Sideblog for ML Salt mostly (and maybe some other fandoms). Lukanette is my bias. Canon is still my rival. Current Project: “Psyche and Bewitched”. Ao3 is xxoceanswavesxx
A Somewhat Approximate Timeline for “The One to Make It Stay”
Please note I had to take extreme liberties trying to cram two seasons worth of episodes into the 2015-2016 French school year to even begin figuring out how the passage of time goes for this. Thankfully, it should be easier in the future to place, and I will add on more as need be.
EDIT: Now with more precise dates. Spoilers abound for everything up to the most recent chapters of “Radio” and “Paper Sky”.
EDIT 2 (11/18/19): Updated to include Alya’s POV and the first chapter of “All the Laughs”.
EDIT 3 (12/19/19): Will now have spoilers through “All the Laughs” and Adrien’s second Interlude.
EDIT 4 (2/16/20): Now contains spoilers for the first three chapters of “Bottle” as well as the second Alya interlude and Luka’s interlude.
EDIT 5 (4/4/20) Spoilers for the ending of Kagami’s mini arc (chapters 4 and 5 of “Bottle) along with the corresponding interludes.
EDIT 6 (5/16/20) Spoilers for everything up to the end of “Bottle”.
EDIT 7 (12/10/20): Spoilers for the first 15 chapters of “Horror Head” plus a small spoiler for Ch. 16. There is now a note to keep track of certain breaks during the 2016-2017 school year. Duusu’s interlude has been placed under “unsorted” since it’s backstory, although should be read during the beginning of “Horror Head”. Also, fixed an error (Marinette and Luka confront Felix, not Luka lol).
May 30, 2016: ...I Can Get Out of This
May 31, 2016: ...I Can Get Out of Here
June 14, 2016: Kitty Section submits their audition tape to Bob Roth.
June 19, 2016: Luka is akumatized into Silencer
June 25, 2016: Thomas Astruc is akumatized into Animaestro
June 30, 2016: Alya and Nino are akumatized into Oblivio. Ladybug confronts Alya and Chat Noir.
July 1, 2016: Marinette and Luka babysit Manon for Nadja. Marinette and Alya have a fight, which Adrien overhears.
July 2, 2016: Marinette and Luka go on a date to the park. Marinette has another confrontation with Alya. After giving a letter to Marianne, Marinette relaxes at the pool. Meanwhile, Alya tries to set up Lila and Adrien and gets grounded.
July 5, 2016: School lets out. Juleka gets akumatized into Reflekdoll. August gets akumatized into Gigantitan. Luka debuts as Viperion.
July 6, 2016: Luka visits the bakery. Vivica is akumatized into Desperada.
July 8, 2016: Marinette and Luka go on a date and encounter Lila.
July 9, 2016: Alya attempts to sneak out and gets caught.
July 16, 2016: Ladybug tells Nino he’s benched for the rest of summer. Nino confronts Alya.
July 28, 2016: Kitty Section and co leave for and arrive at Prado Beach for Summer Sesh.
July 29, 2016: Mirielle is akumatized into Stage Fright. Rose and Juleka debut as Princess Piggy and Tigresse Rayé. Kitty Section performs for everyone.
July 30, 2016: Ivan’s birthday. The angry vacation-goer is akumatized into Beach Bum. Ivan and Mylene debut as Taureau Furieux and Mouseketeer.
August 1, 2016: Marinette goes to talk to Fu about what she’s learned at Summer Sesh. Ladybug talks to Alya.
August 2, 2016: Kitty Section meeting. Jagged tells Ruby that he wants her to stay on. Meanwhile, Marinette manages to prevent Aurore’s akumatization into Stormy Weather, and then kicks Chloe off the team. Chloe is akumatized into Miracle Queen and steals the Cat miraculous from Chat Noir, revealing his identity to Ladybug, Viperion, Chloe, Hawkmoth and Mayura. Juleka feels guilty over not doing enough to stop Hawkmoth.
August 4, 2016: Gabriel has Nathalie use the Cat miraculous and become Femme Fatale and provoke Adrien into being akumatized. After going through their ritual to gain their Guardian powers, Team Miraculous returns to Paris to stop Space Patrol. Adrien sulks in his room after the fact.
August 5, 2016: Alya works on fixing the Ladyblog and runs into Marianne.
August 31, 2016: Luka meditates. Marinette talks to Alya and watches the Kitty Section livestream.
September 1, 2016: First day of school. Kagami is akumatized into Friend Zone. Felix finishes writing his first set of observations since arriving in Paris. Meanwhile, Kagami and Alya make peace with one another and agree to go out to lunch the next day.
September 2, 2016: Marinette, Alya and Kagami all go out to eat lunch together. However, Lila sets them up to look bad in front of Tomoe, causing her akumatization into Ikari Gozen. Three new heroes debut. Nathalie and Gabriel send Duusu to Darcey Reil’s boutique to recruit a new ally. A new peafowl holder creates a sentimonster - Rue-be. Luka agrees to help Marinette with figuring out Felix.
September 5, 2016: Student elections are coming up, but another sentimonster gets everyone’s attention. After a successful team-up, Marinette and Luka have a confrontation with Felix, which ends with them unsure of him. Marinette and Luka go and talk with Fu about Felix. Fu encourages Luka to open up to Marinette about how he’s feeling. He does. Ladybug talks to Alya about the article she’s about to publish.
September 6, 2016: After losing student council elections, Chloe attempts to befriend Lila. Felix invites everyone to Adrien’s birthday party. Jagged briefs everyone on their gig. Ruby’s “date” with Vivica.
September 15, 2016: Adrien’s birthday party. Colette warns Marinette about an akuma. Felix forces Nino and Kagami into confrontation with Adrien.
October 22, 2016: Sabine takes Marinette to her interview at the Gauguin Institute. After her audition, Rose writes another letter to Prince Ali.
October 30, 2016: Sabrina’s interlude.
Notes: The 2015-2016 school year ends on July 5, 2016, the start of summer break. The first day of the 2016-2017 school year is September 1, 2016. Fall break is from October 19 - November 3. Christmas holiday is from December 17- January 3, 2017. February 4, 2017- February 20 is another break. Easter holiday is from April 1 - April 18. The 2016-2017 school year ends July 8, 2017.
Unsorted: Duusu’s Lament (set during “Horror Head”)
Its been 3 days since the CHD interview and I'm STILL upset that Alex asked SJM if she had seen the AI stuff that people made of ACOTAR and talking it up!! Why not "Have you seen the thousands of fanworks people have done?" There are thousands upon thousands of fanfiction that people spent months writing! People have gone back into her books and used them as research and spent months pouring their hearts into their writing!!
And what about Fanart??! As an artist myself, I am livid that you'd ask the author of a series I love if she's seen these 'amazing'🤮 AI takes on her characters. I know several artists on here who have put blood sweat and tears into our fanart! Many of us have made comics that we poured our entire hearts into for the love of these books and sharing it with the fandom!!
There are amazing and fun fan events that focus on characters and ships! These events are often run by 1 or 2 people and have put together unique and creative ways to engage with the community, at the expense of their own time! Major events that last a week or more and takes a lot of time and preparation to uphold.
You want to bring up Acotar community works to an author, why not ask about these?! Why not ask if she's seen things that real people put time and effort to make instead of asking about AI like it's so impressive!
Sorry, I just had to rant that out. It's annoying and disheartening that people will put AI work above the work that people have put their entire soul into for this fandom and community.
Luka's mini concept if Marinette gave him the earrings in 9 ep.
I imagine he'd want to make a costume similar to the Guardians of the Miraculous' costumes, so he could tell Adrien a plausible story: that the guardians found out who the moth was and took it upon themselves to convey this information to him because they were far more qualified than Ladybug. His eyes are hidden behind the mask to depersonalize him. As if he's just one of the monks who was given the talisman for a while and tasked with reporting all this. He could even come up with a story where the monks deliberated for a long time about whether to reveal all this, but decided it would be too cruel to hide the moth's owner, given the Chat and the moth's familial ties. He could also mention that Ladybug was VERY strongly in favor of telling Adrien about it (to shield Marinette from any negative reaction that might follow from Chat).
Do you think the conflicts between Ladybug and Chat Noir should have ended with Ladybug hating him?
Not necessarily, at least in regards to earlier in the show.
Really, all I want is for Maribug to be able to disagree with Adrichat and not be treated like a bad guy or invalidated for it. And while I myself have written Adrien as being petty or ignoring Ladybug in my own works, I don't think that's what canon should actually do.
Rather, the show should have put more thought and care into the conflict resolution process. For example, maybe Chat recalls more often the experience of being a Ladybug holder, and tries to be more cautious and less self-sacrificing. Or he openly discusses his insecurities about the other holders while also coming to a realization that Ladybug just needs more support on the team, AND that's not his fault.
Ladybug's side could be her venting a lot but having difficulty getting to the heart of the mater. Over time as they get more comfortable as partners, she might have an easier time getting to the heart of the manner with fewer words.
Or heck, let them having opposing opinions on something, while eventually conceding . They don't even have to necessarily change their minds or stances - just come to realize the other party may have a point.
What is the Weekly Roundup? | Previous Weekly Roundups
From @verfound: All These Signs, They Lead Me to You Ch 21 | Ch 22
From @airi-p4: Successful scheme?
From @rierse: Impractical Incantations Ch 3 (complete! Go you!)
From @djwriterkp: Pirates, Princesses, and Peonies Ch. 18
If I missed something that should be included, reblog, reply, DM, or drop the link in my asks and I’ll make sure it goes on next week’s roundup! If you prefer not to be included in these roundups for any reason please drop me a message, or if you post something that you would like to be sure I include, please drop a link in my asks and I’ll make sure it gets listed (Lukanette endgame only please - see what is the weekly roundupfor more details). If you want to be sure I’ve flagged your work for inclusion you can check the quickroundup tag on my blog to see what I’ve got in the queue for this week.
If you find something you like please like/reblog the original post to let the author know you enjoyed their work!
Progress on Ch. 8 has slowed a bit, so instead, here’s a fun behind the scenes fact/rambling.
So for TOtMiS, I was pretty upfront about using shoegaze and dreampop has my inspiration (sonically and lyrically). All of the stories of the different parts use song lyrics, and in-universe, I imagined Kitty Section slowly integrating the genre into their sound. Their first album would have been a bit of roulette, but still heavy on the shoegaze.
Now for PaB, the recurring theme is “kids rebelling and getting into trouble ala a 2000s movie” so a lot of music I pull for that is 2015ish or earlier (a couple exceptions will be made), and I try to pull a lot from what I listened to as a teen. However, in refining the outline for the next few chapters, there may be some changes sonically to accommodate for the plot. So I’m curious to see if my own playlist changes will affect what style of Kitty Section will end up playing in the future (and if they’ll use the same name ;))
What is the Weekly Roundup? | Previous Weekly Roundups
It's the busy season for my part time job so I got a little (a lot) behind, so it's catchup time!
From @djwriterkp: Pirates, Princesses, and Peonies Ch 16 | Ch 17
From @rierse: Covert Glances and Second Chances Ch. 3 | Swipe Right | Impractical Incantations Ch 1 | Ch 2
From @verfound: All These Signs, They Lead Me to You Ch 18 | Ch 19 | Ch 20 |Juleka Couffaine, Accidental Matchmaker Extraordinaire Ch 1 | Ch 2 | Ch 3 | Ch 4 | Ch 5 | Ch 6 (complete! Yay Ver!) | He's a Good Egg | Hard Pass, Huh?
From @thesaltyoceanwaves: Psyche and Bewitched Ch. 6 | Ch 7
From @airi-p4: I Can't Help You
If I missed something that should be included, reblog, reply, DM, or drop the link in my asks and I’ll make sure it goes on next week’s roundup! If you prefer not to be included in these roundups for any reason please drop me a message, or if you post something that you would like to be sure I include, please drop a link in my asks and I’ll make sure it gets listed (Lukanette endgame only please - see what is the weekly roundupfor more details). If you want to be sure I’ve flagged your work for inclusion you can check the quickroundup tag on my blog to see what I’ve got in the queue for this week.
If you find something you like please like/reblog the original post to let the author know you enjoyed their work!
This chapter is taking longer than I’d hoped, but for those missing TOtMiS, a familiar face makes a return ;)
Subject to change prior to final publication.
“Tell you what,” he says, “I am going to reassign you to one of my other musicians. I think you’ll find working with her will be a lot more pleasant.”
“I… you’d be okay with that?”
“Of course! I have to make sure you walk away from this internship with the proper experience you need to make it in the field! I was planning on keeping this from you but,” he regards her with a slight smile, “I’m hoping to keep you on here after this internship is complete.”
How do you feel about Marinette and Adrien at this point?
In terms of the ship? Just resigned disappointment.
Like I gave on them (being good, not being canon) in season 3, and then pretty much fell off from there, so I still retain a lot of my original opinions, except from what I’ve been hearing and reading from others.
But ultimately? I don’t think they should be together. Marinette is not comfortable being around him, and Adrien needs to get therapy and focus on making friends like they teased in Origins.
What about Ladybug, is there any conflict you think she can be blamed for?
Anon, I truly had to sit with this one and think about it, and I came to this conclusion:
I have no idea how to answer this.
What I mean is that I know what the show wants me to think is her fault: not trusting Chat Noir enough or treating him as a proper equal. Not being sensitive to his feelings. Making decisions without him.
The problem is that the show undercuts itself two ways:
1. Ladybug affirming that Chat is her partner, they are a team, the other holders aren’t there to replace him, etc.
2. Having her be wrong about everything because she “needs to learn a lesson.” So even if she’s being a perfect angel or is being blatantly wronged… the episode’s problem is still somehow her fault.
With Chat we have the exact opposite problem - basically, nothing is his fault ever (except for like, once or twice), and he doesn’t really have to change. Even when he neglects his duties and ignores boundaries.
Reblogging so I don't have to respond in 5 different comments.
Whenever Chat sacrifices himself, it's generally treated as a dramatic, gut-wrenching moment ala Timebreaker or Zombizou. There are a couple treated more humorously like Pixelator or Reflekta, but the stakes in those scenarios are much lower compared to the former two episodes. In much higher-stakes situations, Ladybug is always upset or worried in the aftermath, and takes it seriously so she can restore everything, especially her partner.
Those two situations aren't even remotely comparable because Ladybug still left Paris with protection, unlike Chat Noir, who left without so much as a heads-up. And it's not like he couldn't have told her - Plagg knows who Ladybug is! He could have told her before they left, and they could have then revised the plan! Heck, Adrien didn't have to go to New York, as much as it would have sucked for him being left behind. Ladybug, on the other hand, had a family commitment, that she tried to get out of, and could not. Giving the Ladybug miraculous to Alya was a last minute plan. Sure, you could argue that Ladybug could have told Chat the moment it came up. But knowing Marinette's luck, this was probably dropped on her at the last second and/or she thought she could get out of it.
Where in "Reverser" did Ladybug go out of her way to humiliate Chat? By telling the taxi driver "he's not himself right now?" When he was complaining about the driving? The driver has no context for why Chat is yelling at him when he's just doing his job. Or are you talking about the kite? That plot was constructed so that a. her yoyo could get some height because she was still clumsy and b. Chat could act as a distraction. His eyes were covered because he was inverted to be afraid of everything.
My general point is not "Ladybug never does anything wrong" - it's "The narrative frames everything Ladybug/Marinette does as 'wrong' so that she can learn a lesson, because that's the formula of the show". This includes making her relearn the exact same lessons, or making her learn lessons that don't really add up/don't make sense within the context of the episode. I could get into how the show does a really bad job of this, but we'd be here all day, and we'd be deflecting from the main question.
Is there anything good you can say about Adrien at this point?
Adrien can be fun to write for, and I don't just mean salt. Obviously, he has his father being the main villain for the first 5 seasons of the show, but you've also got his goal set up in Origins (making new friends), his activities (fencing, piano, modeling, etc), and his dynamics with other characters (namely Nino, Chloe, Felix, and Kagami).
I do like how in the recent season (not actually watching, but I've seen bits here and there), there's an episode that focuses on him finding a new passion, outside of the stuff he already did (likely because his parents made him do them). Granted, I have my own, preferred takes on what hobbies I'd give him (he already tricks as Chat Noir, dammit, let him go off with all the combos he could pull!).
Like this could easily be him.
I really do like when he embraces being more "Chat Noir" like in civilian life in order to help his friends, or to get around strict guidelines put in place by his father.
I guess what I'm saying is that I see his appeal as a character, and it's not as if he wasn't set up to be interesting or dynamic. The problem is and has always been the execution.
Even in the hands of only slightly more okay writers, he'd have way more iconic scenes, interesting conflicts, and like, actual character development.
What about Ladybug, is there any conflict you think she can be blamed for?
Anon, I truly had to sit with this one and think about it, and I came to this conclusion:
I have no idea how to answer this.
What I mean is that I know what the show wants me to think is her fault: not trusting Chat Noir enough or treating him as a proper equal. Not being sensitive to his feelings. Making decisions without him.
The problem is that the show undercuts itself two ways:
1. Ladybug affirming that Chat is her partner, they are a team, the other holders aren’t there to replace him, etc.
2. Having her be wrong about everything because she “needs to learn a lesson.” So even if she’s being a perfect angel or is being blatantly wronged… the episode’s problem is still somehow her fault.
With Chat we have the exact opposite problem - basically, nothing is his fault ever (except for like, once or twice), and he doesn’t really have to change. Even when he neglects his duties and ignores boundaries.
Who do you blame more for Ladybug and Chat Noir's conflicts: Master Fu or Chat Noir?
While you can argue that Fu may exacerbate certain issues within the relationship (namely the Guardian duties and initially keeping his existence a secret from Adrien) at the end of the day, I would still hold Chat Noir more responsible, because Fu has nothing to do with:
--> Chat wanting to date Ladybug, but she says no because she has feelings for someone else.
--> Him later reacting by either continuing to flirt with her, or pouting because she rejected his flirtations.
--> Not taking certain battles seriously, and choosing to flirt or joke around during battle, often to Ladybug's detriment.
--> Putting Paris in danger in the New York special by not communicating with Ladybug properly.
To blame Fu for these problems denies Chat Noir the space he needs to reflect, grow as a person, and improve his relationships with other (specifically, Ladybug).
Yes, Chat Noir is young. But if this narrative had been handled well and maturely, he could have learned these lessons as he navigated his relationship, including how to take accountability where it mattered.
