#like seriously felix is only here for adrien

[kawaiichibiart]

Continuing my Felix becomes Argos early AU (which I'm currently referring to myself as the Early Bird AU not sure if I'm keeping the name officially)

Seeing as one of his main (and likely only) goals for attending DuPont is to look after Adrien, he very much steps in to remind Marinette (and potentially later on the rest of the Akuma Class), after he (Adrien) suggests they take the high road when it comes to Lila lying, that Adrien isn't her boyfriend. He is not her keeper. She doesn't have to agree with him. But fuck her if she drags his cousin under the bus because she can't get over a silly little crush and has that affect whether or not she can actually disagree with him. If she wanted to go with it, fine, but she should have laid her own terms. Like if Lila does something drastic, she's going to tell someone, an adult she can trust to do the right thing. Or if Lila doesn't stop soon, even with the more minor lies, she's going to say something. And for love of everything, actually get evidence before you say shit because you're just sounding like a bitch whenever you say Lila's lying with no proof.

Marinette: BUT THEY AREN'T PROVING SHE'S TELLING THE TRUTH EITHER!

Felix: THAT ISN'T THEIR JOB!!

Felix: Literally no one but her has claimed she was telling the truth as far as we know. We all just think her stories are interesting and considering this class, what with Miss I'm The Mayor's Daughter, my cousin the Famous Model, MX. I Live in a Museum and YOU, Miss I Actually Have Connections But I'm Too Humble About It And Don't Wanna Brag, is it really hard to believe what Lila says?

Marinette: But, it's not fair that I have to-

Felix: Have to what? Back up your claims? Yes. It is fair. BECAUSE YOU'RE THE ONE MAKING THEM!!

Marinette: Felix.

Felix: Marinette.

Felix: Listen, like I said, I'm just here for Adrien. And for whatever reason, he likes you and wants to be your friend.

Marinette:...

Felix: And I'm not going to stop him from being your friend. But if he gets hurt, just because you can't get a clear head when he says something to you, when he suggests something you don't agree with, I don't care what connections you have.

Felix: So, either come up with terms for the honestly very likely time the highroad comes to an end, or tell Adrien you can't take the highroad at all.

Felix: Do I make myself clear?

Marinette:...yeah. Yeah, okay. Give me a few days.

Felix: I'm giving you two at most.

Marinette: But-

Felix: I was going to give you until tonight. Would you prefer that?

Marinette: Ugh, no, fine...

Marinette:...it's hard to like you.

Felix: So I've been told.

Marinette: But I can't hate you, when...ughh, when I know you're right.

Marinette: I'll see if I can come up with any terms, and if I can't... I'll tell Adrien I can't take the highroad.

Felix: Good. I'll hold you to that.

[immaturityofthomasastruc]

IOTA Reviews: Representation

Oh, so NOW child abuse is bad. Could have fooled me last episode!

Let's get into the twenty-fifth episode of Miraculous Ladybug's fifth season: Representation

We start off with an English news report recapping the ending of “Revolution”, stating that Ms. Bustier is going to run for mayor, conveniently ignoring her attempted coup in “Collusion”. We also see that Gabriel and Tomoe are still uncomfortably focused on making Adrien and Kagami appear to be a couple in public, much to their dismay. While Kagami is visited by Argos (who once again sneaks up on her, like he usually does), Adrien realizes he can transform into his space form and see Marinette whenever he wants and transforms into Cat Noir, planning to reveal his identity to Marinette. Hey, did he even tell Ladybug about his sudden departure? Because it didn't go well the last time he left Paris without telling her (New York Special).

We then cut to Marinette right after the events of “Revolution”, going to the end of the year dance... even though when we saw Adrien and Kagami in London, the sun was still setting, and France's time zone is only about an hour later, meaning Adrien and Kagami must have flown there at ludicrous speed.

Meanwile, Argos and Kagami somehow got from London to Paris offscreen, and watch Marinette from afar, with Kagami revealing she knows she's Ladybug. They decide to tell Marinette that Felix knows who Monarch is in order to ensure his downfall. Nah, I'm just kidding. Here's the real reason they're coming to Marinette for help.

Kagami: My mother and Gabriel Agreste will never allow us to love each other freely. Only Ladybug can help us.

Yep, rather than prioritize the fact that Gabriel is endangering the citizens of Paris on a daily basis, Kagami is seriously more concerned about her relationship with her boyfriend being tampered with. This is like saying Lex Luthor is evil because he cheats on his taxes. Argos transforms back into Felix, and... oh, for the love of God... he disguises himself as Adrien in order to get closer to Marinette. You can't keep portraying Felix as this master of disguise if he only has ONE disguise!

Marinette sees “Adrien” and assumes he came back from London from her, assuming her boyfriend is much more active that the writers actually believe he is, so she tries to follow him while avoiding the guests at the party. Meanwhile, Gabriel and Tomoe learn their children are gone, so he goes to talk with Nathalie and—why the hell is she like that?

Seriously, this has never been established as something that happens when someone uses the broken Peacock Miraculous. Why didn't this happen to Emilie? She looks pretty healthy in her little coffin, and I doubt Gabriel is an embalmer.

Anyway, after Nathalie once again reminds us that she hates Gabriel, but not enough to call the cops on him, Gabriel transforms into Monarch and immediately detransforms back in order to akumatize himself into Nightormentor.

Nightormentor is a pretty average recolor of the Collector's design, which kind of makes sense, considering that Gabriel himself intended the Akuma for himself. The star pattern is okay, but there's not much I can really say. As for his powers, he's just another Sandboy, being able to force people to hallucinate their worse nightmares, only instead of a pillow, his weapon is a staff created from a pen containing the Akuma, with the Horse Miraculous' Voyage to boot. Why he didn't just give himself the same powers he gave Truth when he's trying to find Adrien is anyone's guess.

Cat Noir arrives at the Eiffel Tower to talk with Marinette, just as Nightormentor appears. The two fight, and after a few civilians get caught in the crossfire, Nightormentor escapes through Voyage. As Cat Noir heads to the Dupain-Cheng bakery at the advising of Max, Alya and Nino decide that the totally not useless Resistance should get involved.

While Marinette gives chase, Felix leads her into the school's art classroom, where he transforms into Argos and creates a Sentimonster using Kagami's ring. Felix and Kagami use the Sentimonster's power to do... uh... whatever the hell this is.

Yeah, this is basically a flashback, but the animators probably blew their budget needed for the new models on Ms. Bustier's baby bump, so we're getting this instead, thanks to the Sentimonster Argos created. There are several scenes of Cat Noir and Nightormentor interspersed, but like what I did with Marinette's flashback in “Derision”, I'll give you the summary before I talk about my problems with this.

When Adrien's mother and aunt, Emilie and Amelie, were born, Emilie (who was born seven seconds early) was trusted with the family heirlooms, the two rings we first saw all the way back in “Felix”. Even though this meant she would inherit the family name, Emilie didn't really like doing... whatever the Graham de Vanily family wanted her to do, but Amelie did. Eventually, while studying abroad, Emilie met Gabriel, and the two fell in love. Before marrying Gabriel, Emilie gave up her role as the sole inheritor of the Graham de Vanily family's vague legacy, while Amelie married a man named Colt to please her parents. Both couples wanted children, but it's heavily implied that Emilie and Amelie were infertile, so their wishes weren't able to come true. Emilie finally managed to get a bun in the oven thanks to the Peacock Miraculous, but this made Colt jealous that he couldn't have a child. Out of the goodness of her heart, Emilie asked Gabriel to give the Peacock Miraculous to Colt, in exchange for letting the Gorilla guard Adrien in the future. Using his own jealousy as a source of power, Colt got Amelie pregnant, though at the cost of his health. Colt figured this was the price he had to pay for using “sorcery”, and used this as an excuse to treat Felix like a monster and ordered him around using the ring containing his Amok. Felix himself was unaware that he wasn't human until Colt accidentally broke the ring (which wasn't one of the two wedding rings used to control Adrien and was an entirely different ring containing Felix's Amok), which he stole as soon as Colt died. This is meant to explain why Felix decided to steal back the Peacock Miraculous, in order to save his life. Felix later met Kagami, and the two explain that they need “Someone like Ladybug” to help them.

Now if your only information about this episode is through my summary, it seems simple enough. For everyone else who actually saw this sequence in the episode itself, I'm guessing your thoughts were about the same as mine.

Let's go over every problem I have with this scene, starting with...

#1: The Way Kagami and Felix Explain This

Let me just ask something: Why can't Felix just talk to Marinette about what he knows since he now knows she's Ladybug instead of telling her everything through this weird play? You can still tell Marinette all of this without your two-man show. In fact, why did Felix have to wait until he knew Marinette was Ladybug instead of just talking to her the next time he saw her? Yeah, you could argue it's easier this way, but like I've been saying since Season 4, Felix has had no excuse to wait this long to tell Ladybug about the fact that he knows who her greatest enemy is.

And why the hell is it presented this way? Why does Felix have to recontextualize the story of his family's history in the form of a play? Why turn it into a stereotypical fairy tale that leaves out the names of all the important people, like Emilie, Amelie, Colt (whose name I only learned through the transcript of this episode), and Gabriel? If it was like a hidden message Felix and Kagami wanted to convey to Marinette, that would make sense, but why do they have to be so cryptic when they're only putting this show on for one person? You could easily avoid a good chunk of the questions this raises if this was a show Felix and Kagami put on for the public that Marinette was able to learn the information from. Yeah, it still wouldn't explain why Felix can't just tell Marinette about who Gabriel really is, but at least it's something.

The way it all happens kind of reminds me of this scene from this old Halloween special I saw a lot as a kid, Scary Godmother: Halloween Spooktacular. In that scene, some of the kids act out a scene of this little girl's parents entrusting her with a flashlight to explain why she carries it around, in order to scare off any monsters she runs into, using the graveyard they were in as a makeshift set. This scene works a lot more because it's done in more of a tongue-in-cheek way, with some of the kids breaking character to boost their own egos (for example, the kid playing the mom comments about how responsible she is), and how one kid in particular gradually gets fed up with the whole thing. The scene does its job at delivering exposition in a way that isn't meant to be taken too seriously, and it's clear this is being done by some kids goofing around in-universe.

With this episode, it's clear that the writers want the audience to take this whole backstory seriously in spite of how absurd it all is. Seriously look at this.

We are seriously expected to take this backstory seriously when it looks like some theater major's midterm project. The animators want it to look artsy and unique for the sake of making it look artsy and unique. Why does it look like a play these two put together themselves if they're supposedly using a Sentimonster's power to do it? If the unnamed Sentimonster's powers is how Marinette is seeing all this, why can't it actually be seen as a flashback? Was it always intended to be a handmade play that was changed to the product of a Sentimonster at the last minute?

I get that the animators probably wanted kids to pick up on the visuals of the play, but even then, it makes it hard to really stomach the serious themes this backstory brings up, like infertility and child abuse, with the way they're presented. Not only do Felix and Kagami all play the characters using these white jumpsuits and masks, they also do all the voices, meaning that the only “dialogue” we hear from Colt is delivered by Kagami putting on a deeper voice. Let me repeat that: the only times we hear Colt, the abusive parent and all around garbage human being, talk, it's done by a teenage girl trying to make her voice sound deeper.

But hey, maybe the goofy voice will be overshadowed by the nuanced depiction of child abuse, right? Right?

#2: The Portrayal of Colt and the Double Standards Regarding His Treatment of Felix

I have never seen a single show struggle this much to convey a lesson as simple as “Child abuse is bad”.

When it comes to the parents in this show, terrible parents like Gabriel, Audrey, and Tomoe are almost never held accountable for the way they treated their children. If the writers aren't claiming they really love their children deep down, they're either downplaying how cruel they are at best or playing their behavior for laughs at worst. But here we are, the penultimate episode of the fifth season, and we finally have a parent who is unambiguously treated as a terrible human being with no redeeming qualities... and I still have problems with this.

This flashback really goes out of its way to let the audience that Colt was a real piece of scum in life. He only wanted a child out of jealousy, used his Amok to force Felix to do whatever he wanted, was heavily implied to have physically beat him at times, and blamed him for his poor health on his deathbed when he was the one who wanted to use the Peacock in the first place. Now that I think about it, why did Colt even use the Peacock to create Felix instead of Emelie? Was the episode so determined to paint Colt as a bastard that he wanted to be the one to create Felix himself?

The point I'm trying to make is that the show doesn't really explain why Colt was like this. Why was he such an angry man who treated his only child like crap? I don't know, because all the show's telling me is that he was just a dick. He honestly feels more like a caricature than anything else. He's only as terrible of a person he is in order to make the audience sympathize with Felix. I'm not saying that what Felix went through was okay, but it has the same energy as scenes of Gabriel talking to Emilie's body. It's mostly there to make the audience sympathize with an antagonistic character in spite of all the things they've done.

What's really weird is that even though the whole point of this play is so Felix can tell Marinette Gabriel is Monarch, so what does Colt have to do with this? I'm not saying he's not worth mentioning, but it makes no sense for Felix to tell Marinette about his abusive father before he tells her about Gabriel. It feels more like Felix wants to find a way to excuse his actions before telling Marinette about Gabriel being Monarch. And remember when “Derision” made a big deal about Chloe's terrible parents not excusing her actions? Funny how that conveniently doesn't apply to Felix in this episode.

In fact, let's talk about the elephant in the room: The fact that this episode aired right after “Revolution”, an episode that literally said a character living under an abusive and controlling parent was a fitting punishment for her. HOW THE HELL IS THIS ANY DIFFERENT FROM THAT? If anything, this episode really shows the double standards this show has about child abuse, how the only way your situation can be taken seriously is if you're a “good victim”. Chloe's a “bad victim”, so she doesn't get any sympathy when her mother outright says she's going to take control of her life, yet when Colt actually takes control of Felix's life, we're supposed to sympathize with him now. Why am I supposed to feel bad for Felix now when you just told me I shouldn't feel bad for someone in a similar situation last episode?

In fact, one theory I have about this backstory is that it was intended to kill two birds with one stone, no pun intended. I believe that this episode wasn't just written to give us more insight into who Felix is as a character, but also to show the audience what “real” child abuse is like. As far as the show is concerned with Gabriel, Audrey, and Tomoe? They're not actually abusive parents, Colt is, so you should condemn his actions, and not those three. It's blatant double standards, which is nothing new for this show.

#3: The Way Amelie Just... Lets This All Happen

In my “Derision” review, I discussed how strange it was that so many people in Marinette's life did nothing to help her against Chloe, and the same thing applies here with Amelie.

This episode never really explains where Amelie was when Colt was abusing Felix, much less if she was even aware of it. At least with Marinette's parents, they didn't know because most of Marinette's suffering was at school. Amelie lives with Felix and Colt, so what's her excuse? She seriously didn't overhear Colt yelling at Felix or notice the orders Colt gave Felix? Was she just that ignorant to her child's suffering? Remember, this is supposed to be Felix's good parent.

In fact, does Amelie even know Felix is a Sentimonster? Yeah, “Emotion” established that Amelie knows Felix is Argos, but this episode doesn't really make it clear if she knows Felix is a Sentimonster or not. If it was clear Amelie knew nothing about what Felix really was, it would arguably make things easier to stomach, as she wouldn't know the power Colt had over him.

Instead, even though she's Felix's mother, the show doesn't really explain what she actually did when Colt was making Felix's life a living hell, especially since the flashback says that Amelie was forced to marry Colt, so you can't even say she was blinded by love here. Hell, I'm not even sure if Amelie knew the cause of Colt's untimely passing.

#4:This Doesn’t Really Do Much to Explain Felix’s Actions

Now before you say I'm being insensitive, let me make one thing clear: My issue isn't with the fact that this was done to get the audience to sympathize with Felix. The problem I have is that the backstory doesn't do enough to explain why Felix did the things he did.

Okay, Felix wants the Peacock Miraculous. Understandable, he doesn't want to die, so he has to do morally questionable things to preserve his life like betraying the only person capable of stopping the man who can kill him. What's less understandable is his plan to get the Peacock Miraculous from Gabriel. You'll notice that the backstory didn't mention Felix's first appearance, where he only stole the rings belonging to Amelie's family, and he didn't even think to look for the Peacock. Instead, it cuts from Felix realizing he's a Sentimonster to him striking a deal with Gabriel, not even mentioning that he gave Gabriel back one of the rings as part of the deal, which still makes no sense.

If Felix's goal from the start was to get the Peacock Miraculous, why did he bother stealing all of Marinette's Miraculous as a bargaining chip for the deal instead of the family ring? In fact, why did Felix even steal the ring and wait an entire season to trade it back to Gabriel for the Peacock a season later? And for someone who claims to care about Adrien, he really didn't see anything wrong with giving Gabriel one of the two rings capable of overriding his free will.

As a matter of fact, why the hell is Felix even so hostile towards Adrien? Why did he go out of his way to smear his reputation in his debut episode if all he wanted to do was make a bargain with Hawkmoth? In “Risk”, he mocked Adrien for how he talked, while Adrien himself was aware of how he made him look bad in front of his friends, and that's not even getting into how he made himself look like Adrien as part of his plan to betray Ladybug, which would have screwed him even more if Adrien wasn't already Cat Noir. For someone who claims he wants to protect him from Gabriel, Felix really doesn't care about his cousin all that much.

In fact, why does Felix even hate Gabriel at all? The show hinted that the two had a history, yet during the backstory, which I need to remind you, was told from Felix's perspective on the events, has a surprisingly generous portrayal of Gabriel. Did Felix know Gabriel was Hawkmoth/Shadowmoth/Monarch during his first appearance? Does Felix blame Gabriel for how Colt treated him growing up? Does Felix hate Gabriel for how he treats Adrien? Did Gabriel intend to get Colt sick in the first place? Seriously, what is Felix's deal with Gabriel?!

How does a flashback organized by Felix himself do nothing to really explain why he did the things he did?

#5: The Fact That There Are STILL Several Unanswered Questions Here

For something meant to fill the audience in on several important topics, there are still so many questions about the history of the Agreste and Graham de Vanily families.

Other than the vague backstory about them being rich, we still know nothing about Emilie and Amelie other than them being rich and possibly infertile. We don't know if Amelie ever loved Colt, if she knew he was abusing Felix, or if she even knew if he used the Peacock to play god.

On a related note, why did Emilie and Gabriel decide to use the Peacock Miraculous to create a son instead of adopting? Scratch that, why did she specifically create a Sentimonster to give birth to like a normal baby? Was there some kind of Macbeth-esque guideline that Emilie had to give birth to a child in order for said child to get the inheritance? Did she use the ring to control Adrien like Gabriel does now? Seriously, this is the character the show's conflict is all based around, and we still know nothing about her other than the fact that she was nice.

This flashback just makes no sense, and is such a stupid and confusing way to deliver exposition.

Anyway, during all this, Cat Noir and Nightormentor are fighting, and for the third time this season, Cat Noir attempts to Cataclysm him someone, even when he had Nightormentor pinned down. Nightormentor breaks free and hits Cat Noir with his magic dust, causing him to hallucinate... Cat Blanc?

Yeah, the script calls this form “Anticat”, but given how it looks like a reused Cat Blanc model coupled with the petrified people of Paris, this is clearly meant to bring Cat Blanc to mind. The problem is that NEITHER CAT NOIR OR NIGHTORMENTOR KNOW ABOUT THAT. Why would you remind audiences about an Akuma that technically never existed?

Better yet, is this what Cat Noir trying to his Cataclysm on people this past season (Destruction, Jubilation, Derision) has been building up to? The fear that he'll lose control? You could have fooled me, as he never really showed that much remorse for almost hurting people other than Monarch. Yeah, you could argue that because Nightormentor based his hallucinations off his victims' worst fears, but again, this fear had little to no buildup this season because Cat Noir never felt any guilt for Cataclysming Monarch after “Destruction”, and whenever tried to use his Cataclysm on other people, Cat Noir never really realized the weight of his actions. If you want to make a character arc about Cat Noir worrying about hurting people with his powers, go more into the guilt he feels for hurting Monarch and using that guilt to affect his actions. Don't just use some “Cat Blanc” nostalgia bait to convince the audience that there's been a character arc.

Nightormentor takes advantage of Cat Noir's emotional state to get his Miraculous, only for the Resistance to save Cat Noir by... throwing stuff at him. And this is how they defeat him. While Nino, Alya, Ivan, and Zoe distract Nightormentor, Kim and Max help Cat Noir focus, Cat Noir Cataclysms Nightormentor's baton.

Zoe traps the Akuma in a jar, Cat Noir doesn't take it, he heads off to detransform and confess to Marinette, only for the hallucination to still affect him since Ladybug didn't use Miraculous Ladybug to fix the damage, and even though he knows it's just a hallucination, he still uses it as a reason to not reveal his identity to Marinette, even after Ladybug de-evilizes the Akuma herself.

The episode ends with Gabriel and Tomoe locking Adrien and Kagami in these white rooms while under heavy surveillance to ensure they won't escape, vowing to start “Operation: Perfect Alliance”. Because these two like using the word “perfect” more than they like subjecting their children to what one of my anons referred to as “white torture”.

Because that's a good way to keep your children under control: psychological torment.

Other than the stuff with Felix and Kagami, this episode was pretty dull.

There's just not much I can really say here. The plot was barebones, all Marinette did was listen to Felix and Kagami's story so the writers didn't have to involve any of them in the main conflict, and even Cat Noir confronting his akumatized father doesn't have a lot of weight to it because towards the end, it focuses more on Adrien's nightmare instead of his relationship with his father.

This episode is nothing more than a prologue for the final battle. It's only here to establish Adrien and Kagami's presence in London, Marinette learning Gabriel is Monarch, and even more setup for Gabriel and Tomoe's final plan. And trust me, the buildup will be far from worth it.

THE BIGGEST IDIOT OF THE EPISODE IS... FELIX

It's amazing. The only time this season Felix goes out of his way to actually help Ladybug, and he still screws it up. He abducted Kagami from her hotel in London without thinking of Tomoe hunting him down again when that was the entire plot of “Pretension”, only decided to tell Marinette he knows who Monarch is because he's getting in the way of his relationship with his girlfriend, did so in an unnecessarily convoluted way, and even though he made a big deal about not wanting to use Sentimonsters in his last appearance, he still used one to tell Marinette his life story instead of just saying “My uncle is Monarch”.

And if you think Felix will get a chance to truly redeem himself in the finale, think again, bucko. Other than a brief cameo, this is the last thing he'll do this season. Aren't you glad the writers made this character prominent for seven episodes over three seasons and did nothing else with him?

[starsfic]

Hollow Wedding

The wedding could've come from a magazine spread, it was so perfect.

Notre Dame was decorated in white, the only pops of color being red here and there and the stained glass window cast shimmering pops of color on the couple. On either side of them were the groomsmen and bridesmaids, three each, all dressed in matching outfits. It was a wedding straight out of a movie.

It was beautiful. Perfect.

Hollow.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng could practically feel the hollowness in the air. Despite what Alya claimed, that she still had deep feelings for Adrien, it wasn't that made her feel hollow. It was just too perfect. The way Adrien held his bride's hand, how he placed the ring on her finger, how they kissed. Each motion was perfectly rehearsed and bare of any real emotion.

The only thing that made it imperfect was that Alya kept glancing at her. Ever since Adrien had announced his engagement, she had pushed Marinette to do something about it. She still didn't seem to understand that Marinette no longer wanted Adrien. Since her break up with Luka, of course she would want to rebound with the guy who made her feel shame for her own emotions.

Of course.

Marinette didn't do anything and Alya finally settled with a sigh. She was almost like Chat Noir, who announced he was engaged out of the blue and kept glancing at her ever since the news, probably hoping she would react more than her congratulations.

She hoped his wedding was more real than this.

The reception carried the hollowness as well. It was all perfectly decorated and such as well, but there was nothing that could hide that feeling. And, as she sat down with Alya and Nino, she could see other guests look around, weirdly unsettled.

"Ugh, that was the creepiest ceremony I've ever sat through," Nino said in a whisper. "Like, I thought the bride was about to drop dead."

Marinette nodded. "I noticed it too." She glanced at the stage before Alya could comment any more on "her true feelings". "Aren't you gonna give a speech?"

Nino shook his head. "Nah, dudette. Gabriel made Adrien make his cousin his best man, so he's giving the speech."

"I didn't even know he had a cousin," Alya said as the cousin in question, Felix or something, started talking. "Who was the other guy?"

"I don't know, some model Adrien knows? From what I heard, the bride doesn't even know the bridesmaids, they're all related to Adrien or Emilie somehow."

"Huh? Seriously?"

Alya's eyes went wide. "Oh boy," she said. "Suddenly, I'm glad you never confessed your feelings, Mari."

"I'm glad you finally realized," she couldn't help but snark. Honestly, she would have rather died than have a wedding like this. She would've wanted to be married at the little temple her parents did, blending Chinese and French customs together and even having her parents make her wedding cake. With how Gabriel and Emilie this all felt, she wouldn't be surprised if Adrien's wedding had always been planned to be a wedding do-over. She pushed that thought aside to focus on the issue. "But, the bride didn't know any of them?"

Nino nodded. "Yeah. I asked if...uh..." He paused, trying to think. "I can't remember her name- Akane? I think that's her name, I asked if something had happened so they had to step in, but Adrien kinda just said that she didn't have any friends."

"She could've," Alya snarked, "If she actually bothered to show up to the hang-outs like you invited her to."

The wedding reception, thankfully, grew more lively after dinner was served after that comment. Marinette couldn't help but dance with Alya as Nino DJed, his music providing a spark of life to the hollowness of everything.

Soon, however, she had to pull away. "Getting some air!" she called so Alya could hear, receiving a nod. Marinette walked away from the huddle, stepping out of the reception entirely. The reception had been held in Chloe's hotel with doors leading to the roof.

And, up on the roof, was the bride.

Marinette, the moment she saw the white gown, was tempted to just turn and head back inside. But something in her paused, made her just look at the woman who married her lycee crush.

She was startlingly pretty, with short dark hair and eyes, even with the frostiness that always seemed to follow her, that had a hint of sweetness. The dress looked lovely, but it seemed washed out against her. If Marinette had designed the wedding dress, she would've chosen a more bold color, like red.

And then she realized that the bride was staring at her.

"Uh, hi, sorry-" Marinette said, stepping back. "I didn't know anyone was up here, I can just-"

"It's fine." Short and to the point.

Marinette nodded, walking up to stand next to the bride. They stood in silence together, just watching the city. No akumas had come today, despite her fears of Adrien's fan club reacting badly to him getting married. (Chloe's akuma in reaction to the news was enough.) It was another perfect moment for the movie that was this wedding.

"Akane, right?"

"Kagami, actually." The moment the correction hit her ears, Marinette wanted to shrivel up. Fuck, hadn't that been the name on the invite? She was so dumb! "Although that might as well be my name for how much Adrien cares about me."

"Huh?"

"It's Marinette, correct?" Kagami said, no explanation for her statement.

"Uh, yeah." Marinette cleared her throat. "I'm glad I could finally meet you. We tried to schedule stuff, but-"

"But you guys had to cancel. I understand."

Huh. Wait. What? "What, no? Adrien and you cancelled. He kept texting Nino that his dad suddenly changed his mind or you guys had a really important event."

"No. We would leave to meet with you and then he would get a text saying that stuff had to be cancelled so I always went home." She expected anger or maybe relief. Instead, Kagami's face seemed to crumple. "I bet he was with her," she said. A tear rolled down her cheek and she reached up, looking startled.

With the whiplash of Adrien supposedly lying to Kagami and maybe, possibly, lying to Nino and them, Marinette could only ask "Who?"

"The girl he's in love with," Kagami admitted, voice thick with tears. More tears rolled down her cheeks and it was heartbreaking. "You know, I should've taken it as a hint that, right after our first date, he admitted he wasn't over this girl. I pushed past it, I thought I could-" A sob welled up and Kagami let it out. Marinette couldn't help it. She wrapped her arms around her, hoping she could provide some comfort. The other woman froze, just for a second, before arms wrapped stiffly around her. "I thought I could change his mind. I thought we were so perfect together."

"Perfection isn't a thing," Marinette admitted. "No matter how hard Gabriel tries to think it is."

"I should've left him after we got engaged and he admitted that I was just a placeholder for this other girl," Kagami said, sending a hot wave of rage through Marinette. "I saw him while we were preparing. He kept checking his phone..."

I'll check my messages if you have any last-minute objections, my lady.

Marinette shook her head. No. Adrien wasn't like that. Except, as it turned out, he was. She pushed away those thoughts to focus on Kagami. A ridiculous thought came up, except in the face of all this, it probably wasn't that ridiculous. "...it's not too late to walk away." Sure, it would probably hurt Adrien to have his wife annul their marriage the day of their wedding, but what about Kagami?

"It is," Kagami sounded so calm about this, even with the tears rolling down her face. "Tsurugis don't back down from anything."

"Tsurugis should also be respected and be in relationships that respect them." It was snarky but true.

There was a moment of silence. Marinette almost pulled away from how still Kagami suddenly seemed.

Then the other woman pulled away, a cold glint freezing her face over, even as her eyes were puffy and pink. Marinette almost apologized when she spoke. "I'll meet you downstairs in ten minutes," she said.

"...Okay."

Kagami smiled and nodded before walking through the door. Marinette, left on the roof, blinked and then pulled out her phone. In an old group chat, she left one message.

PinkFlower: Get the car ready the marriage's getting annulled.

By the time she arrived at the parking lot, Alya and Nino, plus Juleka, Rose, Alix, Mylene and Ivan, were waiting at Nino's van. "What the heck did you do, girl?!" she said. "Adrien's already married one day and you become a homewrecker?"

"Not on that side," Marinette corrected. She turned her head at what sounded like a furious shriek and the music from the back-up DJ screeching to a stop. In the next minute, the doors opened, revealing Kagami.

Marinette's guess was right. She did look good in red, especially in the jumpsuit she had changed into.

"What did you do?" Marinette asked, just a little frightened and a lot swooning. Alya gaped, glancing from her to Kagami. Alix and Juleka, based on the noises, were stifling laughter.

"I did what I should've done a long time ago," Kagami said, holding out her arm. Marinette, still a little bit flustered, took it. "I told my mother about Adrien and his other lady. She's contacting our family lawyer now."

Damn. If her mother was anything like Gabriel...

"I also looked up some restaurants nearby. There's one with very good orange juice, if you would like?" She leaned in close, as if worried that someone would overhear and take offense. "The catering was not my choice."

...the food hadn't been great.

"Yeah," Marinette said as Nino opened the door to his van. "Yeah, I would like that."

Kagami's smile was beautiful, perfect, and full of life.

[generalluxun]

I'm still trying to get my head around Chat Noir's complete sidelining not just in the finale, but pretty much the entirety of the show. Based on some of the tweets I've seen, Thomas Astruc is pretty hostile to the suggestion that Chat should have more of a share of the narrative.

So... why? Why make his family, his very existence, the fulcrum on which the show turns? If you want to be the show to only be about Marinette, with Adrien as a side character and "just" a love interest, then MAKE the show only about Marinette. Don't make the main plot about Adrien, and wonder why people are confused when he's not more involved in the main plot. It's such a self-inflicted wound.

Heck, the least they could have done was give Marinette SOME personal stake in her conflict with Hawkmoth, even if it's as uncomplicated as making Marinette a paragon-type superhero like Superman or Captain American who takes her duty to the people of Paris very seriously and feels deeply about the hurt Hawkmoth's is putting them through. But most of Marinette's personal conflicts are about romance or school dynamics. The closest any of her conflicts come to her actual enmity with Hawkmoth are those that deal with the stress of being a superhero/Guardian, in which Hawkmoth doesn't really feature as a person who is her mortal enemy but as an impersonal cause for the stress she's in.

While the finale tries to summon some emotional weight to Marinette's situation, the final fight, at least on Ladybug's end, feels less like the culmination of an epic rivalry and more like a contractual obligation Marinette needs to meet as Gabriel's assigned nemesis.

I mean, the unsatisfying but true answer is twofold:

1)TA never wanted Ladybug to have a partner. That was a requirement in order to get producers lined up to hand over money. It should be understood that I am NOT trashing the producers for this. It is their money. If you want to pursue your purely artistic goal then you secure other funding or self fund. If you want to get something MADE then you have to make what people want to pay to have made. A portion of the friction here comes from the fact that I don't think TA ever stopped fighting for his original version of the show, and that version conflicts directly with the version he was paid to write for.

2)In the context of the above- Adrien is a TROPHY. Gabriel is the DRAGON, and his home life is the TOWER that the KNIGHT Marinette must rescue him from. If Adrien were a side-character he wouldn't be much of a trophy, investment wise. Is it good to make a character purely a trophy? No. It's not good when it is done ot female characters, it's not good when it's done to male ones either. (Or intersex, enby, nongendered, etc) We've moved past the kind of storytelling TA is selling in his vision of ML. It feels like something out of the early 00's, which when you consider where he started his work, makes a lot of sense.

Should they have connected Marinette to Gabriel more? Absolutely! They both do fashion! SHE could have had an internship right along with Lila. Can you imagine the rivalry there? Can you imagine the conflicts with Gabriel?

At the VERY least they should have let Marinette actually track down abriel. Let her put all her planning and analysis to good use! Instead they just had Felix do it all and then some blind luck at the end. That's LAME, that's cheating Marinette out of a well deserved culmination story beat.

Punching has never been what Ladybug was about, so a final fight could never be a satisfying climax no matter how 'epic' it was.

[gryficowa]

Something pisses me off that people in the fandom reduce all the criticism of the episode with Marinette's trauma to the fact that people in the fandom are stupid or love Chloe too much and hate Marinette

No, people don't like this episode because it has no respect for the viewer and it has many problems that are revealed later in the same season, on top of that, I question whether Adrien's trauma was addressed at all in a respectful way, or whether they justified everything by that he is a senti monster? Exactly

By the way, defenders of this episode, I hope you were going after Felix like you were going after Chloe? Oh no, wait, he was a victim of domestic violence and he was rich, so like Chloe, but he was a boy, so his trauma is more important

But coming back, this episode with Marinette's trauma is problematic on many levels, mainly because it fucks with the logic even more than in the first season when in the episode "Origins" when they rescued Chloe, and then in "Lady Wi-Fi", the chat noir suspects that Chloe it's a ladybug and don't ask about logic, because there is none

Not only does Kim and Chloe make so much sense that Chat Noir from the episode "Lady Wi-Fi" could give a high five on this topic, but calling it "Feature Sharpening" is an understatement, it's more like Thomas had too much to drink before writing the entire script for the episode, and like a typical kid, he created the episode like one of the "Scooby-Doo" movies, where Scrappy-Doo was an out-of-character character in order to be antagonized (Because the fandom didn't like him, so it's better to kill off the whole character this way)

What's the best way to end the story of a father who abuses his child? Give him a statue, the fandom will 100% love it

Seriously, Thomas, we all know you didn't write this episode for traumatized people, but just to go the way people did to kill Scrappy-Doo, which was to kill Chloe herself so that the fandom would hate her and Kim in the process suffered, because why not?

And by the way, to explain your imaginary daughter with your ex…

The standards of this series also contributed to the reception of this episode, and I would also like to remind you that Zag wanted redemption for Chloe, but Thomas himself did not want it, so when Zag left to create the film, Thomas went to destroy the whole Chloe, because like a child he cannot reconcile with this, that a fictional character can have any development and tried his hardest to kill Chloe like a Scappy-Doo movie, seriously Thomas, I understand a lot, but as a creator you should use it to your advantage and not kill her off because you hate your character so much (Like a child what creates illustrations of cartoon characters dying because he hates them)

Seriously, this show has 00's to 2010 vibes, but today? Such productions are more annoying than entertaining (And I say this as a 01-year-old)

This writing by Chloe and Kim seriously has Scrappy-Doo movie vibes to me

So the episode with Marinette's trauma is even more irritating, because anyone sensitive will notice what Thomas did here and it is a seriously conscious murder of his characters.

The context of this episode makes you feel offended rather than understood by the creator, because it's not about empathy towards people with trauma like Marinette, but about killing off the characters of Chloe and Kim

No matter how much I love the trope of the main character who, over time, turns out to have a trauma that the viewer doesn't know about, this show fucked it up and resulted in a not-so-good taste

It's just the context of this episode that causes it, I'm seriously sensitive to this way of writing and it has irritated me since I was a child, I was hoping that the newer the cartoons, the more it would disappear, but then Thomas appeared and did my hated trope, but turned it up to the max

Sometimes I wonder why many great creators get as few seasons as possible, while Thomas gets more

Because no matter how much I liked this show, after Chloe's arc fell apart and the writing fell apart because killing Chloe is more important than everything else in this show, it made me fed up

And because of creators like Thomas, many people consider animations as worthless and only entertainment for small children, because Thomas' writing style is effortless (And even productions for preschoolers can handle it, yes, I'm talking about "Bluey"), just as little as possible, and the fact that the fandom swallows everything has a simple task in this topic

Thomas had a good idea, but Miracolous's greatest enemy was Thomas himself

Damn, it's hard for me to come back to the series, but "Ladybug PV" is awesome, so Thomas himself has gone backwards in the development of his work, literally.

Ok, Felix was still problematic (It was chat noir back then, for those who don't know the history of the miracolous creation process)

But if Thomas could develop the character… Oh no, wait, he can't, that's why Felix became Adrien

By the way, Mr. Pigeon and the mime from the first season appeared in this version, just an interesting fact

I also have the impression that the characters had a better design than in the current series

There was another 3D version, which also looked amazing, so the version we got is the worst and this thought kills me, because this series could have been something more, but Thomas himself killed it, i.e. the creator killed his creation before showing it in its entirety to the world (Congratulations, Thomas)

Yes, I had to let go of all my frustration with the show and the fandom, because it's fucked up that when you criticize the bad writing of Marinette's trauma, people come up with their theories on why you do it, not why you do it and why you don't like it

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

Let's say you have complete creative control.

How would you write a Marinette (non-Akuma/Amok) corruption arc?

If I had complete creative control, I wouldn't do a corruption arc for Marinette, I'd do one for Gabriel. But I'm assuming you want me to pretend I would do one for Marinette, so I will because why not? How I'd do it would depend heavily on when the writing team gave up and shoved the story into my hands. For the purposes of this hypothetical, I'm going to have to lean into the bad writing, so read on at your own risk.

Current state: as of the end of season five, Marinette seemingly knows that Adrien is a sentimonster. Marinette also has anxiety issues and there's a new butterfly villain on the loose whose knowledge regarding Adrien and connection to Gabriel are unknown. We also have Felix's previous less-than-heroic actions and Nathalie's status as Gabriel's former right hand lady. With all these less-than-awesome people out there, fully aware of Adrien's vulnerability, we have a pretty fantastic setup for an arc where Marinette gets ever more paranoid and controlling in the name of keeping Adrien safe from this new villain. Basically have her spiral into Gabriel 2.0 where her love for Adrien is used to justify terrible things. Not a setup I'd want to watch, but it does fit the show's treatment of The Power of Love so, you know, do with that what you will.

Season three up to near the end of season five: Something to do with Lila making Marinette lose all faith in her friends because, if you're going to write them as terrible friends, you may as well own it. Have Marinette feel like she's sacrificing everything for people who treat her like a villain or a child in spite of all she does, so she decides why bother to be the good guy? Why make all these sacrifices when it never works out for her? I'd probably have her stop showing up to fights like Chat Noir did in Kuro Neko, only if Ladybug did that it would be a much bigger deal. You could even have her full out quit and give Chat Noir her miraculous and the miracle box as a bit of a "fine, you do it and see if you can do it better" thing. Basically anything that lets her go fully selfish due to pressure and poor treatment since it's really not fair that Adrien's the only one who's allowed to miss battles and give up his miraculous when he doesn't feel appreciated.

A variation on this could be quitting because of something like her friends are putting too much pressure on her re:Adrien combined with the show's love of never letting her make the right call when it really matters, so she snaps from all this pressure on every side.

Pre season three: I don't think there's really a great lead up to a corruption in the earlier seasons. Things were pretty great back then. Idk, maybe have her snap from frustration with Chat Noir never taking things seriously, so she starts mimicking him, leading to people getting hurt? (Reminder, I think this is a writing issue when it comes to Chat Noir, but it's there and I said we were going to lean into canon's bad writing for this so here we are.)

And there you go! My takes on evil!Marinette. As I said at the start, I'm not interested in writing any of these. While I do think canon has the setup for them, they rely too heavily on things canon should never have done. Things that don't fit my image of Marinette's core character.

I'm also not big on corruption arcs for heroes. For me, they fall under the same category as the broken partnership/team trope: interesting concept, but one that's rarely executed in a satisfying way. They also tend to be too depressing and/or tragic for my tastes.

My two major hobbies are writing/reading fiction and studying world history/cultures. World history isn't all doom and gloom, but there's a lot of harsh, tragic, and sad things to be found in the past. As such, I've never really enjoyed fictional stories with a hopeless feeling to them. I turn to fictional worlds to escape reality. To go to places full of satisfying endings that are, at worst, bittersweet. If I'm reading a tragedy, I want something that's all or mostly historical fact. Not a matter of judgment, just one of personal preference.

[gale-gentlepenguin]

So I know Representation came out today. And any good fan would wait a week before reviewing it as we still have episode 23 to watch.

GOOD THING IM A DEGENERATE

Gale Reviews: ML Season 5 episode 24 Representation

spoilers below

-So as expected, Chloé didnt stay mayor long. But Apparently Ms.Bustier is running for Mayor and might win

-Oh its the Fencing teacher/ guy who was Darkblade. Well clearly Ms.Bustier is going to win

-And Adrien and Kagami are a power couple? But Adrien is watching the news report while they are in London. Something seems VERY off

-Ah, Gabriel is behind it. And Adrien HATES it.

-"By letting your father decide your life and selling your story through a fake narrative as usual." DAMN Plagg holds no punches

-Plagg appologized though.

-Kagami is also pissed about it

-HEY ITS FELIX/ARGOS

-Wait ... is that really my chaotic son? HEARTS ON WINDOWS.

-Thats adorable, WTF

-Okay so THEY got some development.

-Adrien deciding to just say f*** it. He is heading to paris and Telling Marinette he's chat noir!

-Marinette back in paris looks miserable. Poor baby girl. Also its a lovely dress.

-Marinette has been crying. I am going to kill Gabriel

-Marinette being strong for her friends to enjoy this dance. Thats really big of her.

-Unfortunately, Spotlight.

-Wait, how did Argos and Kagami get to Paris BEFORE Astrochat? Unless they left much earlier but even then. My bet is Argos made a sentimonster that would warp them places... but that seems like BS.

-KAGAMI KNOWS MARINETTE IS LADYBUG?! Since perfection. Damn.

-KAGAMI TOLD FELIX!?!?!?! FELIX?!?!?! Okay I am a bit salty about that

-OH S***! THEY KISSED. The Feligami stans are Eating today.

-Felix is dressed like Adrien? Oh I do not like where this seems to be going.

-And Marinette thought she saw Adrien and wants to go after him while her friends are thanking her for everything she's done. Way to ruin a good moment FELIX you ass!

-Side note, WHY is Marinette the only one in a dress? Like its a dance? Why couldnt everyone Have dressed up? Seriously, I know outfit renders are expensive. DID THE KITCHEN COST THAT MUCH?

-Marinette avoiding the Lesbian bee and accidentally interrupting the Bi artist and writer. Sure is Pride month in Paris.

-Okay this is just cruel. Marinette thinks she is having a break down over this. Side note. WHY ISNT ADRIEN ACTUALLY HERE YET? HE IS ASTROCHAT!

-Alya and Nino trying to comfort her. But she aint listening.

-Adrien and Kagami escaped and the parents are pissed

-Oh no Nathalie looks really bad right now. Poor thing. All she can do is watch videos of her true love Emilie

-He took the ring back, guess now that Nathalie is too weak to fight him. Which really brings up the question, WHAT HAPPENED in the last episode that Nathalie took such a turn.

-Gabriel is being a d*** as usual

-Nightormentor sounds like a cool name. And while I thought the color scheme is weird... its probably the best akumatized form Gabriel has taken. Sad but true

-AND OF COURSE RIGHT AS SHE LEAVES ASTROCAT ARRIVES. I know its plot convenience but thats bull s***

-"His father CANT have that much control of him" Oh if only you knew Nino

-And BOOM! Gabriel the bitch agreste arrives

-I am liking Rose so much recently. She is calling out EVERYONE

-So he basically has the powers of Sandboy mixed with Darkerowl

-the guy has the power to make you experience VERY intrusive thoughts. That is evil

-Chat noir is like "Hey ladybug gonna go beat up my father text me later"

-Dude Felix must be an Olympic speed walker

-Marinette is basically being nightormented without that bastard even being here. Felix, Kagami this is just a jerk move.

Duusu: "This is so sad" Felix: "Dont worry its for Our happy ending" Duusu: F*** yea lets keep it up

-Oh he made a sentimonster... wait. I know its not human but like a sentimonster MAKING sentimonsters. Feels even more f***ed up

-THEY ARE DOING A F***ING PLAY FOR HER!?

-OH MY GOSH! ITS THE STORY OF EMILIE AND AMELIE!

-Meanwhile, Chat noir is working through his daddy issues.

-Back to the play

-Oh this is interesting.

-Oh and we find out Felix's dad was a rich Cowboy. But also an asshole. (Oh right, this is a French Cartoon, thats why American's suck in this)

-Back to Adrien fighting his father

-This is Cathartic watching Chat noir beat Gabriel's ASS

-HE WAS GOING TO CATACLYSM HIS DAD! Adrien, my boy. Patricide adrien? Well Monarch is still alive, so I guess you think it wouldnt kill him. BTW, Monarch should have had ptsd from that.

-And Chat noir got hit, so his worst fear is... and cuts back to the play

-Oh the twins were infertile. Emilie returned to try and get medical help but still nothing.

-The peacock, that was the sentimonster reference

-Oh so THATS how Gabriel got Gorilla to guard adrien.

-Also yea, any doubt that they arent sentimonsters is dead now.

-ITS CHAT BLANC WITH BLUE HAIR!?

-Oh s*** that is f***ed up.

-"It will end if you give me your miraculous"

-"Take it." ADRIEN NO!

-Oh so thats why Felix's dad was an a**hole. Okay I will give this credit. That is something.

-Welp this explains why Felix might be a sociopath

-Felix revealing why he did what he did

-THE RESISTANCE! COMING IN CLUTCH

-THE TRAY!

-ALYA JUMPED ON HIS BACK.

-They got the akuma in a jar.

-Wait, Chat noir defeated an akuma without Ladybug. (sure he had outside help, but Ladybug has done that too). Good on him

-WELL S*** THAT WAS TRIPPY.

-Felix and Kagami asked for Marinette's help. so was that all the sentimonster doing so? I am lost

-Okay so, I may not LIKE exactly how they went about it. But I cant really hate them for what they did. They are just kids that want to pick someone they trust.

-Oh s***, Ladybug never cast miraculous cure. So Adrien has some perminant trauma from the fight with Nightormentor. He still sees the antichat visions (its not chat blanc, and its just reverse color pallet)

-Chat noir left. before he could tell her. Cause the nightmare messed with him

-WAIT DID TOMOE AND GABRIEL JUST LOCK THEIR CHILDREN IN STERILE ROOMS? WTF!

_________________________________________________________

Okay! This episode was A LOT.

Well there is no denying Sentimonster theory. Its confirmed. Its done. 100% GUARANTEE NO MONEY BACK.

It did explain a LOT about Felix and Adrien.

So I am still iffy on how it was handled.

Now this DOES NOT justify Felix's Actions. He was still an a**hole. And Kagami shouldnt have told Felix. Marinette is Ladybug. That was NOT her secret to tell.

BUT the play that explained what happened was very well done. It explained a LOT about the Graham de Vanily family and Felix's a**hole father.

I will say that I hated how tortured Marinette was during this. Felix and Kagami could have done something less cruel to lure her there.

I also greatly enjoyed Chat noir vs Nightormentor. very good catharsis and we have Adrien going through some additional mental trauma, inflicted by his father (I wouldnt call it Ironic, more of EXPECTED)

I give it 7.5/10

I will say its the most I have enjoyed the second half of this season since Emotion.

[san-fics]

Day 16. Drive Me Nuts

Felinette November 2024

(upcoming on Ao3, published on Patreon)

_________

[Song-fic, ‘Crazy’ by Aerosmith]

“Felix, I need you,” the woman said, still seriously, almost sternly, not at all how he wanted these words to come from her lips. But his traitorous heart melted hearing them all the same…

Marinette came closer and stood very, very close to him, between Felix and his desk, her gaze fixed on the pavilion blueprint. “Oh, that's exactly what I wanted to talk to you about,” she said, turning her back to him completely to point her finger somewhere on the building plan. “Right here, see? Where we have planned an area for showing new models…”

By this point, Felix’s brain had already begun to shut down, because it clearly didn’t have enough blood to function—all of it going down to where his body was closest to the tempting roundnesses of Marinette's butt, covered with a thin, tight fabric. In fact, some parts of Felix's body were now in extremely dangerous proximity to those very roundnesses, and he, of course, could no longer perceive either what she wanted to change in the design of the complex, or look where she was pointing on the construction plan...

Marinette finished speaking and turned to face both men. ”Well, what do you think?” she asked, resting her palms on her hips.

Felix blinked silently, trying desperately to remember at least one sentence from what she had just said, but his mind seemed completely blank, the blood stubbornly refused to return to its place, as if it wasn’t afraid of being caught in an illegal maneuver…

“That’s a great idea, Mari!” responded Adrien, God bless him, taking the hit. Not that he was in any danger of getting an actual hit, of course, Marinette's favorite that he was… But this time Adrien had saved his cousin from looking like a complete idiot, so today Felix was even ready to forgive him for all those greeting kisses...

“Well?” Marinette demanded, turning to Felix, only after she smiled approvingly at Adrien, of course. “What does Mr. Fathom think?”

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[celestiall0tus]

So, let's finally analyze this finale...

I , like many on here, feel that it is time to talk about the finale of Miraculous s5. I personally have had time to sit on it and read some of the views of others in the fandom and let's fully dive into this.

So, let's get the big one out of the way: Adrien. I know a lot of people are upset with the way that he was handled, and I see why. I personally am indifferent, but I see the issues clear as day. Adrien should have been there. He should have been there for the final altercation, but was denied that. Instead, he got to be the classic damsel in distress, a Grimm's fairytale heroine that had no true say in their fate. Yes, Adrien couldn't fight his father since Gabriel had the rings, but Gabriel didn't know that Adrien was Chat Noir. Thus, he could have been there for that fight so long as he was never revealed.

On top of this is the bad writing when it comes to the "nightmares." I had briefly mentioned this before, but didn't fully elaborate. So, allow me to while I blissfully ignore that BS magic was involved. Nightmares in the purest sense are vivid dreams that possess a threatening, upsetting, bizarre, or bothersome quality. What Monarch did would technically count as nightmares being bothersome, but shouldn't have invoked that level of response. I get that magic was clearly involved, but wasn't fully explained, at least to what I took in. As I understand it, he brought forth their worst fears to manifest as "nightmares." This is my personal biggest gripe as nightmares aren't like that. While vivid, they aren't clear cut and to the point. They are vague and terrifying. Like, being chased around a resort full of strangers by a murder that specifically wants to do you harm and you are terrified. Or even you being a serial killer that goes on a rampage, killing children. Or, better yet, a vision of a white-faced demon with a long, trunk like nose trying to invade your sanctuary while you run away in complete terror and before you dive into darkness you hear her ask that you come see her so she can die. Those are nightmares. Not what the show portrayed as "nightmares."

That leads me into Monarch's plan. On paper, it's actually impressive. And worked, but only because of unclear magic rules in effect. As I stated above, I don't remember a mention how the emotions would have been blown out of proportion, just that the nightmares would surface and haunt the people. As such, I find it incredibly irritating that everyone reacted the way that they did. I get brainwashing with technology and that BS, but it just felt so stupid. Like, I get the rest of the world turning on Ladybug and Chat Noir, but Paris? You're telling me that in the whole of Paris, where Ladybug and Chat Noir have been working to protect the people, are that quick to turn on their heroes and Alya is the only one to call bullshit on it? What the fuck? Seriously? Fucking bullshit on all aspects.

I have no thoughts on the fight between Bug Noire and Monarch until the final bit where Bugaboo holds Monarch at gunpoint. I do wonder if Bug was paying attention to all the rings on Monarch's hand and saw the twin rings. If I'm not mistaken (which I may be) those were present during Felix and Kagami's reenactment, so she'd know there was an amok in there, right? She'd know that was Adrien's entire life right there, right? So, I get why Gabriel acted the way he did. On some level, he was keeping his son safe. To a degree, Adrien has been a reason why Gabriel does what he does (even if he is willing to sacrifice his son at certain points and use him like another tool in his arsenal). It's actually poetic that Monarch is able to take advantage of Marinette being a fucking dumbass when she de transforms. Lesson learned, not everyone is trustworthy. There are people that are legitimately out there to get you. I get that she is young, but there you go. Or, well, maybe not.

One gripe I want to get to before something that has always irked me. Gabriel got his wish. A fucking reality altering wish. As much as I'd like to forget that Ephemeral exists, it does and we're left with the fact that is what happens when a wish is made. I was genuinely hoping that it remained contained to the what if scenario, but here we are. Reality has been warped to what Gabriel wanted in the end. A soft reset if you will. I fucking hate this shit. It's not enough that you have to pay a price for the wish. No, we need to rewrite reality on top of that. Fucking bullshit on so many fucking levels that I just fucking can't. Absolute bullshit. I don't fucking care if you let him have the damn wish, just don't fucking add in that it changes all of fucking reality. Like, FUCK!

So, that which irks me. The fact that the fucking kwamis are bound to obey those that hold their jewels. Like, fucking hell. This will always piss me off. These are essentially god like beings that they themselves see as a danger and need to be contained. Like, what the fuck? It annoyed the ever living hell out of me that Plagg and Tikki just had to bend over backward because of this. I get magic and that fucking BS, but I still hate it. If we're going to do this kind of shit, it needs to be better explained. Especially with magic because just saying "Because magic" isn't good enough. With X amount of magic systems, who fucking knows at this point. If you're going to include that shit, you need to actually explain it. And not in the fifth season where you still don't fully explain shit. Maybe they did explain it and I mentally blocked it out, but for fuck's sake, explain shit better!

I want to add in a piece I forgot. The finale could have been great if it tightened the script and series of events. A clear cut explanation for the magic and how the nightmares worked. Potentially allowing Chat to join the final battle. Cutting out all the scenes with the other people just for a reunion of sorts. They ultimately didn't add anything to Bug's final battle except as a distraction. We didn't need Luka knowing kung Fu (as hilarious as it was) we didn't need to see the other heroes from the specials, and we didn't need Bunnix returning if it doesn't help directly against Monarch aside from being a distraction. You can show us one scene of all that and continue on with the day.

That is all for this piece. I will touch on the subject of redemption and abuse as I believe they should be further explored, just not in this post. If you're interested for another L0tus rant, stay tune.

Have a good night everyone.

[sillyangstfic]

Woke up and got to thinking again! First off, I think that Felix would at least appreciate becoming human because staying a sentimonster would mean outliving everyone he loves and I don't think he's emotionally stable enough for that. Neither is Adrien. But I've taken your input and have reworked it: instead of making them fully human, the potion just makes their human side more dominant. This makes it so that they're less durable than a sentimonster but more than the average human + them no longer being tied to an amok (or their own heart/soul/brain becomes the amok). Why do I want this? Just for the sake of one fucking scene:

Gabriel, paranoid that Felix was onto him, stole the ring that used to be his amok. Adrien and Felix confront Gabriel in his Hawkmoth lair for everything, all the pain and suffering he caused. When Gabriel's usual bullshit doesn't work, he tries to use to amoks to force the pair into obedience. Except it doesn't work and he bluescreens at his loss of control. Adrien and Felix transform and Gabriel fucking loses it. Cue super awesome emotional battle between Chat Noir & Argos VS Hawkmoth while they wait for the rest of team miraculous to show up.

Also, hot take: Amélie should be the one to kill off Gabriel. The bastard spent years neglecting her nephew, deprived her sister of a good death sorrounded by loved ones, tried to kill her nephew on multiple occasions, and tried to kill her son. There's also an element of FINALLY having a competant adult in the room because all of team miraculous are CHILDREN and Fu did jack shit for them. They need a competant adult to take care of them and handle the problem's they never should've had in the first place.

Seriously just let her casually walk up to Gabriel and stab him and just leave him for dead as she moves on to care for her kids.

Bonus: You are absolutely right, we should've had a PeaDragonSnake (PDS) trio. Be it platonically, a polycule, or just a Golden Trio scenario where only two are dating but the three are so inseparable that you can't tell who's dating who. Personally I'm partial to the final option with FeLuka + Bi Kagami desperately pining for Zoé. Zoé is pining just as hard but is too much of a gay disaster to approach and Chloé is making Kagami travel to The Lands of fucking Morder and retrieve the Sword from the Stone just to prove herself worthy of even considering dating her sister. Here are the fics that converted me: FeLuka & ZoeGami.

I have a particular scene in mind where the trio is just blackout drunk. Kagami is serenading really bad poetry to describe Zoé's beauty while Felix & Luka are just making out in the background. Amelie picks them up before clothes start flying. Cut to another bar where its Chloe, Sabrina, and Adrien blackout drunk. Chloe is smugly recording Adrien being pathecially whiny that Marinette isn't picking up (it's like 2 am) and is starting to cry while Zoe is having gay panic at how pretty Kagami is in that photo. She shares it with the whole class.

In addition, Kagami's confrontation with her mother should've been a sword fight on top of a skyscraper in the middle of a storm. There's a barrier preventing Chat Noir and Ladybug from entering, on one side ya got Kagami (no miraculous, just a cool sword blessed by Longg) and on the other ya got (willingly) akumatized Tomoe. Tomoe is spouting her usual controlling bullshit while Kagami is silent and glaring daggers at her mother. The only other people in the dome are Luka and Felix who refuse to leave Kagami without backup. Cue epic fight scene that ends with Tomoe losing both her arms and a leg. Kagami also loses a few chunks of skin. It ends with Kagami taking away her mother's ring and disowning her as a traitor to the Tsurugi clan unworthy of the name (oh how the turns have tabled). Meanwhile Tomoe is absolutely terrified of how beastial her daughter became and backs off. Both stubborn bitches refuse Ladybug's miracle cure cause they need the scars to remember. (inspiration)

After that, conversation at the Tsurugi household is practically dead. Tomoe is ashamed at her loss and breaks just thinking about her prosthetics. Meanwhile, Kagami healed rather nicely (curtesy of the side effects) and is thriving while she switches between the Couffaine boathouse and the Graham de Vanily penthouse.

Ykw that scene’s pretty good human!senticousins propaganda

Also hello? How is this the first I’m hearing of this. Amelie should absolutely get to murder Gabe

Thank you for the fics also, Ima go read those

Okokok while I am a Feligami shipper, Zogami hits like hello? Oh yeah. Up there with Kagaminette for me

I think Kagami should get to write bad poetry about whoever her love interest is, and also anything and anything. I think she should be our Martin Blackwood and write horrible poetry for us

Chole getting blackmail material I see

Kagami sword fight?! Kagami sword fight?! Hell yes

Here’s my idea for that: I like the storm bit, and the showdown, top of a building is peak, but instead of Felix and Luka being there, them trying to be there, to support Kagami, but like LB and CN being unable to due to the storm

Hear me out: Kagami’s mother figures out that she’s the dragon miraculous user and uses that to get her alone on the roof, and then confronting her by handing Kagami (still transformed) her sword. Kagami, knowing she’s caught, decides to detransform and fight her mother like that, as her daughter. They battle and eventually Kagami wins, and her mother rejects the akuma on her own, accepting the loss

As a foil to Gabe, I’d have her mother learn from her mistakes. She cuts off her deals with Gabe and grows closer with her daughter. She listens to her wants more, and while she’s still strict and has high expectations, she also becomes more lenient about letting Kagami do what she wants and enjoys

[almadesarrollo]

things that could happen in MLB from S6 ONwards PART 2

so since we know a little about where everything goes...get ready, here comes the bomb hahaha. I'm going to put short sentences of everything I'm seeing and feeling coming....

-The felinette is the definitive ship and the one that gives meaning to the series.

-This shipp will be built little by little going through all the phases, friends, best friends, combat partners, lovers, boyfriends and married

-Felix will be the only one who truly empathizes, he will listen to Marinette and understand, he will take care of her and protect her, he will do this in civilian life as a hero.

-FELIX will be Ladybug's right hand man, he will start as Argos and then he will be Chatnoir.

-CHATNOIR/FELIX will have a theme that is a mixture of Batman and espionage, it will be like the quietest and most cautious missions.

-One of the reasons why FELIX WILL CHANGE FROM ARGOS TO CHATNOIR WILL BE THE DEBT TO MARINETTE, she saves him at some point in the plot and his life or he owes it to her and that is her way of paying the debt.

-Adrien will be jealous of Marinette when she is flirting with Felix (yes, we'll see that and I'm already looking forward to it)

-The adrinette will come to an end and it will be because of adrien and kagami

-(OMG THIS IS STRONG BUT SERIOUSLY, TIME CHANGES PEOPLE) What Adrien will do to make Adrianette's relationship break is that HE will be unfaithful to Marinette with Kagami,yes, kagami is going to get in the way.

-THIS latter will happen either when the two of them are already teenagers or shortly after Adrien asks Marinette to marry him.

-Marinette is going to reject his proposal and is going to fall into a great depression and adrien too

-Adrien is going to try to fix his relationship with Marinette but it will be too late, she renounces him and takes her place, empowers herself as a woman.

-Marinette will move to New York to follow her dream as a designer, leaving everything behind, even friendships...

-ALYA O KAGAMI is going to betray Marinette and reveal her identity to the world (spiderman no way home haha), because of this her life is going to become hell, that is why she decided to change her look, she will dye blonde and maybe even the name will be changed

-Ryuko is going to love Chatnoir/Adrien, this is what makes them like each other more, since Chatnoir feels valued for the first time...

-LUKA will make Marinette see that life gives second chances in love when Adrien's infidelity occurs.

-Through several characters we can see what the future of our protagonists will be like... through Jagged Stone, Adrien as an adult, through Anarka, as an adult Marinette.

-Marinette will be akumatized because of Adrien's big lie or his identity revelation to the world.

[immaturityofthomasastruc]

IOTA Reviews: Pretension

Oh joy, another Felix episode. Because the last one was just so good, wasn't it?

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

We start off with Kagami and Adrien heading to school, with the former making plans with Marinette to spend a little time together, all while Argos stalks them. We then cut to Gabriel, who's attempting to heal his Cataclysm wound with a machine that drains the energy from his imprisoned Kwamis. It fails because... uh... uhhhh... it just doesn't?

Kaalki: I told you. No magic can heal this wound.

Barkk: A Cat Noir Cataclysm can't be healed!

Yeah, they just say nothing can heal the wound, and don't even mention the fact that we've already seen the Ladybug Miraculous heal Adren when he was wounded by his own Cataclysm in “Miraculer”. And before you say it was a weaker version of the attack, check out what Astruc said a few years ago when the subject was brought up.

Whether you want to take this as fact or not since it wasn't explained in the show itself, the point is that we've seen Ladybug heal someone who was wounded by Cataclysm before. Then again, considering the recent reveal, that episode only opens up another can of worms.

Back at school, Marinette talks with Adrien and Kagami about how Gabriel only sees her as some crazy fan, though she doesn't do a lot to help her case.

Tomoe arrives, and just like she's done this whole season, is only here to provide exposition while nagging Gabriel to get Ladybug and Cat Noir's Miraculous already. Gabriel comes up with a plan involving a gadget Felix accidentally dropped at the end of the last season. If you forgot, I understand, since it's a pretty weird thing to call back to.

Marinette: He feels worried and I would be too if I were him. He thinks I'm one of those fans who follows you everywhere, showers you with hand-knitted gifts and knows every single one of your middle name days.

Kagami: Isn't that what you used to do, Marinette?

Marinette: Yes... except no! I mean, yes, but I was doing it out of love and, besides, I've changed a lot.

Kagami: You are correct.

Marinette: Really? You think I've changed a lot?

Kagami: No. Well, not that much.

I love when even the show points out how little character development there is. Makes my job a lot easier.

Adrien goes with Marinette to talk to Gabriel about their relationship. We get a pretty somewhat chilling moment where Gabriel's kind father facade briefly fades as he orders Adrien to go to his room so he and Marinette can talk, all while he still puts on a welcoming image. After Plagg reminds Adrien that all Gabriel knows how to cook is pancakes, Gabriel then lectures Marinette about why he doesn't want her to see Adrien.

Gabriel: I don't think you understand, child, so let me put things differently. Life is like fashion. You think you have a choice, but all you have is the illusion of choice. And I decide what choices are given to you.

Marinette: You're wrong! (Shows Gabriel her sketchbook with her designs) Fashion is about listening to people, it's about understanding who they are, what excites them and creating the clothes that will help them express their inner world. Help them connect with others and make their dreams come true.

Gabriel: (Laughs and looks over Marinette's sketchbook) No, that's not fashion. That's making dresses for your dolls. Fashion is a product, a marketing strategy, an industry that relies on uninterrupted trend renewal that forces you to either throw away everything you have and buy more or, worse, to be out of fashion.

That bastard! I can't believe Gabriel wants to make an honest living by using market research data to his advantage! What a piece of scum...

I joke, but the rest of Gabriel's little rant is even worse, as he acts as if he decides what people like and don't like, even though he just mentioned the importance of keeping up with current trends. Seriously, this dude's talking as if the entire world revolves around his brand.

Gabriel: Thanks to the clothes I create, the celebrities who wear them, the advertisements I design and the Alliance rings that broadcast them, I create an idyllic vision. A perfection that everyone aspires to achieve, while keeping it just out of their grasp. You finally understand the difference, don't you? You listen to people's desires and create what they want. Somehow, people make you. Whereas I create people's desires. They buy what I decide to buy. They think what I want them to think. I'm the one who makes people. You think you love Adrien, but you're just under the spell of this world I've created. A world where Adrien is the star, shining high above. A world where you're just part of the crowd below looking up at him.

Let's see... a complete narcissist with an obsession with controlling others, puts on a facade to make himself look more approachable, uses his influence to sell something to the masses that are part of his greater operation, and acts as if his products are necessary for society to function when they're more of a luxury than anything else? Where have I seen this before?

Marinette goes against Gabriel's wishes and tells Adrien she loves him before rightfully telling him to piss off... through a pancake metaphor, for some reason.

Marinette: You know what the problem is with your pancakes? Way too much flour, not enough butter. You're using an old, completely outdated recipe. No one likes them like that anymore. And that's the good thing about being a baker's daughter. I don't even need to try them to know that they're tasteless.

You know, I could make so many jokes about the state of the show with this little speech, but I feel like it'd be too easy.

Meanwhile, Kagami tries to tell her mother that she's not interested in Adrien anymore, but we get the same crap Tomoe has been saying ever since Season 3. “You must follow our family legacy, Kagami!”, “Stop letting your emotions control you, Kagami!”, “I'm only blind for a cheap visual metaphor, Kagami!”, yadda, yadda, yadda. During this, Argos overhears this and outright kidnaps Kagami. Rather than call the police to report a kidnapping, Tomoe calls Gabriel, who had transformed into Monarch offscreen, and tells him to akumatize him (even though she's still carrying her useless Magical Charm), which he does, turning her into Matagi Gozen.

Matagi Gozen is basically Ikari Gozen, only instead of a centaur, she now rides a robot dog for some reason and has a bow and arrow now. Her powers are basically related to her size and riding a robot dog, mostly so we can focus on her Miraculous powers for the day. Even though Tomoe was seen wearing six Alliance rings before she called Gabriel, she only gets three powers, the Bee Miraculous' Venom, the Rooster Miraculous' Sublimation (which she uses to give herself an enhanced sense of smell), and the Mouse Miraculous' Multitude. It's really just the same setup we got in “Multiplication” with a few changes, and it's nothing special. Although, it's too bad that Monarch doesn't have the Dog Miraculous, as that would have really gone well with her powers.

As the four Matagi Gozen clones go on the hunt, Argos takes Kagami to the Eiffel Tower to hide out, where we get—wait, it's, it's, BY GOD, IT'S KAGAMI WITH A WOODEN CHAIR!

Argos transforms back into Felix, and unintentionally throws Matagi Gozen off the trail since she was tracking him through one of the feathers on his fan. It turns out that after that single conversation they shared last episode, Felix is suddenly developing feelings for Kagami, and the whole reason he kidnapped her, aside from “protecting her from her mother”, is to get to talk to her again.

Felix: We have so much in common, and yet, you're also so different. I've never met someone like you.

Kagami: We don't even know each other!

Felix: I know you. I've been following you non-stop.

Kagami: Even better! You follow me, you spy on me and now you've kidnapped me to get to know me?!

Felix: Uh... yes?

Kagami: You are utterly incompetent at social relations.

See? Felix isn't a sociopath who just tried to wipe out all of humanity last episode! He just needs to make friends, that's all.

Yeah, in case you can't tell, it seems like the show is still trying to course correct the characterization of Felix. Rather than the overconfident and manipulative wild card he was for his last five appearances, the episode is now trying to make Felix out to be a secretly awkward person with noble goals. Afterall, he saved Kagami, so by that logic, he has to be a good guy. Yeah, he technically stalked her like a creep, but it ended up being good in the end, didn't it?

After Marinette and Adrien transform into Ladybug and Cat Noir respectively, the Matagi Gozen clones start to track Felix through the scent of the aforementioned gadget. Right as Matagi Gozen finds Felix, Ladybug and Cat Noir arrive on the scene, giving Felix the chance to transform into Argos and escape with Kagami again.

Matagi Gozen: This is what heroes do? Not only did you help that monster escape, but now you're going to fight me? A mother trying to save her daughter?

Cat Noir: Hey, my lady. When you think about it, they're not wrong. We all want the same thing. If we let them save Kagami, we could seize the opportunity to get Felix's Miraculous back.

Ladybug: Too risky. They're under Monarch's influence.

Yeah, but you can't even try to negotiate a temporary alliance between Matagi Gozen? Yes, we know that she's working for Monarch, but the heroes don't know that. All we get is Ladybug asking Matagi Gozen to reject the Megakuma, and she goes back to fighting them. How interesting would it have been for Ladybug and Cat Noir to make an uneasy alliance with someone they don't know is working for Monarch?

After Cat Noir gets ignored during one of the few times he makes a decent point, he escapes to the sewer and detransforms, Matagi Gozen losing their scent trail. Matagi Gozen goes back to looking for Kagami, and decides to shoot her with some arrows tipped with Venom. Argos defends Kagami, and breaks up his fan to throw the pieces around and create multiple fake scent trails to throw off Matagi Gozen before detransforming. How Argos even came came up with this plan when I don't think he figured out Matagi Gozen could smell really good is anyone's guess.

As Kagami and Felix keep running away, Kagami asks the question I'm sure you've all been thinking.

Kagami: I don't understand. You have the Miraculous of the peacock, why don't you create a Sentimonster to get us out of here?

Felix: First of all, don't call them that.

Fine, “walking sin against nature” it is. Got anything else to say there, buddy? Maybe anything that isn't a half-assed speech meant to make the audience sympathize with you?

Felix: I refuse to create a being to manipulate them, control them, abuse them, and end up destroying them. When you bring a living being into this world, you have a responsibility towards them. Your duty is to protect them, love them, help them discover the true meaning of their existence. To deprive them of that... is monstrous.

Kagami: Are you talking about... yourself?

Felix: I'm talking about... us.

Come on dude! I said anything that isn't a half-assed speech meant to make the audience sympathize with you!

Okay, I've been putting this off long enough. Let's talk about Felix's ideology, his little speech, and, how it contradicts his previous appearances.

First off, for someone who refuses to create a Sentimonster to control and abuse, Felix had no trouble screwing around with Adrien in his first episode when his main goal was to get one of the rings from Gabriel. Hell, it makes even less sense why he'd keep that ring that we know can be used to control Adrien if his plan ultimately amounted to trading it away along with the fifteen Miraculous in Ladybug's possession.

Second, Felix literally created a Sentimonster to destroy humanity with just last episode, and he doesn't even mention that. Yeah, you can chalk it up to character development, but we don't even get a line about learning about the burden of ending a life you yourself created. It just feels like a way to make him seem more sympathetic after he went all “I'M THE GOD! I'M THE GOD!” last episode.

Third, and I'm just going to be honest about this, but why should I care about the life of a Sentimonster when the show has shown it doesn't care either? Ever since the end of Season 2, we've seen Sentimonsters be summoned and erased from existence left and right, and other than a single occasion (Ladybug), nobody has really brought up the fact that Sentimonsters are living beings too. Even putting that aside, most of the Sentimonsters we've seen have either been giant monsters, clones of other people, or mindless tools, none of which showed any desire to be alive other than to serve their purpose. It's only because Adrien, Felix, and now Kagami are revealed to be Sentimonsters that we should care about the ethics of summoning a Sentimonster in battle. Even in the last episode, Felix never brought up than Ladybug is essentially taking innocent lives whenever she de-evilizes an Amok.

And finally, the fact that this speech was used to set up a romance between Felix and Kagami, not because he saw a kindred spirit in her, but rather, because he believes that she's a Sentimonster too. You know that episode of South Park where Cartman tried to set up Token with a new girl, where the entire joke was that it was because Cartman believed that black people can only date other black people? This is basically that story with none of the irony. The episode seriously treats Felix taking an interest in Kagami specifically on the basis that she may be the same kind of artificial creation as him, as if he isn't capable of relating to anyone who also has to deal with abusive parents and isn't a Sentimonster. On a completely unrelated note, isn't it funny how out of the four rich kids with abusive or neglectful parents, Chloe is the only one who isn't a Sentimonster and is the least sympathetic?

Ladybug (having gotten a pair of scissors from activating her Lucky Charm offscreen) and Cat Noir try to stop Felix, but after a single speech from him, Kagami is now completely on his side for some reason.

Kagami: Felix is not your enemy! He's like me! He doesn't know how to express himself. Everyone is wrong about him! Including me.

Funny, I don't seem to remember you dooming all of Paris by giving over a dozen magical artifacts to a supervillain. Also, speaking from someone who struggles to socialize in real life, I can confirm that social awkwardness isn't really an excuse to kidnap someone. Just remember what happened in Misery.

Ladybug realizes that Felix and Kagami are vital to her Lucky Charm working, she decides to trust Felix. Felix then transforms into Argos and immediately escapes without contributing to the plan, while Kagami uses the scissors to cut the string of Matagi Gozen's bow after Ladybug and Cat Noir restrain the Akuma.

Ladybug then de-evilizes the Megakuma, uses Miraculous Ladybug to fix the damage caused by the fight, gives Tomoe yet another useless Magical Charm after the last useless one broke because it was completely useless, and Argos once got away without facing any consequences for his actions.

Afterwards, Kagami tries to stand up to Tomoe, but she orders her to hand over her ring containing her Amok—I mean, her ring that has absolutely no control over her, and is part of this thrilling mystery. Adrien also tries to stand up for Marinette, and Gabriel tells him to enjoy her time with Marinette... before saying he's moving to London next year. This is supposed to be a dick move, but with how often Adrien gets caught in the crossfire of Akuma attacks, with or without the mask, this is arguably the smartest thing Gabriel has done for the past five seasons. Adrien chooses not to tell Marinette about London, because I guess all that whining about hating secrets only mattered when someone else was withholding information from him.

The episode ends with Felix revealing that the ring Kagami gave her mother was a fake. Of course, this makes no sense because not only did we never see Felix steal the ring from Kagami, but Tomoe has a mental connection to Kagami, she should notice the ring is a fake. Also, you know how Kagami's arc so far has been a mixture of finding independence from her controlling mother while coming to terms with her breakup with Adrien? Get ready for all of that to be thrown out the window, because the writers are desperate to make him look good, Felix is now the one to save her from her mother and give her independence back, while also hinting at a relationship starting between the two. I'd say this episode fumbled the landing, but I haven't even gotten to the season finale yet.

This episode started out pretty poorly, and quickly went downhill afterwards. The idea of explaining why Gabriel's Cataclysm wound can't be healed was convoluted, Felix continues to be unlikable, Tomoe once again shows how terrible of an antagonist she is.

I'll admit, the chemistry between Marinette and Adrien was decent, but it's far too late to really establish a proper rivalry between her and Gabriel more than halfway through the fifth season, especially while discussing fashion when it's only been used to justify plots where she tries to make stuff for Adrien. The writers had plenty of time, yet rather than build up tension between the main hero and main villain, they decided we needed more episodes revolving around Chloe, Lila, and Felix.

Speaking of, Felix once again shows how poorly written he is. He was the one to instigate the conflict, it wasn't established if he even had a plan on what to do once he gets away with Kagami, and if anything, only made things worse because of his refusal to surrender, much less acknowledge his fault in this situation when the Akuma chasing after him is only as powerful as she is now because he gave his evil uncle multiple Miraculous to use for his Akumas. But no, he has to be the one to wreck Kagami's character arc and be the one to try and liberate her from Tomoe's influence because he's a good guy now! It says a lot when Cat Noir is the only one who still isn't trusting Felix at this point.

While it's nowhere near as bad as “Emotion”, this was still a really bad episode to follow up on.

THE BIGGEST IDIOT OF THE EPISODE IS...TOMOE

While Felix came dangerously close to winning the award, he at least showed more restraint here, and was able to throw off both Matagi Gozen a few times. Tomoe, on the other hand, got nothing to show any real intelligence, and if anything, proved she was just as incompetent as Gabriel is. She chose to nag Gabriel while he was suffering from the effects of his fatal wound, decided to akumatize herself instead of even considering contacting the cops to stop a single kidnapping, while ironically drawing more attention to herself in her attempt to save Kagami and stop Felix, decided to try shooting her daughter instead of the one who abducted her, and didn't even realize the ring capable of controlling her daughter was replaced by a fake when she should obviously be able to sense something.

[k7l4d4]

K Reviews and Rants: Miraculous Ladybug Season 5! Episode 10

And we have finally reached the first two-parter of this infuriating season! This one... ooh boy, this is gonna be a doozy.

If one thing stood out to me the most this episode... it was the wasted potential. This season has been having Marinette and everyone in the know around her bellyaching over and OVER again about how her "Superpowers keep her from having a relationship," and leaving my issues with that fixation to the side, Alya, Marinette's best friend, is literally right there as a perfect example to refute all the reasons the show keeps parroting to keep Marinette miserable. Alya KNOWS Marinette's secret, and accepts her entirely for it; it hasn't affected her admiration for Ladybug, or negatively influenced her friendship with Marinette. This episode more than anything just highlights how little anything by romance matters to the writers, even at the expense of the cast.

Episode 10: Kwami's Choice Part 1 (Transmission) 

Uuugghhh... I really, REALLY want to hate this opening, since it's mostly just Marinette bellyaching about her failed relationships and treating this as her being a failure as a hero, but to be honest, heartache IS a genuine reason to doubt one's self worth. My primary issue is, once again, THIS FUCKING SHOW ACTING AS IF SHE HAS TO BE IN A RELATIONSHIP TO BE HAPPY!!! 

Given how repetitive S5 has been so far, I probably won't have much to rant about, at least not until I get into the nitty gritty of the episodes... And once again we get Marinette's "I'm just a normal girl with a normal life" delusion. 

Ughh... them trying to do a reference to the series' theme song here doesn't work, because framing her saying "nobody knows that I'm pathetic" just comes off as awkward and a little bit cringe. 

...I don't consider myself religious but JESUS FUCKING CHRIST how far are these idiots going to take making Marinette into her own fucking strawman!? Her losing the Miraculous HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH LOVE!! Even ignoring just how utterly disjointed and nonsensical Risk and Strikeback were, what she did was, going ENTIRELY off of what she knew at the time, the smartest option; find the one person she has every reason to believe hasn't been affected by the Akuma's powers and recruit them to take down the threat. Her getting tricked by Felix HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH HER FEELINGS FOR ADRIEN!! It was entirely the fact that Felix was a petty, selfish little weasel who decided to stab her in the back at the last second through a writer introducing a never before explained or expanded upon aspect of the Ladybug Yo-Yo's powers. It was complete and utter coincidence, and it only exists in this context to act as a lazy deflection from REAL AND MEANINGFUL CRITICISMS OF THE LOVE SQUARE and more forced drama. Fucking SHIT!! 

And we get another case of the writers treating love like it's a choice someone can just MAKE, and using the risk of Akumatization as a lazy deflection from having Marinette actually confront her problems (and doing it badly since Marinette is visibly sad and miserable and she can't FORCE HERSELF NOT TO BE UPSET). 

Ugh... they were seriously trying to "foreshadow" the nonsense that is Derision in Transmission. Like, seriously, what the fuck is this nonsense with Chloe saying "Marinette had to get my permission to show up to school"? 

And we get Nino trying to be a wingman by having Adrien be the one who brings Marinette her homework instead of Alya. Like, I can grudgingly appreciate the effort... but this is not the time. AT ALL.

Okay, now we get a brief scene of Adrien feeling guilty over hurting Marinette's feelings, which is good. Then Plagg acts like the Worst Wingman again, which is bad. Seriously, WHY IS THIS SERIES SO FIXATED ON THE IDEA THAT SUPERPOWERS MAKE A RELATIONSHIP FUCKING IMPOSSIBLE!? 

...The only thing keep me from breaking my FUCKING KEYBOARD RIGHT NOW is just how much this scene is trying, and honestly managing, to be touching... IF NOT FOR THE FUCKING FACT THAT LITERALLY ALL OF THIS BULLSHIT IS BECAUSE OF THE PISS-POOR WRITING ARTIFICIALLY MAKING ANY ATTEMPT AT ROMANCE FAIL BETWEEN THEM AND TREATING BEING A COUPLE AS THE BE-FUCKING-END ALL OF HUMAN EXISTENCE!! Listening to Marinette mope to herself in her bed about her ideal boyfriend honestly just pisses me off because it's crossed the point from understandable heartache to JUST FUCKING WHINING ABOUT HER OWN PERSONAL FAILINGS, WRITING-INDUCED OR NOT!! 

Okay, I found a NEW THING FOR ME TO BE PISSED OFF ABOUT!! Firstly, Tikki, ONCE AGAIN, acting as the shill for the "they can never know one another's true identities" argument is just plain fucking annoying by now, and why the fuck is Alya not here for an emotional breakdown!? SHE DOES KNOW THAT MARINETTE IS LADYBUG, SO SHE IS THE PERFECT PERSON TO BE HERE AND REASSURE THAT YES, SHE KNOWS MARINETTE'S EVERY FACET AND PERSONALITY TRAIT AND ACCEPTS HER WHOLEHEARTEDLY, ROMANCE OR NO!! For all that is good and decent, they FUCKING RUINED what could've been a touching moment of platonic solidarity between Alya and Marinette (leaving the BULLSHIT of them treating their Secret Identities as this iron-clad law to the side), and reaffirming WHY Marinette even bothered to tell Alya the truth in the first place, NOT THIS FARCE OF A DRAMATIC SCENE OF EMOTIONAL VULNERABILITY!!! 

I just... cannot bring myself to give any kind of a shit about this scene of Marinette putting herself down and decrying that she's a failure when it IS OVER FUCKING ROMANCE OF ALL THINGS.

I am not going to comment on the class treating them sending Adrien to Marinette as this magical cure-all and them deciding to use ZOE as the fucking straightman to this bad joke, because there is literally nothing I can say about this that isn't just a mindless retread of this idiotic show's obsession with treating romance as this miracle cure in life and how Alya is UTTERLY FUCKING FAILING AT BEING A BEST FRIEND!!! 

Great to see Alya having failed to learn anything about respecting Marinette's feelings and boundaries because WHY THE FUCK NOT!? 

Them trying to cut back and forth between Adrien and Marinette crying in their beds with the wild party their classmates are throwing is completely inappropriate because the party itself is so downplayed that it's more their classmates talking with faint party music playing in the background interspersed with scenes of Adrien and Marinette being miserable. 

Uuugghhh... it's moments like THIS stupidity that really, REALLY make me question how and why Alya is meant to be Marinette's best friend. 

Gabe saying "I'm not a monster" is the biggest fucking joke of this season to date. 

And we get a scene of Gabriel smirking like a monster after convincing Adrien to wear an Alliance Ring. Oh wow, he's most certainly NOT a monster and that totally wasn't suspicious as hell. It's shit like this that shoot any attempt at portraying Gabe as redeemable in the foot, not even getting into how both he and Nathalie were fully complicit in ordering the death of Fei's father in the Shanghai special without a hint of guilt or remorse. 

You know, this entire fucking episode basically just makes me think "Why the fuck has Nooroo and the others not run for the hills if they can just REJECT A WIELDER!?" The lack of establishment of ANY FUCKING RULES regarding Wielders just pisses me off. 

One of the most stupid moments in this scene of Tikki and Plagg "relieving the heroes of their missions" is how Plagg says "now [Adrien] can be [himself]," which falls apart since Adrien hasn't made ANY progress at dropping his "model mask" around even his alleged best friends. 

Okay, WHY THE FUCK WOULD LOSING WHAT AMOUNTS TO ONE OF HIS CLOSEST FRIENDS, EVEN IF IT MEANS BEING ABLE TO TELL THE ONE HE LOVES HOW HE FEELS, REDUCE HIS NEGATIVE EMOTIONS!?

Yup, instantly getting over it, like some "big weight was lifted." Do- Do I even need to begin on how disgusting this shit is!? This systematic defilement of the superhero ideal by presenting it as exclusively a burden that only brings hardship to the heroes in question and that their lives can only improve by stopping being heroes, willing or otherwise!? And NONE OF THIS EVEN REMOTELY ADDRESSES MARINETTE'S PROBLEMS WHEN IT COMES TO ADRIEN!! NONE OF THIS EVER HAS!!! IT JUST TREATS HER GETTING WITH HIM AS SOME KIND OF MAGICAL CURE THAT FIXES HER INABILITY TO TALK OR MAINTAIN EVEN ELEMENTARY LEVEL BALANCE AROUND HIM!!! GAAAAHHHH!!!! 

Well at least they're acknowledging that she still can't talk to the guy. 

I just can't take this confession seriously. Just... just this complete and utter inability for the show to acknowledge any of the shitty, obsessive, stalker-ish, entitled behavior they've shown towards one another. Any of it. 

I just can't take how utterly obsessed their class (and close associates) are with their dating life. Not at all. 

I just... I cannot for the life of me see WHAT REASONING TIKKI AND PLAGG HAD FOR DECIDING THAT ALYA AND NINO SHOULD BE THEIR WIELDERS!!! Alya basically just scolded her sister for pissing off her friend on social media, but it was her own damn fault for ignoring her fucking calls that it escalated like this. Granted, Tikki had no way of knowing that, but NOTHING about the situation paints Alya as being a good wielder. And the same goes with Plagg; nothing indicates why he thinks Nino should be a good wielder... but him discarding Nino as a choice when he sees that Nino is in a relationship with Alya is at least SOMETHING consistent in this fiasco. 

Plagg. Picked Zoe. For giving BASIC FUCKING ADVICE AND CAUTION!? Nope. NOPE nope nope nope, I am not entertaining this nonsense. Not even REMOTELY. At least it's a reason, but it's such a fucking STUPID reason, because it's something that could be gotten from BASICALLY ANYONE. 

...Plagg. Gave Zoe. His Miraculous. IN BROAD FUCKING DAYLIGHT, and only really concealed himself by the fact that he was hiding in a dark grate on the side of the road. I just... does he really have ANY REASON TO BELIEVE ZOE WOULDN'T FREAK OUT AT THE SIGHT OF HIM!? For once, thank all that's good that Miracuverse Paris is basically abandoned.

Okay, so Tikki's reasoning is that Alya was once a successful holder. Alya. The girl who once spent several minutes trying out names and poses, and had to basically go fetch Marinette to actually be the one to defeat the villain. (Skepticism rises) 

Yeah, she SURE DOESN'T like keeping secrets from him given that she couldn't even last a MONTH without blowing her secret that she was still active as Rena Furtive to Nino. Do these people seriously not understand the concept of personal secrets!? Just being in a relationship with someone does NOT entitle you to know all their secrets, and does not obligate that they NEED to share all their secrets. 

And now we get the Akuma Nora's actions helped create... and we get no hint to his motivations, or even what his fucking powers are meant to be. 

Okay, even if Kiku doesn't seem to have any Unique powers from being an Akuma, him using Voyage to dodge an attack while still prepped to launch his own was something I'll give him props for. 

Okay, the fact that Kiku is dumb enough to expose where his Akumatized object is by having his Shell-ter up preemptively docks those points back down. 

... Okay, I won't lie, seeing Kitty Noir and Scarabella take down Kiku through a combination of both strategy and recruitment of civilian aid was nice. Seeing that ordinary people can step up and be heroes is nice. Although the fact that the firefighters have gold, featureless masks that seem molded to the contours of their face is creepy as hell. 

Wow, what "great advice," Alya. Keeping their emotions in check, THAT'S clearly something people can just DO. It's not as if your emotions will constantly shift and fluctuate throughout a conversation and getting pissed off is inevitable if they can't reach an agreement and the basis for their argument is negative to begin with. 

And here we are, the moment when the fact that neither Tikki nor Plagg told their new wielders to ditch, or at least take off, the Alliance Rings, even if just to avoid having them blurt out how many steps they've counted after an Akuma Battle, ends up biting everyone in the ass. Sigh…

[temporalbystander]

Oh son of a... I'm trying to sleep here brain!

Anyway. I just got a brainwave about Felix and how he could possibly go from the evil little psycho we saw in Felix, to the same type of traitorous Psycho in Strike Back, to what is more or less a decent antihero in emotion and Pretension. I think Ive figured it out. He's not changing sides or becoming nicer, he's relaxing. What do I mean?

Well let's look at his first appearance? He's cold, insults all of Adrien's friends and is willing to side with HawkMoth over a piece of jewellery. Something everyone just thought to be the ring his mother wanted at the time, which seriously? Lady has some guts demanding he hand over his wedding ring a year after she thought her sister died. However you look back with the assumption that he knows about the peacock miraculous at this time? Then that's clearly what he's after. It makes a lot more sense too since we see how easy it is for him to just steal the ring right of Gabriel's finger.

So what's the deal with him and Adrien's friends? Initially you could see it as him being like Lila and seeking to cut his cousin off from everyone but if you consider how rude he is to Chloe? I think his actual reasoning becomes a bit clearer. Felix cares about his cousin that much we know, he's willing to undo his first win against Gabriel and Ladybug simply because Adrien is upset at him. He wants his cousin to be happy but Felix's methods are just a little too extreme. So, in order to make sure Adrien isnt being used by any of his other friends like he's being used as a sentimonster, Felix yells at them. Anyone who ditches Adrien clearly wasn't really a friend and anyone who stays is worthy to remain in his perfect world.

This is where the next part of Felix's overall plan needs explaining and, if I'm in anyway right? Is actually kind of genius. So really quickly let's go through Felix's goals again okay? Goal one, make sure no sentimonsters can be used and abused. Goal two, make sure neither his or Adrien's life is in danger from another holder of the peacock, goal three, make sure Adrien, and later Kagami, are not held prisoner by someone holding their amok. Now the first two can be solved pretty easily by getting his hands on the Miraculous which he tries and eventually accomplishes on his third attempt. His last goal? Can only succeed if Kagami and Adrien hold their own amok or if the people who do have it are no longer a problem. We saw this in emotion. But if the sad and indignant teen we saw at the end of Emotion and beginning of pretension is the real Felix then why was he so cold and distant to begin with?

I think there are two potential answers for this. The first is that he didn't want any distractions while trying to complete his mission so he just brushed everyone off. The second? I think shows just how much like Gabriel Felix is. I think he always planned to get rid of his, whether through the wish or by his own hands. Likewise I think he always intended to make a world where him and his cousin could be free. It wouldn't matter at that point if Adrien was happy with Felix or not, so long as Adrien was actually happy. But I'll come back to this in a bit.

Next we have the betrayal of ladybug, something that, in retrospect, wasn't entirely necessary. As Flairmiddable he offered Gabriel the ring and the rest of the Miraculous for the Peacock. He hands over the ring and receives the peacock before he uses the power of the dog to fetch the yoyo. At that point he could have fled, there was no reason to hold up his end of the bargain anymore and Felix seems like the type who would go back on his word if necessary. However, here's where I think the genius comes in. In handing over the Miraculous Felix guarantees two things. The first is that Gabriel will have so much power that he wont need the peacock and instead will refocus on Ladybug and Chat Noir. The second thing? He keeps Ladybug and Chat Noir desperate to get the miraculous back and unable to dedicate to much time to him. With one move he gets his enemies to focus solely on each other and leave him alone to plan. He makes himself the lesser threat.

This brings us back to emotion and we see the finale of Felix's plan play out. Yes he wanted to make a wish using the miraculous but it wasn't essential. He'd already succeeded in wiping out everyone who may have been an obstacle. Plus he knows about Gabriel's hideout. Who's to say he didn't plan on going to retrieve the other miraculous once Adrien and Kagami warmed up to the idea? If he thought he'd only need a month before he could get them back then I can understand why he'd give them up in the first place, the ends justify the means and all that. Just like how Gabriel thinks.

However, as we all saw, Felix realised something in emotion. Even if he had been able to bring Marinette Adrien would still be upset with him, even if he explained everything. That's when Felix understands, he may have been alright getting what he wanted at any cost, freeing Adrien by wiping out all who would use him, but because if that cost, what he wants won't happen. What's the point in making Adrien happy by cleansing the world if doing so is guaranteed to make Adrien miserable? So he does what Gabriel should have done in Evolution. He steps back, gives up on what he strove so hard for, and undoes all the damage he caused.

After that, and seeing what Marinette was willing to do for Adrien, I think Felix switches gears. He believes Adrien will be safe, happy and brave with Marinette by his side, so he follows after the other sentichild that seems to be struggling with that a bit more. To... Mixed results.

[gryficowa]

Hey guys, I watched the review of "Horseland", didn't I?

And suddenly I hear that the twins' names are Chloe and Zoe, it blew me away so much

So I entered the name of the cartoon and the names of these two and this is what I found

The question is whether Thomas did it by accident or, as usual, he stole ideas from better creations than his series

Although it's hard for me to say whether "Horseland" is better than what Thomas did, it probably has similar problems to Miracolous, but in a slightly different way (I happened to watch the series itself, but with Polish dubbing, it was probably less stiff than the English one, which it amuses me)

But let's be honest, at least "Horseland" didn't have a theme with a terrorist getting a redemption arc and the mayor taking bribes (And there wasn't a guy like from fandoms when there's a ship war who sells ice cream without permission)

Seriously, I didn't pay attention to the character names until I watched the review of the entire "Horseland" and found out about the names of the twins

What was my point about this show having similar problems to Miracolous but in different ways? Well, miracolous has a lot of problems with sensitive topics and, ironically, it does worse than a series about a girl in a latex suit who saves Paris from black butterflies

Ableism, i.e. a scene where mean characters run over a blind girl and laugh at her, ok, they could have made it interesting, but this character has no reaction to Ableism towards her, which gives the message that Ableism is ok

There's a lot to unpack here, and the main cast is too overprotective of this girl So yes, the moral is that ableism is ok and you have to prove to able-bodied people that you are worth somethingBecause she's blind, you know she can't cope on her own)

As a person on the autism spectrum, I feel this too strongly and I don't really need to explain where the problem is

The character is dyslexic and well, the episode could have worked, but the attack of the mean girls (Even though all the characters are mean, but strangely only the twins are considered mean, which is strange) and the lack of awareness of where the limits are when writing ableism is quite sus

There was also the topic of racism, but funnily enough it is criticized more often on the Internet than ableism, so this is quite an interesting fact about children's series

Damn, even in the case of miracolous, more people talk about racism, but they don't say anything about ableism, and this series also has problems (The fact that Kagami's mother is the only character in the series with a disability makes me feel a bit disgusted)

The trope of a disabled villain is unfortunately common, but also ableistic, ok, it may be less so when there are characters with disabilities in the group (It's like a non-white villain, if the main characters are white, it's racist, but if they are same origin as the villain, one has a much different feeling)

And well, I don't need to tell you what the connotation of miracolous is

Both series have problems with this topic, but in different ways, Horseland tries to tackle a difficult and delicate topic, but it comes out so bad that it hurts, no matter what group you are from, you will feel it

Miracolous, on the other hand, rarely tries to touch on a sensitive topic and it comes out differently, you can see it with racism that wasn't done very well, or the topic of parental violence (Chloe, Adrien, Felix and Kagami are the main topic here), but compared to Horseland it is more difficult to estimate, because many episodes don't try to teach a lesson (Maybe it's better, I don't know what other shit Thomas would do if he gave more lessons on a topic he knows nothing about)

Although the only explanation for Horseland is when it was created, while Miracolous is already a rather new series, so we should look much more critically here

So yes, this is the paradox of it all, I have classically written too much, but you see, the paradox of the characters' names led to this rethinking of all this.

[inner-sakura]

Theoretically Forever

[Adrien POV sequel to Hypothetically Ever After, childhood friends AU, adrienette, fake/pretend relationship]

Adrien Agreste has had a crush on Marinette Dupain-Cheng for as long as he can remember. Unfortunately for him, however, she’s only ever had eyes for his older brother Félix, who’s never so much as looked her way. But when an opportunity suddenly presents itself to turn the tables and rewrite the script on their relationship, Adrien finds himself hard-pressed to turn it down… Especially when it means getting to date the love of his life. Even if it is only fake.

AU where PV Felix is Adrien’s older brother. Inspired by the novel “The Boys Next Door” by Jennifer Echols. Hello and welcome back to the brothers AU fic series that no one ever asked for yet i remain obsessed with.

read it here

chapter five

Hovering on the doorstep, his hand poised above the wooden surface of the door, Adrien Agreste pondered for the eleven thousandth time exactly how his life had led him to this point, and the dramatic turn of events that had brought him to be standing on Marinette Dupain-Cheng’s front porch, waiting to pick her up for their first date. 

A date that wasn’t actually a real date. At least as far as she was concerned.

The Adrien of one week ago would have laughed in his face. Or perhaps cried. It was a mixed bag, really. 

Should I have brought flowers? The Adrien of the here-and-now wondered, biting the inside of his cheek. Is that an appropriate ‘not date’ date behaviour?  

If he had it his way, he would have shown up with the largest and most beautiful bouquet money could buy, his arms laden with gifts for the prettiest and most perfect girl he’d ever met in his entire life. 

Except she probably would have taken one look at them, scrunched her nose, and asked him why he’d bothered wasting all of his money on someone he wasn’t even dating. 

Adrien sighed, his shoulders slumping ever so slightly. Then he shook himself. 

This was neither the time nor the place for maudlin thoughts. The point of this date was to make Marinette wish that it were real, and he wouldn’t accomplish that by standing around feeling sorry for himself.  

Raising his fist anew, Adrien knocked crisply once, then stepped back, waiting for a response.  

For a moment, there was nothing but silence on the other side of the door. Then, it slowly swung open to reveal the surprised visages of Marinette’s parents.  

Adrien stood very still, his arms carefully relaxed at his sides as he fought the urge to fidget. It was a behaviour unbecoming of Agrestes, and as such they simply would not do it. Or so his father maintained, having drilled the habit out of his sons from an early age.  

Therefore, instead of outwardly expressing his discomfort at having Tom Dupain and Sabine Cheng staring at him like he’d just sprouted a second head, Adrien remained rooted in place, frozen like a small woodland creature facing down a pair of hungry predators.  

“Adrien!” As usual, Sabine was the one who managed to wrangle her composure first, her face lighting up as she took him in. “What a pleasant surprise!”  

“What can we do you for, my boy?” Tom grinned down at him, his eyes twinkling with mischief. “I’m assuming you’re not here just to visit with us old folks…”  

Adrien cleared his throat, ignoring the heat pricking at the tips of his ears. He should have known that Tom wouldn’t be able to resist an opportunity to tease him about this.  

“Um, no. I’m here to pick Marinette up.” 

Both adults tilted their heads in confusion, the gesture uncannily in sync. It was clear by their body language that they had absolutely no idea what he was talking about.  

“For our date?” Adrien decided to elaborate, suppressing his stirring unease. “We have dinner reservations.”  

Did Marinette seriously not tell them…?   

Although Sabine’s hands flew up to cover her mouth, it did very little to muffle the gasp she let out. Tom meanwhile stared Adrien down, his brows sinking to rest over green eyes that were steadily growing darker.  

“Is that so?” Sabine asked, her voice a bit strained. “Marinette didn’t mention you had plans this evening…” She stepped to the side, discreetly elbowing her husband out of the way when he made no move to do the same.  

Tom blinked, the storm clouds clearing from his expression. Adrien withheld a sigh of relief.  

I’ve been spared... For now at least.   

Moving back from the doorway, Tom gestured with an arm as thick as Adrien’s upper thigh, beckoning him further into the house. 

“She most certainly did not mention anything to us,” Tom said, his moustache twitching. “It must have slipped her mind.” 

Slipped her mind, my ass! Adrien fumed internally. Far more likely that Marinette had wanted to avoid an uncomfortable encounter with her parents, and had instead decided to keep them entirely in the dark, all without filling him in on her plans.  

Now he’d managed to bungle the whole thing and throw himself to the dogs in the process.  

Great.  

Adrien laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck as he braced himself for the inevitable inquisition. “Um, right.”  

“You know what,” Sabine said, backing towards the stairs. “Why don’t I go and make sure that Marinette is ready to go? You two stay down here and catch up.” 

She threw her husband a significant look. Adrien did his best to pretend to remain oblivious to the exchange. 

Watching the petite woman flee up the stairs, Adrien felt his heart sink. There went his last and best line of defence.  

A large, meaty hand settled heavily on his shoulder. He almost staggered under the weight.  

“All right, son. What say you and I settle this the old-fashioned way?” Tom grinned down at him, his eyes taking on an ominous light.  

“The… old-fashioned way?” Adrien couldn’t help but squeak, his mind racing with the possibilities. 

Tom’s grin widened.  

“With our fists, of course.”  

-x- 

“You know, M. Dupain, when you said you wanted to settle this with our fists, I really didn’t think this was what you had in mind.” 

Cheerful fight music blared out of the TV speakers, interrupted only by the sounds of frantic button smashing coming from both of their controllers.  

“Adrien, for the thousandth time, please call me Tom,” Tom said, landing a particularly nasty combo move that knocked several health points off of Adrien’s avatar. He then let out a bark of laughter.  

“And we could always take this out back if you’d prefer. Although I don’t think that will end particularly well for either of us. Sabine would give me an earful if I were to derail your and Marinette’s evening plans with a bout of fisticuffs...”  

Adrien shuddered at the thought. Though he’d rather not face Tom Dupain in hand-to-hand combat anytime soon, the thought of an annoyed Sabine Cheng was somehow even more terrifying.  

Tom’s green eyes flickered briefly from the screen to meet Adrien’s. 

“Besides,” he continued. “I feel like it wouldn’t be necessary anyway. I don’t need to pull the protective papa bear routine and threaten you... I know you would never dream of doing anything to hurt my daughter.”  

A knowing glint entered his eye.  

“I think we both know you care too much about her for that.”   

Adrien kept his eyes pinned forward, blinking rapidly against the heat he could feel building there.  

“Yeah,” he said thickly, glad to have the screen there if for no other reason than it gave him something to pretend to focus on while he tried not to cry in front of his fake girlfriend’s dad.  

He continued pressing buttons blindly, too overwhelmed by the warmth and trust that Tom was showing him to do much more than that. Not for the first time, Adrien marvelled at how lucky Marinette was to have such kind and loving parents and did his best to ignore how desperately he longed to have a family like that of his own.  

Tom hummed, his voice taking on a thoughtful edge. “Come to think of it, I should really be giving Marinette a stern talking to here… Since, if anything, I’m more worried about you getting your heart broken than her.” 

His fingers stuttering on the controller, Adrien gave up any pretence of pretending to play, turning to gaze at Marinette’s father wide-eyed.   

He was met with a soft smile. 

“You’re a good kid, Adrien,” Tom said, lifting one hand from his controller and setting it gently atop Adrien’s head. “One I would be proud to call my own under any circumstances.”  

Don’t cry don’t cry don’t cry, Adrien repeated to himself like a mantra, willing away the moisture gathering at the corners of his eyes. As casually as he possibly could, he reached up to dash any tears away, before offering Tom a smile of his own.  

“I don’t know,” he said, forcing lightness into his tone. “You might want to reevaluate that statement after I kick your butt at Ultimate Mecha Strike III…”  

He beamed at the booming laugh he received in response.  

“Oh, you’re on, kid!” 

-x- 

Despite his bold claims, Adrien proceeded to have his ass thoroughly handed to him, losing every round without fail.  

But he didn’t mind so much. He was accustomed to playing with Marinette, after all, so he’d learned to lose with grace from an early age. Plus, he wasn’t above throwing the occasional match if it meant keeping himself in Tom Dupain’s good graces.  

Still, in spite of his consecutive losses, Adrien was having a good time, so much so that he had almost managed to forget the original purpose behind his visit.  

That is, until he caught movement out of the corner of his eye, coming from the top of the staircase.  

Ignoring Tom’s triumphant crowing in his ear, Adrien’s head whipped around, his breath catching in his throat. 

Marinette was coming down the stairs, and suddenly he couldn’t see anything else.  

Staggering to his feet, Adrien heard the controller clatter on the hardwood, but he paid it no mind, too focused on the vision descending on him like an angel from above.  

He drank in her appearance, admiring the gossamer fabric of her white dress and how it contrasted with the inky blackness of her hair. Her eyes were lowered, fixed on the steps in front of her, carefully following her footfalls as she walked. Adrien couldn’t help but grin at the sight. 

Same old Marinette, he thought fondly, his feet carrying him to the foot of the staircase before he was even aware of moving.  

Then her blue eyes met his and his breath was gone all over again.  

“Hi,” he said, feeling inexplicably shy now that she was standing in front of him, easily looking like the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.  

Marinette's eyelashes fluttered, her cheeks pinkening as she stared at him in return.  

“You look nice,” she said, the unexpected compliment taking them both by surprise.  

Adrien flushed, overcome with pleasure at her praise. Even though he knew—by virtue of his occupation and the industry in which he worked—that he was attractive by most standard definitions, it was an entirely different matter to hear as much coming from Marinette’s lips.  

It felt good. Really good.  

He would have loved nothing more than to pay her compliments back tenfold—because she deserved that much, at the very least—but his tongue had been rendered stupid and slow in the face of her beauty, leaving all of the words he wanted to give voice to trapped, swirling uselessly around in his brain.  

Instead, he had to settle for a half-witted, stuttered out, “Thanks. So do you. Really, you look… Yeah.”  

He tried not to wince at his own lack of eloquence.  

Thankfully, Marinette did not appear to mind. 

She averted her gaze bashfully, fiddling with one of her sleeves. “Thank you. Sorry that it took me so long. I...may have accidentally fallen asleep.”  

Adrien bit back a laugh. “I should have figured as much,” he said, giving her a knowing look. “I’m glad I told you to be ready half an hour before we actually needed to leave then.” 

Marinette’s eyes grew wide, her mouth dropping open in outrage.  

“YOU LITTLE—!” She sputtered, swatting at him half-heartedly. “Do you have any idea how many years I just took off my life, rushing to get ready?!”   

Adrien danced out of the way of her fists, grinning at her unrepentantly. 

“It worked though. Now we won’t be late for our reservation. Maybe I should consider doing this all the time...” He said slyly, breaking into laughter at the vaguely constipated look that had overtaken her features.  

He heard giggling coming from the area of the couch and started. He’d completely forgotten that Marinette’s parents were even there. He had a tendency to lose track of everything else when Marinette was around.  

Marinette, for her part, merely pouted at the teasing, crossing her arms with a huff.  

“Just so you know, I can’t stand any of you people.”   

That only made them all laugh harder.

-x-

As they made their way to the restaurant, Adrien tried not to let his nerves get the best of him.  

He had yet to tell Marinette where they were going—much to her enduring consternation. Though, if he were being entirely honest, Adrien could freely admit that this had less to do with maintaining the element of surprise, and more to do with his abject fear that Marinette might clue into just how long he had spent planning every moment of this evening, down to the most insignificant of details.  

He’d had years to prepare, after all. But he certainly wasn’t ready to let her know that.  

So he kept mum, evading and redirecting her questions with the ease of someone who was long practised at dealing with reporters.  

Who knew that being constantly embroiled with the paparazzi would actually make my life easier for once?   

Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Marinette gaze out the window with rapt attention, obviously trying to catch any clue about where they were headed.  

He had a feeling she wouldn’t be able to get it though, despite her usual deductive brilliance. This restaurant was an incredibly well-kept secret, even amongst locals. One of the many reasons it would serve as the perfect setting for their evening.  

The car pulled up as close as they could get and Adrien quickly thanked the driver, before hopping out and rounding to the other side of the car.  

To his disappointment, Marinette had already opened her own door and was climbing out of the backseat, gawking at the scenery around them.  

No big deal, he reminded himself. Marinette wasn’t any more accustomed to going on dates than he was, so she probably hadn’t anticipated him wanting to do gentlemanly things like open doors for her.  

Adrien squared his shoulders, his resolve crystallising. He would just have to be quicker on the draw next time.  

By the time they were seated on the patio, he could practically feel Marinette vibrating with curiosity, her interest undoubtedly peaked by the warm welcome he’d received from the waitstaff. Adrien braced himself, uncertain how he would navigate that particular discussion without giving too much away.   

To his surprise, however, that was not where she chose to guide the conversation first.  

“Not to doubt your master plan or anything, but how is word of us dating going to get out unless we go somewhere a little...busier?” Marinette gazed around sceptically, taking in the tiny patio and the relatively small number of tables around them. “We’re practically the only ones here.”  

Adrien let out a breath, relieved by her line of questioning. This, he’d anticipated.  

“You’d be surprised,” he said, aiming for a tone that was equal parts blasé and believable. “It may not look like it, but this place is actually quite popular. It’s still a bit early now, but it’ll fill up later. Mark my words.” 

“Plus,” he leaned forward, nodding towards something over her shoulder. “It’s also a pretty frequently used street for people heading down to the waterfront. Look.” 

In either an act of cosmic goodwill, or just impeccable timing, a group of people came strolling around the corner at exactly that moment, lending credence to his story. Adrien could see the lines of Marinette’s posture softening, her dubiety slowly melting away. Everything was going exactly according to plan.  

It was time for the final prong of his argument, though he would have to be careful with its delivery.  

Adrien leaned back in his seat, affecting what he hoped was the casual tone of someone who hadn’t spent hours rehearsing his pre-prepared lines in front of the mirror.  

“And besides, the last thing we want is to be too obvious about this whole thing,” he said, giving her a sidelong glance. “If we go out somewhere we know people will see us, it will definitely look like we’re trying too hard.”  

Marinette’s eyes narrowed and for a moment, Adrien truly thought he was done for.  

She chewed on the inside of her lip, considering him carefully. Then, at last, she smiled.  

“All right, point taken,” she said, and Adrien knew he was in the clear. Before he could even consider celebrating, however, something in her expression shifted and Adrien felt his guard go up all over again.  

Marinette shifted in her seat, her voice dipping conspiratorially as she leaned forward. 

“Why does it seem like everyone here knows you?”  

Adrien blinked rapidly, caught flat-footed by the sudden about-face in topic. He should have known that Marinette’s insatiable curiosity wouldn’t let sleeping dogs lie. Now he needed to come up with some way to explain his family’s history with this restaurant, without revealing any other deeply personal, closely guarded secrets.  

He swallowed. Right. Should be a piece of cake.   

Luckily, the arrival of their waitress managed to divert Marinette’s attention, and Adrien leapt at the opportunity, steering the conversation back to safer waters as he explained the nature of the restaurant and its lack of menus.  

Grateful for her timely interruption, Adrien gave the waitress a megawatt smile as she left with their drink orders. The gesture appeared to have the opposite of its intended effect though, seeing how it only caused the poor girl to scurry away faster.  

His expression fell. Hopefully she hadn’t interpreted his look as some sign of impatience or rudeness on his part. He made a mental note to be extra nice to her when she returned, just in case.  

Turning his attention back to his companion, Adrien was surprised to find her lost in her own thoughts, a secretive smile playing at the corners of her lips as she stared into the restaurant.  

Never one to pass up an opportunity, he took a moment to admire her profile, doing his best to commit the scene before him to memory. 

Marinette cast her eyes about and Adrien sat back to watch, less interested in appreciating the scenery than he was in witnessing her experience it for the first time. He’d spent countless hours of his life daydreaming about this moment, imagining their first date and what it might be like. He’d wanted to make it as perfect as possible, because Marinette deserved nothing less. 

Now that they were here, however, perfection seemed like such a paltry, insufficient word to describe everything he was experiencing. 

Adrien did his best not to stare too obviously, trying to tamp down his raging emotions as he sat across from Marinette at the small bistro table.

She looked radiant, her skin positively glowing against the soft white fabric of her dress. To look at her, it wasn’t apparent that she’d readied herself in a hurry. No, she looked like she’d be at home in the pages of any fashion magazine, young and beautiful and vibrant against the romantic backdrop. 

And now she was looking back at him. 

“What?” Marinette asked, her eyes going round the longer he held her stare. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

Emboldened by the romantic atmosphere, Adrien leaned his head more heavily against his fist, not feeling embarrassed in the slightest at having been caught staring. 

His lips curved up in a slow smile almost of their own volition. 

“Like what?” He asked, his smile growing.   

“Like that!” Marinette cried, pointing an accusing finger at him. Her expression kept shifting like she couldn’t decide whether to be embarrassed or annoyed by his attention. The entire effect was hopelessly endearing. 

In lieu of a response, Adrien merely blinked back at her, certain that if he were to open his mouth now, he was liable to either burst out laughing or confess how desperately adorable he found her. 

Marinette flapped her hands between them, gesticulating wildly as she fought to make her point. “You’re giving me this look like...” 

Her features twisted grotesquely, morphing into an expression that he hadn't believed human faces could even produce until that moment. 

Adrien pursed his lips, his chest shaking with repressed laughter. 

“I’m no doctor, but in my professional opinion I’d say it’s either constipation or a stroke.” 

Marinette’s affronted look lasted only a split second before she too was collapsing into laughter, curling forward in her seat as her giggles rang out across the slowly filling patio.

Wiping tears of mirth from his eyes, Adrien gazed at her smiling face, his heart in his throat and full to bursting with too many feelings to name. 

The twinkle lights swayed above them in the warm night air, casting undulating patterns on the red gingham tablecloth and Adrien tried to greedily absorb every detail, unwilling to so much as blink if it meant missing a single second. The sounds of the city at night coming to life around them, the smell of delicious food wafting out of the restaurant kitchen. The way the shifting shadows caressed the planes of Marinette’s face, tracing the line of her jaw and the curve of her cheek the way his fingers so desperately longed to. He tucked them all away, sewing them into the walls of his memory, assured in the certainty that even if he lived a thousand lifetimes, he would never, ever forget this moment. 

-x- 

Adrien was acutely aware of his palms sweating the entire time they were walking. 

If Marinette noticed, she was too kind to point it out, apparently content to take in the sights around them as he led her to their next destination, and blissfully unbothered by the way his palm slid uncomfortably against hers. 

If he’d been nervous about the restaurant, then those nerves paled in comparison to what he felt as they mounted the stairs, coming to a stop at the centre of the old wrought-iron footbridge. 

“They call it the Lovers’ Bridge,” he said by way of explanation, watching Marinette as she observed their surroundings. 

The location was even better than the online reviews had promised; situated at the end of a lamp-lit, tree-lined walkway, silhouetted dreamily against the dusky summer sky. He couldn’t have asked for a more romantic spot, or a more beautiful date.  

Now he just had to contend with the herd of rabid butterflies currently devouring his stomach lining.  

He swallowed in a vain effort to lubricate his rapidly drying throat.

“Apparently, if two people kiss in the middle of the bridge, their love will never end... At least that’s what one guy on Yelp said, and I’m inclined to believe him.” 

Marinette’s lips quirked up, his attempt at a joke clearly landing with its intended audience.  

“Well, that’s convenient, seeing as how we are currently in the middle of the bridge," she said dryly.

She shot him a wry look.

“I like how you waited until we were already here to share this information with me.”  

Adrien glanced away, shoving his hands into his pockets so she wouldn’t notice how they were trembling.  

“Guilty as charged.”  

He stared out over the water, frantically trying to come up with something to say as the atmosphere shifted around them, becoming heavy with expectation.  

“So…” Marinette said, drawing the syllable out for all it was worth. It was clear by the way she was fidgeting that he wasn’t the only one feeling the energy crackling around them.

The notion was as comforting as it was terrifying.  

“Should we k—?” 

Her voice cut off abruptly, but luckily Adrien knew exactly where she intended to go with that statement. It was exactly where he’d hoped she would go.  

“Iss?” He supplied helpfully, his gaze pinned on hers.  

Marinette’s eyes flickered over his face in return, searching.  

Then she nodded once. 

Adrien’s stomach swooped.

“It would certainly help with our charade,” he said, struggling to keep his voice level as his heart danced a jig in his chest. He fiddled with his watch just for something to do, overflowing with so much nervous energy he thought he might spontaneously combust. 

“Right,” Marinette said, her voice thinner and reedier than he was used to hearing it. Her gaze had yet to leave his face, sweeping across his features as he stepped towards her, closing the gap between them.  

“Especially because you never know who might be passing by who could see us...” Adrien wasn’t even certain why he was still speaking, his mouth running on autopilot as he leaned in, breathing in the sweet scent of her perfume on the night air.  

Marinette’s eyes fell to his mouth and her tongue darted out, wetting her lips in a subconscious gesture.  

“Yeah…” She breathed and Adrien thought he might genuinely die on the spot.  

There were scant millimetres between them now. Adrien knew it would take the smallest motion to close the distance between their lips, yet he hesitated, scanning Marinette’s face for any sign of hesitance. Her heavy-lidded gaze met his, her blue eyes as deep and fathomless as the lake water spread out before them. 

He could feel the warm puffs of her breath against his lips now, taunting his buckling self-control. When her breath picked up tellingly, it blew away the last of his doubts. 

Before he could act, however, a shrill ringing pierced through the stillness of the night, jolting them apart with the force of a lightning strike. 

Holy shit, Adrien stared at her dumbly, his chest heaving as he met her equally wide-eyed stare. That was… intense.   

“I think you’re ringing,” Marinette reminded him, her voice wavering ever so slightly.  

Clearing his throat, Adrien fumbled to pull his cell phone from his pocket, his fingers suddenly clumsy and unwieldy.  

He glanced at the screen, his stomach sinking with recognition.  

“It’s my driver,” he said, battling back his disappointment.  

Marinette’s shoulders slumped at his words. If he wasn’t mistaken, she appeared almost as disappointed by this interruption as he was. Hope battered against his ribcage. Adrien did his best to ignore it.  

Between one blink and the next, Marinette straightened, her expression smoothing into one of friendly understanding, extinguishing whatever spark had been present moments before.

“You’d better answer it then.” She smiled at him encouragingly. 

Adrien scanned her face, looking for any hint of a lie. He found none.  

The phone kept ringing.   

“Go,” she urged him again, and so he went. 

-x- 

Standing at the other end of the Lovers’ Bridge, Adrien held his phone to his ear, only half listening to his bodyguard’s instructions as they came through the earpiece.  

His eyes, and the majority of his focus, remained fixed on the centre of the bridge, where Marinette stood highlighted against the encroaching darkness, gazing out across the lake with an absent look on her face. As he watched, one of her hands reached up to gently finger the flower tucked behind her ear.  

Adrien’s heart stuttered. He’d worried that the flower vendor might blow his cover, but luckily the older man seemed to catch onto Adrien’s intentions immediately and had gone along with the ruse.  

Marinette didn’t need to know the meaning behind the white gardenia in her hair, and she most certainly didn’t need to know that Adrien had paid the man to be there in the first place.  

A beep on the other end of the line signalled the end of his call and Adrien pulled the phone away, moving to stuff it back in his pocket.  

At the last second, however, he paused, his arm hovering in midair. 

On the one hand, it was admittedly creepy to photograph someone when their guard was down. On the other, there was something so magical about the atmosphere that Adrien selfishly couldn’t help but want to keep a piece of it for himself; something to treasure when this night was nothing more than a distant series of recollections.  

Without thinking twice, he swiped to open his camera app, snapping a few pictures while Marinette wasn’t paying attention.  

After all, there were already so many secrets between them, what were a few more? 

-x-