#sentimonster theory

[paracosmicat]

Gabriel didn’t just threaten to kill Felix, he actually attempted it.

With what we know now, putting the akuma in his ring was a death sentence.

If Felix hadn’t rejected the akuma then not only would Ladybug and Chat Noir have to break the ring but when they did they would have found both a feather and the akuma and WHO WANTS TO BET THEY WOULD HAVE HAD THE KNOWLEDGE TO NOT PURIFY BOTH.

Poor kid had to fight for his life, literally. We know how hard it is to reject the akumas but he didn’t have a choice, did he?

Also, consider this both proof that Gabriel was aware of this fact AND proof that Gabriel is just so so stupid..so stupid.

[jenny-fish]

SUPER SUPER EXCITED TO POST THIS BC I MADE THIS BACK IN LIKE JANUARY and felt too bad to post it until emotion was watchable in chronological order BUT here is Felix and (almost) every senti in all their glory!! 🦚💖💕💖💕

[fortuna-et-cataclysmos]

Season 5 and the symbolism of pancakes

Guys, I swear I have a life outside of speculating the meaning behind pancakes in Miraculous...

But seriously, they're important. They symbolise the future (as made explicit in Pretention).

[Small note: they look like pancakes, they're called "pancakes" in the French dub, I don't know if they taste like pancakes, but I do know that they are not "French toasts" as the English dub claims. So I'll stick to "pancakes"]

Illusion

So we are introduced to the pancakes in Illusion, where for the first time Adrien sees his father in the kitchen, preparing breakfast.

Seems benign enough. Gabriel is even considered enough to ask Adrien how he likes his pancakes. He likes them "well-toasted."

Illusion is an episode where Gabriel fakes having changed, and him giving Adrien a choice is in line what that change. Of course, he still manipulates him into making him think that he has the freedom to not be the face of the Alliance, by basically threatening to withhold his newly expressed fatherly love if Adrien refuses to agree with him (more on that in this post). Pancakes are just a device for Gabriel to add to his illusion of good parent, and the illusion that Adrien has a choice.

Passion

Adrien and Gabriel are in the kitchen. Adrien is looking at his extremely decorated pancakes.

As we learn from Nathalie a second later, he likes his pancakes plain. She tells him to not eat them "to please his father", while Gabriel seemingly naively points out that if Adrien didn't want bananas, he could have told him.

Sure he could tell him, except that the last time Adrien asked for something from Gabriel -to not be the face of Alliance-, he emotionally manipulated him to withdraw his request, and even made him wear the said Alliance.

The bananas and the fancy toppings are basically a metaphor for the fancy model life Gabriel wants to give Adrien, while Adrien really doesn't want any of it. And just as many people like toppings on their pancakes, they also would like to have a life of fame, hence think Adrien is lucky (as seen in the S4 Finale). Meanwhile, Adrien doesn't want any of it, he likes his pancakes and and his life plain and simple, "au naturel".

Nonetheless, Adrien still continues eating his father's pancakes, saying that he doesn't mind, that he likes them.

Pretension

This is where the pancake business gets serious.

First, we learn that indeed, Gabriel's pancakes taste bad. Plagg cheers for being saved from eating another serving of Gabriel's pancakes. This is bordering to over analysis but, given that Plagg couldn't eat them while Gabriel is in the kitchen, I assume that's Adrien's opinion which he must have confessed to Plagg at a more appropriate time. And still, Adrien keeps eating his father's pancakes.

Later in the episode, the pancake/future metaphor is expressed very clearly by Gabriel. He tells Marinette that she can have her pancake and life however she wants it, but the one thing she can't do is to share it with Adrien.

He says very clearly:

You think that you have a choice, but all you have is the illusion of a choice. And I decide which choices you get.

And where do we get this exact claim in practice? In the episode Illusion, where Gabriel manipulates Adrien into thinking that he has a say over his future, while Gabriel is the one making all the choices that matter.

And he gives two "choices" to Marinette:

To eat the pancake, receive Gabriel's backing and be a famous designer

To refuse the pancake and have nothing

Once more, the way he frames it, Gabriel gives the illusion that Marinette has a choice, while neither of the two choices includes being with Adrien. So he basically leaves her with no choice but to break up with him.

Now comes the breaking point. Marinette fully understands that the pancakes are a metaphor for her and Adrien's future, and she continues the same metaphor to get her message across to Gabriel (talk about power move).

First, she refuses to eat them. She has "lost her appetite."

This refusal is in contrast with Adrien who kept eating them even though he didn't like them. Unlike him, Marinette "doesn't even need to try them to know that they are bad."

Normally, this is to be understood as her making the choice no 2: refuse the pancake and have nothing.

As such, she is escorted out the kitchen. The scene composition clearly shows that she is stuck between Gabriel on the one side, and the Gorilla on the other.

Because, she refused the pancake. Per Gabriel's rules, she is supposed to have nothing.

But Marinette defies that. Not only she runs upstairs to hug and tell Adrien that she'll never abandon him, but she also gets back downstairs without needing to be restrained by the Gorilla, hence protecting her composture.

Look at how she goes down the stairs, having not only the physical but also the moral high-ground:

She looks so intimidating that in the next frame, even the Gorilla steps aside to let her pass. Both Gorilla and Gabriel are surprised by her move, if you zoom in you can see it in their faces. Gabriel did not expect her to do something outside the two "choices" he had given her.

And then comes the death blow, where Marinette tells Gabriel:

You know what's your pancakes problem? They have too much flour and not enough butter. You use an outdated recipe, no one likes them like that anymore.

Yup. She calls Gabriel's entire fashion, but also life practices, outdated with one simple metaphor. My girl slays.

At the end of Pretention, during dinner (no pancakes here sorry), we see that a parallelling breakthrough happens in Adrien's front.

Gabriel tells Adrien that he can spend as much as time as he wants with Marinette, for he will be in London next year. Again, Gabriel is creating the illusion that he is free to date Marinette, except that, as Adrien now realises, he is not. Adrien gets visibly furious at his father for the first time.

He does quickly calm down, but what is his reaction? He says that he has "lost his appetite," just like Marinette did. The boy who kept eating badly made pancakes with the toppings he didn't like finally refuses to eat the illusions his father is feeding him.

This, coupled with Adrien's terror at going to his room at the beginning of the episode, leaving Marinette alone despite himself, become a turning point for him: he finally acknowledges that he isn't free, and that his father keeps forcing his decisions onto him. Maybe also getting one step closer to discovering/accepting that he is a sentibeing.

All this story, told through pancakes.

[theforbodingboglands]

Sooooo that infamous sentimonster theory amiright? 👀

[masternia]

HE CALLED RED MOON HIS FUDGIN SENTIMONSTER HIS SISTER. SENTI SIBLINGSSSS ENOUGH. MY HEART CANNOT HANDLE THIS PAIN YALL. THAT WAS HIS SENTI SISTER :(((

[miraculous-floconfettis]

I just thought of something when watching Emotion again:

When Félix tried to bring back Marinette and failed, we (as viewers), figured out fairly quickly it was because she was not Marinette at the moment but Ladybug. But Félix doesn't know that, so he was only thinking of Marinette as Marinette when he tried to bring her back, and he came to the conclusion that he couldn't control his powers as well as he thought he could (but we know it wasn't the case).

So would that mean if Félix knew that Marinette was Ladybug, he could have brought her back? (I'm almost certain the answer is "yes").

And here comes the interesting part:

Would that also mean for Adrien that as long as Gabriel doesn't know he's Chat Noir, Gabriel can control Adrien but cannot control Chat Noir (which is a significant advantage for Adrien even though he's not aware of it) (yet)?

[escaping-thoughts-reviews]

When Félix realises Kagami’s ring is an amok and she’s a senti like him.

[chengagreste]

an order from his father was enough to trouble his feelings.

[uptoolateart]

We can't take the sentimonster concept purely literally. It's very clear in scenes like this that it's a child-friendly allegory for the way a lot of parents have the wrong motivations for having children. There are plenty of adults out there who actively create beings only to mistreat them in exactly the ways Felix describes here. There are plenty of parents who view their kids as property they possess and therefore can control any way they like. In my experience, such parents forget that kids grow up - and that one day, they just might break away from that control.

[the-commonplace-book]

Can't stop thinking about how the miraculous literally gives Adrien his freedom. It's not just the liberation of being anonymous. He is literally freed from his father's control when he's transformed because even the other miraculouses don't recognize the holders when transformed.

Examples:

Passion when Safari can no longer find Ladybug and Chat Noir after they detransform and swap miraculouses

Emotion when Argos can't bring Marinette back because he Thanos snapped her away when she was transformed and the peacock miraculous doesn't recognize that Ladybug is Marinette

Pretension when Matagi Gozen loses the trail every time anyone transforms and has to track their transformed and detransformed scents separately

Meaning that when Adrien is transformed as Chat Noir, the amok ring theoretically wouldn't recognize him. Being Chat Noir is the only time Adrien is ever truly free.

We see the results of this even early on back in season 1 with Adrien being unable to leave his room after being given a direct order to stay there until he transforms. His rational is "Adrien is grounded, but Chat Noir isn't" really showing the way he rationalizes the mental blocks he has against defying his father when faced with a direct order. And he's right. Adrien is grounded, but Chat Noir isn't. Adrien is capable of being controlled by his amok, but Chat Noir isn't. Because the magic hides identities even from other miraculous holders and miraculous magic.

[deimalor]

Adrien....NO

[yunyin]

When I first saw this scene I was kind of wondering if Felix had some sort of senti-dossier cuz he recognized her ring, then I realized DUH, the peacock holder can sense an amok! And I just really like this "you're like me!" moment

[piromina]

WAIT A MINUTE

We all know Felix is a theatre kid....but have we ever thought of WHY he's a theatre kid?

What if–and hear me out on this one–what if Felix became a theatre kid because he had to? As in, there was a life-or-death situation, and the only way Felix could get out of it was by taking theatre?

Alright, so as we know, Felix is a sentimonster created by his dad.

And, as we know, Felix's dad was a bit....abusive.

And, as we know, Felix knows this too. With the amount of times Felix has had to obey his father, no matter how much he didn't want to, he knew something had to be up. After Colt kept calling him a "monster", over and over again, he realized he was a sentimonster. He just didn't know where the amok was. But after Colt cracked the ring, Felix figured everything out.

And Colt knew that Felix knew.

And Colt knew that Felix was probably going to tell someone about it. Someone like, possibly, the police. CPS. Both of those are options. And Colt didn't want to get into all of....that.

So he got his ring, and gave Felix an order.

"Don't tell anyone."

And, after that, Felix couldn't. He couldn't tell anyone that he was a sentimonster.

...But that was just it.

Colt Fathom has made a mistake. Because of his jealousy of Adrien, he wanted Felix to be even better. In everything. He had Felix go to school, and Felix graduated at, like, 13. Graduated.

But, Colt, if Felix graduated, that means that he is smart. Smart enough to find a way out of this predicament, out of this little ordeal you put him into. Maybe he can't call CPS on you, and maybe he can't tell anybody that he's a sentimonster.

....At least, not directly.

After this incident with the ring, and with all of the new knowledge Felix now has, he starts looking for loopholes in the commands. He starts finding ways to disobey.

If he can't tell anyone that he's a sentimonster, can he at least heavily imply it?

And so, Felix took theatre. He learned how to sing and dance.. He learned about sets and backdrops, and costumes, and he learned how to act like other people.

And all of his acting paid off in the episode Representation. Felix puts on a play, a good one, too. And it conveys everything it's supposed to. He can't tell Marinette he was created by the peacock miraculous. But he can show it.

He can't tell Marinette that he had an abusive father. But he can show it.

He can't tell Marinette that his amok is in the signet ring. But he can show it.

And, if you're wondering, "But...Felix has his amok now. Right? If he's wearing his ring, why doesn't he just give himself back the ability to tell someone?"

Well, that's because, by that time, he couldn't call CPS on his dad, if he's dead.

He couldn't tell Marinette anything directly, because she hates him. He knows that if he just goes up to her and tells her all of this, she might not believe him.

"But that still doesn't explain why Felix wouldn't just give himself free will to talk about it then. And how would Kagami have found out about it?"

Well, I have answers to both of those questions. Felix might not have known about the amok order. Maybe, Colt gives the order to him, but Felix doesn't know that it was an order. Maybe Felix did attempt calling the police, but he found that he couldn't say anything about his problem. Like there was some invisible force holding him back. And he didn't know what it was.

Maybe the amok orders stayed in place, even though Felix put on the ring. He had the power to take those magical barriers away, but he didn't really know they were there. And how could he take something away if he doesn't know that it exists?

And how did Kagami find out about the whole thing? Well, Felix must have given her the peacock brooch. He had her put it on, and sense the amoks that they were wearing. He had her see that both of them were sentimonsters.

"But why didn't Felix give the miraculous to Marinette, then?" Marinette is Ladybug. If Felix just handed over the brooch, she would take it and run, not even bothering to put it on.

So he had to put on the play to tell her.

It's a loophole.

[ninadove]

Anyway! Maybe you guys didn’t know this about me, but I love the Sentimonster Theory Canon. I really do. Crazy, I know!

I think if people picked up on it so early, it might be because it was planned from beginning. But I also think it shouldn’t matter, because a writing team who is ready to make changes to their story to make it more meaningful is doing a great job.

I think it ties the entire plot and themes of the show together, and tells a wonderful story about overcoming child abuse through the power of love (always so strong). I think it was crafted specifically for people who have felt othered their entire lives; I think it gave us representation (AH) we may never have gotten anywhere else, and that it is especially important that this narrative is available to young fans, who make up Miraculous’ core audience. I think it means something to people.

I think our fandom niche is small, but filled with people from all horizons, with the craziest, coolest, most diverse ideas. It is home to some of the most talented artists and writers I know, who I am proud to call my friends; it inspires others to be bold, to grab their pen or watercolours or laptop, and create something of their own for the first time.

I think Felix deserves to be a hero and Adrien deserves to go apeshit. I think Kagami deserves to be adored. I think their story isn’t perfect. I think it is a wonderful work of love.

I think you should tag your salt.

[graaythekwami]

Chloe's Amok

So I kind of have a random theory on what Chloe's amok could be if she ends up being a senti like the other rich kids, and I'm thinking it is this bracelet:

Yes, I know Rogercop is way back from season one and that we haven't seen this bracelet since, but here me out.

Now how Chloe and Andre act this episode isn't anything new for their characters, but there are a few things I find slightly interesting. First of all Chloe isn't wearing the bracelet at all, but keeping in a special case. Chloe doesn't strike me as the type to keep something carefully tucked away when she could be wearing it and showing it off to the world. So why is she this time? Not that I think she would have told it was an amok, but I could totally see a conversation about how important this piece of jewelry is and how it is absolutely priceless before it was given to her.

Of course this is speculation, but what isn't is what we see in this episode. When Chloe shows the bracelet to Sabrina she goes to immediately grab it, suggesting that Chloe hasn't been against Sabrina touching her things in the past. Of course Chloe is rude in telling Sabrina not to do so, then we get this line from Andre:

"Put it away, Chloé! It could get in the wrong hands!"

I mean yes it probably is expensive, but so is every other thing Chloe owns? And I don't think it would be out of budget for Andre to buy Chloe another bracelet if something were to happen to it, and it is a bit strange to not let her wear her own jewelry.

Unless this isn't just a bracelet, but rather his daughter's life force that he doesn't want in the wrong hands or anyone to know about it because whoever holds it controls Chloe?

From here the bracelet goes missing thanks to a combination of Marinette tripping and Plagg, the blame immediately being put on Marinette, and being passed around the classroom from there. Again I don't think Chloe's insistence for Marinette being searched is surprising, or the mayor backing her up on this, but I do find it interesting that Andre doesn't try to placate Chloe at all like he usually does when she starts making demands. There's no "Chloe dear" or "My little princess", but immediately Andre is trying to get Roger to do some illegal searches on a teenager.

Of course Roger is then also immediately fired over something that has no relation to his job (there's no actual proof the bracelet was stolen instead of just being missing at this point!). And there's no pressure by Chloe to have Roger fired, Andre does this to someone very loyal to him on his own accord.

Later Andre also tries to have Nino's phone taken so the video can be reviewed by professionals as they try to track down this bracelet thief. He's wasting no resources or power plays here to find the bracelet, and also goes after the principal of the school as well:

"I'm warning you! If you don't find my daughter's bracelet by this evening, I'll cut off all your city funds for the school. Understood?"

I mean him throwing around his power as mayor isn't anything new... but why not buy a new bracelet at this point instead of targeting everyone who isn't involved? And like before there is no influence or demand from Chloe at this point for Andre to keep this all up, but he's not letting up about this missing bracelet.

We also get this interaction between Andre and Roger too when he's fired:

"Mayor, you can't be serious! Over a missing bracelet?" "This is my daughter's bracelet we're talking about!"

Your daughter's bracelet? Or perhaps your daughter's life force?

Again, this attitude and demands is in no way strange for the Bourgeois family, rather I just find all the details in between this interesting, and that it could be implying that this bracelet is something more than just a regular piece of jewelry.

---

Now for the other major reason I think this could be Chloe's amok (or at least something more than just an average bracelet): Plagg's interaction with this bracelet.

Now I don't think Plagg can sense amoks or would know that an object is one, but I don't think it would be out of reason for him to notice something about it. He's a magical being, or why shouldn't he have a response for other magical things?

Plagg immediately takes a liking to this bracelet, at first thinking it was cheese. Upon discovering that it isn't cheese though, he isn't too disappointed (Plagg. Not upset about not getting any Camembert when he thought he was??). He also gets pretty reckless by not only staying in Chloe's bag, but throwing the bracelet up into the air where it could have been seen by others. Now Plagg isn't exactly the most responsible, but he's also not stupid, so I thought this was worth noting. (Especially by him not being mad it wasn't cheese. Personally I think Plagg would be really upset to find there was no cheese.)

Then of course this is where the bracelet gets lost, with Plagg stuck inside of it, and Adrien smuggles him away. And Plagg is stuck in the bracelet. The kwami is stuck. The kwami is stuck inside of an object when they can phase through any solid material. It's not like Plagg is under any orders not to phase through bracelets, and yet he is still stuck!

I'm sure we've all wondered why Plagg doesn't just phase out of it before, and we've never given a reason.

So... what if magic has something to do with it? Like there isn't any canon that we have that states kwamis can't phase through certain things, but if it was going to be anything I think a magical object created by another kwami's powers that's hosting someone's life force fits the bill.

Then finally, we get this bit of information:

"What do you mean I can't transform?" "If you transform, the bracelet will get absorbed with me and damage your powers!"

This is a bit of canon lore that we never hear of or see come into play again. We've seen transformations happen with kwamis in pockets, bags, hidden away, in another room, having a piece of food in their paws: but never has any of these physical objects with the kwamis or them standing between them and their Miraculous ever stopped a transformation, get transformed with them, or damage their powers in any form. Either Plagg was lying about this fact, or this bracelet had properties that were different from everyday objects that could impact magical transformations.

And honestly, a Miraculous and an amok aren't too different from each other. They're both an object that gives a magical being a physical form, allows them to be controlled, and can grant powers. While unification between kwamis exist, maybe them merging with other magical entities is in fact dangerous?

And we have seen interesting properties between amoks and transformations in canon. We have seen Gabriel transformed while giving orders to Adrien, and touch right where the amok ring would be even though it clearly isn't there or under the glove. Even if it isn't physically present it still exists in some form when a human transforms while wearing an amok, and the magic that binds the sentis to orders is still there.

---

As for why we never see the bracelet again? I imagine Andre thought it was way too dangerous to let Chloe have her own amok after everything that happened during Rogercop, and took it back to keep it safe once more.

[theluckiestlb]

I think I’ve seen this film before And I didn’t like the ending—