#lila reveal in progress

[the-superoriginal]

A taste of the forbidden fruit

Summary: This should have been just a day like any other. But it ended with something you hadn't even dared to hope to actually happen.

Warning(s): dbf!bucky, short!female!reader, age gap (reader is in her early 20 and Bucky in his mid 30s), kissing, guess you can read it as a gender neutral! reader too?

A/N: I finally finished a/this WIP! Wuhu! (Please, imagine me to wipe the non-existenting sweat from my forehead now.) I am not really satisfied with it through, but I guess I can still publish a updated version one day.

PS: I am awful with writing summaries and titles.

English is not my native language!

You leaned back against the beige jeep of your Dad's best friend, the sun slowly setting after a long day and basking the sky in a mix of orange, lila und blue. "I'll bet 5 Dollar that she won't even remember this tomorrow.", you grinned slightly amused as Bucky came back out of your friend's house again. He had just brought her in like the gentleman he was, because Lucy had drunk just a bit too much. And considering your height difference and the fact she weighed a bit more you hadn't been able to bring her in. The man chuckled quietly, shaking his head a bit as he rounded his car, pointing at you for a moment while opening the driver's seat door. "Deal."

He may be a gentleman but he could have fun too.

Your grin widened as you seated yourself in the passenger seat again. Bucky following just a second later. His cologne hit you after the doors were closed and he started to drive. It tickled your nose, his scent a pleasing mix of the cologne and him — musky, old books and motor oil.

It wasn't the first time you noticed it and you were sure it wouldn't be the last. He was your father's best friend after all which inevitably meant that he was at least once a week in your parents house and also had physical contact with you occasionally.

"There we are.", Bucky mumbled as he opened the passenger door for you, helping you out with his larger hand wrapped around yours. You chuckled a bit, ignoring the warmth his touch sent through you. "You don't need to do that, you know that, yeah?"

He just smiled, revealing his laugh lines to you again as he closed the door behind you, letting go of your hand in the progress. He was beautiful and you screwed for catching yourself thinking it more and more recently. "I know. But I wanted to do it.", he simply said and you cursed internally for how it made your heart skip.

"You coming in too?", you asked while already making your way to the front door. You hoped he would. Just so you could spend a bit more time with him. Especially now where it were just you two. Without your parents or friends. Bucky chuckled lightly as you opened the door, his words soft. "Of course."

A few hours passed filled with laughter and shared stories. By now the sky was dark to make room for the moon and stars. "And then I spilled my coffee on him.", you ended your story with a chuckle. It wasn't embarrassing to you anymore. There had been enough time passed between the happening of the story and now. Bucky chuckled, his forearms resting on the kitchen isle were you two were seated since a while. "Well, that's one way to do it."

"It's a good way through. 'Cause it worked." He shook his head lightly in disbelief, still grinning while you took a sip from your hot cocoa. The liquid flowing down your throat pleasantly. His blue eyes catched yours as you set the cup on the isle and suddenly something shifted. His eyes held a glint that you hadn't seen before. They seemed lighter, sparkling in a way.

Bucky leaned a bit closer and you weren't sure if he even noticed it himself, his gaze dropping lower for a second and your heart skipped in ancipaction. There was clearly something unspoken lingering in the air, not able to be missed. A desire, longing. Yet there was also the unfiltered reality in the back of your mind, your inner voice arguing to lean back or away. To do anything to break this spell that lay over you two. Bucky was older than you and, the even more important part, he was your father's best friend.

But then his lips brushed yours. A barely there touch, so featherlight that yours eyes falled closed on their own accord, and the voice got quieter. He gave you the chance to pull away and simultaneously tested the waters. You gathered your courage and then you pressed your lips against his.

Bucky breathed quietly out and then he kissed you fully, his hands finding their way on your cheeks, holding your face delicately while your lips melted together in a gentle symphony full of longing and desire. You didn't know how long the kiss lasted, but when he parted your hands had a soft grip on his shirt. God, you have never been kissed like this before.

"We will figure this out.", he whispered quietly after moments were your inner voice had come back. His words were a promise that this wasn't just a fleeting thing. That they would be more. That he wanted more.

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

You know one thing I'm deeply disappointed about how this show does secret identities is they NEVER go for the extreme comedy misunderstandings based on the secret identities.

Like ok, a big fandom thing before season 2 was Lila liking Marinette but hating Ladybug and that would be so interesting! Imagine if Lila assumed Marinette hated Ladybug too because she always leaves when LB shows up and like tried to rope her into a plan or framed her for one of her anti LB schemes!

The funniest thing you can do with a secret identity is give the two halves a perceived dynamic in the public and expand on that! Maybe Adrien seems to hate Chat Noir! Maybe someone other than Andre thinks two sides of the love square are actually a love triangle! Maybe Marinette has to come up with an elaborate excuse for why she knows something and the class assumes she's Ladybug's best friend.

Actually another Idea I had is Chat Noir discovering Marinette had the Miracle Box and assuming "oh Ladybug decided to leave the box with Marinette so someone would always be watching it while we're fighting Hawkmoth, how clever!"

How did this go for five seasons and we NOT end up with a beat like that it's COMEDY GOLD.

(I mean obviously it's not a requirement of any secret identity story, I personally just think it would have been really funny)

Preaching to the choir here! I delight in using the secret identities for comedy gold! I think the problem is that it's really hard to do these sorts of plots in a single episode and then let them vanish from the characters' memories. Serious identity shenanigans only work if you're allowed to progress the plot and draw things out over a few episodes. Being okay with an identity reveal is also a big part of these things as most good identity shenanigans with Adrien, Marinette, and their friends eventually lead to a reveal. If you're not okay with a reveal or even just a change in the status quo, then these stagnate quickly.

My fics that focus on comedic identity shenanigan are all tension builds where things get ever more ridiculous until everything breaks and the reveal happens. That seems to be true across the fandom and of course it is! If you want to do serious identity shenanigans, then you have to let them change things.

If you don't want to let things change, then the identity shenanigans need to stay a minor, cheap gag. A good example of this is Perry the Platypus from Phineas and Ferb. Perry is the titular characters' pet platypus who is secretly a secret agent. It's a cute gag, but it's also not a serious thing that they boys need to know, so the shenanigan around this secret identity are pretty minimal because the more narrative weight this secret gets, the more it needs to have an end game.

Take Adrien hating Chat Noir as an example. Great concept! Love it! But where does that concept go if we can't let anyone in on his secret? That's the payoff to the joke. The reveal that makes it all make sense. But we can't have that, so we can't make Adrien hate Chat Noir.

It's like a comedic version of Lila's lies. Even if those were well told, the fun would be in the anticipation of Lila's reveal. No reveal and the lies are just annoying no matter how good they are.

[theartofnieriel]

True Ending

While Chat Noir protects Paris from the akuma, Ladybug convinces Gabriel to do the right thing. After the powers of the ladybug miraculous cures Gabriel from the effects of the cataclysm and fixes the other miraculous, Su-Han puts a spell on Gabriel that bars him from ever using a miraculous ever again. If he does, the spell will stop his heart and he'll die. Gabriel accepts his punishment and focuses on rebulding his family and fixing the bonds he ruined. Meanwhile, Lila, now in possession of the butterfly miraculous, is out to take revenge on Ladybug, Gabriel and Marinette. Gabriel offers Marinette an official apprentiship, which angers Lila even more and pushes her to seek out Tomoe Tsurugi. Lila offers her a chance to make Gabriel pay for breaking the engagement between Adrien and Kagami. Tomoe accepts. It's revealed Tomoe had hoped to kill Gabriel and replace him with a senti under her control, but her plan derailed when Gabriel gave the peacock to Félix. Fortunately for her, Gabriel was hit with the cataclysm and she had then hoped he'd die from that. Once again, Gabriel (with Ladybug's help) managed to ruin her plans. This alliance will give Lila the means to fund her plans and will grant her access to new powerful technology she can utilize to her advantage. As season 6 progresses, Ladybug finds herself confiding in Gabriel and Nathalie about her struggles as a hero (as Alya has her own issues to deal with and Su-Han is busy with temple business). The two adults encourage Marinette to be honest with Adrien and reveal her identity to him, but before she can, Crysalis appears and starts terrorizing Paris. Faced once again with a threat to the city, Marinette postpones her talk with Adrien, but everything goes awry when the boy discovers his father was Hawkmoth. Feeling betrayed he runs to Marinette, who has to come clean about knowing about it. Adrien asks her how, and she reveals the truth. She's Ladybug. Heartbroken, Adrien runs away. Marinette calls Gabriel and Nathalie, and together they search for Adrien. Gabriel finds him and notices an akuma flying towards him. He jumps between and gets hit by the akuma to protect Adrien. As he fights Crysalis's influence and, as he's about to transform, he tells Adrien to run, that he loves him and that he's sorry. The finale for s6 is Ladybug and Chat Noir fighting and rescuing Gabriel. Back at the mansion, the former villains and two heroes have a talk and, while Adrien can't completely forgive them for lying to him, he understands their motivations. He tells them he'll need time to process everything. Gabriel, Nathalie and Marinette understand and tell him they'll be patient. From that moment on, Gabriel and Nathalie become the confidants for the two teens, and subsequently join and become patrons of the temple in the fight against Crysalis.

[Bad Ending - Good Ending]

-

reblog, don’t repost. thank you

[ilikekidsshows]

"I wrote a thing ages ago about how Marinette doesn’t actually care that Lila lied about knowing Ladybug, she only cared that Lila lied about Ladybug to try to impress Adrien."

It's funny cause I saw salters use the argument that the excuses people give as to why Adrien gave the high road advice (like how he believed that Lila was just like a celebrity gossiper, or that their classmates would figure out on their own, etc...) are arguments that the fans came up with and that the show itself never had Adrien say those are the reasons he believe they should take the high road, which fair enough. But then these same salters turn around and try to make Marinette wanting to reveal Lila's deception as much more noble than it actually was, like making up the idea that Marinette was just concerned about Lila putting a massive target on her back by saying she was Ladybug's friend.

---

Also, like, Adrien’s “high road advice” isn’t even about taking the high road. Taking the high road means trying to be the better person in a situation, but Adrien actually tells Marinette that her method will not get her the result she wants. And to make this nitpicking about Adrien’s advice even more ridiculous, Adrien even assumes Marinette’s motivation is that she opposes Lila’s lying on principle alone, instead of her having a personal vendetta against her. Even the audience doesn’t know what Marinette’s end goal was. To get Lila to stop lying? To get her away from Adrien? To humiliate her so badly she’d transfer schools? We just don’t know because Marinette never thinks about it that far. She just sees Lila and sees red. She hears her lie about the most petty stuff and thinks that's her justification to bully her as a superhero.

“It’s enough that we know the truth,” is Adrien’s way of telling Marinette that they don’t need to care about Lila’s petty lying to get popular, because it’s not hurting anyone because it wasn’t. Lila was incredibly harmless to basically everyone when she wasn’t akumatized. Even her “threat” to Marinette was based completely on Marinette herself publicly harassing Lila and making herself look bad through no effort on Lila’s part. Pre-’Ladybug’, Lila’s lies never actually hurt anyone, the only time she actually hurt anyone was when she framed Marinette in ‘Ladybug’, which hadn’t yet happened in ‘Chameleon’.

Adrien is actually so correct about Lila in ‘Chameleon’ and that’s what pisses me off about the retool trying to turn Lila into this super evil obviously nasty person so Adrien has to apologize for giving good, solid advice that actually worked. I can’t emphasize enough that Adrien’s advice actually helped Marinette. It was the correct way to handle the situation, and no amount of retooling will change what happened in those earlier episodes. The fans don’t need to come up with reasons or defenses for Adrien because his advice worked, therefore it was the right thing to do. Meanwhile, Marinette’s methods never made any progress before the retool.

I also can’t emphasize enough that we don’t know what Marinette was trying to accomplish with her harassment campaign against Lila in the earlier seasons. Indeed, she never says anything about Lila putting herself in danger. She never says anything about how Ladybug’s reputation could somehow be harmed. She was just angry and wanted to hurt Lila for trying to get close to Adrien. The thing that makes Marinette ready to jump Lila in the library isn’t her lying about knowing Ladybug, it’s suggesting to Adrien they should meet at the park. “I just hate liars” is what Marinette said when Adrien told her she was acting weird and not like the Ladybug she should be, and even after the excuse, Adrien was left concerned that there was something wrong with her. Marinette’s actions weren’t justified even in the episode itself.

This is such a weird hill for people to choose to die on and for the show to walk itself back on. It was pretty clear in its messaging the first time around.

[chevvsgotanumbrellatattoo]

I haven't even seen the full season, but from Tumblr alone (yall are troopers), I am devastated. Even my shitty fic from 2020 made more sense than this shit (before you ask, no I will not sharing /gen /nm. My writing pre-4-years-of-creative-writing-classes was AWFUL)

Also, the true ending was revealed to me last night in a dream:

Viktor owns and runs his bar. Sissy is alive and well. The two of them and Harlan (kid aged, like S2) live on a farm and go to the record store every Saturday. Mr. Pickles comes along each time. Harlan has no powers.

Ben was never in jail bc crypto currency can't exist when the best phone tech is a rotary phone??? Anyway, he goes to art school, hones his craft, and makes up with the family by inviting them to his first art show. He visits Klaus on Mondays for lunch.

Five works at the CIA. He truly loves solving big puzzles, he learned that from the Commission. After work, he comes home to human!Delores and helps her cook supper. They talk about science and how Five's boss keeps telling him to pick up a new hobby for stress relief. Delores smiles over her glass of wine and suggests picking his guitar back up.

Klaus lives in a 2 bedroom apartment with Dave. His OCD and anxiety is still rampant, but with Dave's support, he gets on meds (which Dave holds onto and administers for him since pills make him nervous) and gets a handle on it. He and Dave have movie nights every Friday and talk about tarot. Dave makes the best menudo Klaus has ever had.

Allison lives happily with Claire and Ray. She learns to manage her guilt and anger, apologizing at length to the family and vowing to herself to be a better person. Claire needs a better role model than the person she'd been. Ray and Allison take Claire for picnics with the at least one of the Uncles once a month. Claire looks forward to it every time.

Diego and Lila are happy. They have their 3 little nuggets and love them to pieces. Diego learns that his father-in-law has a friend at the archery range in the next town over. He drives over with him one day and decides to pick up knives again. It takes a long time to make peace with the fact that his aim will never be marigold-perfect, but Diego is entirely happy with his progress.

Lila is ELATED to have her parents. She talks to them daily and plays Twister with little Grace and the twins while her Mom and Dad take turns spinning the Twister wheel. She goes to the gym to scratch the itch of adventure she sometimes finds herself needing and talks to Diego when something is bothering her. Diego does the same. They call it 'Thick-Headed Therapy Thursdays' and they get ice cream afterwards.

Luther lives in a lovely house with Sloane. He studies space and cooking at the local college and helps Sloane kickstart her fashion designs (based off when she made her KILLER wedding dress in like,, no time at all). They have a small dog named Moon-Moon McGee. Sloane keeps her moon-rock wedding ring safe in a small box in her nightstand.

Grace works at a daycare and is the favorite of kids and grownups alike. She visits Diego and Lila on Sundays and makes little Grace and her siblings pancakes and chocolate milk for breakfast (Lila and Diego partake in this as well).

Pogo works at the library. He prides himself on neat bookshelves and loves when people ask him for help. He calls everyone "Master," "Miss," or even "Mx." and asks politely for preference and pronouns before doing so.

None of them have their powers.

Reginald Hargreeves still has a heart attack and kaputs. Abigail never bothers the Brellies.

The family all make it to little Grace's birthday party. The piñata breaks when she hits it. The cake is gone within an hour. Little Grace and Harlan are damn near inseparable. She makes Mr. Pickles hats for the holidays, much to Harlan's delight.

Case in point, they're all so happy and love each other! They each go to therapy and work out their own issues and don't take it out on each other!! The kids love all their aunts and uncles!! Everyone wins!! (Except Reggie bc FUCK YOU).

[artoflured]

☆ - Masterpost - ☆

List of scenes will expand while the series progresses, current installment is scene 2.

Prelude

1 - Welcome

Reintroduction

2 - Awaken

3 - Sunrise

Notes

Hello! If you’re stumbling upon this post for the first time, here is a brief explanation:

This project is a rewrite of Psycho II and III, in a comic format. Some elements of those films are still canon, however I prefer to let those elements reveal themselves over time rather than spelling out exactly what has remained and when these events are occurring. Regardless, you will get the most out of this if you have seen all three films.

The story follows Mary Loomis, who has survived the events of Psycho II, and is attempting to live a normal life with her new housemate Norman Bates, who took her in after Lila Loomis’ incarceration. Upon returning to the Bates house for her winter break from college, Mary encounters a series of dangerous and otherwise mysterious complications which challenge her determination to right the wrongs of her mother and protect Norman from further harm.

“Psycho: Redux” is the title belonging to the initial concept art for this project which may be seen in the Prelude post. “Psycho Aviary” or just “Aviary” is the final name for the rest of this series.

Because I’m currently a full time student, there are going to be some large gaps between installments, but this post will be updated whenever something new is added.

If you like this project and would like to help a gal out, rebloging of these posts is greatly appreciated, as it helps more horror fans find my comic! If you’d like to really go the extra mile, here’s my ko-fi.

Thanks for stopping by!

[tumblingxelian]

ML Season 6 Wish Fulfillment Outline

This is never going to happen but its what I want to happen, so here's the gist:

Starts in media res like the first season, Akuma are causing trouble on Lila's behalf but are being easily handled by the team.

But if you look closely you can see a Red Akuma flittering in the background sometimes that fuses with the person post purification.

Marinette's life is basically perfect, old friends and new a boyfriend, no school bullies, its great.

We see that Lila's new identity has managed to weave her way into Marinette, Adrien, Kagami & Felix's circle.

When we see Lila operating its obvious she has an accomplice who is powering her up as Nathalie once did Gabriel for Heroes Day.

This person is Chloe, seemingly being controlled via the Amok-Bracelet from season one & described as "empty" by Lila.

Things start going off the wheels however when Lila 'finds out' about Kagami's Amok & questions if she really knows she loves Felix or not.

Kagami finds out that while Felix never commanded her to love him, he did make it so she had a rose tinted view of him. He offered to let her do the same to him. She Akumatized & thrashed him, causing his Miraculous to be taken.

To his nominal credit, Felix does accept he did a terrible thing and refuses to Akumatize over it to 'get his happy ending. This causes Marinette to realize that she can't keep hiding things from Adrien and reveals the truth.

Suffice to say, lots of drama, they are on break at best, Marinette does Akumatize but pulls out of it as she keeps getting flashes of stuff she feels bad about that undermines her sense of anger.

Lila delights in the suffering & its revealed she is actually Chameleon. Basically, Hawk Moth harassed her dreams with Akuma to prime her for Heroes Day but it led to an Akuma being born inside her that took over, now it wants god hood.

This is also where we find out, Chloe was the one who broke the Peacock when Audrey made her. Thank you @generalluxun which is also why her Amok doesn't let one command her, but merely makes her easier to Akumatize if one has it. Lila briefly freaks out but determines she & Kgamai who is now under her thrall, are 'empty. We see a gold & red Akuma vanish into her back.

Things continue to progress with escelating Kuma & Sentimonster attacks & also Adrien prodding into various bits of his life that confuse him.

He & Marinette are secretly attending therapy sessions, but the camera makes it seem like they are always alone rather than sometimes.

This includes finding out Jean cannot find where Chloe lives to send Mr Cuddles & Jean musing on caring more about her than either of her parents did given their Akuma to Zoe after she & Andre have their first fight from her acting overshadowing his film making skill.

We also find out after an Anance battle that Kim is indeed afraid of spiders & even Marinette has no idea what the hell the spider prank is about. Lila muses that was something she orchestrated in secret to further isolate Chloe & only she & Adrien had even been in that pool.

This is when the cast start putting together someone very deft is pulling the strings and there is likely more going on, putting Chameleon on the clock.

We see gold & red Akuma link with Caline, Jean, Sabrina, Felix, Marinette & Adrien in secret. Also Adrien via Plagg maybe discovering Chloe & Kagami have been captured in his own investigation, & while they get away its an important reveal.

Everything comes to ahead when Lila plans to reveal Marinette's lies about Gabriel to the whole world... & gets beaten to the punch by Ladybug telling the truth.

There's still enough anger to utilize but its not what she wanted, especially as hating Marinette/Ladybug is what keeps the Akuma going & without it she'll fade.

Lots of big battles with lots of Akuma & those with red & gold reveal themselves as basically harboring parts of Chloe & Kagami's psyche that are rebelling against Lila & want to help.

A big show of Marinette's growth is that she both trusts them and is willing to make a group plan, with a lot of emphasis placed on Adrien's contributions to the plan.

Especially as it involved him becoming Chat Blanc and attacking Ladybug to distract Lila & make her feel she's won. Though Rena is on back up with illusions.

An Akumatized & transformed Sabrina breaks into Chameleon's base with Lila's mothers when it seems like she's won & the Mega-Akuma activates, letting Lila split herself from Chameleon who is them protected by Nino.

We see the mothers searching for Lila in background scenes throughout the season.

Chameleon makes a last gasp attempt for the Miraculous, but the illusions drop & she gets sucker punched with Cataclysm the thousand butterflies that made her up being purified by a Mega Miracle Cure.

The final episode is basically falling action showing the next year taking place, covering stuff like:

Marinette & Adrien's therapy sessions & the emphasis on the idea of being happy on one's own terms over someone else's.

The Kwami all spoiling their finally returned siblings as well as a subtly resolution with Chloe & Pollen.

New shows demonstrating how Hawk Moth manipulated the likes of Chloe & Lila to help sway public opinion.

Lila re-integrating into society.

The rich kids with shitty parents divorcing them to thunderous applause.

Jean taking over the hotel.

Marinette & Chloe's resolution, with Chloe conceding it wasn't the other girls job to salvage her & Marinette saying she has a better idea of how someone could choose to do things they know are bad for love.

A lot of minor fun things showing emerging dynamics like study and gaming sessions ETC.

Finally it caps off in the park where the statue of Gabriel has been replaced by a giant glowing dance floor. XY, Nino, Jagged Stone & Kitty Section are performing at the first annual Kwami Family Reunion Celebration.

We see more stuff, like Chloe & Kagami seemingly being together & talking with Juleka. Zoe and Lila dancing to the music. Kwami celebrating and chilling with people. Felix & Sabrina engaging in a spirited debate. The Guardian Monks doing a choreographed dance.

Then cap off with Marinette & Adrien taking five away from the party to talk and decide to give it another go. No secret identities, no secrets and not no surprises as both reveal a present for the other.

& that's how I'd handle that!

[theerurishipper]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thank you for your ask!

[foolish-took]

Hi guess who finally got around to finishing Burrow’s End!!! Stopped watching for a hot second because I didn’t want it to end and also I was freaking terrified this has been THE MOST terrifying D20 season I’ve seen so far (and yes I know there’s a whole season that is in fact worse). I wanna share my final thoughts on the finale since I finally got around to it and so much fun stuff happened!! So spoilers under the cut!

God what a fucking insane episode dude. Phoebe’s reveal and the way the doctor guy was FUCKED UP had me feeling icky not gonna lie, but like storytelling wise it’s VERY cool.

That finally battle was amazing, the way the revenants got taken over and then poor Tula was forced to attack Jaysohn, who almost fucking died???? And then LUCA pretty much died???? Like good god can we stop having children get severely hurt in this freaking campaign guys please 😭.

THE FUCKING NAT 20 ON FIRING THE GUN LIKE HOLY SHIT THAT WAS SO COOL. Viola just got more and more badass as the season progressed, and after she absolutely filleted the one guy to then do that???? Ascends simply being a badass like I have no better words. And then Jasper going “THATS. MY. WIIIIIIIIIIFE.” Was so real and so fucking funny.

God speaking of Luka the bit where Brennan is describing the reason Tula would heal Luka instead of letting him “rest” had me FUCKED UP. Straight up started crying omg I love her so much. Brennan I will fight you stop making me cry over your characters please.

I loved the epilogue bit, Lila getting a doctorate and solving climate change, Tula gettin back in her hoe era, Jaysohn becoming an Olympian somehow. It was such a fun and silly and cute and fucking amazing way to wrap things up, I love the endings they have for their characters. Especially with Ava and Viola and just that understanding of motherhood, it was very nice.

Overall this was a fantastic season and I will be telling people about it.

[fillingthescrapbook]

Let's Talk About: Burrow's End and Reactor Charlie

Hello, Preternatural Predators!

Holy shit. Holy shit. Spoilery shit ahead!

This feels like two wildly different episodes because of the energy and the vibes and I also cannot fathom a universe where they were halved and released separately. The events of this episode needed to happen in one sitting even though my heart is beating so quickly for two very different reasons.

Let's talk about the first act where Erika Ishii is MVP for being the most no-fucks-to-give grandma. Just casually strolling up to one of the bigwigs and straight up talking to them like they're equals. May we all have the confidence of Ava and her four winters of age.

I loved the reactions Brennan, Rashawn, and Jasper were exhibiting throughout. Truly children of a parent who not just has their foot in their mouth--but their whole legs as well.

Jaysohn and Lila getting the family into trouble and facing consequences for their actions feels like a natural progression--but god damn if I didn't have the sweats throughout the entirety of it. Siobhan and Izzy are truly delivering one of the most consistently amazing portrayals of pre-teens.

Also--Viola and Thorn? Couple goals. Tula? Fucking scary. And Brennan Lee Mulligan with those dice? Even as a player, he truly knows how to make those click clacks sound menacing.

And then we get to the second part. And the map. Holy shit. Aabria Iyengar, you mad woman. Rick Perry, you mad man. The art department is truly comprised of geniuses. (And I have been remiss in shouting out the make-up and styling department, but they have been delivering every single episode too.) Holy shit.

My adrenaline is still through the roof because of that second half. And I'm naming Jasper William Cartwright as a second MVP this episode. Mostly because of what happens after the map is revealed--but also because of the stuff he did prior. But the Box of Doom moment really solidified my case for having two MVPs this episode. (Again, not discounting all the other players. They're all great. But some actions and decisions just elevate the experience of the episode for me.)

This episode is high octane. Big ups to everyone.

Now for stray thoughts and stray screen captures:

Was "don't be suspicious" a thing on TikTok when this was filmed? I know of the meme because of Tumblr. And I loved that the gang was immediately singing the song--because I was singing it too!

Acorn hat!

The lesson is this: everything new is bad. For a while.

And--

[ali-annals]

Main Masterlist

Happy endings (or the option for one, in the case of CYOE fics) are the norm here.

Most fics are one-shots. Two-shots or miniseries have their prequel/sequel/chapters posted beside the name. Series are free from summary but have a status (completed/in progress/hiatus) posted beside their name.

Most Akuma Class fics are salty. I write Adrien and/or Chloe salt/sugar 50/50

Filed by: DATE ☄ SHIP ☄ MULTICHAP/SERIES ☄ COLLECTION ☄ AO3 ☄ ART

Format: - Date [title] | ship | rating | wc | - summary*

*series will have no summary; it will be at the top of the series masterlist instead

Summer 2021

☄ Chaotic Coffee Zombies | Timari | T | (in progress)

☄ How You Get The Girl | Jasonette | G | 1k

“Hi, Marinette.” She laughed sharply to hide her hurt. “‘Hi, Marinette?’ Jason, it’s been six months.”

☄ Enchanted | Jasonette | G | 1k

Jason laughed. “...Do you have a name or shall I call you M?” “You haven’t earned my name yet, monsieur, so M will have to do.” “What does earning it involve?” “Mmm, normally you’d have to be family or a close friend, or a loyal patron for over two years.” “Would a waltz make us close enough friends?” He extended his hand with a flourish, which she took. “Perhaps. No stepping on my toes, though,” she warned. “I’ll have you know I never step on people’s toes unless they deserve it,” he said in mock offence as they move onto the dancefloor.

☄ my tears ricochet | Daminette | T | 4.5k

It was over. Everything was done. Hawkmoth and Mayura were defeated. Ladybug was dead. Marinette Dupain-Cheng’s “friends”/classmates were crying around the fresh grave. She’d been revealed as Ladybug in her death, her transformation dropping one final time. The city mourned their fallen heroine. Chat Noir gave the final Miraculous Team’s press conference, stating that Marinette was dead, attacked by Hawkmoth; though she had defeated the villain and his partner, she had succumbed soon after to irreversible injuries. He would be retiring now as well. ... The next day, a lone figure made its way back to Ladybug’s flower-covered grave. He was the class’s foreign-exchange student, Damian Grayson. He set a single white rose on the headstone and stepped back to pay his respects. The dirt began to move, and a hand poked through.

☄ invisible string | Daminette | G | 13k (completed)

☄ Call it what you Want | Jasonette | G | (see February 2024)

Autumn 2021

☄ Marinette “Valkyrie” Wayne | Marijon, Platonic Maribat | G | 10k (completed)

☄ knock knock/who's th-/-interrupting bats | Daminette | M | 1k

Damian is kidnapped and the Bats try to find him. Rewind: Damian wants to spend time with his girlfriend and the Bats have really bad timing | SEQUEL

☄ Stars Around My Scars | Jasonette | T | 13k + drabbles (completed)

☄ Unexpected Visitors | Daminette | G | 1k

An unknown woman shows up on Wayne Manor's doorstep asking for Damian Wayne...

☄ Mazel Tov | Daminette | G | 0.5k

Talia attempts to arrange a marriage between her son, the Heir to the Demon, and the League of Assassins' rival order's head, the Grand Guardian. The Bats are insistent on stopping the wedding, but the couple don't seem that opposed to it...

☄ gold rush | Timari | G | 1k

Marinette has plans to meet her online gamer boyfriend on her class trip to Gotham, but gets distracted watching Lila flirt with their host, Tim Drake.

Winter 2021-2022

☄ Is this Hope just a Mystical Dream? | Jasonette | T | 5k

Did you know that some soulmates' souls are literally connected, meaning that when one half dies, the other follows them soon after to a personalized deathscape? Marinette and Jason sure did. | PART 2 (FINAL)

☄ clover blooms in the field/spring breaks loose, time is near | NetteWorth | T | 0.5k

☄ Renagerie | Jasonette | T | 1k

Red Hood and Menagerie hate each others' guts; everyone knows that. The Bats just want to know when they'll move from the Enemies phase of their relationship to the Lovers stage.

☄ It’s a Small World | Jasonette | G | 2k

Jason brings his fiancee home to meet his family. She gets along great with everyone! There's just one problem… They've met her before.

☄ I Wanted a Date, Not a Spouse! | Jasonette | G | 1k

Marinette bemoans her dry love life to her aunt. Jason is done with dating and tells his mom if she wants a daughter-in-law to find one herself. He should've known she would take him seriously.

March 2022

☄ The Terrifying Trio | Daminette | G | 1k | DCxDPxMLB

Everyone knew about the T3, as they called themselves. No one imagined they were real until they met them, and then they wished they hadn’t; the trio were far more terrifying than their tales.

April 2023

☄ sugar & bikes & everything nice | Jasonette | G | 0.5k

Biker meet car passenger...only Marinette's the biker.

☄ Outflirting an Outlaw | Roynette | G | 0.1k

Roynette meetcute, what more needs to be said?

☄ Ice to Meet You | Daminette | G | 1k

Marinette mistakes her new partner for her coach and a meet ugly meet cute ensues.

☄ sweet denials make for even sweeter victories | Konette | T | 0.3k

Conner is back from his trip with the JL, but his girlfriend isn't welcoming him as warmly as he would like.

☄ Pixie Reviews: Nightwing vs Red Hood | Jasonette | T | 0.5k

On patrol, Hood overhears a very interesting phone call from a very interesting woman.

☄ You don’t need to save me...but would you run away with me? | Jasonette | T | 2.5k

"What if Jason is hunted/captured by someone trying to remake the Lazarus Pit" but a meetcute.

☄ The Very First Night | Jasonette | T | 3k

Marinette’s phone rang, breaking her attention from her friends’ conversation. She checked the caller ID and excused herself. “MDC speaking,” she answered professionally, knowing her friends were half eavesdropping before she moved out of overhearing range. “Pixie, do you know how much I miss you?” whispered Jason. “These annoyances are driving me to do stupid things like call you in front of them just so I don’t blow us all up and alert the people we’re watching to our location!” “Aw, poor Jay,” she commiserated. “You need some reminders to keep you from eliminating your siblings?” “Please.” His exasperated tone in that one word told her volumes. “You’ll be in your family’s bad books if you do that, which means they’ll keep an even closer eye on you, which means you can’t see me without alerting them to my existence in your life.” Jason exhaled sharply. “Thank you, Pix. I shall restrain myself. Two more weeks.”

☄ Pretty petty pranks | Brucinette | G | 1.5k

“Damn right I'm pretty.” “I said petty.”

☄ All’s fair in love and Prank Wars | Jasonette | G | 2k

"Damn right I'm pretty." "I said petty."

☄ maroon | Dickinette | M | CYOE | 3k

“Can you hold my hand? My ex just walked in with her new boyfriend.” … "I see no one around besides us."

☄ Reputation 'Verse | Jasonette | E | 4k+ (hiatus)

May 2023

☄ Interrupting Bats Sequel | Daminette | M | 1k -prequel-

1+3 times Damian and Marinette interrupted their interrupters.

☄ look at those flowers that look like you | Jasonette | T | 3k

Hanahaki AU of my Reputation AU.

☄ Rival Mob Boss AU | Jasonette | M | 5k+ (hiatus)

☄ high tide came and brought you in | Jasonette, one-sided Daminette | T | 6.5k

Reverse Robins Little Mermaid AU where Jason is Ariel and Marinette is Eric.

☄ only bought this dress so you could take it off | Jasonette | M | 3k

Marinette finds her patrol rival/crush at the Wayne's party. They take things in a new direction.

June 2023

☄ from all the memories stored in my heart | Timari | G | CYOE | 1k

"Don't forget who you belong to" but SFW

☄ rude interruptions | Dickinette | M | 1k

Marinette is trying to make out with Dick but someone decided to disturb them. Also, why does she want to make out with Dick? He is such a dork.

☄ cracket | Timari | G | 1k

Cricket. Crnch!

☄ RavenBug Hanahaki trilogy | MaRave, Konette | T | 1k | (complete)

-one- -two- -three-

July 2023

☄ long live all the magic we made | Jasonette | T | 9.5k | minor DCxDPxMLB

In Gotham, Jason Todd is looking for Damian's dragonbat, Goliath, when he notices a strange thing in the sky. In Paris, Ladybug is fighting an akuma when a strange creature literally appears out of the blue. It might not be too big of a deal (they've both dealt with weirder things) if it wasn't A DIFFERENT UNIVERSE!

September 2023

☄ you're the hero flying around, savin' face | platonic Maribat, Adrinette | T | 1.5k | (angsty, unhappy ending)

He tasted salt. He cracked open his eyelids again. Oh. Her hot tears dropped past his reddened teeth, open in a half-smile, half-grimace. She was always so painfully optimistic. He hated to be the one to break it to her, but this would be more than a miracle. Optimism only got you so far. Look at him. Actually, don’t; you’d throw up like the person who had just followed her in here.

☄ there was one prize i'd cheat to win | Daminette | G | 1k

Marinette can only be roused from her daydreams by one word: Damian Damian will only respond to one word: Marinette They're so cute, right? Well... They secretly think the other dislikes them, being rivals and all.

October 2023

☄ "here, go stalk" (aka the coffee phenomenon) | Timari | G | 2k

Nightwing knocked on Red Robin’s mysterious rescuer’s window. She opened it with a stern look. “Really? And a blue and black vigilante outside my window isn’t as obvious as simply knocking on my door?” He shrugged, entering when she stepped back for him.

☄ tomorrow's a flower | Cassette | G | 1k

Cassinette meet cute at a fall fair turns to flowery romance.

☄ october request trilogy | T+ | 1.5k

February 2024

☄ the eras tour (jasonette's version) | Jasonette | T | 14k (completed)

March 2024

☄ stupid in love | Timari | T | 2.5k

Tim meets a competent new companion in his fight to make Ra's al Ghul's life hell. They just might be a match made in heaven (after all, Timari heaven is Ra's hell).

April 2024

☄ angel, don't fly so close to me (i'll pull you down eventually) | Jasonette | T | 0.5k

Jason's not the best at flirting; luckily the girl he's interested in thinks his attempts are cute.

[nionom-art]

True form cocinnella? Wazzat?

But how would love square progress?

And (please for the love of god) how is Chloe gonna be handled cause the show made me jump ship too, no need to feel bad

Coccinella’s “true form” is a metaphor for her finally revealing her true self at the end, or, what she believes to be her true self. The context is that she has just been de-akumatized and is angry that she failed (her plan while akumatized didn’t entirely go through). Here, she has to rely on Noire and Shadow’s help too to finally defeat Hawkmoth.

Throughout the series, Noire is trying to peace together exactly who Coccinella is as a person and we get bits and pieces of her true motivations, beliefs, and values throughout the story. The true form is supposed to be a visual representation of that. That’s why I made it look small, simple and somewhat pathetic, since that is secretly how Lila views herself the entire time.

I don’t plan on really doing anything with the love square. Adrien and Marinette learn each other’s identities and eventually fight Hawk moth together but that’s pretty much it. I’m focusing more on the side ships from cannon for this one (Lukanette and Adrien +Kagami).

As for Chloe- yes, I hate her cannon characterization in season 4-5 with a burning passion. I don’t think I’ve ever seen writing that has made me this livid before, seriously.

In my au, Zoe shows up early, in season 2. The two girls work together to help Chloe throw a party as an apology to her class (despair bear) and begin to like each other after that. They continue to progress their relationship, and Zoe gets the pig Miraculous mid season 2. During the finale of season 2, Audry comes to town, upsetting Chloe due to her obvious favoritism towards Zoe. The girls finally have an argument, in which Zoe reveals that she’s Henwin, which Chloe takes poorly. This all culminates In Henwin being akumatized and Chloe being called on as Drakina to save the day. Chloe reveals both of their identities to the public, which causes some issues later on, but honestly not as many as cannon would have us believe. Anyway, Chloe and Zoe’s relationship is strengthened and continues to develop in season 3. Neither girl becomes a villain or even a bad person by the end. Chloe gets to keep her redemption arc.

[synergysilhouette]

Remaking Miraculous Ladybug (Season 3)

Welcome back! I hope you enjoyed my remakes of the previous seasons, and I hope you're ready for my wild take on season 3. As usual, I trimmed the fat and cut some episodes. Fair warning: The final episodes will leave you with some questions!

Chameleon--Lila's lies are more simplistic now, due to the fact that she no longer has the fox miraculous to back up her lies, so they are much more difficult to call out. Some of the class starts grow suspicious of her when she flirts with Adrien after they tell her that he's possibly dating Kagami, but Lila maintains that she can't help her feelings and implies that she's just like Marinette, silencing them and making them feel conflicted. Marinette doesn't tell Alya and Nino about her issues with Lila, as it dates back to when Lila was able to use illusions, thus evading criticisms that she's jealous of Lila. Lila doesn't drop her facade around Marinette, pretending to have turned herself around after a terrible fight that she had with Ladybug, making her question whether or not she's genuine. Only Alya, Nino, Nathaniel, Marc, Chloe, Adrien, and Sabrina take Marinette's side on the issue, but Marinette starts to doubt herself. Chloe uses her social standing in the city to try and expose Lila's lies on different occasions, but her social standing in the class leads almost everyone to believe she's just being petty. Lila attempts to get close with Adrien, but finds Kagami and Luka harder to induct into her web of lies than the others. In the end, Lila masterfully maintains her lies, making it difficult for anyone to call her out. It's also revealed at the end that Lila anonymously receives instructions from Hawk Moth, who she is led to believe is friends with Gabriel Agreste.

2. Animaestro--Luka and Juleka join Jagged Stone at the premiere, having produced, written, and recorded several songs along with Clara Nightingale. Marinette volunteers to help her parents genuinely rather than being there for Adrien, as the press has speculated that Adrien and Kagami are a couple. Chloe is less disruptive, trying to turn over a new leaf, though she is jealous of Kagami and Adrien being a couple. When Marinette asks her about Luka and Kim, Chloe disregards Kim as being nothing serious and goes after Luka, who greets her warmly due to her progress. However, Chloe mentions that she still has a chance with Adrien, as he and Kagami aren't official yet, inspiring Marinette to try to tell her feelings for him before it's too late. However, they aren't as petty with the sabotage, but try to subtly get Adrien alone at different times. Gabriel actually shows up to the premiere in person, excusing himself during the chaos to turn into Hawk Moth. Given that Thomas is based on Thomas Astruc, I'd enjoy him getting akumatized after getting into fights from Ladybug fans about how he wrote the film--it just feels poetic that way. Kitty Section performs the title track for the film, and the rest of the episode pans out the same, except Chloe joins the fight as Queen Bee.

3. Reflekdoll--LOATHE as I am to cover repeat villains, I'll do so this time. Most of the episode is the same, but the discussion between Ladybug and Chat Noir isn't about hero/sidekick, but philosophical about destruction and creation, with Chat Noir being envious that Ladybug is called good luck, while Chat Noir is called bad luck, having seen someone shoo away a black cat earlier. Taking from "Bakerix," Marinette's paternal grandfather comes to visit, and they have a similar discussion about tradition and modern, with Marinette arguing that some traditional views (ie the superstition of ladybugs bringing good luck and black cats bringing bad luck) shouldn't affect how others are treated. Juleka and Luka's talk hints at a crush that Luka has on one of his friends, but Juleka promises to keep it a secret, and Luka inquires about Juleka's crush on Rose, but Juleka deflects, stating that she thinks Rose still has a crush on Prince Ali. Juleka's interest in being a model is also explored. Rather than trading Miraculous by chance, Adrien tells Master Fu about his insecurities, and he invites Ladybug and Chat Noir to trade miraculous as an exercise, though this happens before Reflekdoll, and they're unable to find each other when they need to trade back, turning into Lady Noir and Lord Beetle (because I can't stand Mister Bug). During this point, they realize that their skillsets aren't suitable for switching miraculous yet; Marinette doesn't hold back, causing destruction in Paris, and Adrien is too cautious to confidently use the Ladybug miraculous. However, due to the encouragement of Rose and Luka, as well as insight from two previous miraculous holders (Micazoyolin and Cyfnos, a Welsh black cat holder) they manage to temporarily get a grip on their new abiltiies. And perhaps have Marinette design a more unique fashion accessory/outfit, with Adrien saying he'd love to show it to his dad. Juleka and Rose also start to have a romance here. The rest of the episode plays out the same.

4. Silencer--Very different, given that in my universe, Kitty Section is already a successful band. This episode focuses on Juleka, Luka, and the other two bandmates (since Ivan and Rose aren't part of them in this universe) discussing their next album (either a sophomore or junior album), and Juleka, thinking about how both she and Luka have been struggling with their feelings lately, thinks they should try making a concept album about someone whose trying to tell their crush their feelings and the rollercoaster of emotions that come with it. While the other bandmembers are on board, Luka is hesitant, as he hasn't reached a point where he's comfortable making an album about his current feelings. Bob Roth attempts to undercut the band by stating that as an independent band (as they're not signed under Jagged Stone's label, but he uses his influence to hype them up and get them attention), they can't go as far as if they were part of a major company. The band considers the financial assistance they could receive, and Marinette designs them cool costumes for their audition with the record label, though Bob Roth shows favoritism to Luka when he asks Luka to sing, and he sounds good. He attempts to rebrand the band with Luka as the lead singer, even going as far as offering to make him a solo artist, which Luka rejects. Before they leave, Bob Roth notices that Luka left behind his journal, which is full of musical material as well as mundane journal entry stuff--except for the parts where he discusses his crush on Adrien Agreste. Bob Roth attempts to blackmail Luka into a deal, stating that it would humiliate him and possibly put Adrien's star status in jeopardy if it's believed that he's cheating on Kagami, who the public believes is his girlfriend. This attempt backfires, as Luka goes along with it at first, but his anger and embarrassment can't be contained when he sees Bob Roth and XY berate Marinette's fashion skills. and he is akumatized into Silencer. Thus, Luka wants to protect Adrien as well as Marinette, and Kagami stands her ground to keep Silencer away from Adrien. Bob Roth reveals his corrupt intentions and is fired from the record label that he works at, and Adrien asks Luka about his feelings for him. Luka said he never wanted to enroach on Adrien's life and gives him a kiss on the cheek, leaving Adrien to process his feelings for another guy as well as his budding feelings for Luka and Kagami. And needless to say, Kitty Section decides to stay independent--at least for now.

5. Oni-Chan--Adrien doesn't have a reason to distrust Lila since her lies haven't been disproven here, and she is invited into the Agreste estate by Gabriel himself rather than Lila lying about it. As Gabriel knows about the events of "Silencer," he advises Lila from trying to romance Adrien, who is in a turmoil of emotions. Kagami sees this as well and is conflicted, wanting to support him through his love triangle, but also wanting to be the one he picks. Luka, wanting to give Adrien his space, stops coming for music practice for a week. Lila is less obvious about her lies to Adrien and focuses on homework while subtly trying to get close to him, and Marinette isn't obsessed with breaking into Adrien's house to expose Lila. At this point, Gabriel has been mulling over inviting Marinette to be his protege, but Lila sabotages this by making Marinette sound like the stalker she was in the original show, resulting in him changing his mind. Kagami is frustrated even more in this version, and Gabriel has no issue with sending her after Lila when Lila goes against his wishes with Adrien. Kagami delves into slightly toxic territory, seeing Adrien as hers (even though they're not in a committed relationship) and someone she can save from loneliness, as he did for her, revealing that the idea that he'd care for anyone else would hurt her terribly. Chloe joins the fight as Queen Bee, almost revealing her identity to Adrien in order to impress him. Lila's lies are almost discovered thanks to Hawk Moth exposing her online and her magical horn, but Lila pivots by stating this was all a lie to try to akumatize her by making everyone hate her, which most of the class accepts. In a rush of concern for Kagami, Adrien decides to become official with her, crushing Marinette.

6. Miraculer--The episode is very different. Given that no one knows Queen Bee's real identity, neither Lila nor Mayura try to persuade her to their side. Instead, Alya's curiosity of Ladybug and Chat Noir is growing. While she's cut them some slack, she still has criticisms of the fact that they haven't gotten closer to defeating Hawk Moth, and now they have to deal with Mayura. Lila gets under her skin, telling her that she hasn't even been smart about being a reporter: she should've been helping the heroes figure out who Hawk Moth is rather than trying to find out their identities. Alya realizes that she's right, and despite Nino trying to console her, she becomes akumatized into Miraculer. Much of the episode plays out the same, though it's Marinette who tricks her in a similar fashion to Chloe tricking Sabrina in the original. Sabrina helps Queen Bee against Mayura, but Sabrina lacking powers and superhuman strength/agility hinders them, allowing Mayura to get away. At the end of the episode, Marinette realizes Lila is a threat even without her powers, and ponders who she should give the fox miraculous to. It's also revealed that the reason Nino and Chloe haven't been constantly active heroes despite having permanent mriaculous is because Wayzz told Nino not to get involved unless absolutely necessary, as both of them could be caught and force dot reveal where Master Fu is. Following these events and seeing how upset Alya is, Marinette reveals to Alya that she is Ladybug--but that's all she shares.

7. Desperada--Luka is still dealing with Adrien dating Kagami, though he does express happiness for him, and promises they can still be friends. Adrien attempts to ask him to continue teaching him music, saying he's ready to get vocal lessons, but Luka isn't ready for them to do one-on-one stuff again yet. He decides to take up his dad's offer to fill in for his guitarist, who he had a falling out with. After finding a way to get away from Luka to turn into Chat Noir, both he and Ladybug venture to Master Fu. Ladybug takes the fox miraculous and Chat Noir takes the snake miraculous, with both of them arguing on which one can help. Ladybug gives the fox miraculous to Kagami, turning him into Hansha, while Adrien gives the snake miraculous to Luka, becoming Viperion. As Adrien never tries the snake miraculous, he doesn't end up traumatized by making bad decisions, and the quartet are able to defeat Desperada. In the end, Adrien and Kagami are able to enjoy their romance while Kagami and Luka reestablish their friendship.

8. Kwamibuster--Ms. Bustier is absent as she's now giving birth to her daughter, and Plagg isn't as reckless when being around Ms. Mendeliev. Kagami, Luka, Chloe, and Nino join the fight against Kwamibuster, Most of the episode is the same, except extra miraculous don't exist outside the main 7 and the snake miraculous, and we see Sass and Trixx fill Kagami and Luka in on how Kwamis and Miraculous work, as well as their history, as they had made sure to study Master Fu's book before leaving his care.

9. Feast--Mostly the same, but introduces Marianne as well as exploring Master Fu's past. More information is given about previous Miraculous holders, giving the six miraculous heroes insight into their predecessors. Kagami questions the morality that comes with being a superhero, and Master Fu reveals that the fox miraculous was originally able to warp time and space, allowing the user to traverse multiverses, but the power was sealed when a malevolent user possessed the fox miraculous. This frustrates her, as she wants the power to live her life free of her mother's criticisms. Alya also surmises other ancient holders who Master Fu may or may not have known about. Master Fu is also not responsible for the destruction of the Order of the Guardians. When he was a young adult, his rival was overlooked for the power of the ladybug miraculous, and given the cat miraculous instead. The rival secretly craved power, and destroyed the temple (which was simply a sanctuary for ONE miracle box) and killed everyone in it except for Master Fu and his father. Master Fu grabbed the butterfly miraculous and tried to use it to encourage positive feelings from his past friend, but the friend used the peacock miraculous and became akumatized by the akuma, making him create the feast sentimonster. After a long battle, Feast was sealed and the butterfly and peacock miraculous were lost, with the implication that Fu's friend died in the battle (though I do like the idea that he was turned into a statue as well and hidden away). Nathalie's life isn't just sapped by the peacock miraculous; it's consuming her, as she now wears it secretly and turns into Mayura without having to say a phrase. Gabriel's concern for Nathalie and Adrien is severe, and he sits this battle out as he grieves losing more people he cares about, spending time with Adrien while the other five team members defeat Feast. Instead, it's all Mayura until Gabriel discovers her as she crumbles as Feast is defeated. Mayura reveals Master Fu's identity to Gabriel, and while the Tibetan temple is restored, the lives lost are not confirmed to have returned, so Master Fu goes on a trip to investigate himself. Kagami questions if the restoration of the temple means that she can unlock her hidden fox powers.

10. Ikari Gozen--Tomoe gives Kagami a bit of leeway for the friendship game, but reconsiders when Gabriel criticizes her for being too controlling, to which Tomoe replies that he is ignorant of their culture. Kagami and Marinette get along well, and Luka, Nino, and Adrien bond. Ikari Gozen's design is more reminiscent of a ninja, as she is swift and elusive, causing great damage at lightning speed. After a tense conversation with her mother, Kagami uses the fox miraculous, having practiced overcoming the seal that warps reality. Her rage destroys the seal, and Kagami warps them to a different time and place. Kagami returns, but her mother isn't with her. She flees the scene, horrified at what she's just done, and Gabriel laments the dire situation, but reasons that Tomoe was a terrible person and brought this upon herself. Kagami stays with Adrien for the time being, though it's difficult for him to console her. Luka and Nino win the contest and come over, with Chloe joining out of sympathy, and Kagami relies on them for support. At the end, Gabriel questions what he's done, as he's now orphaned a child.

11. Timetagger--Most of this is the same, but rather than Bunnix being present, Luka combines the snake and fox miraculous to extend his time powers, allowing him to travel through time--though he knows that the fox's power is unstable and needs to fight quickly. He ends up making himself ill, with Adrien and Juleka trying to comfort him. Nino also plays a large role in fighting his brother, who figures out his identity, but since this is the future version of his brother, it doesn't matter much. Everything else is the same--except Chat Noir being impartient. Kagami also feels immense guilt not being able to help the heroes, and even asks the future Viperion if she'll ever find her mother, which he affirms, but she questions if he was just trying to spare her feelings.

12. Party Crasher--Mostly the same, but after Marinette exhausts herself from frequent battles, Adrien takes the ladybug miraculous to become Lord Beetle again, giving the black cat miraculous to Kim temporarily. The story happens during the late afternoon/night being a guys' party and sleepover per Gabriel's rules of Adrien not having girls sleep over--aside from Kagami, who's in the other wing (and yes, he trusts Luka, as he's healing up from an injury he claims to have had while jumping off the stage during band practice). More insight is given into the past male miraculous holders, specifically a group of all male members, a homme fatale team, as well as a femme fatale team. Lord Beetle, Carapace, and Kim's alter ego Darkclaw battle Party Crasher. In the end, Adrien goes to comfort Kagami, telling her that despite it being a guy's night, she can still come and hang out for the party. BTW, rather than a random party, it's a belated birthday party for Marc. He had a regular one, but the party at Adrien's house was Nino's suggestion of a guys-only afterparty.

13. Cat Blanc--Mostly the same. Here, Marinette considers the possibility of her being with Adrien, around which time Kagami takes back her fox miraculous and continues searching for her mother, who by this time has been gone for a month. Ladybug chases after her, but then end up in a dystopian Paris. It plays out the same with Adrien finding out Marinette's identity, and shortly afterwards he breaks up with Kagami and a little after that, he and Marinette date, but it diverges with Gabriel making her his protege, but the scandal and rumors of favoritism since she's dating his son hurts both their reputations, forcing her to break up with Adrien. Gabriel laments at the idea of akumatizing her, but Nathalie, having become 90% Mayura, convinces him to do it. Adrien reveals his identity while trying to save Marinette, and becomes akumatized himself, feeling alone now that his father and ex-girlfriend are more obsessed with their careers than him. Chat Blanc reveals Ladybug's true identity, but Kagami believes this to be a ruse, though he doesn't reveal himself as Adrien. However, a plot twist occurs; rather than saving the world via Miraculous Ladybug, Ladybug and Chat Noir go toe-to-toe and Kagami's powers react oddly, affecting Chat Blanc and making him disappear. Kagami is frustrated at not being able to find her mother, but she and Marinette are left mystified about what happened to Chat Blanc, with Marinette wondering who his real identity was.

14. Félix--At this point, I'd probably say it's been about a year and a half since the show began. MAJOR changes. Gabriel is surprised by Adrien wanting him and Nathalie to be together, but when he sees Amelie, he realizes he isn't over Emilie yet. Félix is much more cheery and upbeat, though his father's death has left him sarcastic and with a wry sense of humor. He shows great apathy towards heroes, unaware of their origins or potential, but sees them as a "Paris Problem." Despite not having seen Adrien in a while, Félix seems to recall everything about Adrien's room, and feels a pang of jealousy at his popularity. Félix takes his identity temporarily, which doesn't go unnoticed by Kagami, and Luka and Marinette talk about their feelings for Adrien. Félix attempts to hang out with Adrien's friends, but his social awkwardness results in him being embarrassed, and Hawk Moth akumatizes him out of revenge for masquerading as Adrien. Now akumatized as Pale Imitation, he now has the ability to turn others into caricatures of their true selves. When deakumatized, Félix angrily rejects Adrien's sympathy and his friends' attempts to befriend him, as he's cursed to look like his "better" cousin who he can never live up to. Amelie is revealed to be more twisted than previously thought, as she reprimands him for not being perfect like Adrien and Félix's father, though she relents when he gives her Gabriel's ring. Kagami considers telling Adrien about Ladybug's true identity, but worries that the extra may make him unstable like Chat Blanc and Félix.

15. Ladybug--Mostly the same, albeit renamed "Princess Justice"; Ms. Bustier returns, and Alya takes up some of Marinette's duties as she becomes more exhausted, becoming Scarabella. During Lila's lies, she hasn't returned them yet, and Marinette is akumatized into Princess Justice. Queen Bee, Scarabella, Hansha, Carapace, and Chat Noir battle her, as she possesses the ability to invert their powers. She makes Scarabella see everything in black and red, preventing her from properly using lucky charm, paralyzes Queen Bee, and traps Carapace in his own shield. Chat Noir and Hansha try to get through to her, but Hawk Moth and Mayura back her up, taunting Hansha for making Kagami an orphan. Hansha loses it, but manages to deakumatize Princess Justice while Chat Noir scares away Hawk Moth and Mayura. Rather than saying that she's a compulsive liar, Lila simply says that Marinette owned a similar necklace to her own, and that she made an emotional mistake since it was the only thing she had of her grandmother. Ladybug and Chat Noir later chide Kagami, as her emotions almost resulted in her creating holes across the multiverse, which could've threatened their universe, but Kagami angrily brushes them off. She moves out of the Agreste mansion and breaks up with Adrien, deciding to look for her mother full-time rather than "sulking." At this point, Adrien and Marientte swear off any chances of friendship with Lila, and Gabriel reconsiders her usefulness.

16. Heart Hunter (The Battle of the Miraculous-Part 1)--Mostly the same; it's revealed the only reason Audrey and Andre are married is because of Chloe,and that Zoe despises Chloe for it, believing that Audrey left her father for Andre. Ladybug goes to check on Master Fu, but Hawk Moth follows her and captures Master Fu. Ladybug and Chat Noir manage to capture Hansha while she's traversing the multiverses looking for her mother, and they take the fox miraculous from her. Enraged, Hawk Moth takes advantage of her distraught emotions.

17. Miracle Queen (The Battle of the Miraculous-Part 2)--VERY similar, but now Kagami is Miracle Queen, who entrusts her servants to retrieve the fox miraculous so she could find her mother. Almost everything is the same otherwise, but Master Fu, close to being captured, entrusts the Miracle Box to Carapace, making it a shell that's almost impossible to pry open. Kagami is broken and rejects Hawk Moth's offer to retreat. Ladybug feels immense grief for ever giving Kagami the fox miraculous in the first place, and Adrien is disturbed at not being able to help Kagami heal.

Lemme know what you're favorite episode(s) was! I may tweak this before releasing season 4.

[sweetcloverheart]

Clover Rants Miraculously: “Okay, but why?”

Warning for spoilers below for “Transmission (Pt.1)” and the script/bible leak for “Derision” and plotstuff, so read on with caution

I see a lot of talk about Chloe’s comment in “Transmission” about having forced Marinette to request to come to school and...wasn’t feeling any of the anger some of the rest of the fandom was feeling about it. Like, it’s still an awful thing to do to someone and to go through as a 14 year old, but the urge to revile Chloe for tormenting Marinette like that just didn’t bubble up.

At first I thought “Maybe it’s because I like both characters that how awful the thing she did is isn’t hitting me” - but I was able to hate Chloe in the beginning, and I do remember being genuinely angry when she locked Juleka in the bathroom in “Reflekta” so I knew it couldn’t be that. Then I considered that maybe I was finally reaching the point of being burnt out by the show, but despite my upset over various plot developments and reveals (*glares at Gabriel and the season finale*), I still have some love for the show and a handful of characters as well as the fandom, so it wasn’t that either. And then after scrolling through tumblr and letting my thoughts wander, I finally realized why it wasn’t clicking with me - because it has the same issue I had with Zoe and her backstory in that we’re told “Chloe did bad thing to Marinette” without really giving any setup or context for it.

“Chloe bullied Marinette so badly she needed her permission to go to school in the past.” sounds and is terrible on it’s own and naturally kicks off the gut reaction to be sad for Marinette for going through this and angry at Chloe for instigating it - but then I have to ask “Okay, but why?” Why did she do it? What actually happened? What led up to the incident? And most importantly - Why Marinette? What is it about her (aside from her being our plucky underdog protag) that made Chloe hone in on her and begin a years long bullying campaign from Kindergarten that apparently resulted in her forcing her out of school for how long until she had beg to come back?

And I feel like it should have been made a thing/explained since we’re speedrunning so many plot points right now and also because we’ve had five seasons and still have not been given any real explanation for the story behind Marinette and her struggle against her “Civilian Hawkmoth” Chloe Bourgeois. Since the conflict between them was already happening in the beginning, I didn’t think much of it because “average everyday kid MC has a bully they have to deal with” was staple for magical girls and the like. But then the show revealed the bullying has been happening since kindergarten (which has me asking how the mayor’s daughter and a baker’s kid managed to be the same circles enough to know each other well enough to become bully and victim? Unless this was before Andre took office, but even then I can’t imagine they had the opportunities to interact...), and I found myself intrigue at the story behind such long standing animosity and wanting to learn more about it and how exactly we got to Chloe constantly sabotaging and tormenting Marinette before getting Marinette being able to snap back with her head held up high

And I still do because I feel it would have gone a long way in properly setting her up as our heroine’s foil and future opponent more. Chloe just being an asshole to Marinette (alongside everyone and their mother) for kicks with no explanation was fine back in season 1 when she was just a minor antagonist who was just supposed to try and hinder Adrienette progress/cause the akuma of the day, but now that she’s being made Lila’s future flying monkey and the show’s trying to hype her up as “Worst than Gabriel#2″ alongside everything that’s been revealed about her, you’d think we’d finally get to the bottom of what started her one-woman crusade against Marinette (and imply maybe learning just what exactly happened between them that spited Chloe so much that she went as far as forcing Marinette to stay home until she had to literally get Chloe’s verbal permission to attend classes again). But so far, like with Adrien never learning his true origins, the show doesn’t see to want to actually give a proper story on what set the two against each other. (Also, how come we didn’t get this info sooner? Why wasn’t this relevant back when Tikki and the rest were pushing Marinette to let Chloe be a hero? Or after she took back the Bee Miraculous? How come we didn’t hear more about her previous Pre-Series bullying incidents against Marinette when they would have been useful in setting up Chloe’s betrayal in “Miracle Queen” instead of being (yet) an(other) unsubtle “See, Chloe’s terrible! Hate her!” tossaway line)

It also doesn’t help that Chloe has...basically been a huge non-entity for a majority of the season (and also prior). Like why should I care she forced Marinette to have to ask her to go to school who knows how long ago if she 1)Is not involved in the episode plot of the day, 2)Isn’t going to be a major player in the current storyline regarding Hawkmoth and the Rings, or 3)The information isn’t going to be relevant other than the show once again begging the audience to hate Chloe. I mean, it’s a messed up thing, yes - but Chloe has been doing bad/messed up stuff to everyone the entire series since episode one. This is less “Oh god Chloe’s just the worse! >:C” and more “Okay...thanks for telling me this?”. Just more of the usual. It’d be one thing if she had revealed it in a threat against Marinette (”Back off of Adrien, Baker girl - or do you need another few months off school again?”) or casually told Adrien and it helped facilitate his eventual dissolving of their friendship, but it’s basically being used to go “Oh, you thought Chloe was evil? Well this will show you that she’s not just evil - but super duper evil!” And instead of feeling the carnivorous urge to pray for Chloe to get slapped hard across the face with violent karma as I finally “accept” that she’s actually a evil horrid monster the show has been begging me to see her as, I just can’t help but go “You told me this last episode. I already know Chloe bullies Marinette and is super duper evil, you can stop selling me on it. Also Lila did this first (“Ladybug”) so this feels like a repeat. Don’t you guys have any new material? Actually, can we talk about Lila instead - you want her to be the next big bad right? I want to know what’s she’s doing to lead up to that.”

Also, as mentioned in a another post, the entire thing is...very small potatoes compared to what’s going on the plot right now, especially with Chloe’s role being so reduced since S4. I know a lot of people tend to get defensive when it comes to how people talk about Chloe’s bullying/behavior towards Marinette (especially when they themselves were bully victims in the past and the dismissiveness some people treat it with hits too close to home), but as a former bully victim myself also, I genuinely can’t really find it in me to force myself to focus on Chloe and her past cruelty to Marinette with everything else going on (yes, even with the ability to multitask and care about multiple things at once). Like, is it really that important Chloe’s bragging about forcing Marinette to stay home back in the past when our two leads just now had to give up their miraculouses and are uber depressed about that while Hawkmoth has tracked down the people they passed them on to and is planning another big plan to swipe them. Especially when, again - this information is not and will not be relevant to the plot at hand. It’d be one thing is it was meant to foreshadow/set up for “Derision” (and maybe it is) or was leading up to a flashback episode explaining what triggered Chloe into targeting Marinette in the first place, and maybe it will be relevant/explained next season or later in the future, but until then if it isn’t about something to either build off of for Chloe getting involved as a major villain by her own right, Marinette’s growth as a character, or the overarching plotline either involving Hawkmoth or the Lovesquare progress - I’m not sure what the show wants me to do with the info at this point (other than squirrel it away for future fanfic material)?

And before anyone goes “Well bad people don’t need reason to be bad”, and yes I know not every bully character gets this huge dramatic backstory for why they hate the lead or needs their evil justified - I’m not asking for that. I don’t need a reason for why Chloe is doing bad things to Marinette, I just want actual buildup/a proper background to when it started and what kicked it off so I can properly be angry/sympathetic like the show apparently wants when it drops lines like this.

TLDR: The show has basically dragged out the “Chloe bad/did evil bad thing once” thing too long and now every time they bring up one of her “crimes” I’m just bored instead of righteously angry like the show wants be to be, especially when they haven’t explained why Chloe started bullying Marinette in the first place.

[sillyangstfic]

Another prompt for the sentitwins becoming fully human/freed from their amoks au: they didn't have as many side effects due to their amoks being the thing with the most influence over them. With them being freed, they now experience the side effects at full force like the rest.

Both cats and peacocks groom themselves, but for cats it also a social bonding activity. Cue Felix spending hours destroying his lovely curly hair with gel and then promptly helping Adrien with his because it makes him happy. It just brings them closer no matter how much Felix complains. When Felix wears off the gel, he indulges Adrien by letting him have a go at making his hair look good in a messy way.

Imagine Felix now spends a good chunk of his morning coordinating elegant outfits with Duusu. His vanity has good up by 1000% so now he plans hours in advance just so he can make sure he doesn't delay anybody with it.

Also a peacock's primary defense mechanism is to kick and they have very sharp thorn like spurs on their ankles that stab you when at the right angle. Imagine Felix developing really strong leg muscles and retractable thorns at the back of his ankles. Him just elegantly kicking his way to victory without needing to scrifice a single sentimonster. Now picture him doing this to an Akuma as Luka stares with awe, fright, and arousal. Meanwhile Kagami wants to know what his workout is so she pull that look from Zoe (jokes on her she already does).

Moving onto Adrien, I've quoted before that "cats don't follow orders, merely act on polite requests from those they appreciate". I need Adrien to slowly stop appreciating Gabriel. Yeah he still does his modeling jobs and whatnot, but other than that Adrien has ceased all effort to please him. When he finds out his dad is Hawkmoth, the human brain is distraught that his dad is the terrorist trying to take his miraculous but the cat brain goes full Miette: "you KICK Adrien? you kick his body like a football? oh! oh! jail for father! jail for father for ONE THOUSAND YEARS!"

As Felix finally gets Adrien to yank off his rose colored lenses, Adrien just gets more pissed off at how ridiculous his dad is. He used to admire the man and now he thinks of him as a pitiful bug stuck is past not worthy of his attention.

The whole household is shocked at how the "perfect" son is now talking back to his father or just ignoring him. They still got trauma from the time Gabriel told Adrien to cancel his plans with his friends and Adrien gave him the most scathing glare known to man (he learned it from Ladybug) and gave a firm "FUCK NO" and then proceeded to propose a compromise. Gabriel was so stunned by his defiance that he just accepted with no argument.

Gabriel is shooketh that instead of the usual disappointed frown with a glimmer of hope, he's getting hit with the "you are the shit stuck on my shoe" look. Funny part is that it's only Gabriel (and Lila) who's receiving this. He's still an affectionate sunshine to everybody else. He makes sure Natalie is always comfortable and not overworking herself, he always takes time to chat with Gorilla during cars rides, he's a complete simp for Marinette (post reveal and its also mutual), he an empathetic caring friend to everybody (expect Lila), and is just the happiest person in general when not around Gabriel (or Lila). Plagg is crying tears of joy at the pride he feels when he sees Adrien's progress.

Gabriel starts breaking down even more when he realizes that Adrien's amok doesn't seem to working (not realizing that Adrien has no amok anymore). He goes complete insane when he learns that his son is now human and is also Chat Noir, thus impossible to ever control.

Cat rules!Adrien who, with the sudden full force of his miraculous, is initially very affectionate with his father (especially if its after Gabe’s emotional manipulation arc). But then his father won’t return the affection, always ignores him, always pushes him away. So he goes to other people, other places. Adrien who’s always found everywhere, at the Couffaine’s boat house, outside Chloe’s window (“Adrien I live on the fourteenth floor, hiw did you get up here?!” “:3”), on Marinette’s balcony, etc

Adrien choosing to distance himself from his father

Adrien growing longer, stronger, sharper nails. Lila getting a little too close

Felix, suddenly not feeling gorgeous At All if he’s not wearing bright colors, the brighter the better. He has to try to make it work with how he likes to dress (thankfully his hair is already a bright enough blonde)

Felix not feeling secure without wearing a big, dramatic jacket

Felix intimidating people by spreading out his jacket (which actually works, mostly because of his other theatrics)

[nangbaby]

Yes, this another rant about Chloe and the leaks and spoilers. If you don't want to see this, bow out now.

Obligatory spoiler buffer gif for those on mobile and those who mis-clicked. Final warning.

Anyway, I am still shocked at how horribly the writers dropped the ball for the last couple of seasons with Chloe, Lila, and several others these last two seasons.

I am not a "Chloe stan" and I firmly believe she is a brat who never deserved a Miraculous. Ladybug in the Season 3 finale was 100% right to take the Bee Miraculous away from her. While I was expecting an eventual redemption, I would have no problem if Chloe had naturally descended into being a full-fledged antagonist.

That said, the writers instead fundamentally changed Chloe's character in order to make her to be a straw antagonist instead of working from a natural character evolution. They glued an idiot ball into her hands, flattened her to the point where she considered herself evil and nasty, then gave her a last-minute alliance with Lila to make up for lost time.

If the end goals were to get Chloe out of town, Chloe and Lila exposed, and put Lila in a position where she held all the cards, there was a better way of doing it then the way the writers chose.

Let's go back to the end of Season 3, where Chloe is stripped of the Bee Miraculous, her parents have recommitted themselves to each other, and she can't even escape from Paris to hide from what she did. If Chloe feels no remorse for allying with Hawk Moth, there's no reason from an in-character standpoint why Chloe doesn't expose the other superheroes. Blasting their identities is the only thing she can do and since she can no longer be Queen Bee, she would be naturally vindictive enough to ruin being a superhero for everyone else, even if it meant exposing herself as a willing minion of Hawk Moth. In her mind, she would have nothing to lose.

The obvious reason why Chloe doesn't reveal everyone's identities is purely because Rena Rouge and the other heroes need to be active so they can be called upon in the future. Between merchandising and plot, Chloe isn't allowed to pull the plug on superheroes' careers. So, why not prevent her from doing so? Have her try to expose the heroes...only to be stopped by Lila at the beginning of the Season 4.

Having the Lila/Chloe alliance begin earlier does a few important things for the plot. It provides a reason for Chloe to not only get worse (as well as widen the rift between her and Sabrina), but also get worse in a more relevant direction. It would also further establish Lila being Gabriel's ears and could amp up the tension. With Lila in possession of the other superhero identities, this makes her a completely hidden threat, one neither Ladybug nor even Shadow Moth/Monarch could fully account for. Lila could clearly be playing a long game and influencing Chloe to do the same. Chloe inevitably would progress to more evil acts as the series goes on, but it would be result of convergent character evolution with Lila, not her being passively stupid and getting a personality reset. This would also spread out Lila's influence over two seasons instead of making her nearly-invisible for Season 4.

As a result, if Chloe is separated from Lila and no longer in Paris as in her final fate, this brings a slight bit of hope for her to change off-screen. She might still be cruelly obsessed as she is now, but the idea of being away from the influence of a bad friend (Lila) might make her re-evaluate her actions.

But, speaking of Chloe's exit, the other characters surrounding it are also in awful places. Andre Bourgeois abandons Chloe to her mother (who also goes away) and takes in Zoe. This messy conclusion is because Zoe can't be in Paris without some parental supervision, although this is a problem of making Zoe a half-sister and not a cousin (which would mean she'd have an off-screen aunt and uncle who she could stay with, as well as new characters who could take over the hotel in the case Andre left town). However, again, this is completely at odds with the end of Season 3, where Andre and Audrey had reconnected. It was heavily implied they would be co-parenting with a lot more unity, but Season 4 had Audrey regress into walking over her husband again to re-establish her as a "bad parent." How much more drama could have been milked if both Andre and Audrey genuinely tried to turn over a new leaf in terms of setting limits and being better role models for Chloe...only for her to slip away because their efforts came too late.

Again, since Zoe has been made into a half-sister and she has to stay in Paris due to being Vesperia, why not instead give her a reason to stay in town independently of her family -- especially since she never felt like she would fit in with them anyway? As Zoe is an aspiring actress and Lila is a model and the face of the Gabriel brand, the two could have crossed paths and even had a one-episode rivalry over a role. Thus, there might be a path to sponsorship for Zoe to stay in Paris...but even with a bona fide reason as her career takes off, she'd still be a minor so she can't "live" by herself. Since they wrote out Luka anyway, have Anarka take her in if Zoe just needs a place to stay (Zoe's at that houseboat half the time and this saves resources.). This way, Andre and Audrey, in the spirit of being parents would both leave with Chloe at the end of Season 5, and while Zoe would want to go with her family, too, she'd have an excuse to be part of the Paris crew. Yes, it would still be contrived, but it would be done in a way to give some hope and closure for Chloe instead of "punishing" her, while allowing Zoe to craft her own identity.

Zoe remaining behind in Paris without any biological or extended family would also make her a much clear foil for Lila. Whereas Zoe comes out of nowhere, has family issues, but then finds new family through her friends and makes her own role through genuine friendship, Lila comes out of nowhere, makes her own family issues, and makes her own role through scheming. One would still end up at roughly the same place as the scripts, but this would be done through character development and not plot-based writing that shoehorns everyone into awful roles that don't fit.