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the-modern-typewriter · 6 months

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Encouragement: your prose has such a physical, tangible element that is so rare and immersive and incredible! Your descriptions don’t just feel real, they make me feel like I am real inside the story (if that makes any sense haha). Thanks for sharing your talent so generously!

Prompt request: a sword fight between the protagonist and antagonist, including all the witty banter and sexual tension, that ends with the protagonist on their knees, sword under their chin, pretending not to be terrified - and whatever you think should come next :)

"It's been a while since we've done this," the antagonist murmured. Their intent gaze tracked every step, every breath, that the protagonist made around them on the arena sand. "I was starting to think I wouldn't get the pleasure again."

"You like being cut to ribbons and knocked on your arse, sire?"

"Well, you do it beautifully." The cruel monarch's eyes gleamed in the sun. "What can I say? It's inspiring."

It wasn't what the protagonist had expected. The last time the protagonist had challenged them and won - bargaining for the safety of their entire village - the antagonist had been livid. They'd never lost before.

There was no lie in the antagonist's eyes though. Only a strange admiration that made something in the protagonist's stomach bottom out.

The antagonist lunged in the brief distraction that comment caused.

The protagonist parried just in time - then they were off. The air rang with the clash of their swords, with the sound of their panting breaths and pounding hearts.

The crowd roared hungry behind it all. It was a long-awaited rematch after all. A talented tyrant and the only upstart to ever beat them on the field. A nobody.

The protagonist was swiftly made aware of the fact that the antagonist had vastly improved since their last match. Everything about them was sharpened to a deadly purpose. The protagonist's heartbeat quickened.

It struck them, for the first time, that they might not win again.

They paused many minutes later with both of their blades locked in place, their faces inches apart. Sweat stung the protagonist's eyes.

The antagonist grinned. "As I said, inspiring. I'm so glad you came back."

"You made it hard not to."

"You made it hard not to spend the last three years thinking about you."

The protagonist swallowed.

The improvement was impressive. The antagonist was as gorgeous to watch in action as they were horrifying to fight against.

"You're still not winning," the protagonist said. "Go back and train for another three years. Then, maybe."

"Your arms are trembling."

The protagonist wrenched back, at that, and lunged anew. The problem was that their arms were shaky with the effort of blocking and evading the antagonist's blows.

The two of them had always had different styles. The protagonist was fast, light on their feet. They'd mostly trained for multiple opponents. The antagonist had trained for this. They were far stronger than the protagonist was in the force of their blows. Before, they'd been much slower. Now, they were still slower - but only just. There was no respite.

The longer it dragged on, the more the fight tipped into the antagonist's favour. The protagonist had always won by dispatching their opponents as swiftly as possible, but the antagonist was a siege weapon. They didn't even seem tired.

"Would you like to get on your knees for me now," the antagonist asked, "or would you like me to knock you to them? I don't mind either way, when it's you."

The protagonist snarled, too breathless for words.

They'd managed to draw first blood, just like last time, but since then...

The antagonist tipped their head, a mocking incline of acknowledgement. Then they were bearing on the protagonist again.

The protagonist didn't remember hitting their knees, some time later. They were too concerned with their sword wrenching out of their hand, landing out of reach, for the dull pain of it to register.

Cold, unyielding metal pressed cold against the flushed skin at their throat.

The protagonist finally went still. They had one hand planted on the sand to catch themselves, head bowed where they'd frozen. Beneath the cover of their hair, their gaze flicked around desperately for an angle they could use.

Could they tackle the antagonist's legs? Make a dash for their blade again? A grab for the antagonist's sword instead?

Not with that blade held so firmly, so confident, against their jugular.

The antagonist nudged the sword up against the protagonist's chin. The protagonist tipped their head back up, careful not to make any sudden moves.

"Hands behind your head," the antagonist said.

The protagonist met their eyes, then slowly did as they were told. Their chest heaved.

The crowd, for all of their baying racket, felt distant. Inconsequential.

Nobody would challenge the antagonist if they slit the protagonist's neck. They probably wouldn't even be surprised. Fear licked up the protagonist's spine.

"Tell me you surrender," the antagonist said, softly.

"I don't."

"You don't want to do this nicely?"

The protagonist said nothing.

"Tell me I'm a better fighter," the antagonist said. "Tell me I'm the best you've ever fought."

They absolutely were the best the protagonist had fought in a very long time, but that was also absolutely besides the point.

"We've both won one." The protagonist's jaw clenched. "We'd have to go a third round to decide that."

"Mm." Something shifted on the antagonist's face, there and gone in an instant. "By all means. Can you get up?" They tapped the protagonist's chin with the sword again, that time breaking skin. The protagonist felt blood trickle down their neck.

The protagonist started to rise. They crumpled just as quickly, with a startled hitch of breath. Their tired legs abruptly felt like jelly. They'd no idea how they'd got so exhausted. They-

"Your blade," the protagonist said, in accusing disbelief. "What did you-?" The antagonist's talent was by no means fake, but they'd also clearly had no intention of leaving a rematch and their reputation to chance. Their blade, and the thin cut on the protagonist's neck, was tainted by something.

"Oh dear oh dear," the antagonist said. "It seems you've pushed yourself too far. You should have yielded with dignity."

"Bastard."

"Surrender."

"Or what?"

"Or I'll give you enough of a dose that you can never pick up a sword with those impressive hands again. I respect you greatly. You will give me the respect I deserve in return."

The protagonist stared at them. They shouldn't have been stunned. They knew the antagonist's reputation.

The smirk had vanished from the antagonist's face. So had the flirting, if it could be called that.

"I surrender," the protagonist said. Their vision hazed.

The antagonist dropped the blade from the protagonist's throat, sheafed their sword, and offered a hand.

With everyone watching, the protagonist took it.

The antagonist hauled them up. The protagonist's vision tunneled.

"Good match," the antagonist said, sounding sincere. "You really are incredible." They yanked the protagonist in close, to press their lips to the protagonist's ear. "If you can walk out of this arena without collapsing, I'll even let you go. I just had to prove I could win, you see. People talk. They get ideas."

The protagonist made a small, involuntarily strangled sound.

The antagonist's thumb caressed their racing pulse. "My god, though." Their voice dropped. "You look even more enticing than I imagined beaten. You really shouldn't have been interesting. I thought you'd cave like everyone does."

The antagonist clapped their shoulder and stepped back, beaming.

The protagonist made it all of three, stubborn steps before they hit the dust.

#sword fighting #antagonists #antagonist x protagonist #protagonists and antagonists #writing #short story #fiction #sword fight #enemies

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jedimaesteryoda · 1 month

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One trend I've noticed a lot lately in the speculation of Tyrion meeting Daenerys is how he'll influence her. The argument often is that Tyrion will encourage her more "fire and blood" destructive tendencies when they get to Westeros. However, this view is often one-sided as it's always about how Tyrion will influence Daenerys but never about how Daenerys will influence Tyrion.

"Daenerys, I am thrice your age," Ser Jorah said. "I have seen how false men are. Very few are worthy of trust, and Daario Naharis is not one of them. Even his beard wears false colors." That angered her. "Whilst you have an honest beard, is that what you are telling me? You are the only man I should ever trust?" He stiffened. "I did not say that." "You say it every day. Pyat Pree's a liar, Xaro's a schemer, Belwas a braggart, Arstan an assassin . . . do you think I'm still some virgin girl, that I cannot hear the words behind the words?" "Your Grace—" She bulled over him. "You have been a better friend to me than any I have known, a better brother than Viserys ever was. You are the first of my Queensguard, the commander of my army, my most valued counselor, my good right hand. I honor and respect and cherish you—but I do not desire you, Jorah Mormont, and I am weary of your trying to push every other man in the world away from me, so I must needs rely on you and you alone. It will not serve, and it will not make me love you any better." -ASOS, Daenerys IV

Daenerys is not the sheltered child Aegon was who Tyrion could easily manipulate as shown when she called out Jorah for trying to isolate her from other men. Even Tyrion admitted to Aegon, having never met Daenerys that "she is strong" and "fierce." Daenerys was more worldly at 14 than Aegon is at 16. Even as a small, frightened girl at age 13 in the beginning of the series, she had more street smarts than her adult brother Viserys and has shown to be a prodigy in the series. Tyrion would not be able to manipulate her easily, especially since would initially be wary of him for being a Lannister.

Tyrion at the end of the day would be serving as her subordinate, him being largely dependent on her. Tyrion largely is the way he is because of the toxic family he grew up in. The Lannister vision has no idea of a Good Society, it's just pure self-aggrandizement by any means necessary. As the adage goes, rot always starts at the head. The monarchs Tyrion served as Hand, Joffrey and Cersei, were both cruel, incompetent tyrants with senses of entitlement that outweighed their actual abilities. They also had no concept of the duties of a monarch to their subjects, and instead just abused their power over others, including sexually. The one who actually ran the show for the Lannister regime, Tywin, was a cold, abusive Machiavellian who brutalized the smallfolk and his children, seeing them as pawns in his schemes. Tyrion could be cunning and brutal, because it was both encouraged and necessary for the winner-take-all, dog-eat-dog world of the Lannister court. It was an environment designed to bring out the darker side of his nature.

However, since the beginning we saw hints of the lighter side of his nature such as when he gave emotional support to Jon and designed a special saddle for Bran. He even helped Catelyn when they were attacked by the mountain clans even though she kidnapped him. In A Clash of Kings, we see hints of Tyrion wanting to be something other than the cold Machiavellian like his father when he stands up for Sansa when Joffrey beats her, and he has Morec killed and Slynt sent to the Wall for killing Barra, wanting to "do justice." In A Dance with Dragons, he risks his life to protect Aegon and even in his lowest he looks out for Penny even though she is a complete stranger to him.

Daenerys is a foil to Cersei, whose ruling philosophy is expressed in the statement "Why do the gods make kings and queens, if not to protect the ones who can't protect themselves?" Daenerys tries to live up to the image of an ideal monarch who protects the weak. She liberates the oppressed from slavery and tries to protect them, even performing acts like tending to those afflicted with the bloody flux herself, marrying someone she doesn't want and putting her plan of going to Westeros on hold to achieve peace. Working as Hand to Queen Daenerys, Tyrion may find himself in a change of pace in a different environment where for once his more positive tendencies are encouraged with his fondness for "cripples, bastards and broken things."

In short, in cutting himself off from his toxic family, Tyrion may actually find a new beginning in service to Daenerys. He's the Machiavellian polymath and court politician she needs, and she's the competent, idealistic monarch he needs.

#asoiaf #a song of ice and fire #queen daenerys #daenerys targaryen #daenerys stormborn #tyrion lannister #house lannister #house targaryen #meereen #queen cersei #cersei

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comradekatara · 25 days

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Started watching lok and they spent so much time making mako fumble beautiful women they forgot to make non-benders oppressed

LMFAO yeah book 1 is such a mess. I think they were trying to illustrate that amon is a charlatan who used the plight of the people to disguise his rise to power through framing it as a genuine social movement for equality, but it doesn’t actually make any sense because “non-benders” and “benders” broadly speaking do not constitute coherent classes. the class dynamics in republic city operate along axes of neocolonialism and neoliberalism, so it’s not a matter of non-benders or benders having more power, it’s a matter of 1) who stands to benefit from living in a fire nation neocolony on earth kingdom land (descendants of original fire nation settlers) 2) who controls the means of production (hiroshi ford, primarily!). the sato family are not benders, but they are shown to be far more powerful than mako and bolin, who are literally professional benders, because they are industrialists who control most of the technology in/of the city. in fact, we constantly see mako and bolin’s bending-labor being exploited, whether in dangerous athletic arenas, doing dangerous work for gangs, dangerous factory work, etc. just due to the concrete examples we are shown, if anything, non-benders largely live in wealth, while benders largely live in poverty.

but this evidence, too, is anecdotal, and i don’t believe it, because again, “non-bender” is not a coherent class marker/identity. king kuei is the monarch of the world’s largest nation who has spent his entire life so sheltered that he wasn’t even aware that the world had been devastated by a century of fire nation imperialism. sokka is a colonized subject who spent his entire childhood internalizing the notion that it was his duty to die as a martyr to save his sister who has been valorized due to her unique position as the last waterbender of the southern tribe (which, if you couldn’t tell, is the result of a targeted genocide, not some inherently distinguished qualia that designates benders as ontologically superior). the fact that neither of these characters are benders does not align them socially or politically.

moreover, the reason that katara’s waterbending was valorized within her tribe was due to the scarcity of waterbenders as a result of their systemic elimination. waterbending represents a unique cultural artform to their people (it’s actually one of the first things the show establishes) and only katara possesses the unique capability to continue that legacy. due to the fire nation imperialist project, katara being a waterbender puts a target on her back; yes, it empowers her personally and culturally, but materially it constitutes another facet of her oppression — much like haru as an earthbender in occupied territory, and much like aang as the last airbender. meanwhile, firebenders are materially empowered due to their imperialist dogma that establishes firepower as the inherently superior form of bending / technology of conquest. as atla establishes, bending is political due to its spiritual and cultural value, but is politicized primarily with regards to colonial power dynamics, and thus not all benders constitute a coherent class, certainly not as they would either function to oppress or be oppressed by non-benders.

i’ve seen a lot of people claim that amon represents communism, or more specifically, maoism, which is bogus for many reasons, but most principally is the fact that he quite literally never addresses the issues that are actually oppressing certain people of republic city: namely, capitalism. “oh but he knows he’s bullshitting, he’s just telling people what they want to hear because he’s a populist dictator who just wants to seize power over republic city!” okay, so in the most generous reading of amon, he’s trump (I know lok is an obama era text, but just go with me here): he’s a member of an “oppressive” class disguising himself as a man of the people to appeal to a broad demographic by scapegoating an arbitrary group of people through tactics of fearmongering (“benders will kill you and your family…for reasons”) because he’s simply a power-hungry conman. he knows that neither non-benders nor benders are materially oppressed, and is simply exploiting the intuitive logic that it must suck to be a non-bender in a world full of people with literal superpowers for his own benefit.

and he’s doing all this …. because he had an abusive father??? or something???? nothing about his motivations or ideology is coherent. when jet manipulates katara and aang into helping them fill the reservoir, it’s with the explicit intention to flood an occupied village as a mode of anticolonial resistance. when long feng manipulates kuei into being his malleable puppet, it’s with the express purpose of controlling the entire earth kingdom from the shadows. amon wants power…because? maybe i’m just remembering key details from his tragic backstory (granted, it’s been a while since i’ve rewatched lok), but i can’t remember amon ever expressing a coherent ideology or motivation besides maybe spite? and either way, his role as a populist dictator villain who employs the signifiers of the chinese cultural revolution is pretty obviously in poor taste when the blatantly pressing issues of capitalist and neocolonial exploitation are never actually addressed and critiqued beyond the bogeyman anarchist terrorists and the fascist ethnonationalist pointing out that the status quo is bad, maybe? to which they must all ultimately be made to surrender to the effusive, all-powerful glory of impotent liberalism. whatever. at least we have korrasami.

#bakedbeanchan #asks #lok crit #amon #analysis #but at least……. we have korrasami……. and korra alone……… and uhh…..ming hua’s wet ass pussy

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hamletthedane · 9 months

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Hamlet’s Age

Not to bring up an age-old debate that doesn’t even matter, but I have been thinking recently how interesting Hamlet’s age is both in-text and as meta-text.

To summarize a whole lot of discussion, we basically only have the following clues as to Hamlet’s age:

Hamlet and Horatio are both college students at Wittenberg. In Early Modern/Late Renaissance Europe, noble boys typically began their university education at 14 and usually completed at their Bachelor’s degree by 18 or 19. However, they may have been studying for their Master’s degrees, which was typically awarded by age 25 at the latest. For reference, contemporary Kit Marlowe was a pretty late bloomer who received a bachelor’s degree at 20 and a master’s degree at 23.

Hamlet is AGGRESSIVELY described as a “youth” by many different characters - I believe more than any other male shakespeare character (other than 16yo Romeo). While usage could vary, Shakespeare tended to use “youth” to mean a man in his late teens/very early 20s (actually, he mostly uses it to describe beardless ‘men’ who are actually crossdressing women - likely literally played by young men in their late teens)

King Hamlet is old enough to be grey-haired, but Queen Gertrude is young enough to have additional children (or so Hamlet strongly implies)

Hamlet talks about plucking out the hairs of his beard, so he is old enough to at least theoretically have a beard

In the folio version, the gravedigger says he became a gravedigger the day of Hamlet’s birth, and that he’s be “sixteene here, man and boy, thirty years.” However, it’s unclear if “sixteene” means “sixteen” or “sexton” (ie has he worked here for 16 years but is 30 years old, or has he been sexton there for thirty years?)

Hamlet knew Yorick as a young child, and the gravedigger says Yorick was buried 23 years ago. However, the first quarto version version of Hamlet says “dozen years” instead of “three and twenty.” This suggests the line changed over time. (Or that the bad quarto sucks - I really need to make that post about it, huh…)

Yorick is a skull, and according to the gravedigger’s expertise, he has thus been dead for at least 7-8 years - implying Hamlet is at least ~15yo if he remembers Yorick from his childhood

One important thing sometimes overlooked - Claudius takes the throne at King Hamlet’s death, not Prince Hamlet. That is mostly a commentary on English and French monarchist politics at the time, but it is strange within the internal text. A thirty year old Hamlet presumably would have become the new monarch, not the married-in uncle (unless Gertrude is the vehicle through which the crown passes a la Mary I/Phillip II - certainly food for thought)

Honestly, Hamlet is SO aggressively described as being very young that I’m fairly confident the in-text intention is to have him be around 18-23yo. Placing his age at 30yo simply does not make much sense in the context of his descriptors, his narrative role, and his status as a university student.

However, it doesn’t really matter what the “right” answer is, because the confusion itself is what makes the gravedigger scene so interesting and metatextual. We can basically assume one of the following, given the folio text:

Hamlet really is meant to be 30yo, and that was supposed to surprise or imply something to the contemporary audience that is now lost to us

Older actors were playing Hamlet by the time the folio was written down, and the gravedigger’s description was an in-text justification of the seeming disconnect between age of actor and description of “youth”

Older actors were playing Hamlet by the time the folio was set down, and the gravedigger’s description was an in-text JOKE making fun of the fact that a 30-something year old is playing a high-school aged boy. This makes sense, as the gravedigger is a clown and Hamlet is a play that constantly pokes fun at its own tropes and breaks the fourth wall for its audience

The gravedigger cannot count or remember how old he is, and that’s the joke (this is the most common modern interpretation whenever the line isn’t otherwise played straight). If the clown was, for example, particularly old, those lines would be very funny

Any way you look at it, I believe something is echoing there. It seems like this is one of the many moments in Hamlet where you catch a glimpse of some contemporary in-joke about theater and theater culture* that we can only try to parse out from limited context 430 years later. And honestly, that’s so interesting and cool.

*(My other favorite example of this is when Hamlet asks Polonius about what it was like to play Julius Caesar in an exchange that pokes fun of Polonius’ actor a little. This is clearly an inside-joke directed at Globe regulars - the actor who played Polonius must have also played Julius Caesar in Shakespeare’s play, and been very well reviewed. Hamlet’s joke about Brutus also implies the actor who played Brutus is one of the main cast in Hamlet - possibly even the prince himself, depending on how the line is read).

#hamlet #hamlet meta #hamlet’s age #this obviously does NOT imply anything about being 30yo btw #any age is a good age to be driven to madness by guilt and grief #It’s just very usual for shakespeare to describe somebody well past their apprentice age as a ‘youth’ SO MUCH #and that makes those lines very interesting #shut up e #willy shakes #posting this while EXHAUSTED going to see a million errors and tone problems tomorrow sorry in advance yall #**very unusual #long post #posting Hamlet meta like it’s 2014 hell yeah

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fatehbaz · 7 months

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[E]very [interspecies] meeting in fact reminds us that the being we meet is and always shall be strange to us […]. When beings meet there is a distance between, such that in encountering the slug we also encounter something beyond the slug – a multitude of life we cannot sense. [...] So despite shared histories and the close proximity in which slugs and [humans] live, the slug retains a certain darkness as a creature apart; something is held in reserve […]. And so fleeting awareness of the irretrievability of the lives of others intensifies poignancy, such that despite a gulf separating the [human] from other creatures, some connection, however fleeting, is made to something – however strange. Refusing to dismiss the everyday and the banal is an ethical response. […] Slugs are there: sliming, chomping, and oozing around quietly and that should be enough to give them consideration.

[Text by: Franklin Ginn. “Sticky lives: Slugs, detachment and more-than-human ethics in the garden.” Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, Volume 39, Issue 4. 2013. Bold emphasis added by me.]

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So, can an insect speak? And if yes, do we understand it? Wittgenstein maintained that ‘if a lion could speak we would not understand him’, by which he implied that we do not share the ‘form of lion-life’ that would make lion language fully transparent to us […]. A similar insight was [...] expressed by [...] [a twentieth-century] honeybee researcher [...]: Beyond the appreciable facts of their life we know but little of the bees. And the closer our acquaintance becomes, the nearer is our ignorance brought to us of the depths of their real existence. But such ignorance is better than the other kind, which is unconscious and satisfied.

[Text by: Eileen Crist. “Can an Insect Speak?: The Case of the Honeybee Dance Language.” Social Studies of Science, Volume 34, Issue 1. 2004. Bold emphasis added.]

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Animal studies scholarship tends to emphasize animal-human relations, encounters, and similarities. […] Jellyfish and other gelatinous creatures [...], however, float at the far reaches of our ability to construct sturdy interspecies connections [...]. Uexkull’s theory […] insists upon multiple worlds […], a capacious admission that a multitude of other creatures dwell as part of worlds that humans cannot readily or completely access or grasp. Three-quarters of a century later Terry Tempest Williams wonders what it would be like to be a jellyfish. […] [She] writes: “Perhaps this is what moves me most about jellies – their sensory intelligence […] the great hunger that is sent outward through the feathery reach of their tentacles. Imagine the information sought and returned.”

[Text by: Stacy Alaimo. “Jellyfish Science, Jellyfish Aesthetics: Posthuman Reconfigurations of the Sensible”. In: Thinking with Water. 2013. Bold emphasis added.]

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Although we cannot ‘speak’ with nonhumans in any straightforward way, what we can and more importantly do do is become articulate with them in various ways. [...] If there is a way out of this historical impasse [alienation, climate crisis, global ecological degradation], [for some] it is not to be found in attributing some of ‘our’ qualities to ‘them’. It “would not be a matter of ‘giving speech back’ to animals […]. Perhaps the task is not to seek to compare the dance language of bees […] with human language, the ‘intelligence’ […] of Monarch butterflies with human intelligence, […] but rather (or at least in addition) to find a way of thinking about these ‘remarkable things’ that grants them positive ontological difference in their own right. […] [It] is concerned with what is always a multitude of others rather than a singular other […]; and it is radically nonanthropocentric […].

[Text by: Nick Bingham. “Bees, Butterflies, and Bacteria: Biotechnology and the Politics of Nonhuman Friendship.” Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space, Volume 38, Issue 3. 2006. Bold emphasis added.]

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Starfish may seem to be still, but longer attention [...] shows them [slowly] moving, changing. [...] Then there are beings [like some insects] that experience hundreds, thousands of generations within a human lifetime. For such beings, the memories, learnings and modes of passing on experience are, it almost goes without saying (yet it must be said as it is so often not), radically different from any human’s in terms of the ways they experience change. The immensity of the alterity is, literally, incomprehensible to humans. We can't know what these beings know. But we can be aware that they have knowledges and experiences beyond us. [...] [W]e should know they live and experience and think beyond us. We should seek respect and be aware of how our lives are entangled […]. It is not abstract, or empty.

[Text by: Bawaka Country et al. “Gathering of the Clouds: Attending to Indigenous understandings of time and climate through songspirals.” Geoforum Volume 108. January 2020. Bold emphasis added.]

#ecology #landscape #multispecies #interspecies #abolition

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peaches2217 · 12 days

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Have you ever thought about how Mario probably grew up in a loving but financially unstable home, and how he and Luigi likely struggled to eek out a decent life for themselves prior to whatever strange magic brought them to the Mushroom Kingdom? Have you thought about the months where they had to decide which they wanted more: food, or a roof over their heads?

And then have you stopped to think about Peach, a literal monarch with an endless supply of wealth, suddenly giving them a cottage big enough to house a whole family and free access to her castle and inviting them to share meals with her, for no other reason than 1.) she's quite fond of them and 2.) she just can? How she probably views these gestures as meager, the absolute least she can do for her friends, and how she likely has no idea that she's casually giving them a sense of security and belonging they've never had before? How much peace she brings into Mario's life, never having to wonder where his next paycheck or his next meal is coming from, seeing his beloved brother finally having the means to pursue his own hobbies and pastimes, and not even realizing it? Have you ever thought about that?

And have you ever thought about how lonely Peach's life must have been? Even if there were other children her age to play with (never mind that none of them were human like her), she couldn't have played anyway, because every aspect of her upbringing was tailored around making her an effective politician? And how even in adulthood, there's very few people who seek her company just for the sake of it; how she goes into most interactions knowing that she's wanted for her beauty, her power, her influence, and nothing else?

And then have you stopped to think about Mario, a guy with plenty of friends and lots of better things to do, just... seeking her out for no other reason than to talk? How he could have so much more from Peach if only he asked, she would happily gift him any treasure that money could buy, but for some reason she can't decipher, all he wants is her friendship? How he doesn't view her as untouchable or some great means to an end, nor does he just turn a blind eye to their differing social statuses; he acknowledges her position and her power yet expects nothing of her in spite of it, and is happiest simply when he can sit and chat with her about nothing for hours on end? Have you ever thought about that?

Because I think about that, like. A lot.

#this has been on my mind for so long and I've never been able to get the words out correctly #this probably is way too rambly and makes little sense so please forgive me 😅#peaches has opinions #super mario bros #smb #mario x peach #mareach

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sweet-as-an-angel · 1 year

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Seraphim [Ghost x Reader]

Summary: You help Ghost relax after an arduous and stressful mission away.

Wordcount: 817 words

Warnings: Fluff, Vague Implications/Mentions of Smut (Nothing Explicit or Shown), just two people in Love :-(((, No Pronouns used for Reader except for 'You'.

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Much like the rest of him, even Simon's hair had seemed to have grown hard - rigid - while he was away. That much was apparent to you as you raked your fingers through it, stitching shampoo through the strands.

"You're too good to me," he sighed, sinking a little deeper into the lavender water, soap suds keeping him modest. His eyes would squeeze shut whenever you found his sweet spot - behind the ears, the reason you called him your "Big Puppy", your "Guard dog."

"You deserve the world, Simon." Your words caught on the steam, sang a soft tune to the man who, like many times before, was rebuilding himself beneath your touch. "And if this is all I can do to bring it closer to your hands, then I'd do it for all the eternities the Universe will allow."

Simon's eyes cracked open, and, sensing the shift in his tone, you lowered your hands to the water, shampoo slipping from your fingers into the cauldron of aroma, and placed them upon his shoulders. His muscles were still tense, his senses tender, his mind raw.

You smiled.

"You've done more than I can ever reward you for," Simon said, and, with a sea serpent hand, he placed his palm atop your fingers, collected them like bird bones, and brought them to his lips. He kissed your knuckles, the chap of his lips disguised behind water, much like the water that gathered in his eyes.

"I don't want recompense, Simon," you said, softly. Your eyes grew doleful. Empathic. "All I want," you leaned down, pressing a kiss to the suds in his hair, "and all I'll ever want," and another to the shell of his ear. Shivers broke out across his back, fledgling wings - Seraphim. "Is your love."

Simon's shoulders raised, and for a moment, your heart squeaked, wondering if he'd jump out the water. He did not, but he was damned close. Instead, his other hand came around your waist, wetting your shirt beneath his aqualine touch. He urged you closer, and you came closer, both thighs sat on the bath edge, the water's edge.

His eyes searched yours, for any trace of fallacy, of falsity, though he knew it was a wasted venture. For now, after having your love palpable in his hands, to have felt your beating heart beneath his fingers during long evenings of just the two of you, he knew he had it. He possessed it, just as you did his. And yet, he searched for it in your gaze, every time he returned; to see if your love faltered when you saw him, to see if your pupils still blew wide whenever they fell upon him.

They did.

Just as they always had. Always would.

"You'll always have me." he said, pressing his face into your shirt, your stomach. He placed a muffled kiss there, and withdrew, looking up into your eyes. A puppy indeed. “Forever.” Simon's words were true. As was the glimmer in his eyes.

"Mind," he pulled you closer, his hand dropping to your hip, "body," he squeezed it, near making you squeal. He pulled you closer still, emerging from the waters, a Prince of the Sea meeting a Monarch of the Sun.

"And soul."

His lips found yours, a light in the dark, and you accepted him unto you. A Holy Spirit, a waiting disciple.

His lips were warm, all-encompassing, the condition of his skin becoming more apparent, rougher, as the water washed off him and onto you. You could taste how much he needed you, feel it in how tightly he pulled you to him, never letting go.

A fragment of eternity passed between you, cutting you loose. And as you pulled away, you pressed your forehead to his, desperately trying to show him the love and life you held for him there, a projector to display all that you could neither say, nor do, to compensate for all that you felt for him.

You smiled, eyes crinkling, half-moons.

"I think I prefer just the body," you said.

Ghost's cheeks lifted, his teeth showing as a laugh rumbled through his chest. He slipped another arm around you and, before you could comprehend, pulled you into the bath, making you squeal and water and suds to spill over the sides as he settled you beneath him.

"Well, then," he said, his consideration, his musings, utterly false, pre-determined. His hands held your wrists, bracelets of blood, bone and muscle. Of Man.

"I'll just have to show you how much this body loves yours."

And with a string of kisses from your ear to your throat, the bath became a mermaid's bed, the scent of lavender curating a scene from pure fantasy, of a love which permeated the very atmosphere, turned it sweet and reduced all hope that anything as pure could ever grasp it in its shaking, gripping, spectral fingers.

Reblog for more content like this! It helps creators like myself tremendously and it is greatly appreciated :-)

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yaut-jaknowit · 9 months

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The Monarch

Pairing: We'ar-ow (Female Yautja) x GN!Reader (Platonic)

Word Count: 3543

Summary: You’re staying on the mothership with who you thought was your lover. It was the mating season. Before your hunter goes off, he tells you that. You’re left heart broken and in shock. When he doesn’t return in a reasonable time, you leave the quarters and wander the ship. You find yourself at a private area. Out comes her.

Author Note: I told myself I would never make a pink Yautja (just my own preferences) but here I am, making another mommy Yautja to love on.

Masterlist

Ao3

“You’re nothing but a burden.” World shattering words. Gut wrenching words. Words that leave you devastated. No ground to stand on. Nothing to stable yourself.

Your mate, your everything, the person you dropped everything for to be with. He… he, god. No. He couldn’t do this. This wasn’t real! You had to be dreaming. Why would he say that to you? What led to this moment to be dropped nothing more than a pack of potatoes? You were too overwhelmed to think properly. To show any emotion besides a dropped jaw and just to stare into harden eyes. Eyes that used to soften when they found your form.

There was nothing soft or gentle about your giant. No. All of it was gone. Gone from existence.

“Why?”

It’s all that you could muster in the fog clouding your thoughts. Your hands shook at your side, trembling with uncontrollable anxiety. Blood rushed in your ears, the only sound you hear clearly. You just stared into his eyes, not a clear thought between your eyes.

He scoffed, mandibles pulled tight to show his disgust. “You are ooman. You not understand Yautja way. Breeding season, you are of no use to me.”

When you thought it couldn’t get worse, the universe willingly showed how wrong you are. How could a shattered heart break even more? You stumbled a couple steps away from him to hold onto the back of a couch behind me. Even that barely gave you any stability in this moment.

“But-but we, you, how….” All you wanted to do was break down and sob and do everything in your power to keep him. What did he except from you now? What were the next steps to proceed?

The now unfamiliar Yautja kept his head high with pride and arms firmly crossed over a chest you were laying on last night. Last night. Everything was fine last night. Just any normal night. Nothing to show the next morning your mate would abandon you.

He grunted before turning around, putting his back to you and walking away. His claws lightly clicking against the metal floors. Your vision went blurry as he left, unfocused. Mind blank as you tried to make sense of the situation. Then, you fell to your knees with a hearty sob. One that shook you to your very core. You released everything.

For hours, you leaned all your weight against the back of the couch and cried your eyes out. Even after your voice grew hoarse and hurt, you didn’t stop. Now, what were you going to do? Here you were, stuck on an alien ship, with no way back to earth. Your mate abandoned you for… for others. It’s not like you ask or buy a ticket home. With no Yautja to protect you now, you were fresh meat to the younglings or freshly blooded to screw with you. You weren’t going to last a week before someone went too far.

Your pride didn’t allow you to even think about asking your… your ex mate about helping you home. He already just abandoned you without a second thought. Why the change? Why had it changed? You roughly wiped at the tears rolling down you sticky, salty cheeks. More came to wet the skin there. It was pointless until your emotions finally run dry.

A hopeful, hopeless thought kept you there for an unknown amount of time. Maybe he would come to his senses and come back. Anything to give you an ounce of hope this was all a dream, a nightmare. But he didn’t come back in a reasonable amount of time. That made your chest ache somehow more.

That’s when you pulled yourself up by your pants, took a deep breath, and ventured out. Since, your mate decided to up and leave you out of nowhere, there was an unpredictable aura to what he might do to you if he returned and found you. There was nothing in the honor code from truly stopping him from killing you. You were prey. A small part of you didn’t want to believe it but now, you were thrust upon the world of predators as meek prey. Now, you had to survive all by yourself. Out in a world that was fully against you. Just that thought made you want to break down crying again.

The predators that you scuttled past could smell your sorrow, a nasty smell. Many of them already had a distain for the fact you were on the ship. None of this new to you. It was a small uproar at first. But your mate, oh your mate, he defended you and did what had to be done for your sake. Which was claim you as a pet so no one could touch or cause any sort of harm to you.

That’s why this whole change in behavior didn’t make sense.

Your feet carried you as your mind just wandered to all spectrums of the situation. All you were trying to do was reel in some sort of survival plan for the new future. All you had to was survive. Could you do that? Was it possible? You took a shuttering breath and dipped down an empty hall. As you did this, you felt the piercing eyes of predators slowly leaving your trembling frame. The weight finally being lifted off of your shoulders.

From there, you just lumbered along. Not in any rush or hurry. Not paying much attention to the surrounding area. Not caring about what could happen.

One of the wall’s of the hall turned to glass, revealing the vast void of empty space. Stars in distant galaxies sparkled, shining bright like diamonds. There were no nearby planets that you could make out. The sight made you shiver harshly. Here you were, nothing more than a bundle of atoms in a galaxy that didn’t give a shit about you. You were going to die.

So be it. You sat down, back to the wall and gazed out to the galaxy. Despite being dangerous and unforgiving, it was stunning. The stars and colors that the galaxy held took your breath away. Part of the reason you said yes to joining your mate and leaving your planet behind. Look where that got you know. At lease before you die, you can say you’re the only human to go this deep into space. Let alone see this far into the universe. You couldn’t help the shy smile on your lips at the thought.

As you sat there, you smacked your lips together and realized how thirsty you were. All the crying has made you dehydrated. Could you even make it out of the mess hall alive without him? Would you accidentally run into him? If you did, what would h-

A shadow casted over your tiny frame. Fear entered your body like freezing water. Your breath got caught as you didn’t know what to do. Should you dare to look, risk the wrath of a stranger, see the person possible for murdering you? Or just let them have their way and go?

Massive, dark green and mixes of browns, feet could be seen at the edge of your vision. Double shit. You were dead. The feet shifted then you felt a heavy weight settle down next to you. A deep, gruttle groan vibrating the air. All you did was pin your eyes on the ground and refused to move. Or wish death upon yourself.

The new form leaned back against the wall, same as you. Their shadow still blocked out some of the light on you, even sitting next to you.

Finally, you peeked look and felt like you were to shit yourself. Her eyes were already on you, as if she was waiting for you to sneak a glance. Her head wasn’t fully facing you, just looking out the corner of her eyes. You swore you saw an upper mandible quirk up once the two of you eyes met. A massive female was sat comfortably next to you, as if it was completely normal. She was adorn us beautifully created and wrapped clothing and jewelry. You immediately recognized her.

How could you not? A figure that was incredibly posing for just her title. But it wasn’t just that had you trembling in terror. We’ar-ow. Monarch of this mothership. Monarch. Who was sitting next to you without batting an eye about your presence. At this point, you swore there was beads of sweat rolling down your face.

We’ar-ow peacefully rested, eyes now gazing out into the vast universe her kind explores and hunts through. Though, she showed no interest either in a good or bad way, you scrambled to your feet. A swift, unsteady pace started to put as much di- “Wait.” The voice of battle worn yet gentle leader commanded. Despite not being one of her kind, all of your muscles froze. Nothing would listen to the instinct to dash away to somewhere safer.

There was soft tink sound of her metal jewelry behind you. Nothing major nor did a creeping feeling of dread grow. Which told you she hadn’t gotten up to chase you. Maybe she turned her head? Oh, you felt the stare of a predator now.

Claws tapped against metal. “Sit,” We’ar-ow commanded with a voice that held no room for arguing. It sounded like she didn’t even need to try. Like the tone was built in, intergraded since she was a child. Everything atom in your body shuttered; and gave in. You timidly turned back around and found her patting the spot you were just in with a massive hand. Hands that could easily tear your head from your shoulders without much hassle.

Your lungs wheezed quietly as you timidly stepped back over to her, giving yourself an extra foot. Then, you slowly lowered yourself onto the ground.

Out of the corner of your eye, you noticed how much she towered over you. Not reaching her midriff in this state, probably worse when standing next to each other. Why does she want you here? Your mind was running a thousand miles per minute trying to come up with a reason on why. But nothing logical came to mind, just thoughts of her luring you in to kill you. Even that doesn’t make much sense, yet here you are.

The massive female drew her hand back into her lap and stilled. From what you could feel – not daring to look, she was focused on what was outside the window. You could hear your heart pounding wildly in your ear. The only sound you could hear as you sat tense and rigid. A terrified animal resting next to a predator.

Through the overwhelming sound of blood pumping, you heard that tale tell sign of extra air. “You are that pet I’ve heard much about.” A flare of anger surged through you before a cold dose of water splashed it out. Calm, it’s okay.

Despite her speaking directly at you, you didn’t dare to respond, let alone look at her. “You know it is dangerous to be without your master, correct?” Shit, a question. Nervous of doing something wrong, I just dipped my head. Your mate had warned about going anywhere without him on the first day here. Being a pet gave you protection but some Yautjas don’t believe that humans deserve to be in the presence of them.

She hummed, voice deep and grumbly. “You reek of sorrow.” More of a statement than a question. Right, their kind have a great sense of smell. That meant she could smell everything. Once more, you didn’t say or do anything, afraid of angering her.

Chuckling, guttural in sound. We’ar-ow presence grew incredibly close, suddenly. Her warmth radiating off of her to soak into your skin. You couldn’t help but flinch. An arm raising to cover your head as if that would do a thing against her. “You are pet. I cannot harm you,” she reminded you like that would help your situation.

Almost, you scoffed and were close to opening your mouth to a make remark. One that would cost you your life. Instead, you held your tongue and waited for her to lose interest in you.

“Oomans are strange creatures. So diverse in personality and culture. Why do you k-ri? Why do you sorrow?” Those are questions that required words. Words you didn’t want to speak. Why was she so interested in you? We’ar-ow is an old monarch. She’s had to seen hundreds of humans before. So this whole interaction confused you.

A lump in your throat prevented any sounds from being voiced. Probably for the better.

There was a heavy huff next to you. “I asked you a question. Answer.” Oh, you were so screwed, incredibly fucked. She didn’t even have to pull the title card to have you even more petrified.

You finally were able to swallow the major part of the lump down and nervously cleared your throat. “N-no reason,” is all you can get out. Not daring to spill your trouble to the monarch of this mothership and clan.

She growled at your lie but didn’t move. “I hear your lie,” like a mother scolding their child. Nothing more needed to be said to know that was the wrong route. You flinched by curling into a ball and protecting your head with a terrified yelp. Words that could sound like ‘sorry’ could barely be made out behind your arms and legs. “Speak the truth. I’m curious what had upset a pet to run idiotically through my ship without their master.”

Nothing could move you from your ball. You swallowed once more. “I-I,” you started, immediately stumbling over your words. We’ar-or growled lowly. If it wasn’t for the earlier command earlier, you would’ve been up and out quicker than she could blink. You squeaked and curled up tighter.

“Speak clearly and firm. You make yourself prey by acting like one,” she said, eyes boring into your skull. You didn’t need to see to know this.

You gave a timid nod and breathed in. Gaining a few drops of courage from her words, I straightened back but couldn’t find it in myself to look at her. “My-my master, he abandoned-“ your heart ached at the reminder of what he told you earlier- “me. Told me I was a burden then left.”

Her response was a deep hum before the silence engulfed us again. You didn’t know if that was better than hearing her talk. All you could hear was your heart pounding and the air circulating through the vents. You had to stop yourself from curling up again. Don’t act like prey. Was it better to act argonaut or to be prey surrounded by predators?

“Abandoned you say? Disgusting. He took you into his care, you are his responsibility. I warned him, to ensure this is what he wanted. Dishonorable to abandon you,” she spoke, voice hardened with disgust. Like, she cared about the situation. Did she? Why would she? You found it in yourself to turn your head and looked at her. Her eyes finding yours immediately. “Now, you’re a pet without a master…” Now, you flinched and bowed your head

Rough, textured fingers pinched your chin and lifted your head. We’ar-ow turned your head this and that way. Her piercing eyes studying you. She bummed while in thought before dipping her head for a second. “So be it. You will be my new pet. I’ll challenge that pathetic male just to ensure he cannot say I stole you. Even if he dared to accuse that to me, I would best in a match.” Your heart felt like it exploded in your chest. The monarch… Oh my god. She just-no-I huh?!

You find your voice. “Why?” Immediately, you tried to bow your head again. That was incredibly rude. But her hand simply kept it raised. “Sorry.”

We’ar-ow chuckled. She wasn’t angered or offended. Relief flooded your veins. Almost, you almost relaxed but kept vigilant. After your mate had broken your heart, you weren’t going to be so naïve anymore. The female Yautja leaned in, long tresses slipping over her shoulder. Her hot, moist breath fanning over your face. “Because, I’m the Monarch.” You shuttered. And she was right. She needed no reason to give for taking what she wants. Even if it lands her in a battle.

Her hand was still on your chin and keeping your face towards her. You desperately wanted to pull away, shy away, but she didn’t let you. It seemed like she wanted to make you squirm and sweat under her gaze. “And I take what I want.” That sounded everything besides arrogant. It was truth. Both of you knew it without a doubt.

Your throat bobbed with a nervous swallow. “Okay,” you whispered, barely above silence. One of her upper mandibles quirked up. Her eyes scanned up and down your body before a look of disgust falling over her features. Her free hand pinched at the fabric hanging off of your shoulders that made up your shirt. Clothing that your ex-mate had created for you.

“This will have to change. You reek of that male. No more,” she stated firmly. For once, you agreed with her. It would be a good change, possibly for the better. Though, the pet thing will never sit right with you, you’ll have to work with it.

“And some jewelry. I will not have my pet look so meek or low status. You are pet of Tourk’on Clan’s Monarch. Keep your chin level and be proud of who owns you,” We’ar-ow offered for advice. You timidly looked into her eyes and held the longest eye contact before. It earned you a chuff and a smirk. “Good pet.” Praise that sent your heart fluttering. This time, in a good way.

With the hand not holding onto your chin, she ran a deadly claw down your temple, over the crest of your cheek bone, and down to your jawline before falling over. “You are mine now. I won’t abandon you like that scum male.” Fuck, that caused something deep inside of you to ignite. Yet, you kept your guard up. Your trust had been broken, harshly and without care less than two hours ago. You still ached. You still hurt. But, a small part of you desperately wanted to have what you had with your ex-mate again. It would be difficult to move on after everything that has happened. You could do it though. You have made it this far in a universe destined to kill you.

Then, a yawn broke the scene. You ensured your teeth were kept covered, something you were taught. We’ar-ow slightly pulled back before laughing and shaking her massive head. Today has worn you down to the bone. “Tired, my pet? Already?” You believed yourself to be crazy to think you heard a teasing tone in her voice.

Before you had a chance to do or say anything, two sturdy, thickly corded arms slipped underneath your form. You were simply lifted to be curled against a chest. By god’s grace. You felt like you were dead or dreaming because she didn’t just pick you. God, did she? You looked down. It was her arms holding you to her body. The Monarch was carrying you. Carrying you. She was holding you in her grasp. Her powerful, lethal legs started a path to the designation in her mind. Wherever that might be.

Through the halls of a ship We’ar-ow ruled, the Monarch carried you like a sack of potatoes. All the Yautjas that crowded the halls either stared or did a double take. Many mandibles dropped. Almost an uproar of whispering between everyone sounded the moment the two of past. We’ar-ow didn’t even twitch a muscle in response. As if she was expecting this to happen.

After an elevator ride to the highest floor on the ship, one you’ve never could even dream to be on, she stepped into her room. Or what you believed as hers. We’ar-ow dismissed everything and head straight to a room off to the side. It was around twice the size of your ex-mate’s bedroom.

Off in one corner was an hugely oversized dog bed, more considered a normal bed in your eyes. A large bowl was set close by to said bed, filled with clear liquid. Toys and such, like cat or dog toys sat neatly on the mattress covered bed. Blankets and furs as well.

We’ar-ow didn’t let you have much time to take in the room from her arms and brought you over to the bed. You were placed down. It was heaven. Your body sunk into the fabric as it swaddled you. She stood above you at her full height, apposing and known as fatal. Her piercing eyes pinned on your form and nothing more. “I will let you sleep before retrieving you at a later time. I will change your old master to a duel and win you over.” If this was anyone else, it would be arrogant and boastful. This wasn’t just anyone. We’ar-ow has set out a plan of action she will proceed with.

No if, and, or but’s about it.

#yautja #predator #yautja x reader #yautja x you #alien vs predator #predator x reader #yautja x human #predator x you #predator x human #x reader #We'ar-ow #A new yautja has appeared

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immaturityofthomasastruc · 10 months

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IOTA Reviews: Derision

Well, here we are. This is the episode you've all been waiting for me to cover. The one people claim is the cream of the crop when it comes to badness, not just for the insane amount of retcons and cases of character assassination, but for how it retroactively makes one of the most criticized parts of the entire show worse by comparison. If you've seen the episode, you know what I'm talking about.

Let's get into the fourteenth episode of Miraculous Ladybug's fifth season: Derision

We start off with Marinette waking up for the day before getting a call from Adrien, who gives one of the clunkiest pieces of exposition I've ever heard on this show, and that's saying something.

Adrien: I was just going to tell you how excited I am that we're meeting at the swimming pool later, and to wake you up just in case you were still sleeping.

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Just as she hangs up, Marinette's hands start to tremble, having visions of a locker, hinting at some old memories resurfacing. Just to get this out of the way, but one thing I want to give this episode props for is the way these panic attacks are portrayed. The colors change, the environments warp around, and it gives off a very uneasy feeling. It kind of reminds me of this one episode of The Twilight Zone, “Little Girl Lost”, which used similar visuals to depict the otherworldly atmosphere of another dimension.

Marinette meets up with Adrien at the local pool, and has another panic attack. Kim and Ondine seem to notice this.

Kim: Woah, Adrien. That must've been some prank you pulled to make Marinette freak out like that. What did you do to her?

Ondine: It's not funny, Kim! Can't you see Marinette's not okay?

Kim: Oh, come on. She always reacts like that when someone pranks her.

Kim then proceeds to tell Adrien and Ondine (and by extension, the audience) about what he means. I'm going to talk a lot about this, so to make things easier for all of us, I'll give you the short version so you have an idea of what happened.

About a year before the events of “Origins”, we see Chloe was bullying Marinette even more than she did before then, constantly pulling sadistic pranks Megan from Drake & Josh would find to be overkill, while making her late to class. To make things worse, none of her teachers believed her and took Chloe's side all the time, giving her detention on the weekends. Mylene, Rose, and Juleka try to help Marinette, but apparently, Chloe orders them to not talk with her before saying that “she'll be there to make Marinette's life a nightmare”.

The only person with the common sense to help out Marinette is Socqueline, that girl from “Jubiliation”. Socqueline learns that Marinette has a crush on Kim, who is even more of a jerk than he was during the first half of Season 1, and when Marinette thinks about asking him out to the swimming pool after school, Socqueline advises Marinette to be careful. Sabrina tips off Chloe to Marinette's plan, so Chloe goes to give Kim advice to pull a prank on Marinette. At the pool, just as Marinette confesses her feelings to Kim, Kim gives her a box full of spiders, causing her to panic and fall backwards into the pool. Chloe films the thing with the intent to make it go viral, but Socqueline stops her plan before she can upload it. Kim doesn't seem to see what he did was wrong, seeing it as a harmless joke as Socqueline tells him to piss off.

It's here that Marinette determines that if she ever has feelings for a boy ever again, she'll need to be super prepared, explaining how much she knows about Adrien and his schedule in later episodes. Chloe then gets Socqueline expelled from school just a few weeks before the end of the school year. Marinette blames herself for what happened, but Socqueline tells her that sometimes, no matter how dire the odds seem, she needs to muster up the courage to fight the good fight.

Oh, and Marinette was almost akumatized by Monarch again, but it's really just an excuse to keep her away while Kim tells the story.

So... let's talk about this flashback. Clocking in at about ten minutes, almost half of the episode's runtime, this is easily the part everyone (myself included) seems to have problems with, for all kinds of reasons. Let's break down each and everything wrong with this flashback.

#1: The Portrayal of Chloe

Surprisingly, this is the least of my problems. Compared to Kim (who I'll get to later), Chloe is mostly in character with how she's usually portrayed by this point in the series. She's egotistical, she orders Sabrina around, she hates Marinette, and throws her father's name around over and over again like it's a boomerang. My feelings on the wasted opportunities with her character aside, this does make sense seeing how this takes place before Season 1.

But there's the problem. This takes place before Season 1, and Chloe does things she never did in Season 1, or any of the other seasons for that matter. She clearly has the teachers and principal doing what she wants, she can boss the other students around (which I'll also get to later), she pulls sadistic practical jokes on Marinette, and even uses her dad's name to get Socqueline expelled. In the show, she doesn't really do any of this. Sure, she can occasionally use her dad's influence to get what she wants (Lady Wifi, Rogercop, Frightningale, Determination), but it was never to this extent. While she also tried to act like she was better than the rest of her peers, barring Sabrina, nobody ever listened to her or took her seriously. Chloe also tended to focus on bullying Marinette, but she didn't do these kinds of practical jokes. Usually, it was either sabotage (Mr. Pigeon, Despair Bear, Gabriel Agreste) or just general name calling, and she picked on other students too (Dark Cupid, Reflekta, Antibug, Sole Crusher, Penalteam, Deflagration).

The point I'm trying to make is why the hell did Chloe stop acting this way? What caused her to stop being as bad as she is here? I get the whole point of this episode is to show how terrible Chloe is, but you're showing off all her bad moments in a flashback and never considering the other things she's done that would be just as effective. Wasn't the main idea behind Chloe's “damnation arc” that she started to change, but went back on her ways and became worse than before? If that's the case, I have to reiterate, why was she even worse in this flashback?

I also have an issue with making the cause of all of Marinette's trauma because of this prank by Chloe. Yes, the prank was terrible, and trust me this isn't me once again going “GRR! CHLOE STAN ANGRY BECAUSE RICH GIRL IS EVIL IN FLASHBACK!”. It's more along the lines of “Really? We're really doing this?”. While I'm glad that after Chloe's betrayal at the end of Season 3, the show is finally considering the idea of making her more than just comic relief as a villain, it feels like a case of too little, too late.

After so many years of making Chloe out to be harmless unless she screams her daddy's name, now you're treating her like a serious threat who traumatized Marinette for life? Chloe is the cause of Marinette's trauma? This is like if the person who killed Bruce Wayne's parents turned out to be a joke character like Egghead or Crazy Quilt. Just because a serious villain does something important to the story, it doesn't automatically make their prior unfunny antics go away.

But my main gripe with the portrayal of Chloe here is that this flashback fails to do something that still hasn't been done in almost five seasons and eight years: Explain just why Chloe hates Marinette so much. Chloe is unusually cruel here, and doesn't even have a reason to torture Marinette like this. Usually, Marinette gets in the way of what she wants, but here? Marinette doesn't do anything to warrant this level of dedication. You would think for a flashback sequence focusing on her and Marinette's history, they would actually explain why Chloe likes to single out Marinette, but they don't. The writers would rather take time out of the episode to remind the audience of why Chloe is the way she is, and why it isn't acceptable, than clarify what Chloe's deal with Marinette is.

Rose: She’s this way because her mother left her when she was young.

Mylene: So did mine, and you don't see me having fun bullying Marinette.

Gee, I wonder if Astruc himself had a part in writing that exchange or not.

If you're willing to acknowledge previous episodes while also discussing how poorly Chloe treats Marinette, it would help if you finally did something to inform the audience about why Chloe likes to torture Marinette in the first place. Did Marinette show Chloe up at a fashion show? Did Marinette impress Chloe's dad one time? Did Marinette just spill coffee on Chloe's shoes? I will take literally anything, no matter how stupid the explanation is, over getting nothing after eight years.

It's also pretty rich that that scene was trying to say that what happened to Chloe doesn't justify her actions when not only do we never get a scene like that pointing out how creepy Marinette obsesing over Adrien was, but later in the episode, Marinette specifically pins all the blame on Chloe in one line.

Marinette: Adrien! I know what's wrong with me! It's not my fault, and it's not your fault, either! It's all Chloe's fault!

So remember kids, just because bad things happen to you, it doesn't excuse your unflattering actions... except when it does, and in that case, it's all the fault of the person who wronged you in the first place.

#2: The Portrayal of Kim

I'll admit, I'm not really the biggest fan of Kim as a character. I don't hate him, but it feels like after Season 2, he just became that guy who really loves to swim, where even characters like Max, Marc, and Nathaniel had more depth to them. This episode however? Yeah, I couldn't stand Kim here.

Just like with Chloe, Kim is sort of in character as the same eccentric dude who has a habit of being insensitive and accidentally upsetting people (Animan, Syren), and I need to emphasize the “sort of”. Just like Chloe, this goes against his characterization in Season 1, where he was shown to be a bully like Chloe was (Lady Wifi, Timetagger, Origins) before later episodes made him a nicer person. However, unlike Chloe, the show sort of tries to retcon Kim's rude behavior to be more in line with his Season 5 self by portraying him as more of a bully who simply isn't aware of how harmful his jokes are, but it doesn't work because of how cruel he seems, and he doesn't have the excuse of knowing how terrible he is like Chloe does.

There's also how easily he goes along with Chloe's prank when she literally insults him and Marinette to his face.

Chloe: I heard Marinette asked you to go with her to the swimming pool.

Kim: Yeah, we’re going swimming together. Cool! 'Cause I love to swim!

Chloe: That’s not why she asked you, dummy!

Kim: It's not? Then, what are we going to do? Chloe: She wants to declare her feelings for you! Kim: For me? But why?

Chloe: Probably because she's utterly ridiculous, and so are you, which makes you two perfect for each other!

Kim: Oh? You think so?

There's not being aware of how insensitive of how you are to others, and then there's not being able to comprehend basic insults. Chloe doesn't even try to give Kim a backhanded compliment or secretly insult him (“You really like swimming, don't you? Good thing you can swim better than you do in class.”). She just calls him a dummy, and Kim still falls for her trick. If you want to have Kim fall for Chloe's plan, don't make her so obviously cruel. For God's sake, you're making the class in the Lila episodes look smart by comparison.

And even after retelling the story, Kim still thinks Chloe highly, not only saying how pretty she is right in front of his girlfriend, but he still thinks the joke was the funniest thing ever. After five seasons, Kim of all people should know about how mean Chloe is, given he was literally kidnapped and brainwashed into serving her while she sided with Hawkmoth (Miracle Queen).

The worst part is that Kim has nothing to do with this story at all. You could literally replace him with any other guy, even a nameless background character with no lines, and nothing would change. Hell, I'd argue it'd be even better as having Marinette be embarrassed in front of some rando would highlight the impact it had on her self-esteem when she tries to go after someone of a higher social class. It would also better justify the spider prank if someone else pulled it because “Darkblade” established that Kim was afraid of spiders.

And if you think I'm talking about Kim after this part, believe me, there's more to this schmuck than meets the eye.

#3: The Way Everyone Just... Lets This All Happen

Look, I get what the episode is trying to go for, narratively, and realistically. Sometimes, teachers and other authority figures just don't do their jobs when someone gets bullied. Hell, I was bullied for years by someone who liked to take advantage of my anger issues, and it wasn't until my last year of middle school that the faculty finally decided to do something about it. I also get that this entire flashback wouldn't happen if the teachers realized how cruel Chloe was and got her expelled. What I don't get is how the flashback portrays anyone who was there as unwilling to do anything to help.

First off, Marinette claims that the reason none of the teachers believed her was because they're all too afraid to stand up to Chloe, since she can call her dad and cost them their jobs, but that's far from the truth. The only time we see anyone actually being afraid of Chloe was when Mr. Damocles went back on refusing to expel Socqueline before Chloe threatened to call her dad and get him fired. Other than that, while we only see Ms. Mendeleiev and Mr. Damocles in this flashback, neither of them really show any signs of being afraid of Chloe. They just go along with what she says, and they don't even try to take Marinette's side. Just like Kim, this would be more understandable if these were different characters who were never shown to be this cruel to Marinette in earlier episodes.

Second, while I can sort of buy the teachers not caring about Marinette, the fact that her classmates don't do anything is another story. We saw Mylene, Rose, and Juleka trying to help Marinette, but right after they talk to her, Chloe just orders them to go away, and it's never explained why. Marinette said the teachers were afraid of Chloe, but does that mean the students are too? Again, later episodes would establish nobody takes Chloe seriously as a bully, so this part of the flashback makes no sense. What changed to make them stop being afraid of Chloe anyway? Once again, if these were a bunch of nameless characters who were more apathetic to Marinette's situation, that would make sense, retroactively showing how much Marinette's friends care for her. Instead, it's like that scene in RWBY where the main characters watch a student being bullied by a racist classmate, and all they do is say “Wow, racism really sucks, huh? Anyway, not our problem.”

Third, you're telling me that Marinette came up with multiple excuses not to go to school even with a few weeks left in the year, and Marinette's parents didn't see anything weird about it? They didn't think that something must be making Marinette want to do anything but go to school? I don't think they were even informed about the situation at school, unless you want to be generous and say they knew Marinette got detention. You can't even make the excuse that it would work if these were different characters, but these are Marinette's parents. You know, the same characters the show portrays as loving and affectionate to their daughter? You're telling me they didn't even think to look into the situation, much less talk to Marinette about school?

The problem with all the other characters in this flashback is in order to make what happens possible, they have to be as apathetic as possible. There's being unaware of a situation or being too afraid to stand up (which is unfortunately something that happens when people bullied sometimes), and then there's just not caring about the bully victim at all. It's ironic how even though a big part of the flashback was to show how awful Chloe was, it unintentionally make everyone else in Marinette's life seem just as cruel to let her suffer like that.

But I know what you're thinking. “What about Socqueline? She was there to help Marinette, so why didn't you mention her?” Well...

#4: Where the Hell Has Socqueline Been All This Time?

Like I mentioned in my “Jubilation” review, Socqueline is yet another unnecessary addition to the already overcrowded cast of characters in this show, and it seemed like this episode was meant to justify her inclusion, but it only raised more questions.

Just to remind you, this flashback establishes that Marinette was constantly bullied by Chloe until a nice girl in glasses stood up for her, and inspired Marinette to be more confident.

SOUND FAMILIAR?

Yeah, this flashback is pretty much the same as Marinette's arc in “Origins” was, only with Socqueline in Alya's place. We get it, writers, Season 1 was good. Constantly repeating stuff like what happened in “Mr. Pigeon 72” isn't going to win you any favors.

This really highlights how pointless of a character Socqueline is, as despite supposedly being a really important person in Marinette's life, Marinette herself never thought to tell anyone about her, and judging from how Marinette described her to Tikki in “Jubilation”, I don't think she even stayed in contact with Socqueline after she was expelled. It's not like left Paris afterwards. All we know is that she went to another school and got a job at a local arts and crafts store, so why did Marinette just stop talking with her? Even with Felix and Zoe, they had the excuse of being in different countries, but you can't say that with Socqueline.

Also, this was something I just realized, but if Mr. Damocles got her expelled, why the hell did Socqueline treat him like he was any other customer at her job, much less compliment him as a principal?

#5: The Handling of Trauma in General, and How This Impacts Marinette as a Character

Like pretty much every other serious issue it tries to tackle, Miraculous Ladybug has always had a poor understanding of mental health. When it comes to portraying characters who struggle with some form of grief of trauma, like Adrien, Felix, Chloe, Zoe, and even Marinette, the responses usually amount to some variation of “Grow a pair and get over it, you big baby!”.

With Felix, Chloe, and Marinette, even if their actions are partially motivated as a response to either losing a loved one, trying to emulate their neglectful parent, or as a defense mechanism to avoid repeating an already traumatic experience, they're all proven to be in the wrong, and it's not to teach a lesson about alternative coping mechanisms or support systems. The show just says that they're automatically wrong for what they do, what causes them to act the way they do is never acknowledged, and instead, we're supposed to just act like they're being jerks for no reason. Compare this to Adrien and Zoe, who both had rough lives losing their mother at a young age or living with an abusive mother respectively, and rather than go into detail how it affected them or how they managed to become decent human beings in spite of it, the show just says that they're nice people, so people like Felix, Chloe, and Marinette have no reason to be mean to others.

This is honestly why I feel like this episode's depiction of mental health and dealing with trauma falls flat. In case you didn't know, I asked my followers who had to deal with some form of trauma to share their experiences and how it compared to what Marinette went through in the episode. For the most part, the common consensus seems to be that while the symptoms of Marinette's trauma and her reactions to it are very believable, a lot of it is contradicted by previous episodes, and it seems like it was only there to do a story about dealing with trauma.

So many episodes across Seasons 1 through 4 show Marinette dealing with Kim and Chloe without really any issue, and she showed no problem with starting relationships with Luka and Cat Noir, to say nothing about Nathaniel's brief crush on her in “The Evillustrator”. If Marinette was so traumatized by this prank, why did she want to go swimming in episodes like “Gorizilla” and “Mr. Pigeon 72”? Why did she bother to help Kim confess to Chloe in “Dark Cupid”? Why did she team up with Chloe to sabotage Kagami in “Animaestro”? Why did she suggest Chloe could change for the better throughout Seasons 2 and 3? Why did she continue to let Chloe and Kim use the Bee and Monkey Miraculous respectively, even after they got them from outside sources? This flashback is desperately trying to tie previous events of the series together together, but it only works if you ignore all the times Marinette has interacted with Kim and Chloe without having a panic attack.

Then there's how the flashback tries to connect this to Marinette memorizing all of Adrien's schedule to make sure he won't hurt her, an obvious attempt to rebuff one of the biggest criticisms of her as a character. Here's why it doesn't work.

First off, the setup doesn't work because while Marinette vows to do a better job getting to know the next person she falls in love with and how, in her words mind you, “He isn't friends with Chloe”. Putting aside the kindness he's shown her in “Origins”, she kind of failed to really consider her choice to pursue him if he stayed friends with Chloe if we're going to believe Chloe traumatized Marinette so much.

It also doesn't really explain the more predatory actions Marinette has taken whenever another girl tries to get close to Adrien (The Bubbler, Volpina, Animaestro, Oni-Chan, Heart Hunter), or how she tries to rig up situations to get closer to him (The Gamer, Gigantitan, Backwarder, Party Crasher, Felix, Psycomedian, Glaciator 2, Simpleman). And that's not even getting into how obsessive she is with him in other areas, like repeatedly playing a commercial he was in (Gorizilla), making a bunch of presents for him in advance (Christmaster), trying to kiss a wax statue of him (The Puppeteer 2), sniffing his pillow (Cat Blanc), or all the other times she's creepily obsessed over him.

But of course, you've probably noticed that I've forgotten to mention one key thing about what this flashback means: You know how Marinette tends to act nervously and stumbles a lot around Adrien when she isn't meticulously documenting his schedule? Yeah, they were essentially panic attacks brought on by her PTSD, and the episode tries to act like Kim did to her wasn't funny afterwards. Here's the problem with this.

YOU MADE MARINETTE'S TRAUMA YOUR PRIMARY SOURCE OF COMEDY FOR THE PAST FIVE FUCKING SEASONS!

You do NOT have the right to act like what happened to Marinette was bad when you were constantly playing her anxiety up for laughs for almost EIGHT YEARS at this point!

In addition to all the other examples I mentioned, we had episodes like “Psycomedian”, which confirmed that the same behavior that this episode is trying to say is connected to her trauma was hilarious to Adrien, as well as “Backwarder”, which thrived on playing up Marinette's anxiety towards Adrien and was said to be one of the funniest episodes of the show to work on by Astruc himself.

THIS IS WHAT THOMAS ASTRUC ACTUALLY BELIEVES

#6: Why This Flashback Is Ultimately Pointless

But above all, the biggest problem I have with this flashback is because of how pointless it is. It's trying to better go into detail about why Marinette acts the way she does around Adrien, but did we really need to do that?

This flashback doesn't really reveal anything that we didn't know already. We know Marinette was bullied by Chloe, we know she was a lot more meek and needed others to stand up for her, and we definitely know that we're not supposed to like Chloe. Adding to my earlier point, if we actually got more insight into the origin of Chloe's obsession with Marinette, that would have at least made this flashback important to watch, but once again, despite being a flashback episode, we learn nothing about the characters that we don't already know.

But this flashback is also meant to explain why Marinette is so hesitant to embrace her new relationship with Adrien when we already got a reason for that last season. The first half of the season has made a big deal about how much her feelings for Adrien cost her the Miraculous, so why not focus on that? This flashback just feels like it's here to give more Marinette angst instead of focusing on the things they've already established. And that's not even getting into what she saw during “Cat Blanc”.

Why couldn't we just have a story about Marinette's own insecurities causing her to doubt she can make her relationship with Adrien work, seeing how poorly things ended with Luka? Have her worry that something could go wrong as a result of her need to overcompensate, or worry that Adrien could betray her. That way, you could have Adrien supporting Marinette in a way that reflects their partnership as Cat Noir and Ladybug respectively.

But no. Instead we have this flashback that's taken me about ten pages to fully dissect. And the worst part is that I still have the rest of the episode to talk about. God help me...

So after Adrien and Ondine explain how this prank could have done a lot of damage to Marinette's psyche, Kim decides to find Marinette, and apologize for being so—Ah, I'm just messing with you guys. After all, that would actually make Kim likable. So what does he say instead?

Kim: Come on! Loosen up, you guys! It's like you can't even speak your mind these days.

Ondine: That doesn't give you permission to hurt other people!

Kim: Whatever! I'm the way I am and I'm fine that way! It's not my fault you guys have no sense of humor!

Yep, rather than having Kim realize the error of his ways and maybe be akumatized out of guilt, Kim just whines about how everyone else is just a humorless pansy these days. The writers pretty much made Kim's motivation boil down to “It's just a prank, bro!”. Even Monarch seems to go along with this, as he refers to Kim as “A free spirit feeling unjustly rejected”, when this was right after he called Chloe the prettiest girl in front of his own girlfriend's face. So Monarch sends his Akuma to Kim's goggles, akumatizing him into Dark Humor. Yes, that's really the name they're going with.

Dark Humor is a pretty forgettable recolor of Dark Cupid. Other than inverting the red and black color scheme and giving him a targeting scope on his right eye, there's not much else to say other than the incredibly on the nose name they gave him. His powers are sort of like Dark Cupid's, only now, instead of turning people heartless, they now share his soulless brand of “humor”. At least, I think it is. His Alliance power is the Monkey Miraculous's Uproar, but it's not really clarified if he's only using Uproar arrows or not, judging from the use of the rubber ducky that we've seen King Monkey use before.

Marinette and Adrien transform into Ladybug and Cat Noir respectively, but once they meet up, we get the most controversial part of the episode that isn't connected to the flashback scene: Cat Noir gives Dark Humor the beatdown of his life and is about to Cataclysm him, for pulling a bad prank on Marinette a year ago. Yeah, a lot of people have pointed out that Adrien felt a lot of remorse for Cataclysming Monarch earlier in this season, yet here, Cat Noir looks like someone told him that Kim just shot the Pope. For God's sake, writers, you're five seasons in! How hard is it to determine whether or not you want your hero to be okay with killing people or not?

And of course, this bites him in the ass, as Dark Humor stabs Cat Noir with an arrow, not only changing his Cataclysm into something that creates a bunch of balls from his hand, but also making him just as insane as the rest of Dark Humor's victims. You know, I'm this close to starting a “Remember Season 1” counter, because this is just glorified fanservice.

Ladybug tries to summon her Lucky Charm, but is stopped by Dark Humor, so Ladybug transforms back into Marinette, transforms into Ladybug again, and summons her Lucky Charm for real this time, getting... a toilet. Of course, the only way to combat Dark Humor's bad jokes is by using even worse jokes! Genius! Ladybug places the toilet over Dark Humor's head and breaks it along with the goggles, freeing the Akuma.

Ladybug de-evilizes the Akuma, uses Miraculous Ladybug to fix the damage, gives Kim a useless Magical Charm, and Cat Noir apologizes for murdering Kim by saying his emotions got the better of him, which is like saying OJ Simpson and his wife had a minor disagreement.

Kim apologizes to Marinette for traumatizing her, and I guess that's enough for Ondine to forgive him for saying another girl is prettier than her.

After Marinette sort of explains what happened to Adrien, he goes over to tell Chloe to apologize, and we get... this scene.

Adrien: I know about everything that you did to Marinette last year, Chloe. You're going to go and apologize to her and prove to everyone that you can change. I'm sure she'll forgive you.

Chloe: (laughs) Forgive me? What do I care about her forgiveness? I couldn't care less about Dupain-Cheng's feelings! She and the likes of her only exist to suffer for my entertainment. Why bother having power if you can’t use it against those who don’t have any? You’re the one who’s getting things wrong, with your baker girl! You’re a prince! You belong with me, the princess! You’re in this world to shine! To make fun of all the losers who are only good enough to be used as doormats!

Adrien: You're nothing like a princess, Chloe. I supported you. I gave you multiple chances to become a better person. Everyone reached out to you, including Ladybug and Cat Noir when they gave you the Miraculous of the Bee again. But all you ever think about is yourself.

Chloe: And what else IS there to think about? Losers and nobodies? The little bees? The planet?

Adrien: We will never be friends again, Chloe. You and I are done.

Chloe: Traitor.

Okay, first off, “She and the likes of her only exist to suffer for my entertainment.”? That's the line you're going with? She sounds like a dark lord in an RPG game. How is this the closest thing we ever get to an explanation to why Chloe hates Marinette so much?

Second, ignoring the fact that we already had Chloe end her friendship with Adrien last season (Queen Banana), it's pretty weird that this is the breaking point in their friendship. Adrien doesn't mention all the other times she's bullied people or when she sided with Hawkmoth even when he brought up her time as Queen Bee. He saw her being mean to so many people over five seasons, yet only when he learns Chloe did something to his girlfriend that he decides to finally confront her. If we at least got a line where Adrien acknowledged that he essentially enabled Chloe for so long by thinking she could change, that would have at least sort of worked. Instead, he makes it about how she refused to change herself. Dude, you had the chance to stand up to her for years, and you even did so in one episode before you went back on it (Despair Bear). You have nobody to blame but yourself.

Finally, Chloe is pretty out of character here. She's way too calm about ending her friendship with Adrien compared to what happened in “Despair Bear” and “Queen Banana”. You'd think if the writers wanted this to be a big moment of catharsis for the audience, Chloe would at least beg Adrien to stay a little. But no, Chloe brushes it off when it could easily justify her getting worse in later episodes, and even Adrien doesn't even consider how much he thought Chloe's friendship meant to him. Because these writers are dedicated to making sure that any identifiable trait Chloe once had is removed so you have no choice but to hate her.

But hey, at least the episode's over. What did I think of it?

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Yeah, it wasn't very good.

I just... what else do you even want me to say here? I spent about ten pages going over why the flashback sequence doesn't work, I've already ranted about Cat Noir trying to kill someone with his Cataclysm in previous episodes (Hack-San, Jubilation), and I think you all know what my feelings on the portrayal of Chloe and Kim are.

I guess I can answer one question you may have: Is this episode worse than either “Penalteam” or “Queen Banana”? Eh, not really. Let me explain.

The problems with “Queen Banana” and “Penalteam” went beyond the treatment of Chloe with the way the stories were handled, with “Queen Banana” being a cheap jab at critics and TV executives while propping up their new character Zoe, and “Penalteam” being an excuse to have a soccer episode while making Cat Noir look like a buffoon right before the finale. Most of the problems with this episode have more to do with how they affect the way we see previous episodes, and why some scenes that were already unfunny are even less funny now.

With this episode, you can at least tell there was some effort being made to tell a more serious story here that went into what made Marinette tick. Yeah, it and the themes of mental health and trauma were handled about as gracefully as a ballet dancer trying to get a bear trap off their leg, but there's at least an attempt here.

Of course, this episode is still awful. The conflict with Kim not getting how much of a jerk he was after a year was dumb (as was him being even more of a jerk as Dark Humor), the fact that Marinette's trauma seemed to come and go when the plot needed it to really showed off how forced it is, and it only ends with you having more questions about Marinette and Chloe's rivalry rather than answering them.

While I'm still not a fan of this episode, and would still place it in my top five least favorites, I don't think it's the absolute worst. Although it's still the worst one so far this season from a technical standpoint.

THE BIGGEST IDIOT OF THE EPISODE IS...KIM

It says a lot when Cat Noir actually tried to murder someone in this episode, yet not only is he not even considered for the award this episode, the person he tried to kill ends up being the bigger idiot. Not only did he easily fall for Chloe's plan when she insulted him to his face, he failed to understand how it affected Marinette for a year, and when he was told about how bad it was, he refused to take responsibility for his actions, blamed it on other people not being able to take a joke, and only gave the smallest apology after he was almost killed for his attitude. It's honestly funny how he somehow comes across as more unlikable than Chloe, the character this episode was made to make you hate even more.

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