweet friend who loves Buttercup but is still shipping Adrigami out of loyalty, and Adrien is having feelings/stirrings but he's also blind. This brought me a whole lot of big smiles but is also still ongoing.

3) words he only dreamed to hear by alizeh (maketea), maketea - where LB is the sweetest and they are officially dating (and kissing, yes your honor) but our boy is clueless, he doesn't know they're dating.

4) pretty lady, look at how he's smiling by Missnoodles - this is more sweet and romantic than funny but I wanna add it in this list anyway because well, it is SO cute and they fell in love because of camembert and etsy cards lol

[gale-gentlepenguin]

Gale Reviews: Miraculous World: London, At the Edge of Time

(Spoilers for those that havent seen it. and yes this will be my sort of Live reaction, with my thoughts at the end)

-Okay so Nooroo be sad and trying to appeal to this person's morality.

-Okay so I was wrong about them being Adrien, but they are... Blond Lila?

-Okay, so She was actually BOTH akumatized Villains. Not gonna lie, That is so expected I assumed one of them would be adrien. Damn

-Intro be dope though

-So they are playing some weird variant of chess.

-If I was kid Alix, Id be salty, I would never. win since the other versions of me KNOW all my moves.

-OH DAMN GRANNY BUNNYX! 70, damn she looks good for 70

-Oh they be fading, and they arent even phased. Because they know what will happen. Wow... kind of takes the drama out of this

-Oh cool, recap

-They dont even bother saying he was originally called monarch.

-Alix is so valid for that comment about them kissing

-"Gabriel makes his wish, history is still on course." Yep they are playing the Miguel O' Hara is right canon event bit unironically.

-Portals start vanishing. But the drama is gone because YOU KNOW Alix will fix it

-Oh there is a depressed Bugnoire. Confirmed that merge miraculous can still use powerups.

-She goes to London. Damn this is depressing, and sterile

-Bugnoire casual destroys the cell to free Kagami made me chuckle

-Marinette reflecting on what happened. talking with Gabriel

-"Adrien cannot find out."

TO THE SURPISE OF F***ING NOBODY!

-Kagami calling her out but then saying she will oblige her

-Oh they actually talking about Tomoe.

-Kagami wants to try and talk to her mom, which Marinette honors because... at least she isnt being a hypocrite here.

-Okay I know I am a bit nasty, but I do appreciate the time the scene is taking. its really building up the tension to this.

-Gorilla out of nowhere just like "Let me unlock it first." that made me chuckle

-I feel VERY CONFLICTED. Because on one hand, LOVE THE ANGST. Absolutely just perfection. Really milk that drama. But f*** do I HATE how this came about.

-Oh the Lie is actually pretty convincing. Oh look at how absolutely distraught Adrien is. Boy is f***ing wrecked.

-OH DAMN ADRIEN OUTBURST

-That Adrigami comforting.

-I want to love this absolutely heartshattering scene. Its beautiful, its angsty.

-Okay, you know what. I will hold my reservations until I actually finish.

-You can just see the absolute distraught face of Marinette. SHE HATES THIS. SHE ABSOLUTELY HATES WHAT SHE IS DOING. OH THAT IS SUCH A BEAUTIFUL ANGSTY THING. Its slowly warming me up a bit, the finale was missing this.

-Oh damn, Nathalie knows Marinette is Ladybug. WELP, just another person that knows thats not Adrien.

-Oh damn, Ladybug monologue, while she destroys everything related to Hawkmoth, monarch, and his scheme. In a way, becoming his greatest accomplice.

-The press conference is full of a lies. Wow its starting to feel just like real life.

-Nathalie comforting Adrien, such a soft scene. Meanwhile Tomoe and Kagami are cold to eachother

-Marinette is at the train station

-That adrinette hug.... yea, thats the good stuff

-Im happy the kwami are safe.

-There is a lot of not talking in these moments. letting the music set the tone.

-And day becomes night, Marinette sleeps with Plagg and tikki by her side. Now she asks if what she did was right

-Is there a kwami of truth? Because if there is, I wonder what animal it is

-WAIT, She lied to Alya too? THAT I didnt see coming.

-And right there, we see when the special ACTUALLY Starts

-Okay the vest is funny

-The burrow has a slowed down time aspect, makes sense because of the whole time travel thing.

-So they have to take Marinette's Miraculous from when she renounced it. For a split second, I thought she was talking about the Kwami choice, but it was actually Origins. Which makes more sense

-So thats why Tikki becomes so sure of Marinette.

-She changed colors? Why thoough?! Granted I do prefer it to the original costume, but not as much as the lucky charm form.

-"There is no such thing as ghost." GHOST FORCE WOULD LIKE A WORD MARINETTe

-Basically she can phase through things like Kitty pride. And be invisible. So like a Ghost.

-Ladybug verses the Ghost akuma

-She cant touch them

-Calender. it means you have to go to a different time

-This special really likes hammering in that Ladybug's lie is wrong, yet at the same time NO ONE is offering her an alternative. So it feels like the special isnt really committing to the "Marinette is right" or "Marinette is wrong."

-"Sorry, you cant take the butterfly miraculous cause Canon Event." Yea this is getting repetitive

-So Time Stalker was there. Saw Ladybug was Marinette

-Yea, not gonna lie. All the clips showing the finale only remind me how much I HATE it.

-Gabriel f***s off to leave his son an orphan but gets to be with his wife. Thus getitng his wish forever and now Ladybug has to basically let it happen because F*** her in particular

-NATHALIE WITH A CROSSBOW!

-Nathalie telling the small crying teen who was willing to sacrifice HERSELF, that she didnt have to go that far. People often forget Marinette is a TEENAGER going through s***. Nathalie should have stopped Gabriel earlier

-That aside, all this special reinforced is that Gabriel is an idiot. He really could have won so much easier

-And thats how Time stalker found out

-Marinette figured out they were the same person, clever writing

-Super ghost and Super Spy dumb names

-I love Barkk. She is like "Dont be so sure"

-Man this special really retreads a lot of old ground a lot

-Miraculous Bug Noire

-So Bugnoire saying until they get the butterfly miraculous back. She cant tell him the truth.... Yea no. Thats dumb. I still find this very dumb.

-But the whole mini portal thing was funny to me. Why not just make a portal under them to pull them in.

-There we go.

-SHE HAS MORE OF THEM? Okay thats pretty clever

-"He or She?" if it wasnt present bunnyx Id assume she knew.

-The explanation on why Nathalie cant tell Adrien is also bulls**t.

-A wiseman once said, the "Truth hurts but once, but a Lie will ache forever" Marinette is basically setting up for worse

-I will say, the Choreography in these encounters is pretty cool.

-Okay the plan was clever

-Ladybug is apparently REALLY good at forging signatures. Are we sure Marinette isnt a future villainess?

-The Ladybug monologue with that funky beat was fun

-HEHEHE Lila Temper tantrum

-Poor Nooroo

-Well the plan worked.

-Bunnyx not being sad about having to stay as Bunnyx.

-Wait, so how come they can go ride dinosaurs if they cant mess with time?

-So bunnyx says "Hey its cool to lie as long as you own up to it eventually." Thats a fucking terrible lesson for kids to learn. I hope everyone reading this knows that

-Wait... is Chronobug dead?

-Nope, she is still alive

-Plagg is confused. But Tikki knows. Okay thats cute

-Marinette fixing the miraculous and upgrading them. Thats neat

-Marinette's logic for spreading it out makes sense at least. And the new hawkmoth doesnt know the heroes identities. Tomoe might though

-Okay, Plagg is cute.

-Ah yes, the Ladynoir

-There is that Hug. Thats that good stuff

-Chat noir's guilt and Ladybug's Guilt

-And then Lila's monologue at the end

___________________________________________________________

Now... How do I feel about this special?

I am torn.

On one hand, it did show that Marinette is feeling the effects of the secrets she is keeping. She is clearly feeling guilty about it. And the special does a LOT to justify what she is doing and never outright gives her a pass for it. I also LOVED that sweet succulent ANGST. Good stuff.

on the Other hand, some of the explanations are not good (like Adrien not finding out until after the butterfly is found? It makes no sense), and it hand waves a LOT of things. Not to mention, it does basically have Marinette, Kagami and Nathalie in this secret Cabal of secrets. Tomoe is basically not held accountable. And the whole Canon event thing and time travel basically means there is never any real danger. So it really takes the wind out of this.

But BUT, This special does at least imply that this secret will be the cause of tension, now the question is IF the show will actually deliver on this angst.

I dont hate this special as it does illuminate a LOT of what was missing from the Season 5 finale... that being said, I still hate the season 5 finale.

so its 6/10.

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

Hello. I've been binge reading your meta post an I loves all of it. I have one question, though I don't know if you had the same question or not. If you had I'm sorry feel free to ignore this but if you hadn't, this is my question. Many people said Adrien as sentimonster is a good plot and the other said it's also good metaphor for abuse children. But what do you think about the senti plot? Is it necessary? And what do you think the writer is trying to achieve with the plot if Adrien doesn't even allowed to know about what he is?

Thank you! I'm glad that you've been enjoying my rambles! I don't think I've touched on those aspects of the sentiplot, so here goes!

Is it Necessary/What's The Goal?

I don't think that the sentiplot is even remotely necessary. My two cents is that it reads like something that was added relatively last-minute in order to add some cheap drama to draw the plot out because they didn't have enough content to organically fill seven seasons. Part of the reason that I'm comfortable saying that is because we've seen the writers do this type of move many times before. I don't wanna get too into the weeds on this, but a good example is the love triangles with Luka and Kagami.

Luka and Kagami are never treated as real alternate love interests. They're just road blocks on the love square highway that allow for seasons three to end on a cliff hanger. The fact that season four opens on two episodes meant to reassure the audience that Lukanette and Adrigami are doomed to fail is proof of this. No one is actually supposed to ship those ships. There's no Team Luka vs Team Adrien. It's just cheap drama.

The other reason that I feel comfortable calling the sentiplot cheap shoehorned drama is because the sentiplot has no teeth. A big reason why I refused to believe that it was going to be a thing was because it's an extremely serious plot that has no place in a Y-7 show. The wielder of raw destruction can have his free will overwritten at any time! The show has made jewelry theft a common teenage past time! This is bad!

And yet, once it's introduced, it goes nowhere. Gabe gives the most lackluster commands humanly possible and Nathalie undoes every one of them before they have a chance to meaningfully impact the plot. The biggest fallout of the sentiplot was that the Adrienette kiss got delayed a bit. How terrifying.

If the sentiplot had the weight it deserved, then it would have destroyed Adrientte in a big, dramatic fashion. Gabriel would have commanded Adrien to date Kagami and Tomoe would have done the same for Kagami re Adrien. But that's too serious, so we don't even get Gabe telling Adrien to break up with Marinette. He just tells Adrien to not see her and Marinette never has any clue that something went wrong there because Nathalie undoes the command two minutes later.

The Sentiplot's and Emilie

You may have read the previous section and thought, "But wait, doesn't the sentiplot give an explanation for why Emilie used the peacock? Didn't we need that?"

No, we didn't. Felix's little play and Gabe's memory of the night they used the peacock both heavily imply that no one knew that the peacock would kill you. It's why Felix exists! His father did not willingly give his life to have a kid and neither did Emilie. It was an unknown side effect.

Imo, it would have actually been better if Emilie hadn't used the peacock for such obviously selfish reasons. I mean, is anyone really saying, "Oh no, the rich lady used forbidden magic (and possibly killed some people?) to get a designer baby, then faced unexpected consequences! How awful for her! She didn't deserve that!"

Wouldn't it have been a far more interesting and complex story if Emilie used the peacock because she wanted to help someone else? If she was an unambiguously good person who suffered for doing the right thing or even just a morally gray thing? Wouldn't that make Gabriel's quest feel more righteous and less like a temper tantrum by a rich, entitled white guy who used his wealth in a morally dubious manner and paid for it?

The Sentiplot as an Abuse Metephor

I don't think that the writers meant for the sentiplot to be an abuse metaphor. In fact, I sincerely hope they didn't because it's a terrible one! Or, at least, a depressing one.

Abuse - especially childhood abuse - is something that sticks with us. A lot of victims will be forever scared by what they went through. But just because they bare scares doesn't mean that they're trapped by their abuse and can never break free. This is true even if the abuse caused mental health issues like PTSD or CPTSD, conditions that can never be cured because you know what they can be? Controlled and mitigated to the point where the victim is no longer ruled by their condition.

There's also the fact that abuse victims - especially child abuse victims - can and often do reach a point where their abusers no longer have any power over them. I have personally seen a child abuse victim go thought the process of realizing that their parent is just another adult now. All the power that the parent once held is gone. The child doesn't depend on them for food and shelter anymore. If the abuse starts up again, then the child can just get up and walk away.

That's not true for a sentimonster. Sentimonsters don't grow up and get more agency/power. At any point, their abuser can get ahold of their amok and override their free will, taking away the sentimonster's freedom even if the sentimonster is on another continent! There is no means of true escape.

No abuse victim will ever be that powerless. Abuse victims can escape abuse and they do have true free will. Sentimonsters will always be sentimonsters.

Is the Sentiplot Good?

No. It's too serious for a kids show. In fact, now that it's canon, here's my two cents: all of the sentikids are massive liabilities to the team who need to give up their miraculouses immediately because they can never be truly trusted. Felix has shown us time and time again how easy it is to steal an amok and replace it with a fake, so we must always assume that the sentikids are compromised because to assume otherwise is to invite the miraculouses to fall into the wrong hands. It's just not worth the risk to trust a senti.

Along the same lines, the love square should never be canon unless Marinette gives up Guardianship because Adrien is a liability to the safety of the miraculouses even if he didn't wield on himself. The only way to get around this issue is to use the wish to make the sentikids human, but Gabe failed to even do that one kindness for his son, so here we are. Season six will either drive this point home by having Lila use the amoks to mess with Adrien or it will drop the sentiplot forever, proving just how cheap and poorly thought out it was.

Other issues I think I've already addressed in other posts, but that are still a problem that make the plot bad:

a sentimonster's creator defines the sentimonster's worth, thus there being no issue with Felix making sentimonsters and then killing them or the heroes destroying them, but it would somehow be wrong if we did the same thing to any of the sentikids

any command you give a sentimonster can be overwritten and sentimonsters can't resist even if they know they're being controlled, so there's truly no hope to free them

giving your leading lady anxiety issues and a boyfriend whose free will is constantly in jeopardy is cruel and unusual punishment

an insane number of lore issues like why is it impossible to destroy other sentimonsters, but Adrien can be destroyed in akuma fights? Cataclysms are pure destruction! It makes no sense that akumas can do what a cataclysm can't. And is Adrien able to die a natural death? What happens to his amok when he does? Will his children be able to be controlled by his amok too since they're part of him?

the lore around Gabe & Emilie finding the miraculous makes no sense and should not be possible. That's another rant, though.

[imthepunchlord]

Did you watch Season 5 of Miraculous? What did you think of it?

I stopped watching Miraculous at s3, I didn't watch s4 or s5, but I've heard a bit about it. Technically can't really give an opinion but I can share what I think based on what I heard.

I heard Adrienette dating was not too bad, but should've been much sooner. I agree. Could've saved us a bunch of trouble and salt. I also heard that they had the most powerful kiss that adults literally could not tear them apart XD that was funny to hear.

I got to learn that melting Miraculous down doesn't count as destroying them so, who's going to tell Frodo the one ring actually isn't destroyed as apparently melting doesn't count as destroying. Who knew?

And I got to learn that Gabriel was able to make the wish, getting what he ultimately wanted terrorizing all of Paris for 5 seasons, is remembered as a hero, and Adrien never learns about it which is all a really big wth. From what I've seen, no one was happy about that.

Uuuuh... I heard Lila got exposed, but it was meh. I heard she now goes by Cerise? Which ok, let's just make this confusing character even more confusing. Also, how much you want to bet that Cerise/Lila will join them in high school, and there's a repeat of Marinette knowing that's Lila who is lying to them but no one believes her and thinks Cerise is someone entirely new.

Ummmmmmm... oh, I heard Feligami is now a thing? Very rushed and kinda creepy/weird? But I guess they did a decent job as I do see the occasional fanart for them. Personally, I'll just stick to Kagami with girls. That moment in Riptose stuck with me waaaay to much to really get behind her being more interested in boys. I will say, Adrigami did have some nice moments, and there's concepts there where I think they can work nicely off each other (Adrien needs to learn to grow a backbone while Kagami wants to rebel and make friends, they can help each other with that), so Adrien could be the only guy I could roll with for her, but still prefer her paired with girls more.

Also I guess Felix is now a hero despite stealing the yo-yo from Ladybug and handing off... 14 Miraculous to Gabriel. And presumably making him more dangerous/difficult, though he is an idiot so I don't know how much more challenging he got. As far as I know, it was pretty much like another Tuesday.

Oh and apparently there will now be 18 heroes in Paris as I got to learn through asks. I wonder how that's going to work, if at all. Place your bets on how often we'll even see those full time heroes, as they can't really take much attention away from Marinette and Adrien, but who knows. S6 is in that weird placement now that Thomas is no longer apart of the development of ML, so it's hard to say how different it'll go.

Oh. I don't like Tikki and Plagg's true forms. Kinda Digimon over complicated design, and biblical in aesthetic which I found weird when they're supposed to be tied to Taoism. I have yet to find anything similar to biblical angels in Toaism, so I feel like this design choice works off a Christian view more (which isn't surprising as Plagg works off the unlucky black cat, which is exclusively from Christian Europe roughly 400 years ago).

Additionally, Gimmi felt like more of a Nooroo true form, than a fusion of Plagg and Tikki. I think they should've brought the concept of Null back. I think they were a better thought of a fusion of Creation and Destruction as these two concepts brought together would just nullify each other.

So over all, based on what I've heard, it's a pretty negative view of s5.

[mystic-myrtille]

I'm in a salt mode so lets get into this

One of the biggest problems people had with the L//S is how poorly developed it's been and how less effort it has been put into it, And don't get me started how Adrichat and Maribug barely interact basically making the ship have 0 chemistry.

But then when ships like Lukanette and Adrigami came along, then there's some Toxic L//S stans who bash the characters (and doxx lukanette and adrigami shippers), with their only excuse being "ThEy R iN tHe Way of adr///ette/L//s (Mainly because they're insecure that Lukanette/Adrigami has Chemistry, proper development and effort and their ship doesn't)

I'm so sick and tired of the hate that Lukanette/Adrigami gets.

I'm so sick and tired of the hate that Luka/Kagami gets.

I'm so sick and tired of toxic L//S stans projecting their ship on every. single. damn. thing

I'm so sick and tired of seeing Lukanette/Adrigami shippers get d0xxed, threatened and bullied just because they don't ship the L//S or Adr//ette

Yikes, people doxxed each other because of ships?? For some reason I'm not entirely surprised. I've seen fandoms with super toxic people and the ml fandom sure can be toxic as hell. If you (general) get so worked up about people's opinions about characters from a kids show, you should be denied access to the internet and instead have access to tons grass to touch. But yeah, even just "normal hate" can be frustrating and discouraging, so it's best to just block those people. I completely understand your frustration.

Luka//nette isn't good because they were half canon, it's good because they have a meaningful bond and the root for drama is always outside circumstances and not the fact that they fundementally don't work together. If Mari wasn't Ladybug, they probably wouldn't have split up. That's why I love this ship so much. Besides, they never got in the way of anything. Realistically, no ship can get in the way of a confirmed endgame ship bc, well, it's endgame. So this argument is kind of falls flat (honestly most arguments against Luka//nette I've heard were either not really important or kind of a very outlandish interpretation of their relationship, I don't care about either.)

Heck, even if Luka//nette wasn't the rival ship but just friends in canon who interacted twice, who cares? Shipping isn't supposed to be serious, it's exploring different dynamics between characters and having fun putting them in different scenarios and have them have 6176310278 different first kisses. There's no rule that you have to be on board with the canon ship.

Now speaking of L//S developement (bc now I'm also in a salty mood and I have thoughts)

I and many others have already talked about how s1-4 didn't really do much with them. But I find it funny when people say that s5 did a great job developing they're relationship because... bitch where? I've watched season 5 (I have no self respect) and everything was confusing and over the place and I think that's bc the writers can't make up their minds about which problems the L//S might face actually matter and how they can be solved.

The season starts with Mari making a big deal about how loving Adrien is dangerous because hero stuff. Oh but actually it doesn’t matter, she likes CN now, problem solved! Oh wait no Chat friendzoned her and Adrien is pushing real hard for Adr//nette so they give up their fucking miraculous (in times of crisis I might add), problem solved! No wait, actually the new heroes suck so they take them back, but that’s okay bc being in love and being a superhero at the same time is actually no longer a problem for some reason! The actual problem is that Mari is incapable of expressing herself because she has trauma. And THAT’S the real shit because fucking everybody gets so invested they organize literal dates for them and watch from a distance until they smooch instead of, oh idk, letting them do things their own way. But actually that also doesn't matter anymore bc Zoe just confessed and Mari was so inspired she immediately ran to Adrien. Oh but Adrien is a senti without free will and he goes to england soon whoopsie. Also Gabriel and Tomoe are now Adri//gami shippers because of course we need an arranged marriage deal type of plot. Oh yeah there's also something about Monarch apparently having all the miraculouses but who cares amirite

See what I mean? There's no structure, no actually overcoming problems, it's just random shit happening without any connection to the previous random shit. The characters don't develop in a meaningful way. Mari's only life goal is making one cohesive sentence in front of Adrien and he's kind of just there. I mean he could maybe feel inspired by Marinette's passion for arts and crafts and try out some stuff or he could continue to have no direction in life. Yes, as a teen it's hard knowing what you want to do later in life, but Adrien doesn't even really have actual hobbies he can define himself through. The writers fail not only to develop the relationship as a whole but also the characters involved as people. They could as easily be a situationship where they meed every two days to make out and it wouldn't change anyting. It's just fan service here and there combined with shallow and forgettable dialogue (I think, there wasn't a conversation that stick with me at least) and idk this maybe works as a first love that maybe lasts for a year before they have a dramatic break up and then move on with their lives, But the show tries to sell this idea that the square will actually stay together forever (or have a constant toxic on-off thing bc that's the vibe I'm getting. Plus Bunnyx sort of implied that).

[theerurishipper]

Lukanette and Adrigami are looking like better ships by the day.

We don't talk about Feligami.

I mean, I've always loved Adrigami, and I never hated Lukanette. Though Lukanette does suffer from the same problem as Adrienette in that Luka is just expected to be Marinette's emotional support boyfriend rather than his own person with his own needs and feelings. In the end, it all sorta comes down to how Marinette is written to have emotional support partners rather than boyfriends tbh. I blame the writers for this one.

But Adrigami was *chef's kiss* before they ruined Kagami's character and gave her a boyfriend as a consolation prize.

Thank you for your ask!

[sasuhinasno1fan]

Our little secret

This is a gift for Kopy, over on the @lukadrienvault. Their fav ship I'd say is NathMarc so I decided that's what we're going to do. When coming up with the idea, I was think New Years Kiss and somehow, even though it's been a year since I was rewatching it, I thought of the Mondler New Years kiss and then this happened. It worked out that all the other ships they love was able to come into play, though warning, there is like incredibly minor Adrigami, but their engagement is arranged, they both don't want it and Kagami is the one to break it off because she knows how Adrien feels about Luka. Don't worry, both are very happy with the decision and it is mostly relegated to the back of the story. I've never focused on these two characters, so I hope I gave it everything they deserve. Happy Holidays Kopy, and enjoy!

“Cold! Cold, cold, oh, it’s cold!” Marc muttered, shoving the door to Dupain-Cheng Café open. He let it slam shut, moving around the slightly crowded floor and managed to find his normal seat at the only couch. It was just becoming free, so he dropped his bag onto it as the other customers pulled their jackets on to leave.

Marinette was behind the counter, working the espresso machine while her mother worked the register. He couldn’t see him, but Marc knew M. Dupain was in the kitchen working on refilling the pastry shelf.

“Hi Marc. Hot chocolate and biscotti?” Mme. Cheng asked.

Rubbing his arms to try and get warm, he shook his head. “Muffin actually. Whichever you recommend. But make my hot chocolate a large if you could. Everything been ok?”

“Yes, doing very well. how’s Adrien?”

“Mama.” Marinette called from where she was frothing the milk.

“Well, you won’t tell me anything. The boy just ended an engagement.”

Marc hummed, twisting his wrist so his smartwatch could register on the pay pad. “Technically, it was an arranged marriage neither he or Kagami wanted and I guess watching Adrien give up a chance to be with Luka, made her realise she’d be forced to give up her dreams to if she also went through with it. her objecting to the wedding was best for both of them, even if Adrien is dealing with a pissed off dad.”

“I don’t know what he’s getting annoyed about. He didn’t even ask Adrien.” Mme. Cheng complained.

“I think spending all the money on a destination wedding in London might have something to do with it. I mean, the church burned down, we had to rush to set up a new one within the rubble, found out Luka did end up coming cause Kagami basically demanded he did and then she objected to her own wedding. The reception was the most awkward thing ever. Marc, wasn’t it a disaster on your end? +stuck trying to keep Felix behaving and not insulting a family full of fencers and kendo experts.” Marinette complained, handing Marc a mug, with a toasted marshmallow floating on top.

“Oh. The reception. Yeah, it was…something.”

The whole trip to London was something. the wedding was crashing down around them the minute their train arrived in London. The rehearsal dinner had been Luka arriving and Adrien finding out Kagami insisted he be there, the Tsurugi family butting heads with the Agrestes, including the parents who decided on the arranged marriage and since Marc had been dealing with his parents bugging him about who was ever going to marry him, being called Kagami’s mother by a drunk cousin hadn’t been the highlight of his night. he wanted to have sex, just forget about everything for a few hours but he didn’t want a stranger. He decided to ask Nino, just because they’d kissed before and nothing blossomed out of it and the DJ was very good at understanding what his partner wanted in bed. Honestly, Alya had figured out she was gay while dating Nino, but she still swore Nino was the best man she’d been with.

Except Nino wasn’t in his hotel room, he’d been downstairs taking his turn in trying to convince Adrien to call off the wedding. But Nathaniel had been in the shared hotel room, already done from the dinner and ready to combat boredom by drawing as long as he could. They’d talked and Nath told him to ignore Kagami’s cousin, that he’d been one of the prettiest people downstairs and how he normally was the prettiest person wherever they were. It might have been the alcohol he’d been downing, but Marc kissed Nath. It didn’t feel weird, at all. They did the smart thing and took a second to figure out if they were ok moving forward but there literally felt like no reason to not keep going, so they did. And as strange as it was in the morning, it was great. Honestly, once the hangover had dissipated, Marc couldn’t stop thinking about it. Nath didn’t date really but clearly his understanding of anatomy made quite the mark.

They didn’t have to, but during the reception, post called off wedding, they tried sneaking away, only to get stopped by Felix, Adrien’s cousin, attempting to spark off the war between the two families. Since Adrien was busy trying to deal with his father and support Kagami deal with her mother, Marc and Marinette had been in charge of keeping the drunk English Agreste from blowing things up. on the train ride back, slight tense silence included, they decided since they were London time, they should do it. it hadn’t worked out; Nath went to wait for him in the bathroom and Ayla decided then was the time to start planning on how to lock Adrien and Luka together so they could fess up. Alya’s plans were detailed and insane and they were almost back in France when Nathaniel came out, annoyed.

They thought that was it, once they arrived back in their shared apartment building. Marinette went to go check with her parents at the café downstairs, Alya going with her girlfriend. Adrien was going to stay at Chloe’s at the hotel while Luka went back to his place and no one knew if they spoke during that time or they got good at pretending it was ok when they all reunited 2 days later. Nathaniel was going to go back to the apartment he shared with Adrien, while Nino rushed out of the apartment he and Marc shared to head to a meeting for an event he was contracted for. They’d said goodbye, talking about how, even though it happened once and it felt strange in the morning, they both liked what happened. Marc had talked himself out of following Nath across the hall and telling him he wanted to do it again and then the door opened and Nath was there.

“Still on London time?”

“Fuck yes.”

No one knew, obviously. Marc had zero clue where this was going but when they weren’t sneaking around having sex, it felt like normal. Nath being a short-tempered pessimist, who preferred focusing on his sketch book or tablet but if you upset the people he cared about, you were dead. And him, still shy and suffering from his anxiety except when it was about books or words or even a football, not to mention the family he made from his friends, he became a whole other person. The bond was growing deeper as they continued the relationship. Secret trips outside Paris, learning how to grow together in a relationship, even through stupid fights. It was more stable than any of his other relationships and none of their friends knew.

Except Nino. One of the trips led to him losing an eyelash curler at the hotel and since they both mentioned seeing Clara Nightengale and Nino had been the one to take the call about a room in Nath’s name, the DJ figured it out. he was good to keep the secret, he and Alya had broken up for weeks while she figured out her life once she came out to him and started dating Marinette and no one knew until they were ready. Which was what Nino was waiting for now from them.

But it was nice for it to be a secret, for everyone to not ask questions. They all had questions for Alya when she came out and started to date her best friend. Adrien and Luka were dealing with their own questioning with Adrien’s failed wedding and the unspoken feelings between the two of them. Nino was lucky, no serious dates at the moment but he got into some crazy things DJing at parties. With no one to hound them about their relationship, it felt calm. Marc fully believed it was why they were able to grow together so easily, without the worry of ‘what if it doesn’t work out?’ hanging over them. if it didn’t, only 3 people would know.

“Oh, Nathaniel!” Mme. Cheng called as the door opened again.

Marc bit a smile down, collecting his muffin from Marinette. It was promptly stolen by the artist.

“Hey! That was mine.”

“Suffer.” He said, mouth full of pastry.

“Ugh.” Well, not every relationship was perfect. At least he didn’t lick a left-over mug in retaliation for a stolen muffin like last time.

__________________________

Marinette might work at her parent’s café most times they saw her, but her skill in design was in no way suffering. The artist in him was in love with the lines of the pipping on the corset vest and in love with the way it clung to Marc’s body. Their androgynous body tended to avoid things that showed off his curves but Marc had pulled it out themselves and asked for help sinching in.

“Are you even pulling it?” Marc asked, pulling Nathaniel from staring at the way the strings crossed all the way down Marc’s back. Obviously having sex in a corset wasn’t the best idea, cause breathing, but he could see the appeal.

“Turn around.” He said, tugging at Marc’s waist until the writer faced him. Once they were holding onto his shoulders, he gathered the strings again and pulled, smirking down at Marc’s red face. The platform shoes he wore were completely worth it.

“I don’t think this is how you do it.”

“No?” Nathaniel asked, tugging the strings. “I think it gets the point across.”

Marc glared at him, clearly biting down a smile. “Finish up, we need to get going.”

In Chloe’s attempts in making her oldest friend smile again, she was throwing a Christmas party for everyone. Alya somehow got her way in getting the others to agree to a plan to get Luka and Adrien together, so there was also that to look forward to. Nath only said yes because New Years would be celebrated in his and Adrien’s apartment and he didn’t want to usher in the new year with the awkwardness still hanging over all of them. That and if he’d managed to have a deeper connection in a relationship they were all hiding from their friends, then Luka and Adrien who everyone knew had feelings for each other should have no issue to get together, not when Adrien’s fiancée insisted Luka be at the wedding she called off.

Maybe making a comic with Marc of Kagami leaving her wedding and becoming the best fencer that everyone forgot who she was related to, might have been a bit much just after the failed wedding, but Nathaniel didn’t regret the decision.

“Did you get the others anything?” Marc asked, picking up their satchel before pulling their jacket off the hook by the door.

“Sort of. I was finally able to afford that house warming gift for Alya and Marinette and I decided to do updates to Nino and Luka’s logos.”

“And nothing for me right?”

“Not until later, like we promised.”

They knew each other. They’d get the other a very sentimental gift, something that could be obvious and their friends could easily figure it out. they still weren’t ready for others to know. Nathaniel had been working hard on finishing commissions to pay for Marc’s gift and he really hoped the writer liked it.

Marc’s gifts for everyone were handbound copies of their favourite fairytales. His job as a bookbinder had given him the time to letterpress everyone’s books. Now Nath knew why he kept hiding his work when anyone would come close, since they were all so used to him bring home orders to work on sewing.

“You really didn’t have to do this. how am I gonna top this?” Nath joked while they had a chance alone, looking through the pages of his copy of The 12 Dancing Princesses. Probably an odd choice for him, but it was the one he remembered the most growing up and he went feral whenever he found a book inspired by the story.

“I’m sure you’ll think of something.” Marc said, leaning to see Luka and Adrien talking. “Do you think they’re finally talking about things?”

“Hopefully. Would be nice if the year ended with everyone dating the people they wanted by the end of the year.”

Nathaniel tilted his head. “Even us?”

Marc glanced down. Marc's platforms didn't fully make their heights even. “I don’t know if I’m ready for everyone to know. I’m not stupid, I know we’ll get sloppy eventually. But I like that it’s just us.”

Nathaniel gently brushed his hand against Marc’s, smiling softly at him. “Me too.”

________________________

“Nino?”

The DJ turned away from the TV inside his apartment that he shared with Marc to see his roommate and secret boyfriend pouting at him. The sound of the last minute before the new year came from the TV, which had everyone’s attention.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, feeling nervous.

“We want to kiss at midnight but other than Mylene and Ivan, no one else is planning to.”

“Oh,” he said, feeling relieved. He was worried they were going to have another secret for him to hold. “I got you.” he immediately went to Alya, who was live streaming the New Years party. “So, you’re kissing Marinette right?”

“Huh?” she looked away from her phone to raise an eyebrow at him. He could see comments teasing Alya about planting one on her girlfriend.

“Kissing someone at midnight? For good luck? Come on, it’ll be fun. Isn’t her grandpère always going on about tradition?”

Alya still looked lost at his questioning but she shrugged and started making her way to her girlfriend, wrapping her arm around her. His next set of victims were Luka and Adrien. Things were finally making headway – which was helped with Adrien finally leaving his father’s side of the family and helping Kagami to get set up a professional athlete – and Nino wasn’t at all upset with pulling this to get them even closer.

“Hey, so we’re doing kisses at midnight.” He announced, leaning on the back of the couch they were sitting on.

“What?” Adrien asked.

“Alya is kissing Marinette, Ivan is planting one on Mylene, I’m gonna offer myself to Chloe, so you two take care of each other.”

“What?” Luka asked this time.

“Well, I can’t have Marc or Nath kiss her. Nath and Chloe always find a way to push buttons and Marc is terrified of her half the time, so honestly, I’m doing them a favour by offering myself to Chloe while you guys take care of each other and Nath and Marc can fill in each other’s places. Ok?” he said, patting his best friend on the shoulder and walked off, ignoring Adrien calling for him and instead, went looking for the last person.

Chloe was glued to her phone, but she did glance up at him when he got closer.

“New year’s kiss?”

She frowned at him. Time was ticking and it was gonna look strange if he wasn’t kissing anyone come midnight.

“I’m gay.” She reminded.

“I know. I helped you dump XY when you realised that about yourself. You know, you did say you owe me.”

She looked even more confused. “This is how you wanna use it?”

“Not really, but let’s be honest. I’m way less likely to cop a feel and Alya says she didn’t realise she was gay for so long because she liked kissing me, so obviously I’m good at it.” that last part wasn’t a lie, it was actual fact Alya had admitted when they made the decision to break up.

She rolled her eyes as the countdown started. “Insta it?”

“Deal.” He agreed, glancing over his shoulder and catching Marc’s eye with a smile. if anyone owed him, it was those two.

“5, 4, 3, 2, 1! Happy New Years!”

While Alya, Marinette, Nino and Chloe immortalized their good luck kiss on social media – and Adrien and Luka decided ‘fuck it, enough hiding’ - no one blinked an eye when Marc and Nathaniel kissed in a room full of their friends.

“That was nice.” Nath was tempted to say those words against Marc’s lips, but anyone could be watching.

“One day.” Marc promised. “We should find the others. It’ll be a while before we can get Nino to distract the others long enough so we can exchange gifts.”

Nino did do his job and led the whole apartment in a very loud – Adrien was gonna have to pay so much for apology pastries from the Dupain-Chengs for their neighbours – karaoke ballad while they went to Nathaniel’s apartment across the hall.

“Do you wanna go first?” Nathaniel asked, after unearthing his present from his room. It always made Marc giggle that the amazing artist was so bad at wrapping presents. Like, he’d tape-every-edge-with-tape-bad.

“I might need a minute to figure out how to get in.” he joked, letting out a tiny yelp as Nath tugged him backwards and they both tumbled into Nathaniel’s favourite armchair. “I think I’m sitting on your tablet!” Marc complained, shuffling himself onto Nath’s lap.

“Eh, wouldn’t be the first time it’s been sat on. I think I remember a certain time, in my room while Adrien was out, where you shoved me on the bed?”

Marc knew exactly what he was talking about. Wasn’t until it was all over Nath had squirmed and unearthed his very sweaty tablet from underneath him. The poor thing had complained about being too hot in its notifications.

Instead, he focused on opening the present, pulling at the paper like a chip bag. The box inside opened easily and sitting on cream tissue paper was a book. A book of fairytales.

“Where did you get this?” Marc breathed, pulling the book out and opening it, listening to the old boo creak. It smelt amazing, looking near identical to the one he’d lost as a child.

“Took a while since I couldn’t ask Adrien for help. Do you like it?”

Marc gave him a look that told him how stupid that question was. “I hope you like mine.”

“I think I’ll love it.”

A gift bag was surprisingly easy to sneak around with, since most of their friends had been passing late gifts to others, so Nathaniel only had to remove tissue paper to get to his present. It was a leather wrapped book, but the part that acted as the cover was a bit bulky. Nathaniel undid the string holding it closed and realised the front flap was a holder for pencils. The paper in the book felt like the same type he used in his sketchbooks.

“Did you make this?” he also noticed the embossed logo at the bottom and a hidden embossed chicken – his favourite animal. “Didn’t you make like a bunch of personal fairy tale books?”

Marc shrugged. “Those were easy to do. This took a bit cause I had to deconstruct a copy of your favourite sketch book so I could sew it in. it’s not nearly as amazing as what you got for me.”

“Are you kidding? Marc, this is amazing. You are amazing. I love you.” Nathaniel immediately went red and stiff while Marc’s smile dropped, but out of surprise.

“That’s the first time you said that.” Marc pointed out.

“Yeah.”

“Do you wanna ignore it?” Marc offered.

Nathaniel bit his lips before taking Marc’s book and his sketchbook, dropping them in the box Marc’s present had been in and onto the floor before taking Marc’s hands in his own.

“No. I don’t want to ignore it. I’ve never had a stable relationship, some much so that when we went out of town that first time and had that massive fight, I thought this was all over. Except, of course you’d be the one to teach me how a relationship is supposed to go, how we grow and build and fix things as time goes on. it was just supposed to be a simple thing, sleeping together, but it felt so right taking the next step. And when it kept growing from there, I don’t think I’ve ever been happier. So, Marc Anciel, I love you and I really hope we last forever, because I can’t imagine being with anyone else.”

Marc leaned down and softly kissed Nathaniel, pulling one hand away to rest on the other’s cheek. He pressed their foreheads together when they finally pulled apart. “I love you too Nathaniel.”

The artist kissed his boyfriend again, using his free hand to tug him closer. “Stay?”

“What about Adrien?”

“If you actually think he and Luka aren’t going to finally talk and work things out, you must not have been paying attention.”

Marc let out a hum, pulling Nath in, by gripping his neck. “What should we do if we have the whole place to ourselves?” he asked between kisses.

“Well, this armchair is pretty sturdy. Wanna figure out how much?”

Marc laughed. “God, when the others find out, I think Adrien is gonna burn everything in your apartment.”

“Oh, trust me, Nino will do the same to your place when he finds out all the things we did there.”

[adrigamiweek]

Hey everyone sorry that adrigami 2023 didn’t happen but I’ll make it up to you guys. Schedule will probably be in late August and this year we will have prompts that didn’t make the cut last time along with some new ones

Day 1 workout

Day 2 holidays

Day 3 gift exchange

Day 4 first kiss

Day 5 flirting

Day 6 samurai

Day 7 wedding day

Day 8 free day

Update: the dates will be from August 19-27 looking forward to seeing art and stories from all who participate. Until then!

[bearfoottruck]

FANFIC UPDATE 10-4-2024:

HOLD ON TO YOUR HATS! I have a truckload of updates for today! First off, I have a Shadamy Halloween fic titled The Emerald City Ripper (Fanfiction, AO3). Second, I have a solo Amy fic - with some Shadamy - titled Amy vs. Artists (Fanfiction, AO3). Third, I have an Adrigami fic titled Best Blunette Ever (Fanfiction, AO3). Speaking of Miraculous, I have one for National Taco Day called Taco the Town (Fanfiction, AO3). Other than that, I also have new chapters for Gonna Kiss You On the Boulevard (Fanfiction, AO3), Wir sind Menschen, My Supernatural Academia (Fanfiction, AO3) and Russian Winter, Broken Hearts.

[starlight-bread-blog]

The Adrigami Breakup Was Hot Garbage.

This is the episode where Adrien and Kagami break up. The reason why they broke up is because Adrien is Cat Noir and will always have to hide things from Kagami, and she's not having it. It's an episode about how the job of a superhero demands sacrifices, about how Adrien lost his girlfriend to his duties.

But this entire thing falls apart due to both Adrien and Kagami acting from out of character to infuriating. Adrien isn't actually shown to face these struggles as Cat Noir. We don't see him "being a responsible superhero" he's just goofing around and getting Ladybug's attention.

Adrien: Finally! Free at last! Plagg, claws out!

And here when Ladybug doesn't show up to their daily patrol:

AdriCat: So, Mr. Banana! Life's peachy, huh? *gets ignored*Peachy? Banana? Get it?.. Forget it.

AdriCat: So! Mr. Ramier! It's been a while since you were akumatized, right? Kinda miss being Mr. Pigeon? You haven't been feeling depressed? Or desperate? Or angry? Annoyed maybe? Not even a little perturbe?

Mr. Ramier: Thank you for asking Cat Noir but I am in the best of spirits, really!

This is the face Adriem makes after he says he's feeling good and isn't gonna get akumatized:

AdriCat (disappointendly): Well I guess I'm out of here then.

Mr. Ramier: Say hello to the lovely Ladybug for me!

AdriCat: Sure thing! If I ever see her.

Literally, this entire first act is establishing that Cat Noir is sad and lonely without Ladybug to the point where he wants people to get akumatized. Like go back and watch the episode this is insane.

Only after that we get to Kagami. And the relationship is.. off. Kagami lies to both their parents to buy her and Adrien time alone in the art room. She asks him to pose for a sketch, he makes a couple model poses, and the bullshit begins.

Kagami: These are all modeling poses. Try something that's more neutral, more you.

Adrien: What about – meow! *Makes a Cat pose* I mean, now? *nervous chuckle*

Kagami: No. You're not at all neutral.

Adrien: Yes I am, I promise. This is me.

Kagami (intensively): No. That's you when you're being silly.

She's downright rejecting his true self and being a control freak. Where did this come from? They used to crack jokes and have genuine fun together (ie Desperada). This is extremely out of character. But it's not over..

Adrien: What if when I'm being silly, I'm really me?

Kagami: *Gets up closer to gently make him pose*

Adrien's expression is.. um-..

Kagami: There. This, is really you.

Adrien: Do you really think..

Kagami: Yes. You're... perfect. *Leans for a kiss*

What does this scene tell us about their relationship? It tells us that it's toxic, that Kagami is controlling, doesn't care for Adrien's boudries and refuses to see who he really is. Which as I mentioned, goes against her characterization in previous episodes.

After whatever that was Adrien keeps getting called to his duity as Cat Noir. This back and forth continues for a while. But as we established, it's not a meaingful sacrifice to leave Kagami because being a superhero is just professional (and not so proffesional) playtime for him. And the episode keeps on reminding you that all throughout. We cut from Kagami being alone at a party they were supposed to go to together, to this:

AdriCat: Ma'lady, it's been a while since I had this much fun.

Ladybug: *Laughs* If battling a super villian with 3 eyes and a giant monster budy is your idea of fun, I can't imagen what your other days are like.

And in the same conversation:

AdriCat: You can count on me, and my jokes, Bugaboo!

Ladybug: Well, you don't have to over-do it.

AdriCat: The truth is, I only ever have this much fun when I'm with you.

And then he comes back straight to Kagami like nothing's wrong. She confronts him about his lies to her and gets akumatized.

Even when he fights Akumatized Kagami to save her, they still make a point at showing you he's having fun.

AdriCat: I can't wait to see what you're gonna do with a drone.

And his reaction after Ladybug confronts him about sacrificing himself:

Ladybug: Seriously you've got to stop doing this to me!

AdriCat: Yeah, but I can't resist this angry little pout of yours when you bring me back.

Excuse me?

And then, I am not kidding, while still being with Kagami, this happens:

Adrien: *Stares into the sky* Oh, Ladybug...

Plagg: Aww how romantic! I get it, even if I do love every cheese on the plate, I always come back for my favorite.

After fencing class they have the conversation. The break up is caused by Kagami not being not being able to trust Adrien. And this is how thw show, including Adrien himself, frames it too.

AdriCat: You know the difference between us and the rest of the world, ma'lady? We can't be completely honest with each other. We keep secrets, and sometimes we have to lie.

Okay, let's sum everything up:

He emotionally cheats on Kagami and is willing to admit it out loud with no shame.

He loves that subject of infatuation so much to the point where he's openly sad about monsters not attacking Paris.

Shows no remorse to leaving his girlfriend every time they are together, and very explicitly enjoys his time with another girl he's in love with.

At the end of the episode him and the writers push all the bs under the rug and claim Adrien is just following his duties.

....Wow. I remembered Lies being a terrible episode for Adrien but it wasn't until I watched it again that I've realized how much Adrien sucks. I am trurly baffled. Top tier character assassination.

And let's not forget Kagami. What the hell was that? Why did she act like that? Why all the sudden she's toxic and controlling?

Well, all of this nonsense is done to serve a very obvious not-so-hidden hidden agenda: Ladynoir good, Adrigami bad. The writers pretended to tell a genuine story about the duties of being a superhero but couldn't help but sneak in this horseshit. They essentially wanted you to subconciously pick up on what this episode is really trying to say: Kagami doesn't know Adrien's true self, she forces him into the "perfect role" and is incompatible to him. While Ladybug knows his true self. Therefore, Adrien can only be happy with Ladybug.

Kagami isn't controlling and incompatible to him. But that didn't matter to the writers, they have a message to put out. They had retcon her characterization to create a contrast that didn't really exist.

And this applies to Adrien too. He needed to be happy to leave his girlfriend to push the... "message". He needed to emotionally cheat on her like he did to push the message. He sacrificed himself so it would show his so-called love for Ladybug. He wanted people to get akumatized so he could be his true self with his beloved Ladybug. But all of these things don't make him to be compatible with her and destined to be with her, they make him an a$$hole.

And I'm not gonna buy into this message they snuck in there with retcons and infuriating behaviors.

[into-september]

So those old-as-balls leaks from before S4 aired, which said that The Reveal would happen "not in S4 and not in S6",

It was supposed to be in "Kwamis' Choice".

Probably at some point in the second part after it's made clear that Ladybug and Cat Noir couldn't just quit after all. Suffice it to say that there's a lot more to it than "the substitutes unluckily had the wrong wearables"; Adrien and Marinette both make the active decision to go back and these are epochal character moments for them both. Whether the other's identity is relevant to their choice isn't too important; the point is that we end "Deflagration" with the new status quo:

A: Adrien and Marinette both know the other's identity

B: Adrien confessed to Marinette

C: Marinette has not clearly responded Adrien's confession. Possibly because of the same old pattern of not spitting it out, possibly because she remembers what happened the last time the two of them were in love and knew the other's identity,

possibly because of something like the montage of her reconciling him and CN after she learns his identity in "Ephemeral", possibly because she's now forced into questioning how much of her love of either of his two personas was genuine and well-founded with how much of himself he disguised in both parts. Previous seasons established ample issues!

I don't know how much marichat there was in "Elation" and how much hope Adrien has here; either way, traumatic backstories so deeply buried that not even the writers knew about them until now are not necessary for keeping the two apart. Their classmates' invasive shipping of them is thus considerably less eugh, and further alleviated by the fact that it's ultimately meaningless since they're clueless about the "superhero partner who is not supposed to know my identity" side of things.

Marinette really does need five episodes to process Cat Noir's identity and to risk accepting his love. The adrigami arranged marriage is a threat not only to the show's token romance, but directly to Ladybug and Cat Noir's battle against Monarch; when Marinette takes up that battle for her and Adrien's relationship, it's not only for her boyfriend, but for her only remaining ally. When Adrien is incapable of telling her he's being sent to London, it's a crisis not only becaues of his girlfriend, but because in this version, he remembers that ten times more important than leaving Marinette, he's being forced into leaving Ladybug to fight Monarch without him.

That they both become "adults" at the same moment in in the same episode that they finally share their first real kiss on equal grounds is not a coincidence; this long-coveted power-up happens because they reach some kind of mutual understanding about their superhero partnership and how it relates to their love of the other during that battle.

Tell me I'm wrong.