#Emilie giving Gabriel shit for years

[gale-gentlepenguin]

(Gabriel with Emilie in the afterlife)

Gabriel: My love we are finally reunited.

Emilie: Yes, we are… you do know I was watching everything from above right?

Gabriel: I knew you were watching over me.

Emilie: Gabriel, I was watching everything.

Gabriel: (seeing she’s not thrilled) I admit it wasn’t always glamorous

Emilie: You kept me in a glass casket and monologued a LOT! And those monologues were super creepy and evil.

Gabriel: I was in a dark place.

Emilie: You became a terrorist!

Gabriel: It was all for…

Emilie: Don’t! I left a video that specifically said NOT to do this.

Gabriel: Well yes but I didn’t see it until…

Emilie: I know you didn’t watch it. You blatantly ignored it as you convinced Nathalie to assist in your crazy mission.

Gabriel: But everything worked out. Adrien has a good life now.

Emilie: Without his father, which he is gaslit into thinking WASNT the terrorist attacking Paris and constantly putting him in danger!

Gabriel: Look, I did what I could. I made mistakes, I admit I was wrong. But I got the miraculous and made the wish for Adrien. So can we just watch over our son and enjoy eternity together.

Emilie: You at least told him he is a sentibeing right? Heaven forbid he finds out without proper understanding.

Gabriel:… I didn’t think that would be important.

Emilie: What the hell Gabriel!?

[rachelsshowerthoughts]

Not Aware AU exactly but kinda tangential. I always toyed with this idea of "Kagami was transferred into Adrien's class when she joined the school."

This could be in S2, or be because Tomoe saw Adrien was attending school and she's got those later season machinations & sends Kagami to make sure he's not snagged by a gold digger.

(In the former case its just in S2, while in the latter it starts after Princess Fragrance.)

This was fine and fun at first, but Kagami is more willing to start shit with Chloe & much less patient with Adrien's continued softness.

Plus, Adrien can't really explain why he's fond of Chloe cos its a mixture between he can't imagine his life without her (Sibling coded) & stuff like, "She was there for me when mom disappeared & got me into school".

This leads to her at some point losing her patience and dragging both off to a classroom and basically saying "Either she needs to improve or you need to drop her, because this cannot go on."

You'd expect it to be a two on one but Adrien's efforts to play peacemaker lead to Kagami arguing with him as well.

Then when one of Chloe's major blows lands hard against Adrien, "Our parents harm more people every day than I do in a year and you still love them, hypocrites!"

It does nothing to Kagami, because she doesn't love her mother, she respects her, obeys her and fears her wrath but she doesn't love her even a little and she assumed Adrien was the same.

He is not the same & is in fact kind of defensive of his father at such a blatant rejection of one's own family and how uncomfortable it makes him.

It basically descends from there, cos I love slow burns but sometimes its just like, "Hmm what if they all started screaming their issues that they do not realize are issues at the top of their lungs?"

None of these kids know therapy talk so their languages on it is already going to be shit even before we remember literally not a one of them has much in the way of healthy communication or good social skills outside of formal events so:

So you have Chloe defending stuff like destroying Roses' letter because "That's how Mama handles it when I give her bad gifts, she's telling me to do better and one day I'll get it right!" As well as "Why would Papa want to see me when he doesn't need me for something? He's not a lunatic control freak like your parents."

Then you have Adrien defending stuff like, "I know my dads cold and has impossible standards and barely lets me do anything I want but he is protective and just wants what's best for me!" & "My mom was always kind to me, she was perfect even if she never let me go out or have a birthday either!"

& Kagami defending Tomoe with, "It doesn't matter how I feel about Adrien, or my instructions, I act as I do because it is for the good of my family. My emotions, my life don't matter at all before that duty!"

So its just three incredibly fucked up abused kids steadily airing each others and their own families laundry list of abusive traits and experiences under the pretext of saying "No my family is normal & OK yours is the bad one" and "How dare you call 'that' bad, when your parent does this!"

(Also Chloe may think Gabriel killed Emilie or otherwise would rather have Adrien sealed in amber forever than as an actual living boy,)

With this continuing until it either gets physical or they basically collapse.

Meanwhile the class is just watching in mounting horror and disgust and discomfort. (Nino is likely especially pissed) Like even with Chloe it may not justify her behavior but it puts so much of it in a new deeply messed up context where it kind of makes sense she doesn't even know how to be nice.

To quote a friend of mine:

The rich kids have taken knives to each other. They've cut open their festering wounds. The rot is exposed, scrubbed raw. While they lie angry, bleeding, crying, and dying [inside], they have the opportunity to look upon themselves once more and apply new dressings.

I can see it, but unless Gabriel is ACTUALLY out of the country, all three get Akumatized. My thoughts are a weird mix Grimm Brothers Fairytales - Cinderella, Snow White, Hansel & Gretel, etc. Not in specific, but like. More fairytale tropes?

Adrien is the "Cinderella"-style. Rapunzel, Snow White-style, "One Day My Prince Will Come"-style. The type of character that has to sacrifice and sacrifice, and will eventually be rewarded. If he does one more photo shoot, one more public appearance, *scrubs one more floor*, his father will finally love him. He'll finally have the happy ending he wants. He just has to stick it out - cause his dad DOES love him, right? (As a possession, if at all.)

Chloé is more of the "Trials"-style. Complete this mission-style. Knit twelve sweaters from nettles, and your brothers will become human again. Find the right goose, and get set free. Defeat the evil witch, and the spell is broken. If Chloé tries hard enough, does and says the right things, her parents will love her, show her affection. She'll finally be worth something. (All of it performative and shallow, until they raise the bar to another impossible height. Always keeping her dependant on them.)

Kagami, weirdly, I see as more endurance, or contract style - like a flipped version of Adrien. She isn’t really trying to "change" her situation the way Chloé or Adrien are, (for value of "trying to change it", ie, playing along with their parents games because that’s all they know to do) she's accepted this is the way it is, and is simply trying to endure it. Go through the motions. Hold up your end of the bargain. Work within the bonds of your deal, to do as little harm as you can, while still fulfilling your end. One day, you'll be out. You'll be free. (As if her mother will ever set her free.)

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

What do you think about the love square as toxic codependent relationship?

Toxic? Yes.

Codependent? No, though it is starting to go that way.

Canon has quite effectively poisoned the love square and put them in a position where they really shouldn't be dating. At the very least, they should be working full time with personal and couples counselors to fix their myriad of communication issues because Ladybug is still keeping things from Chat Noir and now Marinette is keeping things from Adrien. Yay! Plus Adrien desperately needs to work on being open and honest about his struggles. It should not take an act of magic for him to be able to admit that he doesn't want to do a thing (Risk). And quitting out of the blue instead of talking to his partner? Doesn't instill confidence that he'll suddenly magically be good at telling Marinette if she's making him feel similarly on the civilian side of things.

This leads into the other issue: balancing how they support each other. Right now, Marinette is getting all of Adrien's support, but he's getting nothing in return, which is super depressing because canon has the perfect setup to make that aspect of the relationship balanced. Chat Noir supports Ladybug through defeating whatever Gabriel is calling his villain side, Marinette supports Adrien through the fallout of the reveal of his father's web of lies and deception. Simple! Sweet! Easy! But because Adrien can't communicate his needs and because canon decided that Marinette needed romance trauma, their relationship is horribly unbalanced.

Adrien supporting Marinette through her relationship trauma is the one thing that is arguably codependent about their relationship because holy shit was that a terrible choice! As I've discussed before, he should not be her only support in that struggle for many reasons, one of them being that it makes her mental health dependent on him. The way the show is writing him now that they're together is horrible. Apparently perfect boyfriends have no needs of their own and no hopes, ambitions, or dreams outside of making their girlfriends happy!

The ending of season five does not give me any confidence that the above issues are going to go away. I expect them to get worse because holy shit how do you end the season with Adrien newly orphaned and yet spend no time showing Marinette comforting him? I have a sinking feeling that Adrien will mourn his dad about as much as he mourned his dead-for-less-than-a-year mom because I guess healthy people don't mourn. Or maybe this is just a sentimonster thing? Like maybe Emilie ordered him to not mourn her before she died or something like that. Or maybe Adrien is programmed to only care about living people who he loves/who love him? Idk. What I do know is that I'm very over the canon square. Just terrible, terrible writing. I'm especially judgmental of it because of the target age group.

While parents/guardians can model healthy romantic relationships for their children (assuming that the parents/guardians have a romantic partner), the concept of falling in love and starting to date is something that parents/guardians can't model even if they're actively dating because you're not going to take your kids on dates! Kids will mostly learn about falling in love and dating through media and discussions of the concept, which is why I think that it's extremely important to show healthy relationships in media aimed at young kids. And even if kids are being raised in a home/homes that model healthy relationships, that's just one or two data points. We want to give them lots of data points to draw from! We should not be giving them crap like whatever the hell season five of miraculous was.

[familyagrestefanblog]

They actually did it

Fucking christ I was RIGHT! They even went so far as wiping out Adrien's memory!

We're back with Chat Blanc.

That's what made Chat Blanc such a unreliable narrator, I made a post about that YEARS ago that Blanc eventually wiped out his own memories with only his love for Marinette left in all that horror while Hawkmoth having been the monster who got him. That's why he incorrectly blamed their love for having ended the world, that was all he could remember as we even saw once he detransformed!

I do not have time to write about this today but this is the worst possible outcome! We are absolutely FUCKED! "Representation" was already a combination of "Chat Blanc" and "Ephemeral" because they were never avoided in the first place and now for the rest of the finale every bad consequences we just sidelined for seasons on end! "Chat Blanc", "Kuro Neko", "Ephemeral", the entire season 4 finale!

How DENSE do you have to be to think that Gabriel Agreste gave Marinette his BLESSING?? She literally told him right in his face that "fOr ThE gReAtEr GoOd" she will let Adrien as an orphan pay for all his family's sins right after the man had a whole mental breakdown of 5 seasons of build-up because he was THIS aware of incompetent and horrible of a father he was!

He was WILLING to give her his blessing and Marinette fucked it up in every way possible! What the hell does Gabriel give a shit about the greater good?? The only thing he cares about is himself, his wife, Adrien and Nathalie! Marinette told Gabriel that everything he loves, is, was, worked for and wished to safe can go and fuck itself because for the greater good she decided that HIS SON is now going to go through every hell that's waiting for him and she didn't even care to ask what that hell will BE!

She just signed Adrien up for it and expected Gabriel to be okidoki with that?

Gabriel Agreste made the wish. It doesn't matter what excuse Marinette has, all that matters is what GABRIEL thinks. And for him she is the enemy of everything he loves and regrets having failed this horribly! What makes you think Gabriel Agreste gives a SHIT about anything else?

Why are you trusting this man?? Gabriel's love is and has always been the worst thing in Adrien's entire life!

What do you think is gonna happen now?? Gabriel made himself a martyr and wiped Adrien's memory of having been horrible while simultaneously the cover story is that Gabriel Agreste died heroically defeating Monarque by Ladybug's side because Chat Noir wasn't there and his son Adrien was kidnapped!

Adrien is gonna fucking blame himself for his father’s death! He thinks he failed his father! Adrien was created out of Emilie's love for Gabriel, Gabriel is counting on Adrien being the only person who would want to bring him BACK! We were RIGHT reading it like that in "Passion"!

Gabriel KNOWS that he can't force either Adrien himself, Marinette, Nathalie or anyone to break apart but if he takes Adrien's memories while everyone remembers how shitty of a father he was to him than Adrien will want to distance himself from them by his own CHOICE!

What the fuck is Marinette gonna do when Adrien now obviously want to go back into his fathers business because he can't remember why he left in the first place and now he wants to make it up to his dead father by stepping into his role and continuing his legacy! You think Marinette crying a bit and saying "I don't want you to work as your father's successor, you don't have to be like him!" is gonna do it??

Adrien is gonna CHOOSE to go back because from his perspective what he's doing is good no matter if his father wasn't perfect and she's just really not being understanding and unsupportive. Telling him to choose himself "but not like that!"

Fuck, im short on time, but I will scream and shout about this forever! What are you guys WATCHING that this is good? Marinette turned into an easy two-for-one kill without Chat Noir, she NEEDED him and now she lost!

Adrien/Chat Noir was NEVER saved and now his insane father GOT him! The new universe started with Adrien waking up, NOTHING before that happened no matter what other people including Marinette herself think they remember! It never happened! The universe started with Adrien and Marinette kissing him awake because Gabriel WANTS her to think taht he gave her blessing or at least what he did wasnt so bad and for good intentions so she doesn't try undoing it before it's too late!

Can you stop being so naive? Why are you trusting and insane and abusive villain father who HATES you to do you JOB?

[inlocusmads]

countdown to 2024 ~ writers edition

Okay yes, 2024 is here, I am so late to this, but I hope I'm not too late to this! Anyway, 3 writers.. Once again, it kind of sucks to choose only 3, so I'm going to break seventeen laws once again. @choicesfandomappreciation

Arguably yes, I have to catch up with some of your guys's wonderful writing and I will! That's a resolution lol, I promise. 2024, year of reading - let's do it.

@jerzwriter : I'll never stop talking about Elsa's writing because it reads like how you'd expect a movie script to sound like. It's full of realistic scenarios, quippy witty dialogues (did I mention she's like, so freaking amazing with dialogues??) and the way she portrays a scene with just interactions between characters is nothing short of an actual masterclass in writing. Seriously, where can I buy some of it? Everything she puts out is so down-to-earth and it feels like a warm comforting hug - like doesn't matter if there's shit out there, let's talk about characters doing their little thingies, even if it is as simple as a coffee run. Link to masterlist.

@peonierose : Peonie's writing is so wholesome, like it's like condensed hot chocolate. I'd say the one thing I love about her writing (if I had to pick *one*), it would be how she deals with a cast of characters. They all have their own unique traits, how they deal with everyday problems, their relationship with other characters- especially Luna's cousins. You find a part of yourself in her writing. Also can I just say I'm a sucker for the 'found family' trope? Peonie depicts them so well! Bryce, Luna, Soraya, Skyler, Evie, Keiki being super supportive of each other is just everything to me. Link to masterlist.

@lilyoffandoms: Lily's drabbles are to literally die for. Their stuff actually inspired me a lot to get started in writing! It's tough to depict a specific scene so astutely and with the vibes, it's almost a superpower to do the same. Their descriptions are always so magically written - it is almost a literal tutorial in how to write - especially for me, who goes off on fifteen different tangents. I love Lily's writing also because of how just downright cool the characters are- Like - Maiele? Who wouldn't want to be his friend? Gabriel? Cool is literally engraved into their DNA. Merida? She's everything, Ethan's just Ken. I love them your honour. Link to masterlist.

@moominofthevalley: Okay, I admire a lot about her work but if I had to pick one for me, it would be her descriptions and just 'painting' this scene. Emily's inner monologue is honestly something we should've definitely had in canon and Moomin does this in this way that sheds some much needed light into how grief, loss, pain, love and so many others feel like. It's always an uphill climb to do so, it's an even tougher feat to fold it into parts of larger works and she does it ever so brilliantly, it gives me a literal whiplash lol (affectionate). One minute I'm like "Beat him up, Emily! Get his ass!" and the next second I'm bawling like a baby. I love their portrayal of Trystan too, it's such a delight everytime I read them both! And I'm def looking forward to what you have planned for 2024! Link to masterlist

@mydemonsdrivealimo: MJ's writing is so brilliant because it's just painfully real. The characters are brought to life with how well-rounded they are. Jensen's own strengths can come back to bite him in the back. They're ultimately people and MJ does this so effortlessly well that it is almost as if I'm reading a biography of them in action. Jensen's story is one of my absolute favs and how MJ tackles a lot of different themes such as Jensen's heritage, the whole what's-the-deal-with-hospitals-anyway, neurodivergence, old friendships coming back to life - it is just so so easy to relate to or be able to share some of that perspective. Link to masterlist.

Writers whose works I'm looking forward to reading this year:

@storyofmychoices: Especially Mal's Orphanage series! I've come across Dani's writing only in passing but I'd love to get to know their characters better. Especially Daenarya. The Blades hyperfixation hasn't left my body lmao. Plus Olivia and Bryce are such a delight whenever they appear on my dash, and I'd love to learn more about them! Link to masterlist

@starlight-starfury: Ever since the WIP Wednesday snippet, the Elhalas series has just put me in a chokehold. I have definitely come across some of their works before - the writing style has me sitting down with a pot of tea ready, but I'm yet to really be able to sink my teeth in - y'know? Tyril was one of my favourite characters back in Blades #1 and I'd love to revisit my old hyperfixation through Tyril and Raine again! Link to masterlist

@stars-are-within-me: Stars is such a positive force in this fandom, plus I am obsessed with their Trystan and Carina and especially their Trystan-centric fics because it's high time Trys gets their own story to tell. I'm also like super eager to check out their Blades fics too. I'm such a sucker for character-centric stories where their pasts are explored or they're confronted with a problem only they can solve. Link to masterlist.

@a-cloud-for-dreams: As a fellow South Indian, to see a South Asian!MC fills me with a ton of joy. (I definitely did not do a lot of stalking, no of course not). I'm so looking forward to reading more about Chandini and Bryce. Even Haeyln! And I'm def looking forward to checking out the College!AU series you're working on as well (being an ardent fan of young adult lit). Link to masterlist

@trappedinfanfiction: Fast Break has to be a fandom classic, right? Like c'mon. Celia is such an icon, I hate myself for missing out on so much of her story. In addition to that, I'm def looking forward to more Sofia and Trystan; more Ran and Imtura, Avery and Eli, and generally more Blades lol. Link to masterlist

Honestly I'm yet to catch up with so many other writers and their works - I probably sound like a broken record, but maan, life do be hard for real. But I hope this year isn't going to be as stupidly congested as 2023. If I have missed any writers, I am so sorry lol, I am writing this on three hours of sleep, the words might as well float around me but enough ramblings ha.

I hope you have a great 2024. I hope you get to write so much, create a lot of art, work on tons of different projects, don't ever suffer from writer's block and have enough time to do everything. I hope you have all the inspirations you'll ever need, harness all of that awesome energy and hope the days to come are kinder, are less taxing and are much more hopeful. Happy New Year, everyone!

[starsfic]

Medding Mother-In-Law

Summary: Marinette has thoughts about her relationship with Adrien and her mother-in-law. Alya is supportive.

Notes: I subscribe to the theory that Emilie is just as much of a shit parent Gabriel is, but Adrien and Gabriel have rose-colored glasses.

-_-

"I don't think I want to marry Adrien."

Marinette's voice was low, as if she was realizing something that had been nagging at her for a long while. Alya looked away from the movie to stare at her best friend. Marinette was staring at the floor, eyes hooded in shadow and sinking realization.

"What?" Her first instinct was to deny it, say that wasn't possible. Marinette and Adrien had been together for years after Marinette had finally got herself together. However, that felt more like the voice of the teenage her. And Alya, twenty-five now, was older and wiser and had worked with Marinette to improve their friendship. So, instead, she paused the movie and focused on the important questions. "Why?"

"...Emilie." That was almost enough to explain it. Alya didn't speak to the woman often, but she knew enough that Emilie Agreste wasn't the perfect mother like Adrien claimed. "I...today, Adrien and I were talking about wedding cakes."

"Right." Marinette had claimed that she always wanted a small cake for her and Adrien to cut and a larger "wedding cake" made of cupcakes for the guests. "Adrien liked the cupcakes, didn't he?"

Marinette nodded, her features pale in the blue light of the TV. "He did. We were discussing what flavor, and then Emilie pipes up and says she and Gabriel had this big fancy wedding cake and that would look so much nicer and-" She gestured widely with her hands. "She said that she had already contracted a bakery to start working on it." Alya felt her jaw drop, and her bestie kept going. "Never mind the fact that Adrien and I had plans of our own! Never mind that my parents called dibs on making my wedding cake! She just said that she preferred that over the "cute cupcakes" and-" Marinette's hand slammed down on her face to muffle her groan.

"Want some wine?" Alya offered, grabbing the remote and turning the TV off entirely to switch on a lamp instead. She had a feeling of what the next part was. Alcohol wouldn't change anything, but it might help soothe the feeling for tonight.

Marinette shook her head. "No, otherwise, I'm going to start crying."

Alya hummed. "Crying might be good."

"Give me a second." Marinette took a deep breath in, deep breath out. "Adrien immediately said that was nice of her and when I tried to point out that we had a plan he..." She hissed. It was just as she guessed. "He said that we were just spitballing ideas and it would be fine!" Marinette let out a bark of laughter that sounded more like a sob. "He told me to not make a scene."

Alya passed over tissues.

"It's always: don't make a scene. Don't make a fuss. They'll soon realize how ridiculous they're being. And it's over and over again." Marinette yanked out a tissue with a ferocity that Alya had only seen in Ladybug mode. "I'm sick of it. If Emilie gets controlling over this, what else will she get controlling over?"

It was a good question and one, Alya realized, that she didn't want to find out.

"I don't want to marry Adrien. I don't want that level of control over my life." Marinette dabbed at her eyes, barely hiding a sniffle. "God, remember what his dad was like? Somehow Emilie is worse."

"I believe you." Alya straightened up, grabbed Marinette's glass, and poured some more wine in. "So, what do you want to do? Do you want to cancel everything and ghost him?" It was a dumb question, Adrien had way too many connections in their life, but it was enough to make Marinette snort.

"No. I want to sit down with him and explain what I'm doing. If Emilie wants to be there, fine." Marinette pulled out another tissue, blew her nose, and nodded to herself. "Once he understands why I'm doing this, then I'll cancel everything. I'll pay for it all so he doesn't have to deal with it and then..." She pause, her blue eyes seeming to freeze.

She didn't know what to do next.

To be fair, neither did Alya.

"...go on a vacation?" she offered. "Didn't Emilie refuse to go on that one Mediterranean cruise because she got seasick?" Marinette's eyes brightened. Alya nodded to her words as she thought. "We could round up the girls and go." Not to mention, that cruise stopped in Athens, where a certain guitarist was going to be next playing at.

Hey, Alya had pushed Marinette into this. It made sense that she should help her get a guy she knew was supportive.

"That sounds nice." Marinette grabbed her phone and Alya couldn't help a smile. "Now, come help me draft this. I need your support."

And her support Alya would give.

[motherofplatypus]

What to expect in S6?

Let's be real, there's nothing that we can expect, especially if you look at how they deal with the plots and message in each episode, especially with how S5 ended. And with Lila, who's the epitome of plot device, being the main villain, you understand why the expectation for season 6 is 6 feet under.

Ironic.

However, i miss the old days where the fandom would theorize things that might happen with joy and curiosity, and i wanna bring that back. So let's ignore That Guy and co's incompetency for the last 3 seasons and the disappointments that came along with it and see what to expect and could possibly happen in the next season.

1. Lila as the new Hawkmoth.

It's the first thing that came to mind, since she'll be the main villain. From what we've known about her so far, unlike Gabe, she take things into her own hands even though it relies mostly on dumbing down everyone else.

So we can expect that she'll use her skill to manipulate people to be vulnerable enough to be akumatized into a villain that she needs. (Goodbye Gigantitan and Mr. Pigeon, y'all gonna be missed. Unless the writers pulled all her brain cells like they did with everyone else, we'll see you soon.)

2. Emilie's sudden appearance.

This one needs to be explained. She's been declared missing, or dead, for at least a whole year, so her appearance needs an explanation.

As an extension to that, we might learn about what Gabriel wish was, and to a lesser extent, we might learn how the peacock got broken in the first place.

(Yes, I know TA already explained that miraculous being indestructible was an error. But the rule of every show is that what was shown to the audience is canon. But of course we can't expect him to own up to his mistake like an adult and try to do something with what has been established.)

3. Power ups, including Chat's (possible) power upgrade.

This one pissed me off the most, because power ups were first introduced in S2, and from 8 potions that's available, we've only seen three. Come on, 4 seasons and only 3 of them? And one of them isn't exactly a power up (You can't possibly say the ice one is a power up).

So yeah, they better introduce all the other power ups this season. Of maybe a fusion power up.

4. Luka and Alix.

It is now clear that everyone knows that Luka knows who LB and CN are, and that Alix very possibly knows too from the time travel. This opens up a lot of possible scenes, and one that everyone had been dying to have is Marinette and Adrien talk to Luka about their hero life (and maybe how they're scared that their hero life might affect their relationship with each other, and Luka has to hold the urge to tell them that they're actually dating each other).

5. Su Han's role.

Now that the new team is formed, Su Han, as the grandmaster guardian of the miraculous, have the responsibility to teach these younglings how to fight properly and learn more about their miraculous. We can expect a sparring session or team battle, and if we're lucky, how to counter each other's miraculous.

Heck, maybe we get to meet more of the monks and learn more about the temple of the guardian.

6. Rose's sickness.

This one i don't really like to talk about, but since it kinda depressing, I wanna talk about it. What would happen to Rose and her sickness? Like, I would imagine an episode where she fell ill and her power is needed to fight an akuma, and she decided to go. When the battle is over, she succumbed into her illness (not dead, mind you).

The angst is strong in this one, and im all for it despite not wanting it.

7. Chloe's return

Rumor has it that she won't be in this season, and honestly that's for the best, seeing last season we got 7 episodes dedicated to put emphasis on how bad she is without giving a single flying shit how much it retcon and ruined the show itself.

But, possibility is possibility, and it's interesting to think about what she'll bring if she's coming back, since she no longer has power and must do things herself. Will she be more of a threat? Who knows.

~~~

I'm purposefully not putting Adrien learning the truth here. Aside from the writers are infamous for doing absolutely jackshit for an entire season and compress everything into 3 episodes near the finale, it's logical from writing standpoint that they'll hold this important part of the story for the real final season. So yeah, I don't think we'll gave him learning the truth in the next season.

So, that's all from me. Sure, there's more to say, but my fingers are tired if i have to write more. So, share your thoughts what you think might or want to happen.

[princess-of-the-corner]

Im pretty sure anyone would take Enji over Gabriel. Enji’s actually written well, with a good character arc.

YEAH NO I

I went off on this a while ago but I'm bringing it back:

The arc with Enji is what they /wanted/ Gabriel to be. A man who is a Hero and cares about people and definitely cares about his family, but did awful and unforgivable things he can't fix due to his own sympathetic goals.

And it works because we genuinely /see this on screen/. While we see the bad stuff, we also see the good.

All of Enji's screentime that doesn't directly involve his homelife is him doing his literal job as a Hero. He held the title of #2 Hero for 25+ years, which is a fantastic thing to do! He's out there helping people and saving lives and risking himself for the sake of others and he's damn good at what he does!

And even when we focus on the stuff at home, we get that too. Yes there's the entire history on how this family started and of course the abuse, but we see him caring about them as well. When Rei's mental health drops, he gets her the actual professional help she needs. While he pushes Shoto too far, he's also proud of his accomplishments and tries to connect with him(it usually ends in failure). Fuyumi asks for family dinners together, and he makes sure to show up instead of giving the 'I'm too busy' excuse even though every dinner ends in a fight. Speaking of fights, he lets Natsuo yell at him during these fights and in turn is terrified at the idea of losing him. He tried to stop Toya from doing something that causes him major harm and could even kill him, and is devastated by his 'death' and immediately hit with guilt when he sees Dabi.

We see the root of all of this. The trauma over losing his father and feeling powerless, wanting to save people so no one has to feel that kind of hurt. Seeing the perfection that is All Might and holding himself to impossible standards, only to try and find alternate methods when he realizes his own inherent weaknesses were stopping him from meeting that goal.

And when Enji is hit with the realization of all that he's fucked up, he takes responsibility for it. This is his fault. No amount of 'good' can counteract the bad, the fact that he cares for his family doesn't erase the harm he caused to them. He can't change the past, but he's going to stay around and do what he can to fix it. Even in the middle of a battle thinking he might die his lament is that he wanted to live to fix things but if he has to give his life to save them then so be it.

Meanwhile.

Gabriel.

Gabriel is being an asshole 95% of his total screentime. We occasionally see him caring for Adrien and Nathalie in earlier seasons and he /says/ he's doing this for Emilie. But that gets contradicted in later seasons as just a fluke when he uses all sorts of magic mind control on Adrien and casts Nathalie aside once she's stopped being useful and ruins his chances of saving Emilie in favor of kicking the shit out of children. Emilie's death is supposed to be his motivation which would make sense if this only started a year ago but no it started at least 15-20 years ago where he's been doing villain shit this whole time. We don't know what spurred his want for at minimum a remote control obedient doll child and possibly world domination(they swing on that so much). And when faced with what he's done, decides to just off himself instead of dealing with the conseqences and trying to fix anything(and low-key taking everyone with him).

And it double hurts because like.

I am currently writing a fic that's a deep-dive on Enji's history and 'how he got here' and all that. And it's. I won't say it's 'easy' to write because writing is hard but if you can write it's not that hard to balance this shit out.

[k7l4d4]

K Reviews and Rants: Miraculous Ladybug Season 5! Episode 15

Hello everyone! Sorry this is late, I lost track of everything yesterday.

Now, there's not much about this episode to really go much into, but if I had to describe this one, it'd be that this is one of the episodes that, in hindsight, shows off how despicable and moronic Gabe is. Leaving to the side the retcon that a person still ages while using the Snake Miraculous' power to go back, this episode showed that, when given the choice between not having absolute control and opening up to someone, or even just taking the L and trying a new plan another day, Gabe would genuinely rather KILL HIMSELF then not be in complete control. Even leaving to the side how this episode stated how he could only use the Snake's power ONCE more without it killing him, this essentially means that, without any guarantee he would survive it, he would rather roleplay like he's an all-knowing mastermind then give up being the one with the power at any given moment. It's sad and pathetic. And we still don't even know why Tomoe is acting as his accomplice, when this episode had the perfect chance to do so given that his plan revolves around one of Tomoe's company's projects.

Anyway, enough about my whining, onto the episode! As always, warning for any profanity.

Episode 15: Intuition 

Okay, we are getting the scenes of Gabriel using Second Chance to try and spam a win... and I'm already pissed off because only revealing NOW that he's been secretly using this with EVERY AKUMA is utterly asinine. As is just having the Lucky Charm always change in each attempt at a time loop to function as an "I win button" rather than showing Ladybug using the same Lucky Charm in different set-ups. This- this is just OBNOXIOUS. 

And now we get a scene of him confiding in Nathalie, despite this supposed to be happening AFTER he's already alienated her. They really aren't even trying. 

And of FUCKING course now we get the bullshit reveal of "time rewinds for everyone but Gabriel," I do not GIVE A SHIT if the Cataclysm is a "mystical wound" or whatever BS someone wants to say, by that logic, Adrien should be an old man!! And Gabe has no one but HIMSELF to blame for even HAVING that fucking wound because he could've used Stompp's power to make himself immune to Cataclysm to start with!! 

"You can never use the power of second-chance again" DO NOT FUCKING ESTABLISH A RULE YOU ARE GOING TO BREAK!! WE KNOW FOR A FACT THAT HE IS GOING TO USE SECOND CHANCE THIS EPISODE, SO DO NOT SAY HE CAN'T USE IT!!! GOD FUCKING DAMMIT!!! 

Yup, this is after Nathalie allegedly "turned on Gabe" which makes the fact she's even TALKING TO HIM or giving him advice FUCKING STUPID!!! 

No, do not even TRY and make this a tender moment for fucking GABE, not after all he's done, and you do not get to try and have a tender moment involving Nathalie, not when she's been his knowing and willing accomplice SINCE DAY ONE. 

"Do it for Emilie" Don't even try bringing in that bullshit, not when it's already been fucking established that both Nathalie AND Gabe are deliberately ignoring her wishes and have been this entire time. Fuck that noise.

I'm just gonna ignore how the show is trying to act like Gabe gives a damn about Adrien altogether. Oh, and Adrien saying he likes to spend time with Marinette, if that's meant to be an "Awww, how cute" moment, it doesn't work because she literally only popped into his head after she called. And the show trying to make a joke about Marinette's overplanning tendencies doesn't work when they tried to tie those tendencies to fucking TRAUMA the very last episode. 

Oh boy, Gabe having tremors across his body and getting an ugly scowl from overhearing his son talk to Marinette... clearly this man is father of the year and NOT a controlling scumbag who can't stand the idea of his son dating someone HE hasn't picked out for her. 

The show having Gabe talk to his wife(s corpse) and saying that "they'll be saved, at last," just feels so pretentious because it's acting as if he has all these dire stakes he's working against, when ninety percent of his fucking problems are entirely his OWN DAMN FAULT. 

Oh for fucks sake, Gabe is LITERALLY WASTING HIS LIFE RIGHT NOW!! This isn't a risk, this is just him being a fucking MORON because he is literally trying to be shady and duplicitous with one of the few people HE DOES NOT NEED TO BE!!! You cannot frame this as him taking risks to save his wife, because literally all of these resets are because he's being an obtuse asshole and refusing to explain himself!!! 

Ugh, and we "finally learn Tsurugi's motivation." Nevermind that she "wants a new world" without explaining why or in what way, or even how this relates to her being in on his plots, and all it cost was Gabe being an obtuse asshole who could've gotten the codes just by stating "Hey, I'm going to be planning a really ambitious Akuma, and need to be able to access the Spaceplane, may I have the codes I need to get in?" Fuck this, there is no way you can make Gabe sympathetic in this at all.

And we get confirmation Gabe is a moron, since he literally just burned ANOTHER five minutes of his shortened lifespan pointlessly, rather than let Tomoe remember that he's vulnerable. THIS is the degree of petty selfishness that Gabe aspires to on a day-to-day basis. He will literally rather risk DEATH then let go of control. It's pathetic. 

Huh, wow. I'm honestly impressed with Max. Sharing tech and software like that is rare. 

We get a jab at Kim's intelligence, no surprise there. They really cranked up the dumb and ditziness of him this time around. 

Okay, not gonna lie, Gabe's plan this time is... honestly disturbing. ADA is, by all accounts, a genuinely intelligent AI, and is growing distressed at the loss of her pilot, and given that Gabe can Akumatize AI... yeah this is several degrees of scary to contemplate. I'm genuinely afraid at the moment at this plan. It's shit like THIS that makes the idea of Gabe being sympathetic impossible for me to buy into. 

Okay, that's even SCARIER then what I thought. 

While this plan is honestly a bit better than most of them, it really feels like he's forgotten that Chat Noir can take out the Meteorite, detransform, transform back, and then rendezvous with Ladybug in space. 

Yeah, Monarch made a new form of life suicidal with grief. Fuck him on so many levels. 

Wow, "Bugfighter," what a great name. /s 

Uuugggghhh... the fact that "Second Chance" can be triggered by ANYONE who can physically touch the Miraculous/Ring is dumb. As is the fact that Monarch didn't just, you know, WAIT UNTIL CHAT NOIR TURNED BACK TO TAKE THE MIRACULOUS!!! It's not like waiting would make the fact he'd be forcibly detransforming someone in the vacuum of space less fatal.

Wow, ADA had an emergency hammer, specifically for busting open the cock-pit all along. WHY did Max's mom not think of this before!? 

And whoopdy-fucking-doo, we get another "rejected Akuma." How original. Much shock. Much amaze. 

You can literally HEAR in the character's voices that the voice cast are hurrying things along and not really putting much effort into making this time travel loop convincing. Also, why did Monarch tell her to destroy the emergency hammer when he could've just told her to destroy Ladybug as fast as possible!? 

Now he's literally just throwing a fucking temper tantrum rather than admitting his "big plan" resulted in taking another L. This is pathetic. I literally cannot give a shit that he's burning through his life-span because it is ENTIRELY SELF-INFLICTED. 

Yeah, NO. Do not even TRY to pull a "tender moment." We all know he isn't even gonna pretend to stop his actions, and he treats Adrien like shit. Do not act like he's secretly a good father. He isn't. He's an utter piece of human garbage, and one who has nearly KILLED HIMSELF because he's too much of a petty asshole to accept defeat. Just... get the fuck over the idea of him being redeemable. He isn't. No effort to try and make "touching family moments" will change that. No, Nathalie, Gabe didn't take a huge risk, he wasted who knows how much of his remaining time on Earth throwing a fit like a toddler because he refuses to grow up and admit defeat.

[gale-gentlepenguin]

Hey! So, I was wondering if you could do me a favor.

Can you tell me what’s been happening in ML since Miracle Queen?

I jumped ship back then because of Fandom Drama and Toxicity, and I can’t get ahold of the show itself because my internet is shit right now. I want to rejoin the fandom and catch up, but it isn’t easy to figure out what’s going on. Especially since my only available avenue for Fandom News is the… Uh… (be nice be nice be nice) Mess that is Tumblr.

Can you help me out?

Well we are well into Season 5 now. But I will try and summarize everything that happened that was important.

TIME FOR A GALE RECAP!

Season 4

-Luka and Marinette broke up in the first episode, Kagami and Adrien in the second.

-Jagged stone is Juleka and Luka's dad.

-Alya finds out that Marinette is ladybug because Marinette tells her

-Hawkmoth calls himself shadow moth

-The Peacock miraculous is fixed

-Ladybug gets a new form when she uses lucky charm.

-Ladybug can create akuma repealing charms

-Gabriel bottomed for a clown

-Turns out Fu wasnt the worst guardian because Su Han exists

-Chloe has a half-sister named Zoe who is basically her but not evil.

-Zoe becomes the new bee

-Chloé is back to season 1 self but now even more cartoonishly evil

-Felix returns and figures out Gabriel is shadowmoth immediately.

-All of the class gets their miraculous hero time at one point. (Four of them get it in one episode near the end of the season.)

-Alya gets the fox permanently, then has to pretend she isnt rena rouge anymore because plot.

-Alya gets to use the ladybug miraculous for a day

-Ladybug and chat noir are said to be couple of the year but ladybug hated the idea so much she yeets chat noir into a garbage can

-Kagami reads manga and is best girl this season

-Nino reveals to Adrien he is carapace and Alya is Rena Rouge because he thought Chat noir was a slut

-Sabine got akumatized due to racism

-Tikki is actually a hunger gremlin but gets over it

-Luka finds out Marinette is ladybug and Adrien is Chat noir but lies about knowing

-The 100th episode was a what if episode where Gabriel wins but not really. It was terrible and not worth viewing

-Adrien quits being chat noir due to all of the crap and feeling not valued only to come back as Chat Walker and Ladybug falls for him. He ends up returning as chat noir even though nothing really changed.

-Then there is an episode where Gabriel makes all of Paris act risky thanks to an akuma.

-Adrien tells Marinette he doesnt want to be a model

-Marinette trying to confess to him but plot interferes

-Felix appears and swaps places with Adrien and finds emilie in the basement

-Felix gets the dog miraculous and manages to snatch all of the miraculous except Ladybug and Chat noir's

-He trades them for the peacock which Gabriel agrees too

-Ladybug breaks down and almost gives up but chat noir is there to bring her back up

______________________________________________________________

Season 5

-Bunnyx returns and they help her stop Monarch (cause thats his new name) from time travel.

-Nathalie realizes she has terrible taste in men and yells at Gabriel for his obsession with teenagers

-Adrien gets to stop being a model, but gets turned into a Siri

-Lila is doing evil s*** this season

-Ladynoir had a family in a dream

-Gabriel pretends to be a parent

-Nino makes a secret group to fight Monarch... ends up recruiting Lila and Gabriel

-Kagami and Luka are sick of bulls*** and try and pair up Marinette and Adrien

-Adrien realizes he's been in love with Marinette since the statue scene

-Marinette realizes she is in love with Chat noir

-There is a kwami swap episode that was ACTUALLY good

-Nathalie was actually Lara Craft in a past life

-The Kwamitoga is actually useful

-Joan of arc had an enemies to lovers slow burn with her Chat noir

-Marinette and Chat noir end up going on a date and Andre is NOT having it

-Marichat Kiss TWICE

-And the next episodes in order is a two parter where Zoe apparently gets the cat miraculous and Alya gets the ladybug miraculous again

[jacquesthepigeon]

Sorry Jacques but Rise of the Sphinx is now required reading, Gabenath backstory that confirms bible details. Hawkmoths actual origin story. For some reason the flashback says "A few years back" but Emilie has only been dead for one year, so I guess she took a while to croak? Guess it gives time for Gabriel to build his Mothcave. I swear the message from Emilie is going to be like giving Gabriel a hall pass or some shit.

Cursed

[danielleitloudernow]

This came up on my FYP feed and I thought it would be super fun to do in honor of NaNoWriMo.

20 Questions

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

I have 30: 2 series, 5 WIPs, and a whole bunch of one shots 😁

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

134,500. Not sure how I hit an even number, but that's fun!

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Mostly Korrasami (The Legend of Korra) and JEmily (Criminal Minds), but I have written for WarriorBard (Xena Warrior Princess), Ramvers (Captain Marvel), and Pricefield (Life is Strange). I'm working on originals, too, but that's neither here nor there.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Fuck Was I

The Consequences of Jello

Profiles and Princesses

Measure the Coefficient of Static Friction Between Us

The Violets in the Mountains Have Broken Rocks

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Always. I always respond to comments. It's so fun interacting with readers, and often, other writers. I've made a few friends from it and it's been so great. I have been known to drop off the face of the earth so I don't answer for a long ass time, but j always answer. Plus, I think it's a great way to show appreciation for those taking the time to interact. I love those emails telling me a fic has a comment. I poured so much of myself and my time into something and someone took the time to say something about it! It's pure magic.

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I think my fics are all HEAs, honestly. But there's a healthy dosing of angst throughout a lot of them.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Probably any of them, but Fuck Was I if I had to choose.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I did and I have. A fellow writer once called it "flaming troll shit" and since I changed my perspective to see it that way, I A) am considerably less bothered, and B) haven't really noticed it since.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I do write smut. I write the type of smut I want to read and it's always evolving. I don't really do like, BDSM (love to read it, don't have much urge to write it, though), but I'll throw in some kink once in a while. Really, I guess I just like to write real sex. The emotions, the connection, the want.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

Honestly, no. It's never really been something on my radar. It feels like a lot to keep track of or to meld and that's just a lot. Kudos to those who can and do, though.

11. Have you ever had a fiction stolen?

I really hope not. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but plagiarism is illegal, kids.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not that I'm aware of.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I have not. I have a beta reader (shout out to ireallyshouldnt_behere) who tells me if I'm an idiot or gives me suggestions, but we haven't moved into the realm of actual co-author (yet). We have joked about it before, and I would love to try a co-writing fic with someone.

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

Honest to God, JEmily. I had this theory when Criminal Minds first started back in the day that Emily and JJ got a little too drunk one night and clothes came off, that it turned into a thing. And then Will came along and Emily had to go and break her own damn heart because she didn't think she was good enough or JJ would be in danger being with her. Which is funny, given the Lauren arc, but I digress. But also, Xena and Gabrielle, always, because I grew up on XWP and those two were so obviously in love.

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

A novel I started writing 12 years ago 🤣 I love the concept and the characters and what I want to do with it, where I expect it to go. But holy fuck, it's been tedious. I have like...40k words of just bullshit that's not even really connected.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Emotions. Sometimes tension. Angst. Smut.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Dialogue. And moving from point A to point B. Sometimes grammar (and that annoys me most of all).

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I've done it, but let's be honest, it's Google translated because I'm American and for some reason we think English is the only language...

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Legend of Korra. I had read something that just made my head hurt and I thought "I can write better than that!" Spoiler alert, that's a really shitty reason to write something and no, you can't always 'write something better.' Plus, everyone is different: voice, styles, confidence, all that. Anyway, I cranked out a random idea (Living on a Spare) I thought was funny, and here we are.

20. Favorite fic you've ever written?

Oh, why do you make me choose? That's a really good question. I think Chaos Theory (at least at the moment). I just found a bunch of bad pick-up lines and turned them into something ridiculous.

Just for funsies, I'mma tag @thewillowtree3 @blackbird-brewster @cargopantsprentiss @ahhhsami and hope you guys do it but really it's up to you! Cheers, yo!

[residentxangel]

spoilers for season 4 and 5 of miraculous!!

i wanna strangle the writers of miraculous. they have NO IDEA what they are doing. they are adding useless characters (zoe, socqueline), giving USELESS PEOPLE MIRACULOUSES, *COUGH* ZOE *COUGH*, the disposal of chloes character arc, and a weird ass team up between chloe and lila!!

don't even get me started on the love dodecahedron between mary sue marinette, depresso espresso adrien, *holds a rose in his mouth* cHat NoIr, blushing ladybug, blue guitarist luka, *swing slash* kagami, banana zoe, and 20 other characters.

the former *hot single dad whos rich and could just mourn and move on to nathalie gabriel* turned into *fucking obsessed with 15 year old kids and the jewelry they wear turned terrorist all because i can't get over my basic wife named EMILIE gAbrIeL*

this whole team of superheroes and none of the characters being relevant or stand alone unless you're besties with mari or ladybug. like I GET IT shes the main character, but shes suffering from main character syndrome for real.

the 35 filler episodes, the non existent character arcs, tge random betrayal by felix, the adults in the show being useless, the side characters being useless, the MIRACULOUSES being useless....f miraculous ladybug i used to love that show but the writers are doing NOTHING with it

(disney plus only has up to season 5 ep 9 so idk what happens after that yet)

but this whole shit show is annoying.....imma rewrite it🐞

[thelovelybitten]

vera talks mlb: the movie — thoughts and drabbles

I cant even breathe rn, I watched the movie 4 hours ago and here’s my (now) settled thoughts about it.

picture of how I felt in that moment:

warning: spoilers for the MLB movie :DDD

so I have been a fan of this show since it came out, god I was FUCKING 16 then and now I’m 24 jfc…. it’s so wild how much time has passed.

now, the main show was SO good until season 4. I stopped watching the show all together because of how messy the plot was, Gabriel being the biggest pos known to man & how stalkerish they made Marinette (not to mention totally delulu and borderline insane (though, with all due respect, its a lot for a 15? 16 year old ???) but they could have written it better imo.)

not only Marinette but Adrien still being a small minor role (it’s always ladybug doing the damn thing but chat noir is left doing nothing it’s fucking sad he deserves so much better) and him just being shit on the last 3 seasons. he deserves more screentime and character development.

I also couldn’t handle adrien being a senti-monster, but we ain’t gonna talk abt that.

so I left the fandom all together.

but this movie. this. god. damn. movie.

this is HOW THE SHOW SHOULD HAVE BEEN WRITTEN IN THE FIRST PLACE. the character development with Marinette and Adrien is AMAZING and feels more realistic to me— they really drive on how unlucky Marinette is and how lucky adrien is (to an extent for adrien, but I digress). and the whole library scene made me giggle it was so cute. Marinette being infatuated but not a stalker was nice to see.

movie ladybug & chat noir sparked my feelings for the fandom all together. how cocky chat noir is, ladybug being anxious to fail but finding solace with chat made my heart all warm. every scene they had together I was kicking my feet and screaming like a child. (they own me, lol)

I have to specifically mention THE FUCKING FIGHT SCENE WHERE CHAT NOIR HAS LADYBUG PINNED TO THE WALL BC WHEN IT HAPPENED I HAD TO PAUSE, LEARN HOW TO BREATHE AGAIN, COLLECT MY THOUGHTS AND CONTINUE. THE PURE TENSION IN THAT MOMENT. “I really should go home now.” “don’t” DO YOU WANT TO KILL ME ?!?!?! GOD IM STILL SCREAMING ABT IT 😭😭😭 they had electric hearts babe DONT EVEN LIE

their chemistry in the film just. made me feel things. they have an amazing dynamic and it was utilized. i wish it was more prevalent in the show series—the banter was everything.

I definitely was caught off guard when cristina wasn’t singing, but I got used to it

master fu was also super good too !! I defo prefer him in the show but movie fu slayed

chloe being chloe but not overdoing it made me :)))).

even alya and nino were written exceptionally.

tikki was written well, loved her, but plagg made me give him the side eye… where is his annoying ass. he can make fart jokes but please keep his sly demeanour.

gabriel was extremely well written, might just be the best character that was re-vamped imo. his storyline made sense and it wasn’t completely heartless…. using the miraculous and him slowly getting weaker and weaker made so much sense. (the musical number tho, SO FUNNY)—but god, when he found out chat noir was adrien he stopped. stopped everything. he loves his son so much, just as much as he loves emilie. we’ll see where the potential next movie goes with him, but lord his character is what I wish show gabriel was like.

the end scene at the ball made my jaw DROP. marinette looked amazing in her dress oh my god— and then the almost kiss I was MAD but also happy bc after that it opened the door for a sequel so ILL TAKE IT.

also when marinette takes off adrien’s mask and puts it on was so fucking cute 😭 the atmosphere was all warm and wholesome.

also giving props to chloe because her gold dress ate down.

sabine gave me helen parr vibes and i don’t know why.

tom being the overprotective dad 😭

anyways, i probably missed some things

but this movie, in my opinion, ate the show for breakfast and became the meal i’ve wanted for several years. MOVIE IS 1000x better than the show series and i stand by that statement forever.

if you haven’t seen it, watch it immediately.

[famelost]

character sheet.

basics.

full name.   gabriel james abbott jr. known as.   gabe abbott. nickname(s).    he doesn’t like nicknames.  just gabe. gender.   cis male. age.   verse dependent.  typically written during age 20 through 27. zodiac. leo sun, aquarius moon, aries rising. spoken languages.   english.

physical characteristics.

hair color.   shaggy, brown curls that he wears unstyled.   eye color.   very deep brown. body type.   thin and lanky.  skeletal, almost, in his later years. voice.   a new york accent that sounds nearly natural,  but there’s an ever so faint southern twang that he just can’t seem to shake.  barely intelligible when intoxicated. dominant hand.   right. posture.   he can’t be bothered to sit up straight. tattoos.   the outline of a fender guitar on his left side,  beneath his ribs. birthmarks.   none.  some small moles along his arms, back, and neck from sun exposure.

childhood.

place of birth.   mississippi. hometown.   not public knowledge and he’s intent on keeping it that way. sibling(s).   michael “mikey” raymond abbott,  younger brother. parents.   emily abbott (rest in peace)  &  gabriel james abbott sr. (good riddance)

adult life.

occupation.   rock star.   close friends.   his childhood best friend everett bayer - when gabe’s not being a dick, that is.  kat,  his manager,  is probably the closest thing to a friend he’s got in new york, but she’s routinely sick of his shit.  his bandmates can barely stand him and he can barely stand anyone else. relationship status.   verse dependent.  usually single with a steadily revolving door of groupies.  canonically in a relationship with his wife, eloise. financial status.   he has more money than he should be trusted with, all thanks to great management and a soul - sucking contract. driver’s license.   he has one, but he usually just calls his driver. criminal record.   let’s just say he’s not getting a government job anytime soon.

sex and romance.

romantic orientation.   biromantic. deeply closeted. sexual orientation.   bisexual. again, deeply closeted. preferred emotional role.   a fun little concoction of bpd + an avoidant attachment style manifests itself in emotional isolation,  self-sabotage,  and random outbursts.  he’s a mess and would benefit greatly from somebody headstrong and solid that he can lean on to ground him in extreme emotional situations.  but where’s the fun in that? preferred sexual role.   a switch,  though his need for control lands him in a dominant position most of the time as that’s where he feels most comfortable.  however,  also loves being submissive on occasion or for the right person. libido.   fluctuates between a high libido and hypersexuality.  turns to sex in vulnerable situations as something he feels he has control over. turn-ons.   good rapport,  intelligence,  boldness,  authenticity.  sweet perfumes.  giving him shit. turn-offs.   over - availability,  vanity,  shallowness. love language.   acts of service / gift giving. relationship tendencies.   has sabotaged and probably will sabotage every relationship he’s ever had,  romantic or otherwise.  it takes a great deal of patience to care about gabe abbott.

miscellaneous.

character’s theme song.   have a cigar  -  pink floyd. hobbies to pass time.   when he’s not being forced to attend a press event he doesn’t care about,  he can be found drinking alone in his penthouse or partying the night away at some club.  his form of partying being drinking alone at the bar and doing rails with whoever offers.  rarely plays his instruments to pass time anymore. mental illness(es).   complex post-traumatic stress disorder,  borderline personality disorder.  undiagnosed and untreated. left or right-brained.   right brained. phobia(s).   cameras/media/the news/tabloids.  self-confidence level.   outwardly highly confident to hide a buried - away self loathing.  ‘fake it til you make it’ is his motto.

[walks-the-ages]

ML vs Bleach 5: Aizen Sousuke vs Gabriel Agreste. Real Genius Mastermind vs Complete Idiot, whose plans only works, when narrative makes everyone else dumber than brick.

I mean, you said it all in one right there:

Gabriel is not a scary villain.

There's never any stakes when he makes a 'good' plan or seems to have a winning hand, because ML refuses to have any stakes.

Gabriel never ever wins in any meaningful way;

Marinette vs Gabriel is a literal never ending battle of attrition, because the writers only care about drawing out the story as long as possible to make bank lol.

the few times Gabriel ever has had a meaningful victory, it's erased from the timeline completely (twice, at least), or it's just a really cheap way to ""raise the stakes"" when it has no real impact on the story (Gabriel getting the Miraculous at the end of s4) and usually only serves to hype up more drama for the latest incarnation of the Status Quo.

Aizen on the other hand, is always a threat, always one step ahead of our heroes, but at the same time, our heroes still have their triumphs, and have to work, through blood, sweat, and tears for their triumphs.

They have to earn their wins, they have to struggle, they have to bleed, and they have to lose, and that's why their wins are so... triumphant.

We see them get the shit beat out of them on the regular, we see them dying and only saved by pure chance or forces outside their scope of knowledge (thanks, Zangetsu <3 ),

we see them struggling to recover physically and emotionally from their experiences, so that when they finally stand across the battlefield from the opponent who felled them before, and emerge bloody but victorious?

That's earned.

That means something.

Because we actually see the work that is put into fighting and training and going above and beyond to protect the ones you love,

all while Aizen just keeps revealing more and more dominoes falling into place, keeps pulling the rug out from under our heroes right as they think they've made a dent, until Ichigo is able to cleave moutains asunder with a swing of his blade but he still can't even put a scratch on Aizen

Meanwhile,,,,,,, uh. Gabriel hasn't been defeated purely because of plot armor, which is the same thing keeping him from winning!

Either he's a competent adult Miraculous wielder who can spam his ability infinitely and easily destroy some 13 and 14 year old kids who transform back in five minutes if they so much as breath the name of their Miraculous Power,

or he's a completely incompetent villain who would be doomed instantly if Marinette was allowed to defeat him using her smarts, except the writers hold her back from making any intelligent decisions, because then the show would be over lol.

Especialy since the new season revealed that the Rooster Miraculous can uh.... pick any superpower they can imagine and give it to themselves.

Meaning Marinette could give herself the ability to track Miraculous.

Marinette could give herself the ability to automatically find and destroy an akumatized object.

Marinette could give herself the ability to make custom lucky charms, literally anything she can imagine to track and capture corrupted Miraculous, halt akuma in their tracks, release Sentimonsters from the peacock's control and give them free will, etc etc. There's also the Goat Miraculous which for whatever reason does the exact same thing i said above.

Gabriel now has full access to the fully established power of both the Goat and Rooster Miraculous, which Marinette at least has the excuse of the writers didn't come up with these powers until the end of s4

Gabriel wants to bring his wife back from the dead?

He's literally got two different Miraculous to choose from to accomplish this goal:

He can use the Goat to create an object that will magically cure Emilie and wake up back up, or an object that will infinitely create further custom objects to do both that as well as anything else he can think of to achieve more ridiculous amounts of wealth or world domination or whatever.

or he can use the Rooster to give himself the ability to heal Emilie himself, or the ability to similarly track Miraculous, or see through a Miraculous suit to see Marinette's secret identity, the ability to make the wish without it backfiring on him, etc etc etc.

Gabriel is not a scary villain, he's never a threat, and we already know he never will be.