#i understand why they didn't want adrien to know about who monarch was

[ladyhavilliard]

i just watched miraculous season 5 finale and i have thoughts and a lot of them are not positive

[marinettesaltprompts]

Selfish Wishing

TLDR: Canon Divergence; Marinette ends up making the wish. She wakes up in a world where she lives alone in New York, isn't Ladybug, and still isn't dating Adrien!! When she decides to check her phone to see what's going on in Paris, she sees that more changed than she realized. She thought this was her wish, her dream come true, so why did it feel like, besides the whole New York thing, nothing changed??

Marinette knew the dangers of making the wish. That there would be a cost. That Chat Noir trusted her to use his miraculous to end Monarch.

But...she can't help but want to make a wish herself.

Rewrite the universe to be how she wanted.

She'd have loyal friends who backed her up no matter what.

She'd be less clumsy and late to things.

She'd be amongst the youngest fashion designers known.

She'd have everything her way.

No Chloe or Lila in her way.

No Chat Noir to coddle.

No Monarch to fight.

The next moment went by quickly, before she could stop herself, before Plagg and Tikki could talk her out of it, she did it.

She made her wish.

"I wish...I wish to live the life I want!! The life of a normal girl who had her dream come true!!!"

The world goes dark and with it, Marinette collapses.

-----------------

Marinette groans as she wakes up. She can't remember going to sleep.

As she wakes up more, she panics. This isn't her room. Her earrings are gone. She's...not in Paris??

Confused, Marinette grabs her phone.

She spends the next hour scrolling and scrolling as what happened returns to her. She made the wish, but she thought she would be in Paris, with her family and friends and Adrien...

A sigh. More scrolling.

Her parents posted something recently about closing the bakery at a certain date in order to visit Marinette in New York, thanking the Style Queen for helping her reach her dreams.

The Ladyblog isn't around, rather the MiracuLog was being run. And it wasn't being run Alya, but... Adrien and Felix?!

She went to the blog's bio, which simply said: Welcome to the MiracuLog!! We're here to keep you informed on all things MIRACULOUS!! From our heroes, Carmine and Jinx, to our big bad, and self proclaimed king, Emperor!!

This blog is run by me and my older twin brother!! Thank you for supporting us, and we will continue to keep you updated!! - Adrien GdV :3

Marinette blinked and looked through the blog.

She recognized some Akumas, but not all of them. Lady Wifi, Evillustrator, Princess Fragrance, Dark Cupid were amongst the ones she recognized.

But...who was Blood Beetle? Phantom? Miss Anonymous? Porcelain Doll? Puppeteer? Scary Godmother? Lilith?

She didn't recognize any of them, and there were no names attached!! How was she supposed to know who was akumatized if their names aren't there?!

Marinette looked at an earlier Q&A post, which answered her own question.

Hi, Adrien! Hi, Felix! I wanted to know why you don't name people who were akumatized!! Don't you think it'd be better if we knew in case they get akumatized again? Thank you for answering!! -inamedmykittenjinx

Hello!! While, yes, it might be better, I don't believe we should put that onto anyone's shoulders. I want everyone to go by as normally as they can without someone leading them to this blog just to ask them about their akumatization. We all deserve some privacy. - adrien.

What my brother means is, we think it could do more damage if we out akuma victims. I say this as someone who's been akumatized before. I wish for no one to know who I was as an akuma. Remember, anyone can be akumatized. Anyone. Gender, age, citizen or tourist, none of that matters to Emperor. We don't need the reminder that we got taken advantage of by that man. - felix

thank you for answering!! I think I understand. some akumas have seemed to be pretty young, so I can see why you decided to keep Akuma victims anonymous. -inamedmykittenjinx

No problem!! :) Sometimes people will still recognize the akumatized victim and spam our inbox with their name and job or school and other info that we just don't need. It's why we don't accept anonymous questions and submissions anymore. - adrien

PEOPLE ARE DOXXING AKUMA VICTIMS?! -carminered98

Why?? Do people not have anything better to do??? -emperorshouldofusedmonarchtbh

like, I get it if the akuma victim is still an asshole. but the majority of akuma victims are people who lost their jobs, are or were grieving, kids who've been bullied, etc. It makes me so mad!!! -emperorshouldofusedmonarchtbh

Marinette rolled her eyes as she moved past the thread. Back when she was Ladybug, no one cared about privacy. It was stupid of Adrien and Felix to prioritize the akumas anonymity. It would be better to just name them.

She eventually saw a post dedicated to Carmine and Jinx.

She had no idea who they were.

Carmine was the current ladybug. He was a male with deep red, almost black, hair. His outfit reminded her somewhat of Mister Bug's. But that might just because that's the only male ladybug costume she's seen.

Jinx was the current black cat. She was a female. Her hair was long and in a low ponytail. Her costume didn't look like hers when she was Lady Noire or like Kitty Noire's.

She was surprised to read that the two knew each others identity and were still going strong as a team. They were family as well.

Why would they do that?? Did Master Fu know?! So what if they're family!! If she were the Guardian still, she'd take their miraculous.

Frustrated, Marinette kept scrolling.

The temp. heroes caught her eyes.

They were...different. They weren't her friends. Or maybe they were, but she can't tell??

Lupine, Athena, Alopex, who are these people??

She quickly left the blog, not wanting to see anymore.

-----------------

Marinette groaned as more and more of her designs were sent back to her. Audrey was a strict boss. Her notes about Marinette's designs stung.

Especially when she sees the woman expressing her disappointment because Marinette had been so good.

She was trying!! Her designs were liked in her old world. She was MDC!!! But no one cares about MDC here.

Sighing, Marinette pulled her phone out. Maybe something in Paris would inspire her?

She checks her socials. Nothing.

She had sent friend requests to her old friends, but none of them had accepted her yet.

Some, like Luka and Marc, politely asked her to not send a request. They were only accepting friend requests from people they knew in person.

She thought things would be different.

She thought she'd still have her friends.

That she'd be home.

That she'd be Adrien's girlfriend.

She wanted her dream to come true.

She glared at her phone, the MiracuLog open and staring back at her.

What happened?? Was her wish not specific enough???

She asked around, but no one's heard of Gabriel Agreste. When she looked him up, nothing came up. He didn't exist. It would explain why Adrien is a Graham de Vanilly and not an Agreste.

When she stalked looked through Adrien's socials, she saw that he had a hobby in photography, sometimes his posts had two images. One of a photo he took and the other of a sketch made by his girlfriend, Kagami.

It wasn't fair!! In both worlds, Adrien dates Kagami. And unlike the last one, here they're still dating.

She hates that the two look happy and in love. That Kagami is in her rightful spot. She should have been next to him, not her!!

To make things worse, she also checked out Luka's socials, which is where she learned he was dating Felix. Of all people, he chooses Felix?!

What about her??? She was nice when she sent sent a friend request. She'd eventually visit Paris again.

It's not fair!!

-----------------

Marinette didn't know where things went wrong.

Was her wish not specific enough?? Did it not work??

She tried so hard to make things go her way.

Her designs were rejected.

She was kept back in class and berated.

She had no friends in either school or work.

People said she changed but she didn't!!

Why??

Why did the wish give her this??

She just wanted everything she always wanted...

Additional Info:

• Carmine is Luka and Jinx is Juleka. Master Fu definitely knows they know each other. He doesn't mind that much because he knows he chose siblings. Not his intention tbh, but they work well together.

• Lupine is Adrien with the bee, Athena is the name of the horse miraculous user, haven't decided who yet, might go with Sabrina??, and Alopex is the fox miraculous user and I'm leaning towards Nathaniel for that (:

• One of the things that changes in this is Adrien and Felix's relationship. Rather than being cousins, the boys are twins. Still sentimonsters, but Emilie made both of them. To this day, the peacock miraculous and the Grimoire is still in their possession.

• Emperor is Colt Fathom in this world. He wants to use the wish to ensure Amelie marries him because she left him before he could even propose, claiming he was possessive and not the man she wanted to marry.

• Colt got the butterfly miraculous from a vendor who found it. He was going to gift it to Amelie but she ended up leaving him. He was going to chuck the brooch into the Siene when Nooroo was finally released. When he learned about the miraculous, he decided to make his wish come true.

• Emelie and "Gabriel" never met. Emilie spent most of her time caring for her sister or talking with her friends, André and Nathalie.

• As a result of getting the life she wants, Gabriel ends up losing the life he had. Rather than be a rich and famous fashion designer that's secretly a villain, he's still Gabi Grassette. He ends up as a homeless man who lost everything. He's not really relevant here, so....¯\_(ツ)_/¯

• Because part of her dream is to get with Adrien Agreste, the model, and how the wish ended up for Marinette, she doesn't end up with him.

• The MiracuLog is run by Adrien and Felix. Adrien takes photos and captures footage, while Felix writes and edits. The two strive to keep their blog safe for everyone. And unlike the Ladyblog, the MiracuLog focuses on all the miraculous and it's users. They don't chase after Carmine and/or Jinx and demand interviews, nor do they take interviews with anyone unless they specifically think it would be benificial, such as interviewing a therapist for advice on how to handle stress and anxiety, or the mayor about the free therapy for akuma victims where they can come in and talk to someone, with the reassurance they won't be outed.

• Because they got so many messages doxxing people who were Akumatized, the twins changed their system to only accept official accounts on their blog. It doesn't stop it, but it becomes less of a hassle. Accounts that continue doing it get a warning, if they continue they get suspended, and if they still continue their account gets blacklisted and blocked, if it isn't outright deleted.

• A lot of Marinette's views about akumas puts a wall between her and her old "friends." She's used to things being different, so them doing things such as keeping akumas real names private, not wanting to discover who Carmine and Jinx are, raising money in order to help akuma victims, etc., feels wrong. And when she tries to say so, she's told to back off and stay in her lane.

• While she does have a job as an intern for Audrey, she also goes to school in NY, very specifically a fashion school.

• As much as I would have liked a more dramatic take on Marinette's wish ending badly, I like the idea of "everything remained just about the same but here's what's different" just as much.

Marinette becomes a normal girl who got the opportunity she always wanted and is living in NY as the Style Queen's intern.

Audrey noticed her but she never noticed Gabi, so Gabriel Agreste doesn't exist.

Because Gabriel Agreste doesn't exist, Adrien was made alongside Felix by Emilie who is a single mother with Amelie as their aunt and Nathalie as a potential second mom. Had Gabriel Agreste still exhisted, her wish of dating Adrien would have come true.

• I mean, diverging from this prompt, ^ that relationship would have ended quickly. The wish wouldn't make Adrien her boyfriend and have him stay her boyfriend. And her new personality and obsessive behavior would be a sign to end things.

• Marinette, technically, did have friends in NY (such as Jessica and Zoe). But her sudden change in personality pushed them away. She was becoming obsessed with Paris, Adrien and the Parisian heroes, and they wanted their old friend who complained about work, but also gushed about how Audrey was considering helping her debut as a fashion designer, back. This isn't the Marinette they know.

This could have been better, but I had to get the idea out of my head, so if it's confusing, sorry? (^^;

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

Okay so a thing that has bothered me ever since I first watched Chat Blanc was Bunnyx and the general time travel stuff because tghis makes no sense. In the Chat Blanc time line, after Chat Blanc destroyes the universe, everyone is dead. Including adult!Alix aka Bunnyx. So the Bunnyx fron the Chat Blanc timeline doesn'rt exist anymore, meaning that the Bunnyx fron the episode is from a parallel timeline where Chat Blanc didn't destroy the universe. That however raises the question why she would even care about that other timeline. Is her quest to assure victory over Monarch in every single timeline because that sounds exhausting as hell. I also don't understand the deal with her leg disappearing while she witnesses the fight between LB and CB, it has no reason to, because LB defeating CB doesn't have any effect on Bunnyx because, as stated earlier, the Bunnyx from that timeline is already dead! And honestly, the fact that Lb even had to fight CB makes no sense. They could've just went back in time 2 minutes so LB can erase her name from the letter (or just be quicker so Adrien doesn't see her) and CB doesn't happen in the first place!

Like, genuine question, what was the point of the whole thing? I mean other than the concept is cool and the writers wanted to give LB trauma (which never really plays a significant part in the overall story anyway??)

Sorry for rambling so much, I don't know if this makes any sense, the episode was really confusing to me and idk if it's just because the episode actually doesn't make sense or because I just don't understand it bc time travel is really confusing. Would really love to hear your opinion!

You're fine and you're not missing a thing. The episode simply doesn't make sense nor am I sure why it even exists. I know a lot of people love it, but I really don't get the hype. It runs off of nonsense logic and makes most of the characters look really bad.

Let's start with the lore.

The canon lore is that Bunnyx only travels through time, not universes, so it makes no freaking sense that an adult Bunnyx would be able to stop Chat Blanc since the existence of Chat Blanc should stop her from existing. It's a total paradox that goes against everything we'd been told about her powers. Of course, she's also supposed to be the hero of last resort, yet we hear about her hanging out with famous historical figures and the season five final sees her acting as a substitute for the horse miraculous even though the people she portals in don't do a thing to help with the final battle, so it's not like Chat Blanc is the only time her powers and role get ignored. Any time I use the rabbit, I have to completely rework its lore because canon is just so bad at time travel. I like Alix and her adult design is awesome, but any time Bunnyx shows up, I expect to be annoyed.

Also, I will never forgive her for just dumping Ladybug back in our time without so much as a word of encouragement or any reassurance that the Chat Blanc stuff was only a maybe. And Ladybug was the one to figure out how to fix time!!! Alix, you suck at your job! Or this is just another case of the writers refusing to let someone other than Marinette save the day even though the poor girl really needs a day off.

As for why this episode exists? I don't even know, dude. It makes no sense. Back when we thought it was going to be a driving force in the season four conflict - an assumption that was backed up by Marinette's nightmare in sentibubbler - the episode kinda made sense in spite of its flaws. But we're two seasons past Chat Blanc and the only person who is apparently traumatized by it is Adrien.

Yes, the writers actually said this. No, you didn't miss an episode where Adrien learned about Chat Blanc. They were talking about the nightmares from the final:

Mélanie says that he "could become Chat Blanc" and the others add that even though he does not remember and has never lived it, Chat Blanc still has an influence on his actions.

Yes, this is embarrassingly bad writing. The character who never saw or even heard of Chat Blanc is somehow the one who is traumatized and effected by it while Marinette's trauma has nothing do to with Chat Blanc or the events of the season four final. Instead, it's random BS that was never even hinted at until season five. I just... what?

In case it wasn't obvious - which I guess it isn't given that professional writers missed this - the logical way to write this to have the season four conflict be about Chat Blanc from Ladybug's side. After the conflict ends, she reveals everything to Chat Noir who becomes terrified of hurting people with his powers. This is only exacerbated by the events of Destruction. But then the show would have had to let Chat Noir have a character arc that didn't revolve around Ladynette and the series seems allergic to that as a concept, so instead Adrien gets magical trauma that keeps him from the final fight. And I thought the Derision retcon was bad!

Other issues with Chat Blanc in no particular order:

It cements Nathalie as just as bad a Gabriel since she's the one who tells him Adrien's secret identity and we then see her do nothing to try to protect Adrien.

It makes Gabriel irredeemable by showing him gleefully hurting his child. Dude punts his son across the city with a smile on his face!

It makes Adrien look slimy since he asks Marinette out without telling her that he knows her secret identity. This one is in a bit of a grey area for me because the secret identity stuff is complicated, but Adrien has never been the one who cared about secret identities AND he's the one who has been directly turned down in hero form. The episode takes none of that into consideration with its writing and it really needed to for Adrien to feel like he had a valid point of view here. As is, he's taking advantage of a situation and putting his Lady love at risk for his own wants.

The pillow sniff scene makes Marinette look unhinged.

It spits in the face of The Power of Love by having Adrien's love fail to be enough to stop him from killing Marinette.

Marinette's parents should have gotten involved after Gabriel threatened her. There is no way in hell that I'd let my kid go over to the Agreste mansion after that. If the writers were once again determined to not let Tom and Sabine parent, then the threat should have come when Marinette was alone.

Why did Ladybug even need to go to the future if Bunnyx could have just gone back in time and stopped Ladybug from leaving the present for Adrien? Why did Chat Blanc even need to be defeated? What did Ladybug's ladybug actually fix when she cast her charm?

This is minor, but it bothers me: Chat Noir should not have been smiling and happy when he was freed from his akuma. That boy should have been in the middle of a breakdown.

I know people forgive some of the above because Chat Blanc is sort of an AU and I'm not going to say that's wrong, I just can't look at it that way because there's nothing that sets Chat Blanc apart from the normal timeline. The Paris special gives us an AU. Chat Blanc (and Ephemeral) are what the writers told us would happen in the canon timeline if Gabriel ever discovered his son's secrets. Canon Gabriel was the one doing those things and would have done them again if given the chance. This is who the writers said he is. Same goes for all the other characters who come across less than stellar here.

There's a reason why I love a good Chat Blanc rewrite. It's an idea with a lot of potential, but canon capitalizes on almost none of it.

[immaturityofthomasastruc]

IOTA Reviews: Illusion

You know, It's really sad how this is a Lila episode, and she somehow isn't the most annoying character to come out of it.

Let's get into the fifth episode of Miraculous Ladybug's fifth season: Illusion

We start off with a news broadcast where several people are interviewed about the recent developments this season. There's an attempt made to show differing perspectives, but while half are recurring characters who are confident Ladybug and Cat Noir will beat Monarch (Xavier, Mr. Damocles, and Alec), the other half are antagonistic characters who either blame Ladybug for everything going wrong or are too stupid to care about the bigger picture (XY, Chloe, and Bob Roth).

This is one of the overarching problems with the show, its refusal to show any nuance in its arguments. We already know how easy it is for the writers to blame Marinette for things whenever there's a conflict, but whenever there's an argument where both sides make interesting points, the opposing side is almost always represented by an antagonist or jerk who frames their view in either a condescending or idiotic way so it's easy for the viewer to brush them off, and the same can be applied to their side of the argument as well. Hell, it's already happened twice this season with Lila and Chloe (Multiplication, Determination). It just comes across like the show is pretending to act like its conflict is deeper without actually showing any real nuance with it. I get that some arguments aren't morally gray, but if you're trying to discuss Ladybug's past failures, put more effort into showing how the people of Paris would see something like this without knowing the full context.

Also, this is a minor thing, but I actually like how when we see Alec on the talk show, he's wearing a wig like the one he had in “Wishmaker”, and has the same positive outlook on life he had at the end of that episode. For a show that usually plays loosey-goosey with its continuity, it's surprising to see the writers actually acknowledge the character growth of someone as insignificant as Alec.

Congratulations, Miraculous Ladybug. You managed to give a very minor side character a consistent arc. Now if only you could put the same amount of effort into writing your main cast.

We cut to Adrien's room where, shock of all shocks, he isn't exactly a fan of his image being used for a high-tech ring without his consent. He storms off to see his father, but it turns out that Gabriel is experimenting with the idea of not being such a terrible father for once. He's making breakfast, saying that Adrien can call him “Dad” now, and even admits that he's been very neglectful towards his son ever since Emilie “disappeared”. Yeah, he's cooking breakfast in his white suit and haircut that makes him look like a grandpa for some reason, but hey, at least the kitchen isn't on fire.

Of course, Gabriel still isn't really good at comforting his son, as seen with his response to Adrien's concerns about Alliance.

Adrien: Speaking of which, Dad, I'm not really comfortable with having my face on all these rings. That's actually why I didn't want to be a model anymore, to avoid that. Do you understand?

Gabriel: Of course, I understand, my son. But that's the point; it's just an image, it's not you! And since this image frees you from your obligations, we, the Agrestes, are able to spend more time together. But if you'd rather everything went back to the way it was before, just say the word.

Adrien: You're probably right.

Gabriel: You'll see, my son. Alliance will bring us closer.

“I know you're concerned about me using your image for something that I could have hired literally anyone else for, but if you would rather go back to being a model on a strict schedule, just say the word.”

Father of the year, ladies and gentlemen.

We get a decent interaction between Marinette and Alya where they discuss ways that Monarch could be giving Miraculous to his Akumas, unaware of what the Alliance rings do. Alya comes up with an interesting hypothesis that Monarch is using the Dog Miraculous to swipe them back, and honestly, that sounds like a much better plan than “develop a cutting-edge AI ring and hope whoever I akumatize had enough money to buy one”. I like this bit, as it shows the two thinking of ways to stop Monarch beyond beating whatever Akuma he sends out next. It honestly could have been a really interesting story arc to see Marinette, Cat Noir, and Alya learn more about how Monarch is using the new Miraculous he got instead of having us know what he's doing already.

After class ends, Nino talks to Adrien about an underground resistance he's forming with his friends, deciding to give each member a condiment-themed title.

Alya: What's up with the sauces?

Nino: What's up is Ladybug and Cat Noir don't have us to help them anymore.

Alya: (nervously) Um... uh... what do you mean, “us”?

Nino: Well, us, you Rena Rouge, me Carapace! (Alya kicks Nino's leg underneath the table) Ouch! What's the big deal? We can tell Marinette and Adrien we used to be superheroes. It's not like we have any Miraculous that Monarch could steal from us. The only ones who need to protect their secret identities are Ladybug and Cat Noir, not us. And anyway, I already told Adrien about Carapace.

Adrien: (chuckles nervously)

Marinette: Adrien knew?! Alya, did you know that he knew?!

Alya: What, no, I swear I didn't know at all! (kicks Nino's leg again)

Nino: Ow! Come on! He's my best bud, I can tell him stuff! You and Marinette tell each other stuff, don't you?

Alya and Marinette: No we don't!

Yeah, remember how shocking it was for Nino to reveal that he and Alya were Rena Rouge and Carapace to Adrien in “Rocketear”, and how we thought this reveal would play into something big like the Season 4 finale, possibly splintering the trust several characters had with each other? This is what it culminates in. Wasn't waiting over a year since that plotpoint was established totally worth it for that gag that once again ignores the secret identity rule?

Also, just because you don't have a Miraculous, it doesn't mean Monarch can't target you like he did last season (Optigami, Sentibubbler), you dumbass.

For the first time in God knows how long, Lila actually becomes relevant when she asks to sit with the four, only to be rebuffed by Marinette and Nino. Using some more condiments and food as props, Nino explains his plan.

Nino: We're gonna film an akumatization.

Alya: And how are you, Comrade Ketchup, gonna be in the know when and where this akumatization takes place?

Nino: Easy, Comrade Beurre Maître d'Hôtel. I'm gonna make it happen.

Yep, this is the plot of the episode, people. Nino's going to try and get someone akumatized. Now I know what you're all obviously thinking: Isn't this cruel?

Adrien: Isn't that cruel?

Alya: Totally! To make someone suffer just to discover Monarch's technique? Super cruel!

Nino: No, it's not! You forget Ladybug always fixes everything in the end with her magic ladybugs! The akumatized victims forget what happened to them.

Oh yeah, this is totally ethical, you guys. Who cares about the emotional trauma an Akuma victim would go through, much less any civilians endangered by their rampage?

To make things even better, guess who Nino wants to get akumatized?

Okay, putting aside what we, the audience, already know about Gabriel that Nino doesn't, why would he think pissing off one of the most influential fashion designers in the city of Paris is a good idea? He says he's targeting him because it's easy to do so during parent-teacher conferences, but why not target someone else who has been akumatized more often than him, like Xavier/Mr. Pigeon? I don't think the idea of a more morally gray plan to stop Monarch is a bad one, it's just that this plan is so stupid, and the writers only go over the ethical implications, and that said plan is so ludicrous, Nino is basically asking for a restraining order.

While Adrien and Marinette agree to Nino's plan, Alya only hesitantly goes along with it, but unbeknownst to any of them, Lila was overhearing their conversation, so she goes to tell Gabriel what they're doing. During the conferences, Marinette barges in and pretends to trip and drop some pizza onto Gabriel's clothes, and I'm going to assume that either the pizza was cold of Gabriel is really good at keeping a cool head because there's no way taking a hot pizza to the chest wouldn't hurt like hell. Adrien and Alya come in with more food, and we get the one funny joke of the episode with Alya half-assing her performance as the half-heartedly throws some cake onto Gabriel's suit. Pretty funny how Nino is conveniently the only one who isn't taking the risk by attacking Gabriel in front of his teacher by filming the whole thing, isn't it?

Gabriel has had enough and does a 180, planning to take Adrien out of school and somehow, Marinette blames herself for going along with the plan... even though she was the only one to not approve of it, while Adrien and Alya did, and even then, the latter two were very hesitant. It turns out this was all part of Gabriel's plan, as we see him transform into Monarch as soon as he gets to his lair and uses Trixx's power to create a Mirage of his civilian form, having a breakdown so dramatic, I'm surprised he didn't end it by saying, “YOU ARE TEARING ME APART, MARINETTE!”.

The illusion of Gabriel turns into the Collector again, and now he supposedly has the Horse Miraculous' Voyage as a power. Adrien and Marinette transform into Cat Noir and Ladybug respectively, and try to fend off the “Akuma”. Back in Monarch's lair, we learn that he somehow has the ability to unify with five different Miraculous at once, choosing to do so with the Bee, Mouse, Horse, and Rooster Miraculous. Why is he able to do this now?

Monarch uses Voyage and heads to the sewers, activating Venom before using Multiplication to create eight smaller clones of himself, finally using Sublimination to give the copies the power of invisibility. Strange, wouldn't wanting to be invisible count as a wish? While looking for “the Collector”, Ladybug uses her Lucky Charm, getting a bag of shredded cheese. The two chase after the illusion, only to fall through a Voyage portal into the sewers, where Cat Noir is almost immediately stunned by one of the clones. Hey, it took five whole episodes this season for him to be incapacitated by an Akuma to pointlessly raise the stakes this time! It's a new record! Ladybug throws the cheese to reveal the clones, who are then chased off by some nearby rats.

Monarch goes back to his normal form, and after a small pep talk, the illusion pretends to reject the Akuma entirely before falling into the water. The real Gabriel detransforms and then pretends to have gotten out. So Gabriel tricked the heroes with his foolproof plan... except for the fact that Ladybug and Cat Noir should have recognized the use of Venom, the hidden clones of the Collector when the video Nino got only said he had the Horse Miraculous' power, the akuma somehow purifying itself when Ladybug still needed to de-evilize it in “Rocketear” and “Penalteam”, the fact that Gabriel should be soaking wet from falling into the water, and the��okay, you all know where this is going.

Meanwhile, Nino sees the footage of the illusion and sees what he believes to be the way Monarch gave the Collector the Horse Miraculous' powers. Nino then apologizes to Gabriel for attacking him, Gabriel forgives him, and Nino invites him into the Resistance, with a bunch of new members. The final scene reveals that in addition to Nino, Alya, Marinette, Adrien, and Gabriel, the Resistance now has Max, Kim, Rose, Juleka, Ivan, Mylene, and to Marinette's horror, Lila. Also, there's a post-credits scene where Gabriel explains what he did to Tomoe when literally everyone watching was able to figure it out.

Okay, so let's summarize. The first mission for Nino's resistance involved assaulting a private civilian, was easily discovered before it could even be implemented, was just as easily foiled by an illusion, now Monarch and one of his allies have infiltrated the alliance as moles, and Nino isn't even aware that his plan was a colossal failure. This resistance isn't exactly going to be like the Rebel Alliance, is it?

Yeah, this episode sucked. It's easily the worst one so far in my opinion. There were a handful of decent moments and ideas here, but my God, the story was just terrible. Morally gray subject or not, it's hard to get behind the heroes when they try to intentionally piss someone off for a plan that the audience knows is going to fail, especially a plan as stupid as Nino's. This episode features Nino at his most obnoxious and unlike Alya, Marinette, and especially Adrien, he doesn't even feel bad for what he did to Gabriel when it ended up being (as far as we know) completely pointless. It feels like the writers wanted to gloss over the ethics of Nino's plan by making Gabriel the victim, because if it was anyone else, it would have made him look like a colossal prick. The fact that he learns nothing and thinks his moronic scheme was a success really doesn't help.

The other characters thankfully weren't as bad. It seemed like the writers were trying to show some self-awareness by having Alya, Marinette, and Adrien object to the plan in one way or another, but it never really went much other than them begrudgingly going along with it, much less calling him out for his actions. At the same time, they all got some decent moments, like Alya and Marinette's discussion about Monarch and Adrien struggling to convey his feelings about the Alliance rings to Gabriel.

It's also kind of weird that it took us about five episode into the season for Lila to finally be relevant again after she did absolutely nothing for the last three episodes of Season 4 and the first four episodes of this season. It was only three and a half years since “Ladybug”, the last major Lila episode premiered, right? But hey, at least the writers didn't overindulge in the dumb Lila lies like her other episodes, and was used more as an informant to kick off Gabriel's counter to Nino's plan.

Putting aside how terrible Nino's plan was, Gabriel's plan still had a lot of problems to it. Like I already mentioned, it's a little strange that Ladybug and Cat Noir never talk about the tiny clones they fought, or the fact that Cat Noir was stung by Venom. I can kind of suspend my disbelief by saying Ladybug was too focused on the battle to think, but why the hell didn't Cat Noir say anything? You would think after working alongside Queen Bee and Vesperia, he would recognize what being stung by Venom must look like. Yeah, Ladybug and Cat Noir didn't know Monarch can now use more powers for some reason, but it still really bothers me, because they should know the Collector can't multiply himself. It's also strange that he made his trick so hard to find when you would think it would be more obvious to see

But overall, this one was just a chore to get through. It feels like the writers saw how much some people didn't like Nino in “Rocketear”, and were like, “You call THAT character assassination?” And speaking of...

THE BIGGEST IDIOT OF THE EPISODE IS... NINO

Was there ever any doubt? The dude talked about his identity in a public place, nonchalantly blew him and his girlfriend's cover when he had no reason to for his Resistance, tried to get his best friend's dad akumatized while not caring about any potential damage, showed no remorse for what he did when his plan blew up in his face, tried to tell Ladybug and Cat Noir about what he learned while they were fighting the Collector, and all that was for a plan that didn't even work because the intel was discovered with ease, to say nothing about how he unintentionally let two enemies into his own Resistance. I've seen a lot of stupid decisions in this show, but never have I seen a single episode where a character makes screw-up after screw-up and doesn't even realize how much of a colossal moron he's being. With the past five episodes I covered and awarded Biggest Idiot Awards to (Ladybug, Alya, Xuppu, Mr. Damocles, and Luka), it was more them not seeing the bigger picture. Here, Nino is honestly trying to help Ladybug and Cat Noir, yet he failed at his job in every way.

[theerurishipper]

Okay so like. They speed ran through all options in the love square in season 5 only to end on Adrinette. There’s 3 seasons left at minimum. How are they going to make the audience invested in this bland high school romance? Are going to cycle through the options of the love square again? I genuinely have no idea how they can possibly make me root for this couple after the finale of season 5

I honestly don't have any idea. And you're so right about the bland high school romance thing. Like, it's cute and all, but Adrienette has fuck all to do with anyone's character arc and absolutely nothing to do with the overall plot. Ladynoir was the side of the square which had all this going for it, and they took it out back and shot it in the face. You can literally see how inconsequential Adrienette is for the conflict, because they had to contrive all sorts of ridiculous plot points like retconned in trauma and Gabe's sudden obsession with shipping Adrigami in order to give it any sort of story weight, and it just felt so forced to me. Adrienette has nothing.

Like yeah, they're the same person, sure. But by virtue of the writing and how their relationships with each other are portrayed, Ladynoir is the dynamic that will enable character development and story progression for both Adrien and Marinette. Marinette's greatest struggle is now that she's lost the Miraculous and is carrying a heavy burden of being the Guardian. Who is the one who can help her with this? It's Chat Noir. Not Adrien Agreste, the guy who should have no fucking clue about any of this. Adrien is stuck with an abusive father who is also a supervillain. Who can help him? It's Ladybug. Not Marinette the high schooler.

Ladynoir have been supported each other from day 1. They've been through it all, they've seen each other at their lowest and they've trusted each other with their lives. They have a secret that they can't tell anyone else in the world and have a struggle that only they can understand (until Season 4 made Alya Marinette's greatest confidant and started killing Ladynoir, but we don't talk about that).

On the flip side Adrienette... is there. Don't get me wrong, I don't dislike it. But it has no story weight the way Ladynoir does, and the biggest conflict in Adrienette is that Marinette can't talk to Adrien. There's no development here. Adrien legit has nothing going on in this dynamic, he's just there. Adrienette is one-sided in who needs development. The dynamic is one-sided for most of the show, and only Marinette really needs to undergo a change because Adrien already knows and appreciates her for who she is. And that's not a bad thing, but making that the main canon ship lets the writers flake out on writing meaningful character development. Marinette didn't have to learn squat. Adrien did all the work, and apparently, he learned to take accountability for Marinette's inability to speak to him. And tell me if I'm wrong, but I don't think that a ship that I like becoming canon and the characters confessing that they love each other a la the fanfics I ravenously consumed over the years should make me go "no you fucking don't!"

And I was a LS shipper. I wanted Adrienette to get together. But not a pre-reveal, bland and ultimately inconsequential Adrienette who have nothing to do with anything. Why did they even become canon? What purpose did it serve in the story? Nothing! They had to manufacture these ridiculous conflicts like Marinette's trauma because Adrienette had fuck all to do with anything.

And it didn't have to be like this, because Adrienette actually had one storyline with minimal story weight that could have had it be important too. The Lila plot. That was a thing. Ladybug and Chat Noir fighting Monarch while their civilian selves fight another threat together? A threat that is in cahoots with their supervillain? Adrienette could have had story weight. They could have bonded over this; they could have developed. But instead, the writers chose to give Adrien's place at Marinette's side in the fight against Lila to, wait for it, Sabrina. Yes, Sabrina. The fuck??

Adrienette has no story weight or interesting conflict. They literally had to contrive some enmity between Gabe and Marinette so that Adrienette could have any kind of relevance by making Gabe an Adrigami shipper outta nowhere. Adrien doesn't need to grow by virtue of Adrienette, yet he's somehow the one who does. Marinette does have to grow, and instead, she gets her trophy handed to her without doing any work. And they killed Ladynoir for this. Now Ladynoir are just work buddies who don't care if they never see each other again so long as they can get with their high school crush. They only talk about their new GF/BF and the "rest of the team." Done is the Ladynoir conflict, done is the yin-yang symbolism, gone is the "it's us against the world." They killed Ladynoir for some shoddily developed generic romance.

And if they had to contrive conflict in the very season that had Adrienette become canon, what hope does it have of being interesting for three more? Ladynoir is dead, if Adrien and Marinette reveal their identities, it's not going to fucking matter because they're already together and Ladynoir don't even care about each other anymore. And they're already dating, so they aren't going to look at any other boy/girl again, and I genuinely have no idea how they're going to develop the Love Square any more. You can bet your ass that they aren't going to deal with the parallels Marinette now has to her boyfriend's abuser, so Adrienette has legit no ground to stand on and nothing of value to contribute. It's just a drag at this point. Whatever.

Thank you for your ask!

[coffeebanana]

Enemies au ft. Ladrien for the ask game 👀 (hehehehe)

@heartfulselkie @ladyofthenoodle @rosie-b

i see this is was a popular one (which is good because i'm actually dying to talk about it 😂). i haven't written much of this yet, but i DO have a complete 26-chapter outline (that i made during my writing "break"), and even though i'm trying not to get too deep into it yet because i have so many other projects, i also not-so-secretly want to be enabled. do with that what you will this fic would take place in an au that diverges from canon at some point early season 5 (post-elation at the latest but i haven't quite decided), and it's my rendition of sentiadrien being forced to help monarch. i want to play with how sentiorders might work and what loopholes might exist. but also the fact that adrien doesn't know he's a senti yet. he doesn't even understand WHY he keeps agreeing to help his father, and he hates himself for that and ladybug...is understandably not in a great place either. obviously she has more support than adrien, but she still feels the weight of the burden. she misses her kitty 😢. and even alya has some stuff going on in her life, so she can't be as available to marinette as she has been in the past

then ladybug and adrien run into each other after an akuma attack one day. and it's sort of an echo of strikeback, where she's at her lowest point, and even if adrien knows he should run away and leave her, he can't. not when she's hurting. and he starts to realize maybe he can still help her. maybe he's not useless.

and ladybug also starts to see adrien in a new light (because he's still allowed to go to lycee, he just...doesn't really talk to any of his friends anymore). she's been so distracted with her own stuff that she's pushed her feelings about him aside, but even if she can't overthrow monarch, even if chat noir is lost to her, maybe she can at least help someone she loves

so basically it's ladynoir enemies with ladrien helping each other pick up the pieces. where they both start at rock bottom but maybe they (with some help from their friends!) can start to help each other heal

i'll share the intro scene under the cut (since this is getting long) with the caveat that this is an early version i might still want to flesh out/rework/possibly rewrite completely

thanks for the ask(s)!! 💜

...

It was barely October. It shouldn't be cold enough for the air to burn on the way down, for each breath to feel like ice crystallizing in Ladybug's lungs. But it did. 

It felt like she'd forgotten how to breathe.

Gigantitan toddled down the street, clapping his hands and using the occasional stopped car as stepping stones. Car roofs caved in as he advanced, bringing muffled screams from those who hadn't been lucky enough to flee  in time. And Ladybug could only stand there, backing away unsteadily as she failed to come up with a plan. 

Part of her wondered if she should just give up. It would be fitting, at this point, to be taken down by a toddler. If she barely had the strength to get out of bed every morning, she certainly didn't have the energy for impromptu babysitting—even if the fate of Paris hung in the balance.

Maybe it was someone else's turn to care.

The voice in the back of her head—the one insisting she didn't really want that—wasn't loud enough to spur her heavy limbs into action. Instead she found herself wondering what the end would be like. When Monarch won, when he made the wish, would she feel the force of being torn apart, cell by cell? 

Or maybe her end would come sooner. Gigantan was getting close now, and the silhouette of Monarch's mask flash across his face. But maybe he wouldn't be swayed by Monarch's words. Perhaps he'd keep smashing through the streets, and she'd be crushed like the cars he'd already left in his wake. Or maybe—

Someone slammed into her side, protective arms wrapping around her as they flew through the air, landing roughly and rolling until they slammed into the side of a building. Even with the suit, her hip was still throbbing from the impact when they stopped, her assailant hovering over her. She kept her eyes shut tight for a moment, breathing in his familiar scent and taking comfort from the arms bracketing her body—keeping her safe, the way they always used to.

The way they shouldn't. Not anymore.

Chat Noir's breath warmed her face as he pushed himself up, and Ladybug forced her eyes open to meet a pair of wide, worried eyes. Ones that sucked away any remaining breath she had left.

How dare he look at her like that? After everything?

"Ladybug, I..." He squeezed his eyes shut, his whole body stiffening momentarily. "I'm sorry."

A shiver travelled down her spine, zapping some life back into her. By the time she noticed his hand twitching in her periphery, she was already moving. Her fist connected with his cheek as claws grazed her earlobe.

Grunting, Chat rolled off of her. She sprang to her feet, hand moving to her yo-yo as she glanced back and forth between her two foes. Adrenaline coursing through her veins, she was starting to cobble together some semblance of a plan. But she needed more time, so she tossed her yo-yo around a nearby chimney and took off through the streets. 

When she was certain she'd gotten enough distance from the fight, she stopped on a rooftop, resting against a chimney as she caught her breath, remembering the shock of green eyes boring into hers.

It shouldn't be cold enough yet for her body to feel so numb.

...

[miraculousaddicts14]

Random thought on mlb theories (Part-1)

(Not all of them are mine, some of them I included cause I wanted to share my thoughts. Credits to original creator for their brilliance)

1. So we all know how Lila took the miraculous of butterfly when it fell . What if she knows that Marinette is ladybug!!? Why I think that is cause Marinette detransformed while talking to Gabriel. There are chances that she might have seen that

2. We also know that Felix and kagami know Marinette's true identity. Will Marinette get to know about it?

3. This one is connected with number 2, so I saw some people saying that we all know how Felix transformed from villian-antihero-hero. There are chances that he might team up with Lila (who is now Hawk moth) .

4. I wonder why Lila wants the miraculous of butterfly? Is she going to have the same motive as Gabriel? Just taking ladybug and cat noir's miraculous? If it is , why does she need it? And if it isn't what's the other motive then?

5. I also wonder if kagami's mom is really blind or is she just pretending? There have been moments when I thought she isn't blind.

6. (continuing number 1) If Lila knows/gets to know that Marinette is ladybug, she is going to everything to destroy her reputation. She can manipulate Parisians and everyone at the school. It would be the hardest time of all and if during that time Adrien gets to know that she was hiding Gabriel's secret from him, it will not end well. Just the thought of it makes my body shiver.

7. I have also seen people saying that the miraculous of peacock broke bcz Emilie tried to make 2 sentimosters at the same time. He was supposed to get a twin sister but that failed somehow and Adrien was the second. His name was also not supposed to Adrien ,his name was taken out of his dead twin sister who was named Adrienne and once Gabriel and Emilie got to know that he was connected to both amoks. Some people partially think that his named was being Celeste, which is a unisex name in France .

8. Some people also say that Anne-Jeanne Theoxanne du Bocquale is a time traveling adopted daughter of Adrienette. What I think is that could be true cause apparently Adrien is a sentimonster (that's what we think even though it's not confirmed) and sentimoster's can't reproduce. So maybe they decided to adopt a child but I am not so sure about the time travelling thing .

9. Adrien is going to intern at the Dupain-Cheng bakery. It will not end well. Ok well, I got nothing much to say about it but my question is why would he?

10. Some of you guys think that Kagami is meant for Adrien. Like why guys? Tbh when they started dating I didn't really like it . From the very start I always thought Marinette was the one who is made for Adrien. Why? Bcz no one can understand him better than her and not to mention no one can know his schedule for next several years and no one can stalk him better .

11. I have also read this theory where people say that Felix was created out of jealousy over Gabe and Emilie's conception of Adrien, which means it's possible he doesn't love Kagami for herself or the fact they "are the same," . I mean this could be true and credits to the original person who thought of this amazing theory like idk where u guys get these from , hats off!

12. Next theory is , The ring Felix gave Kagami isn't actually her amok, but an identical copy. I agree bcz we have seen Felix talking about how he felt when he was being controlled so it’s most likely to be true cause he wouldn’t want kagami to feel the same way (if he really loves and her cares about her)

13. I also wonder when and how Felix will tell Adrien about how both of them are sentimonsters and were created using a miraculous and if he tells it before he gets to know Gabriel’s truth it is most likely to be that Adrien will suspect that his own father was the villain .

14. This one is not really a theory but like I wonder Has/Will ladybug told cat noir about the true identity of monarch? If we look at the last scene from Re-creation they both seem pretty normal like always . So that could mean that she still hasn’t revealed it yet . Do you guys think she will?

15. There’s also this thing that Felix might team up with Lila cause of his character arc . You see , he was seen first as a villain then as an anti hero and then a hero . This will be a direct parallel to Adrien's character arc.

16. Ladybug giving up the guardian role to Luka and Cat Noir will help her recover her memories. Umm…. I mean we all know that Marinette will do/have to do this but I don’t think it will be Luka or maybe it can be , I just don’t know .

17. Lila will tell Adrien the truth about Gabriel and get mad at Ladybug then get akumatized . Well she is lie-la so for sure but wasn’t she going to be changing her look?

18. Marinette will slowly have suspiciousness about “cerise” as she sees her. Well cerise is new look of lie-la but she is still the same from inside and marinette’s also clever enough to point her lies out .

19. Kagami’s mom (I forgot her name) is gonna help Lila . Bcz the thing she wanted (which was probably Adrien and kagami being eternal couples or whatever) is still a dream .

20. Felix will find out cat noir is Adrien by sensing the amok on cat noir . I don’t think so bcz Felix has came over cat noir a couple times but he didn’t sense that .

[dumbass-brunette]

In defense of Mlb’s season 5 final

Edit: Pinning this again temporarily now that the London special is out, I CALLED IT GUYS I CALLED IT!!! I BEEN KNEW :DDDDD I’m so happy that trusting the writers worked out in the end

I’ve seen a lot of discourse over how this season ended and while I understand and respect that people didn't like it, I vehemently disagree with the arguments made against these episodes.

Argument 1: ‘They redeemed Gabriel/ let Gabriel win’

While I do get why people see it that way, this is just flat-out wrong in my opinion. The whole scene with him being celebrated as a hero was meant to be unsettling and is setting up for future conflict in season 6. Having Adrien struggle with the conflicting feelings of knowing that Gabriel was an awful and abusive father while simultaneously being told that his abuser ‘was a hero who helped defeat monarch’ is massive story potential in my eyes.

As for the second half of the argument, Gabriel didn't win either, Gabriel’s entire goal was to bring Emilie back so that their family could be whole again. Instead he ended up realizing that Emilie not only did not want to be brought back but that he also ruined the chance of fulfilling her dying wish (for him to move on and take care of Adrien), and how did he react to this? He killed himself. He DID NOT nobly sacrifice himself as many are claiming.

He couldn’t bear living in a world without Emilie and he was too much of a deadbeat to care for his son, so SELFISHLY he killed himself.

Now, I’m a firm believer the woman in the final scene was Amelie, not Emilie. Instead of bringing Emilie back, he simply transferred Nathalie’s illness to himself so that he could join Emilie in the afterlife. He was a selfish coward who very nearly ruined his son’s life and then left his assistant to pick up the pieces. That is NOT a redemption.

Argument 2: ‘Marinette was shocked by Gabriel being Monarch, thus nullifying the events of Representation’

Marinette did in fact know Gabriel was Hawkmoth and was simply shocked at seeing it in real life. I would have reacted the exact same way tbh. I’m seriously surprised nobody else seems to have experienced the phenomenon of being shocked by information they already knew. Let me tell you right now, it happens, and considering the nature of knowing her boyfriend’s dad is a terrorist, I don’t blame her.

Argument 3: ‘Marinette was not taking the reveal in representation seriously and instead focused on her problems with Adrien being in London’

Keep in mind that this episode takes place a singular day after representation. Marinette was most likely still in shock due to this information. It’s also possible she didn’t completely believe it considering Felix has proved time and time again, to be an unreliable source and someone who couldn’t be trusted.

In terms of her focusing on her problems regarding Adrien, this was ENTIRELY due to the effects of the nightmare created by akuma Gabe (I forgot what he was called lmao), that is shown to cause people to act illogically.

Argument 4: ‘The citizens were dumbed down’

I’ve seen a lot of people complaining about the citizens reactions to Adrien and Kagami being kidnapped by Ladybug and Chat Noir. This goes back to the effects of Gabriel’s nightmare, I personally believe that the nightmare wasn’t as similar to sandboy as people seem to think it is. It shown to affects a person’s mental and emotional state, causing them to act irrationally towards anything that even slightly upsets them. Despite the fact that a few seconds of thinking would have led them to the conclusion that the kidnapping was not real considering the AI tech this universe has, it’s clear people did not take the few seconds to reach that conclusion. They were in a state of fear and panic, they were being soothed by their alliances and then that was harshly ripped away from them. Due to the shock and fear, the general population acted on impulse, leaving only people like Alya who have a personal connection to Ladybug and Chat Noir, with the ability to resist.

Argument 5: ‘Adrien was sidelined’

This is probably the only area where I kind of agree with the feelings of the argument. I wish Adrien had been more involved in this final. However, I feel it was necessary for the sake of the story arch set up for season six, that he wasn’t.

If we look at the way the show has set up Marinette and Adrien’s narratives, it’s clear that Marinette’s fight is a Man vs. Man physical fight against a terrorist. This is exactly what we received from her in the final.

On the other hand, Adrien’s narrative is less about fighting the forces of evil and more about advocating for himself, gaining his freedom, working towards self acceptance, and healing from his past traumas. The show does not want you to look at Adrien as a fierce fighter, and that’s okay.

What’s different about Adrien’s narrative, is that unlike Ladybug’s his was left unresolved.

Adrien’a story is about fighting for his freedom, and yet all of the people around him have been keeping him in the dark (something the show has never once framed in a positive light), inhibiting his ability to be free. Adrien’s story is about self acceptance and yet at the end of the episode he says he’s unsure if he’ll ever live up to his father. Adrien’s story is about healing from past trauma and yet the lie of Gabriel’s heroism is inhibiting him from doing just that.

As much as I wish that we had seen Adrien doing something out there, even if it wasn’t fighting Monarch, I believe that by having him not, the show as set up for a fascinating follow up season, and I have never been more excited.

Disclaimer: I’m not trying to claim people who disliked the episodes are wrong for doing so, nor do I think my opinion is the “correct” opinion to have. I’m simply sharing my take on the episode

[dravid-writes]

"I still just can't believe I did it... Plagg, I... I Cataclysmed someone!"

"You Cataclysmed Monarch. Of all the people to Cataclysm, that's probably the best option."

"It's not about who, Plagg, it's... I used the power of destruction on a human! A living, breathing person."

"Adrien, don't worry about it, it's not your fault. He literally did it to himself. And besides, he was transformed, it's fine. Nothing can destroy those suits."

"How do you know that for sure? A Cataclysm can destroy a miraculous."

"Kid, you literally fought an akuma yesterday. Monarch's clearly still kicking."

"What if it's slow? What if it injured him, and it's gradually eating away at him? What if every day, he gets weaker, and starts having trouble walking, and can barely get out of bed and then- And then-"

Plagg sits on Adrien's shoulder, looking up at him with an unusually serious expression. "Adrien. Calm down. It wasn't your fault. Enough with the what ifs, okay?"

"... Yeah. Yeah, you're right. It's just... Sometimes I wish I had a power other than destruction. I can't stand the idea of... ending someone's life. If that Cataclysm kills him..."

"Good riddance."

"Plagg!"

"Look, Adrien, I don't blame you for how you feel. It's human nature to care about others, and that relentless kindness of yours is why I love you as my holder. But you gotta know when to throw out bad cheese, and Monarch? He's so stinky even I'D throw him right in the bin, given the chance."

"That's awful! Even if he's a villain, he's still a person!"

Plagg sighs. "Sorry kid. Just like it's your nature to care too much for your own good, it's my nature to see a problem and want to just get rid of it. But hey, that's why you're the hero. You're Chat Noir, so I trust you to call the shots."

Adrien flops down onto his bed. "Can we just... stop talking about superhero stuff for a while? I don't want to think about this anymore."

"Sounds good to me!" Plagg grabs a magazine from the ground. "I've been waiting to tell you about this new restaurant-"

"I don't want to talk about cheese either."

Plagg sighs dramatically. "I suppose no holder is perfect. Well, I can't stop thinking about cheese now, so I'll spare you my poetry and just grab a snack, 'kay?"

"Thanks. Don't get seen."

"Psh, of course I won't! Careful is my middle name."

Plagg flies through the Agreste mansion, passing through walls and occasionally checking for humans before entering a room. But as he enters the kitchen, he finds Adrien's dad on the phone with Nathalie or that Tsurugi woman or someone. Plagg was about to phase into the cupboard and grab a snack, but he freezes as he hears Gabe say "akuma candidates."

Suddenly paying attention, Plagg starts eavesdropping.

"That's why we need to increase production on Alliance rings, immediately. Marketing, shipping, everyone needs to be wearing an Alliance. The akuma of a lifetime could have the worst day of their life, but if they aren't wearing an Alliance, they'll have no miraculous power, and they'll stand no chance against Ladybug and Chat Noir!"

Plagg didn't understand most of what he was hearing, something about those rings Gabe keeps trying to make Adrien wear? But it sure sounds like Gabe is trying to... help the akumas? Is he working with Monarch?!

"... No, I don't have time to be patient! Look at this!" Gabe pulls up his sleeve, and reveals a black burn spreading across his arm. "If I wait for a chance, this Cataclysm will kill me. I need to make the wish soon."

Holy shit Adrien's dad is Monarch.

"... I don't care, make the rings out of plastic with dollar store microphones if you have to!"

Holy shit. Monarch is right in front of Plagg.

"This isn't about business, the only thing that matters is getting the ladybug and black-" Gabe, in his frantic back and forth pacing, finally turns toward Plagg.

The two stare each other down from across the kitchen.

All is silent, except for the confused sounds of the woman on the phone.

Finally, they both snap out of it.

"Nooroodarkwings-"

"Nadja Chamack here with breaking news! I'm at the home of Gabriel Agreste, where half of the mansion appears to have spontaneously disintegrated! Gabriel Agreste is currently missing, though Adrien Agreste and his bodyguard, as well as Nathalie Sancoeur, are unharmed and currently being questioned by the police. There has not yet been an akuma sighting, so we do not know the source of- Wait, there appears to be a small... er, creature, in the missing part of the mansion! Excuse me, do you have any information on this sudden event?

"... Huh? Wait, is he really not showing up on the camera? W-well, regardless, Mr... Plagg? Mr. Plagg, do you know what has happened to Gabriel Agreste?

"... Bad... cheese?"

[woodsbeyond1]

Loose Ends (or post S5 finale thoughts)

Listen I'm late to the party but I had to wait until all the episodes were out so I can watch them in order (which proved very helpful in understanding this rollercoaster of a season) so here goes nothing. This is mainly to untangle my feelings towards this season and its finale. I feel Confused. Here are some loose ends that make me feel ICKY and that I sincerely hope will be addressed in S6, but before that I'd like to address one thing:

Listen, I have no problems with Chat Noir not being there in the last fight; Adrien made a decision that was both understandable (because he is plagued with a terrifying nightmare that paralyzes him so he refused to turn into the monster in his nightmare) and right (because how many times do we need it to be proven that Adrien + Knowing his father is Monarch = the apocalypse? how many times did the timeline got reset for that reason?). Let's acknowledge what has been repeatedly thrown in our faces this season; Chat Noir's control over his emotions (esp when in suit) is unstable, which leads him to use his cataclysms immaturely (example: with Dark Humor after he knew what Kim did to Marinette/// with Darker Owl when he took away the dreams of the ladynoir family /// With Nightormentor! Even though he knew it was his own father! yet he was about to cataclysm him). You know what I count as character development?? It's Adrien realizing that he's too angry to be Chat Noir at the moment. It's him acknowledging the instability of his feelings and doing something about it. All the time, since the frozer episode where Chat refused to cooperate in battle because LB rejected him, it's been known that Adrien/CN needs to work on controlling his emotions, and when the moment came to make a decision, he made the right one. So no, a single answer doesn't fit every equation, and the battle between LB and Monarch certainly didn't need CN presence. Here are the loose ends tho:

Will Ladybug tell Chat Noir the truth about the battle with Monarch? I can predict that the writers will want to delay that as much as they can to protect the whole "Adrien's happiness depends on that knowledge" concept, but fixing that side of the equation fucks up the ladynoir side; a new, unresolved conflict from s3 and s4 will reappear: why is LB hiding secrets from her partner? how will CN react to it? Will CN's feelings finally be acknowledged instead of brushed aside for the sake of maintaining the peace? Or will he finally break as he realizes the two most important people in his life (Marinette and Ladybug) have kept secrets from him, just like his father? Will Marinette/Ladybug finally learn from this if it ever happens? Will addressing and prioritizing Adrien's/Chat Noirs feelings be the first step to finally have Adrien untangle his emotional conflicts that make him act rashly when experiencing intense emotions? I have so many questions and I am excited to see how this one plays out. The Ladynoir Conflict continues everyone.

this one is short: I don't feel comfortable knowing the miraculouses are distributed like that. It makes me even more paranoid, specifically because the butterfly miraculous is still lost, so people are very much still vulnerable to their negative emotions, and it would only take some inconvenience to akumatize a miraculous holder and retrieve their miraculous (esp that they're all KIDS mind you) also felix??? hold on he needs a separate paragraph-

Will the mess of a character that is Felix and his questionable actions in s4 finale be addressed anytime soon? Yknow, the one who traded Adrien's amok for the peacock miraculous, the one who gave Monarch all the miraculouses, the one who needs therapy desperately, the one who, yes, is a victim in many ways, and has good intentions but questionable methods of acting upon them. Oh also the fact that he knew who Monarch was yet never told LB until at the end of the season. Honestly, LB needs to have a talk with him (and that talk shouldn't end with Felix keeping the peacock miraculous because he has done so much trouble that should've taken away the right to keep it, despite his backstory. He caused so much trouble and for selfish reasons (reminds you of someone?) and if he doesn't learn the consequences of his actions, from this age at least, he'll turn into a Monarch whenever he wants something bad enough. I think that is a conflict that needs to be addressed and no, he should not be on the same team as LB. ***I'll add more as I try to process the finale holy sh- One final thing I'd like to add though: Miraculous Ladybug has changed in so many ways, for the best, and while there are some things that absolutely doesn't make sense till now (like, what was the point of the 1-ep long marichat relationship that switched to adrinette in the span of, well, an episode?) but there is no doubt that a great deal happened that never crossed our minds as a fandom. Even now, we struggle to predict what's gonna happen in s6 because the ending was something we never imagined. Yet I want to remind you, that it was the same for us after s4 finale, and the writers delivered an outstanding season, with lots of delicious plot. This season was a breath of fresh air, and it made me feel like the writers finally acknowledged the presence of the grown up side of the fandom by giving us material to haunt us in our nightmares <3 But fr, I'm confused yet hopeful that the writers know what they're doing, and if there happened to be some inconsistencies (like felix snapping that senti projector without any guilt unlike with the red moon, wtf was that about) I believe old fans of this show have accepted that this show isn't perfect, and they have learned to genuinely enjoy the good aspects of it (and pretend the weird stuff doesn't exist for the sake of our sanity). So yeah, have faith, don't expect too much though, and remember to enjoy <3 that's the whole point of watching the show anyway

[wordsofrowan]

Written in Ink

Chapter 3 - Ink Blots of Heartache

Nino went back to his desk, putting his head in his hands he sobbed into his arms. Alya hated seeing Nino like this, It crushed her to see her boyfriend so broken, and a part of her wanted to be angry that Marinette was purposefully hurting the class like this. It wasn’t fair. Why did they have to be the ones to hurt while she was off doing who knows what with who knows who in who knows where. Alya was thankful Monarch was gone because there was no telling what would happen if a Megakuma were to come after that class right now. 

“Okay looks like my letter is next.” Alya let out a breath of air as she carefully unfolded the letter. Alya quickly noted all the teardrop on the page and her heart clenched. 

“Dear Alya,

As I sit down to write this letter, my heart is burdened with a storm of emotions that have been brewing inside me for far too long. It is difficult to find the right words to express the depth of my pain and sorrow. Pouring my feelings onto paper has become easier in recent times, writing to the entire class was a challenge I could undertake, for I knew them all so well. They caused me hurt, yes, but it is the pain inflicted by you, Nino, and Adrien that has left me shattered beyond imagination.

First and foremost, I want to express my gratitude to you for being the one who chose to share these letters. I understand that it wasn't an easy task, and I appreciate the courage it took to shoulder such a responsibility. Your unwavering dedication to seeking the truth and your commitment to helping others has always been the qualities that made you an extraordinary best friend.

You possessed a fierce sense of justice, always ready to lend a helping hand to those in need. I want to begin by apologizing, Alya. I am sorry for leaving without explanations, and for denying you the chance to understand my reasons. Yet, in these past two years, I felt as if you never allowed me to defend myself either. The weight of pain and disappointment has overwhelmed me, drowning me in a sea of despair. Everything and everyone I held dear seemed to slip away from my grasp, and the weight became too heavy to bear.

You were my confidante, my pillar of strength, and I cherished your friendship more than words can convey. You guided me through the intricate maze of crushes, supported me in my day-to-day struggles, and I will forever be grateful for your presence in my life. But then there came a moment when I found myself utterly alone. You had left me behind, and the emptiness inside me was suffocating. I apologize for vanishing without an explanation, but I also regret not granting you the chance to comprehend my reasons. However, in these past two years, you didn't allow me to defend myself either. The weight of pain and disappointment I carried grew unbearable, and I felt lost in a world that seemed determined to abandon me.

Alya, I longed to believe that our friendship was unbreakable, capable of withstanding any trials that came our way. I believed that you would always stand by my side. But your actions shattered those beliefs. Instead of standing up for me, you chose to embrace the worst assumptions about me, without granting me the chance to share my side of the story. It demolished the trust I had in you, Alya, leaving me feeling utterly broken and alone. I don’t know what it was about her that made you choose her over me, I wish I knew what it was because after all this time I still don’t understand why you fell for her lies. I was your best friend, I was always there for you and yet you believe some flashy new girl over me. So I guess I’m sorry for whatever made you feel like I wasn’t a good enough friend to you.

My fervent hope is that one day you will grasp the pain you have caused me. I yearn for you to reflect upon the choices you made and the profound impact they had on our friendship. But for now, I need time to heal, to embark on a journey of self-discovery, and to find my path without the heavy weight of these betrayals burdening my shoulders.

Yet, despite all the hurt, please know that I treasured our friendship. You were my partner in crime, my partner in fashion, and my partner in life. The memories we created together hold immense significance to me, and I hold them close to my heart. I pray that one day, when the wounds have mended, we can reconnect and rebuild the once unbreakable bond that tied us together.

I want you to understand that my decision to leave wasn't rooted in blame or seeking revenge. It was a choice made to prioritize my well-being and find the space necessary for healing. The pain I endured cut deep, Alya, and I needed to distance myself from those who unknowingly contributed to it.

Thank you, Alya, for being a true friend. I will forever cherish the moments we shared—times of laughter, tears, and dreams. Your unwavering support meant more to me than any words could ever express. I sincerely wish you all the happiness and success in the world, and I hope that our paths may cross again one day.

With a heavy heart,

Marinette.”

Alya sat there, tears welling up in her eyes, as she finished reading the letter. The pain and regret in Marinette's words struck a chord within her. She realized that she had played a part in driving away her best friend, and it weighed heavily on her conscience. Alya's heart ached for the loss they both had experienced, and she knew that it was time for introspection and healing.

The classroom fell into a heavy silence as Alya finished reading Marinette's heartfelt letter. The weight of the emotions conveyed in the letter lingered in the air, causing a collective sense of sadness and remorse to settle over the students. Each of them had their own thoughts and feelings, struggling to process the revelations and the impact they had on their relationships.

Some students exchanged glances, their eyes filled with empathy and understanding. They could see the pain etched on Alya's face, realizing the weight of her actions and the consequences they had on their dear friend Marinette. They understood that forgiveness would be a difficult road to traverse, but they also hoped for a chance at redemption and healing.

Others were lost in their own reflections, contemplating the times they may have unknowingly contributed to Marinette's pain. Regret washed over them as they acknowledged their own roles in perpetuating misunderstandings or failing to offer support when she needed it most. They realized that Marinette's departure was not solely Alya's burden to bear, but a collective responsibility of the entire class.

Tears welled up in some students' eyes as they grappled with the magnitude of the hurt their friend had endured. They yearned for a chance to make amends and rebuild the shattered trust. The once vibrant and united class now faced the aftermath of secrets and betrayal, leaving them with a deep longing for reconciliation.

XoXo Rowan

[utterlycasey]

okay, i cannot keep silent about this anymore-

do people ACTUALLY enjoy this show still..? like i LOVE the concept SO SO SO much i constantly consume fan content and rewrites and stuff- and, as someone who wants to produce shows one day, i have been working on a rewrite of my own! BUT HOW DO PEOPLE STILL WATCH THE ACTUAL SHOW UNIRONICALLY?? i gave up on this show a very long time ago.. and when i saw the season 5 leaks i was just like, "yeah no its over this show is done-" BUT NO?? number 1: when did this show get so goofy? like yes it was originally a little goofy but some of it added to the charm but now its just like.. HUH? LIKE THE SCENE WITH GABE "DANCING"?? HOW. HOW EVEN.

MY MAN IS BUSTING IT DOWN FR LMAO I just can't i'm sorry. felix's song in french was alright but also that was very out of nowhere too? i just can't.

number 2: this is definietly not a show impressionable kids should watch. not only is it just BAD, but also there are "certain behaviors" in the show that are portrayed as normal even though they are 100% PROBLEMATIC and CREEPY? yeah, i'm talking about marinette's stalking, chat noir not being able to take no for an answer, and the writers FAILING to make gabe a sympathetic villain.

first of all, before his motive was revealed, he would monologue and yell into the void about how he wanted the ladybug and black cat miraculous(s) to "rule the world??". so the writers backtracked or just weren't paying attention. THEN the whole thing at the end of season 5. i cannot type out how utterly (hehe) STUPID it all was! he was a poorly written villain who the writers attempted and FAILED at making him sympathetic, and just pretended everything he did was okay to push under the rug because "he did it for love"! HUH? bestie no. he was basically a terrorist! also while i'm talking about gabe, i need to mention him and adrien. yes yes we all know he was a bad father. him trying to "make it up to him" was stupid. he was an abuser. you can't just fix everything by making shitty pancakes? the minute people trying to defend him by pointing out how in style queen and gorzilla by saying "SEE! he cares about him!" then ignoring all the bait episodes where when he finds out about chat noir's identity just does not care. number 3: the ending of the hawkmoth/shadowmoth/monarch (i will come back to this) arc. please do not say that the ending paid off. it did not. "adrien COULDN'T of been there because it would have broken him!" YES! YES THAT'S THE POINT! for FIVE SEASONS we've been building up to the two PARTNERS YES PARTNERS (i will also come back to this) finding out who he is and bringing paris justice! but no, bye adrien you're being thrown away. i can't comprehend why they did this. oh wait! i can! because marinette needs to be the focus even though the show is named Tales of Ladybug AND CHAT NOIR. and because they don't want to do anything risky with their characters, because they want to push out as much as they can with this show by not changing anything up!

AND THEN HE GETS MODELED A HERO? girl bye. the abusive, shut-in, terrorist of paris will now be celebrated. wow amazing. and the people he hurt get no justice! my favorite ending! and adrien gets told nothing, because of course he doesn't. "but don't you understand? they did that so they can use it for later drama!" so they didn't say anything to adrien OR CHAT NOIR so they can milk this show more. that's not a good reason. number 4: why do they also do those dumb name changes? i'm assuming for marketing for toys or something, but wow. it is just so cringe. yes i'm saying cringe because i can't think of another word for it. and then every character just goes along with it? sorry i can't deal with it. shadowmoth, pennybug, snake noir, bunny noir.. i'm sorry no. number 5: ladybug and chat noir. why would they try and make these two out to be equals when it obviously isn't true? chat noir and adrien have huge issues when it comes to his behavior, but so does mari so hey they're made for each other! they shouldn't have put his name in the SHOW'S TITLE and shouldn't have made us think he was important in the first two seasons in the first place. period. number 6: the designs. now this one is a bit of a nitpick, but its a justified one! why are the designs so bad?! for a show that has such a focus of the fashion industry, the designs are not giving. i'm not talking about the akumatized victims designs, but the main cast. marinette want's to be a fashion designer but everything she makes is.. so bad? the things she makes for that weird movie they were shooting were literally just sheets of fabric. her civilian outfit is just.. its not it okay i'm sorry. ladybug's design is so boring and her upgraded, lucky charm outfit is still awful (honestly i think its worse). "but when she first became a hero she wasn't sure of herself!" bad excuse. one, they didn't make that a point, and even if they did she shouldn't have kept it so long. two, the designs are just bad sorry. adrien. his wardrobe is a nightmare. well i mean his one outfit. you'd think with how his life his he would be wearing the most hip clothes but then again.. look at his father. GABE IS A CANDY CANE HAHAHHA.. then his just a sheer white. for someone who is stated to be a super successful fashion designer, his outfits are horrific.. and his villain design is just meh. man has a chrome dome. have you guys seen alya's shoes. number 7: why did they change chat noir's name in the english verison, like i get it "chat is french" but still. number 8: the only reasons chloe's development was backtracked is because thomas has a hate boner for her. i mean she WAS based off his bullies. number 9: thomas astruc.

number 10: adrien being a sentimonster. like wow, way to destroy the show..? like yeah! it was a cool theory, but that's just it- a cool THEORY. them adding it as canon into the show really made it all fall apart. yes! ir makes sense! that's how emilie ended up in her coma/dead state, but it just.. isn't it. it takes away adrien's character a lot, and just makes him a product. its hard to explain without really planning out my thoughts, but the whole vibe of his character is thrown off. i feel like it would make more sense to say that adrien (and felix) and special cases. imagine if the miraculous was broken BECAUSE of them? like making sentimonsters that have emotions is what broke it? but no we didn't get that. the whole thing gives me the ick, ESPECIALLY because marinette, felix, kagami, gabriel, emilie, ameilie, and possible nathalie know. it just feels wrong.

this was a very disorganized rant, i just needed to get my thoughts out SOMEWHERE! i did it on the fly, not really thinking. PLEASE share your opinions! i honestly want to hear people's opinions about this show! if you're looking for a more cohesive criticism of this show, check out these links! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TefjBHlss2Y&list=LL&index=2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDIBzuZhFSo&list=PLukFqIHK704LbMLDVItYVRfjGnbeLpmOL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4xt3f0srjQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXd_rc9CTns&t=935s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxuTrQ6NHmc&list=PL0nazLrx-KJRHFpKyKjB1D0IPHcwvEV42&pp=iAQB https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLc_VncSbKOVBuDZR3toWTYekHRnKEJnE1 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzDvrc6tbHbuVAhwcRmGx142AhK1TDaiZ

yes, i am very excited for the movie. :)

[flightfoot]

You think Ladybug will ever tell Chat about having Alya(Rena & Furtive + Scarabella) as a second partner who is also her Co- guardian since prett much the beginning of her guardianship, or has that ship sailed?

Seeing that plot thread still not being touched upon for no reason while Marinette has Alya with her each and every day to talk to (most importantly the CATACLYSM incident for which Adrien conveniently never needed support for. Support that Marinette on the other hand got from Alya :/), but Adrien is stuck with Monarch his abusive Father now trying to groom him and a best friend who for some reason doesn't quite understand enough how dangerous Gabriel is to his son... it just continues to sting while watching. I just wanna watch this show normally again without it STILL leaving a bitter taste in my mouth for Adriens sake, can this just be over now? Can this boy just have SOMEONE on his side besides Plagg and his own (overly taken advantage of by the show) out-of-this-world resilience?

Even Nathalie is not entirely save to rely on bc she still on the evil side and yeah, ik Adrien has Marinette now but

Man I just wished that boy was allowed to have anyone else really on his side than just Marinette and Ladybug in what sadly limited support he can get from her often bc of the usual circumstances. I get that he's her love interest and it's HER show but the story is just straight up refusing to give Adrien any other options to get help besides Kagami that one time in Determination and thank god for that one

What reason is there at this point to not have Ladybug tell Chat about Alya in a mature (LONG overdue thanks to Multiplication) conversation so they are a team of three? It just feels like complete secrecy towards Chat out of principle now. Monarch KNOWS. Just TELL HIM so Chat has ANYONE he could secretly visit too when he needs someone to talk to! How hard is that? Marinette wouldn't even "loose" any time with Alya, Chat can just join their sleepovers they seem to be doing almost daily now. So you can still even include Marinette in that! *yells into the void for 10 years out of frustration*

And I would just be more bothered by this whole situation if that secret is only allowed to come to light by force somehow in the Kwamis Choice or some other plan Monarch had. That's just gonna force Adrien to find it out in the worst way possible AGAIN and he has to mostly swallow it down and be nothing but supportive for Ladybug AGAIN bc him finding out is gonna make her sad so that has to be priority, which will be it.

Aaaaaaaaaaaargh! I don't wanna be so negative about this but I'm so annoyed Dx Why does this show always have to be so one-sided in all of this?

I think the ship has sailed on Ladybug telling Chat exactly how involved Rena Furtive has been, and for how long. Chat knows that she was around more than he'd been told about, and I think that's all that's gonna happen with that story thread. Chat is very content to let sleeping dogs lie. So long as Ladybug needs and wants him and does appear to be trusting him with information now, I can't see him poking at old stuff. He is forgiving and understanding to a fault.

And yeah I wish Adrien could have more of a support network! I'm glad that Marinette has Alya, because she needs someone to talk to about everything secret identity related, but Adrien doesn't have that same luxury. I agree, he does have out-of-this-world resilience, which I wish he didn't need as much as he did. Let the boy break down and not be okay, and have someone there to catch him - and not JUST Marinette, as much as I like the cute scenes between them.

I did love Kagami in Determination. She's very to-the-point and forceful, she's not exactly a comforter, but she wants the best for Adrien and will help him to get what he needs. I'm rooting for her to become Adrien's confidant, especially since it'd explain why Adrien lied to her so often. If Luka gets to be aware of why Marinette couldn't tell him the truth, then Kagami should get that same luxury.

I don't fully agree about Ladybug telling Chat that Alya, specifically, is her confidant though. There's some secret identity problems there. If Chat gets mind-controlled, he could spill that secret, and then Monarch's even more likely to go after Alya than he already was, and to learn Ladybug's secret identity by doing so.

I do really want Adrien to get to have some breakdowns and need comfort and have that comfort get to actually be the priority at some point. To not have Ladybug have a breakdown at the same time, and Adrien to have to force himself to be strong for her. I really want him to get that kind of comfort and love and to just... not HAVE to be super resilient all the time.

[feathers-blown-in-the-wind]

First thoughts on Illusion S5 ep5

Okay so the only thing the fandom got right about illusion was Nino playing detective

The trailers were perfectly crafted to misdirect us but I didn't find it disatisfying in the end ! I perfectly understand why we believed such and such about a scene and yet they take a whole other meaning in the actual episode and it's so so cool

Nino gets a much appreciated focus, that stays very in line with his previous characterisation and it was so nice to see ! He's so eager to help the heroes despite not having powers (just like he was in Anansi). He keeps his hot-headed tendency (just like he was in Rocketear) and his distate for Gabriel (just like in the Bubbler)... Everyone is very consistent in this episode and it was lovely

Even Gabriel is super consistent. Consistent at being an awful human being and parent but it's consistent so that tracks. The guy went full on constant guilttriping on Adrien (just like he does with Nathalie in passion) and basically uses him being a decent parent as a carrot to keep Adrien on his side and dodge all of his complaints...

The way he justifies the way he treated Adrien in the previous seasons and links the change purely to the existence of the Alliance rings to get Adrien to accept them ? He backs Adrien into a corner, stuck between two batons (actual modelling vs not having control on his image) but hey at least there's a carrot if he stops complaining about the rings ! Adrien gets a dad now, who makes breakfast, comes to parent-teacher's meetings ! All of the things that Adrien should have had from the beginning but it's such a step up from what Adrien is used to that he will do just about anything to keep it (the banana on pancakes detail in Passion now takes a whole new meaning)

He appears to backtrack at the end of the episode, presents himself as the victim to force Adrien's friends into taking the blame. He makes a compromise at the end, finally acts nice to Nino just like Adrien always wanted, accepts Adrien not wearing the ring and overall seems to be trying ! It's a perfect showcase of what manipulation looks like, how they show you what you want to see when actually getting better is absolutely not on the table in their mind. They make you think they will, but they know they won't

Gabriel is such an awful parent and it's so masterfully done ! Imagine if these plot points and constant manipulation comes back later on when it's revealed that Gabriel is Monarch ? Adrien (and his friends, Nino in particular) are going to feel so betrayed !

This episode was so so well done and I definitely understand why Tfou decided to put it at the end of the batch and honestly ? I think I prefer this order to the correct one because we're forced to recontextualise everything only now, we see passion without knowing for sure that Gabriel is 100% just manipulating Adrien and there's this sense of dread when you realise that Gabriel really is that terrible.