#ml perfection analysis

[ijustliketoreadstuff]

Lila made some investments

In "Protection", Lila reveals herself in a lie by explaining how she has always created the illusion in which she makes it seem like she helps others, when in reality it is everyone else who has been manipulated into helping her. However, back in "Chameleon", after Lila comes to terms with the fact that Marinette would not would not heed her warning and halt any attempts to expose her and all her lies, we see Lila take some time throughout series to make some "investments" to help in her fight against Marinette.

Times when we saw Lila go out of her way to baby sit Alya and Nino's younger siblings in "Time tagger", participate in the special video message for Adrien in "Felix", or attend Sabine's class in "Quilin", were far from moments when Lila was willing to be considerate enough to help others, they were an investment , and sadly, Kagami was now one of them.

(Back in "Perfection", we find out that Lila had come into contact with Kagami, offering both her friendship as well as advice on friendships.)

If Lila was ever to continue her façade and plans to ruin Marinette's life, she needed to not only get closer to those who were the closest to Marinette, but also convince them that she really was just as much of a good person as she pretended to be, resulting in Marinette's words falling on deaf ears if and when she attempted to expose her or tell others she was a fraud, because if she did, how could they believe such horrible things about Lila when they genuinely believe they have seen first hand how kind and considerate she can be.

In regards to Kagami, Lila's plan was simple, to befriend the girl(Kagami) who had lived much of her life in solitude and without friends, while also helping her better understand relationships and bonds, that is, so long as it was under her terms. Lila could have focused her attention on anyone else, but unlike everyone else, Kagami had something no one else in Marinette’s social circle had, a fragile innocence, a lack of experience with friendships, a connection to Marinette that could be twisted into a tragedy(more here), a former relationship with Adrien and a great sense of shame and unfamiliarity in simply living with her own complex emotions, viewing them as a weakness in her pressured life to maintain the image of perfection her family expected her to be.

Lila knew Kagami cherished her friendship with Marinette, but if Lila was to ever sever that connection, she needed to seclude Kagami and convince her that she was the only one in her life to confide in and trust, and that all other friendships in her life were meaningless. Which is why of all the things Lila could have talked to Kagami about in "Perfection", she chose the one thing that not only made Kagami vulnerable, but also damaged the friendships she already had, which was the concept that there were requirements Kagami needed to fulfill in order to NOT be considered someone's friend, requirements that Lila carefully worded on a list to ensure that she couldn't meet, but also make Kagami believe she fit well enough to believe she was never worthy enough to be considered Marinette's friend.

(Some of the things on the list specified that a person does not consider you a friend if they 1. never pick up the phone, 2. use a different language only their real friends will understand. Lila always picked up the phone and she was always straight forward when talking to Kagami, even if it was all a lie)

Although Kagami's situation was resolved near the end of "Perfection", Kagami never realized that the list Lila gave her was absurd, only that a simple misunderstanding had occurred between her and Marinette. Regardless of Lila's plan failing to sever Kagami's bond with Marinette in that moment, the situation still played out in her favor as Kagami's realization near the end of "Perfection" left her willing to accept Lila's friendship with open arms.

Although no one but Kagami knew it was Lila who created the list, it did not matter anymore, it fulfilled it's purpose by making Lila appear as someone who was willing to be what Kagami desperately wanted, a friend who would reach out to her and listen to her.

(Ladybug understood what Kagami desperately wanted, to be heard)

Unfortunately, when Kagami accepted Lila's friendship, it was Lila who placed herself as a friend with a far deeper connection to her than anyone else, and whom Kagami should consider above all others as she alone proclaimed that she viewed Kagami not just as a friend, but a sister. Lila wanted Kagami to feel as if the bond they had as friends was so strong they actually considered each other family, something Kagami had never experienced before but would have likely greatly appreciated and viewed highly.

In "Protection", Lila continued to present herself as someone whom Kagami could really talk to, someone who could always be there for her, and although Lila did not commit to these things wholeheartedly, for someone like Kagami who had lived a lonely life, it was enough just to see a "friend" like Lila show up for even a little in the midst of her busy schedule.

(Kagami appreciates Lila seeing her after practice)

The more Lila was present in little ways, the more she could slowly slip in how Marinette hated her for no good reason and make Kagami question why Marinette, or anyone for that matter, would ever hate someone as "good" and "trusting" as Lila.

The moment Kagami felt comfortable enough to tell Lila of the plans everyone set to help Marinette, was the moment Lila proceeded with her next attempt to sever Kagami's friendship with Marinette, but in order to do this, Lila needed Kagami to feel ashamed of herself, and what better way than by resurfacing the pain of her lost love with Adrien. Lila knew Kagami would never intentionally hurt someone, much less Marinette, but she would if she was akumatized into someone she was not, all Lila had to do was direct Kagami's negative emotions towards Marinette, a chance that came sooner than expected as Kagami confided in her something she could not tell anyone else, her rekindled love for Adrien(more here).

As Lila heard Kagami speak out about her struggles and frustrations, Lila simply looked on and smiled, pleased to see Kagami so vulnerable and secluded from the others as she felt her feelings would only trouble everyone else amidst their efforts to help Marinette and Adrien. Lila had Kagami right where she wanted, all that was left was to give Kagami one more little push, a reminder of how "perfect" she was in the situation.

At the beginning of "Protection", Lila told Kagami she was perfect, and although Marinette and Ladybug are helping Kagami realize that her imperfections were nothing to be ashamed of, it was Lila who reminded Kagami of the duty she had to her family, that she is perfect and must always be perfect, but she would never be truly perfect if she did not cast aside the importance she felt towards Marinette's friendship, the very friendship that led her to lose what she wanted most, Adrien.

(As the akuma approached Kagami, Lila once again tells Kagami how perfect she is, reminding her that she is not like others and must not feel upset, she must suppress her feelings and pain, but in doing so, Kagami's pain would worsen and further attract the akuma.)

All of Lila's lies towards Kagami narrowed down to one simple suggestion, that Marinette lied to her, manipulated her and everyone else, stole Adrien from her and took what could have been a happy and meaningful future, so as a result, she had every right to go against Marinette to take everything back

Near the end of "Protection", as Lila realized Kagami had come back to her senses and was now confronting her about the lies she spoke about Marinette, Lila was still able to convince Kagami that she had no intention to hurt anyone, because regardless of the horrible things she said before about Marinette, it was in this very moment that Lila’s little investment came into play.

Lila did not deny the things she said about Marinette, Kagami knows now that Lila does not like Marinette, but the moment Kagami spoke about how she loved her just as much as Marinette, was the moment Lila knew that what little time she spent in pretending to be a good friend to Kagami had paid off.

Lila genuinely made Kagami believe she cared for her, that there was too much importance in their "friendship", as such, it was not worth losing so quickly, so as a result, Kagami did not end things between them right away, instead, she offered Lila a chance to stay friends if her feelings were genuine, and of course, Lila accepted, not because her feelings were genuine, but because she was not done with Kagami.

Kagami made it clear she was not a puppet for Lila to use, but to Lila, another chance will come along where Kagami can still be used, so long as she is still innocent enough to believe that what they have is a real friendship and not a toxic one, something Lila had ironically previously warned her about within her lie about Marinette.

[trainsinanime]

Perfection

It’s been months and I still think we’re not talking enough about Cloud Kagami in Perfection. I think Cloud Kagami is one of the most haunting, most beautiful but also sad akumas in the show. Most people will probably point to Chat Blanc as the winner in that category, and fair’s fair, you can’t argue with that body count. But for me, Cloud Kagami wins because she’s less literal, more metaphorical.

Kagami is depressed and lonely in this episode. She feels isolated, like she doesn’t fit in. And so her akuma persona doesn’t do anything offensive - she just physically doesn’t fit in. Her mental image of herself is too large, too weird, but also hollow, without substance. Not even that something was stolen from her; she feels like maybe she was never real at all.

The whole thing comes with a perspective shift for her. She’s too tall to see the small stuff, and she’s can’t even see the people anymore. Paris for her is just streets and buildings, a view like from a map. She is no longer able to see it as a place made up of people.

Swifties will of course recognise that this is exactly the same feeling and imagery as in the song Antihero:

Sometimes I feel like everybody is a sexy baby And I’m a monster on the hill Too big to hang out, slowly lurching toward your favorite city Pierced through the heart, but never killed

And it comes to a head when Kagami says that she might just fade away, and that it would be better that way. This is the only episode where the danger is not the akuma doing something bad, but the akuma dying. That’s really harsh.

On the flip side, it’s so important that Kagami doesn’t shrink down or becomes invisible. She is here, and we and the characters see and share in her pain. Our heroes know what’s going on and are worried about her. When Kagami says nobody would miss her, would notice when she’s gone, she’s categorically wrong. She is actually this huge presence, literally, in the city. She just can’t see and comprehend it, because her depression makes it impossible for her to recognise how much the people around her care.

I think this story is really harrowing, but I also love how beautifully they wrote and rendered it. This is really a stealth greatest episode of the show.

[piromina]

amélie being the rabbit in the representation play because the name 'amélie' means work and rabbits represent hardworking. rabbits being a symbol of fertility yet amélie is incapable. the saying 'breed like rabbits'. eostre being the goddess of fertility and taking the form of a rabbit. rabbits meaning quietness, cautiousness, observing from a distance and choosing not to get involved in her sister's tricks. rabbits meaning tricks, though, as in a rabbit coming out of a hat. a cowboy's hat? when the rabbit and the hat meet, there is suddenly a need for magic and witchcraft. sorcery. some witches took the form of rabbits. the witch used magic. the witch caused mischief with their new rabbit and hat and sorcery, unlike before when she was the quiet, observant, clever one. rabbits constantly being portrayed as foolish despite this, as prey for the hunter. falling into their trap. rabbits representing love, but not love exactly, not requited love, just love. the feeling. when the rabbit's lover sees her, it is bad luck. when a hare crosses your path, it is a bad omen, and you are destined to die. however, a rabbit's foot is good luck. good fortune. if the rabbit's lover wants good luck at the moment, is sick and dying and needs good luck, they would need the foot. not the rabbit - just the foot. and if ripping the foot off of the rabbit would give them the foot, then they would do that. rabbits do not represent requited love. just love. not love for the rabbit. love for good fortune. love for good luck. love for oneself. good fortune for the lover, not for the rabbit. the rabbit is a symbol of innocence. as it innocently falls into the hat. the hat is a metaphor, a trap, a perfect pitfall. and the rabbit has fallen into it. it gets pulled out by the neck, caught in a chokehold unable to breathe, and laughed about among the audience. until one day, the hat and the cruel magic weaken and die. the rabbit's son takes on the role of magician afterwards. it is not a rinse-and-repeat situation, as the rabbit's son is not a rabbit. he gets to fall in love and have that love returned. the rabbit's son is a magician, but would never use that power to hurt people. he is a creation of sorcery and witchcraft, of a rabbit and a hat, and he is something, someone, special. he is not a rabbit. the name 'félix' means lucky. the rabbit's son gets to have good luck without the foot of the rabbit. he gets to love and be loved back. he gets to share a heartfelt kiss and have good luck. he always manages to get what he wants, because he is a magician. félix fathom is not an innocent rabbit.

[xxbehindthemaskxx]

I fully agreeing on this. I think Ladybug got that one upgrade with her suit and charm because Alya found something about it that Marinette had missed on the page talking about the Ladybug Miraculous inside the Grimoire. As for Su-Han, he is such a waste of potential. I don't know if he had taught Marinette anything about the Miraculous off-screen, but it seems unlikely. We did saw his at the post credit scene at the end of S5 Finale, but he seems to only watching as Marinette talk about being ready against the new Hawkmoth. But than again, what if the Guardian of each Miraculous Box has their own special knowledge? Like, among the Guardians, there are common knowledge about the Miraculous, but each boxes has their own particular, special knowledge. I assume, if Su-Han had come to retrive it the first time he did in S4, than he probably had learned more towards the Chinese Miracle Box, but not about everything, yet. So on one hand, we can't really fault him in that light - at least until later time. He should've learned more about it or share some knowledge that he already know. I don't know what is exactly that makes him believes Marinette so much that he just.. Leaves her be, but I know for a fact that he should at least test about her knowledge in Miraculous. I don't think I remember this correctly, but I think Master Fu gives her the Miraculous Box a bit early for his liking, I think. But she clearly knows enough to be decent, enough for her to learn later on from the Grimoire that is specifically talking about the Chinese Miracle Box (or at least I think it is). But learning something entirely know from a book in old languages will takes so much time - heck, for the sake of her mission to take down Hawkmoth, she probably focuses more on to the Butterfly Miraculous, and the peacock one before S5 finale.

Su-Han should at least test her knowledge, finding out how much did she know about the guardianship of chinese miracle box, and than teaching her from where she was left off from Fu's previous teaching...

I know I might get bashed like hell for this but I don't care: Chat Noir and Ladybug are realistically the weakest Cat and Ladybug miraculous holders of their respective legacies.

And it's not just them. Every single Parisian hero of the current generation, from Rena Rouge to Viperion, are significantly weaker in terms of skill and power than their predecessors.

This isn't their fault entirely, as Ladybug and co have more disadvantages than the heroes that have come before them and there are those who don't take the job seriously [Chat Noir and Queen Bee].

They're Very Young

The first most glaring issue is the fact that they are still minors. The most consistent rule of the show is that a miraculous being used by a child is like the free trial version of a streaming service. Five minutes after using their special power, they will de-transform and will need to feed their kwami to resume their transformation. Unlike Hawkmoth and Mayura who can keep up their transformation even after using an akuma/amok, Ladybug and Chat Noir have to proceed with caution because they aren't grownups which limits their ability to fight all out. This is especially the case with Chat Noir and Ladybug as they are the main superheroes and characters used to emphasize this rule.

If the wiki is to be believed, then previous Ladybugs like La Déesse Coccinelle, Piao Chong, Tentomushi, Jeanne d'Arc (in the mlb universe), and Mudangbeolle were all adults according to their respective time periods and didn't have the same restrictions that the current Ladybug has. The same could be said about previous foxes, bees, turtles, snakes etc.

They Lack the Necessary Training

The second drawback that Marinette and Adrien have are their backgrounds. More specifically, their comfortable lifestyles. Marinette in particular, went from a clumsy girl who lived a normal life to a beloved superheroine in just one day. Not that there's anything wrong with that on a character level, but on a logical level it makes sense for her to be ill prepared for the duties of a hero at first. She was thrusted into it suddenly with no training [something I see is regularly addressed in crossover fanfictions with Batman and the DCU] or any background in combat, the latter she had to learn on her own. Though it's hinted at that Sabine is an exceptional fighter, it's pretty clear that she taught none of it to Marinette.

Adrien at least has some combat training in the form of fencing which is evident in the way he uses his staff like a fencing saber. But as someone who has been fencing since I was seven and been up against many talented opponents, Adrien strikes me as mediocre at best. He beats Kagami in Riposte sure, but by real fencing standards Adrien would be slaughtered by someone who had been trained their entire life to be an Olympic worthy fencer [Kagami].

I'm bringing this up because literally every past Ladybug, Black, and others have experience in combat, were vigilantes in armies, were warriors before using their miraculous, or fought in actual wars therefore becoming hardened veterans. In this category Adrien [again, even though he's mediocre] and Kagami are the only heroes of the current generation who have previous training in the form of a combat-oriented sport. Though, in my opinion, Kagami as Ryuko is the only hero that can hold a candle to her predecessors.

Alya, Nino, and Chloe are also very weak in this regard due to the aforementioned reasons above. They all have comfortable lifestyles and were thrusted into the world of heroes without any training or focus. Chloe nearly ran into a wall because she wasn't paying attention and Alya needed to be guilt tripped into giving the miraculous to Ladybug by Trixx. You can make the argument that the miraculous costumes make up for their lack of actual experience, which is 100% valid, but I can also argue that having battle training or any sort of athleticism can make a hero even more effective. I don't know if this is an unpopular opinion, but Kagami will always be the most effective and skilled temporary hero as evidenced by her being able to piece together her transformation phase, her attention to detail, her impressive battle awareness and her ability to right her mistakes [jumping into the fight without listening to Ladybug's plan in Ikari Gozen] with her quick thinking. Say what you will about her, but Kagami is objectively the best candidate to be a permanent hero, especially since Chat Noir has been demoted to sidekick/temporary hero status.

[Kim is also an athletic person, but his skill is in swimming, which isn't helpful unless he has an aqua form, which he doesn't so ehh]

They Have Little to No Knowledge of Their Own Powers

The third thing that the heroes have going against them is their lack of knowledge about their powers. By this point in the series, the heroes are just going with the flow and figuring things out for themselves as they go along.

As we know, these are the first heroes since the Order of the Guardians was destroyed. This context is important because in Feast, we learn that countless grimoires and Miracle Boxes burned away or eaten.

The miraculous date back to Ancient Times so there had to have been thousands of years of documented information about the miraculous of the Chinese Miracle Box. I'm not even going to say it's an assumption. It has to be a fact that there were secrets about each miraculous including how to train each Guardian that would have been extremely helpful to Ladybug and the others if they had access to it. Master Fu is responsible for tens of thousands of years' worth of knowledge being snuffed out in just one night.

This puts the heroes who wielded a miraculous after the Order was destroyed at a significant, almost sad disadvantage to those who were heroes before the Order fell. It's highly likely that after gaining their miraculous, previous heroes had access to the archive in which they could learn to utilize their powers to their absolute fullest potential. Whereas with the current heroes, it feels like they can only use a fraction of their miraculous's abilities.

Another problem with their lack of knowledge is the time separating Ladybug and Chat Noir from their predecessors. Bo Rua and an unnamed Vietnamese Black Cat were the last LadyCat duo before Feast swallowed the Order, with Adrien and Marinette being their immediate successors. However, Master Fu was confirmed to be in his 180s when he relinquished the Miracle Box to Marinette and Austruc confirmed Bo Rua and her partner to be in their early twenties, meaning that Bo Rua and LadyNoir have over 200 years separating them, confirming that their knowledge was lost over time after they died and can only be recovered by speaking to their spirits like in Reunion [which I have several complaints about]. Master Fu is obviously lacking knowledge about the miraculous to a severe degree, so it makes sense for Chat Noir and Ladybug to as well.

I'm not bashing Adrien and Marinette and co for being objectively weak because it makes so much sense. They lack proper training, they're kids with set limits on their powers, and they don't have access to crucial information that would've probably led them to defeat Hawkmoth by now. Sure, the two of them [more so Marinette] are the strongest heroes of their generation but if you put them up against their forebearers, they would be massacred with no difficulty whatsoever.

The show would be 100 times more interesting if this was acknowledged, which would lead to the introduction of the previous holders in a more natural and useful way.

[If I missed anything, any reblogs with your personal opinions on the matter will be very appreciated]

[flightfoot]

ML Fanfic Recs for Completed Fics 7K - 10K Words

Only 12 fics for this category, there are generally fewer fics the higher the wordcount you look at.

All of these fics will be in my Keyseeker's Choices For Best Completed Miraculous Fics Of 2024 Collection, and if you like that, please consider checking out my other collections, Keyseeker's Choices For Best Completed Miraculous Fics Of 2023, Keyseeker's Choices For Best Completed Miraculous Fics Of 2022, and Keyseeker's Choices For Best Completed Miraculous Fics - Misc. Years.

Valentine Surprise by choppa01

Adrien had the perfect plan for spending Valentine's Day with Marinette. Unfortunately Chat Noir has the worst luck when it comes to keeping to the plan. But it all works out in the end, right? Right?

This is adorable. Chat Noir keeps running into people who need help on Valentine's Day and sacrificing his own plans in order to help others. Luckily, all is not lost, even if everything he set up for his date is.

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Run Amok by @mirrankei

The more time a sentibeing spends away from their amok, the weaker that connection becomes. In time the magic of the amok, desperate to keep that connection, will move to an item that the senti is closer to. Adrien's amok is empty, and Felix and Duusu are on a frantic search to find the new item before someone else can get their hands on it. Without letting Adrien know any of this is going on, of course.

I really loved the concept of this fic, with the Amok moving, and seeing Felix's perspective was a treat! Especially with which item he suspected held the Amok. The senticousins' dynamic is always interesting to watch.

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every wall that I knock down (is just a wall i'll replace) by @purplecatghostposts

Now it’s Félix’s turn. Adrien needs to know about his own existence before anything else and Félix wanted to have that conversation himself. Marinette didn’t argue when he told her as much. If anything, she seemed slightly relieved. Félix has been meaning to do it for a long time. Adrien had been at risk if he said anything before, not to mention it felt cruel to tell him when he would still have to bend to his father’s orders until the rings were retrieved. But Adrien wears his own amoks now, making his own choices with no one forcing him to do any of it. All physical risks are out of the way. Félix only needs to break it to him. The problem is that it never seems to actually be the right moment. (Or Post Season 5, Félix finally has the chance to tell Adrien about both of them being sentibeings and their family history. He’s not quite sure why his words keep failing him whenever he tries though.)

I love the analysis of Felix's thoughts and feelings about being a sentibeing, the psychological hangups that are preventing him from telling Adrien everything. I especially like how he doesn't even seem to realize HIMSELF what his problem is. Few people are able to really understand why they're reacting the way they are, why they feel the way they do, without either some deep examination or talking to someone.

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sub-in by @purplecatghostposts

Wordlessly, Adrien slips the ring off his finger and offers it with an outstretched hand. Félix stares at it for a long moment, knowing in an instant what it is but processing what it means. “You can’t be serious.” Félix blurts out at last. Adrien, the traitor, can no longer fight the grin that stretches across his face. “Completely.” (Or Félix was still getting used to Adrien being Chat Noir, but now he must take on the performance of a lifetime and become Chat Noir. It’s more stressful than it sounds. Takes place in Season 2 of a Félix Joins Early AU.)

I loved seeing Felix's and Adrien's relationship here, they act a lot like siblings XD. Adrien's just a ray of sunshine while Felix is a grumpy cat, though he loves Adrien dearly. I love seeing Felix try out the catsuit, and also realize how VERY close his cousin is with Ladybug - and how good a sense she has for him. He's a good actor, but he didn't have time to fully study up on this role.

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Rhododendrons by @buggachat

“These are your apology flowers?” “Yes,” he whispered. “They’re very pretty,” she said quietly, staring down at them, “But they’re not good for apologies.” “Oh, yeah?” he breathed. “They mean ‘danger’,” she said, raising a brow at him. — Marinette had always been so patient with Adrien when it came to matters of his father. She understood that he struggled to say 'no', that he was trying his best. She always made it clear that she loved him anyway. But even she had her limits. Her trust in him was wearing thin. Good, he couldn't help but think, standing at her front door with his father whispering into his earpiece. She shouldn't trust me.

Classic "Gabriel recruits Adrien to help him deal with Ladybug, taking advantage of his possession of Adrien's Amoks to ensure he has no choice" fic here! Buggachat's writing is as visceral as ever, you can really feel Adrien's misery at this situation.

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Regardless of Perfection by @aidanchaser

Marinette rejects Adrien's proposal; he can't understand what he did wrong.

I love this look into how Adrien would respond if Marinette freaked out and rejected him, seemingly out of nowhere, because he tried to propose using one of his parent's wedding rings. He'd have no clue why she freaked out, and the way it would make him feel... it's not good. Luckily, Felix is there to help straighten things out!

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forever (and a little bit) by @rainbow-arrow

Now the world was out of tune. It was messy and blurry and Luka could not fathom waking up tomorrow and accepting his new life. He had less than nothing. How could he care about anything when the better half of his melody was replaced with silence. --- see also: Luka's villain origin story

This is a tragedy, don't go into it expecting a happy ending. Adrien breaks up with Marinette because he's upset over her lying to him about his father's fate and not telling him he's a sentimonster, and gradually becomes closer to Luka instead, first as a friend and later as a lover. There are fragments of story from the future that let you know this love story isn't going to last...

It's rated M, though I think that's mostly because of Adrien's injuries. I can see why it's M rated, but I think most teens should be fine reading this.

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I'd Do Anything For $20 (To Feel More In Control) by @shroomifiy

Bee!Nathaniel AU one shot (because I think he's silly teehee) Nathaniel hated keeping secrets, especially from someone he cared about. But unfortunately, it's not up to him to decide that. Marc feels hurt from Nathaniel's actions. He just wants his boyfriend to be honest with him. Hawkmoth is a bitch ass motherfucker. Enough said.

Fun Nathmarc fic here! I love seeing Nathaniel's interactions with Pollen, and him cope with the strain on his relationship with needing to run off all the time to go fight akumas with only the flimsiest of excuses. He loves Marc deeply, as deeply as Marc loves him. But Marc's getting suspicious and wondering what's going on, and Nathaniel doesn't think he can tell him.

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the monster who loves you by @purplecatghostposts

Mum nods, clapping her hands together. “Your brother is finally feeling better and is coming home today! Isn’t that so exciting?” Félix pauses mid-bite, processing her words. Mum waits expectantly, as if expecting him to jump for joy, or his equivalent of it. But… Félix doesn’t have a brother. (Or Félix’s brother is a monster, but only in the most literal sense. Félix’s father is a monster despite being very, very human. He learns to navigate the world through these two truths.)

I loved how this story emphasized the differences between different kinds of monsters - the type who inhabit horror stories, who look terrifying, and the mundane, human sorts of monsters who are often the most dangerous. And how monsters can choose to act humanely, while humans can choose to act monstrously.

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so say my name - and every color illuminates by katrinette

When an akuma hits Chat and turns him into an actual cat, Marinette can't just leave him on the streets overnight. She takes him home with her. But a cat might overhear any number of things he's not supposed to know...

I love this trope. Thankfully for Marinette, Chat retains his mind in cat form, so he's pretty cooperative. It also means that he remembers everything he sees and hears as a cat though, which is bad for secret identities, but great for their relationship.

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Adrien's Wingman Plans Failed Successfully by @mexicancat-girl

Adrien’s going insane. His friends Nathaniel and Marc were so obviously in love with each other, but no one else seemed to see it. Well, that was gonna change! Adrien was now their number one wingman and will get those two comic-making boys to confess and kiss one another! Thankfully, he had Luka to help him along the way, even if the other boy insisted he should stop meddling.

This fic's great if you need something cute and wholesome! Adrien's a bit OOC (he's not nearly this oblivious or perky in the show), but this version of him is still a lot of fun. He seriously manages to have no clue how hard he's clearly crushing on Luka, even while Luka's actively trying to date him.

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Chat's Discovery by hislittlelady

On patrol, Chat Noir stumbles upon Marinette Dupain-Cheng. She’s been missing for six months and now she’s got a secret: something to protect, something far more valuable than her secret identity.

So Marinette's secret identity got exposed, and she had to go on the run as a consequence. Luckily Chat found her, because taking care of this particular secret on her own would be... let's say, unsafe. Adrien's about ready to murder his father by the time he finds out everything.

[mesetacadre]

How do you avoid becoming a doomer with politics? I want to be more politically active but the current political climate makes me feel depressed.

talked more about this here but essentially, nothing is static. Conditions change all the time, the quantity of organized people can fall and rise (with parallel but not necessarily 1:1 development of quality). What today seems like an impassable wall, tomorrow (not literally tomorrow) will more and more began to be seen as a necessary step for an improvement to happen. The fact that there exists a scientific method of analysis of history and capitalism also acts as an accelerant; how much time passed between the first bourgeois state and the first formulation of scientific communism, 50 years? That is unprecedented in the history of modes of production, and it only took another 50-60 years after that before the first relatively permanent instance of the next mode of production.

The way I see this, inaction and pessimism feed into each other, pessimism favors inaction, and inaction reinforces pessimism, by limiting your perception because it limits personal experience. And that cycle can only be broken by first stopping that inaction, since it is possible (not always) to force yourself to act against your general feelings. And then, only by working against that inaction and finding an organization/party or general line of action that works for you, can you begin to sustain an action-optimism cycle (of course, it isn't this simple and I would not call my outlook to be optimistic, but this is the best way I can think of explaining this). This cycle is, in my experience, very fragile, and somewhat often I continue to act through periods of relative pessimism by inertia and by the continuance of the responsibilities that bind me to my party most strongly. I can keep talking about the way society and the economy evolve, but at a personal and more inmediate scale, this is the only way to avoid "doomerism", at some point you're going to have to start acting if you want to avoid it, and rethoric can help, of course, but you'll only start to internalize it once you experience becoming an active part of these mechanisms. For me, it sometimes feels like a hobby, other times like a chore, and most times like the best thing I could ever do with my life. But it's crucial that you're not only driven by blind hope. The amount of effort and time you can contribute as an individual will vary wildly, depending on your own personal circumstances, and in my experience the most common type of organized person you'll encounter is the one that can only really dedicate a few days a week or a couple of hours every few days.

There is some nuance to "you have to end your inaction" too, of course. I'm not saying to join the very first group you encounter and dedicate every minute of free time to it, but you also can't be waiting for the perfect opportunity or org to come along. I contacted my ML party on a Tuesday during a winter academic break, while I was only just beginning to stabilize out of a suicidal episode but still depressed, and while considering myself mostly an ancom (I was very lost in that regard, my beliefs were not truly emergent from any proper anarchist core, but I digress). You don't need to have read x books or need to have encyclopedic knowledge of your local movement to begin to organize yourself, and you also don't need to believe 100% in the emancipation of workers. The best time to begin is the next time you have some free time to research and begin to contact some orgs/parties, that's as best as I think I can put it. I can't assure you that it'll be straightforward, but I can assure you that you can't get out of doomerism just by thinking about it.

If it's too daunting, think about those executive dysfunction "tricks". Joining A Party can sound very big an unapproachable, but you can break it down into looking, for example, for "Communist Party of [your country]". Look at their socials, see what they do and say, maybe you find an offshoot org that looks better, or run into a completely unrelated group. Then you contact them, ask when they're doing something in your area or if they can invite you to some kind of meeting, etc. Be willing to contact them if you find a couple of drawbacks too, sometimes rumors turn into the thing everybody says about x or y org, without really reflecting reality. Have criteria, of course, if some org is talking about immigrants like they're invaders, for example, it is probably not worth your time. Everything depends on what your local scene looks like. Getting experience at a mediocre org is still better than staying at home and looking on at the state of the world like it's hopeless. this isn't a very well-structured post, I've been writing this across a few days when I can, I hope it's helpful

[piromina]

OK OK GUYS ONE PIROMINA ANALYSIS COMING RIGHT UP!!!

*proceeds to put everything in the tags again*

JK JK ummm gimme some time to look at their costumes.

Got it!!! ok so basically what we gotta do first is see what exactly they wanted whenever they transformed.

*looks up transcripts*

Ok I think I'm on to something......

DESPERDADA:

adrien: she thinks im the perfect guy for this mission!!!! plagg: u cant be chat noir and another superhero at the same time! which means that ur NOT the perfect guy for this mission. adrien: the lucky charm told her I am!!!

REFLEKDOLL:

chat noir: do u know why master fu gave u the ladybug miraculous instead of me? ladybug: bc it requires someone w/ a sense of responsibility????

alright so what we have here is: in desperada, adrien wants to be the 'perfect' partner for ladybug. in reflekdoll, adrien wants to be a 'responsible' partner for ladybug.

BASICALLY, adrien wants to prove himself to ladybug.

aspik wants to be the Perfect Adrien. mister bug wants to be the Responsible Chat Noir.

(and when i say chat noir, I mean the black cat to the ladybug. the partner. the person who she can trust, and who he can trust back, no matter what miraculous. someone she can rely on. someone RESPONSIBLE.)

Aspik is him crafting a persona that he thinks ladybug would love (kinda like catwalker) so he makes it based off of what his FATHER would love (kinda like catwalker) bc his father is also someones opinion that adrien very much cares about.

HENCE this costume looking VERY MUCH like ephemerals. but ofc in the tags for that post I did say that it means that Adriens Dad Doesnt Care Abt His Safety but here it means something else!!! HERE it means that adrien is NOT a coward, he is a BRAVE person who Doesnt Need Protection From Bad Guys.

aspik designed his costume after a diamondback rattlesnake, which represent Dangerous Things! surely he can protect ladybug from desperada!!! diamondbacks r super venomous!!! he can do this!!!! desperada should be cowering in fear rn!!! dont worry ladybug!

aspik, as the wielder of the snake miraculous, cannot AFFORD to die like he does as chat noir (which is why he has the very little protection that he has). aspik is brave (which he thinks ladybug would like) and doesnt need protection (which ladybug would like very much) and will in fact protect ladybug from desperada WITHOUT protection for himself because She Goes First just like Father Goes First (which surely ladybug would kiss him for protecting her like that) and if hes living up to his FATHERS expectations and if hes living up to LADYBUGS expectations and if the lucky charm even TOLD HER that hes the perfect guy, then obviously he is the perfect guy!!!!

MISTER BUG's costume on the other hand. mister bug is very different looking from aspik, ephemeral, and cat walker, bc mister bug is not adrien, he is chat noir. mister bug is the responsible partner that ladybug can trust. ladybug knows that mister bug is chat noir. he still needs to act like chat noir. he still needs to be like chat noir. he is still ladybugs partner.

just.......more responsible. ladybug is responsible. he should try being more like her. but as u might notice, mister bugs costume literally looks nothing! like ladybugs! and thats bc hes trying to be not EXACTLY like ladybug. ladybug is a good enough ladybug. he still needs to add the chat noir-ness to the team. just...more responsible.

hence the cat ears were not replaced by ladybug antennae :(

so when adriens subconscious was designing him a costume, it decided: hmmm, what does ladybug NOT like about chat noir? wellll, she teases him abt the bell a lot, like flicks it and stuff. thats kinda childish of him, dont u think? father wouldn't approve. SCRAP THE BELL (or anything ladybug-related that would fit for it) and.....what else? ladybugs costume is super simple. maybe get rid of anything thats a bit too over-the-top and won't rly help with the mission. OKAY FOLKS WERE GETTING RID OF THE POCKETS AND ZIPPER we have literally Never Used Those during a fight and Why Would We Start Now. erm, also! ladybug doesnt have gloves so why should we. GET RID!!!

and then, he was left with almost Nothing Else. he has on the shoulder pads for protection and he has on the boots for also protection and the black is just to deviate from ladybug's costume and add a sense of chat noir to the whole look. and unlike scarabella, the yoyo is in the same place as ladybugs. adrien designed his suit sorta like ladybugs by using the bare minimum of what he could, but also trying to impress his father by adding in some fashion choices using the scraps he had left.

and both of their outfits are actually rly good despite what everyone says✨

I don't think we talk enough about the similarities of Cat Walker's and Ephemeral's costumes enough and the implications it raises.

[fantasybuff3186]

Revelator ml thoughts

First of all I'm glad Revelator touched upon her secret but overall I don't have that much to say about it because one episode wasn't enough to address the secret and I found the episode underwhelming but I will try to say as much as possible. Spoilers for revelator and the rest of the show below the gif.

Despite my thoughts about the episode itself it's good to know they haven't forgotten about Gabriel and marinette and introduced the issue in this episode, showing not just the impact on Adrien which is very important but also showing how Alya will personally react and once again showing her belief in the truth. Long story short, I liked the focus on Alya and the little taster to what is to come.

Now to how I'd prefer them dealing with the issue I hope they detail this in an arc of four episodes at minimum next season . If I'm being honest though I'd prefer a whole season or at least half a season dealing with these secrets but I don't really have much hope in the writers but hopefully I'm wrong even as I try to ground myself in reality and my experience of their writing in season 6 so far.

Honestly speaking while people may complain about season 5, I actually loved how they dealt with the agreste arc and the focus they gave in trying for a linear narrative and not monster of the weak. Season 4 was even better but enough about previous seasons. I'll continue speaking about revelator.

Now with reference to Adrien in this episode, it was nice to see his confidence in marinette even if plagg was influenced by the video. As cat noir, I liked the concept of miraculous cat noir and how it gives more power to Adrien and I hope they use his power a lot more. The way the power acted gave me a bit of cat blanc PTSD though and that's a result I fear because like they're so happy now. I mean I know when he finds out the happiness will disappear but I hope it's not as bad as I fear because they've suffered enough.

I genuinely don't want an Adrinette break up but more so an open conversation after they've dealt with their emotions because honestly I do feel like Marinette and Adrien are perfect for each other but just need to grow which is honestly why I like that Adrinette became canon because honestly I feel like they were already well developed as ladybug and cat noir so a relationship between the two would have been boring but with Adrinette we bring the focus to their personal lives which are frankly a mess and they need to grow together as Adrien and Marinette before anything else.

Basically unpopular opinion but I like ladynoir as partners and friends because there's only so much growth you can do behind masks and like Adrinette as a couple because they really need the spotlight since ladynoir got enough.

Anyway back to the episode, I liked how this episode showed the naivety of Adrien and marinette contrasted with Alya's street smart journalistic skill. It was also really nice to see how good of a friend Alya is to marinette and I liked how despite her frustration at marinette she was more than willing to forget and let marinette share at her own time.

The little bits of Adrinette were also pretty cute but I wonder what role the fangirl who gave them her ice cream is going to play because they felt out of place for me and intentional since we saw her face while with other people we didn't. I actually almost thought she would be the akumatised villain but I might be overthinking and only time can tell!

Anyway that's all and I'll see if I want to do a detailed analysis of my thoughts on the love square which I briefly touched upon in this post because boy do I have logic for why I love Adrinette and never found myself as interested in ladynoir, Ladrien or Marichat(especially Marichat)

[moononmyfloor]

In the 3rd Quarter of 2024 Cdramaland...

1st Quarter, 2nd Quarter, 4th Quarter

(Aka the review post where I speak like I'm a hyping announcer at a presidential debate 😆)

.

16. Favorite Parents/Parent figures of the year

Papa Gu (Zhang Fengyi) from A Lonely Hero's Journey, Master Li (Qiu Xinzhi & Zhang Chenxiao) from Dashing Youth

Usually the uber principled, patriotic, larger-than-life parents are stereotyped as negligent and ruthless towards their children or incapable of expressing their true affections. Not Gu Xixing. He was a strict father but for all the right reasons, and never hesitated to throw his prestige and life aside for his children any second and he made sure his children knew that, which was the most important part. The kids knew their father wasn't someone to be trifled with, but also that they were so incredibly loved and protected. Having him as the father was a big part of why the ML grew upto be such a stable and well-adjusted young man who would never sway no matter what catastrophe befell him.

Li Changsheng was, hm, admirable in the COMPLETE opposite way. One of the most convincing character designs for an immortal I've seen, he was often insensitive to the mortal struggles his students went through, and came across as snobbish and heartless at times, but that behaviour made sense and was understandable for once. Plus, when he did decide show that he cares, he went big. Earth shatteringly, Dynasty-topplingly, Heaven-shakingly big. Quite literally. He always had life advise and cultivation tips to give, if you were able to tolerate his cryptic speech and dark humor resulting from having lived for too long. I was both disturbed and fascinated by him, I even wrote character analysis for him here and here, lol.

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17. Favorite historical drama of the year

A Lonely Hero's Journey

Set in Suzhou during 1940' Japanese Occupation era, this drama is by no means the most perfect espionage/spy/war show that China has to offer, but I REALLY enjoyed it because it had so much heart despite all the bloodshed and devastation going around.

It didn't have the most accurate-to-history depictions of this specific time period, the costumes weren't necessarily period appropriate etc, BUT THAT'S OK, because even still it did such a GORGEOUS job of its wardrobe, and it's not like didn't do some research (3 meta pics from official weibo posted above), delivered heaps upon heaps of world-famous Suzhou architecture and landscaping aesthetics (3 collages from weibo below) and used this mesmerising old gramophone track 【Teach Me How Not to Think of Her (教我如何不想她) by 赵元任 (Zhao Yuanren)】 in its bgm and also did a modern cover for it, all of which made for a very atmospheric viewing experience.

And most importantly, it depicted almost all the characters with empathy no matter they were a main character, a villain, a traitor, a Chinese or Japanese. If you see people spouting that Cdramas always have clear cut black and white censored portrayals of stories that take place in sensitive historical time periods, that they bend over their back to ensure the audience wouldn't root for the characters on the wrong side, just slap a show like this in their face.

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18. A drama that was a pleasant surprise

Snowfall

When the premise said "Republican era Vampire Cdrama with an age gap relationship" I didn't really expect it to be anything more than a cheaply produced light fantasy thriller with the said age gap couple being portrayed by two same age actors where one character simply happens to be labelled as immortal.

Snowfall was anything but. Excellent cinematic visuals, sets, styling and costumes from Director Li Muge, who is like China's second God of Colors after Dir. Zhang Yimou, veteran actor Vengo Gao (Age: 42) as the immortal half of the pair and Ouyang Nana (Age: 24) as the younger half, who actually do share a very visually age-gap dynamic that was so masterfully explored so it was 100% about mutual respect, adoration and sexual tension without being creepy, and the show never let you forget that the main lead was a vampire who could unleash some serious, gory violence if he wanted. Yes, his vampirism was still explained as the fault of alien meteorites (as always 😂) but they compensated with delivering an immaculate antagonist who was 10x unhinged than any paranormal disease could ever be. He had a competency kink, abandonment issues, he was emitting the desire to be held by throat and be topped wherever he went like a jumbotron, he loved to torture AND be tortured... the list is endless. Watching this drama was absolutely delightful.

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19. Favorite adaptation of the year

Adventure Behind the Bronze Door/Tibetan Sea Flower

The DMBJ fandom was waiting for this for what felt like a decade but OH MAN IT DELIVERED. Not only that it was faithful to the book in ALL the ways that mattered, it fixed up a lot of not-so-good parts in the original material, fixed continuity issues and became the DMBJ show with the most cohesive, well-paced narrative. It was about time.

From the super-well thought out opening credits animations, to the casting, book references, props designs, CGI, bgm and the to the freaking ENGLISH of all things, it was perfection. 9.5/10 Stars No Drama.

.

20. Screenstealer of the year

Ye Dingzhi (He Yu) from Dashing Youth

Tumblr user @fortycumber said it all, couldn't have said it better😂. Despite the promising start, Dashing Youth fell apart by the end (though I did enjoy that drama a fair amount, I made an edit too for Dingzhi and his poor wife Wenjun) with the scriptwriting failing almost all characters including Dingzhi himself, but He Yu's soulful acting did SO much to singlehandedly keep the show worth watching to the end.

It is especially amazing considering how He Yu is still a new actor, he had studied Architecture and started pursuing acting only recently, other than the gorgeous face he had little in common with the gazillions of his peers in the same show, yet he was the one who hit it out of the ballpark. An orphan in the Jianghu whose family was brutally murdered in his childhood, brought up by a just as loner Dark Cultivation Master, a prodigy who is admired but never understood and therefore feared by everyone, an ardent, loyal lover, a struggling young father.... he nailed it all with the perfect amount of gravitas.

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21. A drama that made me cry

Adventure Behind the Bronze Door/Tibetan Sea Flower

When I tell you just how much ZHH got the vibes right, I was impatient for the subs and randomly clicked here and there on ep 30 already, without subs. I saw glimpses of certain scenes that were happing in the ep and I just

stared at the screen

scared at the screen

A shudder passed through me and I instantly started bawling like a baby.

That hadn't happened to me in a long time. 😭

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22. A drama that made me laugh

The Flower of Lust

A low-budget simple comedy with copious GL undertones, this drama didn't offer much meat to bite on, but it was unexpectedly some good fun. Fast and easy to follow, there was lots of turned-around gender expectations going on for the roles.

For example, this laobanniang played by Word of Honor's Beauty Ghost is the main lead, there's no Male Lead, but a clutzy female assassin who's going to kill the Lady and they develop a classic wuxia sworn-sisterhood relationship where they share energy (😏) and sacrifice for each other. It has two side male characters played by hot young actors (Huang Junjie and Li Zhuoyang), but they are simply himbos who were saved by the boss lady and now work as her bodyguards! At most, they only have hots for each other.

Also it has a theme song that sounds TOO good for the production quality. Plus each ep is only 15 mins long, you won't lose out if you give this show a chance. The full version is only 3.5 hours.

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23. An old drama I watched this year

My Girlfriend's Boyfriend (2017)

On paper-

"An otaku wants to order a love bot in the form of the girl he has a crush on, but accidentally orders a male bot who is programmed to love him forever, and the otaku re-purchases the girl bot but she accidentally gets programmed to love the guy bot, and the Otaku suffers. A lighthearted comedy with some gay jokes."

What it actually was-

Polyamory negotiation, feelings realisation, coming out, internalised homophobia, learning to love yourself, multiple thorough discussions on how a relationship arrangement doesn't have to be this predefined textbook thing and how it's sometimes as simple as just staying with people who make you happy, the biggest gathering of explicitly-acknowledged queer people I've seen in a Cdrama including the ML himself, a butch, a crossdresser, a BL writer, a girl who believes everyone is in love with her...... who are shunned by the rest of the campus for being "weirdos" so they create this space for themselves that is so full of love and acceptance and *literally* decorated in rainbows, and there was a scene of a gay bar with a married gay couple...... I can go on and on.

Is it a perfect show? No. But I would give it even more than 10/10 if possible, simply for existing. It's not a masterpiece and is full of silliness sometimes but it is so painfully clear that this show was made by people who knew what they were doing.

The Before-2018 Cdramaland was a RIOT. Highly rec that everyone watch this, especially if you are interested in seeing what queer portrayals in recent Cdrama scene used to be before censorship rules tightened.

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More posts by me

[ijustliketoreadstuff]

They never blamed her

At the end of "Protection", Marinette finds out that Kagami had come into contact with Lila. This was huge news for Marinette because it finally answered the question of who gave Kagami that friendship test list back in "Perfection", the very list that made Kagami believe that Marinette never considered her a friend and was not good enough to be anyone's friend.

Marinette has previously dealt with Lila's attempts to ruin her friendships and reputation. Way back in "Ladybug", not only did Lila frame Marinette for various misdeeds but she also made sure to cover her tracks by making Marinette seem like the bad guy. As much as Marinette tried to defend herself, even she came to the cruel realization that her words would still fall on deaf ears even in her most dire moment, as she realized Lila was just too good at lying.

When Marinette tried to clear her name to Kagami in "Protection", she once again faced the same troubling situation as in "Ladybug", which was that she was not being taken seriously over Lila's words.

(Kagami believed Lila's lie that Marinette would lie her way out of trouble, she refused to listen to Marinette's attempts to clear her name.)

The only reason Marinette's name was cleared back in "Ladybug" was because Adrien demanded Lila come up with another lie that would prove her innocence, as even he knew he did not have the capability to expose Lila and could only threaten to end their friendship if she did not carry out his demands. And of course, Lila reluctantly agreed, not for the sake of friendship, but because she could not risk losing the privileges that came with such a friendship, including being able to stay close to Adrien amidst her (failed)plans to start a romantic relationship with him.

Near the end of "Protection", Adrien overheard the conversation between Marinette and Kagami and likely also understood that what happened in "Perfection" and "Protection" had all been the result of Lila once again having no regard for others as she now attempted to ruin the friendship between Marinette and Kagami.

Just like in "Ladybug", it was Adrien who stepped in at the end of "Protection" to try and help clear Marinette's name to Kagami, but unlike in "Ladybug", this was different. Ever since Adrien ended his friendship with Chloe back in "Derision", it was very likely that he also ended his friendship with the only other person who would willingly hurt Marinette, Lila. But while the two of them no longer being friends would end up being a good decision for Adrien, this also meant that Adrien no longer had any leverage over Lila.

Risking the friendship Lila had with him, was the only thing he had to make Lila listen as he knew she could not be reasoned with normally. However, by now, even he knew that friendship never really mattered to Lila as he learned she was still willing to make attempts to hurt the people he loved behind his back. The only chance he had at helping Kagami realize that Lila was wrong about Marinette being a liar and a manipulator, was by openly expressing his honest and heartfelt opinion about Marinette.

It was left to Kagami to decide for herself whether or not Marinette was really a bad person, Adrien could only hope that Kagami did not forget the time she shared with Marinette, what she saw Marinette do for her and for others that proved every day how much of a good person she truly was, and she didn't, but this hurt all the more as she realized that she misjudged the friends who cherished her and the love they had for each other (more here).

No matter how guilty and ashamed Kagami felt for allowing her own emotions to cloud her judgment and believe Marinette was a bad person, Marinette never shunned her for it, because in many ways, Marinette knew all too well the position Kagami was in.

Back in season 2, when Kagami first arrived to Paris, Marinette had the rough impression that Kagami was not only cold, but a threat, someone who never hesitated and was capable of making secret plans in their shared love rivalry for Adrien. The thought of the two of them ever being friends never crossed her mind as she assumed Kagami viewed her as someone who was inferior and imperfect, someone who only ever hesitated at any given opportunity.

(In the past, Marinette believed Kagami was perfect in every way)

(In "Frozer", Marinette becomes intimidated by Kagami's willingness to not hesitate with Adrien, to not be afraid to take the next step with him and not be considered just a friend in his eyes)

In "Animaestro", Marinette really believed the idea that Kagami was determined to kidnap Adrien so she could take him to japan forever, and that Adrien was too nice a person to realize Kagami's "evil plan", all things which in reality, never happened. Back in "Ikari Gozen", Marinette really believed Kagami only entered the friendship day competition in a plan to receive all the credit for winning the game that Adrien was involved in, fully intending to use the game as a chance to make Adrien fall in love with her, something that in reality Kagami never did or intended to do, all she really wanted was to make a friend.

In "Protection", when Kagami believed Lila's words that Marinette was secretly pretending to be nice to her from the start as part of her secret plan to steal Adrien from her one day, she really believed in the idea that everything she did to help Marinette get that chance to get closer to Adrien, and help direct Adrien towards understanding his feelings for Marinette, was all part of Marinette's "evil plan" to act weak as a way to lie and manipulate others into feeling compelled to help her get what she wanted (more here), and Adrien for one was too blinded by Marinette's manipulation to see through her deception, all things that in reality Marinette never did or had the intention to do, all she really wanted was to be a good friend to Kagami.

Marinette's past views of Kagami were of course brought about by her overactive imagination conjuring and believing in situations that never happened (something she would later learn to admit to herself in "Glaciator 2"), that the only solution to stopping what she thought were Kagami's "diabolical plans" was by sabotaging her and even adhering to the word of someone like Chloe, who had a hatred for Kagami, a similar course of action Lila instilled in Kagami in "Protection" as she pushed Kagami into believing that she had every right to go against Marinette and fight to take back what she stole, Adrien(more here).

Although Marinette did eventually come to her senses and realized she completely misjudged Kagami, she never forgot that overwhelming sense of guilt and shame she felt over just how much she misjudged her, especially in regards to what she did during that time she believed Kagami was the evil one in a situation, when in reality she never was.

(In "Ikari Gozen", Marinette realizes Kagami was never the cold hearted perfect person she thought, and was simply a socially awkward girl desperate to learn how to be friendlier and make friends)

Over time, Marinette grew to learn the kind of person Kagami was, she was flawed just like anyone else, she was a girl who struggled to learn about herself, especially friendships, but was eager to learn, and befriend those who were willing to accept her. Kagami has always been very strong willed, and yet despite this, those who would actually take a chance to talk to her would learn that behind that strong will, was a fragile innocence.

Which is why when Marinette and Adrien learned that it was Lila whom Kagami had been listening to, they never blamed her for doing so, and how could they? They understood Kagami knew very little about friendships, and Lila was fully willing to take advantage of this.

To know that Kagami believed the friendship test back in "Perfection" and still stay with Lila even after the matter was resolved, was likely enough to reveal to them that Kagami had considered Lila a friend who cherished and listened to her, because that's how Lila would have presented herself from the start to draw Kagami towards her.

Adrien and Marinette knew they had to warn Kagami about Lila and they did, but being upfront about Lila had already proven to be of no use in the past, so they did what they could and told Kagami that Lila was one person whose actions didn't prove she is as good of a person as she claims to be.

However, no matter how much they would try to warn Kagami about Lila, even they must have understood that Kagami was now trapped in Lila's clutches. They have seen Lila lie her way out of trouble many times before, and as we all know, that's exactly what she did the moment Kagami confronted her about the lies she spoke about Marinette.

Without proof, they could only hope Kagami would adhere to their word over Lila's the next time she attempted to lie and manipulate her into another one of her scheme's.

[permian-tropos]

would anarchism be more for me as someone who hates capitalism but finds MLs to be rather lost in the sauce so to speak ?

anarchism is for everyone :)

But yeah sure go ahead and check it out, if you still want to get some value out of Marxist analysis in ways that aren't wholly incompatible with anarchism there's theory from autonomist Marxists, libertarian Marxists, etc. As for what kind of anarchism would most interest you, I don't know, but I'll throw two more free books at you on top of the links I shared in that last post, that give a broad overview and you can follow threads that interest you: Anarchy Works by Peter Gelderloos & Anarchism: From Theory to Practice by Daniel Guérin.

One of the things I've learned is that there is no perfect anarchist propaganda piece that makes it feel like every question is solved. Anarchism requires curiosity and constant intellectual growth, and everyone who says anarchists don't read theory couldn't be further from the truth. I would say anarchism is more likely to rekindle the voracity for reading that many of us miss from childhood, or awaken it if you never felt it before.

[theerurishipper]

I did "quick math", and only ML Villains that aren't abusive parents (so are candidate for "Marinette's villain"), are:

Felix

Chloe

Lila

Mr Cash

Techno-Pirate

Su-Han (arguably)

From this list, let's eliminate characters that are portrayed as "nemesis-es" to other characters. Characters that "stay" are:

Chloe

Lila

Su-Han

From that three, Chloe would be (in "perfect world") successfully redeemed in S2, Lila is complete Plot Device that only appears when Writers need certain characters (Alya, Kagami, etc.) to act "against Marinette", but it's (normally) OOC for them (because "Lila convinced them"), and Su-Han is either "Useless Neutral" (in S4) or "Luka's heroic mentor" (in S5)

End Summary: Marinette literally stopped having ANY "personal nemesis" in S2, and it somehow "stayed that way" through 3 whole seasons

Damn, that's a great analysis, and you bring up a great point. Marinette is literally so irrelevant in her own story that she stopped having a personal nemesis back in Season 2! That's crazy. No wonder they had to force and rush a sudden rivalry with Gabe to make her seem relevant in the story that's supposed to be about her. Free my girl, the writing did her so dirty. She deserved so much better than this.

Thank you for your ask!

[raomarketingpro]

Free AI Tools

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has revolutionized the way we work, learn, and create. With an ever-growing number of tools, it’s now easier than ever to integrate AI into your personal and professional life without spending a dime. Below, we’ll explore some of the best free AI tools across various categories, helping you boost productivity, enhance creativity, and automate mundane tasks.

Wanna know about free ai tools

1. Content Creation Tools

ChatGPT (OpenAI)

One of the most popular AI chatbots, ChatGPT, offers a free plan that allows users to generate ideas, write content, answer questions, and more. Its user-friendly interface makes it accessible for beginners and professionals alike.

Best For:

Writing articles, emails, and brainstorming ideas.

Limitations:

Free tier usage is capped; may require upgrading for heavy use.

Copy.ai

Copy.ai focuses on helping users craft engaging marketing copy, blog posts, and social media captions.

2. Image Generation Tools

DALL·EOpenAI’s DALL·E can generate stunning, AI-created artwork from text prompts. The free tier allows users to explore creative possibilities, from surreal art to photo-realistic images.

Craiyon (formerly DALL·E Mini)This free AI image generator is great for creating quick, fun illustrations. It’s entirely free but may not match the quality of professional tools.

3. Video Editing and Creation

Runway MLRunway ML offers free tools for video editing, including AI-based background removal, video enhancement, and even text-to-video capabilities.

Pictory.aiTurn scripts or blog posts into short, engaging videos with this free AI-powered tool. Pictory automates video creation, saving time for marketers and educators.

4. Productivity Tools

Notion AINotion's AI integration enhances the already powerful productivity app. It can help generate meeting notes, summarize documents, or draft content directly within your workspace.

Otter.aiOtter.ai is a fantastic tool for transcribing meetings, interviews, or lectures. It offers a free plan that covers up to 300 minutes of transcription monthly.

5. Coding and Data Analysis

GitHub Copilot (Free for Students)GitHub Copilot, powered by OpenAI, assists developers by suggesting code and speeding up development workflows. It’s free for students with GitHub’s education pack.

Google ColabGoogle’s free cloud-based platform for coding supports Python and is perfect for data science projects and machine learning experimentation.

6. Design and Presentation

Canva AICanva’s free tier includes AI-powered tools like Magic Resize and text-to-image generation, making it a top choice for creating professional presentations and graphics.

Beautiful.aiThis AI presentation tool helps users create visually appealing slides effortlessly, ideal for professionals preparing pitch decks or educational slides.

7. AI for Learning

Duolingo AIDuolingo now integrates AI to provide personalized feedback and adaptive lessons for language learners.

Khanmigo (from Khan Academy)This AI-powered tutor helps students with math problems and concepts in an interactive way. While still in limited rollout, it’s free for Khan Academy users.

Why Use Free AI Tools?

Free AI tools are perfect for testing the waters without financial commitments. They’re particularly valuable for:

Conclusion

AI tools are democratizing access to technology, allowing anyone to leverage advanced capabilities at no cost. Whether you’re a writer, designer, developer, or educator, there’s a free AI tool out there for you. Start experimenting today and unlock new possibilities!

4o

[argumate]

I think I'd regard "modelling/approximating a function of the training set" to be a limiting framing that implies that ML models can't do more general inference. If a model learns to model a certain general data transformation from the training data (like, for instance, addition, or writing poems with arbitrary rhyming schemes that haven't been seen before, or creating an arbitrary image from a description), then it is modelling something that can be extrapolated from the data, but I feel like calling that a function representing that data is limiting to the point of being inaccurate. A genuine learned function or mechanism that can be applied to a specific task generally has an infinite potential application that isn't limited by the finite input data; all that is required is enough samples to for said function or mechanism to be derived accurately.

"Compression" philosophical models of AI bug me because they seem to imply that an AI system can never produce anything novel, and in fact that's often why people invoke them. But that seems to be demonstrably not true - a system that has learned to do a thing can at least theoretically do that thing in entirely novel contexts, and produce new data that can then be further built upon without any sort of knowledge decay. The source of subsequent generations of data will of course ultimately be the original data, but the potential for analysis and extrapolation could be unbounded, if the original data space contains enough information about the world to be explored as a complete world model.

This is how humans carry on our civilisation and produce new knowledge, after all, and I see no reason a ML system can't do the same - are doing the same, in some senses, just currently on a smaller and more limited scale. I don't think that anyone would argue that "producing a more perfect function of our environmental training set" is a useful description of what a human does, however.

I also feel that architecture differences become more relevant when it comes to things like achieving consistency over consecutive rounds of world modelling and problem solving, by taking shortcuts based on known assumptions about reality and hardcoding them into a system.

yes being able to explore the implications of what is suggested by the training set is obviously vital, if they couldn't do this then they would not be "learning" anything, they would just be memorising the input data, and we have simpler compression algorithms for that!

however even exploring the implications of the training set to their ultimate limit may not tell us what we need to know if that depends upon data we do not have; for example it may not be possible to advance the frontiers of physics without observing experiments at energies that we have not yet reached, or cure cancer without insight into the immune system not currently present in our records.

humans don't just produce new knowledge by exploring the implications of existing knowledge in a purely textual sense, after all! sometimes we actually do stuff in the world.

but a robust device for correlating the vast amounts of data we have already collected would still be of great value, even more so if it could guide the collection of more data.

either way, this wasn't an attempt at taking a philosophical view of AI, more just making the point that the precise network architecture doesn't seem relevant to the outcome of the "big data" approach, even if it does matter for operational reasons in terms of how big that data can get.

[mahamid110]

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[iamacolor]

I will jump on the discussion bandwagon with some analysis 😂😂😂 because I've been thinking about this for a while. So the big romance dramas this year I'm sorry this is gonna be so long but I like so lay everything out because talking in general doesn't actually show anything if you want to be like "I ain't reading all that but I'm happy for you or sorry that happened" I will completely understand.

Lovely runner: ride or die female lead but you could make the argument and not a weak one that they showed the ml's love and affection in a bigger way.

Queen of tears: Felt pretty even in that regard for me but up for debate.

Marry my husband: The poster girl for uneven dynamics where the ML entire existence revolved around the FL and at the first opportunity she had to show even an ounce of the same she was like nope.

Captivating the king: This one had to do mental gymnastics with its own logic to justify the FL treating the ML like shit 12 episodes deep into the show when it longer made any sense.

Queen of divorce: This one was just sad and pathetic because girlie gets drunk and sleeps with a dude gets pregnant while she's dating ML and then cuts him off with no explanation. ML loves her for years and then simps 24/7 without a shred of dignity, It doesn't help that it was just dumb all around.

Then you have atypical family, wedding impossible, dreaming of freaking Cinderella, midnight romance in hagwon where it's not that obvious in some instances but it was still the typical (haha) guy makes bigger gestures/declarations/ etc

Just as far back as 2020 you could find a much more balanced list: Flower of evil, Mr queen, Hospital playlist, itawon class, tale of the nine taled, run on, find me in your memory, when the weather is fine, into the ring all weren't perfect in this regard but they had really really committed men but also women who maybe liked them and pursued them first( itaewon, WTWIS, FMIYM, hospital playlist in the case of two couples) who protected them with strength or just words (run on, FOV, itaewon, into the ring), who you felt were just as committed as their significant others in most instances. And the differences are so stark side by side You could say we're only a little over halfway through the year but somehow I don't think anything will change. Last year was more of the same there were exceptions like see you in 19th life, call it love, castaway diva but it was mostly the same song and dance; Welcome to samdari, my dearest, perfect marriage revenge, love to hate you, king the land (somehow the most inconspicuous but also the most blatant every big gesture or confession and even the small ones were 99 percent him, was from the ml's side so much so that when he has to deal with emotional trauma they had him do it alone 😂😅😂 and the moment that encapsulates the whole thing is when they're talking to her grandma and he's like I'll make her happy for the rest of her life and she's like I'll be happy with him for the rest of my life like woman please I know you're reassuring your grandma but come on) oh and also soundtrack 2 had people picking up their pitchforks. There was also tell me you love me which was the opposite with the FL being the more affectionate forward one for most of the show and the ml being hesitant because he's deaf and he's been burned so badly before because of his disability and his ex girlfriend not being able to handle it only to reverse uno us and have the FL do the exact same thing which made it so much worse she literally tells him she had a dream he could hear and was so happy and I almost banged my heard against the wall. I can't speak to my demon, park's marriage though because I haven't seen them.

P.S all of this and kdramas come off smelling like roses compared to cdramas which are so so SO much worse. Is it because they almost exclusively adapt novels? Which makes sense for kdramas too because they've started adapting a lot more webtoons and romance novels/webtoons are usually a lot more blatant about the romantic reverie because they're a different medium. If you want balanced couples you need to pick which cdramas you watch very carefully lest you loose all your hair because you're tearing it out. So many of them are : boy gets tortured for girl boy gets stabbed for girl boy literally kills and dies for girl boy says the most unhinged romantic shit you've ever heard in your life to girl. Girl: sure whatever I guess...

jump on it anon!! i'm always up to read some analysis in my askbox honestly it makes me feel like i'm a talk show or something - also the sheer amount of dramas you've listed made me realise i've actually watched very few dramas in the last two years so i definitely felt like we were making progress but maybe no lmao i've only watched lovely runner, castaway diva and soundtrack 2 out of your list of this year and last year - i tried to watch my demon and i was just kind of bored tbh

and omg i had forgotten about when the weather is fine and into the ring! both definitely had very proactive female leads (i love when she's like "should we sleep together" or "i want to sleep with you" or something like that in when the weather is fine) and also really nice stories

as for king the land what do you mean he delt with his trauma alone like was he at the hospital and she didn't visit him??? but yeah i would not be surprised to hear a fl was written more as tool to have the ml show humanity and strenghth and have a goal for his fight and his recovery than as an actual person lol

ngl your description is kind of making me want to watch more cdramas just to see what's going on like why are so many people stabbing and torturing others!! do you have any recommandations?