Like Im Not Saying Anyone Has To Remember Everything That Gabriel Has Done But Keep In Mind He's Done

i honestly think the writers really shot themselves in the foot (as they like to do) with the miraculous timer not existing specifically for adults instead of that just being a skill that has to be trained. The training montage in the beginning of Revelator was cool (in theory bc why is this only a two minute scene) but the fandom‘s main concern seemed to be about how fucked up it actually is bc this is basically forcing kids to grow up too soon. And I see where they‘re coming from, but also the lore for the timer is so unclear overall.

I fully agree. Calling the timer upgrade an "adult" power then giving it to the teen heroes is just weird. Just say that it has to do with experience or emotional maturity or something like that (not that Gabriel was ever emotionally mature, but let's ignore that issue for now). Everyone was anticipating this upgrade being a thing that happened when the characters turned 16 or 18. Having it just randomly show up while most of them are still 14 (15?) raises all kinds of questions and makes people give the upgrade undo weight.

I had another ask about this recently and in that one I talked about how lackluster this upgrade was. The characters don't actually mature, they just kind of will themselves into "adulthood" which is one of my main issues with the complaint you mentioned. A complaint that I have also seen a few times from different sources which is why I feel comfortable addressing it:

the fandom‘s main concern seemed to be about how fucked up it actually is bc this is basically forcing kids to grow up too soon.

It's hard to view the characters' "adult" status as "forcing kids to grow up too soon" when this upgrade is the least serious thing that has happened to most of these characters. Forcing Marinette to try to navigate the complex mess that Gabriel dumped on her lap is "forcing kids to grow up too soon." Luka being banished to Brazil because a terrorist wanted to capture him and force him to betray his friends is "forcing kids to grow up too soon." Adrien having to navigate being an orphan with no forewarning that his father was dying is "forcing kids to grow up too soon." The list goes on.

However, none of those things are why the characters are "adults" now. They're "adults" because of a rather generic pep talk. It's also worth noting that the scenes where the characters becomes "adults" are framed as moments of empowerment. That means that, narratively speaking, this is not supposed to be seen as a bad or concerning thing.

This show's messaging has always been wacky, but I'm pretty sure that this is less a commentary on how messed up these teenagers lives are and more the writers just wanting to show that the characters are growing up because we're six season in and growing up is not some great evil. It's just a normal part of life. That's why my criticism of this upgrade is not "upgrade bad" or "upgrade depressing" it's that this should have been part of a character arc where the characters actually grew up a little!

Also, complaining that the teen characters are "growing up too" soon feels too much in line with people who complain about shows like Miraculous "glorifying child soldiers." It's an action show aimed at young kids. The lead characters are going to be kids and teens because those are the kinds of characters young kids relate to. If you don't like seeing kids and teens being given responsibilities that they shouldn't have in the real world, then don't watch these kinds of shows. To enjoy them, you have to be willing to suspend your disbelief about the age issue and treat the responsibilities these characters have as fine in their world. Or, at least, not concerning because of their age. It's less "this is bad for a 14-year-old" and more "this is a terrible thing for anyone to deal with."

This is why you'll see me do things like treating Nathalie, Felix, Kagami, and Amelie as equally responsible for keeping Adrien in the dark in season five even though Felix and Kagami are "just teens". It's also why I don't really talk about Marinette being "just a 14-year-old girl." I get that defense, but I don't think it fits this genre because, if you're going to use that defense, then why is she responsible for anything? She's too young for everything she's doing! All the teen characters are, but is anyone arguing that they should all quit and be replaced by adults? I don't think so. If we put this stuff in adult hands then we would have a wildly different show.

I do think that the teen characters' age has validity in certain discussion - for example, I think it's perfectly reasonable for them to have teenage struggles because they are teenagers - but generally speaking, I'd avoid using age arguments when it comes to the characters' responsibilities and authority in shows like Miraculous. Characters in these shows are not supposed to be treated like normal teens by the audience. That just doesn't make for a good story.

Along similar lines, I don't like the "this character is only 14" or "it's only been a year in canon" arguments to defend things like the lack of character growth. That's just not a good defense for a fictional story like Miraculous. It's an action-adventure romcom, not literary fiction. It's not supposed to be hyper realistic. It's supposed to be a fun and engaging story. It doesn't matter how old the characters are or how long it's been in canon. What matters is that we're six seasons in and that season five saw the end of the show's first major story arc. By that point, it's perfectly reasonable to look for character growth and satisfying plot progression.

making marinette similar to the main antagonist is interesting for sure you know i thought it was on purpose in the sense of the protagonist and antagonist being foils. a way to connect marinette and gabriel beyond just through adrien. kind of the point of doing that though is to define to the audience how though they're so similar, the protagonist has made different choices or has a character trait that changed their path from what the villain has done. but in this case marinette and gabriel are both control freaks who dole out power and take it away. knowing the persons identity but not vice versa, they're fashion designers who just want to "protect xyz" or whatever. both of them are lying to adrien for the "greater good." y'all what the Fuck is going on. im so serious. it's not marinettes fault this happened because shes literally such a good character when the writing room isn't obsessed with bending the universe to make gabriel win. can someone on that team get over that their kids left them and accept they're a bad father already it's getting serious

i can't log into anywhere anymore. go onto Twitter "breaking my silence i think Chloe being redeemed would've been bad because it would teach kids they have to forgive their bullies. the show was good for keeping her evil" i watched a finale where a domestic terrorist is considered for even 5 seconds a good dad. girl he found out his son was a superhero in one ep and hit him with a cane and i still got the show telling me he's misunderstood. "redeeming Chloe would've been bad messaging" do we HEAR ourselves. right now.

miraculous ladybug is a soap opera

WHY DID HE GET SUDDEN GOOD VIBES??? AT THE END OF THE EP???? WHEN DID HE SHOW THE CAPACITY TO FROLICK AMONGST THE COMMON FOLK??????????? NO MORE RANDOM REDEMPTION ARCS FOR OLD WHITE MEN MLB WHAT THE HECK

s5+ adrien agreste is like. what if the fridged wife was actually a zany teenage boy who we held at gunpoint until he forfeited all agency and plot relevance. but he stayed silly.

this blog is both me complaining and me talking about the 500 concepts miraculous ladybug proposes that makes me go insane and think about even though i think they were mistakes to include in a kids show. like there's two different shows in my head - miraculous ladybug a fun kids romp that teaches children morals, and there's a miraculous ladybug that is actually aimed towards an older (teenage) audience that is more serialized with more serious topics. right now ml is trying to do both and they suck dogshit at it.

im gonna finish my ml google doc rewrite because now that adrien is confirmed a senti i finally have closure on what to do with it. its gonna be all the changes + the outline and im gonna pin it to this blog like martin luther and that damn church door. so far i have 5 seasons planned and i have no intention of 14 so we're automatically winning.

[ID copied from alt text: A digital 6 page fan comic of Miraculous Ladybug. The first page starts by showing Marinette in her daily life, her inner thoughts saying, "In the daytime, I'm Marinette. A normal girl, with a normal life..." before it cuts to her as Ladybug. She's sitting with her knees up to her chest next to Chat Noir, and her thoughts continue onwards saying, "...but I have a secret that no one knows yet." Ladybug deliberates before saying, "Hey, Chat Noir?" Chat Noir turns to face her before she asks, "Do you trust me?" She looks down as he answers, "Of course, my lady." Ladybug's hands clench as she thinks to herself, "The guardian entrusted me with a Miraculous... and the safety of the city." She's nervous as she asks, "Then, can you promise me something?" Ladybug thinks, "A superhero listens to her head. Personal feelings can't matter," as Chat Noir goes "Hm?" at her question. Ladybug starts, "Even if I ask- even if I beg or cry-" She holds his hand as she demands, "Promise me that you'll never tell me your name," the next panel cutting to show a faceless Chat Noir detransforming. Ladybug's eyebrows furrow in distress as she tacks on a "Please." Ladybug continues thinking, "After all, it's my job to retrieve the lost Miraculous... including the Cat." The comic ends with Chat Noir pulling Ladybug in for a hug. End ID]

finished that comic. i experimented a bit with it so im not sure how clear it is, but (shrug). im not working on it anymore so!!!

this is for my "everyone's an enemy" au where ladybug, chat noir, and hawkmoth are in a three way stand off trying to steal each other's miraculous. this is in the stage where ladybug and chat noir work together to defeat hawkmoth and they've become friends, but ladybug is still aware that she needs to retrieve chat noir's miraculous at the end of the day.

if you want a further explanation on it, the post with details can be found here.

if i wrote ml fanfic it'd be so self indulgentlike lila and adrien trying to appear friendly to everyone around them but the passive aggressiveness ramps up until there are looney tunes level shenanigans happening when no one is looking until they somehow become friends. But well the thing is that s5 I don't know what they're doing anymore so lila would be my OC. but that's fine i live in s3 forever i suppose...