I Was 100% Expecting Chat To Say "yes, M'lady, I'm Well Aware" When Ladybug Pulled This In Optigami

For some reason, nothing hits me harder than seeing characters laugh hysterically because of frustration or exhaustion or anger or grief. We always talk about how subversive tears of joy are, but man, laughs of sadness are so much worse. Maybe it's just a me thing, but my chest always gets tight and my breathing shallow whenever a character starts laughing because of a negative emotion. I just. Can't. Handle. It.

And Infinity Train uses this trope two times!

First time with Simon:

You could argue that this is laughter because of insanity, not negative emotions, but it still hits hard. No matter how much you hate him. At least if you're me. Seriously, this was my reaction when I first saw Simon's death/breakdown scene:

The second time Infinity Train pulls this is with Ryan:

This, too, killed me! Emotionally, at least. Why is it always the laughing?!

Anyway, yeah, of course I want Infinity Train to continue, but it might be a good thing that it doesn't if they planned another one of these maniacal laughter scenes in the next season. Not sure I could handle another amazingly animated, amazingly written, amazingly voice-acted breakdown like this.

Huh.

Huh.

I can't decide whether or not Optygami lived up to my hopes.

On the one hand, we definitely saw the negative consequences of the Miracle Queen reveal. Optygami was the closest Ladybug has come to being found out, and it was a tense and frustrating episode. There were definitely at least moderately disastrous consequences.

But on the other hand, none of those disastrous consequences were permanent. Ladybug and Chat Noir were not outed, no one lost a miraculous, no one was hurt or injured. Causing lasting harm to plot or character is difficult with a show as episodic as ML, but we have seen lasting damage done in one specific area: relationships. Friendships, and romantic ships, have been injured in this show before--when you get down to it, those are our stakes. And no relationships were damaged irreparably in Optygami.

So the writers probably upped the sense of stakes with this episode. But they also gave Alya her miraculous, permanently. I'm overjoyed at this in terms of Alya and Mari's friendship, as well as both of their character arcs, but it seems like a . . . questionable decision narratively.

I don't know. We'll see. In conclusion, my thoughts on Optygami are as ambiguous as the episode was. It definitely showed some negative consequences of reveals, but showed a lot more positives and took the Alyanette reveal arc even further into risky territory.

Hopes for Optygami

Miraculous Ladybug set up a good stakes system in the first three seasons with this simple rule: identities must not be revealed. If they are, there will be dire consequences. Hence, while we don't really believe that our main characters are ever at risk of dying, we can accept that they might someday lose their masks, and that that would be bad. It's a risk that adds real weight to the action and plot. It also justifies the endless identity dance between Marinette and Adrien. But then Miracle Queen happened, and all the heroes except for our main two were outed. We saw no consequences in that episode. We saw no consequences in the NY special, and we've seen no consequences in season four yet, either. This makes the entire narrative feel far less convincing and lowers the tension immensely. Not to mention that it almost completely invalidates how Adrien and Marinette continue to hide their identities from each other. (It doesn't invalidate their secrets completely because we're not going to forget Chat Blanc any time soon, but it still lowers the stakes considerably.) Not only are almost all the superheroes out, but Alya still sometimes runs around as Rena Rouge, despite her identity being publicized. And she knows Ladybug's identity, which we've been told is dangerous, but we haven't seen anything that convinces us it's dangerous. The thing is, we have seen negative consequences of identity reveals. Chloe being akumatized is one instance, and another is Chat Blanc. But the show has done nothing with the biggest large-scale identity reveal so far (the one at the end of season three), which makes the "we must keep our identites a secret" spiel very hard to swallow, and makes the entire plot feel almost risk-free. I hope that Optygami shows us the negative consequences of this large-scale identity reveal, and returns strength to the narrative by doing so. TL;DR: With a few rare exceptions, we haven't seen much to back up the story's constant claim that identity reveals are dangerous. I hope that Optygami will finally show us some of the disastrous consequences of identity reveals, thus adding more weight and stakes to the narrative and justifying Marinette and Adrien's continued secrecy.

Simon's even more sympathetic if you over analyze because he clearly has a mental illness making him afraid of abandonment, resistant to change, emotionally unstable and having immense difficulty relating to others. Like he gets worried about Hazel in the cabin when the Cat gets near her, its clearly foreshadowing the next episode.

Agreed! And actually, I pulled put the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) to research your suggestion that Simon has some mental disorder, and . . . you're right! He almost definitely has a mental disorder.

The criteria for Borderline Personality Disorder are: (not quoted, but paraphrased directly from the DSM-5)

Instability in personal relationships and self-image, impulsivity, indicated by five or more of the following:

Frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment. - check, this is kinda Simon's shtick.

A pattern of unstable and intense interpersonal relationships, fluctuating between extremes of idealization and devaluation. - there's not much potential for a "pattern" here, but his relationship with Grace definitely fits this.

Markedly and persistently unstable/fluctuating self-image or sense of self. - Simon does not qualify—if anything, his inability to paradigm shift indicates the exact opposite.

Impulsivity in at least two areas that are potentially self-damaging. - violence, aggression, murder, all may or may not qualify. Simon ticks this box.

Recurrent suicidal or self-mutilating behavior or threats. - Simon does not qualify for this.

Affective instability due to a marked reactivity of mood. - In other words, subject responds intensely to swings in interpersonal relationships. Which sounds a heck of a lot like episodes eight through ten. Check.

Chronic feelings of emptiness. - We can't know whether or not this is true, because we can't really get inside a cartoon character's head. So . . . maybe?

Inappropriate, intense anger or difficulty controlling anger. - This is definitely present in him. He has a temper, he shouts, he gets angry, and it gets more extreme as the show progresses.

Transient, stress-related paranoia or severe dissociative symptoms. - Simon displays this too—lines like "everyone always lies to me" come to mind as evidence. (No dissociative tendencies, but the paranoia is present, so he meets this criterion.)

Now, the subject of a diagnosis needs to meet at least five of these criteria to qualify for BPD. Simon definitely meets five of these criteria (specifically, criteria one, four, six, eight, and nine), possibly even a few more (two, perhaps seven). In other words, Simon Laurent has Borderline Personality Disorder.

I'm not sure what conclusion to draw from this discovery that Simon is provably mentally ill. Does it mean calling him "evil" is deeply problematic? Does it mean he could've been saved? Does it mean he can't be blamed? Or is it just as toxic to argue that people with mental disorders are not responsible for their own actions as it is to argue that people with personality disorders are inherently irredeemable? (Not that anyone's argued either of those points—I'm mostly thinking in frantic hypotheticals at the moment.)

And of course these questions raise other questions (well, one other question) that has been on my mind since I first heard Simon called "irredeemable." What do people mean by "he's irredeemable"? Do they mean he couldn't improve and grow after the events of episode ten? Do they mean that his actions were unforgivable? Do they mean he was predestined to be a murderer from episode one, unlike the redeemable Grace? "Irredeemable" has become Simon's buzzword, but no one's ever really defined it. And until I get a concrete definition, I can't slap that label on him and throw him in the garbage with the rest of the characters I hate. (To be clear, I'm not saying anyone's wrong that he's irredeemable, I'm just asking what people mean when they say he's irredeemable.)

However, one thing is clear: as Anon pointed out, Simon is easy to relate to, easy to sympathize with, and easy to pity because of this. We may not all have personality disorders, but we all have flaws that make our brains work differently from how we'd like them to, whether those flaws are anger, laziness, or selfishness, or a mental illness, or something else. Yes, few of us are driven to be murderers because of this, but it still means that we can feel bad for Simon, even as we condemn his actions.

Every time I post something about Simon and it's not ten thousand words long, I'm showing enormous self-restraint and deserve a few claps. Also, sorry, Anon, for using your ask as an excuse to rant about Simon. You made a good point and I wanted to explore it!

Also finished this postcard. The hyperfixation is real.

just realized that somehow both my otps embody bi-ace solidarity according to my headcanons

The third and final chapter of my Plance fic that took far too long to update is now up!

I'm so bitter that we're not getting that Amelia-One season

@carpisuns Heard you wanted Ladrien sugar so here you go

I love Ladrien because, though it's often called boring (and I used to think it was too), it has the potential for some of the most complex conflicts in the love square.

First of all, it seems like the side of the love square most likely to happen, but it's actually the least sustainable. Ladybug and Adrien are each in their least free states with Ladrien: Adrien is micromanaged by his father, Ladybug has duty she has to focus on. (Not to mention they're both hunted by the paparazzi.) That's not to say they can't be real or truly in love; but a Ladrien relationship is the hardest to maintain, even though it's the easiest to begin.

It's been mentioned that Ladrien tension can be drawn out, since Mari doesn't know Adrien likes Ladybug, and Adrien doesn't know Ladybug likes him. They don't necessarily have to get together immediately. And yeah, that has a lot of potential. But also, Ladrien has potential if they do get together immediately. Established relationships can still have complex, interesting, or even conflicting and tense dynamics. Most fiction only shows the buildup to a relationship, but in the real world, most relationships are . . . you know. Relationships. Not endless will-they-won't-they nonsense. Even if Ladrien got together immediately, that doesn't make their relarionship boring. In reality, it could make their relationship interesting in a very unique way; interesting, because it actually shows what real relationships are like, instead of just the buildup.

Also, Ladrien has insane angst potential. First of all, both of them could easily think the other just has a celebrity crush, since Ladybug doesn't know Adrien knows her as Chat, and Adrien doesn't know she knows him as Marinette. It would hurt so much to think the person you love only likes you on the shallow surface level. They could also pull out a "well I have concrete evidence that you don't love me when you see my flirty/awkward/reckless/clumsy side. No, I can't tell you what that evidence is, but I promise it's definitely real and very conclusive," which could be very painful for either party.

Finally, even ignoring this complexity, Ladrien is a good ship because it's good. The shameless love is heartwarming; it's sweet, it's cute, it can range anywhere from awkward and blushy "strangers" to best-friends/old-married-couple vibes. (And let me tell you, anything on that spectrum is perfect.) Their selfless support of each other through Ladybug's duty and stress as the protector of Paris and Adrien's exhaustion and pain from being Gabriel's son is so calming and comforting. When I'm feeling down, I read or write Ladrien. It's just that good.

TL;DR: Ladrien isn't boring. It has so much potential for complexity, conflict, and depth. And even if it didn't (which it totally does) . . . so what? It's such a soft, cute, comforting, feel-good ship. I absolutely love it. And this is why.

Hopes for Optygami

Miraculous Ladybug set up a good stakes system in the first three seasons with this simple rule: identities must not be revealed. If they are, there will be dire consequences. Hence, while we don't really believe that our main characters are ever at risk of dying, we can accept that they might someday lose their masks, and that that would be bad. It's a risk that adds real weight to the action and plot. It also justifies the endless identity dance between Marinette and Adrien. But then Miracle Queen happened, and all the heroes except for our main two were outed. We saw no consequences in that episode. We saw no consequences in the NY special, and we've seen no consequences in season four yet, either. This makes the entire narrative feel far less convincing and lowers the tension immensely. Not to mention that it almost completely invalidates how Adrien and Marinette continue to hide their identities from each other. (It doesn't invalidate their secrets completely because we're not going to forget Chat Blanc any time soon, but it still lowers the stakes considerably.) Not only are almost all the superheroes out, but Alya still sometimes runs around as Rena Rouge, despite her identity being publicized. And she knows Ladybug's identity, which we've been told is dangerous, but we haven't seen anything that convinces us it's dangerous. The thing is, we have seen negative consequences of identity reveals. Chloe being akumatized is one instance, and another is Chat Blanc. But the show has done nothing with the biggest large-scale identity reveal so far (the one at the end of season three), which makes the "we must keep our identites a secret" spiel very hard to swallow, and makes the entire plot feel almost risk-free. I hope that Optygami shows us the negative consequences of this large-scale identity reveal, and returns strength to the narrative by doing so. TL;DR: With a few rare exceptions, we haven't seen much to back up the story's constant claim that identity reveals are dangerous. I hope that Optygami will finally show us some of the disastrous consequences of identity reveals, thus adding more weight and stakes to the narrative and justifying Marinette and Adrien's continued secrecy.

I had like twenty scenes from the first three Stormlight books I wanted to illustrate before the fourth book came out, but . . . *Glances at countdown to RoW I definitely don't have on my bedside table* Yeah, that's not gonna happen. So here are some doodles of Syl.