#like CLEARLY by the end of the show emily was never the villain and her reconciliation with lorelai reflects that

[jakeperalta]

or maybe... hear me out.... there is in fact no villain because that's just how it works in life normally... and if you can recognise that emily is in fact a complex and flawed person who can act both lovingly and selfishly then that same logic also applies to rory who was literally just a 15-22 year old who messed up sometimes........

#like CLEARLY by the end of the show emily was never the villain and her reconciliation with lorelai reflects that #so how is the logical next step 'oh the teenager who messes up sometimes must be the villain instead' #and not that there is no real villain just people who make mistakes and hurt each other sometimes but still have the chance to be better #talking #gilmore girls

[sweetcloverheart]

I can't stop thinking about how upsetting it is that in MLB the "Power Of Love" only applies to the villains instead of the heroes, and for such flimsy reasons

Marinette is never allowed to truly nor fully rely on her relationship with her classmates to help with interpersonal problems because if she does, then she can't be the "super strong female protag" the show totes her as. So the show will constantly/actively discourage any cooperation or reliance on her friendships (even as it "punishes" her for failing to do so like in "Penalteam" and "Strikeback") by having it always end in failure or a worst situation, while presenting the others as too "naive and trusting" of her enemies or any adults/solutions as useless (Oh hi Su Han!) to justify it, thereby forcing her to have to tackle whatever issue she faces alone while presenting it as necessary. She's even made to lie to her partner because telling him any relevant information regarding their previous main enemy would mean removing Adrien's glued-on rose-tinteed glasses regarding his father and what an awful human being he was in his final moments of life.

Meanwhile, Gabriel can do everything short of tax fraud and always be presented as our deeply conflicted "morally grey" villain who's actually totally in the right, because everything he does can be excused because it's being done in the name of obsession love for his comatose wife. Nothing he does is worthy of persecution because in the narrative's eyes, he hasn't done anything wrong actually, since it's all for love. Emotionally abusing his son and trying to take advantage of his depressive episodes for his own goals? It's fine, it's for Emilie. Using a clearly emotionally vulnerable child and a super exploitive one for his plans and then abandoning them to the consequences? It's fine, it's for Emilie (and Chloe and Lila are She-demons, so they deserve it!/s). Harassing his son's girlfriend (through both his position and magic) to either try and get them to break up ("Protection" and "Pretension") or getting a magical servant for his own ends ("Chat Blanc")? It's fine, it's for Emilie. Leaving his friend and secretary to die from the same broken miraculous that magic coma-ed his wife? It's fine, it's for Emilie. Using his adult friends and his son's same age ones for his activities as Hawkmoth by purposely upsetting them? It's fine, it's for Emilie. Exploiting his son's image despite said son being clearly uncomfortable with it? It's fine, it's for Emilie. Instructing one of his Akumas to allow his son to fall to his potential death to confirm if he's his teenage nemesis (Edit: was incorrect about event. Have corrected)? It's for Emilie, so he's good! Locking his child in a bleach white rubber room (Unfriendly reminder that Adrien has canonical claustrophobia) because he went to visit his friends and to have him out of the way of his ultimate plan via using the previously mentioned image exploiting? Emilie, Emilie, Emilie - so long as it's for her, anything he does is golden! Even at the very end, where you have Marinette pointing out how much he made his son suffer, Gabriel does no proper reflecting or is forced to have his goal denied of him as a result - instead, he's given posthumous hero status (along with a statue and another adult villain who skipped consequences giving a speech about what a great and noble man he never was) and made directly responsible for the utopia the world became because he threw the heroine's mercy right back in her face; all because the "Power of Love" makes it so that everything he does for Emilie is moral and good, no matter how vile.

#Clover Rants Miraculously #ML Salt

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

I actually thought that Adrien and Gabriel's relationship seemed like it might have been possible to salvage in the early seasons. What do you think?

@tallwriter Starting a new post since this one was getting super long as this is a different topic.

The problem with Gabriel Agreste's character is that they very clearly wanted to write a sympathetic villain - you can tell that from how the show handles his death - but sympathetic villains don't work if you make them cartoonishly evil. You have to handle the situation with nuance and delicacy, especially when one of the main heroes is the villain's son.

Gorizilla is not a perfect episode by any means, but it does showcase how Gabriel should have been written if they wanted him to come across as complex and sympathetic. In that episode, Gabe thinks that Adrien is Chat Noir and, because there's no way to magically force Adrien to reveal himself or confess his secrets, Gabriel has to come up with a situation where Adrien would be forced to transform of his own free will (since that can't be overwritten with a ring or something crazy like that). Which is how we get Adrien hurtling to his death while his father looks on:

Adrien: Always! (jumps out of Gorizilla's hand, and over the side of the building) Yeah-ha! Hawk Moth:(from his lair) No! ... Hawk Moth:(from his lair) If indeed you are Cat Noir, then transform, son. Please. (Adrien continues to fall downward, resolutely remaining as he is) Come on, son! (Ladybug looks down at Adrien, then raises her head, eyes closed.) Ladybug: Cat Noir, help!! Hawk Moth:(from his lair, to Gorizilla) Drop Ladybug!

This is good writing. Yes, Gabe's plan was kind of dumb (you live with Adrien, dude, just bug his room), but if we accept that this was the only way to go about a forced reveal - and that does seem to be the writer's logic - then we see a situation where Gabriel put his son above winning. A situation where he's still very much the villain, but he's not a dastardly, cold-hearted one. He does love his son.

There are actually several of these moments in the first three seasons. Some involve Adrien and many more involve Nathalie. It's why season five's claim that Gabe put beating Ladybug above everything else rings hollow. He never actually did that outside of Evolution (S5E1). He's almost always been loved-ones first when it really counts, a thing that Ladybug uses against him in the final when she tries to crush Emilie. The whole "Ladybug obsession" thing truly feels like something they just made up for that one episode to justify Nathalie "turning sides" aka doing nothing useful beyond maintaining the status quo (hey, they needed someone to keep the senti plot from having consequences and it wasn't like she was doing anything useful anyway!)

The problem is that this "loved ones first" mentality is only used for big dramatic moments, often as a way to keep Gabriel from winning. It's not Gabriel's main characterization even though it needed to be if you want season five's ending to feel even remotely earned. Going into that ending, we should have all thought that Gabe was a messed up dude who truly did love his son. And, if Gorizilla, Style Queen, and Ladybug had all been examples of his standard characterization, then we would have thought that.

But that's not who the writers told us Gabe was.

Instead, his standard characterization paints him as petty, controlling, and manipulative. Which is wild because there was no reason to do that! Gabe could - and should - have been played as stern and removed, but generally loving when he's outside of the mask. In other words, Gabriel Agreste could be well liked while Hawk Moth was hated.

The crazy thing is that this is such a simple change to make. You either removed the episodes where Gabe's awful parenting is the source of the conflict (ex: Bubbler) or you just make a few minor changes to show that he's conflicted about his actions.

For example, take Chat Blanc, the episode that ruined so many elements of this show! In that episode, Gabe is a total bastard. He happily sacrifices his son's happiness to make an akuma in the form of Marinette and then, when Adrien's secret is revealed, does Gabe have any sort of conflict about traumatizing his son? The kind of conflict we'd expect after episodes like Gorizilla? Nope! He straight up delights in showing Adrien Emilie's... corpse? Comatose form? Whatever! Gabe then akumatizes Adrien with a smile on his face.

That gets the writers a solid F for consistent characterization. It's why I highlighted "almost" in red when I mentioned Gabe's motivation. Because in Ephemeral and Chat Blanc, the writing ignores the sympathetic stuff that characterizes the dramatic moments and goes straight for the worst-father-of-the-year, love-to-hate-him, please-let-him-die-now characterization that we get in most episodes.

If you were writing Chat Blanc's Gabriel to fit his intended complex, sympathetic mold, then you would probably drop the breakup plot or you'd have spent all season setting Marinette up as the perfect akuma target, changing the breakup into something that Gabriel felt that he HAD to do instead of opportunistic evilness. You'd also have Gabe drop a line like, "I'm sorry, Adrien. You'll thank me later" before the Chat Blanc akumatization. Or at least don't have him grinning! Do something, ANYTHING to show that Gabe sees using his son like this as a necessary evil and not a fun time! You know, like how he was begging Adrien to transform during Gorizilla? Almost like Gabe had stopped caring about winning and started just wanting his son to live.

Would these changes make Gabe less of a fun cartoon villain? Yes, but that's the point. Cartoon villains are cartoony. They're over the top. They have no nuance. Sympathetic villains don't work with those characteristics.

The normal way to get around this in a cartoon setting is to have secondary antagonists who can be played as cartoonishly evil. And, confusingly, Miraculous has those characters. Chloe, Sabrina, and Lila have been here since season one (Kim could also have stayed a bully and been added to that list, but he's not a teenage girl, so I get why they didn't do that /s.) Felix has been around since seasons three. Nathalie has been an active villain since season two. Any or all of these characters could be the cartoonish, nuance-less villain while Gabriel stays sympathetic.

Instead, they play Gabe however they want to play him in any given episode, making it so that he's impossible to understand from an audience perspective. I personally like the sympathetic take and think that those are the show's best episodes because I like complex villains. It's even how I write Gabe in my stuff because I go for less cartoony takes on canon.

I don't think a redemption was needed, but a sympathetic villain doesn't require one. All that term means is that you can understand the villain and be sympathetic to their plight. Redemption is optional. In fact, the goal is often not redemption, but an understand that, "there but for the grace of the gods go I." I mean, we've all lost loved ones. Wouldn't the power to bring a loved one back tempt you, too?

If they wanted to go for evil, cartoony Gabe, then they needed to drop all of the complexity and go for a Disney villain type character who gets a Disney villain death a la Scar or Mother Gothel. Don't give Gabe the wish. Let him fall to his own hubris by falling into the water of his secret layer and lading as a puddle of ash while a sad Ladybug looks on, having just failed to save him.

If you want to see an excellent look at how cartoon Gabe could have worked, then I highly recommend @zoe-oneesama's Scarlet Lady comic, which is just nearing its end after a multi-year run. I think it's fair to say that Zoe and I largely agree on canon's flaws, she just fixes them by leaning into the cartoon side of things, creating a hilarious story with lots of heart. Canon could have absolutely gone that way too and worked out wonderfully! The issue is not a lack of nuance, it's that they tried to add nuance without ever fully committing to it, making a story that is the worst of both worlds. While a more serious nuanced reboot would be my ideal dream, a reboot that scraps all of Gabe's nuance and just makes him go full evil would be just as satisfying and Zoe proves that.

#ml season 5 salt #ml salt #ml writing criticism #ml writing critical #Gabriel Agreste deserves better #Gabriel Agreste deserves worse #Gabriel Agreste deserves anything but what canon did with him #Let me love to hate him #Or watch sadly as he ruins his relationship with his son #Just don't give me the mess that is canon

[princesssarisa]

C. E. and A. are Charlotte, Emily, and Anne, obviously.

Obviously, Anne is the Brontë who most clearly deconstructs the "bad boy" Romantic hero with her negative portrayal of Arthur Huntingdon in The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. But what about her sisters with Rochester in Jane Eyre and Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights?

I was just reading @burningvelvet's in-depth analysis of the Byronic hero archetype in literature, which @bethanydelleman reblogged. When discussing the Brontës, they concluded that Emily plays the archetype fully straight in Heathcliff, since Heathcliff never changes or redeems himself, while Charlotte partly deconstructs it by playing it straight in Rochester at first but then punishing and redeeming Rochester so that he's no longer Byronic in the end. That's definitely a valid interpretation.

Yet I've also read the argument that Charlotte plays the "romantic bad boy" archetype the straightest, because she makes (or tries to make) Rochester a sympathetic character whom Jane never stops loving and who can redeem himself and become her ideal husband. From this viewpoint, Emily was the one who partly deconstructed the archetype by portraying Heathcliff as an explicitly bad man and an abuser, whose only possible romance is with is the similarly sublime and monstrous Cathy, and whom no ordinary girl like Isabella could ever hope to change. Although her deconstruction doesn't go as far as Anne's (so this argument goes), because she still creates sympathy for him and portrays his passion for Cathy as romantic.

Then of course there's the pop culture idea that both Rochester and Heathcliff are completely straight examples of romanticized Byronic bad boys, while only Anne was "the sensible one" who deconstructed the archetype. As seen in that popular yet (IMHO) slightly unfair Kate Beaton comic that shows both Charlotte and Emily swooning over dark, brooding men to Anne's disconcertion.

Of course the last option is that all three sisters deconstructed the Byronic hero archetype in different ways: Anne by dismissing him altogether, Emily by making him a compelling and tragic villain but still a villain, and Charlotte by punishing and redeeming him.

Which way of reading their work rings the truest to all of you?

#poll #the bronte sisters #charlotte bronte #emily bronte #anne bronte #jane eyre #wuthering heights #the tenant of wildfell hall #byronic hero

[heidi891]

Rewatching ML Season 1

Stormy Weather: I’ve totally forgotten that Chat Noir can see in the dark.

The Bubbler: We can see a bit of Gabriel’s abuse. Adrien mentions that his father gave him a pen for his birthday three times in a row, and we know Emilie died several months ago, so Gabriel didn’t become a neglectful parent after Emilie’s death. I think that Emilie was ill for a long time and Gabriel’s A+ parenting started long before her death. Adrien probably pretended to his ill mother that everything was fine.

Timebreaker: Chat Noir sacrifices himself for Ladybug.

The Pharaoh: It basically tells us Gabriel’s plan: to make a magical human sacrifice to bring back his dead wife. (And Ladybug stops him from doing that every time.)

Mr Pigeon: It’s funny that Marinette doesn’t find it suspiscious that both Chat Noir and Adrien are allergic to feathers.

Lady WiFi: Adrien doesn’t seem thrilled with Alya’s idea that Chloé is Ladybug.

The Evilustrator: There’s a bit of Marichat! And a little sign of Adrienette as Adrien tries to impress Marinette and is interested in her reaction to Chat Noir, unlike Chloé’s.

Rogercop: The Burguois’ are terrible.

Horrificator: Adrien is annoyed with Chloé and pulls away from her when she tries to kiss him, but he has nothing against kissing Marinette. Why does Juleka keep fixing his make-up?!

Dark Cupid: Adrien writing a love poem is funny. And he sacrifices himself again for Ladybug.

The Origins - Part 1: Cool episode, no particular thoughts.

The Origins - Part 2: I think it was Nathalie who convinced Gabriel to let Adrien go to school.

Copy Cat: —

The Mime: There’s a short Ladrien moment.

Princess Fragrance: —

Darkblade: Adrien is so happy that Marinette decided to run for class president, so I think that later he’s messing with her when he says that he’ll vote for her if she gives a good speech.

Animan: Adrien helping Nino date Marinette is sweet. Could Nino have a crush on Marinette because Adrien’s been talking how awesome she is? Chat Noir looks at Marinette’s family photo with fascination. Apparently he has very good hearing.

Simon Says: Many Ladrien moments and another bit of Gabriel’s abuse. Gabriel realises his son could be Chat Noir, flies like a butterfly (that’s not related) and hugs Adrien.

Pixelator: Adrien is stuck with Chloé and is clearly uncomfortable with her constantly grabbing his arm.

Guitar Villain: Adrien putting Chloé in the lift is hilarious.

The Gamer: Marinette and Adrien are finally spending some time together and Marinette gives him her lucky bracelet. Poor Adrien just wants to eat something, but Marinette doesn’t let him. He says Marinette has nice parents (unlike him, as we know). Chat Noir shows off a bit before Marinette. Just after she claims that he’s selfish, he helps some civilians.

Reflekta: I’ve heard opinions that Adrien is enabling Chloé and he is not, he has no power over her. She doesn’t listen to him and just wants him as her trophy boyfriend. Whatever Adrien has been doing during his photo sessions, it hasn’t involved wearing high-heeled shoes.

Puppeteer: Gabriel is Akumatising children now. Chat Noir is yet again possessed by the villain.

Antibug: Chloé’s had one helpful moment and now Adrien is happy that Marinette isn’t as hostile towards her as she used to be. I think it shows Adrien’s way of thinking in general. Gabriel hugged him once, so he couldn’t be a bad father, could he?

Kung Food: Marinette and Adrien are again spending time together. Adrien suspects that Chloé could have spoilt the soup and later mocks her. Good for him.

Volpina: I didn’t remember that Lila appeared in season 1. I think that she’s never cared about Adrien and he’s just a means to an end. I like how Adrien starts talking to Ladybug like he was Chat Noir and then realises that he shouldn’t be talking like that as Adrien. Marinette should now be convinced that whenever Adrien is stressed out, he takes a shower. Instead of a beret, she should later give him a towel. Adrien says that his father’s anger is worse than fighting Hawk Moth.

Next: Rewatching ML Season 2

#miraculous ladybug #ml season 1 #gabriel agreste #chat noir #marichat #nathalie sancoeur #ladrien #chloe burgeois #lila rossi #ml analysis #adrienette

[rithmeres]

phantom thoughts:

julia udine was a fantastic christine. really strong vocally, a courageous and compassionate and really solid leading lady. she starts out clueless and scared and grows into a capable and resolute person, even though she’s clearly damaged and still scared. i loved how her ‘wishing you were somehow here again’ came across as a rallying point for the character instead of just a lament. (hoped we would get to see emilie kouatchou in the role, since she was on the posters and promotional material, but alas)

ben crawford’s phantom was good, but unusual. he has weird diction where he tightens his vowels (instead of loosening them like most singers) which was a little distracting, but it wasn’t bad by any means. he played the role more like a straight-up villain which was exciting, considering my favorite and most-watched versions of the phantom are the softer/childish/sympathetic portrayals (we are hugh panaro stans first and people second) the only downside to this bad-guy take is that his change of heart during the final lair seems somewhat abrupt because of his prior villainy, but it was a fun change of pace to have an a-hole phantom. i wish he would have gone with a softer portrayal at times though because he was really really good in the quiet and tender moments!

he also did that thing where he doesnt know what to do with his hands any time he’s around christine, like he wants to touch her but isnt allowed to, ESPECIALLY when she kisses him (and i love it)

let me talk about my favorite ben crawford phantom moment now: the first high note in ‘music of the night’ (the high A♭ on soar). i was in shock bc i always hear vocalists go into falsetto or head voice on just that note and i was fully expecting to hear that little break/switch in the voice on soar but he sang it in full chest voice, and it still sounded gentle and floaty and ethereal.

as an aside, assuming ben stays on until february, i love that the role is bookended by two crawfords

paul adam schaefer was a solid raoul, no complaints. it sounds dismissive when i say it, but i mean it in the best way possible since raoul isnt as nuanced of a role compared to the phantom and christine. there wasnt anything that stood out as particularly different or extraordinary about his performance, nor anything negative. he was good and i liked him 👍

im just in awe of the sheer magnitude of the production. no expense spared. entire setpieces and props used only for five minutes and never seen again. the ensemble is massive and the costumes sumptuous and there’s always something else happening on stage (ballet chorus practicing during angel of music, stagehands running around ‘backstage’, etc) it’s so immersive. not to mention the chandelier 👁️👄👁️. and the pyrotechnics. and the hanging angel sculpture. and th

jaw on the mf floor when the curtain came up on the masquerade. the giant staircase, the entire ensemble in these insane costumes, the fake people on the ends of the rows. i could watch it twelve times and notice something new every time. they really dont make theatre like they used to

the two opera managers (nehal joshi as andre and craig bennett as firmin) almost stole the show. their comedic timing was impeccable and they both were able to inject humor into lines that i’ve seen otherwise played straight by other actors. & one of them is big and tall and the other is shorter and small, so theyve got that big/small comedy duo thing to add to the humor

emma thought meg sang a little flat when she wasn’t in harmony, but i didn’t hear it (emma is a much better vocalist than i am though, so i’ll just take her word for it)

raquel suarez groen as carlotta was just *chef kiss* she’s one of my favorite roles in the musical for the sheer skill required for such an underrated role

i still have no idea how he disappears through that chair at the end.

and finally, here’s me at da majestic, 9 years in the making :3

edit: i also bought this cool pin

#'are you wearing th-' 'the platform docs and the edward elric coat? yeah i am' #btw i pooped at the majestic during intermission. if you even care #im only here on tumblr because of phantom. literally i never woulda met you all if i hadnt been a freak at age 14 #so i owe this musical a lot #phantom of the opera #hot single dads in your area #long post #if anyone wants me to do a post like this for hadestown i can but it might not be as in-depth

[caddy-crystal-queen]

Okay on tonight's episode of who in the GoT/HoTD Fandom need to be slapped, I'm gonna address two issues cause I'm pissed and honestly it deserves mentioning.

Gonna start with the most recent thing I heard. Wtf is with Fandoms driving people off of social media with their nonsensical bullshit?! Not to drag another Fandom into this but Star Wars is notorious for this bullshit, and I seriously thought we moved past this! Clearly not!

Can Fandoms just stop doing this? The most recent victim of this nonsense is apparently the actor playing Young Alicent Hightower, Emily Carey.

*WHACK*

STOP. BULLYING. PEOPLE!

Be. A. Nice. Human!

Holy tap dancing Horus! She's an actress literally just doing her job and giving her perspective on her character! This ties in to these actors being people at the end of the day! You don't bully someone for simply stating an opinion, an opinion which doesn't harm anyone. First off that's just rude as fuck, you can disagree with someone and still believe they have a right to their opinion! Miss Carey has literally done nothing wrong except...apparently saying her character isn't a villain? Um...when did this become a crime? When did this become one of the worst things apparently you can do?

Holy shit there should be a support group for all these actor chased off social media but Fandom entitled fuckwits who can't see in front of their faces or think with their brains!

Now this is not being a support of the character Alicent Hightower. I've read Fire and Blood, I know what happens. But this isn't even about the character, this is about the actress. Like the rest of us she's allowed to have her opinion and state it. All YOU have to do, if you disagree, is ignore the tweet, walk the other way, and leave it the fuck alone. Anyone who bullies people, not just famous people, off the internet for a harmless (notice I said harmless, meaning they aren't saying something deeply troubling about real life issues) opinion deserves a swift kick in the ass and a sharp slap to the face!

Fuck. You. All!

Now, the second thing I'm going to address has actually been a problem since casting for the show was announced. People, what kind of piece of shit sits there and talks shit about another person's appearance?!

Yeah, I'm mad yall mother fuckers got me defending Matt Smith up in this bitch.

Again.

*WHACK!*

Quit. With the high school. Bullying. TACTICS!!!!!

Like I said how fucking hard is it just to be a decent human being?! Like what has to go so wrong in your life that you decided to just take your bullshit out on someone you don't even know? And going for their appearance? That's just fucking low.

I'm gonna just get this out of the way: I'm not a fan of the guy. I never really have been. I don't think he's ugly, like everyone seems to be saying, but he just doesn't do it for me personally, and it's absolutely nothing against him. I'm sure Matt Smith is an awesome dude IRL, and he seems pretty chill as far as I know. I respect the guy for his acting ability and his passion but that's about it. I see why a lot of people find him appealing but he doesn't do it for me.

That being said, I am so sick of seeing comments like "Oh, well he looks like he's the product of incest anyway!". Like dude...that is not cool and no one should be saying that about anyone. I may not find him attractive personally but I'm not sitting here behind a phone screen bashing the appearance of a dude I don't know. Nothing, not a thing, gives anyone the right to say things like that and bully someone for something they literally have no control over.

It's seriously some petty ass bullshit and it needs to stop. Maybe he doesn't need me to defend him but goddamn yall are just doing too damn much and being a POS about it. Your insults, name calling, and bullying are completely uncalled for!

Stop. Your. Bullshit!

Be. A nice. Human!!!!

It literally costs nothing!

Fucking assholes...

#house of the dragon #matt smith #emily carey #fandom nonsense #internet bullying #name calling #petty bullshit #daemon targaryen #alicent hightower

[blueberry-macaron]

Okay sooo~ see the concept picture got leaks I can see that the Bible Leaks will be comes true and ML will getting worsen

I hate the fact that they make Gabriel away from punishment and writer still wanted to make him "redeem" just because he being "Adrien dad" and we still has no idea about who the hell is Emily ! Is she as bad as Gabriel on her own way ? Is she another brainless adult who simp on Gabriel ? Who cares~

Then they will make Adrien will never know Gabriel dark secret thus make him still away from real punishment (being hated by his own son) and it seems writer clearly not want to give Adrien some important role like you know~ FINDING HIS FATHER SECRET BY HIS OWN AND FIND THE TRUTH !!

Oh wait ! We know how to handle him

REVERSE LOVE SQUAREEEEEEEE AND MORE POINTLESS FANSERVICE OF LOVE SQUAREEEEEEEEEE~

LS shipper will never care about how messy ML is as long as LS get fanservice right ? Who care about development and messy story or inconsistent character ! Look at this imaginary LS-Wedding guuuys ! They are indeed "made for each other" ! Even our fave character "ship" them too because its a prove that you are "good character" not a "pure evulz" like you know~ Chloe and Lila

In the end LS is no more a "main and important" ship of the story ! They just poorly "Author Saving Throw" to make sure fans still love the series

Very true. If Gabriel doesn't suffer any consquences to his actions, why is he the main villain? What is the lesson were supposed to take from this? "It's ok to terrorize a city and abuse your son for your own benefit because you're actually just loving your son in a very 'misguided way'"? And if Adrien never even finds out what's been going on the entire time, why give him so many ties to the plot? Because it's too hard to handle for him and instead of him growing from an abuse victim into a strong independent person, he needs to be constantly coddled? Yeah miss me with that bs.

And about the LS stuff... that's really the only thing the show has that keeps fans interested, shippers and anti-shippers alike. The show is basically a fan fiction where the entire world revolves about two teenagers who wanna date each other but don't know how. And it's sad, because you can have both a main ship between the leads AND an interesting lore and plot about the miraculous, the Agreste family etc.

Here, I, a LS salter, will do a quick rewrite: LB and CN both struggle with figuring out who HM is, try to defeat him and it's hard but they're there for each other. Adrien doesn't get out of the house a lot so Mari comes up with schemes to get him out or, if they don't work, they video call. Maybe she visits him as Ladybug to check up on him. In "exchange", Adrien helps Mari to get in contact with big names in the fashion industry or convince his dad to give Mari an internship. Throw in some Marichat and some angst about how they feel bad about not being able to share their secret identities and Tadaa. It's moving their relationship forward while the characters work towards their goals. And it's getting us somehwere instead of endlesss filler and now one but TWO what-if episodes.

But yeah, I'm not in the industry, so I'm sure those are just ideas and not actual stories, right Mr. Astruc?

#ask #jennycinco-5 #ml salt #writing salt #love square salt #ml leaks #ml bible leaks

[alaffy]

Dickenson, Season 2

Now, this is more like it. I don’t know if they got new writers or just had a better idea of what they wanted to do with the show, but I enjoyed this season much more then the first one.  

And it shows that Finn Jones can act.  I kid. Look, I’ve only seen the first season of Iron Fist, but I’ve always felt….well, an actor cannot act what a writer cannot write.  And with that first season of Iron Fist it always felt that the reason why Danny didn’t know who he was/what his goal was is because the writers didn’t either and so the character never really was anything more then a way to keep the story going.   Anyway, getting back on topic.

I really did like Finn is this.  I think he did a good job of pulling off this quasi-villain kind of character. I mean, he’s absolutely the antagonist. He’s amoral and has too much of an ego. And needs to learn the difference between feminism and misogynism.  However, when reading the synopsis for the episodes, I figured that he was trying to get Emily to turn over her poems so he could put his name on them and call them his own (I mean, that would make him a villain in my book).  But there was never a moment where that ever came into play. Bowles was taking credit for “discovering her” and that everyone would have ignored her if not for him publishing her (which, fuck off man).  However, he never acts as though the talent isn’t hers; he doesn’t take credit for the writing of poems.  So it does seem like he does have some morals, just not enough.

Moving on.  I’m happy to say that most of the characters that I didn’t like last season, I did begin to like this season (they felt more well-rounded).  Well, except for George and that’s just because he really wasn’t in this season. Also, I think Lavinia is my favorite character at this point.

I liked how, with the two newspapers, we really get to see the divide in society.  I mean, Bowles paper…he talks about how he’s shaping the news and whatnot, but is he?  I mean, it’s great that he’s publishing poets, but when it comes to actual news.... when it comes to a paper that makes a difference…well, that’s Henry’s paper.  And Henry’s paper, there is no “appeasing the masses” because we don’t want to “loose demographics;” there’s just plain hard truth.  Of course, because this is how the world works, in the end Bowles is clearly going to profit by covering the war and Henry looses everything by standing up for what’s right.

So, the nobody was actually a somebody and that Emily has seen the upcoming war.  I wasn’t too surprised to learn that this was someone who would die in the future, but I was surprised they actually named him.

As for Sue this season….and, well, the love tria..squa…uh, whatever shape this is?  I’m not surprised that Sue’s marriage is already on the rocks.  Of course, it’s not just because Sue loves Emily and not Austin.  I feel as though, by the end of last season, Sue seemed to be content with marrying Austin because she was with child.  Loosing that child and keeping it from everybody, it was clear that she was trying to fill a void inside of her while simultaneously pushing everyone out.  She pushed Emily towards Bowles in order not to feel (that was made very clear in the last episode).  But it seemed like she was doing this to Austin as well….like she’s very demanding in what she wants and she clearly had an affair and didn’t care if Austin knew; but at the same time, it’s also clear that she’s uneasy when Austin seems to be pulling away from her.  And it’s obvious she’s come to a decision about her feelings for Emily; but when it comes to her marriage with Austin….she makes mention that Austin shouldn’t let anyone forget she’s married to him and she’s clearly bothered by his response, but maybe that response freed her?  Maybe she feels like she can go to Emily now, even though she married to Austin (as the marriage is clearly in name only at this point).  But, again, she still is married to Emily’s bother; there’s no way this is going to be good.  Also, what happens when she discovers Emily accidentally told Austin about the baby?  

#dickenson #emily dickinson #sue dickenson #austin dickenson #lavinia dickenson #samuel bowles

[emilyhufflepufftlk]

Okay so I want to talk about Brida. A lot of people absolutely hate her, which is perfectly fine as she is the clear antagonist in the last couple of seasons and you are supposed to hate her, and some people love her, which is also cool. I personally go through phases of loving her and rolling my eyes at her, but overall I think she is one of the most interesting characters in the show. Also I love Emily Cox, she is the sweetest and I think she does a great job portraying her.

I’m going to go through Brida’s character as I see it. I guess this is me defending her, or at least explaining why I think she did what she did. So if you just absolutely hate her and see no redeeming qualities in her at all, maybe just don’t bother reading this. 

If we take Brida in the first three seasons, I think she and Uhtred are just two sides of the same coin. They are both Saxons that were raised Danes and then forced to choose after Ragnar the Fearless’ death. Uhtred had a title and a home to retake with the Saxons, Brida had nothing. They chose opposite sides but Brida is not an antagonist at this point. The episode in season 3 where she and Uhtred try and find a way to send Ragnar to Valhalla perfectly shows this - they might disagree and even despise each other at times, but they have a shared history and love for Ragnar that bonds them together. 

Season 4 is where she transitions into becoming a clear antagonist in the show and when I think most people started to hate on her, especially the back end of the season after she is rescued from the Welsh. A lot of people perceive her in the last few episodes of season 4 as having gone mad and her actions being unjustified. 

I would argue that her pursuit of revenge on Uhtred is actually understandable. Firstly revenge is perfectly accepted in TLK, literally Uhtred’s whole ‘thing’ is revenge: revenge on Kjartan, revenge on Aelfric, revenge on Wihtgar. Second, what she suffered in Wales was actually horrific and of course she wants revenge on everyone who played a role in sending her there. Third, Uhtred had the chance to stop her from being taken - now I’m not saying he should have killed her, I know that’s a hard thing for someone to do, but he just stood there and let her get taken away without even trying to stop it. He just says ‘they’ll take you as a hostage’ like that makes it okay, when he surely must have known she would be kept as a slave and having been a slave himself he must have known what that entailed. And he never once acknowledges this, he never apologises for not doing more to stop them taking her or trying to get her out afterwards. Like I am sure the Welsh would have ransomed her if Uhtred had offered.

As for her other actions at the end of season 4, did she really do anything worse than what every other Danish antagonist has done in this show? She attacks Winchester, she kills some defenceless villagers - all of which we have seen before. Even liked characters such as Erik was responsible or at least complicit in the sacking of villages and the massacre of everyone at the Saxon camp. She wants revenge on the Saxons after Tettenhall, which surely is understandable too as we see Jackdaw (who is clearly close to Brida) die and surely others she knew were killed too, not to mention all her ambitions and plans getting destroyed.

Season 5 is where she becomes an actual villain, at least in the first few episodes. What she does to Young Uhtred is unforgivable, and I think most people hated her at this point, myself included. However, I think after the death of her daughter (which was her fault but still) you see just how much pain she is in and through her conversations with Pyrlig you get a sense that she is not just a ‘crazy woman’ but an actual person with complex emotions. Now I’m not saying she should be forgiven for what she did to Young Uhtred - he literally had done nothing to her to deserve that - but I think we should consider how she ended up at this point and not just say ‘she’s evil’. 

Uhtred always chose Saxons over her, which to her must have felt like a betrayal. If Uhtred hadn’t of left the Danes in season 3, maybe Cnut wouldn’t have had the guts to kill Ragnar. Uhtred did nothing when she was taken away to be tortured and made a slave, nor seemed to care after the fact about her fate. Ragnar slept around, although she said she was fine with it, it must have hurt. Ragnar was murdered. Her daughter died. Cnut betrayed her. The cult she had created abandoned her (partly her fault for trying to sacrifice one of them but still). When she tells Pyrlig that she is alone, it is so true. Literally everyone she ever loved or trusted betrayed her or are dead. At the end when she is begging Uhtred to kill her because she has nothing left to live for - it actually broke my heart. And again, I’m not saying this excuses what she did, but at no point does anyone in the show (except Pyrlig) acknowledge any of this. Obviously Brida’s actions are her own, but at no point does Uhtred accept he played a role in sending her down this path.

I guess what I am saying is that it’s fine to hate Brida, I have done so too at points, but that it annoys me when people just paint her as crazy or being totally evil without considering why she is like this or acknowledging that she is a complex character.

#brida #this turned into a rant #it's just been bugging me recently #i'm not going to put this in the main tag as i guess it's controversial

[sortasirius]

“Unity” and the Broken Boys

BOY Y’ALL BETTER SIT DOWN BECAUSE THIS IS AS LONG AS CAN BE AND I TOOK OFF WORK TOMORROW SO I’VE GOT TIME

This is....one of the best episodes in the show.  Yeah, in all 325 of them, this is hands down one of the best.

First of all, stan Amara for clear skin.

That silent treatment babey, right out the gate with the Angst.  Tbh Dean deserves it.

“Like I said, killing Amara, Jack dying...that’s the only way.”

“The only way.  Our one shot.  Our Last chance.  You ever get tired of saying stuff like that?”

“We don’t have to like it, alright?  But you and me, we gotta get it done.”

Amara is such a welcome energy in this whole episode.  She’s warm and understanding, whip-smart and probably more powerful than Chuck.  I love her.

Sam is a wonderful, understanding, loving dad.  I love him eternally.  He loves Jack so much, he’s trying so desperately to do what’s right for Jack but also what’s right for the world.  Jack made this choice, but he can’t live with it.  How do you support your child when their life is at stake?

“Come on man.  Blindly following orders, lying to Amara, sending her to her death. Does any of this feel right to you??”

“It doesn’t matter how we feel!  You know what?  Stay.  Stay.  Someone has to be the grown up here.”

“Yeah well someone has to keep fighting for Jack!”

“He knows what he signed up for!”

“Last I checked, we don’t give up on family.”

“Jack’s not family.”

Y’all should have heard the noise I made.  What a fucking line.

“I know how you feel about the kid, I care for him too, I do, but he’s not like you.  He’s not like Cas.  He’s just not.”

“I’m- I’m ready.”

You can see the regret, the heartbreak in Dean’s eyes.  You can see how he wants to take those words back the moment he said them, and for Jack to hear them?  It’s unthinkable.

Sam and Cas I’m just so fucking emo dude.

“Sam, you stayed behind to find another way huh?  I woulda done the same.”

AMARA

First of all, LOVE this structure.

Amara and Chuck have such a fascinating dynamic.  Rob and Emily do a great job (as they have all along) by clearly being siblings but...heightened.  You can just tell they both exude power, and the other is the only one they consider an equal.

“You and Dean had that whole weird...thing.”

“That wasn’t you writing?”

“Ugh, not that part.  Gross.”

What I took away from this is what I’ve suspected all along.  They HAVE free will, just not total free will.  Dean and Amara’s connection wasn’t Chuck, there are parts of the story he didn’t write.  Obviously, this comes into play later. 

I also have a hunch that Chuck doesn’t write romance.  I also think that in particular will come into play.

“Balance.  Something we’ve never tried before.  Creation and destruction, light and dark, brother and sister united again, but on behalf of one world, this world.  True balance.  The way it was always meant to be.  But you can’t.  You only care about your pleasure, your story.  Well, I guess that makes you the villain.”

“Villains get all the best lines.”

We see again and again this season, Chuck is irredeemable.  He doesn’t care about the angels, he doesn’t care about the world, he doesn’t care about anything.  He is a petulant toddler who has broken his toys. And when he realizes he’s trapped, he gets angry, he shouts and screams, completely at odds with Amara’s peace.

“You can’t hold me here forever.”

“I can hold you long enough.”

DEAN

Pain is the name of the game in this section homies.  Because not only are we dealing with Dean’s pain, we’re also dealing with Jack’s.  Jack says he understands why Cas and Sam mean more to Dean, but Dean clearly doesn’t, he, once again, wants to say more, but is stopped, still stopped by his fear: his fear of not beating Chuck.

Alright guys, gals, and non-binary pals.  Let’s talk about Adam and Seraphina.

Adam.  The first man.  And Seraphina.  The angel.

“My old lady.  She’s the only one who could put up with me all these years.”

Yeah okay.  Volume at 100 I get it lmao.

But also: Adam wants God dead not because he and Eve were kicked out of the Garden, but because he went after their sons.  The theme of protecting the children strikes again.

“Killing God is your plan?”

“Yeah, Billie’s been giving us a hand but Sera and me, this is our baby.”

This juxtaposed directly with Dean’s own pain at what he has to do to kill Chuck, to gain his free will: the cost of his child.

Adam’s rib.

And who else might get his ribs hurt, only to be likely healed by an angel?

It’s fine, that’s fine.  I’m fine with that.

“Jack, I don’t know how to explain it but, when I found out about Chuck, it’s like I wasn’t alive.  Not really.  You know like my whole life I’ve never been free, but like really free.  But now?  Now me and Sam, we got a shot at living a life, without all this crap on our backs.  And that’s, that’s because of you.  So, I want to say, I need to say...thank you, Jack.  Thank you.”

I’m gonna have to do a separate post about just Dean in this episode, because there is so fucking much to talk about, but there are a couple of things that I think are important:  Dean realizes how wrong he was, to say what he said.  He knows that it’s not true, this is the way he’s always coped with loss, by pushing the person to be lost away, but for Jack to hear it?  He can’t stand for that.

And:

Dean has finally pushed through the barrier.  He won’t be quiet in the face of his doubts anymore.  This is a breakthrough for him, and, of course, there are more to come.

SAM

Sam and Cas, my chaos duo.

The box, the inscription, the door.

Death’s library, filled with dead reapers.

And there it is.  The Empty.

It tells Sam the plan, the plan for Billie to take God’s place.  For everything to go back to the way it’s “supposed to be.”

This has always been the game, since season 13.  This is the longest of long games.

Sam fuckin Winchester, lying his way out of a confrontation with the Empty like the legend that he is.

He comes back with a new purpose: to stop Billie’s plan, and here’s where we get to the heart of the episode and maybe the heart of the season.

“You hear that?  Dean, brought to the edge of doubt.  His sense of duty, his rage winning out in the end.  And poor Sam, always gotta know everything.  Can’t leave well enough alone.  This is my ending, my real ending.”

The gun comes out, pointed at Sam.

Hmm...what did I say during 15x05?  Oh yeah, this.

And:

Dean would never survive killing Sam, but he’s willing to do anything, anything to earn his freedom.  His ending, where one brother kills the other and then kill himself.

Why, you might ask, did Sam not mention that the angels would be sent back to Heaven, why does he not mention Cas?  I’ll tell you why, or rather, Becky will.

Plus, Dean looks back at Cas IMMEDIATELY when Sam says that, when he mentions Eileen, and THAT’S the first time he hesitates.  He can’t lose Cas.  But at the same time, he’s willing to do anything to have his freedom.

“Sam we don’t have a choice, Jack’s about to blow!”

“We always have a choice!”

You know me, just sitting here thinking about choice, the ability to choose, and how that translates to their free will.

And Sam...I don’t think there will ever be characters I love as much as these.

“I don’t care if Billie gets what she wants!  I don’t man, I’d trade it all, I’d trade em all for Chuck.  In a heartbeat!”

“What about me?”

“You’d trade me?”

“Chuck has to die.  He has to!  Otherwise he’ll keep us tap dancing forever, and I can’t live like that man, I can’t live like that, I won’t!”

“I know you feel like that right now, okay? I know you do, but you gotta trust me.  My entire life, you’ve protected me.  From Dad, from Lucifer, from everything.  I didn’t always like it, you know?  But it’s the one thing in the whole world that I could always count on.  It’s the only thing I’ve ever known that was true.  So please, put the gun away.  Just put it away.  We’ll figure it out, Dean, we’ll find another way, you and me.  We always do.”

Okay I feel like this is going to be one of those scenes that I cry watching for years to come.  Because fuck.  After fifteen years they finally admit that not only did Dean protect Sam from Lucifer, but he protected him from John.  John.  On a par with Lucifer.

Dean and Sam have, for so many years, sacrificed themselves for the other.  Dean’s demon deal, Sam and the trials, every season they have fought to see who can die the quickest for the other.  But this?  This is them fighting to stop the violence, to stop from killing the big bad.  This is them growing, in our eyes, in real time.  Sam has always been able to get through to Dean when no one else had a prayer, but for Dean to listen, for Dean to take his words to heart, to stop the hunt for Sam, for their family, that’s how you know they do have free will.

(Btw Chuck’s eye effect when he dusted Amara was sick as fuck but I’m emo for my boys so.)

Chuck knows it’s a loss, he knows that his story has, once again, been thwarted by the boys making their own choices.  And he’s pissed, but in his anger, we get a bomb dropped on us.

“Spare me your contempt Castiel, the self-hating angel of Thursday.  You know what every other version of you did after “gripping him tight and raising him from perdition”?  They did what they were told.  But not you.  Not the one off the line with a crack in his chassis.”

Are you fucking kidding me?

Also, just worth bringing up this one as well:

Every Castiel pulled Dean out of Hell.  Every one told him the same thing.  And yet, immediately, with this Cas and this Dean, something was different.  Because what has everyone seen about Cas, from the moment he met Dean?

And there’s our endgame people.  Laid out on the line.

But we ain’t done yet, fam.

We’ve talked about the handprint, but you know:

So there you have it, our prep into the “monumental” 15x18.  I have spec on that, of course, but I think a novel is long enough for this.

What to take away: Dean’s rage was always Chuck’s plan, they do have free will, their love for each other, for their family, is what will stop Chuck’s control, Death is about to come back with a vengeance, Cas’ deal is at play, and, most importantly, Castiel and Dean Winchester are a blind spot for Chuck, something he has never, not once, controlled.

#welcome to my essay lmao #supernatural #spn #spoilers #my meta #spn 15x17 #destiel #dean winchester #sam winchester #jack kline #castiel #amara #chuck shurley #lilly liveblogs supernatural

[immaturityofthomasastruc]

Gabriel Agreste: Interesting Villain, Horrible Character (400 Follower Special)

I'm honestly surprised more people didn't want me to talk about Gabriel, especially with how often I rag on how horrible of a person he is. But, three character analysis posts later, and we're going to talk about why the main villain of Miraculous Ladybug is a real letdown.

Gabriel Needs to give the Whining a Rest

The interesting thing is one of the few things I actually liked in Season 3 was Hawkmoth. His plans actually made sense (for the most part), and by playing the long game, he managed to turn Chloe against Ladybug and deprived her of several key allies. Granted, Season 4 immediately undid the latter, but I was still impressed by his strategy.

Generally, one of the better aspects of Gabriel as a character was just how over the top he was as Hawkmoth. Keith Silverstein is clearly giving it his all with his performance, and he is just so enjoyable to watch as a cartoonish supervillain.

And therein lies the first major problem with Gabriel as a character. While he is fun to watch as a simple supervillain, the show tries to give him more depth and unintentionally makes him worse.

In Season 2, when it was revealed that Gabriel was Hawkmoth, many fans speculated on what he needed the Miraculous for, until the Queen Bee Trilogy showed it was to save his possibly dead wife, Emilie. The idea of that is so the show can give more depth to its main villain, and I think it's an interesting idea in concept. After all, the road to Hell is paved with good intentions.

The problem is just how radically different Gabriel is normally compared to how he is as Hawkmoth. He always goes on about how he's “doing this for Emilie”, but it's hard to really sympathize with him when you consider he constantly gives evil monologues and evil laughs, really getting into the supervillain role. And let's not forget all of the “I'm going to wear Ladybug's skin as a suit” faces he loves to make.

Clearly this man is the picture of mental stability.

Gabriel's motivation for being Hawkmoth when compared to what he actually does as Hawkmoth is shady enough, but the thing is that the writers clearly want the audience to at least feel a little bad for him. They want to make the audience sympathize with him despite the way he acts with or without the mask. Without Miraculous Ladybug, he is routinely putting innocent lives in danger and never once shows regret for his actions. All he talks about is how “he's doing this for Emilie”, or that “he'll get their Miraculous soon”. There's no real reason to feel bad for him other than “because the script says so”.

Let's compare Gabriel to Malcolm Merlyn from Arrow. His big plan in the first season of the show is to create a machine that will cause an earthquake to destroy a crime-infested portion of Starling City, claiming to be trying to help everyone, but it's clear he is only doing it out of revenge for his wife getting killed by a criminal from that part of the city. In addition, throughout that season and future seasons, he always makes sure his plans lead to him benefiting in some way, showing he isn't just some noble man trying to achieve his goals with a less than noble method.

If we got some moments that showed that what Gabriel was doing was selfish, it would make him a more complex villain. But we don't get anything like that. What do we get instead? Well...

I Could Really Care Less About Emilie Agreste

We have known Gabriel's motivation has been to save his wife for a little over two years at this point, but at the same time, it's hard to believe that motivation because of how underdeveloped Emilie is as a character.

There have been a total of two lines in the entirety of the show that explain what happened to Emilie, and they're both vague as hell. One of them was from “Feast” that implied Emilie used the broken Peacock Miraculous.

Adrien: My mom used to have dizzy spells… just like Nathalie.

And the other that outright tells the audience what's happening to her in a clip show that most people will skip.

Nathalie: As I've watched Emilie falling deeper into an endless sleep, my sadness for her has deepened, too

That is literally all we get for an explanation, and nothing else. We have no idea of what she's like as a person or what her relationship with her family was like other than Gabriel and Adrien saying they miss her. Other than the way the narrative says she's important to Gabriel and Adrien, we don't really have a reason to care about her as a character. There have also been some lines that imply she went along with Gabriel's questionable parenting techniques, like how he was apparently only homeschooled as a kid (Origins) and never had a birthday party growing up (The Bubbler), so how do we even know if she's a good person? In fact, why not set up this question as a mystery to make the audience wonder if Gabriel has another reason to bring Emilie back?

It ultimately turns Emilie into a plot device and not a character that Gabriel and Adrien only bring up to make the audience feel bad for them, and meant to justify Gabriel's actions by saying that he's “doing this for his family”.

But hey, if he's doing this all for his family, surely Gabriel's redeeming traits come from his relationship with Adrien, right? Right?

As a Parent, Gabriel is Far From the Best

I've talked about this briefly before, but parenting in Miraculous Ladybug is written in such a black and white way, even by the standards of this show. Parents are portrayed in one of two ways. They're either amazing people who love and support their children unconditionally, or they're awful people who treat their own children like trash. And much like a lot of things in this show, there are times where the latter is treated like the former.

There are so many times where the narrative insists on making you see Gabriel as a troubled, but wellmeaning person who tries his best to be a good parent to Adrien, but it is far from the truth.

I'm not going to beat around the bush. Gabriel is a terrible parent. Like, he is awful at being a parent in so many ways, even before you find out he's Hawkmoth. In his first appearance, “The Bubbler”, he delegates getting Adrien a birthday present to Nathalie, his assistant. He literally can't be bothered to take time out of his schedule to get his own son a present for his birthday. And as the show goes on, he becomes more controlling and forbids Adrien from going out with his friends in other episodes (Captain Hardrock, Silencer). While this could be used to show Gabriel getting worse, it's never acknowledged in-universe, with Adrien continually defending his father essentially keeping him on house arrest.

“But IOTA!” You might say. “Gabriel has made efforts to bond with his son in some episodes.” While that might be true, most of those come right after his Akumas have almost gotten Adrien killed. He only hugged Adrien and made an attempt to learn more about him after Simon Says invaded their home, he only decided to watch that movie Emilie was in with Adrien after Gorizilla nearly dropped him off a building, and he only hugged Adrien again in public after he was turned into a gold statue by Style Queen.

In fact, let's talk about how Gabriel acts in the Queen Bee Trilogy. He actually decides to quit being Hawkmoth, but it's not because he realizes all the damage he's caused. Instead, he gave up because his “magnum opus”, a stronger than usual Akuma that only got the advantage on Ladybug ironically because of dumb luck, failed. Sure, he says he can't keep putting his son in danger, but he rarely ever acknowledges that he does so in the first place. When Riposte wanted to fight Adrien, Hawkmoth did nothing to stop her other than giving her a stern warning earlier on and nothing else. Where was this attitude earlier?

Hell, even then, he immediately goes back to being Hawkmoth as soon as he sees an opportunity, not even a day after his “mAgNuM oPuS” blew up in his face (because I guess Scarletmoth was just Plan B). If he made such a big deal about caring for his son, why didn't he try harder to spend time with him? Has he ever had doubts about what he's doing before? If Chloe didn't show up as Queen Bee, was he going to follow through on his promise and try to be a better father to Adrien instead of trying to get Ladybug and Cat Noir's Miraculous?

And yeah, the whole irony is that Gabriel is doing this for his family when he is unknowingly fighting his own son, which could lead to some interesting drama if done right. The idea of how Gabriel would react to his son being Cat Noir could really lead to some internal struggles for him to go through. But then we got “Cat Blanc”, which shows just how terrible of a character Gabriel is.

In an alternate timeline where he found out his son was Cat Noir, what does Gabriel do? Does he try to steal Adrien's Miraculous while he's sleeping? Does he reconsider his actions or realize he was endangering Adrien's life?

NOPE! He just decides to akumatize him all while emotionally tormenting him, before causing the end of the world.

This is honestly one of the most appalling things I've ever seen in any TV show, because it's basically an abusive father ordering his son to listen to him all while referencing his (kind of) dead mother to back up his point. And rather than use this to show how despicable Gabriel is, the episode decides to blame Marinette for this happening. Yes, according to the show, her present to Adrien caused several events to happen which caused Cat Blanc, but this logic makes no sense. It's like blaming the JFK assassination on the man who sold a gun to Lee Harvey Oswald, instead of, you know, Lee Harvey Oswald.

Not only was this episode yet another excuse to blame Marinette for something that wasn't her fault, it leads into the biggest problem I have with Gabriel as a character.

Sympathize with Gabriel? Surely, You Jest

After everything I've gone over regarding Gabriel as a character, after all the awful things I've talked about, are you really surprised that I don't feel bad for him at all?

Gabriel is just an awful character and a despicable human being, but the show just keeps wanting me to feel bad for him. It's just so hard to when you consider everything he's done has made him anything but sympathetic. I'm just saying, it's kind of hard to feel bad for someone who tries to start World War III with the only justification being “i'M dOiNg It FoR mY fAmIlY”, especially when he treats his family like crap.

The writers go out of their way to show how horrible Gabriel is as Hawkmoth/Shadowmoth, but they think because they throw in a few moments where he looks conflicted, we'll immediately feel bad for him. What makes so many people interested in seeing Chloe become a better person is that they can tell she's the victim of a troubled upbringing, and know that because she's only a teenager, she still has room to grow as a person, represented by having more honest moments of vulnerability. Gabriel is a grown man who once caused the apocalypse because of how terrible of a parent he is, and has even fewer sympathetic moments than Chloe does. Which one of these two is supposedly irredeemable? The answer may surprise you.

But the frustrating thing is that this kind of villain could have worked. Instead of making him this mustache-twirling psychopath, show how much Gabriel regrets what he has to do, but keeps pushing onward despite all the lives he's risking if it means that he can save his wife. Instead of making Gabriel like Lex Luthor, make him like Mr. Freeze, who is basic a better written version of him.

But as it stands, there's a good reason why Gabriel gets little to no respect as a character in the Miraculous Ladybug fandom, as a villain, or as a father.

#immaturity of thomas astruc #iota #miraculous ladybug #miraculous ladybug salt #gabriel agreste #hawkmoth #hawk moth #shadowmoth #shadow moth #emilie agreste #adrien agreste #cat noir #chat noir #cat blanc #chat blanc #nathalie sancoeur #mayura #marinette dupain cheng #ladybug

[sweetcloverheart]

Clover Rants Miraculously: Nope, still hate it

(This is more me venting then anything really. Spoilers below!)

Okay, to properly explain why I greatly dislike “Lila and Chloe are more evil than Gabriel” thing, I need you all to think back to the olden internet days when you would read those fanfics where the writer clearly and obviously wrote one half of their NOTP as a raging jerk/yandere psychopath to justify their preferred OTP/Self-Insert character and fav character getting together.

Did you imagine it? Did you remember how cringey and eyeroll-inducing you found it?

That’s how I feel about the whole “These two teenage girls are more monstrous and capable of greater villainy than the established magical terrorist super villain who emotionally abuses his son”.

Because it’d be one thing if Lila and Chloe becoming a supervillain criminal girlboss duo just for the hell of it was being done as a way to expand on their characters and explore new plot territory - That I don’t mind at all and would 1100% be down with. But instead, it’s very clearly and obviously being used to help hype up Gabriel’s frankly unearned in my opinion “redemption arc” because instead of writing Gabemoth showing actual remorse for his actions and eventually turning himself in or having him have this “too late now” moment that ends in his defeat and the slow realization that he destroyed his and his son’s lives for nothing, we are instead treated to the show repeated screaming at us that the two teenage bullies (both of whom could be very easily dealt with if the adults surrounding them did their jobs and forced them to face consequences for said bullying) are clearly the greater threats here, what with their constant scheming to...*checks plot* ruin the day of a girl they don’t like while trying to steal her boyfriend via lies and one of said girl’s parent’s money, which is clearly leagues more evil than...*checks plot again* magically controlling your son through the ring that’s literally tied to his life, while abusing the sentient cosmic entities you stole (well, actually your teenaged nephew stole them for you, but I digress) as you forcibly use their powers to buff up your magically transformed croonies to help them fight the pair of magical teenagers who’s magical jewelry you’re trying to steal.

It’s so obvious they can’t be bothered to make Gabriel into the 3D villain they claim he is, so their only option is to drag down the other antagonists so they’re “more evil” and make all the terrible and awful stuff he’s done on screen seem “minimal”/less bad than it is. That’s why Chloe’s “worse than usual” and Lila’s collecting moms and alternate identities like pokemon cards - not for actual plot development and character progression, but so that the writers can prop up Gabriel as this “misguided saint” who “only did what he had to for his family” while shoving his “redemption” through the story and down everyone’s throats. Because it’s the only trick they have in their bags for making a character “good” - make one character super evil/mean so whoever they’re propping up looks better in comparison. They did with the Zoe/Chloe comparisons, they did it with Felix’s intro, they’re doing it with Nathalie and Gabriel, they’re doing it with Amelie and Emilie (Don’t think I don’t see that nonsense going on with that “The other Princess wants a magic baby because she was overcome with jealousy over her sister” line), and they’re doing it with this.

Like, mark my words, almost every other episode of Season 6 is going to contain at least one character going “Wow, Chrysalis is so evil! Hawkmoth never did something like this!” or “If only Gabriel had kept the butterfly miraculous - he would never abuse it the way Chrysalis has!”

#ML Spoilers #ML Salt #MLB Bible Spoilers #Miraculous Ladybug Spoilers #Clover Rants Miraculously

[itsamiraculous]

Thoughts on Megaleech

- Mylene!!! I love the call back to Horificator, that it is herself that is building herself up, then having the support of Ivan. This episode made me feel so warm because Mylene was spearheading it all. She did still get a little panicked, so it remained consistent, but she knew exactly what she was talking about and stood up for her cause. I love that!

- This leads me on to the second thing that this message is super important! It’s bringing to light some of what is going on in Politics. That we are blind-sided by what people tell us will be better, but when you do research, you find it could actually do more harm. It is also engaging the younger generation to have a voice. The fact that Ms. Bustier was also supportive and immersed her class I think is awesome. It also dissolves a narrative that it is just the young generation that are “causing a stir” Ms. Bustier supporting them negates it just being “juveniles who don’t understand”, then the other adults who care about their children/siblings also joined in. I did Politics for A Levels, so maybe I’m biased, but my Politics teachers actually encouraged us to attend protests, even if they were during school. We were told to immerse ourselves so we could understand it better.

- Teaching about Climate change as well. Which is probably another reason why I loved this episode. The messaging all together of having faith in yourself, stand up for what you believe in, overcoming fears and then the political notions as well!

- Alya liveblogging brought a smile to my face

- My heart broke for Adrien. Manipulated once again from Gabriel, failed to tell him the truth and used Adrien’s naivete because I think he would know Adrien wouldn’t like promoting that building. Also, Marinette’s reaction to seeing Adrien in the add was exactly why Gabriel used him. The face of innocence. No wonder he is always wearing white for those ads 👀 There is also the continued narrative of him directly going against his father, which is why you see him centered on Gabriel’s screen. For a moment I thought Adrien was looking directly at the screen like he knew his father would be watching, but he wasn’t.

- Leads me on to say about the Gabriel and Tsurugi branding. Is this what the papers were for in Animaestro? Also Gabriel and Tomoe’s branding both add tremendously to pollution; Fashion and cars. Though I think the Tsurugi cars are electric so, maybe not as much? 

- Mylene’s transformation has her booping her nose, that’s adorable!!!

- I never knew I needed Mylene kicking butt in my life

- So... Adrien’s ears actually properly change to Cat ears. I know way back in Animan he used his acute hearing and we’ve seen his ears droop and react etc, but it never specified that those cat ears actually become his ears, until this episode where it shows Mylene clearly coming out of those cat ears. So do his human ears just disappear??? I am so confused.

- Group Pose ahaha, bless him.

- That took a lot of people to take down Megaleech. Villains are getting more complex. 

- Chat Noir didn’t do much? Didn’t use his cataclysm either...

- “opened our eyes to the complex problems that were hidden behind the beautiful commercial” This is key messaging for viewers, despite it being a spiel from Marinette to cover over her previous comment, but this is evident for Adrien. The blanket over his eyes regarding his father mostly, but he is also second guessing Ladybug as well

- That ominous ending, Gabriel really doesn’t like Adrien having a voice at all. Didn’t listen to his reasoning as he cut him off and sent him to his room. Gabriel also twists his ring (symbolising Emilie in this frame I suppose, and is of course a nervous habit) whilst he grows angry when looking at that portrait of him and Adrien which I imagine was done after Emilie disappeared. My interpretation of this is that he feels if he doesn’t get the miraculous and that wish soon, he’ll lose his grip over Adrien.

In conclusion, the continuity in this episode is 👌 the messaging in this episode was also very good, as well as the angst build up. Feel free to add on

#ml meta #ml season 4 #ml spoilers #megaleech #mylene haprele #megaleech spoilers #adrien agreste #ml analysis #miraculous meta #miraculous

[dahlwatchesmiraculous]

hold on okay so dearest family got me thinking about something and since ep. 9 Gabriel Agreste is coming out soon…. imma say it, especially bc that ep may confirm or deny the sentimonster theory

For the record, this isn’t in any way meant to attack senti-adrien theorists. I’m happy for y’all who enjoy the theory, and I’ll even admit seeing fanworks based on the “Adrien is a sentimonster” theory can be fascinating, but I personally would never want the theory to be canon

this may or may not have already been said and if so, this is just my take on it, okay? here we go—

Throughout the show we’ve seen evidence that sentimonsters aren’t exactly equivalent to “real” entities, regardless of the intention behind their creation. This is shown mostly through the way they’re used by the villains to achieve a certain goal, and once that goal is accomplished (or not) the sentimonster is literally snapped out of existence. The sentimonsters serve whatever purpose their creator brings them to life for, and that is the only value they have. This is all based on what’s been shown to us, not necessarily what Astruc has said. Bc at the end of the day, what they present to us in the show takes precedent.

Now, Gabriel is trying to bring his wife back. Considering how much he’s failed to do that as hawkmoth, why not just make a sentimonster of her and give her the object with her amok so she has freedom? (Or he could even keep the amokitized object if he wants ultimate control of his family idk)?? Before season 4, you could argue he wouldn’t do that bc the miraculous was broken (some would even say it got broken bc that’s how Adrien’s was brought to life). But now it’s fixed! So just creating a sentimonster of her seems like a much easier idea. Especially if he’s trying to live this perfect pretty little life he made up in his head. And since a sentimonster exists however you create it to be, senti-emilie would very much be real.

But he hasn’t done that. We could argue that he’s not smart enough, sure. But then Dearest Family confirmed that his ultimate goal is to create an alternate reality where Emilie is still alive. He could easily settle for senti-emilie, but would rather go through all the trouble of creating a whole new reality, bc he doesn’t want to settle for a sentimonster wife. Which means he doesn’t consider a senti/human equivalent to a human, even if they’re supposed to be.

So when it comes to adrien being a sentimonster, I think Gabriel would care a lot less about adrien if he were a sentimonster. To be clear, I’m not saying Gabriel is father of the year or anything lol. He does care about adrien, he’s just shit at actually taking care of his son, and he lets his goals outweigh any concern he does have for his son. But if we consider how much he abuses the peacock miraculous, using sentimonsters to do his bidding, he only sees them as objects, things of unimportance as soon as they stop fulfilling their purpose (just look at sentibubbler and senti-Nino). I also think that if adrien were a sentimonster, then Gabriel would have a v different perspective on how to utilize sentimonsters/how to treat them (ie, he wouldn’t be so quick to just snap em away, he’d likely be a bit more compassionate about how he uses them bc he’d be reminded that anyone could literally snap his son out of existence just as easily). But the way Gabe approaches the peacock miraculous’ powers is v telling of his stance on sentimonsters. If he’s unwilling to create a senti-emilie, who would apparently be just as real as the real emilie, then clearly he views sentimonsters as “less than” and wouldn’t care so much about his own son if he were a sentimonster too. He wouldn’t go through all this trouble to have his perfect family again, if he considered the peacock’s powers a ~worthy~ option. Since it’s not a worthy option then that suggests his son as a sentimonster wouldn’t be worthy of his love either

You’re more than welcome to respond/offer opinions, but if you’re poppin on just to be mean or disrespect someone else, then I’d rather you don’t interact lol

#miraculous ladybug #sentimonster theory #senti adrien #adrien is not a sentimonster #ml dearest family #ml dearest family spoilers #ml speculation #Adrien agreste #gabriel agreste #emilie agreste #Also anyone who comes at me like ‘why would he make a sentiemilie when he still has her body’ #look she’s a goner he shouldn’t have her body still anyway #also to anyone who’s like ‘if senti-adrien broke the miraculous why would he break the miraculous again to create emilie’ #Nathalie is nearly killing herself for Gabriel i bet she’d be willing to put herself through coma to make senti-emilie happen #also wasn’t it confirmed that the miraculous was broken before adrien was alive? #but even if it wasn’t #I don’t buy the argument that the broke when adrien was created bc we’ve seen other complex human sentimonsters too

[miraculouscontent]

Didn’t Need Burrow (April 24th-May 3rd)

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Marinette is exposed to the world as Ladybug by the end of the series. This is largely so Adrien gets to bask in everyone knowing that HE ended up with Paris' protector on his arm, emphasizing her status as a trophy that he won.

This feels too likely, I hate it.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: After being badgered into trusting her with the Fox, Marinette tries to convince Alya that she can't expose herself as Rena Rouge any further, and should take advantage of the Fox's long-range capabilities to stay hidden. Alya dismisses the danger; if she tries hiding at all, it doesn't take long to reveal herself, claiming it's unheroic to hide. Shadowmoth then targets her personally, with Marinette taking the blame.

I WOULD EXCUSE THE FOX THING IF IT STAYED LONG RANGE BUT I’M WAITING FOR THEM TO RUIN IT

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Rather than outing Ladybug, Alya reveals *herself* as Rena Rouge. She claims that this is fine since Hawkmoth already knows her secret identity... and besides, it gives the LadyBlog more cred!

Because why not I guess, the bar for her is already so low.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Marinette will be forced to give up Guardianship/go through the memory wipe... but continue as Ladybug. This is mined for Sadrien AND resets LadyNoir; she no longer recalls all the annoying shit he's pulled, offering a fresh start. May lead into Reversed Rectangular Romance with Chat Noir pining after the old Ladybug while she develops a crush on her brooding partner. He's so ~dark~ and ~mysterious~ and gives her such ~wistful looks~!

Marinette gets to give up guardianship but at what cost. (also, that last line about Chat being dark and brooding)

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: In a Shocking Twist, Emilie is revealed to have been evil and manipulative like Chloe/Lila, and presented as solely responsible for her husband's jerkassery. This sets up GabNath as endgame with Gabriel absolved for all his misdeeds. (Any similarities between Emilie and her son's behavior are summarily ignored.)

Because Adrien is male, obviously. He gets a pass.

Anonymous said:

Didn't need the Burrow: A lot of Adrien's supposed childhood friendship with Chloe was actually with Zoe. Which is supposed to give the new character some instant connections and serves as another proof of Chloe being irredeemable. Bonus: Marinette finds out and whether or not she spills the beans, it will be something she'll get called out for.

So, either a retcon or Adrien comes off as even more of a liar in “Origins.”

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Su-Han will tell Marinette outright that her responsibilities mean she's not allowed to be happy. This is used to garner sympathy for HIM - Isn't it sad how his duties have completely consumed his life? Clearly he needs help learning how to unwind and relax! Meanwhile Mari's drowning in the background, but this isn't about HER, now is it?

I’M SO SAD

WHYYY

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Adrien discovers Gabriel's secret and hides the truth, forbidding Plagg from telling anyone. Not just to protect his father/family, but because he's not ready to stop being Chat Noir. No villains means no reason for heroes, and he doesn't even know his lady's secret identity yet--! Naturally, his reasoning is treated as totally understandable and sympathetic, even as he enables the conflict to continue indefinitely.

“CHAT BLANC” VERSION 2.0 I HATE IT DX

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Hawk/Shadowmoth starts aiming to *kill* the exposed/temp heroes in order to prevent them from potentially joining battles. This only happens during akuma fights (so that it falls upon Ladybug to 'set things right' with her powers). Chat Noir makes minimal (if any) effort to protect them, relying upon his 'partner' to carry the day instead and bring them back.

Ladybug: *trying to save everyone*

Chat Noir: *filing his claws in the background*

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Marinette will be pressured to make others permanent heroes and let them have their Miraculi full-time. This sets up for Hawkmoth to eventually get his hands on the Miracle Box, meaning any Miraculi that haven't been distributed are now in the villains' clutches. Not only does this dramatically cut down her pool of allies, Marinette gets to be guilt-stricken over failing all her duties and not listening to their demands while she had the chance.

Marinette, you’re such a fAilUrE as guardian!!

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Zoe will turn out to be another love interest for Adrien - only it's as the New-Bee with *Chat Noir*, enabling the dreaded Reversed Romo-Rhombus dynamic with Ladybug becoming jealous of their chemistry.

girls are such jealous types, haven’t you guys heard? :)

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Ladybug gets a new default look (for the sake of selling more ML merch in Real Life), trading the spotted onesie for another form-fitting spandex suit that 'highlights her feminine charms' even more. This is treated as a sign of her 'growing up'.

wow i hate it

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Alya shipping Marinette with both Adrien and Chat Noir after finding out her identity.

I am 100% not here for shipping shenanigans.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Alya will be responsible for leading Lila to suspect that Marinette and Ladybug are connected. Though Alya may actually *realize* that she slipped up, she won't warn Marinette about the potential security breach, not wanting her to get upset/any more paranoid than she already is.

And of course, this will be used to make people “sympathize” with her. See, she cAreS about Marinette’s feelings, how can you be mad at her for this??

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: There will be more plots where Marinette's 'lesson of the week' is that she must learn how to better control and suppress her emotions, and that she is literally not ALLOWED to be upset because Hawk/Shadowmoth will win if she does. At the same time, Adrien is encouraged to marinate in his own unhappiness over Ladybug not giving in to his advances. If the danger involved ever comes up, it's presented as purely Ladybug/Marinette's fault for rejecting him.

I’m starting to think some of you are ZAG insiders because wow that sounds likely. DX

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: A recurring theme in episodes featuring the 'girl squad' will be Marinette meddling too much, as her efforts to help them cross boundaries THEY aren't comfortable with. If she dares to bring up their past insistence that friends don't keep secrets, they'll call her out as a hypocrite while refusing to acknowledge their own hypocrisies.

“Marinette’s boundaries? Who??? No, Marinette, what about THEIR boundaries???” - the writers

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Adrien will feel sorry for Chloe and regret the role he played in her losing her Miraculous. This is mainly a vehicle to help explain why everything that went wrong with her/Queen Bee is totally, 100% Marinette/Ladybug's fault, along with showing how forgiving Adrien is and how he 'sees the best in everyone', and is clearly right to do so. Bonus: this is combined with him distrusting the NewBee for not being Chloe/making her jealous.

*sigh*

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Chloe will get akumatized out of anger over the New Bee, and Ladybug is blamed for her insensitivity/forced to apologize to her.

I’m still stunned at the mental gymnastics they go through to make Marinette/Ladybug apologize to people.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Su-Han will confirm the popular fan claim that Ladybug and Black Cat bearers are, in fact, soulmates/bound together by destiny. Chat Noir gleefully rubs this in Ladybug's face; her disbelief and horror is played entirely for laughs at her expense. Adrien's behavior escalates further afterwards, bolstered by the knowledge that it doesn't matter how shitty he gets, as she belongs to him regardless.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: In addition to confirming the notion that Ladybugs and Black Cats are 'meant to be', it's revealed that other Miracli are destined soulmates, like Foxes and Turtles or Butterflies and Peacocks, and other random Miraculi pairings that 'coincidentally' align with various official ships.

brb, need to step away to scream on my porch

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: At least one episode will have Marinette mess up a potion, preventing her and the other heroes from enjoying its benefits during a big fight. This is blamed either on her anxiety causing her to overthink it or on her being a poor student, lamenting the fact that she didn't have more time with Master Fu. (Bonus if Su-Han takes advantage of this to slam Fu; extra bonus points if Mari defends him by insisting *she* was the one who screwed up, not her master.)

It’s like a main course of Marinette blame, oh my god.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Su-Han will make various sexist comments about Marinette and the other heroines, implying that they were all poor choices Because Girl. Since nothing says 'Girl Power' like insisting they must prove themselves to doubtful men who will never fully accept them. After all, Marinette is the only one who ever learns lessons; therefore, Su-Han will never grow out of his 'old-fashioned views'.

And when the writers are called out, they’ll go, “bUt hE’s jUst oLd fAshiOned”

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Adrien gets his Ring revoked by Su-Han for misbehavior. This is depicted as a terrible miscarriage of justice, and Marinette must convince Su-Han to return the Ring without learning who Chat Noir is. The more terrible the inciting act, the bigger the bonus points; did he skip another battle like Glaciator? Pull another Syren-level stunt? Cataclysm another innocent? Who cares? Sadrien is Sad, and that's the biggest crisis of all...

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Adrien pulls another Syren-level stunt (or worse); rather than holding him responsible, Su-Han berates Marinette for her poor leadership and failure to keep him in line. Bonus if she confides/vents to Alya afterwards only for Alya to AGREE with Su-Han that she's failed at being a good partner to Chat Noir. Fever Mode activates if Alya implies Marinette's failure is due to her inability to admit her feelings for Chat Noir and/or confess to Adrien.

I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Alya will pull an Adrien re: Lila, refusing to openly support Marinette against her. She'll claim that they need to 'gather evidence' first before exposing her to everyone. In practice, this means that Alya is willing to continue feigning ignorance, pretending that she's taken in by Lila's lies, while Marinette continues to suffer since she won't play along. Any evidence-gathering we see Alya engaging in is minimal, if she's shown doing it at all.

This is 150% one of the most accurate Alya-Lila confrontations I’ve seen from these predictions.

I hate it.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: When confronting Lila, Alya will insist that 'Ladybug told me herself' that they aren't friends. Lila attempts to convince her that Ladybug is lying to try and protect her; this either works or spurs Alya to declare that LB 'hates liars', making her suspicious of Marinette's potential connections to the superheroine.

Alya

Alya why

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Alya will only treat Marinette with anything approaching a veneer of respect while she's Ladybug. (As in 'Transformed/wearing the spotted suit/actively superheroing'.) Her behavior towards her 'regular BFF', meanwhile, will continue to degrade.

and, as a alternative:

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Having learned that Marinette = Ladybug, Alya shows less and less respect towards the superheroine. (Not that she displayed much in the first place, but you know what they say: familiarity breeds contempt. And Alya's convinced that she knows her SO WELL, despite all signs to the contrary...)

Thanks. Hate them both. T_T

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Alya will end up outing Ladybug in a moment of anger. Though this is treated as impulsive and spur-of-the-moment, the act itself hints otherwise. (For example, she posts it on the LadyBlog; that post had to be *written up* first, and she likely had to think about what evidence she'd use to back up her claim... Not to mention if she includes pictures or video. Showing that Alya thought about it well before her 'tipping point', no matter how she claims otherwise.)

okay but you missed the part where Marinette is blamed for it--

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Tikki's comments about kwamis not understanding love are foreshadowing that they will later claim that Ladybug and Chat Noir's relationship has shown them what true love is. Because none of the other relationships they've ever seen or experienced in their long, looooooong history compare to the Four-Cornered F**kery.

Tikki sure knew a lot about love when she commented on all of Marinette’s love issues.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Kagami will come to regret 'impulsively' breaking up with Adrien for being a lying jerkface, while Luka moves on and finds happiness with somebody else with relative ease. Because guys are allowed to move on with their lives while girls have to wallow in the miserable mires of wish-you-were-(still)-mine. Woes--!

no but see Adrien is “worthy” of love while Marinette isn’t

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Marinette is either responsible for the secret Juleka's keeping (such as trusting her with a Miraculous) or inadvertently sets Rose on its scent in the first place, making her *supposedly* responsible for the strife which follows.

We already know that it’s not Juleka’s secret at least but Marinette could absolutely still set Rose off.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Marinette will be taught techniques/given a power-up that shuts off her emotions completely, or simply reaches the point where she figures out how to do so on her own. This is ultimately shown to be a bad thing/another mistake not because of the toll it takes on her psyche, but because the fully repressed Marinette/Ladybug no longer has any interest whatsoever in Adrien, and *we can't have THAT!*

Us getting to see Marinette not crushing on Adrien... but at what cost?

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Alya posts more embarrassing content on the LadyBlog, making it look like Ladybug keeps screwing up/making mistakes. Marinette asks her to stop, worried that she's undermining people's faith in her; Alya blows off her concerns and accuses her of getting a swelled head/becoming a 'control freak' about her image, insisting it's no big deal if people see she's human while refusing to treat her as such. (Meanwhile none of Chat Noir's mistakes/misbehavior make it onto the blog.)

“Bonus” if Alya gets particularly huffy because it’s jOunrAliSm and she’d be bIAsEd if she took down something that made her fRiEnD uNComOFTablE.

elflynns-horde-of-stuff said:

Don't need a burrow: The upcoming episode "Guiltrip" is gonna be 50% Sadrien. And we won't even get any new developments on his character for it.

so the usual

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: It's revealed that Ladybug holders are 'natural good luck charms' for everybody around them, but are punished by karmic backlash for even the *slightest* hint of selfishness (or self-consideration). Hence Marinette's whole plight, which is still presented as her fault for not being able to reach an impossibly perfect ideal. (Anything we learn about Black Cat holders, meanwhile, is purely for Agrestangst and has no bearing on anything observable within the show itself.)

Honestly, with the bad luck Marinette had in “Origins,” you’d think she’d be meant for the cat and been taught about the values of destruction and just being able to Go Off on people, or how to spin her bad luck into something good (or the black cat miraculous in general helps her channel her bad luck, such as making her Cataclysm stronger or being able to give her bad luck to others).

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: The show ends with Marinette and Adrien getting together, with Marinette declaring that everything she went through was worth it and that she's 'incredibly lucky' -- that the fact fate brought them together is 'nothing short of Miraculous!'

The sheer level at which I just cringed in immeasurable.

Anonymous said:

Didn't need the Burrow: A S5 episode will drop before S4 is finished.

Oh! Ahaha, we’ve got a wavelength, anon! I actually already added that one at some point.

Anonymous said:

Didn't need the Burrow: The series will not really make Rose/Juleka canon. They will imply it but the official language used in the episode will be "best friends". Yet on Twitter the creators will pat themselves on the back repeatedly for it

I mean, this already partially happened in “Reflekdoll” so--

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: It'll be confirmed beyond any reasonable doubt that Adrien 100% knows about Marinette's crush when he uses it to manipulate her. Plagg comments on it, and Adrien affirms that he knows, but her feelings don't compare to his own for Ladybug. ('And aren't worth sparing' goes unsaid, but is naturally implied.) Naturally, his manipulation of her is treated as 'clever', and any pain or mortification she feels as a result is just gravy.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow: Adrien reveals to Plagg (and the audience) that he's fully aware of Marinette's crush, but refuses to acknowledge it because he doesn't want to 'crush her dreams', comparing it to how Ladybug keeps rejecting him. Making the situation entirely about HIM and how HE feels, even showing some resentment towards her for HAVING that crush for HIM to deal with. Marinette and her feelings are painted as just an ANNOYANCE that he's ignoring, heedless of the impact upon her.

wow i hate them both

thank you, both of you

</3

#category: salt #Didn't Need Burrow