#14: āWe're introducing a new villain to the show! Wait, you think it's anything other than a new form for Hawkmoth? You're overthinking things, dude!ā
It's been a while since I made a post like this talking about Astruc's online behavior, but here we are. It may be a little short, but I feel itās important to read. While I wouldn't exactly call this āimmaturityā, it does highlight the hypocritical way Astruc views the Miraculous Ladybug fandom and the show itself.
It started off with someone asking about Luka and if he is meant to be a secret villain, with Astruc not understanding why people are even asking about a secret villain in the first place.
See, during a recent Comic Con in Brazil a few months ago, co-director of Miraculous Ladybug Jeremy Zag had stated that there would be some sort of āhidden villain who has always been in the seriesā, hinting at an interesting plot development.
It turns out that Zag had actually phrased that question wrong, as Astruc clarified that the new villain was actually Shadowmoth, the new stupid looking form Hawkmoth will take this season.
Okay, how do you think giving Hawkmoth a new form makes him a new villain? Does that make Frieza seven different characters?
If that was all he said, that would be fine. It would have been confusing that he thinks this, but no harm. Then he goes into detail about the fandom āoverthinking thingsā.
Even when this user points out that the way Zag phrased the ānew villainā made fans think about the possibilities, but Astruc chooses to blame the fans entirely for misunderstanding, all while citing a law that discusses how hard it is to debunk a rumor. Because it's not like a common part of any fandom is coming up with interesting fan theories regarding the work, right?
This is yet another thing Astruc is inconsistent about when it comes to his show. He'll either say that Miraculous Ladybug is more complicated than most viewers online make it out to be and that he planned the way most viewers reacted to certain episodes, or he'll chastise fans for thinking too much about certain plot details and that Miraculous Ladybug shouldn't be dark.
I just want to let you know, all of these screenshots were taken this month.
This is why so many of Astruc's arguments tend to fall flat. They either don't address the criticisms they were meant to serve as a rebuttal to, or he contradicts himself with another argument later on. He might as well be flipping a coin to decide how to respond to negative feedback or constructive criticism.
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
ā Live Streamingā Interactive Chatā Private Showsā HD Qualityā Free Actions
Free to watch ⢠No registration required ⢠HD streaming
Iām starting to feel lazy again and not finish anything, but hopefully Iāll pick a few of these back up.
Notes under the cut
1) Flame Trio
2) āThey Used to Be Friendsā Ft. Pre-War!NJ. Originally his color scheme was black/green, but he was starting to look like a zombie, so I tried something else and landed on pink/purple for his āoriginalā colors.
3) Yellow Hugs. Heās very touchy~ Whiteās a little more reserved than he usually acts but Red is cool with pretty much anything. Didnāt get around to the other two pairs. Yellowās hair is just whatever I need it to be at the time: sometimes itās hollow and you can pop-off the top, sometimes itās like cat ears and just bends in whatever direction to reflect how heās feeling.
4) Human/Incognito Color Test. Just another color test for human!1010. Dunno, feels so *safe*, I wanna go a bit more out there for Red and Blueās skin color. Maybe I should switch them?
5) LilāWatch. I sketched this as an example for some art trades I wanted to do on goatlings for adoption tickets, Bust+Mini Character. Dunno when/if Iāll finish it though.
6) Human!Master Hand Forms
Normal
Possessed by Tabuu
Master Core
Possessed by Galeem
You know, for being the god of that world, he sure does get possessed by more powerful beings a lot.
7) Black Jack! Dr. Mario revisit. I always thought this crossover was cute.
8/9) More graphics for my goatlings art trades.
10) Island Rep Syrup. The best thing about New Horizons is that I can wear the post-op patch and bandages at the same time.
Summary: This was a warzone. Survival outside of the districts were practically impossible without the proper technology. After losing your first team, you gave up hope that youād ever survive after bombs started going off in your district, but here you are in District 9. All hope was lost, all hope had been lost, at least until you met him.
Pairing: Hyunjin x Reader
Word Count: 6,711
A/N: Hi! This is my first every stray kids blog and fic so I hope you guys enjoy and are patientĀ wit the story, I am honestly very excited about this new step Iām taking, so I hope you all enjoy and donāt forget to comment, like, ask,or even message me. Iād love to hear everyoneās feedback. (this will be a chaptered fic)
After spending hours in a pitch black room, a light shines bright in your eyes, you didnāt need to adjust, nobody at these places did that because they werenāt trained to squirm at every minor inconvenience.
āWho are you?ā the voice calls out, not too deep, but definitely male.
āI am who.ā You stare straight into the bulb, inviting you to come closer and get a feel or the smooth roundness of it.
You hear the sound of lead to paper, the tiny ticks when the pencil writes a new word, hitting the paper onto the wooden clipboard, āGood, then we can proceed.ā the lights turn on, āDo you know why youāre here?ā
You look up into the eyes of the man, fitted in a tailored suit, āYes sir. People like me are here to become your weapons.ā
He chuckles lowly, āGood that we have that settled. Lucky for you, my top tier soldiers got to your in time⦠practically a breath or two from death they said.ā He starts pacing, āIf you ever happen to survive the training, be sure to find Jackson and thank him for the mask. One of my best soldiers had to hold his breath while piggybacking you until they got safely inside the vehicle 10 minutes away just so you wouldnāt die, and that would be Jackson.ā
You almost hesitate to ask, but if thereās one thing you learned, itās to never hesitate, āi-is everyone gone?ā you pull up your arms to rub at your face, only to realize that theyāve been strapped to the seat, āMy frien-... my teammates, are they all dead?ā
He claps his hands like what you asked was the funniest thing in the world, āTeammates? EVERYONE is dead in District 10.ā he looks back at you, āWell except you.ā
He walks towards the door, āI know who you are, 7008. Y/N Y/L/N, which is why I expect that and more from you when you become part of my team.ā slowly, he opens it, a group of men marching in, all of them holding you down while the man in the suit injects something into your neck, āYour 24 hours in solitary confinement begins, now.ā
Youāve read the history books. There was a time before any of this, there was a time when children were raised by their parents and not to be some military experiment for the government. Theyād go to school and make friends, not train in combat. Theyād go outside to play with the neighborhood kids instead of doing missions for their district government. This all started when a strange incurable disease started making its way around the world, at first everyone was optimistic that it could be fixed, until one night passed and half of the population died, oxygen from the outside was automatically the first to be sealed away, and synthetic oxygen was used as substitution which explains the need to use a new state of the art face masks when dealing with missions outside of the districts, those were war zones. The only things in the war zones aside from active duty soldiers werenāt exactly human. They looked human, but their eyes were red, they mumbled in incomplete grunts, almost zombie like, except they didnāt eat humans. But their bites did spread the infection they were called Goners, because that was what they were... they were goners in the outside.
Districts started popping up after oxygen was sealed off and the first sight of a goner was found inside its walls. Governments started hiding rations to save for their people, weapons were hoarded, and it was decided that walls were to be built to separate the districts even though they were all miles apart.
When half the population was wiped out, a lot of that population were adults. Little kids had no problem inhaling that contaminated air. At least until they reached 7 years old. When puberty rolled around, it was already a tradition to bring your kids into these government militarized facilities so they could serve their districts. Most parents decided to bring their children here at the tender age of 13. Youāve been at District 10ās facility since your hair was still in pigtails, age 8. These facilities provided everything you needed, beds, rooms, food, training, medicine, even healthcare, you name it. But since there were a lot of soldiers, there was still the issue of equal portions for all. In payment for everyoneās services, their families who had abandoned them would get food and a small allowance that they would get from that kidās bank account. The higher the kidās rank as he trained, the higher the allowance, and the better the food. Except for kids like you who had lost their parents. Your allowance was put in a bank, your food rations arrived at your room on top of the regular food rations from meal time. Without parents to receive your payment for service, it was given to you, but before that explosion in District 10, they definitely gobbled everything your service paid for, without even a cent left for you to spend, and thatās saying something. Especially since your allowance was something you definitely didnāt earn from baby missions and cleaning the toilets.
You were in District 9. That much of a fact is true based from the IX pin on that manās tie from earlier. District 9 is the richest aside from District 1, all due to that fact that Park Jinyoung was the inventor of synthetic oxygen. You were also sure that the man from earlier was Park Jinyoung, and he was the one calling the shots around here.
āRise and shine, 7008! Solitary confinement ends in this moment, and training begins when you step out this door.ā The loud metallic knocking from the door finally wakes you up, the woman who was talking comes in, lab coat over her clothes, she was probably the doctor. She grabs a strange looking gun, shoving it against your neck and releasing the trigger, and it feels like a vein is pulled straight from your neck, āGotta collect this chip to record your 24 hours. Just remember that you will feel weaker than normal in the next 24 hours due to this.ā she gives you a wink and stops right in front of the still opened door, āYou can call me Sunmi, and youād better get some tissue on that.ā
The moment you enter the gymnasium, all you smell is sweat, but you guess it was comforting in a way, to smell and see something you were so familiar with. Scattered in the gym are what looks to be wrestling rings without the actual ropes with one third of the room for female on female combat, male on male combat, and the remaining ā for mixed combat. You look around, finding a girl by the racks wrapping her hands and you walk on over, she stares at you picking out a wrap.
She snatches the one you were reaches for, āNeed some help?ā you gape at her. Most people donāt help newbies, especially ones they have never seen around, āGotta help each other out, you know?ā she passes you a quick grin.
You hold you hand out, āY/N. 7008.ā
She gladly takes it, āSuzy, 9320ā she looks at the open ring on the female side, āIf we spar, could you take it easy on me? Iām more a lover than a fighter.ā she laughs.
You give her a small smile, āYou had no intention of beating anyone here. You were content with doing easy jobs. You position and standing in District 10 made sure that you didnāt work as hard as you did then. You gesture your hand towards the ring as if to tell her that she should lead, and she does. The moment you stand on that ring and the bell dings, an arm pulls you right out.
āSorry newbie, but youāre sparring with me today.ā you stare at the hand clutched around your bicep, and the Ā up at the face of the man that hand belonged to. He pulls you along, almost dragging you through the gym, dramatically that everyone notices, ā of the gym was full, ā was deserted. This was that ā , āI wonāt be pulling my punches, so Iād appreciate it if you donāt make me look like a jerk and not pull any punches either.ā he laughs obnoxiously.
You are stood directly in front of him, āI-I canāt do this. I canāt even beat other girls.
He tsks his tongue, āNice try, Y/N. But I know who you are, Iāve seen your files, I know about the things youāve done.ā your face pales with that thought, āAnd I know for a fact that districts, especially this one donāt collect other soldiers from a destroyed district from the goodness of their hearts. Iāve shot soldiers more alive than you were in the remains of a district in the head than you can imagine.ā
The bell dings, and heās lunging for you, punching you in the throat, his rings scratching your throat significantly, before kicking you in the torso making you spit blood, āCome on! Fight back!ā He grabs you in a headlock, āIām Jackson. My team found you in the rubble at District 10.ā
He tightens his grip and you remember was Park Jinyoung said, āTh-thank y-you for that⦠oxygen...mask.ā you barely manage to speak out. You look around the ring, quite a lot of people have managed to gather around the mat, in fact, even the ones fighting minutes ago were gathered around.
He laughs again, āYeah, yeah. Enough chit chat more fighting.ā he pauses for a moment, still you were in a tight headlock, āYou know, I saw some of your old team in that rubble. Could have saved them, but the bossman said no. If I knew you were going to be a punching bag here, I wouldāve saved at least one of them instead.ā he chuckles darkly, and in that moment, it was like something in you snapped.
You muster up the energy in your knees, kicking them up straight into Jacksonās gut, kneeing him on and on until he lets go of you and then you maneuver your body so that heās standing behind you, his arm placed over your shoulder. Heās about to reach over to choke you, but youāre faster. You grab his arm and kick behind you to lift him in the air and flip him over your shoulder. He gets up slowly, not too phased by the flip, so once he stands upright, you deliver a roundhouse kick to the side of his face as hard as you can, making him fall on the mat. He turns his head towards you and mouths something that makes you lose reason, āGoodbye Hanbin.ā Thatās when everything goes red, you march over to him, while he was being checked for any serious injuries, an obvious timeout, but you push aside the medic and position yourself above him, your knees on the sides of his torso and then you punch him over and over, until the red goes away, you donāt know what you were feeling on your face whether it was sweat sweat or tears but you didnāt care, and by that time, his nose is a bloody mess and his teeth look stained red. His eyes are shut, probably losing consciousness a few seconds ago based from his labored breathing, but he still manages to give you a weak smile, āIāll be...sure to...tell JYP thatā¦ā He winces, trying to sit up, āyouāre just whatā¦heās looking for...in Project SKZ.ā he gives you a thumbs up before collapsing back on the mat.
You look around, still positioned above Jackson. Everyone was looking at you like some killer, except for a group of boys near the front of the spectators. They looked interested, but not scared⦠probably just a bunch of guys who wanted the lastest news on the girl who beat Jackson up. Slowly, you drop your hands that were still held up in fists as you get up, and run straight back to your room.
You pace back and forth. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. How were you going to get more accustomed here if you showed everyone that you were like that? You groan, falling back on your bed. You shouldnāt have wavered, you shouldnāt have let him get to you. Your old team wouldnāt have given in⦠but then again, your old team was dead.
A few small knocks come from your door, you stare at it for a while, but nobody ever opens it, so you get up and open it yourself only to find a small first aid kid at your feet. You raise an eyebrow at it, was this for you? You look straight down the hall, nobody. You turn your head to the left when you hear a small cough from behind the large potted plant.
āI know that I donāt have to force you to show yourself.ā you go back inside your room, āCome in.ā
You sit on your bed, feet on the ground, back hunched forward, left arm on your left knee all while never turning your eyes away from the door. Within seconds a boy scurries in, first aid kit clutched tightly against his chest. He stands directly in front of you, and that gives you a chance at a good look at him. He had dark brown hair, falling over his eyebrows, his eyes were large and catlike.
āSit.ā you gesture towards the soft couch to the side of your room, āWhy are you here?ā
He walks toward the couch and sits, āI-I saw you earlier-ā his voice cracks before he clears his throat, āAnd I noticed your neck looked bad. I-I just wanted to help you out a b-bit.ā
You stare at the kit in his hands, and then back at his face as he smiles at you awkwardly. He had braces. You get up, slowly limping towards him as you felt a pain in your ribs that you completely had been trying to forget about since you and Jackson finished sparring.
When you sit down, heās quick to apply a disinfectant to your neck, all around. He sneaks glances up at you every now and then, and even when heās wrapping an inch-wide bandage around your neck, his fingers are feather light.
āWhatās your name?ā you remain staring at the wall, āIām Y/N.ā
The smile heād been fighting off on his face suddenly blooms, making him look younger, āJ-Jeongin! But my team usually calls me I.N.ā he ties the bandage behind your neck, and he stares at your hand, placed tightly over your ribcage.
He bites his lip, unsure of whether he should ask you to cooperate, or to let it be, but you already notice the worried look he has in his eyes, so you sigh, and take off your tank top. Leaving you in your sports bra. His face reddens, as he desperately concentrates on your already bruising rib cage.
āIām here from District 10.ā
He stops suddenly, looking up at you, āI know.ā he speaks softly, āMy whole team knows. Theyāre quite excited to meet you.ā
āWhy-why are you here?ā you clear your throat, āI mean, why are you even helping me?ā
He blinks at you, confused that you'd even ask that, āWell just to be clear, I was already planning on helping you, but Hyunjin-hyung still thinks that the only reason Iām doing this is because he told me to.ā he grins, blessing you with the sweetest smile youād ever seen, āAnd besides, youāre family now.ā
You look away, face reddening, āHow old are you? You donāt look like you belong here.ā you mumble.
He ties the bandages around your ribs cleanly, āIām already 18, but Iāve been here since I was 13.ā He starts putting his medical supplies away, āYour rib is broken, and the skin there is heavily wounded, but it should be fine in a few weeks. Til then, I advise you to wear short shirts because it can be a pain to deal with when you wear normal shirts, āIād like to tell you to keep away from training, but that isnāt exactly a choice weāre allowed to make here.ā
He gets up, turning to you, āWe should get going. Everyoneās waiting for you.ā
Confused, you stand up and flounder the dresser next to your door for something to wear. You pull the black crop top over your head just in time to see when Jeongin has already turned the corner. Youāre practically chasing him through the halls, until you bother reach a door labeled, āJYPā.
You follow Jeongin entering the room, and upon entering, he goes into the next room and leaves you with Park Jinyoung, whoās already sitting on a chair in front of a large meeting table, āAh, 7008. Glad youāre here. We requested your presence so that you could meet your new team.ā
You furrowed your eyebrows at him, āW-wait. Woah, new team? Iām sorry, but I didnāt sign up for a new team.ā you take a seat in front of him, āIn fact, Iād be happy just serving the medical clinic here.ā
He scoffs at the comment, āYou wanna be part of the medical team here?ā He lets out a sarcastic chuckle, āLook kid, you put one of my best guys in the clinic. From my point of view, you put more people in hospitals than help them out of them.ā
He pulls out the chair next to him, grabbing 9 thick folders, āThose are yours. Youāll need to study them, for the time-ā
You push back the folders on the table, āWoah, okay, I never agreed to this.ā
He brings his index finger under his chin and his thumb on his jawline, āCanāt forget Little Hanbyulās nearing commencement ceremony.ā
You freeze at the thought, slowly inching your arms towards the stack of files on the desk, āHave you been keeping tabs on me?ā
He sighs and shrugs, āWell, I do. I have to, I keep tabs on all of my dream recruits, Kang Daniel from District 1, BTS from District 7, Doyoung and Taeyong from District 12.ā He brings his fingers together in front of his face, āObviously, thereās not too many, but you still became part of that. We saved you⦠the least you could do is be thankful and repay us with your service.ā
You bow your head in defeat. You had no choice. You had to do this, for Hanbin, for his little sister. One thing about being recruited here is that itās optional, but the price to exempt someoneās child was no joke, the only people who could even leisurely afford that resided in District 1.
āWhy donāt you meet your team?ā
You canāt look at him. So instead, you numbly nod your head, you had no other choice either way.
He knocks twice on the table with about a four second interval between the two knocks and then it is followed by the fast consecutive knocks on the door Jeongin passed through earlier. The door opens and you tear your eyes away from it, not willing to show Park Jinyoung that you were even the slightest bit interested in who he decided would be a fit for you as a team. Park Jinyoung clears his throat, making you look up at the boys standing in a line. You furrowed your eyebrows, you already saw these boys, they were the only ones who didnāt look the least bit worried after you beat Jackson up. The one at the very end to the left step forward, reaching out his hand which you just stare at.
āIām Bang Chan. Iām the leader.ā He was pale just like all of them, his hair was curly and longer than Jeonginās but not too long and he had a portion braided on the left side, āBasically, you can come to me for anything and everything.ā
āHe also makes rounds at night. To check your trackers.ā Park Jinyoung taps the inside of his wrist for emphasis, to give Chan a job like that meant that Park Jinyoung trusted him to a degree.
Chan pushes a boy forward, lips tightly shut but curved upward along with his eyes, he waves, āHi, Iām Kim Woojin, Iām pretty good at memorizing and familiarizing myself with locations, so they put me in charge of either being the lookout or being the first one to come in at mission locations to get a feel for the terrain. Of course I canāt give it all to talent or skill, I still read about our mission assignments beforehand so I have an idea.ā you only nod slightly in his direction, āFeel free to drop by before missions if you wanna review the mission and its details.ā
The next guy to step up looks pretty lax, but he still maintained a glare in your direction. With his hands in his pockets, he starts, shoulders slouching, āSeo Changbin.ā and the Ā he retreats back to his place.
Chan clears his throat, āSorry about him, Y/N. Heās still a work in progress when it comes to new recruits.ā he rubs the back of his neck, āHeās pretty much in charge of the missions weāre assigned to at night, stealth missions, that kind of thing.ā
You open your mouth to say something, but you decide against it when you see Chan look at you confused. You shouldnāt expect these people to do those kinds of missions. Only monsters did those missions, like you.
The next one to step forward is confident, like he knows what heās doing, but he wonāt tell you either way, because he didnāt find the need to, āMy nameās Lee Minho, some of these guys call me Lee Know. Iām in charge of weapons in our group.ā
āThatās why some of us call him Lee Know, because of a mission we went on that had extended a full day after an open fire started in the outskirts of district 8, we ran out of weapons, but Minho created new guns from the equipment we had. If it hadnāt been for him, weād have lost that one.ā Chan shrugs.
The next one doesnāt even step forward, he bows courteously from his spot, āIām Kim Seungmin, weāre already a well oiled machine but Iām sure your addition will complete us even more.ā he looks up slowly as if he was trying to remember what he had to mention, āOh! Iām in charge of route and plan memorization Ā of the group. Basically, I remember everything. If Woojin is in charge of memorizing the location, Iām in charge of getting us there and back.ā
The next one has a hand in his pocket, but heās well mannered enough to bow first, āIām Lee Felix, Iām in charge of comms. Minho and I sometimes work together when we need to improve the communication accessories we use, especially for upgrades.ā
You were already acquainted with the next one, but you didnāt interrupt. He comes marching forward, almost.looking proud at how you two already knew each other, āAs you know, Iām Yang Jeongin. I helped you earlier and thatās what I do in the team, I usually help them when they get injured, but the longer I grow here, I hope I get to become like you, or like Hyunjin Hyung.ā
A hand is reached out in front of you, you stare at it, before his other hand is grabbing yours and putting it in his still waiting hands for a handshake, āHey. Iām Han Jisung. Iām who everybody counts on during missions, Iām always making plans with Chan, but I do much rather prefer planning instead of actual physical violence.ā
The last one is staring at the floor, practically glaring at it with a hand in his pocket, he takes one look up at you, and bows silently, āIām Hwang Hyunjin, I guess Iām like you, if you were trained to kill. Iām practically in charge of maintaining everyone in this group as well and especially combat.ā he bows again then he begins to retreat but then he stops, āSorry about what they did to you.ā he mentions in a soft voice, it doesnāt go unnoticed by Park Jinyoung or Chan. You see Park Jinyoungās cheek clench, and Chan throwing Hyunjin a dirty look to get him to stop, and it works.
You push your chair back and you stand up, āNice to meet you all. Iām Y/N. The only thing you need to know about me is what I did to Jackson earlier.ā you force a smile on your face that has Park Jinyoung chuckling to himself, you can feel the tension in the room, and you get why. Itās always unnerving to suddenly have to recruit a new member, so even though they thought they were showing you their enthusiasm over getting a new member, you completely understood where they were coming from, āI uh, I understand that this kind of situation isnāt easy, but I hope you all give me a chance because Iām sure I can prove to you guys that I belong here. I'm excited to begin working with you guys.ā
You get in line at the cafeteria, a group of girls already in front of you in line, giggling amongst themselves, themselves, friends. The guard at the front of the line grabs your wrist, scanning the inside of it and 2 tickets are printed from Ā his handheld scanner. You grab the tickets, staring at the extra one strangely, was this how it would always be? This was your first actual meal since your family died. You head straight for the food line where they easily provide you with two heaping helpings of dinner which you carry in both hands. You try to look around, looking for a place to sit. You see the group of girls in front of you in line, but when they catch your eyes, they instantly glare at you and scoot farther apart so there was no space for you. Youāre about to turn your heel and forget dinner all together, when a voice calls out to you.
āYo!ā a hand shoots up in the air, āY/N! Over here!ā if you didnāt see Chan earlier, you definitely saw him now as he stood up and started flailing his arms around in an attempt to get you to see him.
You sigh, looking from your food to their table, where all their eyes were already on you. The decision Ā was already made anyway. You walk towards their table slowly where you catch Jeongin roughly pushing Hyunjin farther from him to make room for you.
āYou can sit right here, Y/N!ā Jeongin pats the empty seat in between him and Hyunjin.
You place your tray with two full plates on the table, āThis seat taken?ā you look towards Hyunjin who keeps his sight straight across at Jisung.
He shrugs, āAll yours.ā
The table is silent, except for Jeongin who keeps talking to you about some mission awhile back where he got shot in the leg, but pushed through for three days or whatnot, Chan was shooting you looks from the end of the table, smiling and trying to at least create a somewhat welcoming presence, it wasnāt working. Jisung was just shooting looks at you from behind his hair while eating, and you would catch Hyunjin every now and then and meet his eyes before he quickly averted his gaze.
Dinner was brutal and it wouldāve been a massacre if it werenāt for Jeongin and Chan, but you got through it anyway. You went ahead of everyone after being called to meet with Park Jinyoung for a briefing. After an hour of discussing your still ambiguous place in the team, he dismissed you, but not before having you come by the watch your new teamās practice simulation so you could get a feel of their dynamics.
You hover in front of the door that you already opened ever so slightly, your hand rests on the door knob when you hear their voices in murmurs, and you freeze when you hear you name.
āShe doesnāt belong here, Chan.ā Woojin.
āLook, I know you guys donāt like how this is panning out, and trust me, I donāt either but-ā
āThen canāt you tell that to JYP? He trusts you the most out of all of us. And if heās going to listen to anyone itās you.ā That was Changbin. He sounded so frustrated.
āI donāt like this either, but maybe we can compromise, we just need to give her a chance.ā You were pretty sure that was Hyunjin, āWe just donāt know her too well right now.ā
āIām not exactly sure this is something that should have been thrusted to us.ā Seungmin chimes in.
āI donāt know.ā Minho tsks, āWe were perfectly fine well before her. What else are we missing?ā
āOh come on, man. You were assigned with us just a few years ago.ā Hyunjinās voice got louder, āWe were all new once!ā
āI heard she was one of the best recruits at District 10.ā Jisung offers, āMy big brother told me that her teamās level was pretty high up there back in 10, and sheās the only one Park Jinyoung wanted from that team.ā
āWell sheās in 9 now.ā Changbin scoffs, āAnd besides, how can we even trust her? I heard she was the reason why District 10 even imploded-ā
You never noticed how tight your grip on the knob had gotten until you finally find the strength to slam it shut. You feel the hot tears running down your cheeks as you run down the hall, even pushing past Jeongin who had no idea what just happened. Maybe it was for the better. You donāt know how long you were running, but you run until your legs give out from under you on the dirt floor. You feel like you couldnāt breathe, as if the air was being sucked from inside of you as you continued to sob. It could have been easier to ignore that accusation, to let everyone think whatever they wanted, but you couldnāt because it was true.
After what felt like hours of sobbing, and reminiscing on your old team, you make your way back to your room. You walk slow, counting the steps. You were on step 9,730 when you catch a pair of legs right next to your door. Looking up, you find Chan, back up against the wall, dozing off with his arms crossed in Ā front of his chest and a foot propped up against the wall.
You approach slowly with caution, entering the passcode for you door, āNeed something?ā you focus on what you were doing, entering the incorrect code over and over again.
He jolts awake, eyes wide and alert, āY/N! You need to come with me.ā he looks serious, not a grin in sight. This was it, theyād tell you that you werenāt going to be accepted in their little group and youād have to find another way to pay for little Hanbyulās exemption from service.
You slouch your back, sighing before following him, directly behind his heel as he started walking. You walked in silence, all the way across the premises only to stop right in front of a glass door. He holds the door open for you, only entering after youāve gone in. You find all the members sitting on the couches, with Jeongin near the end. You noticed his puffy eyes and his red nose and every so often, heād let out a sniffle or a hiccup, heād been crying.
So this was it? This was how youād be let go.
Chan places a hand on Ā your shoulder, āThis is our living quarters.ā he pulls you towards the group, āAnd one of these days soon, itāll be yours as well.ā
You stare at him in shock, then at the other members, Jeongin who had such a serious face was beaming now, āI-I thought you didnāt like m-me?ā
āWe just donāt know you yet.ā Woojin speaks from the far right armchair, ā We like you well enough. We just donāt know you.ā
Chan sighs from next to you, āIf weāre being honest, then yeah. At first we didnāt like you, and we were talking about you. But when you slammed that door, Hyunjin ran after you, and followed you to the back, in the Garden of Mirrors. Park Jinyoung said that he made that place in hopes that when we go there when weāre lost, or feeling our weakest, then we can find ourselves.ā He pulls you to sit next to him on an unoccupied couch, āAnd when Hyunjin never came back, we looked for him and found him watching you. I guess thatās when we realized that if this has been hardest on anybody, that would be on you.ā
Hyunjin who was standing by the wall with his arm crossed suddenly speaks up, āSo let us in, Y/N. Tell us who you are.ā
You stare back at them, Hyunjin in particular. With a deep breath, you begin.
You were born in District 10. You never got to an age where mom and dad ever had any other name besides mom and dad when they sent you to service. By the age of 9, you were already learning proper gun cleaning techniques. At age 10, you met Jinhwan, he was already 13, but he couldnāt be assigned anywhere because he was categorized as too hostile to be assigned anywhere, but he got along with you just fine. You see him with other kids, he didnāt care if they were afraid of him, he was fine on his own. But you knew better. Youāve walked into practice rooms at 4 in the morning to find him crying in the corner. Thatās why when you get your first mission with him, you give him a stuffed elephant you had been trying to give to him since you saw him crying. Maybe it was because he hated his parents and you never spent enough time with them to properly treasure any memories with them, but you and him understood each other. At 12, you met Hanbin, he was 14, but thatās all. You never bothered to ever really get to know Hanbin or train with him which is why you were so surprised when Yang Hyun Suk called you in only to be assigned to your first team. It was Hanbinās team, one he handpicked himself, Jinhwan wss pickest as well, he picked you after meeting you once. The team consisted of Hanbin, Jinhwan, Bobby, Junhoe, Yunhyeong, Donghyuk, Chanwoo, and you. Hanbin was never the type to make things easier for anyone, even you, even with whatever the two of you had developed, in fact, you can still remember a specific mission when you had been transported back with your team, and you were bleeding out on the floor from a stab wound to your leg and all Hanbin really din was hold your hand on the way back. He never said anything and just told you to pay attention to the mission, but you knew better from the way his hand trembled and his lips quivered if he so much as let out a sound, he wasnāt the type to jeopardize a mission but he also didnāt want to lose you and thereās just something so flattering about that. You start out as a surveillance team, lookout for the teams that actually get to properly do a mission, as time passes, you team moves up the ranks, from surveillance to escort missions to diplomacy to hijacking missions to objectives to assassinations there you and your team last promoted to, special operatives. Your team was your family, the closest thing you could ever consider as such. Especially Hanbin, you and Hanbin had something really special which is probably the only reason you stayed in that team despite the questionable missions they started to give you. Under a especially delicate mission, one assigned only to you and Jinhwan was completed, it took a whole week to get done and when you and Jinhwan were in Yang Hyun Sukās office to give a detailed report, Jinhwan found files that had turned everything upside down. That night, before you and Jinhwan had the chance to talk about it with your team, bombs started going off. A retaliation from District 7. Before you had any time to react, your team was already clearing the premises down into the bomb shelters. You were in Jinhwanās room with him while heās packing when the sky darkens from the window, then in seconds, heās grabbing you by the arm, running down the hall and then he stops, heās smiling sadly at you, he kisses you telling you heās loved you since he first met you and then heās pushing you to run to Hanbin in the east wing of the facility, because he needed to go back to get something very important, he pats your head telling you heād find you and your team later so you start running. Minutes later, a bomb implodes in your living quarters, Jinhwan inside. You find Hanbin in the industrialized labs, he doesnāt say a word, just embraces you like itās the last one, and he gives you one final kiss, asking you to keep Hanbyul safe before he thanks you for caring and loving him the way you did all those years, and thatās when he pushes you into a metallic tube like incubator, saying sorry over and over again and how much he loves you, he reaches for your hand that you had placed against the glass, and then everything explodes. You realized what had happened, when you were with Jinhwan, when he looked out the window, he noticed the bomb ticking down the minutes before it would explode, he began to run with you when he remembered that damned elephant you gave him all those years back, and thatās why he goes back, thatās why he died. Hanbin had been in that lab for the purpose of you finding him, he and Jinhwan were a hundred percent sure that the bomb shelter wouldnāt hold against the onslaught of bombs, so he stands guard of the only place that had cryogenic chambers that could withstand bombs like that. When he starts up the machine, all you can remember is hitting the door so hard just so it would open until the sides of your fists were bleeding and raw, the last thing you saw was his face, one of the only few times Hanbin showed so much love and affection in his eyes and it was all for you, sadness and love as he kept saying sorry over and over again.
You breathe a sigh of relief, mostly everything was out in the open now. Thatās all that mattered.
A hand comes out to touch your shoulder, āOne day, Park Jinyoung is going to assign you to go back and get whatever you left behind in 10. It wouldnāt be him if he didnāt.ā Hyunjin squeezes your shoulder, āBut just know that, District 10, 7, 4, 5 or whatever district you have to go to, weāre coming with you.ā he drops his hand, sighing before retiring to his room.
Chan smiles drowsily, probably tired from the practice simulation earlier, āYouāre one of us now, Y/N.ā He stretches before stalking to his room.
One by one, everyone starts to leave. You were about to get up when a dvd is thrown on the coffee table in front of you, āThis was the practice simulation earlier.ā Jisung scratches the back of his neck, āWe arenāt actually allowed to take the recordings but you werenāt around to watch, so I took the liberty of putting it in there along with a few of our individual skill recordings there.ā
You silently bow your head in thanks, waiting until he goes back to his room before popping the dvd into the tape player connected to the television.
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
ā Live Streamingā Interactive Chatā Private Showsā HD Qualityā Free Actions
Free to watch ⢠No registration required ⢠HD streaming
Well, I'm surprised this is here so quickly, but here we are. The first episode of Season 4. While I was on the fence about reviewing it even though it isn't in English (though thereās one in Spanish with English subtitles), but it seems like there are people that want to see me do it anyway, so who am I to let them down? Hopefully, I won't be regretting my decision to go over every episode of this season later on.
Will Marinette's new position as Guardian lead to more storylines other than her suffering? Will the show actually resolve the whole Love Square debacle this season? Why am I asking you all these questions?
Let's dive right into the first (actually sixth because of course it is) episode of Miraculous Ladybug's fourth season, Furious Fu.
We start off with all of the Kwamis under Marinette's care asking to see Former Master by Default Fu, before Marinette reminds them, and by extension, the audience, that he erased his memory during the events of last season, making her the new Guardian. They continue to act like hyperactive children until Marinette finally caves in and carries them in her backpack, although not before they give us one of the most unintentionally creepy images in the entire show.
I apologize in advance for your nightmares tonight.
The only Kwami who stays is the Dog Kwami, Barkk, who looks like she's going to see if Marinette's parents have any wine in the kitchen once she leaves.
Marinette heads down to the train station, where she meets up with Fu and Marianne, a former confidant/old flame who he recently reunited with. It turns out that inbetween Seasons 3 and 4, not only has Fu been living in London with Marianne while taking up painting as a hobby, but they've actually gotten married. So yeah, while Marinette has to deal with the stress of protecting some of the most dangerous artifacts on the planet, Fu's just been chilling in London, oblivious to the fact that he forced a teenage girl to do his job for him. Nothing but the best from this show's wise and lovable āmentorā.
After heading back home, Marinette sees a strange man who has broken into her room and demands to know where she got the Miracle Box from.
This is Master Su-Han, the former Guardians before Fu accidentally killed them all. He's naturally not happy with the āimproperā form of the Miracle Box (he's not the only one) and wants to know how Marinette got in in the first place. When she says she got it from Fu...
Yeah... while it isn't as obvious as āAnimaestroā and āFelixā, you can kind of tell that this is a āturn the critics into enemiesā episode. Even though the criticism towards Master Fu isn't as prevalent as the criticism those episodes were meant to call out, there have been some fans on Tumblr and Reddit who have criticized Fu's actions in the show, calling out his decision to make Marinette a guardian in particular. Likewise, Su-Han is meant to be a strawman to mirror the complaints, and show why they are ridiculous. Though ironically, Su-Han's dialogue and rules also unintentionally highlight how incompetent the Order of the Guardians was, but we'll get to it later.
But because the script says she has to, Marinette defends Fu's decision to make her Guardian. She even refers to Fu being the reason the Guardians were all killed in the first place as a āmistakeā.
NO HE DIDN'T! How was what Fu did in any way a sacrifice? When he made Marinette the new Guardian āMiracle Queenā, All Fu really did was make the box float for a bit before it immediately landed back in Chloe's hands. If the box had magically floated over to Ladybug in the process, I'd see why Fu would have done it. It'd still be reckless, but it would be a good way to escape from Hawkmoth and Mayura's trap. Hell, the Kwamis had already refused to let Chloe transform when she had their Miraculous, so there was no real threat there. We don't even know if Hawkmoth knew how to transform with the other Miraculous. So again, I raise the question: How was Fu forcing Ladybug to take his job while he gets to paint in London a heroic sacrifice? How can you even frame that as anything but cowardly?
Su-Han notices a few of the Kwamis are missing, and takes notice of Plagg, who was shown to devastate Paris with a single tap to the ground, being missing in particular. He's even more horrified to see Marinette's earrings, because, get this, Guardians aren't allowed to wear Miraculous.
You're telling me that if someone gets their hands on a Miraculous and goes rogue, the Guardians are supposed to fight them with their bare hands? They don't even explain it by saying something like how the Guardians aren't supposed to be tempted by the power of the Miraculous, we're just supposed to accept that rule as fact. How are you supposed to fight someone with superpowers like illusions, shapeshifting, teleportation, and time travel on your own?
So Su-Han orders the Kwamis back into the Miracle Box (still don't get why they have to listen to him) and lists off some of the rules Marinette broke like he was a Ferengi reading the Rules of Acquisition. He does all of this while voicing several concerns fans have about Marinette being Guardian, but rather than being out of concern or compassion for her, it's condescension.
It's pretty easy to understand Su-Han's side of the story, and if the episode actually acknowledged it, I wouldn't mind. But no, everything he says is automatically supposed to be wrong, because when has anything with a different viewpoint portrayed as a good guy in this show?
Su-Han orders Ladybug to take him to see Cat Noir before demanding they both hand over their Miraculous, and we learn something interesting about the Order of the Guardians.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?
Of all the stupid Guardian rules Master Fuckup didn't blindly follow, it's the rule that Miraculous are ONLY SUPPOSED TO GO TO ADULTS!? Why the hell did he even recruit Marinette and Adrien in the first place if Miraculous for adults to use? What did he even see in them? All they did was help him once!
And again, we're supposed to see Su-Han as wrong for doing this. Why can't Ladybug simply tell Su-Han about Hawkmoth and ask for his help before she returns her Miraculous to him? That way, Hawkmoth is defeated, and Su-Han gets the Miraculous back. And it's not like Ladybug doesn't try to talk things out with Su-Han, so you can't say she didn't consider it. Oh wait, that would imply Su-Han is supposed to have a point in his claims.
Though to the show's credit, Su-Han's words do get to Ladybug, causing herself to doubt herself and her ability to stop Hawkmoth, but Cat Noir helps to reassure her, saying he'll only return his Miraculous only if she asks him to. It's a brief moment, but it's nice to see him place his faith in his partner in a platonic way.
Less nice to see is Cat Noir finding out that if Ladybug gives up her position as Guardian, she'll lose her memory like Fu. Except... Cat Noir was there when Miraculous Ladybug failed to restore Fu's memory, so why does he see this as new information? Did he only think it would happen to Fu? Did he lose some of his memory at the end of the last season?
This information is enough for Cat Noir to start a fight with Su-Han, with Ladybug abandoning any attempts at diplomacy by declaring that Cat Noir won't lose his Miraculous. It's a little frustrating to see them engage Su-Han, but again, this is meant to show Cat Noir trying to protect Ladybug so she doesn't lose her memory. This scene still does a good job showcasing the bond the two heroes have. It's far better than anything we got from the New York special.
Su-Han is trained in... Oh God... Mirakung-Fu, which somehow gives him the ability to predict Ladybug and Cat Noir's moves before they make them, comparing it to his rage āadaptating and always finding a wayā. Translation: Astruc ripped off something else from Dragon Ball, Ultra Instinct. Ladybug distracts Su-Han and gets the Miracle Box, while Cat Noir gets his staff. After briefly trapping him under some rubble (which I guess doesn't kill him because of his āMirakung-Fuā), the two heroes escape.
Meanwhile, Shadowmoth, the upgraded form of Hawkmoth that I'll talk about in his debut proper, senses Su-Han's negative emotions and sends out an Akuma after him. Su-Han sees Fu painting in the park, and steals his cane, thinking it's a Guardian's staff he can sue to track down the Miraculous. When the Akuma reaches him, Su-Han uses a technique to repel the Akuma completely. I like this idea. It makes sense that a monk would find a way to mask their emotions and achieve enough of a state of zen to ward off an Akuma. The Akuma instead reaches Fu, turning him into Furious Fu.
I like the design of this Akuma. While I personally thought it could have made for a more interesting fight if he was still short (like Yoda's fight scenes in the prequels), I think it's really clever to incorporate Fu's Hawaiian shirt into what looks like a Chinese gi. Furious Fu's powers are kind of like Evilustrator, only he has to draw down a Chinese character on a talisman before the power takes immediate effect, and lacks the weakness Evilustrator had with his tablet being easily breakable, with the corrupted object, a paintbrush on his ear, being harder to reach.
Ladybug and Cat Noir retreat to the unnamed stadium that the local school has gym class in for some reason, where they're confronted by Su-Han, who in turn, is confronted by Furious Fu. This leads to a three-way fight for the Miracle Box, which they all kick around like a soccer ball. Cat Noir even gets a goal. All around, pretty fun bit, though not for the Kwamis, I guess.
As soon as he sees Furious Fu get the Miracle Ball, Su-Han hides while Ladybug and Cat Noir get beat up by the Akuma. While he does get up eventually, he's still taken out by Furious Fu. Apparently, Su-Han's āMirakung-Fuā is only useful against Miraculous holders, not supervillains created with the powers of a Miraculous. How the hell does that work? That's like being a trained soldier in the Marine Corps who's terrible at laser tag.
Ladybug uses her Lucky Charm (again, I'll talk about the suit change for its proper debut episode), and gets a pair of wire cutters. She uses them go get a soccer ball from a nearby container while Cat Noir keeps Furious Fu busy. Furious Fu, in turn, uses one of his talismans to predict Ladybug's plan, and manages to immobilize both heroes, but not before Ladybug traps the soccer ball underneath Cat Noir's arm before Furious Fu can use his Cataclysm against him.
How do they stop him? By having Marianne casually walk up to him and break the paintbrush while he's distracted. Honestly, that's a pretty funny payoff. Not āPuppeteerā or āBakerixā funny, but it's still one of the funnier Akuma defeats I've seen. Another funny joke is Cat Noir using his Cataclysm on a soccer ball before he accidentally uses it on Ladybug and Marianne for their post-victory fist bump.
Later on, after Marinette sees Marianne and Fu off while the latter continues to avoid responsibility, Su-Han apologizes to her, and decides to trust her. He'll still take away the Miracle Box if she screws up, but it's a start to someone Marinette can at least consult Guardian to Guardian.
And honestly? I think this episode is a pretty good start to Season 4. It really feels like the writers are learning from their mistakes in Season 3.
Yes, Marinette is blamed by Su-Han, and while it is frustrating to turn Su-Han into a strawman, unlike other Season 3 episodes where Marinette is blamed, the blame itself is unwarranted, and by the end of the episode, it looks like Su-Han is willing to change, as he apologizes to Fu after he's de-evilized. That's a lot more than I can say for Astruc's other straw characters like Chloe and Felix. Sure, some of Su-Han's concerns are brushed off, but it's still a start.
From what little we saw of him, Cat Noir is also a lot better, really showing the character development promised towards the end of āMiracle Queenā. He's thankfully turned down the flirting, and I can only hope he keeps his promise as the season goes on. I hope we get an episode or two showing his perspective on Ladybug becoming Guardian, and how he feels less like her actual partner now. You know, something that can reinforce their bond as partners.
My biggest complaints from the episode really come from the way Fu is portrayed, and even then, it's only because of events that happen because of what he did last season and how much of a screw-up he is, despite the narrative trying to tell the audience he isn't. Then there's the revelation that Fu's cane has the ability to track down Miraculous. So... we're seriously learning this now? Why didn't Fu use it earlier to look for the two missing Miraculous? He literally has a Miraculous detector! But hopefully, the consequences of Fu's actions won't affect this season too much.
So yeah, I'm actually feeling pretty optimistic about this season so far. Maybe Season 4 won't be that bad after all.
Okay, I get that Astruc doesnāt want to give anything away about this new character, but itās just a little hard to believe what heās saying, especially after heās spent the past five years ranting about how Chloe Bourgeois is worse than Satan.